Statement on the introduction of goal-line technology

Sporting Clube de Portugal would like to share its congratulations in light of the official announcement today by Gianni Infantino, UEFA General Secretary, regarding the decision to use goal-line technology in the 2016 European Championships, as well as in the Champions League as of the 2016/17 season.

This is an historic decision in world football and will assist referees, clubs and the millions of people who love football. At the same time, it shows that it is worth fighting for the ideals of true sportsmanship.

Coming on the back of the decision by the International Board on the experimental use of video technology, world football continues to take strides into a more modern and credible future.

Jorge Jesus after his side's loss in Moscow

Jorge Jesus met with the press after his side’s 3-1 loss on Wednesday night. The Alvalade boss opened by conceding that his side let their grip on the game slip, before going on to elaborate on his choice of starting line-up.

“Sporting were better in the first-half. We played with quality, we controlled the game and we created dangerous opportunities. We were winning 1-0 at half-time without CSKA having created any problems for us. We did the hard hard part and had the game under control at half-time, but we didn’t know how to manage the second-half. For the first 45 minutes Adrien, Aquilani and João Mário controlled the midfield. In the second-half CSKA started with more possession and it was Musa who did the damage. I thought the game would to extra-time and then I would have made changes, but at the time there was no point in changing anything”, commented Jesus.

The Sporting coach went on to speak about the choice to leave Slimani on the bench: “In the first-half, with three midfielders, we controlled the midfield. Not only did Teo score, but we were winning at half-time. When Teo started to burn out a bit I put Slimani on so that we kept up the pressure in attack. I thought the game would go to extra-time and I still had two more substitutions I could make, but the third goal took us out of it. There were incidents in both legs that determined the final result. Here Slimani made it 2-2 and in Lisbon we have at least one penalty that was waved away. The ball didn’t go out of play and the assistant referee, who couldn’t see from where he was, only signalled when the ball was in the back of the net. Only he knows why he ruled out that goal. We were clearly disadvantaged.”

To finish, Jesus accepted that failure to qualify for the Champions League is a tough blow, but affirmed that his side will now move its attention to domestic silverware: “Financially, the Champions League was relevant, but we still have important objectives in Portugal. Our main objective is the league.”