Techno-ref to reduce the lottery

Slow motion action replays are wonderful for sports television viewers. They are exciting and fun and they invite comment, but they certainly do not enhance the reputation of referees and umpires. Increasingly, they are proving that referees and umpires are only human and given one split-sceond view of a significant moment, the match officials do make mistakes, lots of them. With the stakes of modern sport so high, these mistakes are becoming more serious, and more irritating to most.

Last week, alone, there were two glaring errors which affected the outcome of two major sporting competitions. Fanatical sports fans could probably point out a few more.

The first was during the Premiership clash between Manchester United and Newcastle. A win or draw for United might well have sealed the league title for this year. However, Newcastle won 3-0 and the title is still up for grabs. With the score at 1-0 in Newcastle's favour, a goalmouth scramble resulted in Manchester United "scoring". It was a close shave; the ball was wrenched from across the goalline by the Newcastle goalkeeper. The referee and his assistant failed to see that the ball had crossed the goalline and waved play on. Millions of viewers thought otherwise. Had that "score" been allowed to stand the match result may well have been different.

More seriously, the African Cup of Nations final was ruined at the penalty shoot-out phase. Probably billions of viewers saw Viktor Ikpeba's shot cross the line for a goal. Tunisian referee Mourad Daami and his assistant saw otherwise. In a slow motion television replay it was clear that he had, indeed, scored. Fortunately for the referee and other officials, the fans at the game were not shown the replay. Had the fans seen a replay there may well have been riots at the stadium. That there weren't riots later says something for the restraint of the Nigerian people.

These blunders by match officials are increasingly becoming a major problem. Two finely balanced teams at football, rugby or cricket have their fate decided by a referee or umpire who has a split second to make a decision. A decision that can literally mean the difference between life and death.

If that appears to be a bit of an exaggeration, it still does not seem right that with sport competitions involving millions of dollars, the careers of sportsmen and women and the hopes and dreams of nations should rest on the shoulders of one or two officials.

A bad decision made obvious can result in riots, in humiliation for officials and in the collapse of a sporting career.

Tennis and cricket have made the initial breakthrough with the electronic eye and third umpire respectively. It is now time to keep the momentum going. Many of us will be delighted to hear that the Super 12 rugby competition will now include video replays of the action in the in-goal area. The video referee system will require the extra television cameras, one at each end of the field and a radio communication link between the referee and the television match official. This is nothing new; it has been happening in American gridiron football for a while. Of course there will be mistakes, of course there will be hiccups, but the system will work.

My bet is that it will be extended to cover areas of play apart from just that of try scoring, or the dotting down of balls for a drop out.

With time it will probably become an integral part of almost every aspect of play. The same should soon apply to other sports.

The fear that the role of the referee or umpire will be made redundant or that he will become less important is nonsensical.

The final decision will always remain with the man in the middle. He will still be the sole judge. There are many rules covering areas of "doubt". For instance, in cricket, the benefit of the doubt always goes to the batsman. With these rules covering areas of doubt the job of officials will be made easier and more efficient rather than superfluous. Criticisms that normally accompany officials after every major competition are sure to diminish.

Initially there were doubts about the use of the third umpire in cricket. Now his role has become an accepted and important part of the sport.

Technology has started to play its part in making the lives of referees and umpires easier. The use of technology calls for the use of more officials and therefore increases their importance in and to the game.

The outcome of major sporting competitions should now become less of a lottery as more use is made of modern technology.