FIFA may finally study high-tech help for refs

Associated Press

JOHANNESBURG

Upon further review, soccer’s governing body now agrees that something must be done about the blatant missed calls that have infuriated fans and players alike at the World Cup.

Just what that something is, though, won’t even be addressed until after the tournament in South Africa is over.

A high-tech solution is possible, but it probably would address only that most egregious of refereeing mistakes: whether or not the ball crosses the goal line. Even putting the idea on the table, however, is a concession for an organization that has long insisted that errors by officials are simply part of the game.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter said Tuesday that changes will be considered, and that he has apologized to the English and Mexican teams, both of which were victims of bad calls Sunday. Several other teams were incorrectly denied or granted goals earlier in the World Cup.

Blatter said “something has to be changed” to prevent similar embarrassments in the future.

“After having witnessed such a situation,” Blatter said, “we have to open again this file, definitely.”

In 2008, Blatter said soccer should be left with errors and that officiating should be left to “a man, not a machine.” But on Tuesday he said, “It would be a nonsense to not reopen the file of technology.”

The International Football Association Board will consider the issue at a July meeting in Cardiff, Wales. There’s no guarantee Blatter’s promise to revisit the use of the latest technology means he has changed his mind, or that it will lead to new procedures at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

FIFA has resisted using high-tech solutions numerous times before, saying it wants the game to be played — and officiated — the same whether it’s a rec team or England’s Premier League. FIFA also can block any proposed rule changes that come before the IFAB.

But by promising to study the issue after this tournament, Blatter can silence his critics for now and return the spotlight to the first World Cup on the African continent, what he considers the crowning achievement of his long career.

Soccer has steadfastly refused to make changes while major sports including tennis, American football, baseball and hockey have employed video replay and other high-tech gadgets to help officials get calls right.

Then came the cascade of officiating errors at this World Cup, none worse than the blunders that hurt England and Mexico as they were knocked out.