Referees can reject the use of goal-line technology or even overrule it in the Club World Cup, which starts this week in Japan (see opposite page), a senior FIFA official said yesterday.

Two different GLT systems, Hawk-Eye and GoalRef, are to be used in the eight-game competition from today.

“The referee has the final word when it’s about the goal-line technology system,” FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke told a news conference in Tokyo.

In July, the International Football Association Board (IFAB) – custodians of the game’s laws – decided to use goal-line technology at the Club World Cup, next year’s Confederation Cup and the World Cup finals in Brazil in 2014.

Valcke said referees at these competitions will test the system 90 minutes before each game to see if it is working to their satisfaction.

“If he has any doubt and if this doubt cannot be corrected by the provider who is on the site, then he has the right to say, ‘Sorry, guys. I don’t think I can rely on the system’,” he said.

“Again, the referee is the most important person. He’s the one who’s making the final decision and he has to keep this right for the final decision,” Valcke said.

Fans have called for years for the football world to embrace technology aimed at eliminating human error, citing its use in other sports including tennis and cricket.

“It’s a big day because it’s the first time that the technology will be used officially in a game or games.

“Up to now, it was just experimental.”

Valcke said it was costing FIFA $1 million to run the two systems at the club championship.

“For the time being, it is a bit expensive to install the goal-line technology system, but remember 10 years ago, a plasma screen cost a fortune,” he said.

“Today, you can find it for $500.”