Fifa misses 'first opportunity' for goal-line debate

Blatter promised to consider goal line technology again following Lampard's 'goal' (GETTY IMAGES)

Goal-line technology will not be on the agenda when football's law-makers meet in Wales later this week, contrary to indications by the Fifa president Sepp Blatter. The technical sub-committee of the International Football Association Board (IFAB) will meet in Cardiff tomorrow, but as planned in May, there will only be one item on the agenda – the continuing experiment with additional assistant referees.

Fifa president Sepp Blatter announced during the World Cup finals that goal-line technology had to be discussed once again at the "first opportunity" and indicated that would take place this month. However, it is not now expected to be on the agenda until a more formal meeting in October.

A Fifa spokesman said: "The meeting this week is purely to ratify any requests that have come forward over the implementation of the assistant referees experiment, which was used last year in the Europa League."

IFAB, which comprises representatives from Fifa and the four home nations, rejected the notion of goal-line technology in March on the grounds of cost and the possible disruption it would bring. However, calls for its introduction intensified after Frank Lampard was denied what would have been an equaliser for England in the World Cup second-round match with Germany when his shot rebounded off the underside of the crossbar and dropped over the line, but was unseen by the match officials and therefore not given.