Gareth McAuley receiving red card. (Image via Sky Sports 1)
It might seem easy to call out fouls when watching soccer on your television, but things are not so easy down on the pitch. Referees must keep track of 22 players, making dozens of on-the-fly decisions over an incredibly fast paced 90 minutes. They also run up to 12 miles a game according to statistics gathered by the U.S. Soccer Federation.
So you can’t be too critical when referee Neil Swarbrick gives a red card to the wrong player.
West Bromwich Albion defender Gareth McAuley was given a red card for a challenge on his teammate, Craig Dawson, committed last Saturday against Manchester City. The foul occurred 2 minutes into the 3 to 0 loss.
Progressives think the bad call could have been avoided through the use of video technology. If this sounds familiar, it’s because it is.
A similar decision was made against Sunderland’s Wes Brown on a foul John O’Shea committed. FIFA responded quickly saying that they would not be implementing or even testing video technology.
Now UEFA has said the same.
“I think what is needed, in any case, is an appropriate debate on this topic…What does it mean? What are we speaking about here? Technology is already in football with goalline technology… But, for everything else, it’s very much a judgment question for the referee – and has to remain with the referee as well in the future.” said Gianni Infantino, UEFA’s general secretary, to Sky Sports News HD.
The question FIFA and UEFA have to ask themselves is whether soccer is better played with human error or by taking the time to make the correct decision.
There are questions about how video technology might change the pace of the game. A delay in play might impact the integrity of the game.
But doesn’t it already?
Think about how long it takes for play to resume after a controversial decision. How long players are in the face of the referees for his call. Perhaps the players would be more forgiving if they knew the referee’s decision was not based on a quick reaction, but on experts watching slow motion replays of various camera angles.
But that might be wishful thinking.
Until then, we will continue to cover refereeing blunders, and how no one will be pursuing ways to fix them.
