So England scored a goal that didn’t count because the referee didn’t see it and now my English friends are suddenly of the opinion that perhaps a smidgen of technology might not be the end of the beautiful game.
But… I have to say that this case isn’t the best for either introducing video refereeing or sexy be-chipped soccer balls. The ball was in by about two yards. There wasn’t a tough judgment call that needed to be made here that could have gone either way. They just needed someone on the field seeing the goal! So we need some line judges, with flags. Their only job would be to raise the flag when the ball crosses the line; the head referee would still sort out whether someone was offsides, diving, or American* when figuring out whether he should disallow the goal.
I get that the simplicity of soccer is something a lot of people value, and that there’s something to be said for not chasing down every new whizbang technological solution, but I think colorful flags on sticks are proven technology.
*I know, I know. It’s not prejudice against Americans, but global incompetence, but it was too much fun to type.