UEFA eyes extra refs by Euro 2012 for goal spats

UEFA wants to have extra officials on hand for matches at Euro 2012 in a drive to deal with disputed goals, the body’s chief, Michel Platini, said Thursday.

“I am going to seek the possibility of having an extra official in place for the finals in Poland and Ukraine,” Platini told reporters at the construction site in Warsaw of the stadium where the European championships will kick off on June 8, 2012.

“That way, extra officials will be able to see if the ball has crossed the line,” said the head of European football’s governing body, on a whistle-stop visit taking stock of preparations for the tournament.

The International Football Association Board, which determines the rules of the game, has been wrestling with how finally to end years of controversy over goals deemed to have been disallowed or approved unfairly.

“The International Board has accepted extra officials for Europa League and Champions League matches, but not for games involving national teams,” Platini noted.

At a meeting next week, the board is expected to ponder proposals that include adopting goal-line technology.

World football’s governing body FIFA has previously rebuffed all demands to use video technology to resolve contentious refereeing decisions, despite it being successfully implemented in other sports such as tennis, cricket, rugby league and union.

The rationale has been that it would disrupt the free-flowing movement of the game.

But calls for its adoption have increased, notably in the wake of a glaring World Cup blunder in South Africa when a goal scored by England against Germany was disallowed.

If it had stood, England would have pulled level 2-2. After the goal was disallowed Germany went on to win 4-1, while England were sent crashing out of the tournament.