Football needs TV refs

It is difficult to converse about the use of TV technology in football after such a wonderful week at least for Manchester United and Buccaneers.

In African-American English, We got it good man! Manchester United are turning Old Trafford into the Theatre of Dreams we have known it to be under Sir Alex. The usual arrogant Jose Mourinho looked awkwardly sheepish after the 2-0 nightmare which ended his European ambitions this season.

I have waited for a long time to see United wipe out the smug look on the face of the Inter coach since 2004. Mourinho painfully booted out the Red Devils in the second round of the Champions League when he was coaching Porto that unforgettable night.

The arrogance of the Portuguese coach! He had the audacity to run onto the pitch like a mad man as an eerie silence engulfed Old Trafford, incidentally engineered by two Benni McCarthy goals. Those with a memory remember that Porto and our Benni went on to win the coveted Champions League trophy. For this reason, knocking out his Inter Milan this year is such sweet, sweet revenge.

While United are keeping alive the dream of the most memorable football season in the history of the club, back home the good times are also rolling for us Happy People. Any football analyst worth his salt would have you know that the Bucs are clear favourites to win the league this season. Pirates are playing some captivating football that would leave even the most ardent Brazilian samba fan at awe. I can only feel sorry for log leaders SuperSport who will have difficulty keeping their eyes on the ball in their Africa Champions League match against Kampala City Council of Uganda on Friday. The Ghost has returned to haunt Matsatsantsa. The six-point cushion Gavin Hunt and his boys could well be cut to just three before they land at OR Tambo Airport. Thanda Zulu Royal are next on the Sea Robbers’ radar and there is little to suggest anything but annihilation with the way the Bucs are playing at the moment. Unlike other pretenders to the thrown, Pirates must capitalise on the advantage of a game in hand and the inactivity of SuperSport. The pressure of being on top courtesy of a single win will have its toll on SuperSport.

Now, back to the matter of technology. There has been enough debate on the cricket TV referral system. Interesting arguments both for and against the use of television relays in the gentlemen’s game to determine whether a batsman is out have been put forward. However even the fiercest critics of this new development in the game will acknowledge that the idea behind it is for the greater good. In that the correct decision must be implemented at the end of the day. In these days of commercial interests, batsman who will simply walk without being given out are few and far between.

And this new invention is not just in cricket. Television replays are also now an established part and parcel of rugby to a point that the game would be poorer without the use of this piece of technology.

Which brings me to football, the most followed sport in the world. The use of TV replays to assist match officials determine the authenticity of a goal, is in my view, long overdue.

Take Chelsea for example. They scraped through to the Champions League after a near injustice. Didier Drogba had a “genuine” goal disallowed in the first half against Juventus. TV replays clearly showed the ball cross the line while the referee and his assistants thought otherwise. The English side were only saved from losing on a last 16 spot when Drogba scored late in the game.

The game is just too fast and a lot is at stake to rely on the naked eye.

If players can be punished for a foul that is only caught on camera, surely the same technology should be used to double-check contentious issues such as offside and the ball crossing the line. If there are doubts about a player being on or offside, let’s refer it upstairs (TV referee). This to me would be the “Fair Play” Fifa preach.