Soccer: Ball device to be trialled after video replay row

LONDON - Soccer governing body FIFA is to test a special device involving a microchip sensor inside the ball next month as a possible solution to goal-line disputes during matches.

However, FIFA has repeated its opposition to the use of video replays despite a clear-cut error in Tuesday's English Premier League game between Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford.

The new device, developed by ball manufacturers Adidas, will be tested at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium on February 26, the day before the English League Cup final.

If successful it could be used in the final itself, a FIFA spokesman said on Wednesday.

Spurs were denied a late winner in the 0-0 draw when the referee and linesman failed to spot that a shot by midfielder Pedro Mendes had crossed the line by at least a metre before United goalkeeper Roy Carroll retrieved it.

Spurs manager Martin Jol and United boss Alex Ferguson both expressed support for the use of video replays but FIFA's director of communications Markus Siegler said today: "FIFA is strongly against the use of video evidence to decide the referees' decisions.

"The only thing that could be considered is the technology to decide whether the ball has crossed the line or not if -- and so far it is not the case -- a suitable technological solution is found.

"We just have to accept the decision last night of the referee and his assistant. There is no point arguing about that. It's part of football."

However, one British bookmaker took a different view, William Hills announcing it would honour bets placed on Mendes scoring the first goal of the match.

Siegler said the International Board, which decides matters relating to the laws of the game, would consider the Adidas ball idea at its annual meeting in Cardiff on February 26.

"On the agenda is a presentation of a technology including a ball developed by Adidas," he said.

"For that purpose the Cardiff stadium will be equipped accordingly in order to demonstrate it but whether it will also be used in the match is not yet decided."

The English Football Association said in a statement on Wednesday it was "willing to discuss and consider any form of goal-line technology that would improve decision-making while not disrupting the game.

"The key factor is whether a message can be transmitted immediately to the referee allowing him to take an immediate decision without interrupting play."

Siegler said that any new technology would have to be used on a trial basis first and that it was highly unlikely any change to the laws of the game would be made this year.

"There is one annual meeting of the board every year," he said.

"Only at this meeting can any changes to the laws of the game be decided.

"I do not think that after one presentation or one technology (trial) that a very quick decision will be taken because this is a crucial matter."

The International Board, comprising four FIFA representatives and four members from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, meets only once a year, usually around the start of March.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter has long opposed the use of video replays in soccer, despite its successful use in sports like rugby and cricket.

However, Italy's soccer federation, the Polish football association and the incoming chief executive of the English Football Association, Brian Barwick, have all expressed support for the use of video replays in the past month.

FIFA and European counterpart UEFA agreed last month to examine the use of new technology to assist referees.

- REUTERS