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BY DHEERAJ RAVI

In print | April 3, 2008

There have been calls from some quarters of the footballing world for increased use of technology in the modern game. Referees have been known to make mistakes in crunch time that have made huge impacts on the final results, such as a goal incorrectly disallowed or a player unjustly sent off. The incident, still fresh in my mind, is that of Marco Materazzi getting a red card for two tame fouls. Keeping a clean sheet for the majority of the game at Anfield is no easy ride.

But while it seems to be an obvious solution to include technology in many aspects of the game, there are a lot more factors to take into account.

Diving is a huge problem in today’s game and many believe the introduction of video replays during the game would help officiate the game better. Players today have all kinds of tricks up their sleeves and if it would help swing the result in their favor, they would use them. How many times have we seen players go down in the penalty box for the faintest of touches? Or nonexistent touches (like Alberto Gilardino during the Milan-Celtic match last year)? Well-timed dives (it’s pretty twisted how they practice diving) would catch the referee’s eye and many times fool him.

But how would TV replays really help? They would cause a small break in the game to review the incident. If the player is found guilty of diving, he might be cautioned with a warning or a yellow card, and if not, it’s a foul for his team. Unfortunately there is a significant level of subjectivity in choosing whether to give out a warning or a yellow card. A lot of the times there is some contact but the player might have overreacted in his appeal for a foul. Behind the objective views of the television cameras are the subjective opinions of the people making the decision. If this were made official, referees might revert to this quite a few times, which poses an even bigger problem.

Football is a simple game without too many rules, unlike many other professional sports. There are two forty-five minute halves, three refs, a ball and 22 players battling it out on a rectangular field. Apart from offsides, there are no rules. It is played continuously from start to finish.

Many people underestimate the momentum of a team and its impact on the game. I just finished watching the Roma-Manchester United game and momentum dictated a lot of it. Roma controlled the tempo in the first half but failed to make anything of it and looked increasingly likely to break through the deadlock until Cristiano Ronaldo fired in an unstoppable header. Roma, obviously distraught, just played out the half. In the second half they came out firing on all cylinders with a few great opportunities, but again failed to convert. Then Wayne Rooney capitalized on a loose ball and Roma were again without any answers for the rest of the game. TV replays would cause unnecessary disruptions, which would affect the game even more adversely than human error. A much easier way to solve problems like diving is to retroactively punish players.

One could distribute fines and suspensions from a committee. What really hurts the players is either a loss of salary or playing time. The committee could also take as much time as it wants as it wouldn’t be constrained by making a quick, rash decision.

Finally, and possibly most importantly in terms of future considerations, the authority of the referee would be undermined severely if technological oversight were implemented. The referee’s role in the game is integral as he should not only have good judgment and decision-making skills, but he should ensure the game is played fairly and with good spirit.

With the referee’s judgment constantly called into question, players would easily take advantage and argue in length over certain calls, intimidating the referee, not to mention the jeers from the home fans.

One extreme would be to kick refs out of the game completely. The line refs would be replaced by high-tech lasers that are able to detect within 0.1 millimeters. Every time there is a foul, a loud obnoxious sound could go off. And maybe all the fans could become machines yelling without rhyme or reason. I guess we’re not at that stage yet and tradition is kind of a hard habit to kick.

But in all seriousness, referees are there to help the game. Their intentions are fair and when they make a call, it’s probably because they think it’s worth blowing the whistle. Unless of course we take a situation like the Calciopoli scandal in Italy a few years ago, in which the referees were to blame because they placed a bias towards one team. That, however, was the fault of the system and individuals in positions of power, such as former Juventus manager Luciano Moggi and his band of degenerates. Referees are simply pawns in their evil master plan.

If referees make mistakes, they’re equally likely to do it for both teams. Of course some calls will be unfair to one side, but that should balance out in the long run.

It’s really easy to make objective judgments about a situation played out with high intensity, tempers flaring, and adrenaline rushing. It’s easy to say video replays would help the game in the short run but we are ignoring the long-term possibilities, including a massive overhaul of the rules and regulations. I guess, in the end, it really is subjective.

Dheeraj is a junior. He can be reached at dravi1@swarthmore.edu.

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