FIFA President Sepp Blatter has come out in support of a TV replay challenge system today at Manchester’s Soccerex. The system would be similar to the NFL’s challenge system and could be trialed as early as 2015 at the FIFA Under-20 World Cup in New Zealand. Blatter, who also unsurprisingly announced he would be running for reelection, claimed that it could only be trialed at an event where “there is television coverage of all the matches”. Coaches would be allowed to challenge a referee’s call once or twice a half but “only when the game is stopped”. Once the challenge has been issued, the referee and the coach will stroll to a television monitor to review the play. After viewing, it is up to the ref whether or to change the decision.
Detractors of the video replay in soccer have stated that it would ruin the flow and momentum of the game, while promoters of the plan believe that it can catch wrong calls such as missed fouls or penalty shouts. Personally, I would favor a system more along the lines of a fifth official watching a monitor to help give a perspective on any calls that would be difficult for the refs on the pitch to make. What are your thoughts? Do you think video replay technology would help keep referees accountable or do you think it would ruin the game?
