Video Refereeing, anyone?!

Redz SG

I've always been for this ever since a certain riely started his career in referring( Mr. Green ).

Anyway, someone fm LFC.tv forum cldn't hv put it better:

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I think it is really a big joke that football being played at such high levels with so much money involved is being dictated more by poor refereeing rather than team's performance. I think it is an utter disgrace. On top of it, I dont think the FA does much to penalise refs for bad decisions.

I think it is time FA started using electronic media to improve refereeing standards. Many people will say it will take time but dont you think it is better that a game be prolonged by 5-10 minutes and the outcome of the game is fair rather that try and save those 10 minutes and let the game be affected by bad decisions.

Even though, I dont believe it will take much time. What can be done is put another referee using television who has the power to override the ref's decisions. He will constantly watch the match and if he finds anything controversial, he can tell the ref to change his decision(Like garcia's goal against boro or penalty against chelsea or red card against gardner in carling cup). And I dont think it will take any more time than the time taken to show the replay on television to the viewers.
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Also read tat such has already been so in games like rugby and AFL; so why not in soccer!?

kpo SG

i think having video refs could be an option ... but it's difficult to implement ... sometimes it may even bring up more problems ... it may sound funny, but having video refs does not eliminate all mistakes ...

other sports like rugby league, rugby union, and cricket already use video refs ... when the refs onfield are unsure about some incidents, usually goal scoring situations, they will refer it to the video refs ... they also have video reviews where players can be charged for violent conduct or striking etc

i guess the first question would be: at what level do we implement the video refs? ... it would be a massive exercise for fifa to implement it across all levels ... it means writing up new guidelines for the video refs and re-training them ... the cost of installing the technology is also huge ... video refs in a rugby league match may get 4 or 5 angles on the goal line ... the major leagues probably have similar number of cameras but what about games like the tiger cup?

another difficult part is where does the video ref's responsibility ends? do they only look at goal scoring situations, particular incidents, or do they cover the whole game? ... because if they're involved in the entire game then there may be a lot of interruptions ...

the video ref option is defintely worth exploring ... but it can only minimise the mistakes, it cannot eliminate all mistakes ... that's why an argument against it is that the refs' wrong decisions are part of the game ...

the Bear SG

i, for one, would not like a video ref in football..

but there should be reviews of the videos after the games in cases where violent conduct is not seen by the refs... those who bring the game into disrepute must be made to answer for their actions...

with that being said, video evidence would be great in the Singapore vs Myanmar game of the Tiger Cup where there was violence against Subramani who caught a waterbottle full-force on his head...

such things should be punished severely...

CoolMyth SG

The problem with video refs is that the game will slow down to a crawl....what with the ref having to check his decision with the video ref most of the time, if not everytime.

Do you want to see football become like American football? I sure don't.

But I admit, it is a problem. When I saw MR is the ref for the Liverpool/Chelsea match, I know, that's it. Game Over. We lost even before starting the match....

Found an interesting article:

"Life of Riley"
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/feature?id=320833&cc=4716

the Bear SG

uhh.. american football is a crawl but that's the nature of the game Razz

still think it should not be used.. except in cases where it would be a travesty if the player got away with it...

Redz SG

If the case agst it is purely on practical concerns, then I feel it's not enuff!

I feel strongly for it! It's part of my game see a WIN or LOSS in a fair manner! Any human error/misjudgement/biases shd be minimised as far as possible - riely's caseS are good glaring examples! Not only do they often hv impact on the match results...there are consequences to the final league standings/winners too.

Wat I'm saying is the ref on the field shd not be the main man now ....certainly not at this age and time when technology allows a more precise, if not just decision on wat happened on the field. And tat shd be done realtime too Smile

Of course we are talking abt major incidents like a goal, a penalty, or a send off. The video-ref/panel wld be the one calling for stoppage and their decisions shall overwrite tat of the field-ref. Given the latest technology which can show the replays fm various angles in split seconds, I dun see the stoppages any much longer than wat a field-ref wld take.

I tink tis is very much a case of "justice" vs "practicality"! To me, the former prevails...n practical issues shd not be the stumbling blocks! In short, soccer being the most watched/supported game shd no longer be ruled by stone-age means! Let's progress! Very Happy

Poolman SG

I thought television telecast is the main culprit for not implementing the video ref ?

