Video Replays.

[radikal_dj]

I am frustrated, for me, the beautiful game has become dominated by mistakes and unfair play. Referees and officials do not have the vision they need to adjudicate the game accurately and my frustrations have moved from Pub banter to serious concern, serious enough that I have composed a letter to the English F.A, for the attention of Brian Barwick & 'copied in' some of the Premierships most respected managers for their thoughts, opinions and feedback.

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Dear Mr Barwick,

Please allow me to introduce myself, my name is **** ******, I am 28 years old and have been a follower & fan of Professional Football for the best part of 20 years – my earliest memories of the beautiful game are of the World Cup in Mexico in 1986
In the United Kingdom, we are blessed with the best football league in the World as I am sure you will agree, it is a privilege to live in a country that has an honest thirst for the game, where all ages of both men & women show a dedicated devotion to the national sport like a religion of sorts, I am one of these people & like many of my fellow persons, I always look for ways to improve something for the good of the game.
The reason that I decided to write to you today, is to propose an idea and ask for feedback from yourself regarding an issue that I believe is seriously affecting the beautiful game of football and turning it into a frustrating & unfair sport.
It is my opinion that regulatory control is the single most important factor relating to the fairness of Football on the pitch, enforcing my opinion are FIFA’s coined motto’s relating to ‘fair play’ & ‘my game is fair play’ etc, and I quote from the programme:

“The generic concept of fair play is a fundamental part of the game of football. It represents the positive benefits of playing by the rules, using common sense and respecting fellow players, referees, opponents and fans”

The Fair Play Campaign was conceived largely as an indirect result of the 1986 FIFA World Cup in Mexico, when the handball goal by Diego Maradona stimulated the admirable reaction of the England coach, Sir Bobby Robson. Since then, the campaign has had with the unconditional support of former FIFA President João Havelange and current President Joseph S. Blatter.
Albeit Sir Bobby Robson, One man’s reaction made a big difference to FIFA’s policies and the game of football the world over.

The implementation of Video replay assistance for Referees & Officials is a must.
Week in and week out we witness errors and mistakes by Referees that influence results in an almost criminal fashion and this is a serious problem for the Teams and Fans alike.
Offside’s, Penalty decisions, Handballs and Fouls are replayed on Television within seconds to the watching public and we see things that the Referees do not, I ask you, is this ‘fair play’?
Football needs to embrace technology in the way that it needs new stadiums and new talent, giving match officials the ability to replay & review an incident would be a major assisting factor in the promotion and support of ‘fair play’ and an insurance to the people that are affected by results.
Video referees are already used in many sports, including cricket, rugby union, rugby league and ice hockey and its deployment has been a success. The role of the video referee does differ from sport to sport, but in Football, its role would be obvious. This technology is needed & it is needed now, more than ever.
I have written to every FA Premiership Manager for their views and I look forward to hearing yours.

Kind Regards
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[JohnnyG]

Dear **** ******,

I've forwarded your letter to some blokes I know at FIFA & UEFA.
Got to go as I'm going to a business lunch all day then picking up some new sunglasses that won't suit me.

Cheers
Big Brian

 

[Gooner14]

You actually think they will reply with anything more than a generic thanks but no thanks email?

Whilst Video replays would cut out errors isn't that the fun of football? The banter it creates between fans. Also if you watched the egg chasing at the weekend (England v NZ) you will see even after watching the replay the video ref will get it wrong

 

[radikal_dj]

I disagree - Discussing referee errors is not part of the fun of football?? Errors are something that can be prevented and if something is available to assist in crucial decision making, why is it not embraced?
I would far prefer to discuss a game in a fair-is-fair context than a "we were blatantly ripped off" context! | For example, should Arsenal have had a penalty for the Challenge on Hleb v West Ham on Sunday? - Too right they should have! Should Henry's goal against CSK in Moscow have been disallowed? No! Should he have been booked? No! - It's criminal against the sport!
What is fun or fair about your team losing or winning a game unfairly?

 

[Gooner14]

I disagree - Discussing referee errors is not part of the fun of football?? Errors are something that can be prevented and if something is available to assist in crucial decision making, why is it not embraced?
I would far prefer to discuss a game in a fair-is-fair context than a "we were blatantly ripped off" context! | For example, should Arsenal have had a penalty for the Challenge on Hleb v West Ham on Sunday? - Too right they should have! Should Henry's goal against CSK in Moscow have been disallowed? No! Should he have been booked? No! - It's criminal against the sport!
What is fun or fair about your team losing or winning a game unfairly?

Football is about talking it through afterwards with your mates, if all the talking points go then it becomes boring

But how do you stop football? Had the ball for the penalty gone into Green's arms, he boots the ball up the other end and the Hammers scores? What happens then? There is no natural stopage in football, unlike Rugby and Cricket.

