REPLAY TECHNOLOGY IN FOOTBALL
We have seen far too many crucial games won and lost unfairly due to bad decisions!
Won Or Lost Unfairly! When there can be such considerable sums of money resting on the outcome of modern football matches it seem ludicrous that important games can still be compromised by bad decisions. Week in week out we still see crucial matches won and lost unfairly due to unwitting mistakes by officials.
Other Sports Up To Date! Other major sports have now embraced modern technology in an effort eliminate errors. The application of such reply technology is now playing a crucial role making these sports fairer and more interesting for the spectator. However, in football bad decisions are still allowed to rule.
Help On Offer! It is ridiculous and also frustrating that any home television viewer can patently see within seconds when a bad decision has been made and yet no one advises the one person that matters - the referee. A referee's job can be a difficult one at times. He might just appreciate a bit of help if it were on offer rather than finding out afterwards that he's made a blatant and embarrassing mistake, when of course, it's all too late.
Simple Solution! As we have seen in other sports, with application of replay technology eradicating practically all erroneous decisions is simple. A tech official can monitor the game and can advise the referee in real time. If it is plainly evident from the instant replay that a bad decision has been made, the referee can be informed and advised instantly over their communications link, before the decision is allowed to stand and unfairly bias a game.
Summon Help If Needed! If a referee has any doubt about a particular incident or potential decision, he can also summon help and expert advice based on instant replays from several different angles. There is often time to do this without seriously holding up a game in the time it takes for teams to get organised and spot the ball.
Another Dimension: However, as well as helping to ensure fair play, this kind of replay technology also offers another dimension for the spectator, giving the audience the ability to be able to scrutinise the replay reviews and join in the analysis. This is an interesting and entertaining facet of modern sport that has come about with the implementation of replay technology.
Fairness and Integrity! Regardless of any amounts of money, maintaining fairness and integrity in any sport is important and should be considered crucial! In top flight football, the difference between relegation and promotion, championship and premiership, is about two-hundred million pounds.
Referee's Error: That amount of money can be unfairly won or lost currently due to a referee's error. No one can criticise a referee for making an honest mistake, but to let mistakes rule the game when there is so much at stake and we have the power not to, is surely a mistake in itself!
VAR: 2018 and the FA have finally introduced VAR (Video Assistant Referee), however, rather than taking on board the already established and successful methods employed in other sports, such as rubgy, cricket and tennis, they decided to have the game monitored from a distant remote location and instead of allowing the spectators and the players to participate and get involved in the procedure, by being able to watch the replays on the big screens, spectators and players were excluded.
Twiddling Thumbs: In the meantime, everyone was standing around twiddling their thumbs, not knowing what was happening, while the scrutiny was carried out many miles away. It is then no surprise that this led to complaints about the length of time taken for reviews to be carried out as well as complaints about the game being interrupted and not flowing. It's a bit like the band disappearing in between songs at a gig and leaving nothing for the audience to watch or listen to on stage. Yes, nobody does it, for a very good reason!
Audience Participation: Goal line technology has been a great success, eliminating any chance of error. The further introduction of full replay technology should be a very simple process. After all, just about every other sport is doing it and doing it to great effect! However, one of the things that makes replay technology so successful in other sports is audience participation. Everyone can get involved. But not in football it seems. The players and the spectators are locked out and left waiting in the dark.
Little Oversight! Hopefully this little oversight, that has made the whole process of using replay technology dull, boring and a drag, will change in the near future and the spectators will, as with other sports using replay technology, be invited to participate and join in, along with the tech official! Much more interesting and much more fun!