FIFA chief again rules out video replays

FIFA president Sepp Blatter has again ruled out the use of video replays to help referees during matches.

"As long as I am FIFA president, there will be no video evidence," Blatter said at a workshop for World Cup referees in Frankfurt yesterday.

"Football is a game with a human face and mistakes are possible - from coaches, players and referees."

Blatter has long opposed the use of video replays, despite its successful use in sports like rugby and cricket.

Debate over the use of video replays and other technology in soccer has intensified since officials failed to see the ball had crossed the Manchester United line by about a metre in last month's English Premier League match with Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford.

Later this month, soccer's lawmakers are due to see a presentation of a new ball containing a microchip sensor that might provide another solution to the problem.