UEFA President Michel Platini adamantly opposes the idea of using video replay to make on-field decisions, saying the introduction of technology would disrupt the flow of matches and bring about the end of traditional refereeing. “Video is a big problem for me. You would have to stop the game every 10 seconds, for every decision that is questioned,” Platini told Reuters. “Football is a human game and the mistakes are human. We need to help solve the mistakes, but we must not lose the human feeling of our sport,” Platini added. Video replay has been readily embraced by professional sports such as tennis, rugby and American football with no obvious ill-side effects.
His aversion to modern technology notwithstanding, Platini applauded a recent decision by FIFA to experiment with using goalmouth referees for the upcoming FIFA Club World Cup in Japan this December. “We need to help referees to stop making mistakes and these two extra referees will focus on the two 18-yard boxes, so this will help solve this. Ten eyes are certainly better than six,” he said.
The tournament in Japan will also be used to continue testing goal-line technologies such as a chip inserted in the ball that would determine whether it has successfully crossed the line.