Saturday, April 3, 2010

A Good Idea Ignored

For all the fuzz about the international board decision to stop experimenting with goal line technology, which don't get me wrong it was a stupid decision by them, there was something else that got my attention, in fact it wasn't even on their discussion, i'm talking about the use of spray by the referee.

Unless you follw Argentinian fĂștbol, you're probaly wondering what i'm talking about so a little backstory is in order, before the start of the 2009 season in Argentina there was a big debate about how to stop the players on the wall during free kicks to gain an advantage by moving closer to the ball, so they come up with a pretty simple idea, they will use a spray that marked the spot of the foul and where the wall should be placed, making the job of the referee easier. It didn't led to more goals as only one more goal was scored directly of free kicks in the 2009 season than in the 2008 season, however both players and referees expressed their believe that it helped make the game more disciplined and discourage cheating.

It was succesfull enough that CONMEBOL started using it in continental competitions and several other countries in South AmĂ©rica followed, however FIFA which had previously stated that they would take it into account did absolutely nothing. Too bad as anything that helps the referee do a better job should be considered, but i guess helping the referee it's not FIFA's main concern.    

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