Think about that !

When you have one telecast after another , what happens if video ref is being review , about 7 minutes per appeal ? How if one match there's five appeals ? Instead of a 90 minutes ball game , it will be extended til 125 minutes !!

Secondly , as far as rythem and momentum in a football match is concern , any delay really tamper the beautiful flow of football .

Poolman SG

My choice : keep it tradictional , as it is !

And implement some kinds of referee's disciplinary actions , and kept those referee's on their toes !

Promote more qualified referees into the game , if one referee is performing below par , one like Mr Riley , drop him , and give another ref a chance to perform .

A committee has to vote or decides his or her fate , ironically from video , of a referee performance !

frOst^~^nOva SG

mike riley is a flop in refereeing and he should be dropped!!! but i think that video replays would affect the game completely. Usually all these kind of bad refereeing decisions would balance out in the end. sometimes they go your way sometime it doesn't. Football should remain the way it is Wink

kpo SG

for this particular ref my view is the fa deserves a standing ovation for its weakness ... if the fa, or whoever appoints the refs, can still persist with such an incompetent ref, then i think no technology will help ...

there are quite a number of difficulties in implementing video refs that i can think of ... but let's just stick to the "disruption to the flow of the game" part ... based on the anfield game, there is no doubt a video ref's intevention would have been beneficial ... the delay would have been justified and justice would have prevailed

now consider another scenario ... say barca vs r.madrid ... madrid attacks and the little botak crosses into the barca penalty area ... deco controls the ball in the area but appears to have handled it ... in a split second he sends a perfect long pass to ronaldinho who is through and one on one with the keeper ... video ref halts game to review ... replay shows there was no handball ... what happens then? does play resume in the barca penalty area? what abt the goal barca could have scored?

i'm not saying it will not work ... my point is there are a lot of details that need to be considered ... i think video refs can play a part in offside decisions, and also review if a goal should stand ... they probably should only come in when the ball is dead (like in the above scenario, the ref could play advantage and wait until ronaldinho scores or the ball goes dead before halting play) ... but sometimes things are not so straight forward because the ball might not go dead for long periods ... the advantage rule may become very significant ...

looking at the way the fa and mr riley is performing, i doubt very much epl is ready for video refs ...

Redz SG

At this pt of writing, I'm glad tat the calls for video-ref/evidence is getting ever louder - thx or no-thx to the MU-Spurs game. Can anyone in the true of spirit of the game accepts tat it's NOT a goal!?! The linesman did... n he said he has NO regrets! Evil or Very Mad

Assuming tat's not a matter of integrity, surely such mis-judgement is uncalled for in this modern age and time. It's like preferring a manual check to tat of a auto-chk by MS-Words for typo errors. I say it's time the soccer-world wakes up their ideas...move on with times n technology!

The use of technology such as video-ref wld only improve the game; concerns abt rules, complications, implementations are best left to the experts. But I'm quite sure as soccer-loving-people themselves, their top-most concern will be to minimise any unnecessary disruptions to the flow of this beautiful game.

While I wun say it will solve all possible scenarios on the field (like the one-of-a-kind situation mentioned ah Bo), its potentials of providing much more just and correct decisions on-field are simply too over-whelming to ignore.

kpo SG

the latest blunder juz shows how much the fa is not ready for new technology ... not only did the fa take no action, the linesman even had the cheek to say he has no regrets ... in rugby league he would be refereeing in the reserve league the following weekend ...

... their mentality is truly a disgrace at a time when the epl is enjoying so much success ...

Parka SG

Video referee?

Might as well use simulation games for soccer next time as well, right? Since we have the technology.

Mistakes are part and parcel of the games.

Poolman SG

Mike Riley a joke ?

Then you have to see that Spurs vs MU game , that ref and his assts. were a total disgrace to EPL football !

How on earth he misssed that error by R.Carroll ?

Redz SG

I hope u meant the mistakes by players rather than mistakes by ref/linesman.

If the use of technology can improve the game in terms of fairness without compromising it "beauty", I dun see how soccer fans can object to it... unless of course, they appreciate the game differently.

Redz SG

Unwittingly, such "mistake" has made soccer a joke to the non-soccer world Sad