Why Football doesn't go "Third Umpire" like Cricket?

Juan Mata Disallowed Goal Vs Tottenham

It was bound to happen soon. The uproar on introducing technology in football was bound to happen soon. With FIFA set to test the Hawk-Eye technology at the Eastleigh FC vs AFC Totton match in the Hampshire Senior Cup Final, the question arises whether this is enough. To simply determine if the ball has crossed the line or not, is this enough?

Lets decide after analysing a few situations.

1.William Gallas offside goal vs Hull

William Gallas's Goal Got Arsenal Through

This offside goal given at the FA Cup 2009 and it got Arsenal into the semis and ended Hull’s run. Hull could’ve caused a huge upset if the goal was disallowed.

2.Frank Lampard‘s disallowed goal vs Germany

Lucky Neuer

Frank Lampard superbly lofted the ball into the net and Capello celebrated it the goal with fervour only to see the referee waving play on. This would have made it 2-2 in a match where Germany won 4-1. But the numerical implications of this goal were far lesser than the emotional ones. England’s chances of levelling the score and possibly going on to win the game were crushed by the referee.

In all the above situations, the opposition team knew that the goal was/was not legit. So if a system like ‘Third Umpire’ or ‘Decision Referral’ had existed, the outcome could have been different.

In Cricket, the Decision Referral System or DRS gives the right to both the teams to revert the umpire’s(read referee) decision and ask for a video footage replay. With current technology, it’s an easy task. If the umpire’s decision is wrong, it is cancelled and a legitimate decision is given. The time taken to make the decision is negligible considering the implications of the incident.

Similarly, if a video official is introduced in football, a lot can change. Like in the above cases, if the opposing team had appealed,and had the decision been reverted,we do not know what could have happened! Also to simplify matters the decision to appeal must rest with the captain,and each team to be allowed 2 appeals with one appeal to be removed if the referee’s initial decision was correct(as used in tennis). This may take around 2-3 minutes but the pros outweigh the cons in my opinion. This technique can also be used for appealing fouls — penalty decisions, sending-offs, and red-card deserving tackles overlooked by the officials. Add to that, a limit of 2 appeals would control the abuse of this power. The captain may appeal only for an offside goal, fouled goal, disallowed goal, penalty decision and all other fouls should come strictly under the match referee’s judgement.

The use of DRS will certainly make the game fairer.

Please mention any flaws in this system if you can.