By IANS
London : A high tech football tested during a recent tournament in Japan shows it can help referees by telling when the ball crossed the marked line.
The referees do not need to observe the ball in the field rather they can see their wristwatches and can give judgment.
The new footballs are fitted with a sensor. Similarly wires embedded in the pitch around the goalmouth emit a magnetic field that can detect the presence of this specially designed ball.
An encrypted signal is sent to a watch worn by the referees to let them know whether the ball has crossed the line, reported the online edition of the Daily Mail.
At a press conference in Yokohama International Stadium, Adidas’s chief of FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) affairs Gunter Pfau hailed the recent trials at the FIFA Club World Cup as a huge success.
“We are very satisfied. No ball was damaged, all the systems during the games worked and the players’ feedback has been very positive.”
An earlier prototype of the technology was first tested at the Under-17 World Cup in Peru in 2005, but proved inaccurate to be put into use.