"Motion expert says Garcia's shot did cross the line" Nick Harris The Independent, pg. 77 Thursday 5 May, 2005
Liverpool's controversial winner against Chelsea on Tuesday crossed the line and was a valid goal, an expert in motion analysis and 3D shape modelling said yesterday.
Dr Mike Spann, a lecturer at Birmingham University's School of Electronic, Electrical and Computer Engineering, buttessed a series of still images, taken from a variety of angles, at them moment of "scoring" and in the fractions of a second just before and after the ball crossed the line.
The positioning and body movements of Chelsea's William Gallas, who tried to clear Luis Garcia's shot with his right foot, as well as the movement of the ball relative to Gallas, led Dr Spann to conclude: "It was a goal."
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The diameter of Tuesday's match ball, a size 5 Adidas Finale, was 22cm (or 8.8 inches) so Gallas' right boot needed to be only nine inches behind the line on impact for a goal. Dr Spann deduced from the position of Gallas' left foot that his right foot swung at the ball from "a good foot" behind the goalline, with the parabola before impact increasing the distance.
Dr Spann said it was theoretically possible to prove the goal with absolute certainty from television pictures, even if the cameras missed the right shot, but analyst would need to know the precise calibration of the cameras as well as their exact positions to be certain using that method...
The expert, Dr. Michael Spann, looks to be a Manchester United supporter, judging by a few of the non-academic links on his website.
