So no cameras or microchips for a while after FIFA shut the door to technology in Zurich. But world soccer's governing body does often sound a trifle fascistic to my ears:"It is the end of the potential use of technology in football,” FIFA General Secretary Jerome Valcke intoned. “Now it is being stopped...The door is closed." So that's that then.
No, this debate is not going to go away. Like the Cheshire Cat in Alice in Wonderland, its teeth will remain after it has vanished. Just wait until the next Hand of Henry flashpoint. And why such a draconian tone when 90% of Europa League players polled are in favour of video replays for goal-line incidents? That's FIFA for you. Couldn't they at least tell us details of the trials of Hawkeye and Cairos, the latter's microchip technology developed for five years in conjunction with FIFA's favourite kit maker, Adidas.
Hawkeye's letter to Sepp Blatter in 2009 states the referee's earpiece receives the result of goal-line decisions within half a second, which appears to quell fears of game disruption. In any case, how much time is wasted contesting a bad reffing call?
I was surprised the margin against was as big as 6 to 2 from the International Board (IFAB), who decide on rule changes to the world's favourite sport. For the record, it was the English and Scottish FAs who voted for technology and the Northern Irish and Welsh who joined the four other FIFA members in kiboshing the cameras - the four oldest football associations retain half the votes i
n IFAB.There's a school of thought that says a little unfairness is good for the game as it gets fans riled and rushing to renew their season tickets; too much and the sport would become a farce but that's not going to happen - the human eye is inferior to the slow-motion replay but it is not a useless contraption.
Don't forget Zinedine Zidane's famous headbutt was spotted by the fourth official on video and relayed to the referee's earpiece - technology is already being used for off-the-ball fouls. But that's it for now. Remember Torsten Fring's goalkeeping in Korea 2002? How could we forget, and how about another one of them this summer to knock your country out the World Cup?
"Questions will always come," admitted Valcke, adding ominously, "we just hope they will not come in the final of the World Cup."
- Sean O'Conor, London - and sorry if I sounded too much like Paul Gardner!
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3 comments:
Here's to hoping a questionable situation does come in the final of the World Cup, Monsieur Valcke.
Sigh. I still watch those USA-Germany highlights at least once a year, and they never fail to feel like a punch in the gut.
One thing about this clip that's really noticeable right now, here in the wake of the Holland match, is just how supremely confident the U.S. looked during this '02 game compared to the current team. (Or at least compared to the team we've seen the past few months.)
The Confederations Cup certainly saw flashes of this. But wow -- it really jumps out in this footage. Just look at that crisp stop by McBride on the sideline and the play where Donovan breaks to goal. There's a swagger in all that which is just missing at the moment.
Yeah, would've been nice to have the goal-line technology confirm that the ball had already crossed the line before Frings happened.
As if fans wouldn't have enough to get worked up about with penalty decisions like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fr2oTmQ0GwM
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