FIFA might be in turmoil at the moment with Swiss authorities conducting criminal investigations against the organization’s beleaguered president Sepp Blatter, however it still holds the keys to technology’s introduction into the game.
The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) recently reached out to FIFA and IFAB in a bid to gain permission to introduce video refereeing in their domestic league. The Brasileirao has been struggling as of late with innumerable controversial refereeing decisions, which have led to over-the-top repercussions and angry reactions from managers, players and directors.
Marco Polo del Noro, president of the CBF, attempted to address the situation and proposed to introduce video technology on a trial basis to assist referees during games and enable them to make precise decisions. “We want Brazil to take on a leadership role in the process of the introduction of technology and to serve as a reference for other leagues around the world,” he said last week.
The CBF argued that a “video referee would help to correct clear technical or disciplinary errors which could directly alter the result or the development of the game, obeying the principle that the game should not be interrupted.” This would hypothetically preserve the flow of the game and minimize technological interruptions but still assist referees in making uncontroversial decisions. The CBF also outlined six instances where video technology would have been used in their proposal. All of them revolve around usually tight calls such as penalty decisions or if the ball has crossed the goal line entirely, as well as close offside rulings.
However, CBF’s hopes have been dashed by the IFAB. According to media reports in Brazil, the body that governs the laws of world soccer ruled against the proposal for the time being. However, the Zurich Based federation did not rule out permitting the initiative to be tested in the future.
Despite his current situation, FIFA President Sepp Blatter has repeatedly voiced his support for introducing video technology. It remains to be seen if he will remain at the helm long to enough to oversee its implementation. Michel Platini, UEFA’s president and until last week, heavily favored candidate to replace Sepp Blatter as next FIFA president has gone on record saying that “more technology would kill the game.” He is a strong advocate of utilizing more assistant referees on the field in order to “have more eyes on the field to look at the game.”
The method has been used in the UEFA Champions League, but it has its fair share of detractors, most noticeably Arsenal Manager Arsene Wenger who famously said after his team’s loss to Olympiakos in last year’s tournament: “What the referee behind the goal line is doing, nobody knows.”
The two teams meet again in this year’s tournament on Wednesday, and Wenger will be hoping all the referees know their roles, as it seems video technology will not be introduced to soccer this season.