THE BLOG BY CPD FOOTBALL | The World of Indian football and beyond by Chris Punnakkattu Daniel

Bundesliga clubs finally approve goal-line technology

Bundesliga

Bundesliga

The German Bundesliga will introduce the much talked about goal-line technology to its 1st Division from the 2015/2016 season. The goal-line technology will be implemented at the 18 stadiums of the Bundesliga’s top tier.

The representatives of the 18 clubs and the DFL – the German Football League and a subsidiary of the league association responsible for the operation of the Bundesliga and 2nd Division Bundesliga – came together for a extraordinary member meeting in Frankfurt on Thursday to vote on the implementation of goal-line technology. The meeting was convened after FC Bayern Munich had submitted the request for the implementation of goal-line technology in Bundesliga matches.

The Bundesliga had turned down goal-line technology in a first voting conducted amongst the 36 clubs of the Bundesliga and 2nd Division Bundesliga in March, when only 12 clubs voted in favour of the technology.

The voting conducted on Thursday was able to register 15 votes in favour of the technology and three votes against the proposal to implement it, thus resulting in a two-thirds majority in support of implementation of the system. FIFA-licensed vendor Hawk-Eye has been awarded a contract to install and operate the system over the coming three years.

“I think the implementation of goal-line technology will be a step forward for German football,” DFL President Reinhard Rauball stated on the league’s official website bundesliga.de. “It will be a great help for the referees to take accurate decisions.”

Andreas Rettig, CEO, DFL, said, “We are delighted about this clear decision, because we made a recommendation in favour of the goal-line technology which we didn’t do in the voting in March. The experiences at the World Cup and the more than 500 Premier League games with goal-line technology convinced us. The measurement accuracy turned the balance in favour of the supplier Hawk-Eye.”

Hawk-Eye, which was awarded the contract in an open, transparent and non-discriminatory tender procedure, employs a camera-based system to monitor the goal line. Already being used by the English Premier League since the beginning of the current season, this technology entails 14 cameras fitted beneath the stadium roof. If the ball crosses the goal line, the system sends a signal within one second to a special receiver worn by the referee on his wrist.