French league suspends goal-line technology after 'failings'
PARIS (AP) The French football league has suspended goal-line technology in its competitions following more glitches during League Cup quarterfinals this week.
The LFP informed the company GoalControl ''of the immediate suspension'' of its technology following ''two more technical failings'' in matches, it said in a statement late Thursday.
The French league already said last month it wanted improvements after expressing ''dissatisfaction with the failures'' in several matches with GoalControl, the same system used at the 2014 World Cup. FIFA has yet to confirm whether GoalControl will be used in Russia at a second straight World Cup.
It took referee Nicolas Rainville about a minute to confirm Paris Saint-Germain's second goal in the 2-0 win over Amiens on Wednesday. Adrien Rabiot headed in the second goal but the referee's watch, which normally vibrates to indicate a goal, did not work, and he had to consult with video assistant referees to validate the goal.
Another incident marred Montpellier's 1-0 win in Angers, where the technology wrongly made the referee's watch vibrate.
Didier Quillot, the league general director, said the service provided by GoalControl was not reliable at the moment, and hinted French football authorities could end the partnership.
''We are going to look at what is available on the market,'' Quillot said. ''There are other providers, not only GoalControl.''
Goal-line technology entered soccer after a goal was wrongly disallowed at the 2010 World Cup. FIFA is focused on fast-tracking the next phase of technology - video assistant referees - for the World Cup in June.
The technology and VAR were provided by Hawk-Eye at the Confederations Cup last year.
The LFP said it will announce next week ''follow-up action to be taken in relation to this dossier.''
