No Replay In Soccer: Sepp Blatter, Hold Strong!

http://wmbriggs.com/blog/?p=2551 ^ | William M. Briggs

[mattstat]

Hold the line, Sepp. Don’t buckle under the pressure, which now is intense and hot, but soon will be slack and not even tepid. We do not need to let replay “technology”—the word that everybody now favors—into the beautiful game.

Yes, the referees missed awarding a lackluster England a goal against Germany. We know this because the replay—in this case—was clear. It isn’t always clear, of course. But here, we could see it and we know that, at least in the eyes of many Germans, a weird sort of justice was done.

Justice? Consider: in the Cup final in 1966, England’s Geoff Hurst shot and hit the (West) German crossbar. The ball bounced. Over the line, claimed the English. Before the line, said the Germans. The referees agreed with England, who went on to win 4-2.

So, because of Sunday, in the minds of many German fans anyway, the score is now even: one bad goal equals another.

Fabio Capello Weeps Once More Did Sunday’s un-awarded goal change the outcome? Fabio Capello assumed the counterfactual: had Lampard’s goal counted, England, he said, could have at least drawn. But many viewers, and less passionate assessors, took the opposite view: England did not play well over four games and were on their way home no matter what. To prove their point, we may merely say, “Wayne Rooney?”

Ah, but even if you buy that, we must still account for the missed offsides call against Argentina...

[1rudeboy]

And just to be clear, I have no objection to FIFA introducing a goal judge à la the NHL (or did they scrap it for replay, I can't remember). I have no objection to a limited form of instant replay.

But instant replay is a camel sticking his nose into the tent. Review the play to see if the ball crosses the line, yes. But for God's sake, spare me the BS of forcing a ref to review a play from all angles for 5-10 minutes to see if the ball was tipped, etc.

Oh, and make sure to put the FIFA goal judge behind bulletproof glass and give him armor support. ;)