Field Day with FIFA

So, I got a job at SIM as a Facilities Officer. I’m guessing my job scope would be just making sure the facilities work. Way to go, Captain Obvious.

Its another few more months before I enlist into NS. That’s why I looked for a job. Why the obviousness today? Hmmm…

Anyway, this World Cup has been disappointing. For the English squad, in the least. They just barely squeezed through to the round of 16, and got kicked out of the tournament with just a shred of dignity.

More than anything else, I was furious with the way they played. Never have I seen a less tactically organized team, or so they appeared to be. Germany was the country beating them with a big ugly stick and England looked like a little boy trying to fend off the blows with his meek physique.

The only consolations for the Three Lions were that they officially managed to pierce the German wall once.

Officially because just before the first half ended, Lampard made a shot that obviously went over the goal line and into the goal! It could’ve been 2-2!

But, no. The referee and the blundering linesmen decided to award no goal. It wasn’t a close call, it was IN. They got it on camera and this wasn’t the kind of video quality that allowed Maradona to keep people guessing whether he scored with his hand. This was indisputable proof. Heh. Getting all fired up just typing about it.

“The human aspect of football is essential to this sport. The big moments in this sport – whatever they are – get supporters talking and go down in history. That’s what makes this sport so vibrant.”

-Jonathan Ford of the Football Association of Wales

What??? Of course the human aspect is important! What the **** are you blabbering about?? The human aspects people want to see are the skills, strength, agility and passion of the PLAYERS. The supporters will only, in the end, talk about how unlucky that that damn referee never saw the goal, or never saw that off-side.

“We were all agreed that technology shouldn’t enter football because we want football to remain human, which is what makes it great. The fans keep talking about these matches again and again, and relive them.”

-Patrick Nelson of the Irish Football Association

Can’t you(FIFA) imitate how umpiring has been so efficiently maintained in professional tennis? They use hawk-eye, a technology that utilizes cameras placed around the stadium to track the flight path of the ball. It is accurate to the millimeter. Here comes the good part. Players are allowed only 3 challenges in a set to question a called. The challenge is displayed on a screen for ALL TO SEE. If they are right, they keep the challenge. They are wrong, they get one challenge taken away from them. Simple enough?

How traditional do you want it to get? You want the shorts back? You want the dismal security back? You want the one pixel per centimeter video quality back? We want the right calls. The fans all seek truth and resolution.

Of course, you can’t decide whether a foul is or not with technology. Not yet. That is an aspect you can’t change yet, we know that! But change what you can! Change the way refereeing works!

“If we introduced technology for goal-line situations, then why not use it for other situations?” said Valcke. “Use it for offsides and contentious moments and you end up with video evidence. That’s not what was decided. We want to keep the game as it is.” Ford echoed those thoughts: “We don’t want the game to be interrupted countless times.”

The game is already interrupted countless times with free throws, setting up of balls, substitutions and the, oh of course, endless bickering of players who thought that the ball was 2000 meters over the goal-line, or that they weren’t offside because their feet were still in line.

Use it to change something bad into something good. Heck, the audience has a good time looking at Hawk-eye’s display in professional tennis!

Technology is NOT a bad thing!

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