Chelsea’s Cech welcomes goal-line system
Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech, who was the victim of a “phantom goal”
in a Champions League semi-final, said Monday he was delighted to be
featuring in a FIFA trial of goal-line technology.
Cech was between the posts during Luis Garcia’s infamous “ghost goal”
for Liverpool against the London club in the 2004/05 semi-final.
The match, in which the current Blues’ coach Rafael Benitez was in
the home dugout at Anfield, ended Chelsea’s quest to become champions of
Europe that season. Liverpool went on to collect the crown.
“I’m very happy with the decision and the trial,” Cech said,
referring to FIFA’s use of two technologies at the Club World Cup in
Japan.
“I’ve been saying for the last 10 years that the game needed it. You
can see with history that results in certain competitions could have
been different,” he added. “As a player you would rather wait a bit
longer to have a correct decision rather than be disappointed, so I’m
glad it’s come in and I hope everything goes smoothly and we will see
the benefits of it,” the goalkeeper said, in quotes published on the
Chelsea website.
FIFA are trialling two goal-line technologies at the Japan showpiece
-- camera-based Hawk-Eye and GoalRef, a system that uses magnetic fields
and a ball with a special chip to determine its trajectory and position.
GoalRef will be available to the referee when Chelsea take on Mexican
side Monterrey in the semi-finals at Yokohama International Stadium on
Thursday.
AFP |