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With technology binned, maybe players should just stop cheating
Players and coaches are going to have to grin (or rather whinge) and bear it after football’s rule-makers decided that preserving the game’s essence and traditions are more important than the grievances of a few unlucky losers.
Controversies such as Geoff Hurst’s third goal for England in the 1966 World Cup final, Diego Maradona’s Hand of God goal at the 1986 World Cup and, more recently, Thierry Henry’s ball-juggling effort against Ireland, are etched into football’s history.
FIFA believes the sport would not be the same without them — hence Saturday’s decision by the International Football Association Board (IFAB), on which FIFA holds half of the eight votes, to reject the use of goal line and video technology indefinitely.
Most media, coaches and players have been in favour of at least using some form of technology to help the referees in cases where it is not clear whether the ball has crossed the line and FIFA can expect widespread criticism for the decision.
So perhaps it is worth putting their case.
Firstly, goal line technology would not have helped in the Thierry Henry incident, nor in Bayern Munich’s offside winner against Fiorentina in the Champions League last month or Porto’s highly contentious winner against Arsenal which had Arsene Wenger fuming.
Hand of Henry goal makes strong case for video evidence
France’s decisive goal against Ireland in their World Cup play-off will only add further weight to the case for using a video ref, or extra goal-line officials, at least in the biggest matches.
The controversial extra-time strike from William Gallas took France through to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, while leaving the Irish barely able to contain a sense of frustration and injustice.
It was goal which should not have stood, as TV pictures made plain. French captain Thierry Henry clearly handled the ball, not once, but twice before crossing for Gallas to score from close range.
Once again, fans are wondering how a mistake of such magnitude, in such a high-stakes game, could be allowed to happen.
FIFA president Sepp Blatter and UEFA chief Michel Platini both disagree with the use of video referees but their case would have been a hard one to make in front of Irish fans on Wednesday. Soccer’s top officials say a video referee will only slow down the game. True enough, but would it not be better to stop the game and get the right decision rather than continue and see a faulty decision stand?
Platini, for his part, has managed to push through the idea of an extra official behind both goals with an eye on spotting such infringements. Currently the idea is being piloted in UEFA’s second-tier Europa League, but it may now be time to take the brave decision to introduce this across the board.
The Irish got a non-existent penalty against Georgia in Dublin. There was no outrage then and the Irish did not offer a replay. Nobody accused FIFA or Platini of helping the Irish.I say get over it. This is not the first time a goal has been scored after a hand ball and it will not be the last. The Irish had 180 minutes to score but they did not…
Why should the players be honest when the heads of FIFA are living with bribery? Just read the newest interview with Andrew Jennings (http://qatar2022bidrevealed.com) who fights against the FIFA-plutocratie since years and has revealed now their newest fraud… :-/