FIFA moving too slow in introducing video technology
FIFA has finally moved on introducing video replays in football and will start by using replays for goalline decisions in next year’s World Club Championship.
You can read the news report here, but the question that comes out of this is:
Why is FIFA moving so slowly on this matter?
Allowing for bureacracy and red tape, this is something that has been gathering steam for several years. Objections against it stem from an unwillingness to change rather than any actual problems with ‘holdups’. It’s easy to draw a caricature of matches being constantly interrupted for referred decisions, but all these problems can be taken care of through proper regulations.
So what it comes down to is - does the elite management understand the problems that have led to calls for video replays, and are they capable of moving on this quickly?
- Premier League officials to lobby with FIFA for video replays to help refs
- Video Evidence That Football Desperately Needs Video Technology
- The Goal-line Technology Debate: A Goalkeeper’s Perspective
- FIFA scraps plans for goal-line technology in favour of additional linesmen
- Euro 2008 Nike Video
Discussion - 3 Responses
Add Your Comment
Comments are moderated (our comments policy).











Video evidence shouldn’t be rushed through. For me it breaks down to what instances it should be used for:
Fouls - wastes time
Cards - Perhaps only for red card offences and for reviewing and recinding (sp?) cards post match
Goal/No-Goal - a microchip in the ball and sensors on the goal line would surely do a better job.
Offside - again, I think this would waste time, and de-value the job of the linesman
Handball - only in a red card situation, but how do you judge whether it is/isn’t one of those?
Legality of throw-ins - don’t be daft!!
What does anyone else think?
Fouls, Cards - post-match review.
Goalline incidents - microchips didnt work, in case you didnt read the article.
Offside - the job of the linesman is to make the right decision. It’s a tough one here, so how they bring video into this would be interesting without interrupting the game.
Handball - tough again
legality of throw-ins - no one cares
For fouls and handballs, it’s tough.
But if you have post-match video reviews (and provided that they don’t turn into witchhunts) of key incidents, you cant fix results but you can punish players or rescind cards.
Another thing they can do, apart from videos, is to calm things down on the pitch by only allowing the captain to speak to the ref. That will solve a lot of problems, seriously.
Agreed - it should only be the captain who is allowed the right to question a decision. That would end the swearing, or surrounding of the ref by multiple players which really gets on my nerves even if it my own (spurs) team. That will save on yellow cards and dissent on it’s own…
You could even make it so that he can only ask for two vid replays per half so that it becomes tactical - like substitutes or refuel/tyre changes in F1….sorry thats a silly idea