No goal-line tech in Germany
March 24, 2014
Goal-line technology is being used at the 2014 World Cup in June and July, but was given the thumbs down after a vote involving the 36 clubs in Germany's top-two flights at Monday's German Football League (DFL) meeting in Frankfurt. Just nine representatives of clubs in the Bundesliga were in favor, while the other nine voted against carrying forward proposals to implement the system in time for the 2015-16 season.
A two-thirds majority would have been needed for any plans to be rubber-stamped. Among those clubs which had voted in favor were Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Mönchengladbach.
"We at FC Bayern regret this, but as democrats, we have to accept that," Karl Heinz Rummenigge said of the outcome.
Christian Seifert, Managing Director of the DFL, added: "The initial studies go back almost two years already. Arguments were worked out for or against it. Then there's a democratic vote, which is valid."
"Football is played everywhere, so this was a pragmatic and grassroots decision," said Eintracht Frankfurt Chairman Herbert Bruchhagen, one of those against the introduction of technology.
In a separate vote between 2. Bundesliga clubs, only three sides were in support of change.
Had it passed, the Bundesliga would have become the third major league in Europe to introduce the additional technology, after England and the Netherlands.
The English Premier League and Dutch Eredivisie have already used video assistance through the British-made Hawk Eye system, which is prominent in tennis, cricket and rugby.
The KNVB, Holland's football association, spent around €500,000 ($689,900) on the technology over two seasons of testing. It will, however, only be used for high-profile matches, such as the final matchday of the Eredivisie season, league play-offs, KNVB Cup finals and the Johan Cruyff Shield.
The Premier League, meanwhile, has rolled out the technology at all stadiums in the top-flight using the Hawk Eye scheme, costing £250,000 ($412,075) for each club.
The Bundesliga has had its share of refereeing controversy this season, including the 'ghost goal' scored by Stefan Kiessling for Leverkusen against Hoffenheim in October.
"If ever there was one example to be in favor of goal-line technology, then this is the match," Leverkusen's sporting director Rudi Völler said.
The subject of goal line or video technology has attracted conflicting verdicts from the two major governing bodies, UEFA and FIFA.
UEFA president Michel Platini has previously argued the €54 million ($74.5 million) cost for installation and maintenance would be "quite expensive" to clarify incidents that happen "once every 40 years."
Brazil's national top-flight and Italy's Serie A has opted for extra referees behind both goals, the same experiment that's been used in both the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League since 2009.
rd/ph (SID, dpa)