It is Saturday afternoon and I just finished watching Manchester United clash with Chelsea. If you are unaware of what I am talking about, these are two of the premier clubs in the EPL (English Premier League). This league is hailed as one of, if not the, best leagues in the world. In case you are not aware, I am an avid futbol (soccer) fan, and a proud fan of Manchester United. Unfortunately today, Manchester United fell behind 2-1 to Chelsea, leaving them two points behind the now current leaders, Chelsea. I would normally be upset only because of poor performance or lack of effort from my team. However, I am furious, and for different reasons.
Along with my passion for playing and watching futbol, I am a referee as well. So while I watch the players, I also watch the referees to learn from them. These leagues feature the best players in the world, along with the best referees in the world. Now, I know that as humans we are not all perfect, but at this level it is safe to say that near perfection is expected. To my awe, Chelsea scored their second goal of the match after clearly being in an offside position. This means that the attacker was past the second to last defender at the precise moment that the ball was played to him. This is the primary concern of the assistant referee. Yet, today the assistant referee got it all wrong and cost the match for Manchester United, who was already the loss of injured Wayne Rooney, arguably their most potent goal scorer. This brings me to pose the question of whether instant replay and review should be implemented in modern day futbol, including the world cup.
With modern technology, instant replay and review can be seen in many of the world’s large-scale sports. Football, basketball, tennis, baseball, hockey, and NASCAR all utilize this technology. It has been of long debate whether this technology should be implemented in the world’s game or not. I personally am against it. Think about it. Futbol is played all over the world, often in venues that do not have access to such potentially expensive equipment. Also, futbol has been revered for its beautiful play and the unexpected variations in results due to weather, location, player’s health, and even officials. Futbol is a game that is characterized by these variables and allows for spectacular results all around. A team may have a tendency to be dominant in a league, but any team could potentially seize an opportunity to upset the other. Also, from the perspective of an official, this type of error correction could lead to loss of credibility and ultimately game control. People may begin to doubt the officials, who are doing their best to call what they see, and this would tarnish the sport as a whole. So, despite my anger and disappointment for a missed offside call that lead to my team’s loss, I am still in favor of keeping futbol free of instant replay and review.
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So I kinda knew that you would post something about the Man U game considering my facebook news feed posted an irate status update from Devon Suskauer. Now I enjoy watching soccer but can tell you that I know i'm definitely not the most knowledgeable person in the world in soccer, but I can hold my own in a conversation. Personally, I think the Spanish Premier League is a stronger league than the EPL, but I feel like that should be a topic of discussion for another time. In terms of your question regarding having reviews allowed in soccer (and yes I soccer because I prefer to speak Spanish in context and not interject them into conversations jaja) I don't think reviews should be allowed either. Now given some recent events (Thierry Henry's handball, the offsides call in the Man U. game) it would seem that reviews would be the most logical step. However, having reviews would lead to rolling changes in the way soccer is played. Mainly the running time policy. If the clocked kept going as the referees reviewed plays, we would be looking at 20 minute penalty time periods. There are a number of reasons why I oppose and this is a minor one, but never the less, I agree with you.
ReplyDeleteI personally disagree with you. I think the implementation of the replay has, of anything, made the calling of a game more fair. Sometimes the refs are not paying attention, and honestly, an off-sides that should have been called that led to a goal for the other team is completely unfair. I have played soccer since I was about 5 years old, and on top of that I have been the center back for the defense since sophomore year of high school, and I can vouch that one of the most frustrating things during a game is when the referee does not call an off-sides that is clear. I cannot tell you how frustrating, in any sport, it is when the refs seem to be calling an unfair game, or when they are just not really paying attention. For example, last night was the Duke versus West Virginia game in the final four. In the second half, for, probably, the first 10 minutes of the game, the referees did not call one single foul on WVU, while they called about 6 for duke. WVU was on the free throw line about 5 or so times, while duke did not get on once. Refereeing like this frustrates me because it seems so unfair. WVU was fouling all over the place and there were no calls. I think that showing the replays of such things, even though you cannot challenge a call in basketball, are significant in making the game more fair. Even though the refs are trained to remain unbiased, I still think that most refs are unfortunately.
