Comments on: Would Two World Cup Referees be better than one?

By: Martin

Martin — Fri, 30 Jun 2006 11:52:48 +0000

Technology could certainly help with refereeing decisions–perhaps a PDA (palm pilot) for the ref on the field with streaming video capabilities; the ref can view video feed of a last play if there is doubt. However, don’t fall into the trap of thinking in absolutes, i.e. either there is a foul or there isn’t and the ref just needs to make the call. If that is the case, a computer could referee a game. Football play is a series of relationships that must be interpreted by the ref and linesmen on a continual basis. When a particular set of circumstances of play crosses a threshold, the ref must act. And no amount of technology can make that decision for the ref because that threshold is not always a clear line (consider calling a foul that hurts the fouled team’s advantage i.e. about to set up an attack). Certainly some incidents are easy to interpret, but many are not; this is when emotion, style and professional experience of the ref influences a decision. WC referees and linesmen get to know teams and players over the years which influences their refereeing styles just as players develop styles amongst each other and against particular teams. Technology can help to stop extremes in refereeing, but there will always be a qualitative aspect to the game. And finally, the fan brings his or her additional interpretation to refereeing: When a ref doesn’t call an offside against your favourite team and it leads to a goal, you don’t think of that as ‘bad refereeing,’ do you? No, instead in that case it’s just a wee bit of good luck…could happen to anyone. Your team definitely deserved to win.

By: so what

so what — Fri, 30 Jun 2006 08:53:00 +0000

No! 2 refs is only going to add
more crowdedness to the field
despite the fact it looks big.

As I stated in anothe thread, the
better way to go is to have RED
card consequence carried into the
next match for the entire team
and not just the offending
player.

If a player gets a RED, not only
he will be out of the next match
the entire team will be penalised
for playing with 1 man less for
the next as well.

Now, that will sure clean up
some dirty act as a whole as
the offender will now be blamed
for dragging the whole team into
trouble for the next match!

Similarly, rule on YELLOW card
also needs to be tighten up.
If a player got 1 YELLOW from
last match and get another one
in current match, he should be
dismissed for current match
immediately and also suspended
for next match.

By: antony

antony — Fri, 30 Jun 2006 02:26:08 +0000

Reading these posts makes me ill and angry. I absolutely agree with those who are for wholesale changes. the equation that Beau gives is SUPERB. The field is too big for one old man to cover precisely. But will FIFA ever care? Will those who think two refs or any other improvement is a bad thing care? No, because they are afraid that improvements will hurt the game.

This is like crime going up in your city and the mayor saying putting more cops on the beat, putting up more streetlights is a bad thing and that we should just trust that the criminals just behave themselves.

By: Keyser

Keyser — Fri, 30 Jun 2006 01:20:57 +0000

football needs videoref. but bloody fifa will never allow it.
and there should be punition of things which the referee may have missed. for example, figo smashing the nose of some dutch with his head. the TV showed it clearly. how’s possible that he was not suspended?

By: Dave Hamilton

Dave Hamilton — Thu, 29 Jun 2006 22:18:56 +0000

No. One person has to ultimately be in charge. The last thing we need to see is more “competition” among refs. They should do their jobs and not seen or heard unless absolutely necessary.

By: On The Pitch

On The Pitch — Thu, 29 Jun 2006 20:10:28 +0000

Does Soccer Need Major Surgery or A Couple Stitches?

The Football kNuts put up a fairly detailed post filled with ideas on how to fix the fundamentally broken game of soccer. Many people have complained about the state of soccer in the 2006 World Cup and many have been upset over the number of bookings (…

By: Bill

Bill — Thu, 29 Jun 2006 19:52:46 +0000

I am a former referee (23 years) at all levels and have worked both 2 ref and 3 ref (diagonal system of control)systems.
I was also a referee instructor and assessor.
Based on my experience,
if anything, add a second ref at WC qualification and finals BUT keep the assistant referees. There would be provisions (electronic) for them to confer quickly during the match.
Most sports add officials during high level events.

By: minhoca

minhoca — Thu, 29 Jun 2006 19:37:58 +0000

Adding another pair of human eyes won’t help, we need video replay!

But only on controversial goals and red cards so the game still flows but 4 years of effort are not wasted because of one bad referee call.

This will eliminate the conspiracy theories AND will clean up the play because on replay you can tell if a player is taking a dive, and if he knows he will get a yellow card when he is caught, the diving will stop.

By: Observer

Observer — Thu, 29 Jun 2006 19:07:34 +0000

Black racists outnumbering white racists in the USA? Do you have stats to back this claim up? What do you count as racism? Certainly Jese Jackson and Al Sharpton cannot be seen as racists except by the most ignorant of people who have no idea what racism actually is, and I am not referring simply to whites. The problem with commentators and many fans is they see Africa as some unified whole, almost like a country. So because Ghana is African all Africans are proud of what they did. This is sheer nonsense. Sure some Africans will see it this way but I doubt the majority cared about Ghana’s success. To suggest that there will be riotting in Africa in 2010 if calls go against African sides is ludicrous and even racist as it suggests Africans are predisposed to violent behaviour. Yet hasn’t been European fans that have been the most violent (ie. German-English fans clashing recently). Anyways, back to the main blog, the only way to resolve officiating incompetencies is through the institution of instant replays.

By: stef

stef — Thu, 29 Jun 2006 17:44:47 +0000

Two refs cannot co-exist on the same field, for the simple reason that just ONE person should decide the way he’s whistling. Two wouldn’t necessarilu have the same opinion, and EVEN if they did, the interpretation of events would not be the same.
4 linesmen would improve things a lot…
And the guy with the monitor outside of the field should help as well…

About Rivky David: I wouldn’t mind riots… not at all! Maybe FIFA officials would come than back to earth (from wherever they are right now) and realize that they’ve being destroying the game the last years…