FIFA: Isn’t it time for technology?
Sports other than football have quite successfully embraced technology. Sports such as Tennis, Cricket, and Ice Hockey are all employing technology to get important decisions right, decisions which can turn a game on its head, decisions which can choose who the next World Champion might be. It’s a bit disappointing to see that the World’s largest sport i.e. Football, has so far refrained from adopting technology to help on-field officials at making decisions which they can otherwise get wrong.
FIFA has already said that technology is off the table and that they are not even considering using it on a trial basis, never mind permanent use. Their argument stems from several factors; they say firstly that the cost is too high to implement it widely in all of the games played around the world. Given the amount of football played each year, taking into account international friendly matches, league matches and cup matches they might be right.
They also point out that technology is not totally accurate and it might create more problems during the match. Another issue that FIFA raise is related to football as a sport, they say that football is a flowing sport, it has no breaks and the implementation of technology will firstly kill the spirit of football as a free flowing sport.
FIFA also state that such ‘dramatic’ moments such as a goal line issues or an offside decision or a foul which might result in a penalty kick are all part of the game, this ambiguity of decisions including mistakes only adds to the entertainment of the game and football’s appeal as a sport.
Recent events in the World Cup have accelerated this debate and have brought another aspect to light. What if these decisions which are mistakenly made by the linesmen or the referee result in a nation getting knocked out of the world cup? What if such a decision results in someone becoming the World Champion even when TV replays show that they don’t deserve it?
England’s goal that wasn’t accepted as one against Germany and Argentina’s goal against Mexico which came from a player in an offside position tells us that such a possibility is very real, real enough to take action, real enough for FIFA to reconsider their decision.
FIFA have declared in the aftermath of these decisions that they will be sticking to their decision and that they will not be considering implementing technology for any type of decisions, even goal line decisions. FIFA’s reasoning for prevention of technology is quite flawed when analyzed. Firstly, FIFA makes billions if not millions of Euros from event such as the World Cup itself, European Championships, FIFA World Cup Championships, Media Rights and not to mention, Sponsorships.
Their statement that they cannot implement it because of the cost is just not acceptable when the governing body itself is earning billions from its various sources. Secondly, how can the introduction of technology make matters worse? Another equally important question is ‘how is technology less accurate than a person standing 40 feet away from the goal?’
The technology might not be 100 percent accurate but its accuracy is much more than the linesman or the referee. It also cannot make matters worse because teams are already going out just because a referee or a linesman made bad decisions. The worst position has already been achieved through such devastating decisions by FIFA’s appointed match officials. FIFA’s next two reasons are also quite invalid because football as a sport will only become better with the introduction of technology, as the amount of human errors and unfairness will be reduced. Otherwise fans will not want to spend thousands of Pounds or Euros to see their team play, because in the end, seeing them get knocked out because of a bad refereeing decision, just doesn’t make it worth the spend.
Also, Is FIFA trying to promote football as a sport which openly appreciates injustice? Recognizes that injustice can be done but then also deliberately takes no steps to fix the problem? FIFA’s last reason is the most illogical of all, football as a sport itself is exciting and does not need such dramatic moments to capture audience attention. Injustice and tragedy should not be promoted as a source of entertainment whether in sport or in other walks of life.
FIFA should realize that football is about football, not about referees capturing the headlines and linesmen sharing them. It is about the players who play on the field and the fans who pay to watch them. Injustice has no place in sport and unfairness has no place in football. FIFA need to wake up before the beautiful game deteriorates into something awful.
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