Green light for vanishing spray
October 7, 2014
After some controversy, the well-discussed vanishing spray will be used in the Bundesliga, as well as in the second and third divisions, from matchday 8 onwards (October 18).
"All the legalities have been cleared up. Everything we need to implement the use of the sprays is in place. There is no reason not to use them," Lutz Michael Fröhlich, the chief referee for Germany's DFB football association, told German sports news agency SID.
Germany's TÜV organization, responsible for product safety and technical inspections, tested the spray last week at the request of mass circulation newspaper Bild. The TÜV reported afterwards that the foam was not legal in Germany or the European Union because it contained "hormonally active" parabens. Furthermore, the TÜV noted that the foam was highly flammable but that its cans failed to carry a flammable symbol. The labeling has since been applied.
"Our distributors have checked everything. The approval is there," continued Fröhlich.
The spray, designed to ensure that a defensive "wall" of players stands the regulation distance away from the ball at a free kick, was used in Brazil for the 2014 World Cup. Since its broadly positive reception there, it has been adopted this season in the Champions League and the Europa League, as well as in Spain's Primera Division and France's Ligue 1. The spray was supposed to be used in Germany from the start of the season, but questions raised by referees delayed its arrival.
jh/msh (dpa, SID)