Goal-line system inevitable in England

FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke says he expects goal-line technology to be used in the English Premier League “sooner or later”, as football's world body prepares to trial two systems in Japan.

Hawk-Eye and GoalRef will feature at the eight-game Club World Cup, which starts Thursday and features continental champions -- including Chelsea and Brazil's Corinthians -- battling to be crowned the best team on the planet. Speaking ahead of the opening match in Yokohama, Valcke said the high financial stakes involved in England's top flight meant goal-line technology would ultimately be introduced into one of the world's most profitable leagues.

He said it was costing FIFA $1 million to run the two systems in Japan, adding that high installation costs would mean the technology was out of reach for smaller leagues initially but over time would become more affordable.“At the moment it's a luxury cost.

That's why you'll see it mainly in high-level competitions,” Valcke told a news conference in Tokyo on Wednesday. “I don't think that for the time being you will see this goal-line technology system used in minor leagues. “But I could expect or could imagine that the English Premier League and such leagues where the result is important, where there is so much interest, money, financial implication, you will see sooner or later a goal-line system in place.”

AFP