FIFA agrees to accept new goal tech and headscarves

The International Football Association Board overturns its 2007 ban on the headscarf, which it previously argued was unsafe and increased the risk of neck injuries. AFP photo

FIFA finally embraces the use of technology in football, accepting the goal-line technology. The new system will be introduced at the Club World Cup in Japan in December

Football finally embraced goal-line technology as FIFA’s lawmaking panel approved two systems for use in matches on July 5. FIFA will introduce goal-line technology at the seven-team Club World Cup in Japan in December, and plans to use it in Brazil at the 2013 Confederations Cup and 2014 World Cup.

FIFA President Sepp Blatter said the approved Hawk-Eye and GoalRef systems would provide “99 percent security” that a notorious refereeing error which helped eliminate England at the last World Cup would not be repeated.

“There is no 100 percent guarantee in life. In the past we didn’t have accurate systems, but I have to say, ’Thank you, Lampard,’” Blatter said, referring to England midfielder Frank Lampard whose clear goal against Germany did not count in South Africa two years ago.

The English Premier League is expected to use one of the systems - which are expected to cost up to $250,000 per stadium to install - during next season. The IFAB panel, comprising officials from FIFA and the four British football associations, also approved a five-officials system of refereeing which UEFA President Michel Platini promoted as an alternative to technology, of which he is not a fan. “I am not just wholly against goal-line technology, I am against technology itself because then it is going to invade every area of football,” he warned last week. “Why don’t we have technology for offside decisions as well? And what about Diego Maradona’s ‘Hand of God’ goal in 1986? Why don’t we have technology to see if Maradona handled it? Where does it stop? It won’t stop. I am against technology itself.”

In a third historic ruling, the panel reversed a ban on women players wearing headscarves in FIFA competitions which had been enforced for safety reasons in 2007.

The three decisions “will be long lasting and resonate throughout the world,” said Patrick Nelson, chief executive of the Northern Ireland association. The decision was expected and completed Blatter’s U-turn, after FIFA had previously blocked using technology to help referees make decisions.

Major errors

It followed two weeks after another major tournament was blighted by a goal-line error, as European Championship co-host Ukraine was denied a goal against England in a decisive group match.

“It became evident the moment what happened in South Africa in 2010, that this cannot be repeated, and it happened again in the Ukraine. Ukraine can still not believe it,” Blatter said.

The IFAB panel accepted test results conducted by a Zurich-based technology institute that proved Hawk-Eye and GoalRef could accurately judge when balls crossed the goal line, and send an immediate signal to the match referee.

Hawk-Eye is a British camera-based system already used in tennis and cricket. GoalRef is a Danish-German project using magnetic sensors in the goalposts to track a special ball. Both projects must now digest a FIFA technical manual to ensure each system is certified at every stadium planning to use it.

IFAB members confirmed that decisions would not be broadcast inside stadiums, and video replay remains off limits for judgment calls, such as penalties or offside. “Goal-line technology is where this starts and finishes,” English FA general secretary Alex Horne said. “None of us thinks that
technology interfering with the free-flowing nature of football would be good for the game.”

---

Gulf states hail hijab decision
DUBAI - Agence France-Presse

---

The decision by world footballing authorities to overturn a ban on women footballers wearing the Islamic headscarf was welcomed by several Arab states.

The International Football Association Board (IFAB), custodians of the rules of football, overturned its 2007 ban on the Islamic headscarf, or hijab, which it had argued was unsafe and increased the risk of neck injuries. New designs are secured with Velcro that experts have said eliminate the risk of serious injury.

“This decision makes us very happy,” said Sheikha Naima al-Sabah, the president of the women’s sporting committee for Kuwait’s FA.

FIFA’s decision is “going to promote women’s sport in Arab and Islamic countries”, said Adel Marzouq, coach of the women’s football team from Bahrain. “This wise decision will encourage footballers to play without embarrassment,” he added. (Hurriyet Daily News)

EU carries out first strikes on Somali pirates

Hürriyet photo

The European Union's naval force off the Somali coastline on Tuesday carried out its first air strikes against pirate targets on shore, officials said.

Maritime aircraft and attack helicopters took part in the attacks early in the morning on the mainland, a spokesman said. No casualties were reported in the raid, which occurred along Somalia's central coastline in the region of Galmudug.

"This action against piracy is part of a comprehensive EU approach to the crisis in Somalia, where we support a lasting political solution on land," said Michael Mann, spokesman for EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.
The long coastline of war-ravaged Somalia provides a perfect haven for pirate gangs preying on shipping off the East African coast.

Since December 2008, the EU has kept 5-10 warships off the Horn of Africa in an operation known as Atalanta. NATO has a similar anti-piracy flotilla known as Ocean Shield, and other countries including the United States, India, China, Russia, and Malaysia — also have dispatched naval vessels to patrol the region.

Last month, the EU adopted a more robust mandate for its naval force, allowing it for the first time to mount strikes against pirate targets on the shoreline.

