FIFA, soccer's global governing body, confirmed this week that goal-line technology will be used at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
That will mark the first time the planet's biggest single-sport event uses the high-tech method of determining whether or not the ball crosses the plane of the goal.
Goal-line technology was used at the Club World Cup in December and will be used again at this summer's Confederations Cup — a World Cup preview of sorts held in the big event's host nation one year before the World Cup.
High profile soccer matches have been beset by a number of did-he-or-didn't-he scoring controversies over the years. Judging controversial goals in soccer is especially difficult, because scoring requires the entire ball to completely cross the goal line. That can make it quite tough for referees to judge an iffy shot unless they have an optimal angle and line of sight.
"After a successful implementation of Goal-Line Technology (GLT) at the Club World Cup in Japan in December 2012, FIFA has decided to use GLT at the 2013 Confederations Cup in Brazil and the 2014 World Cup in Brazil," a FIFA statement read this week. "The aim is to use GLT in order to support the match officials and to install a system in all stadia, pending the successful installation, and pre-match referee tests.
There are a number of similar products out there, however, and just which one makes it to Brazil remains to be seen. According to the BBC, products called GoalRef and Hawk-Eye, along with additional bids from a pair of unnamed German firms, will be considered. FIFA is expected to make a decision by some time this April.
While GoalRef and Hawk-Eye both achieve the same ends, their respective means of doing so rely on differing technological approaches.
Hawk-Eye, which is owned by Sony, uses high-speed video cameras positioned at different angles to determine the ball's precise location via triangulation. GoalRef, which is produced by the German company Fraunhofer, uses magnetic sensors to determine whether or not a goal was scored.
Do you think goal-line technology should be included in the 2014 World Cup, or is a bit of uncertainty just part of the game? Give us your take in the comments.
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