Why it must happen.. .................................. [video=youtube;voSh6EeqnTk]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voSh6EeqnTk[/video] The Football Association has reiterated its 'strong desire' to see goal-line technology introduced following QPR's controversial disallowed goal on Saturday. Mark Hughes' side controversially had a goal not awarded in their Premier League match at Bolton when a Clint Hill header was ruled not to have crossed the line. Within an hour the FA released a statement, which read: "Following last week's meeting of IFAB (International Football Association Board), the FA would like to reiterate our strong desire to see goal-line technology introduced as soon as possible." "The FA has been a leading proponent of goal-line technology for many years. "We will continue to press for its introduction once further independent testing is complete later this year, so that anyone wishing to introduce the technology is able to do so at the earliest possible opportunity." FIFA, football's governing body, has so far resisted goal-line technology as well as other proposed ideas such as instant replay and adding extra officials. However, following Frank Lampard's disallowed goal in the 2010 World Cup, FIFA president Sepp Blatter hinted that technology could be in place in time for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Feasibility The Premier League is investigating whether it is feasible to bring in goal-line technology for next season ahead of a July decision by football's lawmakers. The International FA Board (IFAB) has approved goal-line technology in principle and will go ahead with final tests on two systems, one from British company HawkEye and GoalRef by a German-Danish firm. A final decision will be taken in July and even though the new season kicks off only six weeks later, Premier League sources say they will look at whether it could be possible to have a system in place. If the time available is too short for the Premier League, the first introduction would probably be FIFA's Club World Cup in Japan in December.
Been banging on about this for years lads the tech is out there and there are also non tech ways (extra officials a la EUFA), that goal could cost QPR their place in the PL. We all make mistakes and you will not get everything right but, why not try and get most of it right or are FIFA and the FA too scared of tech and change?
Don'y get me wrong - I'm in favour; depending on how it's done but it's much easier with a stop-start game like cricket, American Football and even Rugby... Does the technology get applied if/when there is a stoppage in play? If not (as was the case yesterday with QPR) a few minutes could pass before the 5th official gets to make a decision which means not only means better clock-management will be required but also if the game is 'rolled back' do decisions made in the interim stand or are they wiped? (red cards for example). I would hate to see the flow of games becoming broken up - and however they decide to impliment it you can rest assured players and managers will try to exploit it.
I believe that once technology has been introduced and accepted, that managers should be allowed to contest three decisions during a game, rather like tennis players have. If you contest a decision and are proved to be correct then you still maintain your three appeals. It wont take long for managers to learn the ropes and minor infringements will not be contested. Whoever incidents such as yesterdays in the Bolton-QPR game will become a thing of the past, and we can all meet in the pub after the game and discuss the football instead of the cock-ups made by inept officials.
We already have and have had for years... 'Goal Line Technology'. It's called cameras on the goal line that have shown all the contentious incidents over the years. Five to ten seconds after every incident, the viewers know one way of the other. Why can't an official be available with the TV people (at least in the Premier League at first) to inform the referee in the same time frame? If the cameras weren't there in the first place how would we be discussing the incidents like yesterdays Bolton v QPR game and seeing that Hill's header was indeed a goal?
As philray says. Goal line technology won't solve offside questions, or whether fouls were in and outside of the box, handballs, dives etc. etc. TV replays with a match official in the stand is the obvious way forward for top level football. I also like the idea of teams having 3 challenges per game, where the video ref can be consulted. The ref could have the option to go to the video ref too if he is not sure of a decision. Surely officials want to get the decision right rather than face all the abuse if they get it wrong, or if the crowd THINK they have got it wrong. It's a no brainer for me. Oh wait......FIFA and UEFA - brains???
They have been bleating on about this disallowed QPR goal on the radio since 5pm yesterday but nee one has mentioned the fact that Cisse's equaliser was blatantly offside.
I have always disagreed with the "it wastes time" argument it will take what 2 to 3 mins at most to have a look at three to 4 angles and come to a judgement and it builds exitment look at rugby league or tennis and none can complain about these bad calls anymore and refs dont have to get the abuse like at the moment...
Thing is conner watching a game on the telly you get 2-3 different views of incidents within 10 seconds, about the same amount of time it takes to take a throw in.
Conner I think talcnturnip is agreeing, just that you said it would take 2 or 3 minutes when it usually takes a much shorter time (seconds) to decide what has happened.
but then you have to take in to account that the vidio ref has to make compleate sure so will watch several views several times (like in the rugby)
With video technology, the decision is instant. All the video ref has to do, is say Goal! or No Goal! into the ref's earpiece. We are talking seconds. If the technology can't say one way or the other, it is No Goal! as we will always have ones that are hard to tell either way and accept it. Where as the disputed decisions, can go 3 or 4 minutes whilst players argue the toss. (And get no where.)
Unless your called Rory Delap, then it takes 2 minutes to find the towel, would just love to know for sure how much time is lost in a Stoke game with all of this.
The practicalities of implementing goalline technology could be awkward- I personally think a system similar to that in Tennis could work, with the captain of each team allowed 3 'appeals' to check decisions like offsides, penalties and potential goals using a video replay. That way we wouldn't end up with constant stoppages in play and only genuinely contentious issues would be appealed. Referees and linesmen have a thankless task and introducing technology could only help them.
Let me play devil's advocate here for a second and tell me what you think would happen in this scenario: Team A are attacking and have a shot cleared off the line, the ball is cleared directly to one of team B's lightening quick forwards who, in the space of seconds, is clear with only the goalie to beat - Team A's players and manager scream an appeal to use the technology - does the play get halted stifling the second attack? <option 1> Assuming the ref lets play continue <option 2> with a marker on the pitch (as in the NFL) and the goalie susequently professionally fouls (no dangerous play though) team B's player, preventing a clear cut goal chance... sending off offence but upon review the first goal counts... are the goalie's actions then simply ignored as it happened pending a review? You could argue that, yes, he still committed the foul but you could argue that he was only put in that situation by the officials abnegating their responsibility to the video ref. I'm sure there are lots of scenarios where if <option 1> is in place it could be used by teams to 'cry wolf' to disrupt the game and if <option 2> is used there could end up being a whole series of events occur is the few seconds it takes to review the video. So maybe I'm being cynical but I don't have much faith that the FA will implement it in a very intelligent way and until I understand how it will work with some real hard-examples it only gets my conditional support.
The words intelligent and FA have never gone well together mate, which is why I think they'll bottle it and wait till FIFA bring it in somewhere hailing it as a brilliant idea of their own. For me all it takes is some thought start with an extra official on the goal line then move on from there, it's not fool proof by any stretch but, the refs do need help.
The range of suggestions on how to solve this problem indicate to me that there is not an easy one. To be totally sure that a ball is fully over the line means a device has to be invented and placed in exactly the right position. The linesman was correctly positioned in line with last defender to cover offsides etcc, had he been in line on the corner flag then he stood half a chance of confirming the ball was fully over. In real time the incident happened so fast that even then giving a goal would have been guess work - not in the officials handbook. For my money this is another ingredient that makes football what it is- in the realms of missed sitters, goalie clangers etc - something in the mix of get on with it no matter what.
