UEFA has selected Hawk-Eye as the goal-line technology supplier for all matches at the Euro 2016 soccer tournament to be held in France this summer. The camera-based system will be installed in all 10 stadia before the competition begins on 10 June at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis in Paris.
The use of goal-line technology was approved for the tournament by the UEFA Executive Committee in January 2016. The system will work alongside additional assistant referees (AARs) who will continue to monitor all activity in and around the penalty area.
Hawk-Eye was chosen after a selection process in which all four FIFA-licensed goal-line technology providers were invited to provide information and submit commercial offers. Hawk-Eye was the first company to receive a FIFA goal-line technology license; its system is already in use in the English, German and Italian leagues, and it was used for the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Canada.
UEFA’s chief refereeing officer, Pierluigi Collina, said, “Goal-line technology and additional assistant referees complement each other perfectly. The main task of the AARs is not to control the goal line and decide whether a ball has crossed it; rather they are responsible for monitoring everything that is happening in the penalty area overall, aiding the main referee in making important decisions in the box. Now, with GLT focused on the goal line, the additional assistants can focus exclusively on the control of other incidents in the penalty area, the most crucial area of the pitch.”
The Hawk-Eye system deploys seven cameras per goal, using control software to track the ball within the goal area. Using vision-processing techniques and software, Hawk-Eye indicates whether or not a goal has been scored within one second with a vibration and visual signal on each match official’s watch.
UEFA’s cooperation with Hawk-Eye will continue, as goal-line technology is to be used in the UEFA Super Cup match in Trondheim, Norway, and the 2016/2017 UEFA Champions League, from the play-offs onward. A decision concerning its implementation in the UEFA Europa League, from the group stage onward in 2017/2018, will be made at a later stage.
April 28, 2016
