IFAB puts offside and GLT on the agenda

The 127th Annual General Meeting of the International Football Association Board (IFAB) will take place on Saturday 2 March under the chairmanship of The Scottish FA in Edinburgh, Scotland.

(c) Der Westen / WAZ

Amongst the items on the agenda, the IFAB will discuss a clarification to the interpretation of Law 11 – Offside, following proposals developed by FIFA’s Refereeing department and the IFAB technical sub-committee. The technical sub-committee is comprised of the respective Heads of Refereeing and/or technical experts of FIFA and the four British Associations.

IFAB has evaluated the current definition of the offside variant "interfering with an opponent" as too unprecise and not allowing a consistent interpretation. 

Concretely, the lawmakers propose the following change:

Current Definition		Proposed Definition
In the context of Law 11 – Offside, the following definitions apply: (…) - “interfering with play” means playing or touching the ball passed or touched by a team-mate - “interfering with an opponent” means preventing an opponent from playing or being able to play the ball by clearly obstructing the opponent’s line of vision or movements or making a gesture or movement which, in the opinion of the referee, deceives or distracts an opponent - “gaining an advantage by being in that position” means playing a ball that rebounds to him off a goalpost or the crossbar having been in an offside position or playing a ball that rebounds to him off an opponent having been in an offside position		In the context of Law 11 – Offside, the following definitions apply: (…) - “interfering with play” means playing or touching the ball passed or touched by a team-mate - “interfering with an opponent” means preventing an opponent from playing or being able to play the ball by clearly obstructing the opponent’s line of vision or challenging an opponent for the ball. - “gaining an advantage by being in that position” means playing a ball (i) that rebounds or is deflected to him off the goalpost, crossbar or an opponent having been in an offside position (ii) that rebounds, deflected or is played to him from a deliberate save by an opponent having been in an offside position. A player in an offside position receiving the ball from an opponent, who deliberately plays the ball (except from a deliberate save), is not considered to have gained an advantage.

  

Other topics for discussion include the usage of electronic performance monitoring systems; the Dropped Ball (Law 8 – Start and Restart of Play) following a submission by the Danish FA; as well as an update report on Goal-Line Technology following the implementation of two systems at the FIFA Club World Cup in Japan in December 2012. The IFAB will also discuss its future consultation and decision-making processes, as well as its future structure.

IFAB approves goal-line technology

Goal or no goal? Referees will soon no longer have to decide themselves whether the ball has crossed the line or not without technical assistance. 

Following nine months of testing in England, Germany, Hungary and Italy, at a special meeting in Zurich on 5 July, the International Football Association Board (IFAB) decided to introduce goal-line technology into football. Of the eight companies that took part in the first round of tests, only two systems – Hawk-Eye and GoalRef – successfully completed the process and can now apply to become FIFA goal-line technology licensees. FIFA has additionally established an official "FIFA Quality Programme" that can be considered as kind of governing body for the mentioned technical aids. They will be first deployed at 2012 FIFA Club World Cup Japan, later, they will be presented to a worldwide audience at 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup Brazil and 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil.

GoalRef system – magnetic field technology
The GoalRef system creates the radio equivalent of a light curtain. Low magnetic fields are produced around the goal, and as soon as the ball, which is fitted with a compact electronic device, fully crosses the line, a minor change in the magnetic field is detected, thus allowing the exact position of the ball to be established. If a goal has been scored, an alert is transmitted to the match officials via a radio signal within one second, with a message displayed on their watches and via vibration.

see video animation

Hawk-Eye system – goal-line camera technology
The Hawk-Eye system uses six to eight high-speed cameras set up at different angles at each end to calculate the exact position of the ball. The data from the cameras is then transferred to video software. From this data, the system generates a graphic image (3D) of the ball's trajectory. The match officials are informed of whether or not it was a goal within one second. This system might be compared - also due to the fact that the name is equal - to a method applied in tennis for years.

see video animation

Thereby, IFAB and FIFA with Joseph Blatter leading the way have made a decision with a far-reaching and historical impact, perhaps the most significant one concerning football (refereeing) since the implementation of disciplinary cards 42 years ago. Hopefully, UEFA will follow this milestone decision.