Sepp Blatter has defended FIFA's decision to rule out goal-line
technology on the grounds of cost and keeping the game the same
throughout all levels of football.
FIFA, supported by the Welsh and Northern Irish Football
Associations, voted at the International FA Board at the weekend to
block any further experiments with technology.
Blatter, the FIFA president, said on www.fifa.com: "The
application of modern technologies can be very costly, and
therefore not applicable on a global level.
"The universality of the game: one of the main objectives of
FIFA is to protect the universality of the game of association
football.
"This means that the game must be played in the same way no
matter where you are in the world.
"If you are coaching a group of teenagers in any small town
around the world, they will be playing with the same rules as the
professional players they see on TV."
Blatter said goal-line technology would lead to the
introduction of video replays which would disrupt the rhythm of the
game.
He added: "If the IFAB had approved goal-line technology,
what would prevent the approval of technology for other aspects of
the game? Every decision in every area of the pitch would soon be
questioned.
"No matter which technology is applied, at the end of the day
a decision will have to be taken by a human being.
"This being the case, why remove the responsibility from the
referee to give it to someone else?
"It is often the case that, even after a slow-motion replay,
ten different experts will have 10 different opinions on what the
decision should have been.
"Fans love to debate any given incident in a game. It is part
of the human nature of our sport."
Blatter added that FIFA's goal is to improve the quality of
refereeing, which is why experiments such as with additional
referees or the role of the fourth official will continue.
