Big vote set for Thursday on goal-line technology

Thursday looks like a big day for global soccer and the possibility of marching into a new, more modern day.

International Football Association Board, which has long held the responsibility of setting the laws of the game, meets in Zurich, set to vote on the long-controversial implementation of goal-line technology.

FIFA has been conducting trials for months, and a “yes” vote Thursday would grant leagues the authority to use one of two systems: the Danish-German technology known as Goalref and an England version known as Hawk-Eye.

The Goalref system utilizes a customized ball with a special, implanted sensor.

The Hawk-Eye, more complicated and more expensive, is a camera-based system that requires 12 lenses arranged strategically throughout the stadium, six for each goal.

A more detailed discussion of each plan is here from the Guardian, and another one here from the BBC.

UEFA president Michel Platini remains opposed (“I am wholly against goal-line technology.But it’s not just goal-line technology; I am against technology itself because it will invade every single area of football.”) FIFA president Sepp Blatter, on the other hand, has recently embraced opportunities for modernization.

MLS commissioner Don Garber recently advocated his league as ready, willing and able to quickly implement GLT once approved.