Technology likely in new EPL season

ZURICH - Goal-line technology is likely to be used in the upcoming season of English football after it was given the go-ahead by the game’s law-makers.Two systems, Hawk-Eye and GoalRef, were approved by the International FA Board (IFAB) in Zurich on Thursday.The Premier League will enter into talks with the two manufacturers, and Hawk-Eye say they could supply the 20 clubs with the technology for January.It is also likely to be used in the coming season’s FA Cup semifinals and final.POSSIBLEFA general secretary Alex Horne said the Hawk-Eye system installed at Wembley for a trial last month is still there - and could be switched on, tested and licensed for FA Cup and perhaps England matches at Wembley.Horne said: “It is perfectly possible to introduce it halfway through the season.“We have already got Hawk-Eye at Wembley, it needs to be calibrated and make sure it’s working properly and licensed so we are nearly there and we could turn Hawk-Eye on quite quickly.“The FA Cup would be our decision and we could say for the semifinals and finals of the FA Cup we could turn it on, I don’t think that is a very controversial decision.Fifa president Sepp Blatter admitted he had changed his mind about goal-line technology after Frank Lampard’s disallowed goal for England v Germany in the 2010 World Cup, and highlighted again after Ukraine were denied a goal against England in Euro 2012 despite the ball having crossed the line.Blatter said: “For me as Fifa president it became evident the moment what happened in South Africa in 2010.“I have to say ‘thank you Lampard’. I was completely down in South Africa when I saw that it really shocked me, it took me a day to react. “It happened again in Ukraine, and Ukraine can still not believe it now.”Blatter insisted, however, that there would be no move to introduce any video replays or other technology to rule on other decisions such as offsides, fouls or diving.He said: “Other than the goal-line technology, football must preserve its human face.”IntroductionThe first introduction of the systems will be at Fifa’s Club World Cup in Japan in December with each system in one of the two stadiums.It will then be extended to next year’s Confederations Cup and the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.General secretary Jerome Valcke said Fifa would pay for the systems - around 150 000 to 250 000 US dollars per stadium - and leave them in place in the stadiums after the tournaments.The systems will have to be tested after they are installed in each stadium to make sure they are working properly before they are licensed for use.

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Technology likely in new EPL season