Southampton To Test Goal-Line Technology

Southampton's St. Mary's Stadium will host one of the test events where goal-line technology will be trialled "live" during a game.

The match will be the Hampshire FA Senior Cup Final between Conference South side Eastleigh and Totton of the Southern League Premier Division, and they meet at St. Mary's on Wednesday 16th May.

Two rival companies, Hawk-Eye and GoalRef, are vying for the right to be chosen by FIFA as the authorised supplier of goal-line technology (GLT) for official matches.

Both companies have been chosen for the second phase of testing by the International Football Association Board (IFAB) - and both will have their systems tested in at least two matches in the next few weeks. The test will assess the reliability and accuracy of each system, as well as how robust each of them might be.

Hawk-Eye - who provide the system that clarifies line-calls in tennis, and decisions regarding dismissals in cricket - will provide the technology for the match between Eastleigh and Totton at St. Mary's. Their systems will be trialled at a second match which has still to be confirmed.

GoalRef's system will be tested at two different matches, at least one of which will be a game in the Danish Super League. The other could be a friendly international.

The results of the tests will be provided to the IFAB in time for them to make a decision on their prefererred supplier at a special meeting in Kiev on 2nd July - the day after the European Championship Final.