Sports Technology

Doesn't it take all the fun and intestinal outrage from any game if the refs are no longer accountable to outrageous calls.

How about the coach protests to calls in American football. The game stops for 10 minutes while the questioned play is examined from 20 different camera shots.

It gives me time for a head call and another beer.

Thank god there is no protesting in soccer. The refs decision is final. You could built a camera into the frame of the goal and it would help out. Than we can built cameras into the side lines to know when the ball goes over the line. What about sensors inside the ball? We can also have sensors inside the shoes of the player, you would always know who hit the ball last so no messed up calls there. You can track the velocity or the force put on the ball and any other stats you'd like. Also, what about making the field out of sensors so you know exactly where the foul took place so the ball goes on the exact spot. The field could have LEDs built into it too so the spot can light up. We can also have the field mark a 9 meter radius around the ball when there is a foul so the wall would know where to stand. If somebody crosses the line too early they get a shock through their shoes like dogs do with the invisible fence. While we're doing the LED thing, we don't need to use paint on the field anymore because the LEDs could light all the necessary lines.

Ho hum..no profile, can't tell where you live, or if this is sarcasm, irony or maybe you are a Man U supporter?

I live in US and my post was meant to be half sarcastic. While for some sports technology helps out a lot (like hockey when sometimes you just can't follow the puck) I don't think in soccer this kind of technology would necessarily be good. There always were bad calls in soccer (and other sports) but if you, for example, do some kind of camera / sensor for the soccer goal you'd need to do some of the other things as well to avoid bad calls. Some other things you'd need to solve:

- Who was the last one to touch the ball before it went out?

- Was it a corner or a throw in? (Not a common one but it happened)

- Was he really fouled or did he dive?

- Maybe go as far as doing something to sense severity of the foul and certain severity is equal to a certain kind of foul. (This would solve the problem of getting a yellow card but didn't deserve it or vice versa and so on)

There are always going to be bad calls. To me, this is just part of the game. All of these situations can lead to an advantage / goal and I don't necessarily think they need to be "fixed".

Just so you know as well, AC Milan has been my favorite team for about 15 years now but since I've lived in US I haven't followed soccer much (if I can't watch it I don't follow it).

-Paul

Ther is no necessity to take the technology to ludicrous levels.

The common complaint is ..it will slow up the game, which is nonsense.

In the vast majority of cases the game has already stopped. The use of the technology could be at the discretion of the ref...or each side could be allowed 3 appeals to the camera.(AS is done in tennis)

At present we have a 4th official who does little but make a nuisance of himself.

I don't suppose you know of the 'goal' incident I refered to a few years back.

There was a long shot from Spurs, the Man U keeper dropped it over his head into the net...it crossed the line by at least 2feet....the ref and linesmen were on the halfway line and had their line of sight blocked. The keeper scrambled the ball out and play went on. At least 1/3 of the crowd and thousands if not millions of TV viewers knew the ball had crossed the line. There was no question of it...the whole thing was a nonsense.

The technology could be confined to goal line decisions.

My initial comment is how well it is working at Wimbledon for line calls, everyone feels it is a good thing.

Technology will always be taken to ludicrous levels if given a chance. In the beginning we'll put in the goal camera so people will be happy than, for a while though. Next they'll say that goals resulted from unfairly called foul so we're going to use technology to control that. Once we have that under control it's going to be something else. There always is something else that can be fixed. We'll have to stop it sooner or later and if we halt it before it even starts, that's not a bad thing in my opinion.

You are so obviously right...

As we can all see, our techno centric FA and the bloated self satisfied FIFA have leaped onto every technical advance with alacrity.

Those LED added time boards ar a sheer triumph...zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

The problem is you're talking about monitoring one part of the field (the lines between the goal posts) and ignoring the rest of the field. From what I'm reading you want this implemented because your team lost as a result of a bad call at that specific spot. What if your team lost as a result of a bad call at some other part of the field, would that be acceptable? When I was saying that technology will go to ludicrous levels I didn't mean that FIFA is jumping on every opportunity it has but because each fan thinks that different parts of the game need to be "fixed". You'd have to implement all the fixes if you're implementing one.

I'm not a Spurs fan...I'm a Pompey supporter..

I just think the concept of 'fair play' has some merit...maybe it's just an English thing?

This is an English thing.

At the time, Reds supporters complained of chaotic organization and said they were tear-gassed by police after being prevented from entering the stadium with valid tickets.

I see you read this then?

You are obviously think the game is Just Right as it is...

no more technology and no less.

This is very reasuring.

PS..have you ever actually seen a live football (soccer) match?

We have an independent police report mentioning 25 incidents since 2003 caused by Liverpool fans away from home," the newspaper cited UEFA spokesman William Gaillard as saying. "That's the most of any team in Europe."

It's not like this was a single incident.

I'm going to end this pointless argument because I've obviously struck a nerve with you and I'm getting agitated as well. We both have our opinions and let's leave it at that.

OK....let's try reversing the argument then.

Do you think we should remove some of the technology?

Let's take those awful nets off the goal...they obstruct the view, they were not on the goals in the early days of the game.

Let the ref decide which side of the post the ball travelled...

Good idea?