article: You won’t find it written down anywhere in black and white yet it remains one of the unseen by-laws of the game: until such time as an almighty mess is sitting squarely on FIFA’s front step, the governing body chooses to keep the door bolted firmly shut. Rows over goal-line technology were hardly something new when Frank Lampard’s infamous ‘ghost’ goal against Germany in the 2010 World Cup finally brought matters to a head. The 2000 Africa Cup of Nations Final between Nigeria and Cameroon had already been scarred by a similar howler while the world watched agog five years later as a Pedro Mendez effort which crossed the line at Old Trafford was incredibly missed by all the officials despite keeper Roy Carroll ending up tangled in the rigging. Celtic striker Leigh Griffiths has a goal-bound shot blocked by the outstretched arm of Josh Meekings . Such was the hullabaloo over the incident involving the Portuguese star that FIFA did, in fact, begrudgingly make some noises about trialling goal-line systems but it was no more than platitudes to appease the masses. It took Lampard’s ruled-out effort in Bloemfontein – with the ball being clearly a yard over Manuel Neuer’s line in the last-16 match – for the dam to finally burst. Despite initially shrugging off calls for the adoption of goal-line technology to be approved, FIFA relented two years later with the system fully operational last year in Brazil. The lesson for Scottish football fans still bemused by events at Hampden Park on Sunday when the officials failed to spot a potentially game-changing handball? Perhaps only when such an outrage occurs in the World Cup in Russia in three years’ time will common sense prevail. For those who believe the SFA are intransigent to football embracing the kind of video technology that would have seen Josh Meekings red carded and Celtic awarded a penalty in the Scottish Cup semi-final, here’s some news… . In February, the International Football Board – the SFA, FA, Irish FA, Welsh FA and FIFA – gathered in Belfast supposedly to discuss the possibility of approving trials. Before the meeting, FA representative David Gill made no bones about his association’s stance. Griffiths heads the ball, which is deflected clearly off the hand of Inverness' Josh Meekings (left) on Sunday . ‘We can’t live in the past,’ he stated. ‘Greg Dyke the (FA chairman) has come out and said he embraces it, and I think in certain circumstances I would look at it. We’ve got to move forward. The game is getting much quicker. ‘The TV coverage, you know, 28, 30 cameras a game. Everything is replayed, replayed. So how do we use that? My personal view is yes, sensibly, but it needs to be done in a manner that doesn’t detract from the fast-paced, quick action of football.’ Despite cases also being forwarded by the SFA and Irish FA to at least take the matter further, FIFA, aided by a sceptical Welsh representative, simply kicked the matter into the long grass. It won’t be discussed again for at least another year now with the inevitable injustices far enough off the radar in the interim. ‘It’s a question of making the biggest decision ever in the way football is played,’ said FIFA’s secretary general Jerome Valcke by way of an explanation for its rejection afterwards. While that may well be the case, procrastinating on the issue is hardly likely to resolve it. Injustices like those that almost certainly cost Celtic a place in the Scottish Cup Final on Sunday are hardly a rarity in the global game. Celtic captain Scott Brown (left) has words with referee Steven McLean during the Scottish Cup semi-final . Yet, until such time as one directly affects the outcome of a World Cup match involving one of the game’s heavyweights, they seem set to remain an ugly, unsatisfying feature of the landscape. To the great embarrassment of Michel Platini, the stationing of additional officials behind both goals has proved to be an extraordinary waste of time. Seemingly less reluctant to get involved than traditional linesman, ‘additional assistant referees’ - to give them their Sunday names - have seemed utterly superfluous since they were first trialled in the 2009-10 Europa League. On Sunday, Alan Muir, the official behind the goal, should have had a clear view of Meekings’ handball. But for reasons best known to himself, he failed to advise referee Steven McLean on what seemed an inevitable course of action. It took the high-profile blunder that denied Frank Lampard in 2010 to shift FIFA on goal-line tecnhology . ‘I knew it was a penalty,’ said Celtic striker Leigh Griffiths. ‘I think everyone in the ground knew it was a penalty. I asked the ref why he didn’t give the penalty and he said the assistant behind the goal said it hit him (Meekings) on the face.’ There is absolutely no excusing such crass incompetence. McLean and Muir should both have seen the handball with their own eyes and, even if one may have blinked at the wrong moment, assuredly one of them should have ensured the right call was made. That they didn’t is another blight on what’s been a desperate season for officiating in this country. Perhaps more than ever, the SFA now has good reason to press FIFA to at least road-test video technology. It’s hardly unchartered territory in sport. For those who prefer the oval ball game, a Television Match Official has been part of the fabric of rugby for 14 years now. No-one claims the system is perfect – decisions can often take longer to reach than they should - but few would dispute that it hasn’t enhanced the game because the right outcome is eventually arrived at. Lampard's disallowed goal forced FIFA to rethink, and Scottish fans must hope for a similar incident . Used only in first-class and international televised games, the TMO can only rule on exactly what the referee asks him. This usually involves, in try-scoring situations, whether a player’s foot has been in touch or to see if the ball has been properly grounded, but the TMO is also used to review if there has been dangerous or foul play. While the video review is normally conclusive, the snag – which is clearly a red flag for FIFA – is the time delay. At a recent Aviva Premiership match between Northampton Saints and Saracens, it took four minutes of review to award the winning try to the former while two other tries were disallowed. Edward Griffiths, the Saracens chief executive, later labelled the TMO process ‘a shambles’. ‘It’s almost make it up as you go along,’ Griffiths said. Indeed, rugby’s growing concern over the effect the TMO is having on the sport has led to Hawk-Eye, the ball-tracking technology company, to hold talks with the International Rugby Board about providing a replacement to the current system. Rugby's TMO may not be perfect, but it has shown that the game is better for use of technology . Hawk-Eye, which is already used in cricket, tennis and for goal-line decisions in football, says it can provide information for decisions within a few seconds by synchronising cameras from multiple angles. Paul Hawkins, the founder of Hawk-Eye, said: ‘Our system is a much cleverer way of looking at incidents. In Aussie Rules, we have halved the average time for decisions to be made.’ It can be assumed that, were FIFA to give tacit approval to video technology, Hawk-Eye would have just the programme to fit the bill. Using it sparingly would maintain the rhythm of football whilst ensuring that the 17 Laws of the Game are correctly applied. For football, the answers are already out there. If only someone would first ask the questions.
highlights: Celtic were denied place in Scottish Cup final by shocking decision .
  Leigh Griffiths' header was blocked by Josh Meekings' hand .
  None of the officials managed to spot the game-changing decision .
  Additional officials behind goals has proved an extraordinary waste of time .
  But FIFA will require a higher profile blunder to change their laws .
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