The Official Student News Media of Southeastern Louisiana University

The Lion's Roar

The Official Student News Media of Southeastern Louisiana University

The Lion's Roar

The Official Student News Media of Southeastern Louisiana University

The Lion's Roar

    Making the ‘beautiful game’ more accurate with goal-line technology

    You must be thinking, “Football is saved!” right? Not so fast. The International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) has recently stated they will begin testing goal-line technology during live games before implementing the technology into more high profile leagues, such as the English Premier League and Spanish Liga.
    Those of you who already watch football understand the pain of clearly watching the ball cross the line and it be waived off. Recall the noise being made by English players at the 2010 World Cup when English midfielder Frank Lampard’s goal was called out even though video replay showed the ball clearly going over the goal line. The recent FA Cup semifinal between Chelsea and Tottenham saw the opposite happen, with a Chelsea attempt on goal being scored, even though it did not reach the line.
    These are only the most recent, high profile cases you think would begin to sway FIFA’s mind. The history of soccer, or football, is very long and filled with controversies that would make the regular person feel sorry for the loser of a match when a goal is not called correctly, but only now has FIFA’s mind changed and until the technology is implemented, I won’t hold my breath.
    If you don’t happen to be the most fervent soccer fan, let me explain this with a comparison to America’s favorite pastime, baseball. In a game where home runs will cause a riot in the crowds, the governing body of Major League Baseball (MLB) has only recently gave in to reviewing calls, and this is only for home runs. It seems established sports are having a tough time implementing technology and, for that matter, new ways of thought about how the game should be called.
    This is where I believe the heart of the matter lies. As new technology becomes mainstream and younger generations who are comfortable with said technology and ideals have an increasing voice, the older generations are falling behind in its implementation.
    On one hand, FIFA, and MLB for that matter, could be waiting for the technology to become more stable and the uses more realized. But in our society now, that is just too slow in fans’ eyes. Instead of asking the question “What is the best way to use this?”, the fans are saying, “Why haven’t you used this already?”
    So in this respect, major sporting bodies like FIFA are doing their due diligence to make sure the technology is implemented correctly and make certain which rules apply accordingly to new technologies.
    Waiting just a moment longer could be the difference when the new technology happens to play a negative role, something that could have been caught with just a moments more study. Patience, after all,  is a virtue.
     

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