Premier League To Use Vanishing Spray Beginning This Season

Initially patented by Brazilian inventor Heine Allemagne in 2002, the vanishing spray that became such a talking point during this summer’s World Cup in Brazil, will be used this season in the Barclay’s Premier League.

It had previously been used with leagues in the Americas, but the spray’s usage will forever be linked with this summer tournament in Brazil.

UEFA had already decided to adopt the spray for this season’s UEFA Champions League, so will Serie A and the Spanish football federation announced last week that it would use it in Spain’s top two competitions: La Liga and Segunda.

Bundesliga and Ligue 1 are also expected to follow suit before kick-off of the 2014-15 season.

A long-running issue in the sport, the art of free-kick taking has been effected by defensive walls moving prior to the ball being kicked, thus preventing the attacking side making the most of what are often goal-scoring opportunities.

The use of the spray relieves some of the responsibilities from match officials and lessens the probability of human error on the field during free-kicks.

During the 2014 World Cup, the vanishing spray did serve its purpose by allowing for the correct and fair taking of direct free-kicks and providing the proper advantage to the attacking side for fouls in their favor.