• Richard Scudamore open to quick introduction of advancement
• 'It is possible to introduce it mid-season' says chief executive
The Premier League is determined to introduce goalline technology in the middle of next season. An end is in sight to the occasional controversies. A goal from Juan Mata put Chelsea 2-0 ahead in an eventual 5-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur in the FA Cup semi-final this year but the ball did not appear to have crossed the line.
"I think it is almost physically impossible for it to be in by the beginning of August, just in terms of Fifa not approving it until July," the Premier League chief executive, Richard Scudamore, said of the technology. "You have then got to get involved with the people who are producing it and negotiate with them.
"There is some strategic thinking to be done about how we implement it and everything else. We want to do it but you cannot rush something in a few weeks. We also don't think that it needs to be at the start of the season.
"Of course we would like to see goalline technology but [using it] is a once in every 30, 40 or 50 games event. That is not something you are going to see every week. When we are ready to go, we can go with it. The law is not changing – that is still about whether the ball has gone over the line or not. The fact we have got a better way of detecting it means there is some possibility of introducing it mid-season if we get it right."
Scudamore added: "The original position was that we would only introduce it at the beginning of the season. We have never introduced a rule-change mid-season but there is no change of rule. Has the ball gone over the line or hasn't it? The fact that we will have a better way of detecting that does not alter the integrity of the competition in that sense. So it is possible to introduce it mid-season."
He has pragmatic reasons for refusing to act sooner. "There is also a commercial aspect here," said Scudamore. "It is not a good negotiating position with the suppliers to tell them we are definitely going to do it by a certain date. We have got to negotiate the price. It is a business decision and we have got to negotiate proper deals. There is a cost to the competition so it is a business decision not a commercial enterprise." Read More
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