Footballseems to be the only major sport that does not use video technology. But all isabout to change; according to the Dutch FA official Gijs de Jong, the Championsleague and the Premier League will have video technology in matches within fiveyears. De Jong believes that every mistake that the referees make strengthensthe cause of the introduction of video technology.
Thetechnology is set to be used in the not too distant future, although theInternational Football Association Board have delayed the trials in competitivematches, which were meant to start in February 2015, until April 2016.
The standardof refereeing has been questioned recently, after a number of high-profile mistakeswere made by officials this season, which harmed the reputation of the game. These errors could have been avoided shouldthe video technology had been used. Butsome still argue that controversial decisions made by referees are needed sothat people could moan after the game!
There wereseveral recent examples from the Premier League when a referee punished a wrongplayer: during West Bromwich Albion match with Manchester City on 21 March,referee Neil Swarbrick sent off the wrong West Brom player - Craig Dawson waspunished for felling City’s Wilfried Bony, while the red card should have goneto Dawson’s team-mate Gareth McAuley.
Similarly,Sunderland’s Wes Brown was shown a red card by referee Roger East for a foul onManchester United striker Radamel Falcao on February 28th. However, later replays appeared to showBrown’s team-mate John O’ Shea was the one who impeded Falcao.
And lastnight the England women under 19s football team had to be recalled on a pitch,for just 18 seconds, five days after the original game with Norway, as theirpenalty goal was wrongly disallowed on Saturday by the German referee MarijaKurtes.
Upon examination of records,there was the order by Uefa to reply the final 18 seconds of the game, from thetime of the controversial penalty.
This, and similar misjudgements by referees, willbe avoided in the future with a help of video technology.
