Throughout football history, particularly in recent years, there have been numerous dubious goal decisions that have marred and turned games. Goals that have been wrongly awarded and some, that should have stood, wiped out because officials decided that the crucial element (that of the ball crossing the line) had not been satisfied. Well, all that may be about to change if a proposed experiment, in Germany, ironically, is successful.
Even those whose memories don't go back as far as 1966 will know that perhaps THE most contentious goal that was ever scored in World Cup history, Geoff Hurst's second of his now famous hat-trick in the World Cup Final against West Germany, was awarded despite German protests that when the ball bounced down from the bar it never crossed the goal line.
And more recently, 1997, Chesterfield were robbed of a place in history, by becoming the first Third Division club to reach the FA Cup Final, because a shot from Jonathan Howard, after striking the bar and bouncing down, behind the goal line according to television cameras, was wrongly ruled out by the referee.
Fast forward to February last year when Crystal Palace's Tommy Black had a goal ruled out, that would have given his team a 2-1 lead over Leeds in a Fifth Round tie, ruled out because the referee decided the ball had not crossed the line when television replays showed it had clearly done so and Leeds went on to win.
And if my hazy memory is accurate was there not a goal in a Watford v Chelsea game that was awarded when the ball had clearly not wholly crossed the line?
So it is firmly established in football folklore that mistakes have been made and continue to be made in the awarding, or not, of goals. Well, in a kind of 'gamekeeper-turned-poacher' scenario all that may be a thing of the past, soon.
A football has been developed, by an ex-referee, that contains a micro-chip that will activate sensors placed between the posts that will send a signal to a device worn on a referee's wrist, if the ball crosses the goal line.
The idea is a brain-child of Italian referee Gabriele Cruciali, what an appropriate name, who came up with the idea after he was attacked by supporters, following a Serie 'B' game, in 1976, in which he disallowed a goal, which he later admitted was a mistake. He spent the next two decades developing the idea and the fruit of his labours goes into experimental mode this Saturday, in Germany.
If it is successful, UEFA has already given its backing for the ball to be used in the 2006 World Cup finals in Germany, the 40th anniversary of Hurst's historic treble that toppled Teutonic dreams of another World Cup Final triumph.
If the ball works and is adopted it should eliminate, technical failures permitting, human error by officials in their adjudication of dubious goal decisions but it strikes me that the technology required may only be utilised at higher levels where costs can make such adjudication viable.
I struggle to imagine such technology when 'The Dog and Duck' plays the local working men's club in the 12th Division League Cup semi-final, but at least it is progress and in 2004, why has it taken so long? That kind of scrutiny should be part of 21st century football.
I wonder what Chesterfield, Crystal Palace and West German players from 1966 will think of the new magic eye on the ball.
