Soccer Needs Instant Replay
The federation governing international soccer joins a long list of international institutions --- NATO, the G-8, the UN Security Council, and the EU come readily to mind --- that need to be brought into the 21st century.
In “FIFA, Technophobia, and 21st Century Futbol,” my colleague Bob Manning argues that the federation governing international soccer joins “a long list of international institutions — NATO, the G-8, the UN Security Council, and the EU come readily to mind — that need to be brought into the 21st century.”
The money quote:
In the case of a hidebound FIFA, its technophobia comes at a high price for athletes and national teams who pour their souls into competing for their respective countries, only to be defeated through no fault of their own. Baseball is similarly conservative, but ultimately allowed video replays to determine home runs because of the impact on the game on getting it wrong. So far, FIFA will go no further than to consider adding a byline (goal line) referee or two. But the sidelines referee was there as England scored, and got it wrong. It should be obvious to FIFA that any outcome that is the result of officiating mistakes rather than the result of players efforts that can be avoided ought to be avoided if possible. How long will FIFA sustain its Luddite ways at the expense of the hope of justice for athletes who deserve no less?
More at the link.
Instant replay, or at least to adopt some of the technology that tennis uses that has cut down on the arbitrariness of a judge’s call on when a ball is in or out.
Had that technology been in place during the England-Germany game, England would’ve gotten that goal.
I’m in favor of technology. But nothing has ruined American sports quite so much as instant replay, football especially. It was bad enough with commercials, official time outs, time outs just used for clock stopping but still seeming to require a couple more minutes of commercials for each one, and on and on. I literally cannot watch a football game anymore, there is so little action and so much blathering by announcers. Replay is what drove the final nail in the coffin for me.
Please, please don’t bring this abomination to soccer.
If there was one simple message to boil down about Hitler it is simply this:He used electoral means to gain power, once he had power, he annihilated all semblance of freedom and democracy to consolidate power in his hands.
Oops–one should double-check one’s cutting and pasting…
It should have been:
But nothing has ruined American sports quite so much as instant replay, football especially.
Obviously, it is a matter of opinion, but I think that replay, especially in football, has been a net positive. I would rather take a brief pause to correct an error than to have the game dictated by error.
Whoa. What’s with the Hitler reference?
Hitler? Who said anything about Hitler?
Actually, I cut and pasted the wrong quote (that was from another thread) and I carelessly didn’t make sure I pasted what I thought I was cutting and pasting!