csconstantine.com

By Brian Homewood

BERNE, Feb 4 (Reuters) - Ten goal-line technology systems will be independently tested this month and the results presented to soccer’s rule-making body when it meets in March to re-examine the issue, FIFA said on Friday.

The International Football Association Board (IFAB) will also be briefed on the five-referees experiment at its annual general meeting in Cardiff on March 5 and the possibility of using it at the Euro 2012 tournament.

The IFAB agreed to re-open the discussions on the use of goal-line technology following the World Cup in South Africa, having ruled it out earlier last year.

FIFA said the proposed systems would be tested next week by the Zurich-based research institute EMPA.

The IFAB will also consider seven relatively minor changes to the rules, including one regarding the colour of players’ tights and another clarifying how the referee should deal with animals running on to the pitch.

(Editing by Kevin Fylan; To query or comment on this story: sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)

Labels: goalline, Reuters, Systems, technology, tested

ZURICH (AP)—FIFA’s rules-making panel will study the results from 10 different goal-line technology systems being tested before its meeting next month.

FIFA says the 10 systems will be tested privately next week by researchers from a Zurich-based technology institute.

IFAB will meet March 5 in Wales to evaluate how accurate and efficient the systems are before taking a “decision of principle and potential next step” to give referees high-tech help.

IFAB also will consider letting UEFA use the five-referee match official system at the 2012 European Championship.

Other proposed rules changes relate to stray objects on the field, players wearing snoods and tights, plus referees using vanishing spray to mark where defensive walls stand.

Labels: goalline, Systems, technology