Also what level do you have video refs too? Conference? Rymans, etc, think of the cost! It would be easy at games there are on Sky, but what about other games where there are only a few cameras? Should a team be robbed because they don't have a camera there?

Would England have won the World Cup with a video ref??!

I just don't think it's workable.

 

[radikal_dj]

Football is about talking it through afterwards with your mates.

Erm? Is that all it means to you? Football is about a lot more than that! Do you think Jose Mourinho thinks football is about going home after the match to talk about it with his Wife? I sincerely doubt it.
Football is sport, sport should be fair and adjudicated fairly by whatever means possible, do you agree with this? Football is entertainment, entertainment is spoiled by a lack of desire to improve the show!

If all the talking points go then it becomes boring.

Football is, or should be exciting enough, without having to discuss the referees mistakes, frankly, listening to managers after a game, blaming parts of the game on the ref is the height of boredom & the furthest from excitement. Do you follow football because you like the corruption & the cheating? or are you passionate about Arsenal winning trophies? Would you prefer sitting around talking with your mates about how fair the game is and how results are won deservedly so? How the talent of players shines through above all else...THAT is the primary essence of the game.

But how do you stop football? Had the ball for the penalty gone into Green's arms, he boots the ball up the other end and the Hammers scores? What happens then? There is no natural stopage in football, unlike Rugby and Cricket.

I am confused by this? Football is played on a running clock, fair point, but a match naturally 'stops' with the Referee's whistle - I am not saying a Referee would have to consult a video replay for every incident, but the incident's that influence a result - YES, absolutely. Blow the whistle - consult a replay instead of a blind/crowd-influenced 4th official/linesman and add the time on at the end...Easy! I see no problem here?

Also what level do you have video refs too? Conference? Rymans, etc, think of the cost! It would be easy at games there are on Sky, but what about other games where there are only a few cameras? Should a team be robbed because they don't have a camera there?

Do you know how many CCTV cameras the UK has?...lol! We live in a surveillance society, I go to the shop to buy a loaf of bread, I am video'd on 30 seperate cameras. But Bob hacks chunks out of Bill with no sniff of the ball infront of millions and "oh, Ref didnt see it".
I am sure the cost of installation of necessary cameras would be hefty, how much does Henry earn a week??? Doesn't every single F.A team have a camera or 2 at their ground? capable of a replay? I am sure the technology is affordable, if not, the incentive is that the visiting team could potentially rob you of a decision or 2?! Could it become as important as the ref's whistle!?

I just don't think it's workable.

Well....We'll see.

 

[Gooner14]

Erm? Is that all it means to you? Football is about a lot more than that! Do you think Jose Mourinho thinks football is about going home after the match to talk about it with his Wife? I sincerely doubt it.
Football is sport, sport should be fair and adjudicated fairly by whatever means possible, do you agree with this? Football is entertainment, entertainment is spoiled by a lack of desire to improve the show!

Of course football means more than that to me, but don't you get enjoyment from talking about the game. The more talking points the better. Would it be better with the game being stopped ever 30 seconds for a foul? Why stop at fouls in the box after all you can score from 30 yards.

I am confused by this? Football is played on a running clock, fair point, but a match naturally 'stops' with the Referee's whistle - I am not saying a Referee would have to consult a video replay for every incident, but the incident's that influence a result - YES, absolutely. Blow the whistle - consult a replay instead of a blind/crowd-influenced 4th official/linesman and add the time on at the end...Easy! I see no problem here?

But the ref would have to doubt his own mind. On Sunday Styles decided it wasn't a penalty, so why would he go to a 4th offical to see if it was? In Cricket, play has stopped, as has rugby. Football isn't like that. The flow of the game would be ruined. Why would Styles stop the game on Sunday if he didn't think it was a pen?

I certainly think it should be used to see if the ball has crossed the line, that could be done while the ball is still in play.

Do you know how many CCTV cameras the UK has?...lol! We live in a surveillance society, I go to the shop to buy a loaf of bread, I am video'd on 30 seperate cameras. But Bob hacks chunks out of Bill with no sniff of the ball infront of millions and "oh, Ref didnt see it".
I am sure the cost of installation of necessary cameras would be hefty, how much does Henry earn a week??? Doesn't every single F.A team have a camera or 2 at their ground? capable of a replay? I am sure the technology is affordable, if not, the incentive is that the visiting team could potentially rob you of a decision or 2?! Could it become as important as the ref's whistle!?

I have no idea what your CCTV comment has to do with this! CCTV footage is utter rubbish, compared to the clarity needed for a football replay

You just have to watch highlight programs to see how often goals are missed at lower league games, so what happens if a major appeal is missed? Is a camera or 2 all that is needed? I'd say you would need at least 6 to 8, per game. Thats a shed load of money, and why should one team benefit from it? It has to be introduced across the board.

