Let's have replays to give football refs a kick

For the thousandth time, football fans around the world are pressing for TV replays, and for the thousandth time the sport’s governing body will shrug off their pleas. It’s become a tiring routine, an issue raised after every significant refereeing blunder – and then muffled once more. The vast majority of fans believe it would be highly practical and appropriate to use this mundane technology to make the world’s most popular sport fairer. But those who make the decisions cannot be convinced – or are too stubborn, to be frank.

Last week there was another controversy to stir the pot. During an English Premier League match, a confused referee sent off the wrong player. It should have been the team captain chucked out for a foul, and indeed the skipper was in the process of removing his captaincy armband ready to leave the pitch when the referee instead showed a teammate the red card instead, ignoring protests all around.

Three days ago in the same top-ranking league, rival players were spitting at each other during a match. 

Evidently the referee saw nothing and no one was punished. The ugly incident surely didn’t affect the outcome of the game, but we wonder whether the players might have restrained themselves if they’d known the referee might see a replay tape and then assign penalties.

The obstinate refusal of Fifa, football’s governing body, to allow TV replays as a refereeing aid would be laughable if it weren’t so maddeningly wrong. 

None of Fifa’s excuses has withstood examination. It has said reviewing replays takes time and disrupts the flow of “the beautiful game”. That’s not true, since play can continue while officials elsewhere review the tape, only contacting the referee on the pitch if there is indeed a stoppage required. And the term “beautiful” is a red herring when it comes to incompetent refereeing, since a pall of ugly anger descends on the stadium – and on TV viewers – when there’s a truly egregious error.

Fifa has also balked at the cost of replays and the manner in which they’re captured from the sidelines, but why not simply make use of the video already being shot for commercial broadcast? 

The only expense to Fifa would be for a TV set, a recorder with replay capability, and a pair of walkie-talkies.

Fifa has noted that TV footage doesn’t necessarily tell the whole story. 

This is true at times, but it’s an exception to the rule, and greater accuracy in refereeing is worth the occasional risk of false perceptions.

In support of replays, they’re not required for every untoward incident on the pitch. They’d primarily be useful when a player is sent off, when an offside-goal call is in question, and when the referee has to decide whether to award a penalty spot kick.

Fifa continues to draw fire because it lets an easily solved problem persist while other sports utilise the technology to everyone’s satisfaction. 

Controversy over close calls isn’t “part of football’s charm”, as Fifa maintains. Those controversies on the field often spark brutality among players and fans.

With yet another refereeing mix-up, pressure on Fifa has been renewed. It does seem like the use of TV replays is just a matter of time. When Fifa finally bows to the inevitable, it needn’t expect heartfelt thanks.