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Capello and Lampard call for goal-line technology
World Cup Fever: England clutch at straws after ref’s blunder in Germany game
Reeling from their humiliating 4-1 defeat by Germany yesterday, England have called for goal-line technology to be introduced after a goal that would have let them equalise was wrongly disallowed.
England were trailing by two goals before Matthew Upson reduced their deficit to one with a smart header in the 37th minute. Moments after Upson's goal Frank Lampard smashed a pile-driver from outside the box that rebounded off the crossbar into the goal before bouncing back out, but the officials ruled that the ball never went over the line.
After the game, Lampard hit-out at FIFA's reluctance to bring in video technology: "I think it is time to bring in goal-line technology. We had a meeting before the World Cup when we were told about a million different rule changes that hardly affect the game. The big one, the one that affects the game today, hasn't been brought in so it is a no-brainer."
Fabio Capello agreed, saying: "It's incredible that in a time of technology, the referees aren't capable of deciding if there has been a goal or not. The match could have been different after this goal."
Aside from appeasing players and coaches, video replays would also be beneficial for referees who can be subjected to sustained abuse when they get important decisions wrong.
Tom Henning Ovrebo, who refereed Chelsea's Champions League semi-final against Barcelona, received death threats from Chelsea fans after he failed to award them a clear-cut penalty which would have seen them progress to the final.
Was yesterday's blunderer, Jorge Larrionda of Uruguay, anxious he might face a similar fate? Watching the replay of Lampard’s disallowed goal, he was heard to gasp: "Oh my God!" ·
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We, the fans, should come up with the best rationale for
a) which technology should be used
and
b) why FIFA should adopt it
cocision.com/cocision.php?cocisionId=443
Whether England deserved to win or not (clearly not) isn't the issue. In England's case a clear goal was disallowed because the linesman (sorry, 'assistant referee') and the referee couldn't see the goal clearly; in the next match Argentina had a goal allowed even though the scorer was clearly offside. Two matches, two mistakes that possibly changed the way the teams played: something needs to change.
Fifa maintain that it's too expensive to bring in goal-line technology worldwide. Too expensive? For football? No one's talking about every match played in every country - why can't it be implemented for big tournaments? Or if it is too invasive, there are other solutions: assistant refs clearly can't keep up with the movement of the ball on occasion (who could?) so at least have two on each side of the pitch instead of one; if the only real problem is on the goal line, have a linesman stationed on the goal line.......
In England's case, even if the goal had been allowed we were appalling and didn't deserve to go through - but that isn't the problem here: bad decisions are the issue.
Technology will destroy the game. There will be constant stops to review. I like the human element. I like that time is being kept on the pitch. The closest most people will ever get to Omnipotence is the Ref on a football pitch. Further, what diff did it make? England stank...What is the purpose of Rooney?
Upsonâ??s smart header? Surely it was his face. He stank in defence as did Terry. We were poor and don't deserve to be playing along side the Argentina's and Brazil's of this world.