Video Referee

I think that this should be introduced into football and not in the same fashion as in rugby but in a more suttle manner.  Say there is an incodent such as a headbutt and neither the referee or the assistant seen it, then the video referee will alert the referee that it has happened and appriopriate action can be taken. This also helps in ruling goals either onside or offside. Each manager can also call apon the use of the video referee 3 times in a match if he feels that a decision was unfair on his team.

Overall i think that this would not effect the pace of games and improve the fairness of the decisions

I dont know in hindsight it sounds like a good idea but it would slow the game down dramatically.Imagine in a match both coaches use all 3 decisions, that would require play to stop 6 times. I dont know it is just to slow IMO.

I'm all for the video ref. And i like the idea of maybe just 3 decisions per match. They use it ridiculously in Rugby League. I wouldnt want it to go that far.

I certainly don't think that managers should be allowed to call upon the video referee, it would be a complete shambles IMO! And as Dadorious said the game would be slowed down far too much.

I would be entirely for a video referee who could be called upon by the referee on the pitch, or who could alert the referee to actions going on "behind his back". The only problem is that it would go out of control and the matches would end up looking like a game of American football, stopping every 15 seconds or so! The intention is good - to control fairly events that are difficult to call by the naked eye - but in reality the pressure on referee's nowadays is so high that after a few weeks they would be falling back on the video referee's decision for every foul, not just the controversial ones.

but in reality the pressure on referee's nowadays is so high that after a few weeks they would be falling back on the video referee's decision for every foul, not just the controversial ones.

Yeah, thats a great point

Yeah, thats a great point

Cheers! I think the idea of using a video referee is the fairest possible one, but in reality I think it would have a terrible impact upon the pace of the game so shouldn't be brought into effect.

3 per team per match. Same system as hawk eye in tennis, if you get it right you get to keep that challenge and if its incorrect, you lose one. Works good and gets the crowd into it. Has my vote if its run like that.

I like the idea of having a video ref basically reviews any controvesial decisions. How long does it take Andy Gray, Martin Tyler or yourself to decide what the decision should have been once you've seen a good camera angle? The answer is not very long on most occasions. Say for instance we take the David Healy goal or not goal against Middlesbrough earlier in the season. It would have taken the video ref less then 10 seconds to see that it was a goal, the play could have continued until the ref got a word in his ear saying that was a goal.

Other decisions it may not work with but that has to be the basis of a god video ref system, allowing the play to go on until known otherwise.

I do like the idea of a challenge system too haha

After a great win for us at Everton yesterday some of the decisions made by that knob reilly the sending off nandos third goal disallowed, with a video replay it wouldn't of happened,
yesterdays games showed how important a part video replays would be, the mancs pen, blackburns first goal offside, like every week there's something but the fa says if they were to bring it in you would have to have it in all divisions even sunday league games , wtf that says kop out to me.

games are won and lost on some of these decisions ,so if the refs cant do it you need some other way as don  said on "goals on sunday" anything in the 18 yard box can be reviewed the forth official looks at the decision on video then tells the ref over his headset that he got it right or wrong.
with so much money involved this has to happen. 
what do you think?

NO! I have seen video replays ruin the domestic game i love (rugby league). It wastes time, it attracts criticism of different refs, it slows the pace of the game, brings technology into a game where it has survived hundreds of years without and if we bring this in, it will lead to other forms of technology peeping its head into our game. First its video replays, then what? Challenges?

Sure they make howlers but its not as frustrating as having some knob in a box taking 5 minutes on one decision. Sure some could agrue it would lead to more correct decisions but it is shown in league that it doesnt. Just creates more problems of people trying to make an imperfect game perfect when it cant be done and shouldnt even be thought of trying.

what about the electronic  device on page 31 of the Sunday Mirror, if the whole ball crosses the line apparently the goalposts flash. And is going to be trialed by Celtic in training . any one Else seen this ?

No not for me - decisions tend to even themselves out over a season anyway.

Plus how can you allow for moments like yesterday, when the decision to allow Torres goal was to do with Kuyt and whether or not he caused an infringement.
To look back at an incident like that would take too long. Plus would video replays be available at all levels of football?

Not for me either

Push come to shove at most goal line technology to establish if the ball has crossed the line, as for Video replays no way it would totally kill the game.

I don't think video replays but certainly goal line technology.

