Germany in no hurry to introduce goal-line tech
Germany will wait before introducing goal-line technology despite a wrong call in the Bundesliga on Saturday, when a goal wasn't given despite the ball crossing the line.
Hoffenheim forward Kevin Volland's goal was not awarded after the ball spun back out over the line during his side's 2-2 draw with Nuremberg.
Referee Thorsten Kinhoefer acknowledged the mistake after consulting TV replays at halftime, but the German Football League (DFL) will stick with its decision to wait for further testing of new technology until at least July 2015.
DFL managing director Andreas Rettig told Kicker magazine on Monday that FIFA's accepted margin of error of three centimeters ''is simply too big for us.''
A decision will only be made on the issue once millimeters and not centimeters are at stake.
The DFL examined 1,224 professional games from the previous two seasons, with the result that only two decisions from 25 contested were found to be conclusively incorrect.
In an editorial, Kicker editor Rainer Franze warned against introducing new technology where there is still a risk of getting it wrong.
''The league is well advised to only decide on it when the technology is so advanced that it means with guarantees, rather than without guarantees,'' Franze wrote.
But Hoffenheim coach Markus Gisdol has called for new technology to be introduced as soon as possible.
''We don't need to talk any more about whether there's a chip in the ball. It would only be fair if it happened. Nobody wants that a regular goal doesn't count or that a goal is given which wasn't one,'' Gisdol said.
The Hoffenheim coach has support from Kinhoefer.
''Where people judge, mistakes happen. It's very annoying that we made this mistake today,'' Kinhoefer said on Saturday. ''We as referees would welcome it if this story was taken from us.''
Goal-line technology was deployed at the Community Shield in London on Sunday, though there was no need to call Hawk-Eye's 14 cameras into action because there were no disputed goals in the game.