Comment

Soccer rules need a fresh pair of legs

By Wu Wencong (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-06-30 10:35

The way England ended their South Africa trip shadowed my favorite team in sadness and sorrow. The score, froze at 4:1, was just too much for their fans to accept.

I don't want to discuss the final result of the game, about how well the Germans played, or how stubborn the English looked in comparison.

Instead, I want to blame England's tragedy on the Uruguayan judge's inconceivable judgment on the goal at 38 minutes, which was obviously valid.

"Was he blind? Was the assistant referee blind? The ball has crossed the goal line by almost half a meter!" wrote a friend on his Facebook account, just one minute after Larrionda ignored Lampard's goal.

I jumped and yelled for England's second chance, but the whistle never sounded.

I was rational enough to come up with more than just anger - I raised a question that many others must have thought: Why does football rely solely on judges when technology is advanced enough to state fact in only seconds?

I got two answers; one from a friend supporting Germany, another from FIFA President Sepp Blatter, who left me speechless.

"This is the charm of football," said Blatter, which sounded more like taking pleasure in others' suffering.

Since I had no chance to meet Blatter in person, I argued with my friend about irresponsible referees.

"Don't worry about them," my friend said. "Unqualified judges will be eliminated."

While he might be right, it won't change the result of the match, nor lessen the anger felt by the players and their supporters. Larrionda losing his job would not save England.

Scoring in basketball games seems much easier than football, but the NBA still uses slow motion replays to validate a referee's decision. It doesn't affect the feeling of the game.

I am on my way to becoming a true football fan and as far as I am concerned, the beauty and charm of the game relates to accurate passing and powerful shots, as well as a team of perfect bodies carrying the faces of film stars.

But it can be better. Sticking to archaic ideas that allow complete referee control means a lack of development. I say we should let the game be fair.

In that case, players would not feel their efforts were wasted and us fans would not have our hearts broken.