EURO 2012 Options

[+Ed+]

Right now am watching a friendly of Netherlands VS N.Ireland and I am so high on emotions, that I decided to start this thread.

Who's in? Of course, I am supporting my national team, and Netherlands being a close second. Will try to watch most of the matches.

[sh4rpz]

While we're on the subject, here's more opinion on the Goal line officials and technology. Echoes what I've said.

There was controversy too when Ukraine looked to have scored. The ball (despite the bloke being offside for the pass) was pretty clearly over the line before the bloke who wears shinpads with a suit hooked it away. Ukraine went spare, replays showed it was over, but nothing was given.

The most interesting thing about it, for me at least, is that it didn’t just highlight the need for goal line technology, but it added to the perception that the extra officials they have behind the touchline are, essentially, useless. They may not be. It may be a case that during the game they’re communicating with referees and making sure corners are awarded correctly, or something, but they’re clearly not a solution when it comes to deciding if a ball has crossed the line or not.

In fact, the two main incidents I can think of where they might have proved their usefulness – last night’s and the clear penalty on Bendtner in the Denmark v Germany – have simply underlined the fact they look like they contribute nothing of any value to the game and its officiating. I don’t think I’ve ever seen one of them raise a flag, perhaps they’re not allowed to, and when TV replays can show what they’ve missed within seconds then surely the whole thing needs a rethink.

It’s not just this tournament either. They’re present in Champions League games and again we’ve seen them staring straight at incidents which merit a decision being taken yet they do nothing, time after time. So what exactly is their purpose? If the rules prevent them from having an influence then either change that or get rid of them.

Ultimately though, it’s just another example of how technology is necessary in football. England will say they’ve had more clear cut decisions like that go against them (Lampard v Germany) and what goes around comes around, which is reasonable enough, but that doesn’t mean football shouldn’t strive to improve in all areas. There’s no reason why this couldn’t be done, other than it seems to be at odds with the pair of twats who run the game. Perhaps when there’s a 24 team Euros in four years time, Platini will have a squad of 50 officials for each game, positioned at 10 yard intervals around the pitch, rather than use technology which would, 99 times out of 100, prove conclusive.

Source: the very excellent www.arseblog.com