Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Instant Replay in the World Cup?

For better or for worse, instant replay has changed the rules (or maybe the "laws") of several American-based sports. In the wake of several blown calls in the FIFA World Cup, is soccer next?

2 Minutes by DoNoUhOh: The refereeing has been conspicuously poor during this world cup. I liked when Jen Chang, SI's soccer editor, said it was FIFA's attempt to show american fans that refereeing was terrible all over the world, not just in MLS. It is obvious there needs to be some sort of replay on plays where goals are scored (or disallowed). Soccer is a little bit behind a lot of other well established sports in professionalizing to the fullest degree possible. There is still an odd attachment to the history, similar to baseball and while this history is certainly rich think about how the best in the world, the English Premiere League was only founded in 1992.

2 Minutes by No,MoneyDown: Wow, I couldn't be less in favor of instant replay at the World Cup, or for soccer in general. Want to stick another ref back there to be sure about offsides or the ball crossing the goal line? That is a great idea. What we don't need is another sport ruined by instant replay, one of the lamest things to happen to Pro Sporst in awhile. Ok, I'll admit it COULD have been done right, but nothing is worse than being in the final 15 seconds of a tight NBA game and having proceedings delayed because the refs want to look at a ball knocked out of bounds approximately 25 times. And don't get me started on NFL replay.

No comments: