Goal line technology…when will they see sense?

The great goal line technology debate has again reared its head. Michelle Platini has made his feelings known on the subject again. His comments reinforce the thoughts of those that run the game globally. For such a great player I am amazed that he is talking such dross. The majority of football followers throughout the world may think that the game is run by people who have never played the game before. I am talking about Sepp Blatter of course. But this outburst from one of the greatest players the game has ever seen really does surprise me.

Sepp Blatter has correctly been at the centre of much criticism regarding technology and his stubbornness to not address the situation. Now for me, I would have to put Platini in the same boat and say that these people are stopping the game progressing and evolving.

FIFA have my admiration for doing much good for the game. Some rule changes have been good for the game. The back pass rule, for one, has made the game a better spectacle. The Fair Play initiatives has also been a positive step. This is all being negated though with this lack of intelligence to make our game fairer.

Platini says that by introducing additional officials behind the goal will allow the difficult decisions to be made correctly. This may be true for certain incidents which are clear-cut. I refer to the Frank Lampard ‘goal’ against Germany in the World Cup. I believe that an official on the line will make the correct call there. But there have been many other incidents where a thousand officials would not be able to call it 100% correctly as the speed of the ball is too quick or it is a matter of inches whether the ball has crossed the line or not. The human eye just cannot make these calls, and it is for these reasons why we must introduce some kind of technology into our game.

Blatter has recently suggested that, if technology were introduced, that the decision would need to be made instantly.

Why? Yes, we would like a swift outcome for any decision. But what is more important: A quick resumption to play or the correct decision. We see referees consult their assistants for many less important decisions than if a ball has crossed the line. We are not concerned if the game is slowed down for a reason such as this. The pace of the game is not an issue. It is slowed down by injuries, substitutions as well as the ball going out of play. This is not an issue here.

Considering how technology has evolved, how other sports have evolved with technology and improved because of this then we really must question if those in power are the right people for football. Following on from the World Cup I am amazed how Blatter has remained in charge. To introduce technology following the World Cup would have been a backtrack but would have at least given him back some respect. It seems like he has made his decision and will stick to it. He is a dinosaur living in the dark ages. You would have thought that there would have been some kind of ‘coup’ to remove him from power. I’m sure that many would have backed this idea. Surely there are people within the corridors of power that can oust him from his chair.

But there will be another case of this sometime soon in an important match. What will it take for things to change?