In this 2010 World Cup we are seeing great advances in TV coverage, with several cameras showing things we have never seen before in soccer, such as very slow motion and even interesting and not so interesting facts, such as heat maps, speed of players, etc. However, it's a shame that FIFA doesn't want to use this technology to help refereeing. I can't recall a World Cup (or any other FIFA tournament) with so many crucial mistakes by the referees that could have changed the outcome of the game. Just of the top of my head:
- The ball crossing the goal line in Germany vs England
- Argentina's offside first goal against Mexico
- Brazil's 2nd goal against Ivory Coast
- That call against USA in the game they almost came back for a victory
Before I keep on writing, let me make it clear that I want to complain about these calls despite the team I was cheering for. I'm Brazilian, so there's no question for which team I cheer. In the other games, I usually cheer for a good game, or for whatever result would make a next good game (e.g. Argentina so they would play against Germany, or cheering for England to tie the game against Germany to make it a bit harder for the good German team). I even talk about that Brazilian goal which was beautiful, but unfortunately also illegal.
Also, let me say that I don't suspect of foul play by any of the referees. These are mistakes that happen, but unfortunately they got to an unbearable point. I don't think there are more or bigger errors now compared to the past, but now we're more likely so see them with all the technology involved in the TV coverage (more than 30 cameras, instant replay, etc), that weren't available before. That begs the question: why doesn't FIFA want to use such technology to decrease the number of mistakes?
The only reason I've heard is that such mistakes (and following discussions) are part of the game. Sorry, I don't buy it. It's not part of the game that your team doesn't qualify for a world cup because of a clear hand ball. Or that you team doesn't go forward in the tournament because the referee (or his assistant) didn't see a ball kick 30cm inside the goal. These are mistakes that don't take all the technology to be seen, but I believe that are possible to happen when only one, maybe two, men have a split second to make a call.
I think that regardless of how many improvements there are to refereeing, there will always be mistakes. Didn't someone say "To err is human"? Let's just hope that with these improvements they won't affect the outcome of the match so much, as we have seen lately.
So what kind of improvements am I talking about? Well, I'll leave that to another post. But, at the very least, the 4th referee should have access to all the technology we have. This way he/she could warn the referee when such big mistakes occur, and the referee should be allowed (or not be afraid of, not sure what's the right thing here), to go back and fix his/her own mistakes.
So, why am I writing about this? First of all, to vent. I'm sick of watching this and not saying anything, and hopefully I'll find other people like me here. But I also hope to find people that think the opposite, and I'll love to hear and understand your arguments. But, the most important reason for me to post this, is that I hope to start a chain. In times of Twitter, Facebook, etc, it's easy to get people to agree or disagree with you. More importantly, it's easier to be heard. And I think this is the only way to make changes. FIFA doesn't own soccer, and I believe that if they see that a good number of people want change, maybe they will come.
Please post your comments. I really want to hear what you think about all of it. Even if you disagree. And, if you like it, spread the word. Let's see what we can get out of it.
In my next post, I'll share some of my ideas that might (in my point of view) greatly improve the game.
Best,
Gus
I think the call against the U.S. that you're referring to was the one in the Slovenia game that would have made it 3-2. Of course, there was also the goal by Dempsey against Algeria that was waved off for a bogus offsides.
ReplyDeleteI like this manifesto (although I might change the word "bullshit" to something a bit less provocative :)). I think these are awesome ideas, too, especially the one about putting a chip in the players' boots to help with offsides calls. I'd never thought of that, but they're doing it for marathons now, so there's no reason it couldn't work in soccer.
I think your idea about stopping the clock is especially prudent. It would be a big detour from the traditions of soccer, but I think it's well overdue. One of the most infuriating parts of the game (for American fans, at least), is seeing players writhing on the ground with fake injuries only to pop back up and start running a few minutes later. FIFA is never going to win over the U.S. market until it eliminates that crap.
No doubt there would be resistance to this. They're big changes. But I think it's time.