Should football use technology?

[EISTnWAST]

MiM's comment on the Old Firm thread made me want to post this.

 

IMO

Refs recieve far more & far better training than ever before. So they can't possibly be worse now than in the past. Take a look at this clip from about 1993

and ask yourself if you think this could happen nowadays. I for one seriously doubt it.

 

So what do all these people screaming for technology want? Robots for refs? Flawless decisions for the full 90 minutes plus time added on for stopages and extra-time and penalties if required?

Great. When our team loses we can congratulate the opposition for being the better team. Refs are a huge part of the game, take out human error and football will no longer be the people's game, but the namby pamby's game.

The only think I wouldn't mind too much would be a chip in the ball to say when it crossed the line, but I'm not even very keen on that. Start looking at replays and there is little need to have officials on the pitch at all. They can just sit in a room with several tv screens and announce the decisions from there.

[shetlandbairn]

Leave it as it is I think. The problem with a lot of the contentious decisions in football are that they are judgement calls (bad tackles for example).

 

I follow cricket and American football pretty closely and instant replay has definitely improved them but I don't think it would help football all that much.

[Marooned in Maywick]

The stop-start nature of these games absolutely lends itself to allowing decisions to be taken out of the hands of the officials if need be.

 

In fact since my football nowadays is predominantly stop with the occasional start I'd be all for technology rearing its head in local fitba'.

[Fjool]

Football wouldn't be the first sport to employ technology to take the pressure off fallible human referees; tennis uses 'Cyclops' for example.

 

I think that there are some technologies which would help for sure.

[dB]

Definitely want to see more use made of technology - what Celtic fan doesn't...???

 

IMHO replays could be used to ascertain whether a goal was scored fairly or not, ie the replay would only be needed when the ball goes in the net, or appears to. Ball's in the net, play stops anyway - a video official could review it and indicate if there was an infringement by the scoring team and whether the goal should stand.

 

Re offside. It's totally impossible for a linesman to be watching when a ball is played and to be watching the line. Therefore, it stands to reason that it's impossible for the linesman to be right all the time. Ergo, why should we expect these people to do a job that's impossible.

 

If a period of play doesn't result in a goal it doesn't matter whether a striker was onside or not - play on.

 

Simple.

 

Or it could be.

[Carlos]

From the other point of view, if there are rules that do not need to be enforced correctly/consistently, why are they there?

 

Too hard to judge offsides? Get rid of the rule then.

If the rule is a good idea in principle though, then aids to help judgment should be a good thing?

[Guest posiedon]

I think the video referee that's used in rugby would be a good thing.

[Marooned in Maywick]

Definitely want to see more use made of technology - what Celtic fan doesn't...???

 

 

At a guess I'd say all those who were happy to see Takis Fyssas red-carded (subsequently rescinded) on Ne'erday 2006 when Shaun MaPhoney (dirty cheating wee scrotum) flung himself over his outstretched leg without even touching it - a pivotal moment in that year's championship race.

Or how's about when Chris Sutton backed into Stephen Pressley and was awarded the game-winning penalty when he fell over?

Or how's about when Martin O'Neill ludicrously and astonishingly claimed that Andy Webster actually elbowed himself in the face - try it...it's frikkin' impossible!!! - in a challenge with John Hartson?

 

But those few examples aren't the point - every fan will be able to flag up examples of when he/she have felt aggrieved by a baffling decision.

 

I wouldn't even particularly mind if referees were as bad as they are if they'd only be consistent with it.

 

Should technology be used?

In my view - yes.

The BBC show on MotD the offside line (for example).

I see no reason why that couldn't be real-time and relayed to match officials. Same with ball in or out of play.

Referees would obviously need to use their own discretion re illegal challenges etc though I'm sure Christian Kalvenes would argue that they don't always get those right either.

[dB]

^ I suggest removal of dy maroon-tinted specs for a couple o minutes, MiM.

 

I dunna have the time to get intae a moomin-for-tat argument aboot real and/or perceived injustices but try and consider which club receives the vast majority of "helpful decisions" from the SFA and/or the match officials over the course of the season...???

 

A peerie hint..................da answer's no Celtic.

 

(*** Mod - Unnecessary quoting removed ***)

[Marooned in Maywick]

Answering that would take the thread in a different direction from its original intent.

 

However.....care to suggest which team gets the second most help from SFA, SPL, match officials?

 

Peerie hint.....it's no' Hearts.

