Goalline technology is still clearly offside for Michel Platini ~ iNewsGh

Saturday 1 September 2012

Goalline technology is still clearly offside for Michel Platini

• Uefa president reiterates resistance to technology in football
• Backs having five referees at matches as best alternative
Michel Platini
The Uefa president, Michel Platini, has restated his opposition to the introduction of goalline technology. Photograph: Alik Keplicz/Associated Press
Michel Platini has reiterated his resistance to goalline technology and restated his support for having five referees at matches, suggesting officials from countries who introduce that system will be given priority when it comes to overseeing games in European competitions.
Uefa has compiled data after trialling the five-man system in around 1,000 matches across Europe and Platini, the governing body's president, is convinced the strategy of having an extra official standing behind each goal offers the most accurate alternative to the introduction of technology.
Serie A has adopted the system this season, and both the Champions and Europa Leagues will continue to implement it in the campaign ahead, with the Uefa president and his chief refereeing officer, Pierluigi Collina, claiming referees would need to gain experience of how the system works in their domestic leagues.
"Uefa will suggest additional assistant referees are the solution we want for the future," Platini said. "The Italian league has already adopted the system this season and are rather happy with it already. Some associations will take longer than others, but the big European competitions will be using it, so we will give priority to referees from those national associations who are using the five-referee system so there is understanding among the team of five referees. It makes sense that we use officials from national associations who use it every week. That is not a threat, but we can still give 'advice'."
The Premier League will scrutinise the detailed analysis gathered using the five-man system – Platini insisted the mistake by a Hungarian official in failing to award Ukraine a goal against England at Euro 2012 when the ball crossed the line was the "only error" picked up in three years – but will consider using it in England.
"We have not had the most recent set of analysis and clearly we would want to study that," said a Premier League spokesman. "But generally where developments are proven to improve the standard of officiating it's always something the English game would look at."
Platini's opposition to goalline technology is long-standing and had been aired most recently at his closing media conference at Euro 2012, when he had also floated the idea that the 2020 European Championship could be staged in cities across 13 different countries. Those innovative proposals remain in discussion and will be addressed in December.
"We have meetings with the national federations and will have feedback at the end of the year," added Platini. "My preference is to have 13 different countries for 2020. I want the semi-finals and final to be in one city, and four games each at 12 other different venues.
"We will see. As for technology, I don't think it's good for football. Maybe goalline technology, but that would be the first step towards the introduction of technology in all areas of the game. I'm still very much against it and, to be honest, I'm not going to change my mind at the age of 57."

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