Jose Mourinho calls on Germany to embrace technology

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has called upon Germany to overcome its resistance to the introduction of goalline technology.

Ahead of tonight’s Champions League clash with Schalke, Mourinho was asked about an incident from the Bundesliga last weekend when Bayer Leverkusen were awarded a goal against Hoffenheim, even though the ball entered the goal via the side netting.

“If I had been the manager at Bayer Leverkusen, I would have asked for the game to be repeated”, Mourinho told reporters at Dusseldorf airport .

“And if I was the manager at Hoffenheim I would do the same.

“I don’t understand why the Bundesliga doesn’t invest a few million euros into [goal line technology].

“Germany is a rich country and the financial crisis hasn’t had as much of an impact. So it shouldn’t be a problem. The Bundesliga should have goal line technology.”

Despite the ‘ghost goal’, German football remains unconvinced by the accuracy of the new technology

DFL general manager Andreas Rettig has told Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung that, as things stand, the options remain limited.

“We are not against technological progress, but we are talking about a highly complex system here, which might still be failure-prone,” he said. “The 3cm margin of error allowed by FIFA is not acceptable for us.”

Rettig cited the example of Ukraine’s Marko Devic, who had not been awarded a goal against England at Euro 2012 despite his shot bouncing 2.6cm over the line, adding: “Imagine the uproar if the goal-line technology had not signalled a goal.”

Meanwhile, Hoffenheim have announced that they will auction the ‘ghost goal’ netting for charity.

So, at least some good will come out of the controversy.