Running Head: GOAL LINE TECHNOLOGY

Hawk-Eye Goal Line Technology

Daisy Cardenas
University of Texas at El Paso
Marco Rodriguez, Fridays 9:00-10:20
RWS: 1302 Literature Review

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Abstract
The research conducted about the goal-line technology during soccer games discusses the
advantages and disadvantages of the equipment being installed. The following research
questions conducted on the literature review were organize in order to analyze the cost, the
impact, and the testing of the Hawk-Eye technology known as the goal-line technology. Also
there was a primary research that involves the opinion of a team from the El Paso city league.
Each of the girls were asked to answer a question manage by survey monkey on their opinion
base on their knowledge of soccer, on the technology implementation being to expensive,
positive, or negative impact affecting the fluid of the game. The research in whole gives a
comprehension of the impact of the goal-line technology on soccer games.

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In 2013 the chief executive of GoalControl, and his company were selected to install the
system of cameras and software that would be used for the fist time at a World Cup, ensuring that
every goal scored actually crossed the line, and that no ball near the line is incorrectly declared a
goal (Das, 2014, p.1). The Hawk-Eye Technology which is known as the goal-line technology in
soccer has been a recent debate between several professional leagues, soccer figures, and soccer
supporters. As a result of the controversial misunderstanding of Frank Lampard goal line
mistake against Germany during the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The Hawk-Eye Technology was
implemented during the 2014 World Cup after the uncertainty of that world cup game, and other
similar cases have created for soccer fans around the world were massive. Many support the fact
of technology being implemented during soccer games, but also there are some opposing
opinions about the technology topic. For example, Michel Platini, the president of UEFA, is a
long-time opponent of goal-line technology, and has already talked about the difficulties widescale implementation could cause. Last month, Platini said that in 280 stadiums used for
Europes top club competitions the technology would cost about $71 million (Williams, 2013,
p.1). As Platini mention the cost of The Hawk-Eye Technology is one of the important negatives
to take in mind. Due to the fact, that many professional leagues may afford the price, but the
game would change for most of the second and third division teams by not being able to afford
the price for The Hawk-Eye Technology implementation.
The argument about the advantages and disadvantages of technology during soccer games
has become a very controversial issue internationally. Thats why the objective of this paper is to
investigate more in depth about the effects of The Hawk-Eye Technology in any given

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circumstance. For this reason the following questions would attempt to accomplish a better
understanding of the recent goal-line technology impact and its implementation during several
soccer games:

1. How is the Hawk-Eye Technology being tested for soccer?

2. What is the impact of technology on soccer?
3. What do some well known soccer figures think about the goal-line technology?
4. What is the cost of the goal-line technology that is being implemented?

The following literature review will: analyze the impact of the goal-line technology being
implemented during soccer games, and the testing done so far.

How is the Hawk-Eye Technology being tested for soccer?

The Hawk-Eye Technology being one of the greatest innovations lately during soccer
games has develop even more with testing, and the usefulness it contribute during the 2014
World Cup. The technology implemented consist on a highly well structured system that
provided assistance to the referees during a difficult goal-line decision.
According to the article Sports Tech it talks about how the Hawk-Eye system has been
develop through testing, and how it functions during a game. The system is able to find the ball
if only a small part of it is visible, as soon as the system detects that the ball has crossed the goal
line it sends a signal to the official's watch, which has been developed by industry leaders
Adeunis. It is also possible to provide a "near-miss" signal so the referee receives confirmation

