Why it really is the beautiful game …

There were so many magnificent moments during the 2009 Confederations Cup — Mohamed Homos’s 40th minute header which handed Egypt a famous victory over Italy, the injury-time heroics from Kiwi keeper Glen Moss against Iraq that secured Bafana a semi-final spot and, of course, Katlego Mphela’s breathtaking equaliser against Spain at the death in Sunday’s third-place play-off.

But there was one moment that defined why soccer remains the beautiful game. It came in the second half of the final during Brazil’s clash against the US when Kaka’s header struck the underside of the bar and goalkeeper Tim Howard parried the ball away while referee Martin Hansson waved play on.

For millions of television viewers around the world — gifted with slow motion replays and different camera angles — the ball clearly crossed the line. But that’s not the point. In the split second that separated Brazil securing a crucial equaliser and the US surviving another scare, Hansson (and his linesmen) made a human judgment based on what they saw — or thought they saw. There have been other cruel injustices.

Who can forget Geoff Hurst’s extra-time header for England against Germany in the 1966 World Cup final which struck the underside of the cross-bar and bounced on to (or over?) the goal line. Russian referee Gottfried Dienst awarded a goal and sparked a million debates around the world for decades to come.

We know the technology exists to determine whether a ball has crossed the line, but Fifa is well aware that such desperate measures could put soccer on a par with lesser codes like rugby, cricket or tennis where the human element — and human frailties — have all but been ruled out.

“There should be no technology on the field,” said Fifa President Sepp Blatter before jetting back to Zurich this week. He added that the governing body was determined to keep the “human face” of the world’s most popular sport. Long may this last!