HOW I’D USE VIDEO TO SAVE OUR GAME

It HAS been a season of unprecedented errors by match officials. Now even their boss Mike Riley has had to accept that, given the pace and intensity of the modern game, technology is needed to help referees get more decisions correct. Putting that technology in place might take some time but here is how I’d like to see it used.

KEY INCIDENTS

there are two major decisions referees can take knowing they can directly affect the outcome of a match — penalties and red cards. these tend to be the ‘gut feel’ situations when you know instinctively that you must either point to the penalty spot or dismiss a player; sometimes both.

these are the first decisions that you want confirmed or clarified in cases where you are unsighted or concerned about being deceived by simulation or exaggeration.

there will always be 50:50 or even 60: 40 situations where many think a penalty is correct but just as many think it would be the wrong call. Reviews would not help in such situations and we should just stick with the referees’ opinion. Saturday’s clash between Southampton’s Jose Fonte and Burnley’s George Boyd falls into this category.

In red-card situations, a referee should still make the initial call but then seek confirmation, if needed, from the video referee. take Steven Gerrard’s red card on Sunday. Martin Atkinson saw the incident clearly and his assistant confirmed his view. there was no need for a review and I would not want to see one brought in for this.

However, he clearly missed the dreadful tackle by Liverpool’s Martin Skrtel on David de Gea. If the technology had been in place Atkinson could have asked for a review after seeing the reaction of the players and sent Skrtel off. Atkinson might also have asked for a review of the Phil Jones tackle, which I hope would have fallen into the ‘referee’s call’ category and supported his in- play decision.

GOAL REVIEWS

When a goal is scored and there is a possibility of offside or foul play, then — as in rugby — the referee would state that he intends to award a goal but asks the video referee to check the build-up.

the video referee would already have access to replays and would be able to review the incident within 10 seconds and not cause a delay in play.

Where an offside is missed, which is not often given the excellent judgment of Premier League assistants, and a goal is not scored then no review would be possible or necessary.

Even if that leads to a corner I would prefer that play continues as too much interference would spoil the game for the fans.

UNSEEN INCIDENTS

this is a contentious one. If the active officials completely miss something, should the video ref step in? I’d say yes, but only in the case of violent conduct as this will help prevent further incidents.

If such an incident happens in the build-up to a goal then it will be picked up in the standard ‘goal review’ — so thierry Henry’s handball for France against Ireland would have been highlighted and punished.

VIDEO REFEREES

Former top referees should be trained to use the technology and be part of the team of officials. the same principle should apply that a small tightknit group would work best, as it does with assistants. the referee would then have one or two video officials he knows and trusts. So, for instance, Martin Atkinson could have Howard Webb and David Elleray as his video refs — one working with him every week.

THE END GAME

the goal would be to get the major decisions right, avoiding the glaring errors that seem to be happening more than ever.

Red cards being given to the wrong player, as when Neil Swarbrick (above) dismissed West Brom’s Gareth McAuley instead of Craig Dawson on Saturday, clear penalties denied and offside goals allowed to stand would all be corrected.

In cricket a run- out is rarely given by the standing umpire. Instead, a video review is called for but that works only because cricket stops after every ball.

Referees must always have the confidence to make big decisions while occasionally seeking confirmation or clarification. Only by experimenting in a competitive league will we see how beneficial it could be. Without it, referees’ credibility will continue to decline.