20 Dec 2004(Mon)

December 17: At last, maybe, football will start using video technology at certain times to assist referees.

I hope this happens, and quickly, because I feel FIFA should have introduced this a long time ago.

The FIFA president, Sepp Blatter, always says video replays undermine the referee's authority, and that the official's decision should be final.

But surely he is missing the point. The technology should be there to help the ref, not hinder him.

I often think back to the World Cup semi-final at the Stade de France in 1998.

France beat Croatia 2-1, but the French defender Laurent Blanc was shown the red card for a non-existent foul on Slaven Bilic.

Everyone in the world could see that Bilic over-reacted in a disgraceful way, and the referee never even saw the incident because it was off the ball.

Yet Blanc, who had enjoyed a wonderful World Cup in the heart of the French defence, was suspended for the final.

I thought FIFA should have used the video on that occasion, like TV stations around the world had done, and cleared Blanc to play in the final, while handing out a lengthier ban to Bilic.

At the time, Bilic was playing for Everton in England, and even his own fans booed him when he returned to the club after the World Cup for his unsporting behaviour.

Now, the signs are good that video replays will be used to decide if it is a goal or not.

Not for offside, but to check whether the ball has crossed the line.

This is very simple to perform, and neither team can argue over the decision if it is clear on video replay.

In the past, teams have been cheated at important times due to a bad mistake by the referee or linesman. There is so much money in the game--billions of dollars--yet simple technology to improve standards is shunned.

With both UEFA and FIFA now agreeing to look into the matter, I think this is a big step forward and an encouraging sign for the future.

Handled in the right way, it should solve a lot of arguments and be fairer all round.

ends