The EU is the main donor to the Somali transitional government. It is also trains Somali army troops, and is reinforcing the navies of five neighboring countries to enable them to counter piracy themselves. (BRUSSELS - The Associated Press)

'Genocide' cartoon in French school shocks Turkish students

Two Turkish students in a French school have reacted after a cartoon depicting a Turk carrying a basket full of skulls with the words "Armenian Genocide" written on its side was shown in class. The incident occurred at the College Anatole France high school in the city of Montbéliard in France's Comte region. A teacher displayed a cartoon during a geography and history class and asked students: "What do you understand from this cartoon? Why can Turkey not join the EU according to this cartoon?" The cartoon depicted a mountain with the EU flag erected at its peak. Three stereotypical caricatures of Balkan peoples were drawn climbing the mountain. At the very bottom of the mountain was a "peasant" Turkish man struggling to get up from the ground with a very large basket on his back. The basket was filled with human skulls with the word "Turkey" written on it and the words "Armenian Genocide" above. Behind the Turkish character, a slender man with "France" written over his head was shown adding a skull to the already-full basket.

Turkish students Muhammed Ali Erki, 17, and İsmail Erdal, 14, said they were shocked to see the cartoon. Erki reportedly asked his teacher, "We did not commit genocide, yet you accuse us of it. What do you think about Algerians?" “You are right but this cartoon is not my idea, I need to give this class as part of the curriculum,” the teacher said in reply. Erdal said he understood from the cartoon that "the French do not want to see Turkey in the EU." The students said they had not been able to concentrate on their classes after seeing the cartoon and added that were especially saddened to see North African students making fun of Turkey and Turks. The families of the students notified the anti-racism COJEP International foundation. COJEP President Ali Gedikoğlu said they would bring the cartoon to the attention of the authorities in France and file a complaint with the French Education Ministry to have the cartoon removed from the curriculum. (hurriyetdailynews)

Iran nuclear talks constructive, will meet in May: EU envoy

The EU foreign policy chief says the latest nuclear talks between Iran and six world powers have been constructive and that the two sides will meet again in Baghdad on May 23.

Catherine Ashton says future talks will be guided by the "principle of a step-by-step approach and reciprocity." That indicates the international community is ready to reward Iran if it reduces fears that it may use its atomic program to make weapons.

She also said after the talks in Istanbul on Saturday that Iran has a right to a peaceful nuclear program. At the same time, she says the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty must be the "key basis" for future talks. (hurriyetdailynews)

US ready for bilateral meeting with Iran in Istanbul: EU

The U.S. delegation at crunch talks here Saturday between Iran and six world powers on Tehran's nuclear program is open to a bilateral meeting with Iranian counterparts, two European sources said.

"The Americans are open to the idea of meeting the Iranians," one Western diplomat from a European country participating in the talks in Istanbul said. "All countries have expressed interest for bilaterals," said E.U. spokesman Michael Mann. (hurriyetdailynews)

More Syria flow as Turkey eyes UN help

Turkey has raised the alarm over the accelerating influx of Syrian refugees over its borders, urging the United Nations and the international community to step in if the trend continues.

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu made an urgent telephone call to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on April 6 to implore the international body to become more active on the issue. Davutoğlu told Ban that Syrian military activity near the border with Turkey had increased and added that roughly 2,500 Syrians had crossed into Turkey in the last 24 hours, the largest one-day total so far.

The minister also said U.N. officials could come to observe the developments from the Turkish side of the border, a Turkish diplomat told the Hürriyet Daily News, adding that Syrian security forces, backed by helicopters, were carrying out operations in regions near Turkey. “I told Ban we expect an immediate initiative and an end to the clashes,” Davutoğlu told reporters on April 6. Turkey said there were now 23,835 Syrian refugees on its territory.

Red Crescent ready

Ankara “is seriously concerned” about the escalation of the crackdown against the Syrian opposition following initial “cautious optimism” for U.N.-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan’s plan, Davutoğlu said.

As the Syrian administration’s repression continues, people are trying to escape to neighboring countries, Davutoğlu said, noting that the situation was putting pressure on Turkey. Turkey has offered to shelter Syrian refugees since it cannot remain indifferent to their tragedy, he said. “The international community should also take a clear position on these refugees.” The Turkish Red Crescent, meanwhile, said it was ready to bring humanitarian aid into Syria if such an international call is made. The Turkish Red Crescent’s chairman, Ahmet Lütfi Akar, said his organization was unable to open a humanitarian aid corridor under its own initiative. “In the event that the U.N. or countries taking joint action with Turkey decide to open an aid corridor, the Turkish Red Crescent can enter Syria and extend humanitarian aid,” Akar told Anatolia news agency April 6.

A foreign intervention in Syria would be “wrong,” and the U.S., the EU and the U.N. should join forces to stop the bloodshed and force a political transition in Syria, Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç said April 6. Turkey’s main opposition party has also warned the government about its role in the Syrian crisis.

Republican People’s Party (CHP) deputy chair Faruk Loğoğlu said April 6 that the government’s policies on Syria and Iran were dragging Turkey “not only into isolation in the region but also into a future of tension.”
(hurriyetdailynews)