FIFA Communications Director says goal-line technology will not be discussed. It was hard to hear what he said because his head was buried in the sand.
Disgraceful, dishonourable, disreputable, disgusting. Pick any three words to describe FIFA.
Speaking of Argentina's offside goal against Mexico:
"There was a controversial action shown during the game on the giant screens last night at Soccer City. This should not happen," he explained.
"The giant screens are part of the infotainment but should not show controversial actions."
Dickhead.
UPDATE: Sepp Blatter is on Twitter! (Of course that means FIFA's Communications Dept is on Twitter, pretending to be him). No doubt he'll be told he's very popular, because so many people are Tweeting at him. He won't be told that all those Tweets are calling for his head on a plate, and he'll never see them himself, because, of course, he's a Luddite who refuses to use modern technology.
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8 comments:
Yeah - they only showed that Argentine goal once, and then never again during the game, because the broadcast was also being shown on the stadium's screens. I think that there would have been a riot in the stadium!
I have read, although I haven't checked it, that the Lampard goal doesn't feature at all in the official FIFA match highlights video. What you can't see doesn't exist.
They seem to been determined to keep technology completely out of the game. Why is the mystery. Look, this is the WORLD CUP not some neighborhood game. Use technology when it's called for. I'm not asking for goal reversals (necessarily) but out of bounds and goal line ball crossings are clear. They think the introduction of technology will make us think the refs are *gasp* human and prone to error. Heaven forfend!
@Duffy - but they do have technology - the officials have some kind of mini-radio system so they can talk to each other. Blatter is very happy with the idea of officials being human, but it also makes him guilty of a kind of Orwellian double-think, where he can see any number of replays of England's goal, but still believe with all his little shrivelled heart that it wasn't a goal because the referee said it wasn't. Ooh, another blog post coming up now!
The non-goal is a no-brainer, yeah, bring in goal line technology.
Offside? Now that is another subject. Rule 11 is the shortest rule in the book, it is also the most difficult to understand and interpret - that is why they keep changing it. I didn't see the goal, and maybe it was an easy call, but the technology to call offside is going to be expensive, if you are going to use a camera then it has to be exactly level with the second last defender at all times just as the assistant referee should be, and that is not always easy.
And when you get that technology in place, how do you deal with Thierry Henry's handball against Ireland, or the deliberate dive in the area.
I don't want to defend Blatter, but I don't want to see football changed, it is a fast all action game and the fans will not want it to be perpetually held up whilst someone watching video replays makes his (or her) mind up.
Go with the goal line technology by all means, but be careful what you wish for, it might come true.
IstanBIlly: I think automatic offside calls are a long way off, but if you look at coverage from the likes of the BBC they can draw lines across the pitch, adjusted for perspective, and run the play through that. They can do it more or less in real time - all it takes is cameras, computers and a bit of software. I know you've done refereeing in the past, and that's brilliant. But in these big games, all the technology to show up wrong decisions is in place, and it's destroying the credibility of the officials and FIFA if they continue to ignore it.
@Istanbilly:
How do you propose to end the deliberate diving? For me, that's the worst thing about soccer/football. It is cheating and I would have like to see officials review games and assign game suspensions and fines for that crap. That's the only way you're going to end it. Kaka and Ivory Coast is a prime example. I can't stand Brazil but that call was absurd.
@Duffy - that stuff really gets on my tetas, but FIFA seem soft on it. I know that Latino players believe in their hearts that such play-acting is a valid part of the game, to be admired, not despised. This is why I adored watching New Zealand - bunch of amateurs: they get knocked down, and they jump up again! Once FIFA have fixed the tech issues, they really need to get a grip on acting. The football pitch is not the place for theatrics.
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