Use Video Referrals: Time for FIFA to save football from cheats

As the Mexico team walked off at the end of the first half against Cameroon – they were an angry lot. The linesman had raised the offside flag to deny Mexico striker Giovani Dos Santos twice in the first half; goals that should have stood; goals that would have stood with the benefit of video referrals. FIFA has taken a big step forward by embracing goal-line technology but what about the controversial decisions that are made much before the ball ends up in the net? The decisions that lead to the goals… In the first match of the tournament between Brazil and Croatia – Fred appeared to dive after he was lightly grabbed on the shoulder by Croatia defender Dejan Lovren. Japanese referee Yuichi Nishimura decided that the ‘foul’ deserved a penalty. Many experts/former experts sitting in studios around the world almost instantly criticised the decision. That the referee had got it wrong became even more evident in the replays that followed. [caption id=“attachment_1570245” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Referee Yuichi Nishimura from Japan gives penalty kick against Croatia. AP[/caption] FIFA referees chief Massimo Busacca later insisted Nishimura had been justified in awarding the spot-kick. “The referees know the responsibility at the World Cup is a lot, every decision can change a lot,” said Busacca. “In refereeing, we have black and white but we also have cases that can be on the borderline. Yesterday, we can discuss; was it enough (contact)? Yes or no? “On the pitch, the referee takes a decision in less than one second. He is concentrated on the gesture and when you see the hands doing something, it’s difficult to arrive at one conclusion. Some might argue that the referee had a good position and he took the decision as he saw it. But then again, with so many camera’s at each stadium, does it not make sense to take the ‘grey’ out of crucial decisions? The Spain vs Netherlands game wasn’t immune to the trend either with a controversial penalty being awarded to Spain in the 26th minute. Xavi’s threaded through a beautifully weighted pass for Costa. The forward surged into the area and took two touches before turning Stephen de Vrij, who appeared to trip him. Replays showed Costa initiating contact. However, by then Xabi Alonso had buried the penalty. During the ongoing hockey World Cup, we have seen just how well video referrals can be used. Most teams usually used their referrals to argue against penalty corner/stroke decisions and it allowed for many ‘controversial’ decisions to be quickly corrected. Cricket, NBA, NFL have also made use of video referrals. And at the end of the day, we want players to play the game without the danger of one bad decision wasting all their hard work. In the first two games, the referring has been discussed and surely, we will see more of the same during the tournament. Is this what FIFA wants? Players dive. Almost as a rule, they do and referee’s are not always in the right position to catch them do that. That is when TV cameras can step in and show referee’s the correct version of events; one that will be seen by all the fans around the world anyway. It may also help control the malice. On the other hand, referee’s will get decisions wrong too. The video referrals will give players a chance to rectify those decision. Simply put, at the end of the day, the game would win. On the flip side, diving and fooling referees will become more difficult and could even lead to yellow and red cards. Many also wondered whether we would see Nishimura officiate in another game during the World Cup. But FIFA referees chief Busacca said: “It’s not correct to talk about punishment. Punishment is when you commit a crime on the streets against someone, not when you are taking an honest decision on what you saw. We’re humans.” They are human. And that is precisely why they need help.