Hackett renews call for technology

The Premier League are pressing ahead with trials on a system being developed by the company Hawkeye.

Hackett said: "Everyone in football recognises that goal-line systems can provide help for the referee to make his decision."

He added: "It is still in its testing stage but we hope when it is judged to be fail-safe then it will be used.

The latest controversy came at the weekend when assistant referee Ian Gosling did not award Fulham a late goal at home to Middlesbrough when David Healy clearly forced the ball over the line. Gosling will miss out on a match this weekend as a result.

"Clearly the assistant referee has made an error, so he won't be operating next week for us," Hackett confirmed.

Meanwhile, referee Rob Styles has apologised to Liverpool after admitting he was wrong to award a penalty to Chelsea during Sunday's 1-1 draw at Anfield.

The match official has accepted he made a mistake in penalising Steve Finnan and as a result he will not be given a match to referee this weekend.

Styles said: "All referees enter into matches hoping not to make any mistakes but understanding that they may happen, what none of us want is for any mistake to potentially affect the result of the match.

"In mistakenly awarding a penalty, I accept that I may have affected the result of the match and for that I apologise."