Premier League introduces vanishing spray
- adamhigginsuk
- Jul 30, 2014
- 3 min read
Innovation: The vanishing spray, which was hugely successful during the World Cup, will be incorporated in next season's Premier League (Picture from Zimbio.com)
THE Barclays Premier League have confirmed the introduction of vanishing spray in time for the 2014-15 season.
The device - which allows referees to indicate the position of free-kicks and the distance the defensive wall must retreat - was hailed a success during the 2014 Fifa World Cup in Brazil.
The spray will also be used in the Champions League, Europa League, Serie A, La Liga and Ligue 1 next season.
Premier League officials insisted they would not make a decision on its use until it had been monitored in other competitions, but chief executive Richard Scuadmore said they were "open to developments that enhance the competition."
"It was clear from watching the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil that Vanishing Spray benefitted referees, players, and all of those who watched the matches," Scudamore said.
"Having witnessed that, and following consultation with our clubs and the PGMOL, we have decided to introduce it in the Barclays Premier League and look forward to having it in place for the 2014/15 season."
The spray, which has been used for several seasons in the Brazilian and Argentine leagues, evaporates about a minute after being administered from a canister by the match official.
Mike Riley - general manager of the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), which overseas top-flight referees - was an assessor at the World Cup and recommended it be adopted by the Premier League.
He said: "I saw first-hand the benefits of vanishing spray for referees, and for the game as a whole. The Select Group referees are looking forward to using it during Barclays Premier League matches next season."
Although it will not be used across the Championship, League One, League Two or Capital One Cup, the Football League will trial the spray in this season's Johnstone's Paint Trophy.
"Having seen it used in the recent World Cup, the introduction of vanishing spray into the Johnstone's Paint Trophy will give us the opportunity to observe its use in domestic football so that we can better understand its effect on the flow of the game," chief executive Shaun Harvey said.
"It will also give us the ability to gauge the opinions of players, managers, referees and fans."
The Football Association is expected to submit a proposal for using the spray in the FA Cup which, if approved, would mean it could be used in the first round onwards.
The Premier League will use spray produced by 9.15 Fair Play Limit - the same supplier for the World Cup in Brazil.
It was invented by Brazilian Heine Allegmagne, who worked with a company to concoct the spray from vegetable oil derivatives before its use for the first time in a competitive match in Belo Horizonte in 2000.
With the spray costing around £3 per can, Fifa took 320 of them to the World Cup finals this
summer.
Allegmagne, who called his company 9.15 Fair Play in reference to the wall having to be 9.15 metres (10 yards) from the free-kick, said: "The Eureka moment came when I was listening to the radio and the commentator was talking about the wall not staying back.
"It came to me I could do something. I wanted to solve a technical problem that had been plaguing football for more than a century."
Last updated: 30 July 2014 18:14pm
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