Sepp Blatter has been immensely successful with Technology

Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter has been immensely successful in trying to keep technology of the game for a long time.

However, his legacy will soon be forgotten since new presidentGianni Infantino has promised the arrival of video refereeing from the World Cup 2018 in Russia. Major tournaments like the World Cup and Champions Leagues have been used as testing venues for new technologies in the past. There have been numerous calls for video technologies to be a major part of the game. Several refereeing decisions have been seen even in big games and it has been the source of much discontent.

Since almost every other sport has adopted technology in favour of more agreeable decisions, football’s reluctance to adopt technology has been surprising so far. International Football Association Board (IFAB) recently claimed that it would be testing several aspects of technology over the next two years. Even though it will be quite a while before video refereeing becomes a standard part of club football, this is seen as a step in the right direction. Goal-line technology is the last major introduction of science into the game. It will be followed by the Hawk-Eye at the Euro 2016. UEFA has found that Hawk-Eye will be used to resolve goal line disputes.

“I really hope that the World Cup in Russia will be the first World Cup where video refereeing is used to make refereeing maybe better,” said Infantino. “Goal-line technology and additional assistant referees complement each other perfectly,” said Uefa’s chief refereeing officer Pierluigi Collina. Hawk-Eye, though, is not new to football after having been a standard part of the Premier League, Bundesliga, Italian Serie A, and the 2015 Women’s World Cup. The goal denied for Ukraine against England during the Euro 2012 is one of the famous wrong refereeing decisions in this regard.