ReplyDeleteI agree with everyone that's posted to this blog so far, some points that one person made while others that another person made. I believe that yes reviewing plays can lead to a fairer game by reversing incorrect calls or making calls missed. At the same time, I believe it completely disrupts the timing and flow of any sport. The way I see it is what goes around comes around: for every missed call against you there's a missed call in your favor. A missed call (such as this case) that changed the game and possibly won it for the opposition may come under scrutiny, but that same missed call that lands in your favor is all too easily overlooked seeing as you gained from the outcome. No one complains when things are going their way -- and let's be honest every team gains from a missed call at one point or another. So, as I was saying, in this particular case the missed call worked against the team you were rooting for, yet in the past and definitely in the future they will prosper from that same missed call, and no one will give a damn.
ReplyDeleteThe second point, it throws off the timing of the game, especially in soccer with two halfs consisting of 45 minute running clocks. Stoppage in play to verify if there was an offsides or a handball would change the way soccer is played. Already in sports in which reviewable plays have been implemented it is the most boring thing when a review is taking place. All the athletes stand around chatting about what's going on after the game. It's boring for them and for the viewers. Unfortunately, it's already become part of so many sports, hopefully soccer can maintain its roots and say nay to reviews.
P.S. - isn't it always fun to argue and complain with friends over a terrible call made during a game anyways? Let's not take that enjoyment away, too.
Morgan,
ReplyDeleteyou are completely entitled to your opinion, but no offense but this is not basketball. Basketball, unlike soccer (as Alex would like to refer to it jaja), has timeouts. Timing is much less of a concern in basketball or American football because stoppages are already implemented in the game. Soccer is a completely different realm, with 45 minutes straight with no stopping unless there is an injury or substitution.
Also, as much as you would like to think that instant replay would make the game fair, it would not. Sure you might catch some minute errors in an offside call or goal line disputes, but referees still have a lot of designated power through their interpretation and methods of match control. Therefore, calls are subject to be missed or neglected based on that particular referee. I am a certified referee and I work classic, adult league, and varsity college matches, and I can tell you that I couldn't give a shit which team wins. It is a professional environment and I am there to do my job, and call what I see. The same goes for these referees. This was in the EPL for crying out loud! These officials are among the best in the world. They are FIFA referees who undergo constant training, classes, and physical fitness tests year-round to ensure that they are the best. Not to mention the experience factor that these officials have. And to be honest with you, the physical training is not one that many can keep up with. They have been doing these matches for years, and do not care who wins. I assure you that they are more concerned with their assessments post- game from their superiors, than whether Manchester United is the champion this year or Chelsea.
So what I am saying is, human error is a part of this game and has been for centuries. Why spoil the beautiful game? I mean, look at Maradona’s Hand of God. Everyone knew what happened because of photography, but the fact is, the referee did not see it (human error), and it made the history books. Every real soccer fan knows of this incident or has at least heard of it (if you google “hand of god” it is the first image that comes up, before any religious images). With instant replay, history would be completely different and I cannot say that I would like that, nor would thousands of people around the world.
Also, another thing to consider is that Maradona and Thierry Henry both “cheated” according to the Laws of the Game. However, there is corruption in every aspect of life, and instant replay is not going to mend that. We must have faith in these officials. It is their job after all. Should we install cameras and instant replay to assess every waking moment of everyone’s jobsite? The corruption and lack of productivity would be so astonishing; I do not even want to think about it. And with instant replay, why have linesmen in the first place if we can just have an electronic signal go off every time an offense occurs? I’ll tell you why we need them. It is more than just getting the call right, they are there for game control and match management. To assist the referee when obscured from view, to talk to the players, to manage coaches, to call offside, to keep time, and to replace the referee if he were to get injured. Instant replay and modern technology cannot do that and never will. It would serve only for small detail and nothing more, while taking from the flow and excitement of a quality match. There is a reason that FIFA, the king of the soccer world if you will, is not implementing such technology during the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. It does not fit with the sport and the pros are outweighed by the cons.