Fans never seem to hesitate in their chant “I’m blind, I’m deaf, I think I can ref!”
At times we can swear by those words out of frustration, but do we truly understand how difficult it is to officiate with perfection? With 50,000+ fans screaming in your ears, trying to influence the decisions you make, while knowing that events may have escaped your vision, the challenge is evident.
The 2014 World Cup in Brazil has provided numerous instances for referee decisions to leave entire nations to languish in frustration. How much longer do we have to wait until replay analysis is utilized in referee judgement?
This year’s tournament has been no exception to controversy, as hosts Brazil were given a dubious penalty shot after their striker Fred tripped himself in the box against Croatia. Mexico was denied two goals for being ruled offside against Cameroon when the replay showed both of them should have counted in their 1-0 victory. If Mexico were in fact given those two goals then they could possibly have finished first in Group A over Brazil.
More tragic was the fate of Ivory Coast, who lost in the dying minutes of their final group stage match against Greece for a controversial penalty shot decision. Replays show Greek striker Georgios Samaras to have made contact with the Ivorian defender while attempting to shoot, then eventually scuffing the grass, and falling in the penalty box.
In a recent article from the Wall Street Journal, FIFA President Sepp Blatter offers his own rough guidelines to how replays can be implemented for a better future in the game.
He said, “We should give another help to the referee and a little bit more justice to the game by giving the coaches a so-called challenge call,” a chance to dispute the refs, “so that they have a challenge call twice in a half.” This of course reflects a change of heart from the president, who resisted changes for many years, believing that human error is typical of soccer and allows for a better fluidity of match play.
Take a look at goal-line technology, which shows exactly whether goals have occurred or not, that was resisted for several years. Goal-line officials were introduced in lieu of the technology in recent history, yet some, of course, failed in seeing what replays reveal.
You may remember the last straw for not having the technology, from 2010, when a shot by England’s Frank Lampard bounced into net off the crossbar, and was not considered a goal. In this year’s World Cup, we have seen the cruciality of this technology through some goal-scoring moments for France and Costa Rica in the tournament.
If not for replays, Uruguay’s Luis Suarez would probably not be currently serving a four-month ban for biting Italy’s Giorgio Chiellini. Not to mention the hot debate following the tournament-ending injury of Brazil’s starlet Neymar. The forward suffered a broken vertebra after being kneed in the back by Columbia’s Juan Zuñiga during an aerial battle. By now, it’s clear that clinging to archaic rules and practices will hurt the game’s fairness and reputation.
The reputation of referee decisions and legitimacy can, and will be reinvigorated if necessary changes are made; the fans are most certainly willing to see them. With the influence of technology proving to only be a positive addition to the beautiful game, maybe FIFA’s consideration of replays can be taken as another glimmer of hope.
