Fifa goal-line technology tests fail in Zurich

Fifa's efforts to find a way of introducing goal-line technology have suffered a setback after all 10 companies that took part in trials in Zurich failed to meet the governing body's exacting standards - and the biggest name in the business, Hawk-Eye, didn't even attend.

Although Fifa was cool on the idea of technology before the last World Cup it agreed to explore the issue to try and prevent miscarriages of justice like the one that befell Frank Lampard and England during the summer, when his shot clearly bounced over the German line but no goal was awarded.

The Guardian reports that firms who had expressed an interest in providing the technology were invited to Fifa's headquarters in Zurich to test their equipment last week ahead of a Fifa meeting next month.

However the requirement was for the various systems to be 100 per cent accurate and to relay the result to officials within one second - and none managed it.

The tests were carried out on artificial pitches, which complicated matters for those companies running cables around the goalmouth. But they were also conducted on training pitches, meaning the firms did not have to worry about crowd noise or mobile phones and other electronic devices found inside stadia interfering with their signals.

Hawk-Eye, the most established name in the field, did not attend the trials, but is working on a product of its own and has already conducted stadium testing at Reading.

Intriguingly, Hawk-Eye's technology will be trialed at Gaelic football games at Croke Park in Dublin this spring. The Belfast Telegraph reports that three cameras will be placed behind one of the goals and will relay results to the referee automatically.

GAA president Christy Cooney said: "We want [to run tests] with a crowd in Croke Park so we can judge it better. We will give it a proper evaluation and then make a proper decision. Score-detection is the only thing we are talking about."

Despite the setback in Zurich many at Fifa are still hopeful of having some technology in place by the time the 2014 World Cup takes place in Brazil.

And the man most likely to dethrone technology sceptic Sepp Blatter as Fifa president this year, Mohamed bin Hammam of Qatar, is a supporter of the idea.

He is also in favour of goalmouth referees, introduced by Uefa in the Champions League and Europa League competitions this season. A proposal from Uefa presdent Michel Platini in support of extra officials will also be discussed at the meeting. ·