In 2005, as Editor of The Ball magazine, I appealled to FIFA to address the issue of TV replays being used in football. There was no immediate impact following my communication to FIFA, however, I also CCd it to a few hundred magazines, newspapers and sports organistions and federations.
By Simon Lewis
“Soccer, one of the leading sports, actually needs to catch a wake-up, as almost all other sports are using video replays to aid referees,” I said back in 2005. “I appeal to FIFA to consider the facts of the four finals as shown here and make the best and most positive decision – bring the TV ref to life!”
At that time very few people saw any merit in using TV reviews or any other form of referee assistance in football. The split was about 85 against to 15 for referee assistance. The split seemed to have grown to about 50-50 in favour of helping the referees before the 2010 FIFA World Cup… and following the disallowed Frank Lampard goal and numerous subsequent referee errors (albeit mostly impossible for the referees to call correctly – although most were confirmed as incorrect almost instantly within a handful of seconds), the spilt is about 20 against to 80 percent FOR the use of technology now. Hopefully my mail to FIFA and the sports media played some small part in this. Today the argument is not about IF we do it… it’s about HOW we do it.
Using TV footage is the cheapest way to ensure quick and accurate decisions by humans! And, the beauty of it is you don’t need to add any additional equipment – simply use whatever TV cameras are in place – after all, the controversy arises as a result of TV footage that immediately shows a refereeing error. If there’s no TV footage then, no problem – the crowd will be none the wiser about any refereeing errors and naturally the onfield referee’s decision stands.
WHAT IMPACT WILL STOPPING FOR THE TV REFEREE HAVE? A CASE STUDY FROM ‘THE FOUR FINALS’ IN 2005
In 2005 I took extensive notes of all the referee and linesmen decisions during four high-profile soccer finals in 2005 (the FA Cup, Champions League, Scottish Cup and Championship Playoff finals). After watching the four finals I was amazed at how busy the referee and linesmen actually were and, moreover, how accurate they were with the majority of their decisions!
- In the first half of a match the referee blows his whistle every 54 seconds.
- In the second half he blows every 47 seconds.
- The number of ‘errors’ remains even between the first half and the second – a referee’s ‘error’ rate is 1 in 25 decisions.
- On average a referee blows his whistle every 50.4 seconds.
- Referees make 107 decisions per match in normal time (90 min).
- The number of ‘errors’ in 90 minutes of normal time is 4.25 (under 4% of total decisions), which equates to an ‘incorrect’ decision every 20 minutes.
Note: Most of these decisions are humanly impossible for the referee and his linesmen to always call correctly.
(Source: The Ball magazine, www.theball.co.za)
FOOTNOTE
There were a few areas where referees and linesmen erred to a greater or lesser extent, although these were usually due to the decisions being extremely difficult to judge with the naked eye. Crucially, however, those instances were decisions of far greater importance. Ironically, most of these could be confirmed or overruled within 10-15 seconds of watching TV replays, which is usually the time it takes for the players to stop arguing with the referee and linesmen about a contentious decision. Considering that referees essentially make so few wrong decisions in a match, the amount of interruptions for delays linked to the TV referee would be a matter or 2-4 minutes per match. Considering the value of getting accurate decisions, it is arguably a delay worth taking, especially when you consider how much time the players waste arguing with the referees. In the four finals, between 8-10 goalscoring opportunities could have resulted had the TV referee been used (ie largely relating to offsides or penalty decisions).
Figures, stats and workings from The Four Finals
Compiled by Simon Lewis
FIGURES AND STATS AND WORKINGSFA Cup final – Arsenal v Man United
90 min EOT RBP ERR extra time EOT RBP ERR
1st half 48 4 3 1st half 13 2 0
2nd half 47 9 1 2nd half 18 0 0
PENALTIES – keeper off his line before the kick for five of the 10 kicks (most were only a slight jump off the line) – the one penalty that was saved the keeper was well off his line before the ball was kicked.
