Source: Daily_Mail
GRAHAM POLL: Liam Ridgewell's 'goal' shows that it's time for bumbling Blatter to cross the line
Alex McLeish had every reason to bemoan his side's bad luck in the FA Cup at Portsmouth on Saturday.[LNB] It certainly appeared from TV replays that Liam Ridgewell had scored with a header in to give his Birmingham team a late lifeline.[LNB] Over the line: David James fails to keep out Liam Ridgewell's header[LNB] More from Graham Poll... Graham Poll - The Official Line: Why Stoke City are just not a dirty team07/03/10 Graham Poll: Eight horror tackles...but only one ref gave right punishment05/03/10 THE LIST: Graham Poll's top 50 football referees - Nos 10-104/03/10 THE LIST: Graham Poll's top 50 football referees - Nos 20-1103/03/10 THE LIST: Graham Poll's top 50 football referees - Nos 30-2102/03/10 THE LIST: Graham Poll's top 50 football referees - Nos 40-3101/03/10 GRAHAM POLL: Time for the TV experts to learn the red card laws...01/03/10 REVEALED: How the referee spared the blushes of of both Bridge and Terry28/02/10 VIEW FULL ARCHIVEAt almost the precise moment that Ridgewell headed the ball, FIFA's email pinged around the world telling us all that the debate regarding goal line technology and TV replays was dead. [LNB]At the headquarters of the governing body, the International Football Association Board (IFAB) had voted out a proposal to experiment with goal-line technology. [LNB]That's right, it was not a proposal to introduce TV replays at all levels of the game but a limited experiment, in one or two competitions to see if goal line technology could aid our beleaguered match officials - who at that precise moment were demonstrating that they need that help.[LNB]There really should be no blame attached to assistant referee Adam Watts for his failure to be sure that the ball was momentarily over the line at full speed. [LNB]He will have suspected it but to give a goal you must be 100 per cent certain - ironically the request that FIFA president Sepp Blatter demanded of any system before it could be introduced.[LNB]VIDEO: FIFA rejects technology...One can only conclude that if he were faced with a proposal to introduce human assistant referees, it would be rejected out of hand.[LNB]It would appear that the IFAB will prefer to roll out the five officials currently being tested in the Europa League. [LNB]They will reconvene on May 18 and are likely to approve the introduction into League football from next season.[LNB] Unbelievable: Ridgewell protests against the failure to award a goal[LNB]Many match officials are themselves sceptical that they will be able to determine whether a ball has crossed the goal line when travelling at up 80mph but that is preferred to the introduction of any form of technology.[LNB]One issue that seems to have been overlooked is that for every match played with two extra assistants there will be two games lower down the football pyramid that will have no match official. [LNB]In a country which admits to being 7,000 match officials short that really should be a concern. Ironically one of the main reasons cited for not introducing technology is that the laws must be the same for all levels of football. [LNB]It's just a pity that there will not be referees present to enforce them. [LNB][LNB]
