FIFA to cave in on replay request?

[toxic avenger]

I think you people who go on about being real football fans who, unlike the fair-weather followers, aren't going to keep banging on about the Henry handball, need to stop banging on about the Henry handball. Everyone else has moved on, perhaps those of you who were telling the rest of us to move on within one second of the final whistle might also move on in time....

[The_SR]

Wouldn't agree:
1. Video ref would have confirmed henrys handball well before the time when ireland restarted the game. With all the cameras at football match, conclusive evidence is nearly always available. Unlike rugby, where the issue of grounding the ball can be slowed up due to bodies of defending players, the key areas likely to be of concern - hand ball, tackle, over the line - could be spotted very quickly

Key difference is rugby has one situation only where the video ref is called in - was a ball grounded for a try. The football equialent is whether the ball crossed the line. It clearly did. I don't see how this fould could have been spotted by the video ref unless we are into managers having appeals like American football.

2. Not true i'd say. Rugby refs use video back-up and they get most respect of any sports. Look at the loss of respect for football refs after henry incident. Alot of people blamed the ref when in fairness he was unsighted. If there was video ref, he would have cancelled the goal. Re-started play with free to Ireland - how would that have lost him respect? Its not as if we all don't use modern technology each and every day of our lives.

In what context would the video ref even have been invoked?

3. There are always differences between prof matches and schoolkid games in all sports. Most underage football wouldn't have neutral linesman and definitely not a 4th official. So, there are major differences already. I think football would gain more by rectifiying major problems at its most high profile games even if it meant that there were different set-ups at lower leagues. Already in place in rugby and no problem. They would be used where financially possible (EPL, championship upwards etc)

Thats not a fundamental change to the rules like a video ref would be.

5th official is a nonsense idea. Excessive costs and personnel required (Without gaurantee that they wouldn't miss same issues - do we thengo to 7 officials) while video ref would simply use feed from tv station and be 100% accurate.

But we are back to the assumption that all games monitored are going out live on tv. How far down the pyramid are you proposing?

[joel]

I agree.

As I recall, the idea of introducing video refs came in for serious consideration some years ago, and was rejected. I don't think FIFA are going to change their mind because of this (or similar) incidents.Besides, to think of it as a panacea for 'injustice' in the game is mistaken. Even with a video referees, the decisions will have to be made by humans in the end. And humans are prone to error. And that's football, and that's life.

You mean a replay on TV, where a blind man could see the ball was handled, wouldn't be corrected by a Video referee?

Its a cheats charter at the moment. Soccer matches - with so few goals - are often being decided by the best cheats. Farcial.

[WTTR]

The 4th Official informed the ref. about Zidane's head butt, after seeing the replay on TV in the last World Cup final. This was evident to anybody watching, even though Fifa have subsequently denied it. The ref. or the TV viewers did not see the incident in real time. The same scenario would have played itself out in Paris, except that my guess is that the Officials panicked: home ground and all that! Zidane was in Paris; I guess he too felt cheated

Now, the real injustice has very little to do with football. We are all going to suffer for the next ten to twenty years because of the indiscipline and cheating of moneymen.

If we allow these very blatant demonstration of indisipline and cheating by:

• FIFA in changing the Play-off rules at the end of the group stage, which militated against Ireland's chances of getting a good draw.
• The very visible double palming of the ball by a French Player that led to the winning goal.
• The linesman in ignoring two French player who were offside, before the ball was kicked into the square

Then, why are there so many Public Employees demonstrating today against the results of indiscipline and cheating by moneymen? Its too late, they did not object in time to the very evident mismangement of government and banking finances.

The Henry affair, if not punished is only opening the door for those people that keep the rules to be continuously ripped - off.

What kind of society do we want?

Tell me! What book of rules are we guided by:

• Christian Bible
• Fifa Rules
• EU legislation

?
It appears to be none at all. Yea, this is consistent with what has been happening over the past ten years.

Is there anybody out there who is trembling at where all this is going to lead us?

[The_SR]

You mean a replay on TV, where a blind man could see the ball was handled, wouldn't be corrected by a Video referee?

Its a cheats charter at the moment. Soccer matches - with so few goals - are often being decided by the best cheats. Farcial.

But how would the video referee even be invoked?

[alonso]

Wouldn't agree:
1. Video ref would have confirmed henrys handball well before the time when ireland restarted the game. With all the cameras at football match, conclusive evidence is nearly always available. Unlike rugby, where the issue of grounding the ball can be slowed up due to bodies of defending players, the key areas likely to be of concern - hand ball, tackle, over the line - could be spotted very quickly

Where do we draw the line? Ball over the line, fair enough. Handball leading to goal? foul on the edge of the box leading to free kick leading to goal? Penalties? Penalty claims? Goals disallowed for offside? Offsides leading to goals? Red Cards? Yellow cards that might lead to reds later on? It's not as clear cut in football

2. Not true i'd say. Rugby refs use video back-up and they get most respect of any sports. Look at the loss of respect for football refs after henry incident. Alot of people blamed the ref when in fairness he was unsighted. If there was video ref, he would have cancelled the goal. Re-started play with free to Ireland - how would that have lost him respect? Its not as if we all don't use modern technology each and every day of our lives.

Is the problem that there is too much technology in football coverage not too little in the sport itself? Refs are vilified by pundits and managers with monitors beside their dugouts.

3. There are always differences between prof matches and schoolkid games in all sports. Most underage football wouldn't have neutral linesman and definitely not a 4th official. So, there are major differences already. I think football would gain more by rectifiying major problems at its most high profile games even if it meant that there were different set-ups at lower leagues. Already in place in rugby and no problem. They would be used where financially possible (EPL, championship upwards etc)

Not having a neutral linesman is not a major difference. Offsides are decided by refs. the linesman in schoolboy football generally just gives throw ins. The issue is that, for example, Shamrock Rovers may be playing Cherry Orchard in an FAI cup match on a Friday with no tv ref. Then the following Tuesday, indulge me, be playing Barca in a CL game with a tv ref. Same for Liverpool away to Kettering in an FA cup game etc etc. So it's ok for a domestic cup to be "robbed" but not the cups that feature on the box worldwide?

You mean a replay on TV, where a blind man could see the ball was handled, wouldn't be corrected by a Video referee?

Its a cheats charter at the moment. Soccer matches - with so few goals - are often being decided by the best cheats. Farcial.

That's an exaggeration, joel. There are hundreds of top level matches across the globe every week and very few are decided by "cheating". At the end of the day, Damien Duff and Robbie Keane decided that game as much as Henry.

The 4th Official informed the ref. about Zidane's head butt, after seeing the replay on TV in the last World Cup final. This was evident to anybody watching, even though Fifa have subsequently denied it. The ref. or the TV viewers did not see the incident in real time. The same scenario would have played itself out in Paris, except that my guess is that the Officials panicked: home ground and all that! Zidane was in Paris; I guess he too felt cheated

That is true and was the wrong call. There was a greater case for a replay there as the referee made a technical error in law by operating outside of the law

[joel]

Where do we draw the line? Ball over the line, fair enough. Handball leading to goal? foul on the edge of the box leading to free kick leading to goal? Penalties? Penalty claims? Goals disallowed for offside? Offsides leading to goals? Red Cards? Yellow cards that might lead to reds later on? It's not as clear cut in football



Is the problem that there is too much technology in football coverage not too little in the sport itself? Refs are vilified by pundits and managers with monitors beside their dugouts.



Not having a neutral linesman is not a major difference. Offsides are decided by refs. the linesman in schoolboy football generally just gives throw ins. The issue is that, for example, Shamrock Rovers may be playing Cherry Orchard in an FAI cup match on a Friday with no tv ref. Then the following Tuesday, indulge me, be playing Barca in a CL game with a tv ref. Same for Liverpool away to Kettering in an FA cup game etc etc. So it's ok for a domestic cup to be "robbed" but not the cups that feature on the box worldwide?



That's an exaggeration, joel. There are hundreds of top level matches across the globe every week and very few are decided by "cheating". At the end of the day, Damien Duff and Robbie Keane decided that game as much as Henry.



That is true and was the wrong call. There was a greater case for a replay there as the referee made a technical error in law by operating outside of the law

You're not a sportsman - a true sportsman wants fair play.

[alonso]

You're not a sportsman - a true sportsman wants fair play.

A true sportsman wants fair play through honesty and sportsmanship, not videos.

Tackle the root cause, don't merely treat it.

[joel]

A true sportsman wants fair play through honesty and sportsmanship, not videos.

Tackle the root cause, don't merely treat it.

Too much money involved - sportsmanship tends to go out of the window in professional sport.

Anyway, nothing wrong with video to get big decisions right. Works in Rugby.

[alonso]

Too much money involved - sportsmanship tends to go out of the window in professional sport.

Anyway, nothing wrong with video to get big decisions right. Works in Rugby.

Again, is this an off the pitch issue? There was no kicking and screaming pre-Sky when the referee's decisions weren't anlysed from every angle and the star striker would be down the boozer after the game chattin' with the fans..... What I'm talking about is a change in the culture of football, not the rules of the game

99% of the time it's grand but every time a team get's robbed, which happens maybe once every 5 seasons, the manager gets antsy and calls for video refs- unless it's Sam Allardyce who is robbed every fortnight.

We should look at poor oul Rafa who was robbed a few weeks ago by a beach ball. He merely stated Liverpool were useless and screw the goal, it never should have come down to that.