Can technology make the beautiful game better?

Blatter and his ailing associates, who concluded three months ago that technology should not be introduced to soccer, then conceded the need to revisit the issue, but stopped short of considering video replays in deciding possible game infringements.

To soccer fans, however, it's time for the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) to use technology to the game's advantage. While everybody can appreciate the randomness of the game — like the Netherlands scoring by pure chance against Brazil — nobody can feel okay about unjust officiating that can destroy the hopes of a team and its supporters.

This is the core issue of technology, which has been underestimated by the FIFA's law-making body, the International Board. It decided before this World Cup to halt two ongoing experiments that would use technology to the game's advantage.

Instead of pursuing the idea of microchips in the ball or using cameras to see if it has crossed the goal-line, the board recommended the introduction of two additional assistant referees to improve the quality of decisions.

Blatter stressed at that time that denying the use of goal-line technology and video replays was in line with maintaining the universal spirit of the beautiful game: “We have 260 million people directly involved in the game. If we maintain the laws of the game ... it's so easy to understand ... We have to live with errors, (soccer) has to keep its human face.”

But last Sunday, this is what happened: Fans were up in arms, incensed by unfair decisions that affected the outcome of the games. The refereeing blunders meant that two fine teams didn't make it to the next round of the competition. Such blunders are bad for the sport as a whole.

Germans have long complained that England was unfairly awarded the decisive goal in the 1966 World Cup final when Geoff Hurst's shot bounced off the underside of the crossbar. Yet, everybody acknowledged that Sunday's 20-meter shot from midfielder Frank Lampard clearly did cross the line, except for Germany goalie Manuel Neuer who played the ball like it had merely bounced off the bar. If England had got back to 2-2 at that moment, it could have been different.

Such incidents as the ball crossing the goal-line without acknowledgement, players kicking a goal while offside or controlling the ball with their hands without the referee or an assistant having a decisive view, remain unfortunate flaws in the beautiful game.

Carlos Tevez was offside by a mile when he headed the ball into the goal and eventually helped Argentina to claim a 3-1 win, French captain Thierry Henry clearly used his ball-juggling skills during France's World Cup play-off win over Ireland, and Argentine soccer legend Diego Maradona is remembered for his infamous “Hand of God” incident at the 1986 World Cup Finals in Mexico, to name just a few.

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