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Juan Mata's controversial goal

Sunday 15th April saw Chelsea face Tottenham at Wembley in the FA Cup Semi-final. Despite the Spurs taking a 5-1 thrashing and Chelsea securing their place in the final against Liverpool on May 5th, the main talking point of the match was focused on one goal. 

Chelsea’s second goal caused a great deal of controversy after the playback showed the ball did not cross the line. Juan Mata’s goal was awarded by referee Martin Atkinson, despite cries that he was not in a position to have seen.

After the match, Chelsea captain John Terry said he did not think the ball crossed the line, admitting “I thought it hit me to be honest and didn’t go over”.

Arsenal youngster Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, tweeted ‘I think today has proven why we need goal line technology! Refs have a hard enough job as it is, it would benefit everyone’.

John Terry admitted he did not think the ball crossed the line

‘It’s killing the game’ 

The incident has again called for the governing body, FIFA, to look at introducing goal line technology.

Spurs striker, Emmanuel Adebayor, expressed his feelings on the matter, saying ”They have to make something happen because it’s killing the league, it’s killing the FA Cup, it’s killing the game, it’s killing everything” he said.

Despite some believing the technology is critical in keeping the matches fair (including a perturbed Harry Redknapp), others are not so keen on the idea of the change.

Would it be worth it?

One of the key arguments against the technology is the fact it could not be implemented at all levels, such as Sunday league games.

Jake Argent, a former professional footballer, explained ‘Tradition has it that in football every game has the same decision making process, no matter what league or level’.

There are also worries about its potential inaccuracy, along with arguments that with there still being other decisions made by officials, it will not totally remove the risk of human error.

 

Scott Parker argues with the referee over the decision

Understandably, one worry would be the high cost of introducing the technology to clubs. It would be redundant if only the few richest clubs put it into practice.

Football is a spectator sport full of controversy and debate, which is part of the attraction of the game, something that could be decreased by the new technology.

Referees not always correct 

The referees have always had the overriding decision and although officials within the games can give a neutral and unbiased opinion, their decisions are not always factually correct.

It seems that within a professional game, where so much money is at stake for teams, it is a high risk factor to have the outcome of a match based on an opinion rather than fact.

The English FA have expressed their support of goal-line technology and realistically, if the game was created in this era, would it not be set up using the most reliable technology at our disposal?

How will it score?

Other sports such as tennis and rugby have already embraced this sort of technology to ensure a ‘fair game’.

Student George Newstead, who plays football at his university said: ‘The most important games are the top level ones, more people care about them and more money is involved.

‘They use technology in cricket, tennis and rugby, but only at the top level and it’s not considered a problem.’

The decision as to whether football will follow the lead of these other sports will be decided by FIFA in July, after final tests on the technology, which are set to begin later this month.