Horrible refereeing decisions have marked the beginning of the Premiership and it does not seem as if mere suspensions will rectify this situation. The game has quickened beyond the human eye to make timely adjustments and the stakes have gotten much higher.
A decision that can cost a club threading a fine line between relegation and staying afloat in the Premiership or a CL position or the ultimate goal of a Premiership. A retina retains an image for 1/16th of a second before a new image can be imposed on it. In that time a foul leading to a penalty could have taken place and the referee would have no inkling save for a linesman who would have to see the same visual. You are talking of constant human error and not the skills of an English referee which is second to none.
Lets look at this fledgling Premiership season.
Already Fulham has been at the receiving end of some truly horrible refereeing decisions including a sure shot goal by David Healy that crossed the line before Schwarzer scooped the ball. It should have been a draw, instead Boro eked out an ill deserved win.
Liverpool was robbed of a victory as Malouda faked a foul and Lampard converted the penalty kick. Replays showed that Malouda was untouched by Carragher.
Fulham was again at the receiving end of a poor refereeing decision as Chris Baird gets sent off on a red card which replays showed as a legitimate challenge. Fulham are reduced to ten men as they lose to Aston Villa.
Spurs were denied two penalty kicks as Berbatov was bumped by Vidic in a goal scoring situation and then Wes Brown handled the ball again as Berbatov tried shooting home. The glaring errors resulted in a Spurs team that grew frustrated and distracted enough for Nani to shoot home the Man Utd winner.
At stake is Fulham’s aspirations to remain in the Premiership and in Spurs case, Martin Jol’s job that unfairly is on the line. All resting on the case that the referee gets it right which of course is increasingly limited by our physiological constraints as the game gets faster.
The Premiership is unmatched in its global reach. It is the most watched league and the amount it generates in viewership and merchandising is close to 2.5 billion pounds every year which easily dwarfs second place La Liga that receives about half. If there is any technology that will going to impact the global game in a meaningful then the best vehicle for its introduction and acceptance is the Premiership.
I think the time has come to think about refereeing as bound by human physiological limitations just as running a 100 meters in 5 seconds is an impossibility given the human musculo-sekeletal plant. It is too much of a task. For those naysayers who think it will slow down the game. How much time do players waste arguing a call or a non-call? In that time having the luxury of a TV replay means that players secure in the knowledge that a refereeing decision can be second guessed leads to less time wasted. You can limit the number of TV replays and impose a penalty for over eager managers hoping to force a call.
4 comments on “The Premiership is the perfect league for TV replay”
If this weekend’s football has shown anything, it’s that replay evidence should never be permitted.
Numerous replays failed to provide conclusive evidence re: Wes Brown’s hand ball.
Allow replays and you require pauses in play, and these will soon be exploited for advertising purposes. Then the game is changed forever.
I am just parroting what I’ve seen written by others and it makes good sense, Styles was so castigated last weekend for his call to allow Chelsea a PK, that this weekend, the referees may have been a bit shy to make some calls this weekend. So, unless a referee is tainted like Donaghy in the NBA; the old adage remains, respect the referee’s decision in most leagues…stuff happens. Good Keano was up defending the guys. And Tottenham paid the penalty.
Yeh; got to get the instant replay, NFL has “inconclusive” calls if the videos are not clear cut. I think, the NFL has clearly done the right thing in having instant replay on certain matters and many of us fans appreciate it when a refs wrong decision, thanks to the haste of time he has to make it in, is overturned. Apparently, the Scottish PL was trying to implement instant replay and did NOT UEFA or FIFA nix that!
I’d like replay technology but it’s hard to implement. The only possible thing I could think of, is to have the 4th and 5th officials immediately watch replays (from different angles to speed it up) and make an executive decision which is then told to the referee if both officials agree on the decision. If they don’t, it’s ruled inconclusive and play goes on with whatever the original decision was. It shouldn’t waste much more time than players complaining, and getting yellow cards. Goal line technology is easy, that should be a given. Replays are tricky, but I’m confident they can figure out a way to do it. I just worry about too many replays.
As for the United v Spurs game, I don’t think they were cheated out of it. They were unbelievably unlucky to not even get a point out of it, but not cheated. Wes Brown looks like he chested it down, and if it did hit his arm, it was accidental which would make it a very harsh penalty call. As for Vidic bringing down Berbatov, I’m certain they just clicked ankles and fell. You could even argue that the ref played advantage because Berbatov then shot it over Van Der Sar, only to watch it be cleared off the line.
If they could at least use replays to check the severity and appalling cynicism of a bad tackle (and fine clubs or players accordingly), I’d be happy. Pedersen deliberately stamped on Cesc’s head with his studs while Cesc was on the ground, already stricken from a late challenge. Another Bburn player deliberately kneed Eduardo at the small of his back, causing him to crash down on the ground in pain — and then Bburn players shouted to the ref that he was simulating.