Vanishing spray inventor not letting his ideals disappear
Heine Allemagne, 43, who has given Fifa free use of his invention at the finals, says he is driven by the love of the game and helping referees keep discipline rather than becoming a multi-millionaire. And his invention could hardly be simpler.
The referee sprays a line of biodegradable foam derived from vegetable oil in a line on the pitch, indicating where the players must stand at a free kick, and that line disappears within a minute or two. “I had no commercial ambitions; I wanted to develop the product,” said Allemagne. “Perhaps there will be some financial side but that can come later, I wanted to get the product perfect for football. I wanted to help the referees keep discipline.
“The time now taken at free-kick has dropped from 48 seconds to around 20 seconds. There are less yellow and red cards and more goals from free-kicks, and the players respect the line.”
Although the spray cans are not yet widely available, Allemagne said the retail price would be around $5.
Fifa took delivery of 320 cans for the 64 World Cup matches and Allemagne has absorbed the hypothetical cost of $1,600 himself.
One of the more intriguing aspects of his story is the time it took for such a simple concept to become accepted. Although local football authorities welcomed it in the early stages, Allemagne said Fifa president Sepp Blatter and secretary general Jerome Valcke needed some convincing when they reached a more advanced stage. “Blatter was sceptical in the beginning, but then realised this solved a football problem,” said Allemagne.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 9th, 2014.
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