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Given that most of the controversial decisions in football are pretty obscure, it is extremely difficult to give a verdict about every decision and hence only a handful of cases are reviewed. In order to improve the game though, the governing bodies of the league should broaden the scope of this review system to other cases such as:
- a. Diving
If a player has not been yellow carded for diving during the match, then provisions should be made to punish the player after the match. If there is absolutely no contact between the player and the defender then in such cases a yellow card should be mandatory after the match. Repeated offenders should be banned. This is an important step and will make sure that it frees football from the curse of diving.
- b. Aggressive tackles
In 2010, Aaron Ramsey was supposed to be the next big superstar in the Premier League. A Ryan Shawcross tackle was all that was required to fracture his foot in two places. Shawcross got a mandatory red card and a three match ban but Ramsey’s career was in tatters. There were doubts if he would be ever able to make his comeback.
The question one would like to pose is if a three match ban is sufficient for such tackles? Are these tackles in any way less harmful than a bite for which a ten game ban was awarded?
This was a case when the offender was punished but there are many cases when such tackles have been overlooked just because the referee saw it but failed to realize its cynical nature. Such decisions should also be looked into and retrospective actions should be taken against offenders to make sure that irresponsible actions are not repeated which have been responsible for bringing many footballing careers to a premature end.
What Fabregas says in this video is very important and it is a surprise why nothing has been done to ensure the safety of the players on the field from such Pulis-ian tactics.
Technologies
1) Goal-line technology
Goal-line technology has been used to determine if the ball has completely crossed the goal line with the assistance of electronic devices. An electronic sound is transmitted to the referee in case the ball has crossed the line. The goal line technology is only used as an aide for the referees and the final decisions are at the complete discretion of the referees. This technology has already been used in Confederations Cup, Euro 2012 and the current season of English Premier League and will be in use in the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the Bundesliga next season.
In last season’s Premier League, there were 31 incidents in which the Goal Decision System would have helped to correct three mistakes during 380 games.
2) Hawk Eye Technology
This is another type of goal line technology but is supposed to be more advanced. This technology utilises high frame reate cameras and cutting edge vision processing techniques to predict the trajectory of the football. This technology is already being used in cricket and tennis and is well placed to replace the goal line technology sooner rather than later.
It was announced on 16 December 2013 that the Hawk-Eye technology will be used in three of the four quarter finals in the Capital One cup and was successfully used to allow a Lee Cattermole goal in the Chelsea Sunderland quarter final clash.
3) Video Referrals
Similar to cricket, hockey and tennis, there have been calls to allow teams to challenge the decisions of the referees if the teams are absolutely certain that an error has been committed. The use of video referrals by the teams can be limited to 1 per game and should only be used to make major decisions such as penalties or red cards or offside calls where the goal has already been scored before the flag was raised. The limited referrals will allow the teams to only contest the decisions if they are absolutely sure while at the same time ensuring improved accuracy.
4) Tags/Sensors for making offside calls
A researcher on BBC’s website claims that tags can be used to track the players and the ball within five centimetres. He suggested three possible techniques: Using Radio Frequency identification (RFID), Satellite tracking and video content analysis. The former technique can prove to be a cost alternative option though may have have slightly larger errors.
The technique for using this technology has been described in more detail in: http://podospherology.com/offsidedetection.pdf
Conclusion
Goal line technology has been an excellent addition to the game of football and Hawk Eye has also started to prove its worth. As the goal line decisions have binary outcomes it is not difficult to use technology for such decisions, but most of the other decisions involve a bit of subjectivity. Besides, there are many people like Michael Platini, FIFA’s current chief who have been vociferously opposing too much technology intervention in football.
As has been observed by the successful application of technology in tennis, hockey and to some extent in cricket, effective technology not only helps in improving the decision making by reducing human errors but also ensures that the matches are at the heart of discussions on sports bars and not controversial decisions. As a result, it is essential that world governing body of football FIFA welcomes and encourages technology with open arms as soon as possible.
