Slipperduke
The Camden Cad
If you've been keeping an eye on the cricket recently then you'll have noticed some interesting experiments taking place in the West Indies. No, don't worry, England are still reassuringly hopeless, they'll never toy with that. It's the officials who are changing; test-piloting a new system of 'referrals' in an effort to remove serious mistakes from the sport.
Each team gets two referrals per innings, two chances to say to the umpires, "I think you've got that wrong, old boy. Would you mind awfully checking the replays?" If the appealing player is correct, the decision is reversed. If it's incorrect, they lose a referral and, once they're out of referrals, they have to take the word of umpire for every decision. As mixed as the results and reactions have been so far, the ICC are likely to make sure that it's a part of the future of cricket. It might just be the way forward for football as well.
The long held objection to video technology in our sport has always been that there are no convenient gaps for the replays. Cricket is a stop-start game and, unless the whistle-happy Mike Riley is in charge, football is not. When do you use the technology anyway? On every call? On every goal? Every time the ball is in the final third? It's awkward to say the least. A referral system could solve that at a stroke.
Imagine giving football managers some way to signal their discontent. A little flag, or a small air-horn. Perhaps some Bastille Day fireworks for Arsene Wenger or 50 fez-wearing winged monkeys for Sir Alex Ferguson. You know, something subtle. At the first sign of an iffy decision, bang! The referee halts the match and everyone turns to the replays.
Cricket is a long game with innings that take days to play out, or just a couple of hours if it's England. Football has no need for two referrals. Just one would suffice. All the technology is in place already. There isn't an incident that takes place without throwing up eight different camera angles, global satellite positioning and an infrared body scan of the perpetrators. It's about time the fourth official was given something more constructive to do other than just absorbing the abuse of the coaching staff and occasionally holding up that magic number board. That said, it might be a good idea to hide them in a bunker to prevent managers leaning over the screen and jabbing it with their greasy fingers, shouting, "Loooooook! His foot! Gargh! Oh, the injustice," and so on and so forth.
A sole referral would be a chance to reverse that one decision that ruins the game. Rob Styles and his non-existent penalties. Mike Riley and his own contributions to the Gerrard/Lampard debate. One's allowed to tackle and one isn't? Not any more, Mikey! Poor old Luiz Felipe Scolari would still be in a job if that one had been reversed.
There is now so much money swilling around football and so much pressure on individuals that there's too much at stake for one man. It's also, as we've seen in Germany, only a matter of time until bribery or corruption begins to permeate the ranks of the officials. I've never wanted football to be anchored down with endless video replays, but if there's a way to put in a safeguard without affecting the flow of the game too drastically, it's long past time that we made use of it.
Each team gets two referrals per innings, two chances to say to the umpires, "I think you've got that wrong, old boy. Would you mind awfully checking the replays?" If the appealing player is correct, the decision is reversed. If it's incorrect, they lose a referral and, once they're out of referrals, they have to take the word of umpire for every decision. As mixed as the results and reactions have been so far, the ICC are likely to make sure that it's a part of the future of cricket. It might just be the way forward for football as well.
The long held objection to video technology in our sport has always been that there are no convenient gaps for the replays. Cricket is a stop-start game and, unless the whistle-happy Mike Riley is in charge, football is not. When do you use the technology anyway? On every call? On every goal? Every time the ball is in the final third? It's awkward to say the least. A referral system could solve that at a stroke.
Imagine giving football managers some way to signal their discontent. A little flag, or a small air-horn. Perhaps some Bastille Day fireworks for Arsene Wenger or 50 fez-wearing winged monkeys for Sir Alex Ferguson. You know, something subtle. At the first sign of an iffy decision, bang! The referee halts the match and everyone turns to the replays.
Cricket is a long game with innings that take days to play out, or just a couple of hours if it's England. Football has no need for two referrals. Just one would suffice. All the technology is in place already. There isn't an incident that takes place without throwing up eight different camera angles, global satellite positioning and an infrared body scan of the perpetrators. It's about time the fourth official was given something more constructive to do other than just absorbing the abuse of the coaching staff and occasionally holding up that magic number board. That said, it might be a good idea to hide them in a bunker to prevent managers leaning over the screen and jabbing it with their greasy fingers, shouting, "Loooooook! His foot! Gargh! Oh, the injustice," and so on and so forth.
A sole referral would be a chance to reverse that one decision that ruins the game. Rob Styles and his non-existent penalties. Mike Riley and his own contributions to the Gerrard/Lampard debate. One's allowed to tackle and one isn't? Not any more, Mikey! Poor old Luiz Felipe Scolari would still be in a job if that one had been reversed.
There is now so much money swilling around football and so much pressure on individuals that there's too much at stake for one man. It's also, as we've seen in Germany, only a matter of time until bribery or corruption begins to permeate the ranks of the officials. I've never wanted football to be anchored down with endless video replays, but if there's a way to put in a safeguard without affecting the flow of the game too drastically, it's long past time that we made use of it.
