Referees: Technology Must Be Introduced
 Monday
15 August 2005
By Gaz
Pearson
The idea and debate regarding the use of technology in football is
once again in the spotlight following Steve Bennett's poor refereeing
display at Highbury yesterday afternoon.
Sky Sports and the BBC have cameras at every match in the Premier
League therefore surely all it would take is an official in the stand
watching the TV!
How long would it take for him, or her, to have ruled that JJ's tackle
didn't warrant a red and then pass a message on to the referee that
it was not a sending off?
Thirty seconds or even less? The fact is the game has changed so much
over the last fifteen or so years mainly due to the money from the
revenue that BSkyB provides. Football Stadia has improved to unrecognisable
standards and even footballers are using new 'technology' to help
them become and maintain the athletes that they are.
Isn't it about time the football governing bodies stopped all the
gassing about the use of technology to decide such things as sending
offs, penalties and debatable goals (e.g. did it cross the line?)
For god sake give it a chance and if it doesn't work then fine but
at least you can say you have tried.
Perhaps the only grey area is the offside rule where the usage of
replays for every disputable decision would no doubt slow the game
to a trickle and quite simply make a football match ridiculous. Linesmen,
or referee assistants as they like to be called, get paid good money
for doing that job so let them concentrate on it fully.
By introducing the usage of replays for possible sending offs, penalties
and disputable goals you take some of the pressure off their shoulders
and they can be fully focused on making the correct offside/onside
decisions.
What about 1966 and the Russian Linesman? Would England have won the
World Cup? Was it a goal? Irregardless of those questions the fact
was that the technology wasn't available then and it is now so come
on FA, UEFA and FIFA stop having us playing the game like were are
in the 1960's and bring our game into new millennium.
The game is too fast today for referees and officials to give the
correct decisions in every match, its nigh-on impossible. It may only
be the start of the season and things do have a way of evening themselves
out over the campaign but yesterday's game was three points lost to
a decision that could have been avoided.
Who knows, the result may well have been the same but at least it
wouldn't have been a foregone conclusion following another poor refereeing
decision. Poor officiating like this undoubtedly ruin a lot of matches
for a lot of teams and their supporters. The technology is there,
use it!
© Gaz Pearson
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