Why Not Video Replay in Soccer?

Many sports now use video replay to help regulate the game and insure fairness. Just the other day, I was watching a tennis match where they were able to determine whether or not the ball was out of bounds through video replay. There are so many close calls that would be impossible to make a fair judgment on without video replay. The same is true in the sport of soccer. So why is it that we haven’t instituted such technology in the world’s most popular sport?

“The case for using video replay in soccer is a strong one, because the sport's history is littered with thousands of contentious moments, moments that meant games could have turned out differently if the referee at the time had the benefit of video replay,” commented John Molinaro of CBC Sports, in an article written in 2007. In this article, he comments on the controversy of the Italian match up between Juventus and Napoli where the heavily favored Juventus lost 3-1 because of bogus calls made by the referee which awarded Napoli two penalty kicks in the second half. “[There were] two controversial penalty calls that not only changed the face of the game, but may have long-term ramifications on the final standings.”

With such controversial consequences that may be heard around the world, why would FIFA refuse to institute the obvious solution—obvious to everyone else in the world? Here are some of the arguments they make against video replay:

• Video replay will interrupt the flow of the game.

Yet, anyone who has ever watched a game on TV realizes that interruptions happen anyways whenever there is a hard foul, and injury, or even a streaker on the field.

• Keeping video replay out of soccer helps to preserve the integrity and respect the history of the sport.

Yet many changes have been made to the rules of the game just within in the last 20 years. With development of the sport, changes are inevitable.

• Video replay would undermine the referee’s position.

Many referees would agree that there are a number of calls they are uncomfortable to make during a game. No matter what the referee calls, someone is always going to be upset. Under such a huge load of pressure, video replay can only help their job and protect them.

All in all, a lot is invested in the sport of soccer and a lot can be, and often has been, lost on a single bad call. With the World Cup in South Africa approaching, much more attention is going to be focused on the sport and also on the many controversies of the last World Cup. How are they going to avoid making the same mistakes? Many believe the use of video replay is the answer.