There has been much furor on recent weeks over the
standard of refereeing in the Premier League, and UEFA appear to
have made some proactive steps towards improving standards. During
an U-19 match between Cyprus and the Czech Republic this week,
extra match officials were employed to assist with penalty area
decisions:
The two extra assistants are charged with identifying foul play
in the penalty area and patrol a limited space near the goal, on or
just either side of the dead-ball line. They do not have flags but
alert the referee via headsets. (The sixth official is the current
reserve referee, who continues in his traditional role of being
shouted at by managers on the touchline.)
The new arrangement comes straight from the brain of Michael
Platini, who mooted the idea ten years ago. The French have offered
to trial the system in their league cup, suggesting world
footballing organisations are willing to takeit seriously.
The idea is to provide a “human camera” for incidents that
referees miss in the penalty area, but wouldn’t it make more sense
to introduce an actual camera? A video referee would be
much more relaible, and much more difficult to contest.