FIFA Instant Replay

Months ago, I was in a fury over the Ireland/France World Cup qualifying game. Ireland lost a two-legged playoff against France 2-1 in overtime after William Gallas scored the winning goal, a goal that came off of a blatant handball from Theirry Henry. The goal denied Ireland a spot in the World Cup. Everyone hates when a blown call determines a game. It is both a fan and referee's nightmare and it gets even worse when the game has major implications. I felt that this was clear evidence that instant replay was needed. If a referee and a linesman can miss a call that obvious in a game that important, then it is clear help is needed. Still, FIFA would not hear of it. Now heat is growing because of numerous missed calls during this World Cup.

Look at the track record so far in South Africa. Against Slovenia, a mystery foul call that no expert has been able to explain cost the USA its third goal which most likely would have won the game. Against Algeria, a bad offside call cost the USA a goal yet again. Thankfully a miracle 91st minute goal from Landon Donovan insured that it did not cost us. In the knockout game between England and Germany, England trailed 2-1 and Frank Lampard took a shot that hit the cross bar, bounced fully across the line, and bounced back up. It was a clear goal that was not allowed. In the knockout game against Argentina and Mexico, Carlos Tevez headed in a shot from an obvious offside position, but the call was missed and the goal counted. These have been the most widely publicized referee mistakes, but I can assure you there have been several more. Offside calls are missed all the time. The Clint Dempsey goal that was called off received a lot of publicity here in the US, but I am sure there were several more that people in other countries are outraged about. There are also numerous cards incorrectly given and many more that are missed. FIFA needs to take a long look at these games because they are rapidly losing legitimacy.

So far, FIFA's response has been to say they will discuss goal line technology again. For those of you who follow FIFA, this comes as no surprise. Despite the uproar that the Ireland problem caused, FIFA refused to discuss the possibility of instant replay. The only form or replay that they have ever truly considered is goal line technology. Their hands may now be tied thanks to the England game. That was potentially a game changing goal in a knockout game during the World Cup. The stakes were pretty high. But conceding goal line technology is not, as many believe, a step in the right direction for FIFA, but rather a calculated concession. FIFA will give in here only to buy time and appease their critics because they still absolutely refuse to consider instant replay in any other form.

This 'Bud Selig' like reluctance to accpet replay stems from the nature of the game. One of the great things about soccer is its constant, flowing play. When the whistle blows, there are few breaks during a 45 minute half. Slowing down the game for constant instant replay would be an absolute nightmare. FIFA's notion, however, that referee error is merely a 'part of the game' is absurd and does not help USA, England, or Mexico. This World Cup has shown that one referee, two linesmen, and one off field official is simply not enough to officiate a game. Missed or incorrect calls are a serious problem. Watch the replay of the England or Argentina goals. How long did it take you to realize Lampard's shot was a goal? How long did it take you to realize Tevez was offside? We are literally talking about a matter of seconds. Referees currently have earpieces in order to communicate with one another, so to add a replay official would be simple and may not slow the game as much as FIFA fears.

There is one thing, however, that advocates for instant replay need to keep in mind. Even if there was an instant replay system in place, it still would not be able to help with situations like USA's disallowed goal against Slovenia. The NHL has instant replay but penalties cannot be reviewed. The NFL has instant replay but penalties cannot be reviewed. The NBA has instant replay but fouls cannot be reviewed. There is no possible replay system that would be able to judge fouls. It just won't happen. If every second of a game were watched by an off field official and he could stop play at any time to let the referee know about a missed foul, or if he judges every foul to determine if it was a correct call, it would be a complete nightmare. What then do you hope to solve from instant replay? Really the only things replay could solve are offside calls or blatantly illegal goals (like Gallas' against Ireland or any other 'hand of God' situations). Granted this would help, but people need to realize a replay system is a not an instant fix for all situations.

Because FIFA is stubbornly losing legitimacy and instant replay can't solve all of soccer's problems, a compromise might be the right option. As I said before, it has become obvious that there simply are not enough officials on the field. Why not adding more? You can add more officials in order to ensure the correct calls are made without slowing down the game as the NHL has seen with its decision several years ago to add a second referee. Offside calls are constantly missed because linesman are out of position since they have to cover an entire half of the field. Referees struggle telling what's a foul and what's not. Sometimes, they turn around and see a player on the ground holding his face and have to figure out what happened. Adding more eyes will help get these calls right. Add a second referee for half the field and two more linesmen. Then a linesman will only have to account for a quarter of the field and will be more likely to be in position for offside calls. There also needs to be a more realistic appeals policy. Currently, players can appeal cards, but it is pretty much a joke. Appeals rarely work. Diving is blatant in soccer and for a card to stand even when it is obvious a player took a dive is unfair. Obviously cards cannot be issued in a postgame replay, but if a card is unfairly issued it needs to be addressed especially when there is such a harsh suspension policy.

The vast majority of the problems we see in soccer that are fixable can be solved with added referees, a realistic appeals process for cards, and goal line technology. FIFA may not want to add replay to the game, but they cannot pretend any longer that their current referee policy is working. Replay advocates also need to realize that the problems cannot all be solved with replay and they cannot push for a policy that would ruin the game. A compromise can really help the game and solve most of the issues we have seen in this World Cup. I really do not think goal line technology is going far enough, but I expect this will be the only change FIFA will make.