Will the introduction of goal-line technology help or hinder the game?
As Premier League clubs parade their new signings ahead of the big kick off in 13 days, there is another newcomer that could have a more profound and long-lasting effect.
Goal-line technology has been installed this summer at all 20 grounds, ready for August 17.
Debates about whether the ball crossed the line or not will soon be over in English top-flight football.
Hawk-Eye, the company whose technological advances are already in place in cricket and tennis, won the contract to provide the system for all 380 matches this season.
The technology has already been in place at a number of events.
The FA trialled it at an England friendly against Belgium in June 2012, while it was ready to use at last year’s FIFA Club World Cup and the Confederations Cup this summer.
But it was never needed, and it all means that no-one has seen how the system works in action. The first time we do will be in the heat of a Premier League match.
And it’s almost guaranteed that it’ll be a game-changing decision in a big match.
Referees will receive information within a second via a special watch from seven cameras in each goal, while TV replays will be available within 10 seconds.
Hawk-Eye say that it is millimetre-accurate and TV won’t be able to disprove it.
Football is all about scoring goals. Whether the ball crosses the line is black or white, so in theory this move is a good thing.
Who can forget Frank Lampard’s ghost goal at the last World Cup in 2010? That was the prime evidence needed to sway FIFA President Sepp Blatter into implementing this change.
But because it’s not been used to make any judgements, it still feels like a leap into the unknown.
Despite it being the world’s biggest sport, football has been notoriously slow to embrace technology.
Fans of other sports have become used to stoppages in play, with TV replays now commonplace.
In tennis, the players’ Hawk-Eye challenge system has brought a touch of drama to proceedings. But in the two rugby codes, referees sometimes retreat to the safety of a TV review when not always needed, thus slowing up the game.
And in this summer’s Ashes cricket, the use of technology has probably caused more problems than it has solved.
As for football, we will soon discover if this is a short-lived experiment or the start of a long and fruitful relationship.
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