Video Replays in Football, to use or not to use?
To use or not to use, that has been the question. Whether to include the help of video replays in football is probably the biggest issue the football federation has been faced with in the recent past.
Everyone expects the referees to be perfect, or at least reduce their mistakes during the games. It looks like it’s easier said than done. So, everyone tries to find solutions and FIFA is pressed from all sides with various stakeholder and experts coming
up with their own alternate solutions and suggestions.
Initially, FIFA tried a system of deploying 6 referees in a match. The additional referees were to be placed behind the goals so that they could observe issues specifically relating to the goal line.
Some experts even came up with the suggestion to use some kind of small electronic device that would be placed inside the football and would help send some sort of message or signal if the ball had or had not crossed the goal line.
We have already seen many teams suffer and lose highly crucial matches because of the mistakes made by on-field referees. Such incidents have also taken place in which teams have lost matches that they should have won.
Again, these incidents may be quite easy for us or the commentators to watch on the television replays and criticize the men overseeing the game. But to the naked eye, some of the errors that have been made are quite difficult to pick up.
In the end, we have to understand the fact that the arbitrators of the game are also human beings and in this capacity, they are also entitled to make mistakes.
Depending on each person’s individual opinion, they may not even be mistakes as in most cases, the referee may well be almost at an impossible position to see the blunder that may have taken place.
We should keep in mind that he is surrounded by a number of players running around and sometimes keeping your eyes on every action that takes place may simply just not be feasible.
Many sports in the past did not use the technology of video replays to make sure a decision was taken or made correctly but as people bore witness to incidents in which umpires or referees made some awful error of judgments, they wanted to make sure that
no unfair treatment to any player or team should take place.
The argument to use or not to use the replay technology has always been based on the notion that if they do begin to use it, the on-field umpires will lose their authoritative personality and the game will lose its originality.
However, with the passage of time various sports' federations understood the advantages of using replays to confirm decisions wherever there was an element of doubt involved. They comprehended that the pros did outweigh any cons the technology would bring
with it.
About fifty years back when there was no such device, a lot of people at certain moments must have wished that there was some way in which an incident laced with the uncertainty could be viewed again to be sure that there had been no lapse in judgment.
Now, that the world of sports and athletics has been blessed with such an opportunity, a lot of concerned people think that it may damage the authenticity of the game.
They fail to understand that the game itself isn't being changed but rather an element is being added to it that will make sure that the game is played as fairly as possible. For instance, if a player or team worked really hard throughout a tournament to
reach the finals, and on the day they were the victims of a mistake that had been made by the referee which eventually was the reason for their loss.
How would they justify something like that to the team or player who lost their chance to victory not because of their personal lack of talent or the lack of hard work on their part? In the end, losing the final because of an error that could have been easily
double checked through a video replay will surely be hard to swallow.
Other sports such as Tennis or Cricket to name a few, have already included the regular setup of the review system to allow players to challenge decisions they think were made incorrectly.
Basically, to comprise the replay system in football would most certainly mean lesser mistakes and perhaps it would leave no room for the controversies that really leave a bad taste in the mouth.
As far as the spirit or originality of the game goes, the soul of a sport lies within the passion it is played with. Demoralizing teams or players by being unfair to them will cause them to be less passionate about the sport.
Their passion lies within the knowledge that if they work hard and perform well they will be rewarded and recognized for it and not the other way around.
FIFA has another month or so to come up with a decision on this issue. They must do whatever is best for the sport as November will be the deciding month for it. Most people are waiting for a positive response.
At the end, anything should be done to avoid errors such as those made in the recent football World Cup.
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