Time to bring in goal line technology
Its two weeks into the new football season and already there has been wide spread support for the introduction of video technology to assist the officials in making crucial decisions. This has been brought on by another unbelievable decision to not allow the goal scored by Freddie Sears for Crystal Palace against Bristol City last weekend.
I’m sure you have all seen it by now and it is clearly a goal and managers up down the country have called for the introduction of goal line technology. The case is strong as there is always numerous incidents of “was it wasn’t it over the line debates during the course of the season and inevitable the officials will get the majority wrong. It is hard to sympathise with the officials at times when it seems clear cut such as the Palace goal or the phantom goal given last season by Stuart Atwell in the Watford Reading game, but some are a lot harder to see.
There is no doubt the game is quicker and players are quicker and more powerful and this has been aided by technology. Sports nutrition players a key part in the players being stronger and faster but a larger part is the ever changing technology that is introduced to the key part of the game the ball itself. The technological advances in materials and understanding of the movement of the ball is welcomed by FIFA, the FA and The Premier League to make the game more exciting, quicker and ultimately so we see more “wordlie” goals. In fact there is always debate over the official ball of the Premier League, World Cup or Champions League with regards how it moves through the air.
New technology is in every walk of life and it has changed the way we live our lives, other sports such as Tennis, Cricket and Rugby have embraced it and used it to ensure that a point or a wicket is genuine before awarding it. Now points or wickets are easier to come by than a goal in a game of football, the beauty of the game is that one goal is worth an awful lot and one the hardest parts of the game, so why don’t FIFA and football embrace it.
Well FIFA’s argument is football is a global game and the rules are the same across the world, the game should be played with the same laws and rules at all levels from Under 11’s to amateur to professional, therefore if goal line technology was introduced in one league it would need to be across all levels and unless FIFA or The FA want to pay to put little goal line cameras in all the posts in every registered pitch across the country or world in FIFAs case they say they cannot introduce new rules that cannot be implemented at all levels.
However noble or stubborn FIFA are being it makes no sense. Football is the global dominant sport with the game played in pretty much every country across the world, only the Olympics come close to the World up in terms of global reach and appeal and that is a fundamental part of FIFAs argument, athletics or rather the Olympics remains such a global event because what everything thing is standard across all ages and all levels. The big difference between the sports particularly in Europe is the money and footballers at the top level these days are so far removed from the amateur on the park on a Sunday morning and to a lesser extent the professional plying his trade in the lower leagues in England and Scotland.
I struggle to understand FIFA’s resistance to allow the introduction of goal line technology, scoring goals is what the game is all about and if the technology, which I believe has been tested and is available and easily affordable for The Premier League, for FIFA or UEFA to put in for World Cups and the Champions League then it should be introduced at the top level and for leagues or Football Associations that can afford to introduce this technology across their competitions should be allowed to do so.
The game is far too big and far too popular to be effected by such a move at the very top level of the game. It will make no difference to how players are trained or taught to play or the rules at the lower levels, the game won’t change because of this technology or stop it from being enjoyed in parks and open spaces as it is now across the world. It won’t alienate fans either as they will be more at ease with the decisions made by the often hapless officials but it will ease the pressure on the officials and make sure that it is certainly a goal or not. Some of the players hit the ball at 80mph from 30 yards away, if that bounces off the bar and down then unless it nestles in the net you would need to have super human sight or hawk eyes how often does that happen on a Sunday morning?
The TV cameras are everywhere at football matches these days and TV pundits and commentators are quick to pick up on referee or linesman’s mistakes and the introduction for the goal line technology is only going to account for maybe 10 or 20 contentious decisions a season but it is a start and I am sure it would have been welcomed by official Stuart Atwell and Rob Shoebridge who disallowed the goal scored by Crystal Palace.
I’m not sure what it is going to take for Sepp Blatter and his cronies to wake up to technology, maybe if the World Cup Final was settled by a dubious was it was it not over the line goal or a champions league Final, it’s already happened in the World Cup final in 1966 and in a Champions League 2005 Semi Final between Liverpool and Chelsea, although even if that wasn’t a goal it was a penalty and a red card but it was over the line for me.
And their lies the strongest argument, occasionally, even with TV video replay and computer generated it is not clear so come on Sepp take the leap of faith and lets introduce the hakweye technology at the top level.
Do you agree with the introduction of goal line technology?
