In these days of modern technology and instant communication surely the fourth official should be able to advise he referee if he's made a mistake. Watching the Poland Greece game some of the refs decisions were laughable and a word in his ear from the fourth official would have avoided a sending off! Why can't they do this?
I'm not sure if in most cases the fourth official would have a better view of the incident than the ref or linesman. But if they were monitoring the game on a screen with the benefit of replays these decisions could be rectified within seconds. The fourth official at present seems to be equivalent to playing the back end of the horse in the panto, all they do is wave the substitute/added on time boards and wind up managers.But they have an important role nontheless.
I think the fourth official is simply there incase one of the other three grazes his knee and Jimmy Hill isn't there to save the day by playing at being linesman - sorry; 'assistant referee'
I may have been drinking but I think apart from the player that got sent off, every other decision was spot on. The initial yellow wasn't even a foul let alone a booking. The second was dubious as the player was already off balance and he didn't need to help him down...possibly a yellow. I don't see how the ref can be faulted (other than the initial yellow).
The second one was certainly not a foul, he only put his hands up to stop the guy falling into him! Both yellow cards were absurd decisions. You could also argue Szczesny should only have had a yellow too but the ref saw an opportunity to even things up I guess. Compared to Howard Webb in the other game, who didn't show a single card, the guy was a complete joke.
The fourth official is responsible for banter, piss-taking and the distribution of jelly babies amongst the technical areas. Oh and other mundane jobs like making sure the right number of people are standing at any one time, and telling the managers to shut up. But in fairness the fourth official in the 2006 World Cup Final did get Zidane sent off, so that's one thing that they have achieved. Comparing anyone to Howard is practically unfair. A good tournament here and he will just about take on legendary referee status. Unfortunately for the Spanish guy he misread the first Sokratis yellow card completely, and the second was soft (which is another way of saying probably not a yellow). Szczesny had to go and he knew it, and the offside was correct. But you've got to get the big decisions right, and he got one of them wrong there.
I think the 4th official's job will evolve, now that technology has a possible foothold in the game. The 2 yellow sending off of the Greek player was ridiculous. It's an area where a clued-in/plugged-in 4th official could advise.
Doubt any technology will be used to over-rule a referee's judgement call. The players argued enough as it was...with the possible intervention of technology the game would have been held up for ages.
Technology will only ever be used for a point of fact not a judgement call. A decision about whether a foul is bad enough for a yellow card should be left to the ref. When it isn't, there won't be a ref on the pitch at all, but only a big brother in the sky...no arguing just a taser to make sure you leave the pitch when told.
Another example last night with the handball towards the end of the game. Whole world saw it apart from the ref!
Me and Fran are on exactly the same page here...we can stay buried together. Anyway, it seems like all the broadcasters have brought their nice new slow-mo cameras out, which are always good for making any decision look completely incorrect. No chance were the Danish handballs deliberate. Looks like Howard Webb will ref one of the final round of Group B games.