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that the ball did not cross the line (Venables, 2013, pg.84). The following quote explains how
the system develops during a game, and its function in order to process the signal to the referee
determining if either the ball has cross the goal line or not.
On the other hand, the goal-line technology was not only tested during the 2014 World
Cup, but also it was tested during official Italian Serie A games. The testing according to NonInvasive Soccer Goal Line Technology article describe the negatives and positives during these
testing. A false positive also occurred during a complex defensive action: four defenders were
close to the goal line, try- ing to protect the goal and one of them kicked the ball away clearly
before it crossed the line. Afterwards, a defender crossed the goal line and, unfortunately, the
system recognized the pattern of the ball on his shorts (Spagnolo etc, 2013, pg.1017). The
quote demonstrates how there was a single negative on the testing which the system instead of
recognizing the ball identified the shorts of player as if the ball had cross the goal-line. These
example demonstrates how although it was a rare case the system use during the Series A games
has to be continue on testing until there are some arrangements made concerning the specific
problem.
In like manner, there were also positives during the same testing which provided the
given result during the whole testing. During this experimental phase, in addition to goal
events, a very controversial situation occurred: the goal- keeper saved a shot when the ball was
on the goal line. The system evaluated that situation as No-goal and the image clearly evidences
that it was right (Spagnolo etc, 2013, pg.1017). These time the effect during the testing was a
positive situation were the goal-line technology achieved its purpose of detecting during
controversial occasions if the ball has crossed the goal-line. Both are examples of the testing

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have been done in order to completely approve the implementation of the Hawk-Eye Technology
at least on the Italian Series A league. There are several other experimental issues conducted
mainly by FIFA which is the International Federation Association of Football. All the testing is
being issued in order to achieve the implement of The Hawk-Eye technology.

What is the impact of technology on soccer?

Considering, the impact of technology during a soccer has constructed a very

controversial subject. There are many who think technology would cause a negative impact
because there is nothing related between soccer and technology, and it would just slow down the
fluid of the game. Others actually approve the fact of technology increasing during official
soccer games because it would assist the referees on any given debatable situation. Also for
important games such as: The Champions League, World Cup, and any other 1st Division
League many people argue that mistakes in these significant games can be happening, and thats
why technology should start developing for soccer such as on others sports.
For Example, the following quote by The New York Times Newspaper shows the
opinion of the FIFA president, After all as recently as three years ago Sepp Blatter the head of
soccer's governing body FIFA, said he was vehemently opposed to instituting any sort of
technological advances to aid in officiating the game. It was only after a glaring mistake at the
2010 World Cup, when England's Frank Lampard was denied an obvious goal after the on-field
officials failed to see that his shot had gone over the goal line, that Blatter reversed course
(Borden, 2013, pg.2). There are several opinions on the impact of technology, and these
demonstrates on how according to Blatter after the denied goal of Frank Lampard during the

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2010 World Cup. While considering the goal-line technology it displays how the impact would
contribute by assisting the referees during a difficult situation.

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On a question conducted by Survey Monkey as my primary research consisted on a

argument about What is the impact of the Hawk-Eye Technology on soccer? was categorized
into three answer choices. The first answer choice was negative and will affect the fluid of the
game, the next one was positive and would help assist the referees during a difficult goal-line
play, and the last answer choice was to expensive. The question was answered by a soccer team
which consisted on about 20 young women which are currently involved on playing and
watching soccer games for at least the last 2 years. While analyzing the data from survey
monkey it demonstrated a predominance of 71.43% on the answer choice consisting on a
positive impact of technology on soccer. The alternate options were negative effect of technology

during soccer games with 9.52%, and to expensive with a 19.05%. The following graphic image
would display the data summary from the survey monkey question.
What do some well known soccer figures think about the goal-line technology?

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Speaking about, the opinion about the goal-line technology implementation, some soccer
icons have talked about their viewpoint of the Hawk-Eye technology during soccer games. On
the article The Case Against Goal-Line Technology by The New York Times articulates the
opinion of Michel Platini which is the president on UEFA league. No one is exactly sure what
they do. Call penalties? Rule on goal-line issues? Indicate corner kicks or goal kicks? What they
have in their favor is that they are humans, not machines, and assigning additional officials at
every level is less of a challenge than a requirement for expensive hardware (Williams, 2013,
pg.1). The quote communicates one of the several opinions president Michael Platini provided,
he insists on how adding an extra referee in order to provide less confusion during controversial
decisions can be an alternative instead of the goal-line technology. Also according to his opinion
it would be less expensive to add an extra referee during the games.
As well, Blatter the president of FIFA contributes on the negative thinking about the goalline technology being used. The following quote by Jack Williams articulate the opinion of
Blatter about the goal-line technology, Blatter asserted that the financial implications of
installing the technology were too high; additional testing was required; that technology would
interrupt the flow of the game; and even, that people like to debate controversial decisions
(Williams, 2013, pg.1). Although according to the The Case Against Goal-Line Technology
there are several implications opposing to technology many of those are not obstacles right now
because now that the goal-line technology has been tested it has been determined that the fluid of
the game would not be affected by the technology implementation. Both opinions are very
important because they both come from the presidents of UEFA and FIFA which both are very
important in order of any opinions or decisions.

