UEFA Chief Refereeing Officer Pierluigi Collina said that the Euro is "a good opportunity" to start using goal-line technology in its competitions. Goal-line technology would then be "extended after Euro 2016 in France for use in the Champions League and Europa League" (AP, 1/19). ... The Scottish Professional Football League has asked for financial support from the government "for a scheme designed to tackle offensive behaviour in stadiums from next season." Meetings have "already taken place between representatives of the SPFL and the Scottish Government over a request for financial help to introduce facial recognition technology," costing up to £4M ($5.7M), which will be used to identify offenders (STV, 1/19). ... Taxi drivers in Brazil's biggest city "have been banned from wearing shorts -- or trying to engage their fares in banter about football." The rules that took effect in São Paulo on Monday "aim to whip the city's cabbies into shape." In addition to outlawing shorts and flipflops, "the rules slap fines" of about $9 for drivers who "show up unshaved or with untidy hair" (AFP, 1/19). ... Fox Sports unveiled #18TOWIN, its first global social media activation officially dedicated to promoting the return of the Bundesliga on Jan. 22. #18TOWIN is a two-week online campaign featuring all 18 Bundesliga clubs in training as some of the world's best players go up against their own teammates in a hit or miss penalty shootout. Fans vote on social media platforms using the universal language Emoji to predict which players will score, and which players crack under pressure. Once the predictions are in, the results will be revealed on all Fox Sports platforms on Feb. 5 (Fox Sports).
