Replay of Premier League's First Goal-Line Technology Decision

Premier League’s goal-line technology system was put to good use today with its first genuine decision that ruled that Branislav Ivanovic’s header for Chelsea against Hull City did not cross the line.

The Hawk-Eye goal-line technology correctly ruled that the whole of the ball did not cross the line. The referee was alerted on his wristwatch within a second that it was no goal, and the game quickly continued with little to no delay.

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho initially thought the ball had crossed the line, but the fourth official pointed to his wrist-watch and, with a shake of the head, indicated to The Special One that it wasn’t a goal.

NBC Sports co-commentator Graeme Le Saux added context to the decision by remarking how the players for both sides didn’t surround the referee or try to claim that the ball did or didn’t cross the line.

By having the technology in place, it may even speed up the game by preventing players crowding the ref.

Hats off to the Premier League for deciding to implement the goal-line technology. In contrast, Major League Soccer had an opportunity to implement goal-line technology but said that they decided against it because it was too expensive.

While there were a few instances where the goal-line technology was employed yesterday, today was the first time when it was really put to a test in what would have been a controversial call in previous years without HawkEye in place.

Here’s the replay of the first genuine goal-line technology incident in the Premier League: