It’s Official: Request Denied

BREAKING NEWS:

After much jockeying by the Irish Football Association, Ireland’s Prime Minister, Ireland’s Minister for Sport, Ireland’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Ireland Coach  Giovanni Trapattoni, football fans the world over (except maybe in France), and following much conjecture on the part international media outlets, FIFA has decided to deny a match replay of the world cup qualifier played between France and Ireland on November 18th 2009.

It was fairly certain from the outset that this would in fact be the governing body’s decision, though it does once more raise the very appropriate question: Do football referees require video replay to help them make decisions of particular importance? While no real blame can be place on either Henry or the officiating, the system of on-field officiating is in need of an overhaul. Former France international David Ginola has repeatedly called for a goal judge to be stationed behind the net to facilitate a fairer adjudication on ‘goals’ of question. Unfortunately these requests have fallen on deaf ears. This ‘hand of god’ play has re-sparked rumours that video replay is necessary in football, and that it should have been tested along the road to South Africa so as to ascertain its true value. While such a system was never installed, one can only hope that at FIFA’s next executive council summit the world’s football associations will put pressure on the international federation to implement video replay, or something similar, for the World Cup in 2010, so as to cut down on results achieved through foul play.