FIFA World Cup 2010: The Use of Technology in Football
Once again, the decade-old debate on the use of technology in football has started. The use of technology for the assistance of referees is right now the hottest debate in all the circles of the sport. The recent incidents in the World Cup in South Africa have reignited the sparks.
On the 17th day of the World Cup, two matches of the Round of 16 were played, and both were shrouded in controversy. In the first match, the English team were up against the Germans, who were leading the game in the first half by 2-0. Then, England started a comeback with a goal by Mathew Upson. The English also got the equalizer, however, the goal by Frank Lampard was denied by the referee’s assistant, as he did not notice the ball crossing the goal-line. England ultimately lost the game by 4-1, and naturally put all the blame on the controversially denied goal.
In the second match, the Argentineans faced the resilient Mexicans. Mexico had an upper hand in the start, as the Argentineans found themselves on the back-foot from the very start. However, another error by the assistant gave Argentina the lead, as Carlos Tevez scored from the offside position. The tempo shifted in the favour of Argentineans, and a few errors by the Mexicans led to an ultimate victory for Argentina by 3-1.
In the second match, another incident happened. The big displays in the stadium showed the replays of the controversial goal, due to which the Mexicans surrounded the referee after the half-time whistle. It was an appalling scene, as FIFA came under immense pressure to take radical steps.
After these incidents, all the media and team management blamed FIFA for the controversies. The immediate reaction was to put pressure on FIFA to allow the use of technology for the assistance of referees, who often find themselves in uncertain situations while giving a decision. The English FA is leading all the criticism on FIFA, as the absence of technology led to another disastrous campaign of England in major tournaments.
The use of technology has made its way into a few sports around the world, especially Cricket and Tennis. The cameras record every moment of the match and if a player or an umpire needs to overview a decision, they can take help from the TV Umpire. The decision of the TV Umpire then supersedes the decision given by the ground referee. This has helped overcome a lot of controversies in both these games, but it happened at the expense of time.
Football is a fast-tempo game and such a referral to the TV cameras would only kill the fast-flowing nature of the game. The games would be often disrupted to see the replays, as every player feels that he is being wronged on the field. The players cannot even accept the off-side decisions of the referee’s assistants, and many have an occasional habit of diving in the box, looking for a penalty. The game of football cannot be disrupted for any such incident in the match, because it would ultimately kill the beauty of the game.
The first decision taken by the governing board, FIFA, was to disallow the showing of the matches on big screens. This measure is being taken to avoid a similar incident as the one that happened in the match between Mexico and Argentina.
However, there is something else that needs to be done to avoid similar kinds of incidents in the future. The best suggestion is to increase the number of assistants, as two must be permanently positioned behind the goal. They would be in a better position to see the fouls committed in the box, as well as the goals scored. This would definitely help the game of football in the future.
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