 

The oft-quoted line is that 'decisions balance themselves out over the course of a season'.

All that means is that if Rangers get a dodgy decision against us then Celtic will get one as well.

[dB]

^ Agree that the thread should remain aboot technology so dis will be my last post aboot dodgy decisions in dis thread.

 

Da answer to da question du asked is Rangers Reserves.

 

[mod]Unnecessary quoting removed. Please, please avoid verbatim quoting of posts, especially those directly proceeding your own! Thanks for your cooperation[/mod]

[Carlos]

Do fans really enjoy arguing about refs decisions and bias too much to want it all certain one way or the other?

[EISTnWAST]

^ Nail on the head Carlos. I don't think MiM and dB have gone off topic at all. They have proved the point that technology would ruin football for them. What will you say MiM when Hearts finish 8th in the league? Will it be "well done to the teams who are clearly better than us", or " I wish there was no technology, so we could get more decisions our way than Motherwell, Kilmarnock, St Mirren etc."?

 

dB (although you probably realise this) you said the ball is in the net anyway so play stops. If the ball is in the net a goal would be awarded. Technology could be used when the ball isn't in the net, but possibly crossed the line and play continued. Would it be a good idea to study replays while play continues? Would be very interesting to see the fans reaction when their team goes up the other end and scores, only to see a goal awarded to the other team for something that happened a couple of minutes earlier.

The only way I can see technology being used for this situation is to have an electronic chip in the ball, that gives an instant decision.

 

As for offsides being decided by replays, that is opening a can of worms. Does that mean that every close offside decision that isn't given would be looked at again on a replay? Or only when a goal is scored? What if a team wins a corner or a free-kick after a close offside decision? That could also lead to a goal. You did mention a period of play, but how long would that period be? And does the clock get put back to the time it was at when the offside offence initially occured?

It doesn't seem as simple to me as you make it sound. (I'm guessing that you may be a fan of a certain American sport )

[Marooned in Maywick]

^ Nail on the head Carlos. I don't think MiM and dB have gone off topic at all. They have proved the point that technology would ruin football for them.

 

Not at all, dear chap - I believe I implied that I'd welcome technology if it helped produce some much-needed consistency into the game.

 

What will you say MiM when Hearts finish 8th in the league? Will it be "well done to the teams who are clearly better than us", or " I wish there was no technology, so we could get more decisions our way than Motherwell, Kilmarnock, St Mirren etc."?

 

The way this season is going I might say 'Phew...thank f*** fir dat!!'

I don't want more decisions going our way - just the ones we should be getting by a consistent referee applying the laws of the game fairly.

 

 

 

As for offsides being decided by replays, that is opening a can of worms. Does that mean that every close offside decision that isn't given would be looked at again on a replay? Or only when a goal is scored? What if a team wins a corner or a free-kick after a close offside decision? That could also lead to a goal. You did mention a period of play, but how long would that period be? And does the clock get put back to the time it was at when the offside offence initially occured?

 

Offsides not decided by replays, but real-time technology used by a human (5th official?!! - actually, I can't see much need for the 4th official apart from getting sharged at by managers) and relayed to the referee.

If it's real-time then there's no need for clock stoppages unless (a) the ball is out of play or ( an infringement has been committed.

 

Slight digression here (I'm good at them) but I think it's time the offside law was simplified.

Whilst I disagreed with it at the time (and still do as it isn't actually the law, but I'd be all for it being changed so that it is) da Flea's opinion was that if you're in an offside position, you're offside.

Yes, even if lying up beside the corner flag with two broken legs.

 

 

It doesn't seem as simple to me as you make it sound. (I'm guessing that you may be a fan of a certain American sport )

 

Proper use of up-to-date technology - simple.

But then that just might level the playing field ever so slightly so that the Old Firm don't get their own way as much as they have done for the last 130+ years.

 

And yeah....I love baseball quite keen on ice-hockey too.

Broncos season is over and I've never really got into basketball.

[shetlandbairn]

Instant replay for offside decisions would be carnage and I actually think goal line technology could be more hassle than it's worth... how often do you see that being a factor in a game? In fifteen years supporting Falkirk I can't remember one goal line incident.

 

If they were going to change anything, I'd add another referee so you'd have one in each half... would there be any negative points about that? And you could even go further and stick in a couple of extra linesman so there'd be two in each half on opposite sides... then one could operate from the goal line to a quarter up the pitch and the linesman on the other side could do from there to the halfway line. That would surely increase the accuracy of offside decisions.