Would Any of This Be Happening if it Was Atalanta That Got Screwed?

By: Martha | October 30th, 2007

replay action I think we all know the answer to that. Anyway.

In the wake of the debacle in Naples last weekend, the frenzy about officiating in Serie A has reached a fever pitch, with solutions as diverse as video replays, foreign referees, and Collina’s retirement all being put forward in just the last 12 hours or so. Wow. Who knew Juve were so loved?

The video thing is all over La Gazzetta today, prompted by the ex post facto banning of Marcelo Zalayeta for his dive (Napoli sporting director Pierpaolo Marino insists it wasn’t a dive. Nice to see it’s not only Juve who live in denial, huh?), with such illustrious analysts as Fabio Capello endorsing the use of video replays during games, albeit only for in the penalty boxes, and not to determine offside. Well thank God for that — can you imagine? Milan games would take weeks if each offside call had to be reviewed. Roberto Donadoni, who doesn’t have much credibility these days around here, is a bit more conservative, making the same noises about the use of microchips in balls that The Man has been making for a year or two now. That technology, though, is strictly to determine if shots have crossed the goal line, though, and wouldn’t have any effect on penalty decisions.

The vague plans being discussed for handling questionable decisions in the penalty area (all of which will probably disappear by the end of the month) seem to be based loosely on how replays are used in American sports today: Either there would be an official above the pitch with a TV monitor who was in communication with the referee, or there would be a pitch-side monitor on which the referee and his friends could examine the replays themselves, a la NBA referees.

I can actually sort of see the first option working — I mean, as it is, the rules allow consultation with the linesmen, right? If there was a time limit set on the replay-watching (like there is in the NFL), it doesn’t seem like it would interfere too much. The only issue, of course, is that using replays in that way would only smoothly fit into the flow of the game after a whistle had been blow on the pitch. Having someone away from the field shout in the referee’s earpiece while the game is going on that he should have pointed to the spot 90 seconds before, on the other hand, would be a complete disaster. So, is it better to be able to correct half of erroneous penalty decisions, or is it best just to leave everything in human hands? I would guess most people fall into the latter camp, but people were against the use of replays in American football for a long time, too, and now they’re an accepted part of the game; mass opinion has been known to change.

Of course, all that said, as long as FIFA is oppose to the use of replays, talking about them is pretty much moot.