Goal-line technology under discussion
The International FA Board has decided to bring the issue of goal-line technology under discussion. The matter would be discussed in their meetings and a vote would be held in March of next year. The IFAB has restarted the debate, despite of the fact that
the idea was regarded as inapplicable last year.
This issue re-raised its head during the World Cup. During the England’s match against Germany, the young Germans had England on the back foot in the first half of the match. However, English rallied in the second half in order to recover the lead of Germans.
Everything was going great for the English team but in the end they lost the match by 4-1. During the course of that game, Frank Lampard had a goal denied despite of the fact that the ball had crossed the goal line. In the end, this denied goal cost England
the match, which restarted the debate of using technology in football.
The International FA Board has confirmed that the technology would be used, but it would apply to whether a goal has been scored or not. The decisions would be taken swiftly, on the basis of television replays, and would be communicated to match officials.
It would also be ensured that time is not wasted during the course of this whole review.
In the world of football, the use of technology is always under discussion. Referees always make mistakes, while the cameras are the quickest to catch them on the spot. However, the governing bodies of football have always disagreed on such proposals. Although,
the rules are already there in other sports, like cricket and tennis, but IFAB believes that the case of football is different.
The most difficult decision in cricket is giving a run-out. Everything happens in matter of split-seconds, which makes it hard for the naked eye to judge. Therefore, umpires always refer to a third umpire in order to give a decision. Similarly, the field
umpires can always refer to the third umpire if they feel uncomfortable in giving any kind of decision. Now, things have moved ahead, as players have gotten their right to challenge a decision they do not like. However, there is a limit to these challenges,
so that its excessive use does not spoil the game.
Similarly, players have been given similar kinds of challenges in tennis. When the players feel unhappy with the linesmen decisions, they are always free to use their reviews, but are liable to be within limitations. In both these sports, the reviews have
gone one step ahead, as the technologies beyond the television cameras are in place. Now, the trajectories of the ball are plotted in virtual dimensions, suggesting the flight and landing of the ball. This gives more accuracy to the review decisions, because
even cameras cannot remove the elements of doubts in certain cases.
The problem is that football cannot use the technology in similar fashion. The most important thing is that there are no breaks in football. In cricket there is always a gap of few seconds between one ball and the other. Also, the tennis players take ample
time between the serves. However, in football there is no time to rest for even a while, as the players are allowed to take quick free-kicks after the fouls. Therefore, if a review technology is in place, it would be problematic as it would have potential
of being misused.
Nevertheless, this would be the first step towards the use of technology in football. This seems actually quite unfair as in tennis every line is being monitored by a single person, while in football there are only two linesmen. So, a little assist would
be good for the referee, who is often the centre of any controversy. Also, in the coming years, this would expand to the use of technology in making critical decisions, like showing red cards and giving penalties. These are the decisions that can affect the
outcome of a match, and referees would definitely like to get assistance in making such decisions.
Tags: