Weight behind technology

Had technology been available at all the previous World Cups, the history of the game’s most important tournament would have been radically different. To this day, there is no conclusive proof on whether the ball had crossed the line for Englishman Geoff Hurst’s third goal against West Germany in the 1966 World Cup final. The Germans were adamant that it hadn’t and they had a measure of revenge when Hurst’s compatriot Frank Lampard was denied a perfectly legitimate goal against their country in the round of 16 at the 2010 World Cup. Goal- line technology would have solved both problems then and there.

Video Assistant Referee would surely have chalked off Argentina great Diego Maradona’s Hand of God goal against England in the semifinal of the 1986 World Cup. Maradona, an advocate of VAR, told www. Fifa. com last year that his cheeky goal wouldn’t have stood had technology been around that time. “Obviously I think about it whenever I show my support for the use of technology,” he added.

In the same interview, he said: “Football can’t fall behind. Given the rate at which technology is advancing and the fact that every sport uses it, how can we not think about using it in football? People used

Football can’t fall behind. The fact that every sport uses it, how can we not think about using it in football? — Maradona

to say that we’d waste a lot of time, that it would cause a lot of annoyance. But that’s not the case. People get annoyed when something that shouldn’t be given is given, or when you have a goal wrongly disallowed. Technology brings transparency and quality.”

Football is a flowing game and stoppage can irk fans and player alike. But they should get used to VAR intervention because getting a match- turning decision right will satisfy both in the long run.