Not for me either

Push come to shove at most goal line technology to establish if the ball has crossed the line, as for Video replays no way it would totally kill the game.

i agree 100%

goal line technology would clear up situations like that stupid 'goal' at watford last week, and there have been occasions when the ball has crashed down of the underside of a crossbar, and the refs haven't a clue if its gone in or not, only for sky to show it had/hadn't from one of their 50 cameras.

but if you start stopping everytime you're not happy with a descision, the games would never be finished.  footballers contest most of a refs descisions anyway, were do you draw the line on a video ref??  and as one of the lads asked, would it be brought in at all levels??

a lot of the weekends debates over the football are centred around refs dodgy descisions anyway, if we used the video ref, we'd have less to moan about.  although having said that, i still say rob styles is a w**ker for giving the scum that pen!

at the end of the day it's swings and roundabouts.  best to leave it as it is.

Ok so being a ref in the premier league is a difficult job, but should it be allowed to be a title or relegation deciding role, simple answer no.My personal  feelings tonight is that Howard Webb has handed the opportunity to manure to win the premiership title to the redsh*te with his obviously penalty award which changed the game against Pompey. This can't be right, so give us a reprise situation as in ruby league, where within 30 seconds someone detached from the emotion of the game can give a revised view of events on the field. Sometimes it works for you and sometimes against, but it at least should remove the perceived bias toward certain clubs. What do you all think?

Referee blunders over the years have cost teams premiership survival, title..... and all aims....

Big decisions like pens, red cards, goal line, should be refered to a 5th official who should give the signal to the ref.

From my angle it looks as though its a penalty. But nevermind, this game aside.

Referee blunders, like Singh said, is really gonna cost us and the other teams. Its only fair. I reckon the referee should still take charge of all things etc etc, but the managers can have their say by having 3 appeals in a game. And this is where the video technology comes into place.

Would definitely add fire to a EPL game, more excitment and at the same time, mistakes cut out I reckon.

We need 5 judges sitting beside the 4th official

I am not sure the technology is going to be the answer, because even after people have had a chance to watch the replay in slow motion a dozen times, there is still debate going on about whether it was a penalty, or not a penalty. I remember a penalty incident that denied Australia a chance to play in the quarter finals of the World Cup when Lucas neil was penalised for bringing down an Italy player in the last minute of normal time.

Replays showed that Lucas Neil was laying on the ground and made no movement whatsoever toward the forward, but the forward dragged his foot onto Neils body as he jumped over him inducing his own fall. Even to this day people still debate whether it was a penalty or not a penalty, and ultimately that decision led to Italy going on to win the World Cup. How much bigger can you get?

I watched the incident at Old Trafford yesterday and the Spurs keeper touched the ball, but then with his natural positioning made contact with Carrick causing him to go down instead of being able to slot home a certain goal. The debate still rages about whether this was a penalty or not, did the keeper make contact with the player, or did the player make contact with the keeper?  If people are still debating it after countless replays then what is the value of giving it to a 4th official to decide via technology?

Instead of people debating the referee's error costing them the match, the title, or the World Cup, we are instead going to be left with people debating the 4th official cost them the match, the title or the world cup.

That being said I do feel depressed today after United winning, and particularly since at half time I was on such a high thinking Spurs were going to win, and we would still be top of the league, with only one more slip up required by United to enable us to win the title. The rollercoaster ride this season is providing is amazing.

I think we do need the video tech or something that can help with the standard of refereeing in PL. Nowadays, we see a lot of players taking advantage of referees. Players like Ronaldo and Drogba are sure to take profit from the standard refereeing. Unless we introduce the new system that will help referee, players like these will continue to use the old system to their advantage.
Refereeing mistakes did cost some teams dear in terms of goals and fouls made that went unnoticed. Remember Man Scums vs. Spurs a while ago in 2005??Remember how Mendes shot from distance and how Roy Carroll mistimed and the ball went in clearly, but still the linesman ruled it not goal.

I would love to see the technology come into place in football just as rugby have it ,so, the right decision gets made and the offenders punished ,in rugby if a bloke gets a yellow card he gets sin binned for ten minutes ,goes without saying that with drogb's double somersault half twist with pike dive routines he would only be on the pitch for a few minutes

Don't we already have another man on the sideline who tells the ref and other officials what to do?

Oh right thats Fergie