I do think video footage should be use better after a game. I'd like to see yellow cards recinded (like Clichy's at the weekend) more suspensions given, for diving and foul play.

 

[CliffyG]

I do think video footage should be use better after a game. I'd like to see yellow cards recinded (like Clichy's at the weekend) more suspensions given, for diving and foul play.

Agree with pretty much all Gooner has said. Can't see it working. I've also quoted what i think would change the game for the better. This attitude that the Ref cant be wrong is ridiculous. Any card should be able to be looked at again if people have complaints not just red ones. Just because a Ref saw an incident doesnt mean it shouldnt be looked at again. There should be a comity which looks at people diving and hands out yellow cards when it can be proven that there is no contact. All of this can be done after the game and WILL stop people getting away with stuff and getting punished for things they didnt do.

 

[mcdermos]

Post game punishments don't help the team cheated so you may open up a can of lawyers if a player is proven to have cheated to get a result.

Undermining referee's decisions will just drive more of them out of the game. Far too often they are an easy target for managers to lay blame away from themselves. Managers/players rarely complain if the decision goes their way.
All it takes is an accusation to ruin a referee's career. If Poll did say what he has been accused of saying then he needs to be dealt with but what if he's innocent will his accuser face charges? No.

I'm not excusing referee's in any way as they do need to improve but its not just up to the ref's.

IMO I don't feel referee's have got any better or worse. What has changed is the amount of media coverage given to any incorrect decision.

 

[CliffyG]

Post game punishments don't help the team cheated so you may open up a can of lawyers if a player is proven to have cheated to get a result.

Of course the results wont be immediate but as more and more people get suspended / punished for their actions they will do it less. I can't see it being a bad thing.

 

[nst68]

As has been said before, managers/players/fans dont complain when a wrong decision goes in their favour.
They usually come out with a comment along the lines of "well, its made up for all the bad decisions that went against us".

At the moment, the refs know that all their decisions will be analyzed in great detail on the tv, but they just have to put up with that.
If video replays were introduced, then I reckon they would be used in a lot of incidents even if the ref is pretty sure he would get the decision right.
This is happening in rugby now, try is scored and the ref calls for a video replay just to be v v v sure (and the commentators then say "why is he calling for a replay, its obvious that's a try".
They can get away with it in rugby cos there's a natural pause in the game, in football there isnt and it would ruin the game.

Under what circumstances would you want replays to be used? (I dont call them instant because they're not).
In rugby they're used to decide whether a try is scored, as I said before a natural break.
Imagine the position whereby your opponents are on the attack pushing all their players forward, one of your defenders makes a good tackle in his penalty box and releases an attack.
Ref stops play, goes to the replay, turns out it was a fair tackle.
How is play restarted? Your teams advantage will have disappeared.
The ref will still get slated, but this time for calling for a replay.

I agree with CliffyG, replays should be used to pick up on diving etc.

 

[nin9abadga]

imo the players need to take responsibility. if they didn't dive and cheat so much, perhaps the refs job would be easier? if they respected the decisions and accepted them, regardless of their opinion on the correctness or otherwise of the decision, then i reckon the refs would have an easier time.

decisions and mistakes are part of the game and (time to roll out the old cliche) they even out over a season. players make mistakes which cost teams the game, as do managers, refs and linesmen. video evidence will not improve the game in its current state.

what will however is when players like cashley cole (the most recent example), managers like arsene wenger and sam alardyce et al keep their mouths shut and learn to respect the decisions, be they right or wrong and act appropriately both on and off the pitch. once they learn to behave, then we should examine the situation and see if has improved.

 

[mcdermos]

We need to separate during game replays and post game replays

During play replays
one thing that is highly likely to prevent this from happening is simple: who pays for the cameras and all the other equipment needed to implement such a system? If this is an premiership only thing (highly likely) why would a club likely to go down want an added expense.

Who decides when the camera replay is required. You know players and managers will call for every incident to be checked. If a ref is confident in his decision then hes not going to ask for a replay therefore making it redundant.

Haven't you ever watched the highlights where the pundits disagree on what happens in an incident?

Anything that adds more rules or delays to a game is a bad thing IMO.


Post game replays
how do you decide which games are reviewed? It would be some task to ask a panel of reviewers to sit through a weekends worth of premiership games.

If not every game then certain incidents during a game. Then who decides which incidents are checked.

Who is going to have the balls to give a punishment to a player who dives for a penalty that helped a team win a game? I suspect in most sports if its proved you've cheated you are stripped of the result.

How strict are you going to be with the rules? Why should some things be checked on and others ignored.

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Managers and players can say what they like about referee's and will get a slap on the wrist for it. If a referee says anything negative about a player or team he'll probably get the sack.