The football world is once again embroiled in discussions about the use of a referral system after a blatant goal was disallowed in a game between Everton and Newcastle. It’s time the “world game” moved into the 21st century as fans, punters, players and coaches demand better.
Football’s world governing body FIFA has always been against change. Their policy is “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” but unfortunately this just isn’t going to cut it anymore. FIFA expects every game of football to be refereed in exactly the same manner, regardless of whether it’s a World Cup final or an under 10s game in Ecuador. This is unrealistic, outdated and not in the best interests of the game anymore.
Video technology is now used in every professional sport apart from football. Although it takes time to perfect this type of referral system, it will eventually prove to be a reliable source for referees to base decisions upon, reducing the number of games decided by wrong decisions.
Football is big business, especially when it comes to competitions like the EPL, Champions League and the World Cup. FIFA needs to concern itself less with tradition and more with making this big business as foolproof as possible for all involved. The required technology needs to be made consistent and available to any competition that chooses to use it.
Come on FIFA, fix this problem and fix it now!
