The World Cup thus far has been less about the Beautiful Game on the field and more about the inexplicable refusal of Sepp Blatter and his clan to uphold FIFA’s own Fair Play Code of Conduct. In the wake of recent controversial decisions (or indecision – you make the call), the pressure is mounting on FIFA to stop making nonsensical excuses and step into the 21st Century and embrace the use of technology by game officials.
With Blatter’s apology to the football federations of Mexico and England yesterday, it appears that FIFA is finally bowing to pressure and common sense. Mind you, I wouldn’t be surprised if Sepp sticks to his guns after the uproar dies down. It is imperative that fans hold the governing body accountable, since the players and their respective federations have done very little to affect change.
Even with his apology and admission of guilt, the FIFA head refused to back down from his refusal to allow instant replay.
“The only principle that we are going to bring back now for discussion is the goal-line technology.”
To limit the debate to goal-line technology doesn’t make sense. Sepp’s stubborn refusal to uphold the credibility of the game is perplexing. Why bother with an apology to Ireland and Mexico for blown calls, if you’re not going to do anything sensible about rectifying egregious calls? How can a champion be crowned if many doubt the legitimacy of the officiating?
Watching this issue unfold has been like watching a car crash in slow motion. The last World Cup was remembered for the ‘head-butt’ and the controversial decision to send Zinedine Zidane off the field since many questioned if the officials saw the incident in question in real time. Now this World Cup, little more than half over, is going to be marred by similar controversy. To date, there have been at least four cases of noticeably bad officiating in South Africa. The sad thing is not that referees are fallible, but that FIFA has steadfastly refused to improve the level of officiating. When Ireland was wrongfully denied an opportunity to compete in this World Cup by Thierry Henry’s hand ball, FIFA looked the other way when it should have acted, and acted decisively. When will soccer’s governing body wake-up and join the global sports standard? Every major professional international sport from car racing to tennis and even cricket has embraced some form of video replay without issue. Why is it that the world’s most popular sport cannot get its act together? All they seem to offer are excuses.
FIFA’s stance that technology would slow down game play is plain hypocritical. Diving slows down game play but some way, somehow, it has been permitted to continue unabated. FIFA’s inaction on this issue has led players to cheat at every opportunity. Long gone are the days when it was admirable for players to stay on their feet. Now it is all about conning the referee. In light of this shift in player sentiment, FIFA should have acted quickly to quell the unsportsmanlike behavior and help referees, however they elected to make illogical excuses that only benefit controversy. Instead of rectifying clear mistakes, they elected to make referees the scapegoats of their failure of leadership.
It is somewhat ironic that it took England being hard done for FIFA to step forward and do the right thing. Why is it that FIFA does nothing when so called ‘lesser soccer powers’ suffer injustice? South Africa was victimized by a dive in their second group game. The US team could have failed to qualify for the elimination round due to a disallowed goal against Slovenia. An undermanned Chile should have been awarded a penalty in their match against Spain, however the call was never made. How about acknowledging these obvious mistakes?
Actually, FIFA should forgo the apologies and begin working on a sensible solution to the present day issue of better officiating. It is abundantly clear that referees need additional help. Like all human beings, they are far from perfect and prone to error. FIFA needs to be fair not only to the competitors, but to the referees as well.
If FIFA were to fairly evaluate their own rules, they would see that they are asking a bit too much from officials. The linesmen have to be in position to judge if offensive players are offside while at the same time keeping an eye on the ball prior to the pass that plays that player through. On top of that, officials are supposed to be at the goal-line to judge if a goal is legitimate or not. Not to mention that referees are responsible for policing the countless acts of unsportsmanlike behavior that goes on in today’s game.
The introduction of technological assistance for officials has been long overdue. Without it, FIFA’s claim to be champions of Fair Play appears cynical. After all, a competition like the World Cup should not be left to chance, it should be decided by the players between the lines. Let’s hope that FIFA recognizes that the beauty of the game lies not in controversy but in the legitimacy of the winner. Till then, let the game of chance resume.
