GoalRef is an

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

goal-line technology In association football, goal-line technology (sometimes referred to as a Goal Decision System) is the use of electronic aid to determine if a goal has been scored or not. In detail, it is a method used to determine when the ball has completely ...

system developed by German research institute Fraunhofer in association with

Select Sport Select Sport A.S. is a Danish sports equipment manufacturer based in Glostrup, Denmark. As of 2008, Select Sport provides the Danish Football Association with footballs, and also several clubs in the Danish, Belgian, and Portuguese top foo ...

. It works by detecting the passage of the ball using magnetic induction. Along with

Hawk-Eye Hawk-Eye is a computer vision system used to visually track the trajectory of a ball and display a profile of its statistically most likely path as a moving image. It is used in more than 20 major sports, including cricket, tennis, Gaelic foo ...

, GoalControl and Cairos it is one of four systems approved for use in the professional game by the

International Football Association Board The International Football Association Board (IFAB) is an international self-regulatory body of association football that is known for determining the Laws of the Game, the regulations for the gameplay of football. It was founded in 1886 in or ...

(IFAB).

History

GoalRef was originally developed by a Danish organisation commissioned by Select Sport who entered the system for consideration by the

International Handball Federation The International Handball Federation (IHF) is the administrative and controlling body for handball and beach handball. IHF is responsible for the organisation of handball's major international tournaments, notably the IHF World Men's Handball C ...

. In 2011 Fraunhofer became lead partner in GoalRef alongside the original inventor, and entered the system in the first stage testing being conducted for IFAB by

EMPA The Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa; :de:Eidgenössische Materialprüfungs- und Forschungsanstalt, German: ''Eidgenössische Materialprüfungs- und Forschungsanstalt'', :fr:Laboratoire fédéral d'essai des ...

(Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology). GoalRef and Hawk-Eye were the only systems that proceeded to EMPA's second stage of testing, involving lab and field tests, plus trials in training and live professional matches. In this phase GoalRef was tested in the

Danish Superliga The Danish Superliga (, ) is a professional association football league in Denmark and the highest level of the Danish football league system. The league is currently contested by 12 teams each year, with 2 teams relegated. It is the current ...

. Following the second phase trials, on 5 July 2012 IFAB approved both GoalRef and Hawk-Eye in principle, making it available for use in professional matches under a set of revised Laws of the Game. Each installation however would also require licensing approval for use in the individual stadium, on a 12-month basis. The 2012 FIFA Club World Cup was the first tournament where GoalRef and Hawk-Eye were used by a match referee. GoalRef was used for the first time on 6 December 2012 in the first match of the 2012 FIFA Club World Cup.

Technology

The GoalRef system relies on the principle of

electromagnetic induction Electromagnetic or magnetic induction is the production of an electromotive force, electromotive force (emf) across an electrical conductor in a changing magnetic field. Michael Faraday is generally credited with the discovery of induction in 1 ...

. A low frequency

magnetic field A magnetic field (sometimes called B-field) is a physical field that describes the magnetic influence on moving electric charges, electric currents, and magnetic materials. A moving charge in a magnetic field experiences a force perpendicular ...

is generated around the goal, which is monitored by coils installed in the goal posts and crossbar. The ball is fitted with a passive electronic circuit embedded between the leather outer and inflatable inner layers. Software monitors the condition of the magnetic field in the goal and can detect the change that occurs in it due to the passage of the coils in the ball over the line. Once detected, the system sends an encrypted radio signal in real time to a wrist watch worn by the referee, which both vibrates and displays a message that a goal was scored.

References

{{Reflist, 2

General references

Goal-line decision in four weeks
FIFA, 7 June 2012

FIFA, 5 July 2012 * ttp://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/blogs/world-of-sport/goal-line-technology-does-164718522.html Goal-line technology: How does it work?Eurosport, 5 July 2012
FIFA approves intelligent goal from Fraunhofer
Fraunhofer, 9 July 2012

External links

Association football equipment Sports officiating technology