Extra linesmen praised by Prandelli
Uefa's system of placing extra linesmen on each goalline won some rare praise after Italy beat Ireland 2-0 to reach the Euro 2012 quarterfinals on Monday.
The officials, who Uefa president Michel Platini believes offer an alternative to goalline technology, are rarely noticed but Italy coach Cesare Prandelli said the first goal in the Group C match might not have been awarded had they not been there.
"Perhaps this goal is down to him," Prandelli told reporters.
"Had we not had this extra official, it might not have been given. I have seen cases where the ball has been even further over the line and the goal has not been given."
Antonio Cassano's first-half header went over the line before being cleared away by Damien Duff, although the goal was not immediately obvious from the stands.
Fifa has been testing two goalline technology systems, opposed by Platini, to see if they are reliable enough to be introduced into the game after a raft of controversies and the reasonably successful introduction of electronic aids in other sports.
