England: Vanishing spray to be used in Premier League from 2014-15

Premier League will, starting in 2014-15, use the vanishing spray that allows referees to draw a white line on the ground to enforce a 9.15 metre distance between the wall and the kicker during a free kick, announced Richard Scudamore, the chief executive of the Premier League, on 30/07/2014.

"At the Premier League we are open to developments that enhance the competition and 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," said Scudamore.

On 16/07/2014 Richard Scudamore asked Mike Riley, the head of the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), to draft a report on the use of the vanishing spray. The report was to indicate how many minutes the use of the vanishing spray would add to the game and how many times on average it would be used. Mike Riley was also to collect advice from Premier League referees on this new technology.

The product was invented in 2001 and is produced by Fair Play 9.15 Limit, an Argentine company. It disappears after one minute without damaging…