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Howard Webb gets his hands on the vanishing spray during Colombia vs Ivory Coast

But will it make it into English football next season?

Tom Sheen,Charles Reynolds
Thursday 19 June 2014 19:31 BST
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Howard Webb became the first English referee to use the vanishing spray
Howard Webb became the first English referee to use the vanishing spray (Getty Images)

Howard Webb became the first English referee to use the vanishing spray that has taken this World Cup by storm.

Webb, taking charge of Colombia and Ivory Coast's Group C clash, started trending on Twitter after using the spray for the first time.

Most of the posts tended to be jokes about Webb's lack of hair and the resemblance of the spray to shaving foam.

However, despite the praise the spray has received at the tournament, it will not be introduced in the Premier League next season, and the Football League is yet to comment. It will be used in the Champions League next season.

The Premier League announced on Wednesday it will monitor the sprays effectiveness before introducing it.

Officials do not think encroachment or moving the ball is a significant problem.

or fans of South American football, the foam spray is nothing new, having been used in league matches on the continent for some years, but for the huge global audience, these are bold new days.

No more can the defensive wall creep forward, cramping the free kick taker's style, when the referee's back is turned and in theory we should now see more goals scored from free kicks.

But what is the magic disappearing foam made of? According to LiveScience it is: “a mixture of butane, isobutane and propane gas; a foaming agent; water; and other chemicals.

The vanishing spray has been a great success at the tournament (Getty Images)

"When it leaves the can, the gas depressurises and expands, creating small, water-covered droplets on the field. The butane mixture later evaporates, leaving only water and surfactant residue behind.”

The spray is the brainchild of Argentine journalist Pablo Silva who developed the spray called "9:15 Fairplay," a reference to the metric equivalent of the free-kick distance requirement.

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