Video Refs?

[Droobie]

Today with all the television coverage of matches, we (as fans and spectators) get to see the slo-mo replays in great detail. I don't think the standard of refereeing has gone down. Perhaps it has always been this way, and because there weren't as many tv cameras we saw pretty much what the ref saw. But surely now that technology has caught up... why not use it? I would rather play get held up for a few more seconds to get the RIGHT result.

 

Take for example the last free kick in the Scotland v Italy match on the weekend. Surely that last foul was for the Scots, not against?! It just irks me how things happen in the game that on replay clearly should go the other way or not have been called at all.

[Blue 250]

Well some say only use it for major decissions, but a throw in given the wrong way can lead to a goal! So where would it end?

Can you imagine losing a cup final to a goal that never crossed the line!....Can you imagine winning a cup final with a goal that never crossed the line?

Probably best left alone!......It's just all part of the crazy beautiful game!

[Droobie]

Here in Australia for the AFL (Aussie rules football) players can get 'called up' by a refereeing tribunal who review footage of the last rounds matches for any incidents on or off the ball. Nothing to do with scoring, or reversing decisions, but more for rough play, high tackles or lack of discipline shown by players.

[Romey 1878]

It's the same in the Super League over here, it works well I feel.

[zequist]

US-based sports have used replay for years, especially NFL football, but its use is never unrestricted. Anything that is purely a judgment call by the officials, for instance, like a foul called for holding an opponent, is not and has never been reviewable in any sport. The NHL is probably the closest to the model that soccer would have to use, since it can also go for long periods with no stoppage of play, and theirs works like so:

 

Instant replay is only used by the NHL to review goals. Specifically, the video goal judge is only empowered to determine if:

 

* the puck completely crossed the goal line

* the puck was hit into the net with a hand or a high stick, or was kicked in (all illegal)

* the puck entered the net before the net was knocked off its moorings

* the puck was in before the period ended, or before the referee blew the whistle to stop play

 

The replay judge must find conclusive evidence to overturn the original call made by the referee on the ice.

 

Whether a review is called or not is entirely at the referee's discretion. If he decides a review is warranted, then it takes place during the next break in play - he phones up to the video goal judge, who looks at the play from every available angle and renders the final verdict. Sometimes that results in a situation where the game continues for a minute or two beyond the "goal" in question, like if the puck hit off the roof of the net and came back out, and no one is sure if it crossed the line or not. In those cases, the ref will have it reviewed at the next break, and if it is determined that the goal was good, then play is considered dead from that point, the clock is put back to where it was when the goal was scored, and anything that came after the goal never happened. If the goal was no good, then play simply continues on from wherever it left off.

 

If soccer adopted replay, it would pretty much (I think) have to be confined to goals scored, like whether:

 

* the ball completely crossed the goal line

* the ball was knocked into the net with a hand or in some other illegal fashion

* the scorer was in an offside position (maybe - they'd have to be very careful if they allowed that to be reviewed)

 

You could also maybe use it for one or two other things, like determining whether a whistled foul on the edge of the penalty area happened inside or outside the box, but things like the foul call itself or an offside call during the build-up would have to remain entirely in the hands of the officials, otherwise you're asking for trouble. Even in the NFL, where replay is used most extensively, penalties, offsides, and other judgment calls by the officials are not reviewable, not even potentially game-changing penalties like pass interference (which is probably the NFL's closest equivalent to hauling someone down inside the box). Only technical calls are reviewable, like whether the ball crossed the goal line, whether a player successfully caught a pass or not, if a team had too many men on the field, and stuff like that. But the clock stops in the NFL, so they can do that. There's no way that soccer could start getting into reviewing things like who touched the ball last before it went out because it would slow things down far too much.

[Pompey 4 Europe]

i think we dont need a video ref, just goaline technology.