Goal-line technology could be introduced midway through next season, according to Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore.
The system is due to be tested at the Hampshire Senior Cup final between Eastleigh and AFC Totton tonight. If all goes well, it could be given the green light by FIFA this summer.
Initially, Scudamore had suggested that the hardware may not be ready in time for the start of the 2013-14 season.
However, he has now backtracked on that statement, claiming that it could be unveiled mid-season as it is not a change of the rules.
"When we are ready to go, we can go with it," The Mirror quotes Scudamore as saying. "The law is not changing – that is still about whether the ball has gone over the line or not.
"We have never introduced a rule change mid-season, but there is no change of rule.
"Has the ball gone over the line or hasn't it? The fact that we will have a better way of detecting that does not alter the integrity of the competition in that sense. So it is possible to introduce it mid-season."
Scudamore has held his current position since 1999.
Michael Penkman
