The debate on whether Fifa should move with times and include the use of television replays in football has grown louder by each passing day largely because of glaring shortcomings of match officials at the on-going 2010 Fifa World Cup in South Africa.

By Limukani Ncube – Chronicle

The debate on whether Fifa should move with times and include the use of television replays in football has grown louder by each passing day largely because of glaring shortcomings of match officials at the on-going 2010 Fifa World Cup in South Africa.

Other sporting disciplines like tennis, cricket and rugby use technology in high profile engagements and many believe such a move will also help football, where a lot of money is invested day and night and it becomes folly when a human mistake costs players millions of US dollars.

From the Hand of God of Maradona to the Hand of Thiery Henry, it appears more is still to come. The standard of refereeing in the World Cup has been below expectations and on two occasions, USA were denied what appeared genuine goals.

Another high profile moment was when the referee disallowed a “goal” by England midfielder Frank Lampard. The goal would have drawn England 2-2 with Germany going to half-time and that would have certainly changed the complexion of the game which the Germans went on to win 4-1. In another match that followed a day later, Argentina striker Carlos Tevez scored from an offside position against Mexico and the Mexicans lost the match.

The incidents led to renewed calls for goal-line technology and Fifa president Sepp Blatter admits world football’s governing body will look into the matter. “It is obvious that after the experience so far in this World Cup, it would be a nonsense to not reopen the file of technology at the business meeting of the International FA Board (IFAB) in July.”
“Personally I deplore it when you see evident referee mistakes but it’s not the end of a competition or the end of football, this can happen. The only thing I can do is I have spoken to the two federations — England and Mexico — directly concerned by referees mistakes. I have expressed to them apologies and I understand they are not happy and that people are criticising. We will naturally take on board the discussion on technology and have first opportunity in July at the business meeting.”

Fifa had blocked any further experiments with technology at a meeting of the IFAB, the game’s rule-making body, in March and insisted that perhaps assistant referees were to be added to guard the goal line. Blatter insisted that the introduction of video replays is not an option. “The only principle we are going to bring back for discussion is goal-line technology. Football is a game that never stops and the moment there was a discussion if the ball was in or out, or there was a goal scoring opportunity, do we give a possibility to a team to call for replays once or twice like in tennis?”

Chronicle staffers have varied views on the topic, which has dominated most tea and lunch breaks in most work places, coffee shops and bars.

Technology will slow down the game
I do not have a problem with the use of technology in football as long as it is limited to the goal line. Goal line technology can be critical in assisting match officials to determine whether the ball has crossed the line or not, to avoid awarding dubious goals or disallowing genuine goals, as was the case with Frank Lampard’s disallowed strike during the England-Germany last 16 clash in the 2010 World Cup.

The adoption of technology in football can result in match officials being assisted to make fair calls, especially when determining off side calls, the punishment to be meted for rough tackles or viewing off-the-ball incidents among other things.

However, using technology will inevitably result in more stoppages. The stoppages will in turn affect the flow of the game and the players’ rhythm, resulting in less entertaining football matches. If football lovers have to wait up to a minute as a television umpire examines video footage from different angles before assisting the man in the middle to come up with a decision, as often happens in cricket, there is a genuine risk that “the world’s most beautiful game” will become the world’s most boring game.

Football is an action packed game and anything that encourages more and longer stoppages should not be embraced. I believe referees should be trusted to make most of the decisions, and in the case of goal line technology, seek for assistance if they are in doubt. — Owen Gagare.

It will not be wise to resist change
The introduction of technology in the game of soccer would be very much in line with technological advancements gracing the globe despite the tangible and intangible costs that come along with it. We have seen the use of technology in cricket matches then why not in soccer after all the technology will go a long way in ensuring that the referee’s mistakes are minimal in the beloved game.

However, one is not drawn to this conclusion after the Frank Lampard goal during the England-German World Cup round of 16 clash on Sunday. I think it would be wise not to resist change. Technology with necessary moderation on its use during matches from the governing body Fifa would be a good stride towards developing soccer in my opinion. — Makhosi Sibanda.

Let’s revisit the rules
I think when the goal passes the line and it’s neither witnessed by the referee nor the linesman and all the match officials have those gadgets for communication on their heads, then it’s high time we had the rules re-visited and we have video evidence come into play like we have in cricket.

If the referee’s decision is final when we have two linesmen and a match commissioner at work and the decision is suspicious and can’t be given the benefit of a doubt, a playback would do justice if there is a protest from the disgruntled party. — Fortune Mbele.

Technology will take away the flair
Introduction of the ball line technology by Fifa will certainly take away the natural flair that is there in soccer.
As much as there is a lot of money that is directed in the sport, one should note that those ‘mistakes’ by match officials whether deliberate or not lead to football consumers debating thereby generating lots of interest.

Maybe the best thing that Fifa can do is to introduce extra assistant referees who will be stationed behind the goal posts to monitor ball action in the box, particularly the goal line. — Ricky Zililo.