"There is some strategic thinking to be done about how we implement it and everything else," Premier League CEO Richard Scudamore said. "We want to do it but you cannot rush something in a few weeks. We also don't think that it needs to be at the start of the season.
FIFA will likely decide on which goal-line technology system it intends to use in a few weeks' time. A special meeting of the International Football Association Board (IFAB) will be held on July 2, and the ruling body is expected to endorse the use of a system that will help determine if the entire ball has crossed the goal line. It will be a seminal moment in the history of the game, as several high-profile incidents have increased demands for a way of making sure the right calls are made.
Scudamore says the Premier League hoped to have goal-line technology in place for the full 2012-13 season, but it is not feasible at this point. The league must negotiate with the supplier of any system, and rushing to have it in place in time for the start of the campaign would drive up the price.
"There is also a commercial aspect here," Scudamore said. "It is not a good negotiating position with the suppliers to tell them we are definitely going to do it by a certain date. We have got to negotiate the price. It is a business decision and we have got to negotiate proper deals. There is a cost to the competition so it is a business decision not a commercial enterprise."
The decision makes sense from a business perspective. But one can only imagine the outrage some clubs will feel if and when it is on the losing end of a controversial decision that goal-line technology would help get right. Their ire will only increase when they see a rival — be it for the title, relegation or anywhere in between — benefit from the technology now in place, which was not available to them at the start of the season.
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