Video Tech-aided refereeing in World Cup

The 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa ended recently with the Spanish team raising the FIFA trophy for the first time in World Cup history.

The first World Cup held in African soil made headlines with 64 exciting games and the dazzling sound of the vuvuzela, giving joy and excitement to all football fans around the world.

But this World Cup was also stained by a series of missed calls by referees, including the two that helped eliminate England and Mexico from the World Cup. England lost to Germany 4-1 and Mexico lost to Argentina 3-1.

These two fatal errors created a worldwide furor, putting pressure on FIFA that has long opposed allowing technology-aided refereeing system. Now, a fresh round of debate on this issue is going on.

Proponents of the instant replay point out that the soccer field is simply too large. It is nearly impossible for several referees to track the activities of 22 players on such a vast place. That makes players frequently penalized unjustly.

They also say that the World Cup is the highest stage in soccer and demands the highest quality, accurate judgements. So, using technology as a tool to assist referees is necessary.
In addition, they insist that instant replay is already in use in other major sports such as baseball, basketball, tennis, hockey, cricket and rugby.

However, opponents fear that instant replays during the game are likely to disrupt the flow of the game with referees checking the screens every time there is a request for video replays.

They also say that human error in making judgements by referees is also a part of the game and the World Cup has been successful for 80 years without instant replays.

FIFA suggested that it will reopen the debate and look again at introducing high-tech methods to improve the refereeing system of World Cup games. This came after FIFA President Joseph Blatter apologized to England and Mexico team officials for the two costly errors by referees.

So, should advanced technology meet football games to make referees get the calls right in the future World Cup tournaments or not? You may find out FIFA¡¯s answer four years from now, in Brazil.