Man, I thought American sports and their leaders/organizers had things backwards. In soccer, we have players cussing out their coaches, players calling out their fans, questionable refereeing, and multiple missed calls. When England got screwed over Sunday by a missed goal call, I figured the outcry that soccer needs to integrate instant replay to review goals would be so strong that FIFA wouldn’t be able to resist. I figured wrong.
Apparently FIFA is run by a man more resistant to progress and the use of technology than Bud Selig, and that’s hard to do. As if not wanting to use replay to get goal calls correctly on the biggest possible stage — the World freaking Cup — is not bad enough, FIFA is more concerned with ensuring that instant replay isn’t utilized on scoreboards within the actual stadiums so as not to incite the fans and players. Apparently in Communist FIFA they don’t want instant replay to exist. My goodness.
Football, basketball, baseball, and tennis are all using replay — some to a greater extent than others. The technology available to assist referees exists. Why not utilize it? The explanations from FIFA President Sepp Blather have been maddening. He thinks referee screwups: are part of the human element, spark debate and controversy (which he feels is a good thing), and keeps the game the same for all people all over the world.
Alright Blather, let’s take this point by point. One, the human element is fine EXCEPT when they miss goal calls. Two, it’s the damn World Cup — there will always be debate. Three, again, it’s the WORLD CUP, 99% of all soccer games played aren’t watched by hundreds of millions across the world, hence, this is much different. Dude, get with the 21st century and add some replay just to get the calls right. Enough already.
Sources:
FIFA: Replay of Tevez goal ‘a mistake’ [AP/ESPN]
Blatter breaks silence over goal-line technology [Inside World Football]
