Hawk-Eye have today confirmed that the technology in Croke Park had the capability to award John Donnelly’s contentious point.
Brian Hogan looked for all the world to have plucked John Donnelly’s point from over the bar during Tipp’s mauling of Kilkenny on Sunday. When the play was called back to award the score, the net-minder shook his head ruefully as history repeated itself and the on-field officials were prompted by the technology to award the score against Tipp.
In real-time, in still images and slowed-down replays, question marks still hung over whether the ball had actually crossed the line, and whether Hawk-Eye had the technology to determine whether a ball had crossed the line rather than just gone wide of the post.
Anyone know if Hawkeye can detect if ball has passed a certain point or just tracks the flight path ball takes or both!!! Looking at his hand and crossbar, not a point. Ball tracer image you see on screen doesn't seem right! It's just showing path ball would take if let off 🧐 pic.twitter.com/LUAdU93uZD
— Colm Callanan (@ColmCal1) August 19, 2019
The worry expressed by most was that while Hawk-Eye clearly has (and has shown) to have the technology to determine whether a ball has passed inside or outside the post, it’s rarely been used to prove a ball has crossed the line required for a point to be given.
After reaching out to Hawk-Eye, the company confirmed to SportsJOE that the technology available in Croke Park was entirely able to confirm such a score;
We can confirm that the Hawk-Eye system installed at Croke Park can determine if the ball crosses the line.The system only gives a point when the ball has crossed the plane of the goal and in between the goalposts.This point in the trajectory of the flight is signified by the trajectory changing from red to white. This, therefore, does not occur when the ball is wide of the posts.
