Refs don’t need video help
Sepp Blatter was right. It’s not a sentence I ever imagined writing but it has to be said, after the farcical scenes in Tuesday’s match between the Phoenix and Beijing BG.
The long-time former Fifa president was always against the use of video technology in football, and extremely cautious around the implementation of it.
There are a long list of negatives associated with Blatter’s reign — far too many to mention here — but he was on the money about the use of replays and slow motion to assist in on-field decision making.
The scenes during the Capital Cup clash between the Phoenix and Beijing, where video assistant referees were being used for the first time, illustrated why.
The match was stopped for almost two minutes early in the second half, before the officials determined the hosts should be awarded a penalty after an innocuous goalmouth incident from a corner.
It was a weird decision. This wasn’t a howler missed by the referee, but instead a barely perceptible push in the back of an attacking player nowhere near the ball. Maybe by the letter of the law, it was the correct decision — but probably not.
Thankfully, this was a low-profile friendly. Imagine if it happened in a Melbourne A-League derby? Or even worse, a Liverpool-Manchester United clash at Anfield or a Boca Juniors-River Plate match at La Bombonera?
Such a delay would provoke frantic scenes in the crowd, but as shown on Tuesday night, even with the assistance of video technology, the evidence was far from conclusive.
And as the stakes got higher, the amount of referring would increase dramatically, and players would be constantly gesticulating for officials to check incidents, especially in the lead-up to goals.
Football’s key point of difference compared with most other team ball sports is its flow. The game rarely stops, decisions are made (usually) on the spot, and play goes on.
Sure, the officials get some things wrong — Thierry Henry’s hand ball against Ireland in 2009 is an infamous recent example — but they also get a lot right.
At the top level, football referees make a series of split-second judgements, and are usually on the money. The assistant referees are also skilled at deciphering the offside rule and are proved right on the vast majority of occasions.
The officials do need some help — and the goal line buzzer used in the English Premier League works — but the use of technology in Tuesday night’s manner will bring too many problems. And unlike league and rugby, which are confined to a few professional competitions, football has high profile leagues across the globe, not to mention hundreds of big World Cup games.
The solution is to provide more human assistance. As UEFA have trialled in their Champions League matches, an assistant referee (or two) need to be stationed near each goal. From there, they can provide an extra set of eyes for all kinds of goalmouth infringements, and also aid the referees after penalty appeals when a through ball has been played and the whistler is behind the action. CRICKET ICE HOCKEY