COUNTERPOINT!: Why soccer NEEDS video replay technology
Earlier today, my esteemed colleague Dennis posted his views about why video replay technology should be kept out of soccer. Alas, I politely disagreed, so what to to do? Well, as challenging Dennis to a no-holds-barred cage match is impossible due to stupid laws, I’ve decided to write a riposte here.
Firstly, however, a disclaimer: yes, I’m English. And yes, I know: you must think I’m annoyed over Frank Lampard’s perfectly correct goal against Germany being disallowed. Truth be told, it wasn’t pleasant to see. Yet the young German side was so dominant over the English team, so mobile and thrilling to watch, that in the end little harm was done – we wholly deserved to lose and leave South Africa. Frankly, and not for the first time, ze Germans spanked us. I’m okay with that.
With that said, soccer still needs video replay technology.
Firstly, simply arguing that soccer “isn’t fair” (as both Dennis and FIFA boss Sepp Blatter do) doesn’t mean we should stop trying to make it more fair altogether. Soccer should be about correct decisions (and not human errability), because quite often years of preparations and huge amounts of money can rest on the outcome of top-level matches. Years of preparation and piles of money that can disappear with one human error in less than a second.
If you worked for and invested in something for years, only to have it yanked away from you due to one man’s error at the last second, would you shrug and say “That’s life, it’s not meant to be fair”. I know I wouldn’t. I’d want answers.
I agree with Dennis’s concerns about matches being held up so that video replays can be viewed. Soccer is a fast, flowing, and dynamic game (unless England are playing), and I wouldn’t want to lose that either! But there’s a solution: time-outs. Give each team three time-outs per match, allowing them to stop the game and ask for a replay to be viewed to decide vital decisions. Once they’ve used their three time-outs, that’s it – no more stoppages. Limit their use to goal-line decisions to prevent abuse.
In the vast majority of cases, having an off-pitch official view these replays would take no more than thirty seconds to view and decide upon. Furthermore, time-outs can actually enhance the viewing experience; we’ve already seen how decisions sent to the third umpire in cricket can be wonderfully tense for viewers – was the batsman in or out?!
Other sports have adopted video replay technology with the greatest of ease. In tennis, decisions are reviewed in mere seconds, while rugby has also benefited by making its sport fairer, without losing any of its passion or flair. Not only that, but video replay technology is easy and relatively cheap to deploy; it’s worth remembering that FIFA, a non profit-making organisation, made a $196 million surplus in 2009.
So that’s why at the very highest level – World Cup finals, the Champions League final, a handful of key events – every measure should be taken to prevent matches from being decided in error. Otherwise, in the long-term, it could be soccer’s credibility as a sport that is most at danger.
Dennis, I acknowledge your views good sir, but I’m going to have to respectfully disagree on this occasion!
Read the other side of this debate HERE.
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Jun 29, 2010
I Fully Agree that Video Replay Technology should Definately Be Installed In All Soccer Matches, as I am a Passionate Soccer Fan and after watching the England vs Germany Soccer Match in the South African Soccer World Cup, I strongly feel that England had their Second Goal that they scored against Germany Unfairly Disallowed, which was Clearly a Goal as the Ball had crossed the Goal Line after hitting the Horizontal Bar into the Net, because of Some Bad Referring Decisions from the Referee and his Assistant of failing to having a Clear View of the Incident. Needless to say this cost England to lose the Match by a Greater Margin than they should have lost to Germany. Score should have been 4-2 instead of 4-1. So that these Errors could be avoided on Future Occassions, I therefore see the Urgency of applying Video Replay Technology in spite of the Costs, as this wasn’t the First time that these Errors have occured on Close Calls
Jul 12, 2010
[1 of 4] I agree with this author that mistakes made by referees should NOT BE CONSIDERED PART OF THE GAME. It’s impressive what referees do and they deserve much respect for that. However, I’m interested in the game called football, not in the game called referee-ing. Mistakes made by players are dramatic. Mistakes made by referees just suck, obviously when they are made against your team, but even so when in favor of your team. They will forever taint the glory of the ensueing victory
I think football really needs video technology. The main reason for me personally would be to finally stop the diving and excessive whining in case a real foul is made. This is in my opinion really the worst aspect of football, and happens constantly in every game. A missed goal like the one in the England-Germany game, that’s terrible, but how often does that really happen?
Jul 12, 2010
[2 of 4] A dive is extremely easy to spot in replay, and with camera’s from multiple angles it will be nearly impossible for a player to trick the referees. Certainly not at a rate that will make the potential benifits for the diver outweigh his risk of getting caught. The other side of the same medal is that players that are actually hit by a foul don’t have to be exaggerate their injury and roll around like wimps. You can’t really blame them for doing that now, they need compensation for the foul and can’t afford having the referee mistake their manliness for the absence of a foul! If they could rely on the referees seeing the foul in replay, they can just get up and rest assured that the offender will be penalized. No more complaining and bullshitting the refs from either side needed. This would save minutes of playing time and thus, contrary to the common argument againt the use of video, IT WOULD IMPROVE THE FLOW OF THE GAME, NOT INTERRUPT IT.
Jul 12, 2010
[3 and 4 of 4] I personally don’t like the idea of time-outs that are controlled by the team’s managers so much though. That would change the game and it’s tactics (e.g. they will be used to relieve the rising pressure of an offensive team) and introduce stops that I think are not necessary. I like to think of video technology as a means of giving the referee an extra set of eyes to make him superhumanly accurate. Just have a couple of extra referees watch the game through camera’s positioned at different angles and have them signal fouls on the fly. Much like a voting system. And if this does not take too much time, give them the oppurtunity to see the last 5 seconds of action again. The main referee in the field can use the information coming from the assistant eye in the sky refs in making his decission. The signal, or votes, can reach him in audio with a headset, or on a small display in his wristband for example.
This way, the game does not change in essence, only the accurary of the referee will be elevated to superhuman abilities. I think the world cup should aim for reducing the number of erroneous referee calls by a factor 100. That, plus the added bonus of eliminating diving and whining, should be enough for anyone including Blatter to finally have a serious look at the use of video technology.
Nov 24, 2010
Goal line Technology.Graham Poll about stupid and stubborn FIFA.
Legendary ex-international and premiership referee Graham Poll answers questions about Goal line Technology.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3whiRDP9w2U
Nov 24, 2010
Ridiculous FIFA. World Cup 2010. FIFA Against Technology In Football
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXAtug3QPjM
Nov 24, 2010
Ridiculous FIFA. World Cup 2010. Frank Lampard’s Disallowed Goal – RTE Sport
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElRS2aSoqv0
Nov 24, 2010
SHOCKING facts about FIFA
http://transparencyinsport.org/index.html