The video referee has become a part and parcel of football. Many sporting disciplines have showed the way on how to reduce human error in umpiring or refereeing, but soccer did it somewhat reluctantly. The referral systems aren’t perfect, as often seen in cricket, which was among the first to experiment with technology, but only in line decisions. In the first case of possible use in 1991, the umpire refused to call in the TV refree on a run-out in Durban, where the batsman was yards short of the crease. The video-assisted referee (VAR) system is under the spotlight since its first use on Saturday in the France-Australia World Cup match in Russia.
It may take a while for tech haters to be convinced that referrals are needed to modernise sport. Players and managers may initially rail against using VAR, but there’s no doubt that the all-seeing camera eye can help spot what the human eye often misses in the speed at which events take place. The fear that referrals will hold up fast-paced international soccer may be a tad exaggerated. Field officials will get better at using the technology, much as we have seen in cricket. Video tech may reduce abuse from players, but its ultimate test will be in how it helps eliminate obvious instances of miscarriage of justice. If VAR helps referees get the big decisions right — whether a penalty is called for or if the ball has crossed the goal line — it would help make soccer not only a better spectacle, but also more equitable.