Champions League Final – AC Milan v Liverpool
90 min EOT RBP ERR extra time EOT RBP ERR
1st half 23 16 1 1st half 13 2 0
2nd half 45 11 3 2nd half 17 3 1
PENALTIES - keepers off their line before the kick four times, three of which were saved.
Scottish Cup Final – Celtic v Dundee United
90 min EOT RBP ERR
1st half 42 10 3
2nd half 51 7 5
Championship Playoff Final – Preston v West Ham
90 min EOT RBP ERR
1st half 50 7 1
2nd half 53 5 0
OVERALL AVERAGES
90 min EOT RBP ERR extra time EOT RBP ERR
1st half 163 37 8 1st half 26 4 2
2nd half 196 32 9 2nd half 35 3 1
Total 359 69 17 61 7 3
NORMAL TIME FOR THE FOUR FINALS
1st half 180 minutes total 200 blows of the whistle
8 decisions missed / unseen on TV Blows every 0.9 min (54 seconds)
2nd half 180 minutes total 228 blows of the whistle
9 decisions missed / unseen on TV Blows every 0.78 min (47 seconds)
EXTRA TIME FOR THE FOUR FINALS
1st half 30 minutes total 30 blows of the whistle
2 decisions missed / unseen on TV Blows every 1 min (60 seconds)
2nd half 30 minutes total 38 blows of the whistle
1 decision missed / unseen on TV Blows every 0.78 min (47 seconds)
TOTAL OVER FOUR FINALS
428 in 360 min (normal time) blows every 0.84 min (50.4 sec)
20 ‘errors’ (1 in 21 decisions)
496 blows in 420 minutes (incl ET) blows every 0.85 min (50.8 sec)
17 ‘errors’ (1 in 29 decisions)
SUNDRY STATISTICS
On average, the referees made 50 decisions in the first half of normal time (45 min) and 57 decisions in the second half (45 min).
The increase from the first half to the second half was 200 decisions up to 228 decisions (the total over the four finals), no doubt as the players take more risks looking for a winning goal. This equates to a referee and his linesmen making a decision every 54 seconds in the first half and down to 47 seconds in the second half, seven seconds faster in the second half.
The number of ‘errors’ remains even between the first half and the second – in both cases, the ‘error’ rate was 1 in 25 decisions.
On average, the referees made 107 decisions per match in normal time (90 min). The number of ‘errors’ in that time was 4.25 (under 4% of decisions), which equates to an ‘incorrect’ decision every 20 minutes.
STATISTICAL NOTES
• Times are based on an average time of the 45 minutes in each half – stoppage time is classed as dead time, as the ref wouldn’t be making decisions. ‘Decisions’ listed are when a referee blew his whistle.
• EOT = viewers can confirm decision from live footage (including the replays shown live). Note that the officials don’t know what will be a close or an easy decision and are fully focused for the full 45 minutes of each half – they can’t relax for a moment. Probably the time when any mistakes happen is if they do lose concentration, which is a normal human failing, or when the decision is not ‘humanly possible’ to always call correctly.
• RBP = the referee or linemen were in the best position, and live footage did not show evidence to suggest an incorrect decision was made. Additional replays might show errors within this category. RBP means no replay shown essentially. Taking time to rewind tape often provided confirmation of the decision, and accessing other footage and angles would have done so probably in almost every single decision or appeal. You could make all decisions using TV replays, although obviously the refs and linesmen are able to make 95% of decisions with 100% accuracy and probably twice as fast as the quickest tv replay would allow.
• ERR = a clear error that can be seen by TV viewers live using the TV replays shown live.
• There were less RBP decisions in the English FA Cup and the Championship playoff – English footage seems to show more replays and, possibly, has more cameras in position. In a short space of time English TV confirms the majority of referee decisions.
• The ‘error’ statistics might actually be higher than would normally be the case, as in one match one linesman made three clear offside errors (when viewed on live TV replays) in a short space of time.
© SIMON LEWIS The Ball magazine
simon@theball.co.za • www.theball.co.za
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