23 Nov 2009(Mon)

November 20, 2009: How long must this nonsense go on?

When is FIFA going to do the right thing and introduce video technology?

Who will be the next team to suffer at the hands of a blatant injustice that could be corrected so quickly.

The frustrations of the Irish, sparked by Thierry Henry's hand ball and France's controversial victory in their World Cup qualifying play-off this week, can be felt around the world as the game suffered another body blow in terms of credibility and integrity.

It is unbelievable in this day and age that FIFA will not use video technology for incidents such as this. It makes no sense at all, and is severely damaging the reputation of the game.

I remember attending a press conference in Paris in 1998, the day before the World Cup final between France and Brazil, and the newly elected president Sepp Blatter was asked if video replays would be introduced.

Blatter was adamant. "No," he insisted, "we cannot undermine the authority of the referees."

I never understood that word "undermine" as it suggested a siege mentality on the part of the authorities. Personally, I felt video replays would help referees make the right decision. It would assist them, not undermine them.

And all this nonsense about replays interrupting the flow of the game?

What flow? I don't see any flow anymore, with so many stoppages due to fouls, time-wasting, feigning injury, players kicking the ball out so an "injured" team mate can receive treatment…the list goes on.

The modern game is in a mess. It needs help as the cheats and the divers and the conmen have taken over. It needs strong leadership and Blatter must provide this amidst this latest crisis by ordering a replay and then introducing sweeping reforms.

By all means have an extra official behind each goal (making six in all, with the ref, two assistants running the lines and the fourth official near the dug-outs), but surely the most practical thing is to have the video replay, conducted by the fourth official.

In the Henry incident, for example, the Irish appeal, the fourth official checks the replay, and the goal is cancelled. Simple. No one can argue. In fact it would not have gone that far, to a video replay, in any case as an official behind the goal would have spotted the hand ball immediately.

To say that mistakes happen, and human error is all part of the game, is simply not good enough; not when the Irish are deprived of the chance to go to South Africa and bring colour and humour to the World Cup in their thousands.

There is too much at stake these days, and the integrity of football continues to suffer.

"Fair Play Please!" says the FIFA slogan, but, as Scottish referee Leslie Mottram once told me during his time in Japan, there isn't any fair play in football anymore, and hasn't been for a long time.

ends