Goal-line technology to be used at Scottish Cup matches for first time

Goal-line technology is to be used for the first time in the Scottish Cup this weekend.

Goal-line technology will be used in the Scottish Cup for the first time

The Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) ruled out implementation of the system in December 2017 owing to its cost but it will be used in the semi-finals between Hearts and Hibs, and Aberdeen and Celtic as well as December’s final.

A post from the Scottish Cup Twitter account read: “This weekend's Semi-Finals, along with December's Final, will see goal-line technology, in conjunction with Hawk-Eye, used for the first time in the

William Hill Scottish Cup.”

Such technology is currently only used in a handful of football leagues in Europe including Italy’s Serie A, Ligue 1 in France, the German Bundesliga and the Premier League and EFL Championship in England. It is also used in major international tournaments such as the Men and Women’s World Cup competition.

How is it different from VAR?

VAR, or Video Assistant Referee, is an assistant referee who reviews decisions made by the referee with the use of video footage and headset in an effort to minimise human errors substantially influencing the outcome of matches.

Goal-line technology makes use of an electronic aid to determine if a goal has been scored or not. Devices indicate if the ball has completely crossed the goal-line between the posts and underneath the bar.

Similarly to VAR, goal-line technology helps the referee to make a final decision.

Previous incidents

Coincidentally given Saturday's Scottish Cup semi-final clash, two of the most prominent incidents that could have resulted in a different outcome with goal-line technology in use involved Hearts and Hibs. In a March 2013 match at Easter Road, then Hibs striker Leigh Griffiths struck a free kick from around 25 yards which beat Hearts ‘keeper Jamie MacDonald and crashed off the underside of the bar and down over the line before bouncing out, with neither match referee Euan Norris nor assistant referee Raymond Whyte signalling a goal.

In December 2017 at Tynecastle, Oli Shaw got on the end of a Martin Boyle cross and dinked the ball over Hearts ‘keeper Jon McLaughlin. Again, the ball hit the crossbar, bounced down over the line and out, with assistant referee Sean Carr failing to signal that the ball had crossed the line.