Howard’s way with video ref
IT WAS the most infamous moment of his own career which persuaded Howard Webb to take on the challenge of bringing video technology into football.
Former Premier League referee Webb is still remembered for his failure to send off Nigel de Jong after his X-rated tackle on Spain’s Xabi Alonso in the 2010 World Cup final.
It was Major League Soccer commissioner Don Garber’s first question for Webb before hiring him to oversee the use of VAR (Video Assisted Referee) in the States.
Or VR (Video Referee) as they call it in the US.
Garber said: “He said: ‘I made the call I thought was the right call to make then. Looking at it now, it probably wasn’t the right call. If we had technology to correct it, I’m all in’.”
It is one of the many reasons why Webb is so passionate about video technology and why he thinks it is inevitable it will be introduced into the Premier League, possibly even by 2018.
Webb, 46, left the comfort of a TV studio as a BT pundit to oversee VR in the States where they are pioneering it in MLS to study big calls on goals, penalties, red cards and cases of mistaken identity.
He said: “There’s a misconception refs would be against it as it exposes errors or undermines their authority. But, in speaking to referees, they support it almost to a person. They see it as something that can help them.
“Errors are not made intentionally. You get one shot to make a call. If you’re in the wrong or difficult position, it can be difficult. If you make a mistake it can leave a scar on your career.
“A chance to avoid those errors is something we would all welcome.
“It’s not just to rescue a referee from a bad decision, it’s often a situation a referee couldn’t call on the day because his view was blocked or couldn’t see the view that one of the numerous cameras can give.”