The Scottish Football Association has said that goal-line technology is too expensive and that funds will instead be directed into training officials.

GettyImagesLeigh Griffiths prays to the heavens after his 'goal' was not awarded in the Edinburgh derby

Goal-line technology returned to the spotlight in Scotland after Hibernian were denied a goal in their 0-0 draw with Hearts on Sunday, with both referee Euan Norris and assistant Raymond Whyte failing to realise that Leigh Griffiths' free-kick had crossed the line.

Hibs boss Pat Fenlon called for technology - recently approved by the International FA Board in the Scottish capital - to be introduced, but systems are expected to cost at least £100,000 per stadium.

The SFA's head of referee operations, John Fleming, told the governing body's website: "Firstly, as an association we are in favour of goal-line technology, and indeed have been heavily involved during the test process as a member of the IFAB.

"However, as the general secretary of FIFA himself, Jerome Valcke, outlined in Edinburgh last week, the installation of each system will cost a six-figure sum on top of any maintenance costs.

"That would make it prohibitive, I would suggest, for the respective league bodies in Scotland, the Scottish Premier League and Scottish Football League, to consider rolling out any time soon.

"In the meantime, we will continue to reinforce the training that we give to referees. In La Manga, we actually give referees simulations and they have a split second to decide whether the ball is on the line or over the line. It is an essential part of their training but they are only human."

The two officials responsible for failing to spot the goal in the Edinburgh derby were positioned as instructed when the free-kick was taken.

Fleming said: "In free-kick situations such as the one at the weekend there are three situations that a referee and his assistants must look out for: offside, management of defensive wall with regards to holding, handling and jostling, and the ball over the line.

"In probability terms, the first two occur more often than a contentious ball-over-the-line decision.

"It is crucially important to get those calls right, of course, when the ball may or may not have crossed the line but there are far more instances of the other two.

"Of course goal-line technology would help, and we have four companies - Goal Ref, Hawkeye, Goal Control and Cairos - who have obtained a licence but would Scottish clubs rather invest in this technology at a premium to the detriment of youth investment? I don't think so in the current climate."

Information from the Press Association was used in this report