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What is the cost of the goal-line technology that is being implemented?

Lastly, the price of the technology being implemented was a detail to take in mind. The
price to some soccer leagues appear to be very expensive, while others didn't mind paying the
cost for technology implementation. According to A Digital Eye to Watch Soccers Trouble
Spots by the New York Times the cost would be around $260,000 per stadium the following
quote states the information, GoalControl will cost roughly $260,000 per stadium to install in
Brazil, according to Broichhausen, but both he and Lindner were adamant that every setup would
be different. Certain leagues might not need all 14 cameras in each stadium (Borden, 2013,
pg.3). The quote demonstrates how for some stadiums the cost could be less expensive and
affordable to most soccer leagues.
In addition, the cost would still be to elevated for any second and third division teams.
The game could change to them because of the cost, and not being able to afford the technology
equipment in each of their stadiums. The following quote by Jack Williams displays the
problem, Ultimately, who gets to use the new toys? Surely teams in the second, third, fourth,
and fifth divisions and beyond will be unable to bear the cost. So forget it Barnet, Bari and
Bochum (Williams, 2013, pg.1). It clearly states how there is no chance at all for lower
divisions to covered the cost of the Hawk-Eye technology implementation.
Lastly, the determined cost depends on the number of cameras needed on the stadium and
the amount of equipment. It all depends to the stadium size, and the quality of the hardware
needed for each specific field.

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In conclusion, the goal-line technology has been a recent innovation into the soccer
world. There are many soccer supporters in favor as they are against the idea of any kind of
technology during a soccer game. Also many of those opposing to the idea argue things as being
to expensive, that the money could be use instead on youth development and infrastructure, and
that it would affect the fluid of the game. In contrary some agree with the goal-line technology
and in fact support it to a great extent. They believe technology can assist the referees on any
given difficult situation as it has happened during extremely important games such as on the
World Cup. Also many testing had to take place in order for FIFA to approve the Hawk-Eye
technology for the first time during a world cup. Also many leagues such as the Italian A Series,
MLS, and European had a very careful testing in order to approve the equipment installation.
The impact at the moment has been positive without affecting the fluid of the game in any kind,
but each spectator has their own opinion of the individual impact as it being negative or positive.
Also important soccer figures such as the president of FIFA and UEFA had their opinion on the
goal-line technology. The opinion of Michael Platini was not supporting at all the idea, but as
him being the president of the UEFA league and one of the most famous players of all times
makes a strong ethos. As part of the research the cost was a very important essential to take in
mind which for most seem as an expensive, and unnecessary expense. This literature review was
complete in order to analyzed the impact of the goal-line technology being implemented during
soccer games, its cost, and the testing done so far.
References
Bell, J. (2012, July 6). Goal-Line Technology Approved, After Long Wait. The New York
Times. Retrieved from www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/lnacademic

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Williams, J. (2013, April 19). The Case Against Goal-Line Technology. The New York
Times. Retrieved from http://goal.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/04/19/the-caseagainst-

goal-line-technology/?_r=1

Das, A. (2014, June 9). Perfect goal-line technology in place for World Cup. Hamilton
Spectator. Retrieved from http://www.thespec.com/sports-story/4567991-perfect-goal-line-technology-in-place-for-world-cup/

Borden, S. (2013, April 20). A Digital Eye to Watch Soccer's Trouble Spots. The New
York Times. Retrieved from www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/lnacademic

Bell, J. (2012, July 7). Soccer gives assent to goal-line technology; Decision is milestone
in sport where tradition generally holds sway. The International Herald
Tribune.

Retrieved from www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/lnacademic

Venables, M. (2013). They think its all over. Engineering & Technology, 8(5), 84-85.

Spagnolo, P., Leo, M. (2013). Non-Invasive Soccer Goal Line Technology: A Real Case
Study. Iee Computer Society, 1011-1018.

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