[1] GoalRef was originally developed by a Danish organisation commissioned by Select Sport who entered the system for consideration by the International Handball Federation.
In 2011 Fraunhofer became lead partner in GoalRef alongside the original inventor, and entered the system in the first stage testing being conducted for IFAB by EMPA (Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology).
Following the second phase trials, on 5 July 2012 IFAB approved both GoalRef and Hawk-Eye in principle, making it available for use in professional matches under a set of revised Laws of the Game.
[5] Software monitors the condition of the magnetic field in the goal and can detect the change that occurs in it due to the passage of the coils in the ball over the line.
[6] Once detected, the system sends an encrypted radio signal in real time to a wrist watch worn by the referee, which both vibrates and displays a message that a goal was scored.