Goal line technology (GLT) is a technical means of instantly determining whether the whole of a ball has crossed the goal line.
In July 2012, the International Football Association Board (IFAB) officially approved the use of goal line technology, amending the laws of the game to permit its use.
Hawk-Eye was the first company to receive a FIFA Goal Line Technology (GLT) license and is widely considered to be the most accurate.
The goal line technology was officially used in association football for the first time in the FIFA Club World Cup in Japan 2012.
Following the successful tournament in 2012, FIFA decided to implement the technology at its major tournaments. It was then used in the 2013 FIFA Confederation Cup and 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
The first goal given by the technology was on the 15th of June 2014 in a group stage match between France and Honduras at that year World Cup.
The first official use of goal-line technology in Europe was in May 2013 at the Copa Amsterdam - a youth tournament played at the Olympic stadium in Amsterdam.
The GoalRef system was used in all matches to ensure that all goals were indicated correctly and to support the referee with close calls.
The English Premier League became the first national competition to vote in favor of introducing goal line technology for the 2013/14 season and is currently working on the implementation of the Hawk -Eye system.
A study suggested that in the 2010/11 Premier League season, errors took place in nearly 30 percents of the time - which video replays could have prevented (incorrect goal line decisions has decided some important games).
World governing body FIFA made about 300,000 pounds after EPL installed goal line technology in all top-flights stadia.
Ex-FIFA president Sepp Blatter had opposed the use of goal line technology until Frank Lampard 's disallowed goal in the 2010 World Cup where the ball clearly crossed the line.
Failures /Criticism of GLT
Multiple errors in the 2017/18 Coupe de la Ligue
quarter finals led to the use of the Goal Control System to be temporarily suspended by the Ligue de Football Professional.
It failed to award Paris Saints Germain (PSG) their second goal against Amiens, which the video assistant referee overtuned.
In the match between Angers and Montpellier, the system incorrectly flagged the Referee, causing the match officials to not used it for the second half.
Recently, the system came under scrutiny in June 2020 in a Premier League match between Aston Villa and Sheffield United as the technology failed to award a goal for Sheffield United despite the fact that Aston Villa goalkeeper Orjan Nyland had clearly carried the ball over the goal line after mishandling a free kick from Sheffield United 's Oliver Norwood.
Hawk -Eye apologized, explaining the failure as due to an anomalous amount of occlusion of its cameras' view of the incident.
How can machine be making errors, and can human correct the errors?
Fabiyi Ridwan
Sports Writer and Analyst
