Hawk-Eye had a rather low key affair in England’s recent friendly victory over Belgium on June 2nd. Whilst the data gathered was only for an exclusive panel of senior FIFA officials, there were no contentious moments at either end which perhaps has culminated in little attention for the highly decorated technology.
Back in January 2007 the English Premier League first contracted Hawk-Eye Innovations (amongst others) to develop goal-line technology. Since then the footballing world has seen Sepp Blatter (President of FIFA) go from fervently slating its inclusion to supporting it.
It took Frank Lampard’s disallowed goal against Germany at the World Cup in 2010 to change his mind. The Chelsea midfielder’s looping effort from the edge of the box connected with the underside of the bar, bounced a yard inside of the goal, bounced out and was anxiously gathered by Germany’s Manuel Neuer. Everyone in the stadium seemed to see it, except the referee.
Two days later Blatter lamented the “evident referee mistake”. He made a public apology to the F.A. and announced, “It is obvious that after the experiences so far at this World Cup it would be nonsense not to re-open the file on goal-line technology. […] We will come out with a new model in November on how to improve high level referees.”
Who else is involved?
Initially 8 systems were trialled by FIFA. Only Hawk-Eye and its Danish-German rival, GoalRef, are now left in the running after successfully passing Phase 1 of the FIFA approval process. Even Adidas-sponsored Cairos GLT did not match up to FIFA’s expectations.
| Hawk-Eye | GoalRef |
| Based on the principle of triangulation, tracking the ball in mid-flight. | Utilises a layer of microchips within the ball and low magnetic waves around the goal. |
| Requires 25% of the ball to be visible for accurate decision. May lead to controversy should the ball be obscured. | Magnetic field and interpretation would not be disrupted in the presence of several bodies. |
| Visually more stimulating for broadcast and in-stadia. | Only referee could signal a goal. |
| Six cameras required at each goalmouth. | Modified goalposts. |
| High installation costs, £250,000 per stadium. | Comparatively inexpensive going as far as saying, “the system also lends itself to use in amateur leagues.” |
| Within FIFA’s “one-second” notification window. | Instantaneous radio transmission <1/10th of a second. |
| Major adaptation required if transferred to hockey, handball amongst others. | System already successfully trialled at handball games. |