The Great Football Debate Rolls On…

It didn’t take long to rear its head again did it – using technology in professional football matches. We covered this last season when we asked, “Will Cameras Kill Football Controversy?” This time the debate rages over Manchester United’s added injury time winner against their derby rivals Machester City. United, as most of you football betting punters will know – scored the winning goal deep into stoppage time – 1 minute 27 seconds after the alloted 4 minutes of added time.

It seems that it doesn’t take much for managers, commentators and fans alike to bemoan the lack of technology at matches, much like american football, rugby, hockey etc…, especially when things go against your team.

The arguments for technology in football matches generally centres around ‘getting the decisions’ right, first time. Such are the margins in today’s modern, professional matches that debatable decisions win or lose football games. If the controversial decision goes against you or your team – then you are bound to feel more than a tad annoyed.

Managers and players alike can dwell on these decisions – it can upset their form – sure, they are professional players but they are human after all.

Look at the Crystal Palace incident at the beginning of the season, Neil warnock’s men had clearly scored, but the only people who never saw the goal were the ones that mattered, the ref and the linesman. Palace claimed they had felt “Cheated“. Palace went onto lose their next 4 games out of 5 played before winning at the weekend.

Perhaps the Man City defeat is not exacly on the same par as the Palace incident but it will still smart Mark Hughes and his team. It will be interesting to watch their form over the next few weeks and see if the injury time winner has any adverse affect whatsoever.

For those that say, “controversy is what makes football” – they also have a point. Strip away the debate, mainly centered around the men-in-black, eliminating contested descisions and you have smothered a good many talking points. They also say that these decisions iron themselves out over a season.

No doubt they’ll be a few more eyebrow raising moments before the season finishes – this is one debate that shows no signs of going away.