LOUIS SAHA SAYS the use of the Television Match Official in the Rugby World Cup shows how much football has fallen behind in its use of technology.
The former Man United and France striker believes football needs to learn from rugby and embrace technology to help officials get the big decisions right.
Writing in his column for the Huffington Post, Saha admits it’s important to strike the right balance but football needs to catch up with rugby, as well as other sports such as tennis and cricket.
“A key difference that’s been discussed a lot over the last few weeks is the way rugby has embraced technology, and something football should follow by introducing technology more widely instead of just relying upon goal-line incidents,” he said.
“Why not simply re-play disputed incidents, then and there, to get an accurate picture of what actually happened? Not only would this disclose the truth, but it’d also be more effective than goal-line (technology) and less costly than other more complicated high-tech methods.
“The technology is there so why not use it?”
“While it’s important to strike a balance between making the right decision and respecting the flow of a match, nobody can argue that TMO hasn’t provided clarity and developed rugby into a better, fairer sport.”
Although referees have been criticised for their over reliance on the TMO during the opening three weeks of the World Cup, the worth of having the technology available to the referee is there for all to see.
Moreover, the respect the players have for the officials and their decisions is something that needs to happen in football, according to Saha.
“The ultimate and non-arguable respect for the referee in rugby is something which football could learn a lot from,” he said. “In rugby, players have respectful, polite discussions with referees during which they never swear,always address the master of proceedings as ‘Sir’, and take a submissive tone.”
