Poll thinks it's time for change

The World Cup in South Africa is drawing to a close and two of the best sides in Europe are preparing to do battle. Spain and Holland have long been admired for their brand of attacking football and finally have the chance to put their name on the famous trophy. 

Fans around the world will be hoping for a final which produces little controversy and is remembered solely for the quality of the football. Unfortunately the rest of the tournament will be remembered for a number of very different reasons. 

Firstly there was the debate about the controversial Jabulani football, then as England deservedly lost to Germany the discussion about goal line technology. Frank Lampard’s dipping effort had clearly crossed the line but the officials were uncertain and allowed play to continue. 

This provoked arguments around the world with many declaring that referees and assistants need more help. One man that agrees with this statement is Graham Poll. The former referee infamously issued three yellow cards to the Croatian Josip Simunic in the 2006 World Cup and was placed under immense scrutiny. 

It was a simply human error and Poll feels it has come to the point where referees are granted help. “The first thing to acknowledge is that with the speed of the game and the levels of analysis the current system just isn’t good enough. The refs aren’t able to cope so whether we use extra officials, goal line technology or video reviews I don’t really mind.

“What I think annoys a lot of people is that there were 60 trained match officials sitting on their backsides when England scored ‘that goal’, if one was stood by the post they would easily have seen that it crossed the line.”

Last season saw the introduction of two extra match officials in every Europa League game, a system which would certainly help with whether a ball crossed the line. However, at this World Cup and in every football match there will be other contentious decisions. In South Africa we have seen the Carlos Tevez goal against Mexico when he was at least five yards offside and Luis Fabiano’s double handball in the build up to his goal against the Ivory Coast. 

This is where the argument about technology becomes more complicated, at what stage do we use the technology? Is it for every single decision or should it just relate to moments or extreme controversy? Poll for one, believes referees must still have the confidence to give a decision without relying on video evidence. 

“We know that every football fan loves debate and a lot of decisions come down to opinion anyway. What I am worried about is that if we bring in video replays referees will be afraid of making the wrong decision and will always refer to the extra official. I think the decision would only need to be reviewed if the referee already had some doubts.”

Poll, who refereed in the Premier League for 14 years, would also like to see officials become part of the debate. Ultimately the decision will have to come from Sepp Blatter, but it would certainly make sense for the upper echelons of FIFA to discuss the matter with experienced referees. 

“One reason FIFA have been reluctant to bring it in is to protect the credibility of match officials as they believe it would undermine their authority. However if you ask any referee whether he would prefer the help rather than be vilified for a mistake then it is pretty obvious which he would choose.”

Another of the problems that needs to be addressed is at what level of football does technology get introduced. At a global tournament, such as the World Cup, there are video cameras highlighting every incident. One mistake could cost a country the chance of progressing and destroy a nations hopes. 

So should technology therefore be introduced at every level? One of Blatter’s arguments has been that he wants to keep the game level from grass roots all the way to the International stage. With millions of pounds at stake this could well change and Poll argues that at the top level it needs to happen. 

“In the conference there is only one camera and a mistake from the referee will certainly not see him lose credibility. In the Premiership and the Champions League we have hundreds of cameras checking every incident, so if the referee feels uncomfortable with a decision then he could use the evidence available. I think at major championships it is a must.”

With Howard Webb confirmed as the referee for the final, the English official will have fans around the world analyzing his performance. Poll hopes the final will be free of incident and Webb comes out with his reputation enhanced. 

“Howard has done fantastic job so far and he has certainly impressed with every game. I just hope that having got the final he won’t make a mistake as it would be incredibly hard to recover from.”

With the majority of fans, footballers and officials wanting technology introduced to the game it seems only a matter of time before FIFA finally agrees. 

Graham Poll is blogging for the Coral Dugout, a place where punters can go to get the most out of every World Cup game from a betting perspective. To get the most out of every World Cup game simply visit www.coraldugout.com