Yesterday saw the announcement that Australia could be one of 12 countries used to trial video replay technology in preparation for the 2017-18 season.
The International Football Association Board (IFAB) aims to fix what they see as four ‘game-changing’ incidents with the introduction of this technology. These incidents are whether a goal has been scored, penalty decisions, red cards and booking the incorrect player. It is proposed that video replays will allow a more accurate way of dealing with these occurances, as well as theoretically stopping anything like the infamous incident that happened between Croatia and Australia in the 2006 World Cup, where Croatian Josip Šimunić received three yellow cards before being sent-off by referee Graham Poll.
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Australia seems like a logical place to host these upcoming trials for a number of reasons. First and foremost, we have more experience with video replays in sport than arguably any other country. Australia currently uses some sort of video replays system in a wide range of sports, including but not limited to rugby league and cricket. Therefore it would almost seem a natural extension to use this technology in the A-League.
Secondly, it would allow the FFA to show that they are making progress in their goal of improving referee relations in the country. Referees have received a lot of criticism in recent months due to a string of poor decisions, most notably at the start of 2016 where Kris Griffith-Jones and Ben Williams made crucial mistakes that would ultimately lead to widespread media outcry and a request to change how referee’s operate in Australia. By introducing video replay technology, it would put many fans at ease knowing that any potential mistake could be reviewed, something that would no doubt calm the tensions between referees and the rest of the footballing community.
However, there is still a major question as to how the flow of the game will be affected. IFAB stated that they do not wish to affect the flow of the game with the introduction of video technology, but this seems to be something that is almost impossible. A fantastic case study in this is rugby league. The game has come into criticism over the last few years for the perceived over-reliance on the video replay system. Naturally this slows down the flow as referees are often checking to see if a try was scored, or if a ball was grounded properly. Carrying this over into football, there is a distinct possibility that the same could happen, as this system could be abused by reviewing every single tackle or goal scored, leading to the referee essentially having a minimal role in the game and allowing someone in a booth watching the game on television having more of a say in how the game itself is played.
Yet it is unclear how football could fix this potential issue, but perhaps one sport they could look at for help is that of cricket. In and of itself cricket is an inherently slow game, yet video replays and reviews are used reasonably sparingly in the sport. In test cricket, both sides are given a mere two video reviews per innings – a total of sixteen per match spread across five days – and they are only given more if the video replay correctly overturns the on-field decision. Video replays are also used often in close call run out and catching decisions, but the majority of reviewing in the sport is still done by the umpires themselves.
If football could borrow some of the ideas from cricket in regards to the usage of video replays, then it could minimize the effect its introduction would have on the flow of the game. However, as it stands, the video review system in place appears to be following the rugby league model, where the on field referee will ask for a review. Though there is also one crucial exception. Under the FIFA Quality Programme, video referees will also be able to recommend to the on-field referee decisions that should be reviewed. By going both ways this could hopefully allow a more streamlined system of video review, as any that could be a waste of time could be stopped.
At this stage it is still unclear as to how video review technology would be implemented in the A-League, but nevertheless it is an exciting prospect. The biggest issue many fans will have with the implementation of video review is exactly what shape it will take. Football prides itself on its ability to go quickly and stop for very little, and video technology could be a massive barrier to that ideal. That is not to say there is no value in it at all. The A-League would be an almost perfect testing ground for this new technology, as it is large enough of a league in terms of worldwide stature that the results will be trusted and seen as viable, yet small enough of a league that a large amount of experimentation can be undertaken and only a minimal amount of fans will be affected.
Video technology is something football has been resisting for a long time – other sports like rugby league and cricket have been utilizing the technology since the mid 1990’s – but it might finally appear that football is opening the door to it. The only big question that remains is how it can be used effectively while still keeping the game as it has been for the last 150 years.
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