Expat arrested for immoral act at a massage center in Jazan    Saudi Transplant Congress discusses scientific advancements and innovations on organ donation and transplantation    Saudi non-oil exports jump 13.1%, with volume of trade exceeding SR2 trillion, in 2024    Mawani and Alissa Universal Motors sign agreement worth SR300 million to establish Logistics Zone at King Abdulaziz Port in Dammam    4 Chinese nationals arrested in Makkah for promoting fake Hajj campaigns    Saudi market shows resilience in Q1 2025 despite global volatility: Report    Saudi Arabia urges India and Pakistan to de-escalate tensions    Trump congratulates Canada's Carney as they agree to meet in 'near future'    Sánchez vows to uncover reasons behind massive Iberian power outage    Guterres warns two-state solution is 'near a point of no return'    Al Ahli stun Al Hilal to reach AFC Champions League Elite final    Al-Khereiji at BRICS: Saudi Arabia a reliable and neutral partner in endeavors for de-escalating tensions    Health Ministry launches World Health Survey 2025 Survey to collect accurate health status database of Saudi population    SR200,000 reward for each player of the Saudi club winning AFC Champions League title    Housing minister expects moderate real estate prices in Riyadh    William and Kate celebrate anniversary on Isle of Mull    HONOR KSA expands its presence with new flagship Experience Store in Riyadh HONOR's first flagship store in KSA provides visitors with a premium experience, exciting offers and free services    Rock & Roll Hall of Fame picks Outkast but not Oasis    Duran leads Al Nassr past Yokohama Marinos into AFC Champions League Elite semi-finals    Al Ahli cruise past Buriram into AFC Champions League Elite semi-finals    Pakistani star's Bollywood return excites fans and riles far right    Veteran Bollywood actor Manoj Kumar dies at 87    Bollywood actress vindicated over boyfriend's death after media hounding    Grand Mufti rules against posting prayers and preaching in mosques on social media    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Is Blatter's U-turn for real?
By John Leicester
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 01 - 07 - 2010

Reason for skepticism is that FIFA has long resisted tech aidsJOHANNESBURG - FIFA President Sepp Blatter's apparent U-turn on the possible introduction of technology to help referees should be taken with a pinch of salt. Maybe he really is having a genuine change of heart, in which case, hooray. Or, perhaps more likely, his sudden reversal is just for show.
The reason for the skepticism is that Blatter and FIFA have long been on the frontline of resistance to technological aids that could help referees make fewer blunders, including at this World Cup.
Only after Blatter, his organization and the sport it governs have been made to look silly by bad refereering in South Africa is the FIFA boss acting as if scales have fallen from his eyes.
“It would be a nonsense to not reopen the file of technology,” he said Tuesday.
Just don't forget that this is the same person who in 2008 said: “Let's leave football with errors.”
To be absolutely clear: Blatter is talking only about the possibility of using technology that can tell when the ball crosses the goal line.
He is not advocating the use of video to spot whether players are offside, as Carlos Tevez was when he scored Sunday for Argentina against Mexico. Nor would there be replays to catch Thierry Henry-esque handballs or other fouls. None of that is in the cards.
“The only principle we are going to bring back now for discussion is the goal-line technology,” Blatter says.
Nor does agreeing to revive shelved discussions about technology actually commit FIFA to adopting it. It is possible that Blatter is only paying lip service to the issue now to mollify critics after referees made a couple of howlers at the World Cup, including awarding Tevez's illegitimate goal and robbing England of a legitimate goal against Germany. In that case, Frank Lampard's shot clearly crossed the German line and should have been awarded but the referee from Uruguay and his assistants did not see it.
Previously, FIFA's rule-making body has looked at two different goal-line systems before rejecting them.
One was Hawk-Eye, used for contested line calls in tennis.
Its inventor Paul Hawkins says a Hawk-Eye goal-line system has been tested, worked consistently, and has been ready for two years but hit a wall with FIFA. Blatter still has doubts about Hawk-Eye, saying Tuesday that it “has not given the 100 percent accuracy.”
Hawkins says the FIFA boss hasn't taken the time to fully understand it.
“It is very difficult to have a direct conversation with Mr. Blatter,” Hawkins said in a telephone interview.
When presenting the concept to FIFA's rule-making body, “you walk in, you have 6 or 7 minutes and then you are ushered out. There's no debate,” he added. “There is no question that there is a great deal of misunderstanding which I think has influenced their poor decision-making up to now.”
Of Blatter's apparent U-turn, he added: “We have had our hopes dashed too many times in the past.”
The other possible goal-line system involves balls with embedded microchips that send the referee's earpiece a beep or message when they cross the line.
Blatter has his doubts about those, too. “It was complicated,” he says.
Beyond technical concerns, Blatter has voiced larger more philosophical reasons for rejecting technology.
He has suggested that opening the door even a little to goal-line systems could lead to a flood of other technological aids. Examples could include technology to determine whether a ball crossed the touchline, requiring that play be stopped for a throw-in, or possibly chips in players shirts to tell when they stray offside or even allowing coaches to challenge referees' decisions by demanding that a video umpire be consulted.
“Every decision in every area of the pitch would soon be questioned,” Blatter said in March. “It would also not make sense to stop play every two minutes to review a decision, as this would go against the natural dynamism of the game.”
Other reasons Blatter has cited not to adopt technology are cost, the fact that it could not be introduced everywhere that football is played and because of what he calls “the human aspect,” the idea that mistakes are inherent to football, that fans love to debate them and that machines could not eradicate them completely.
So now, when FIFA is in the hot seat for poor refereeing at the World Cup, Blatter says goal-line technology needs to be re-examined.
But in the end, the conclusion may well be the same.


Clic here to read the story from its source.