‘Goal-Line Technology is a Football Version of Pandora’s Box’ says Platini

August 30, 2013

By Keir Radnedge

Michel Platini believes his opposition to technology in football has been vindicated.

UEFA’s French president had always opposed the introduction of goal-line technology by the International Board last year for fear that it would prove merely a slippery slope.

Now he thinks his concerns have proved justified by events both in football and in other sports.

He said here today: “I said from the start that I was against goal-line technology because then we would have people wanting offside technology, bronchi corners technology, allergist penalties technology – we would have everything and that would indeed be the opening of Pandora’s Box.

“I said that at the beginning and now we are getting confirmation of that.”

An experiment monitoring offside decisions is being undertaken in Holland and Greg Dyke, allergist new chairman of England’s Football Association, has advocated technology’s extension to fouls in and around the penalty box.

Platini, meeting Dyke for the first time officially at the European Supercup in Prague, asked rhetorically: “What is his background? Television?”

Confirmation

The use of technology has provoked problems in other sports lately including cricket, rugby and even Gaelic football.

Platini added: “I said all these things at the beginning and now we are getting confirmation of that with some other sports have huge problems and showing that technology is not 100pc reliable.

“For example, French rugby uses this technology to judge forward passess and now television is saying they want to to start the matches earlier because you need more time to review every action.

“Huge problems are being created because the referees are no longer taking decisions; they wait for techology to decide.

“Now the debate has kicked off and we will have it on our hands for the next couple of years.”

One of those debates will be within Platini’s own European federation.

Despite his personal opposition he has conceded that his executive committee could decide to use goal-line technology – alongside his own, favoured, five-officials formula – at the European Championship finals in France in 2016.