We Need A Replay!

Arsenal`s defeat in the Carling Cup final and FA Cup fifth round has again underlined the need for video technology to be used during games, not just after.

On Sunday Didier Drogba was clearly offside when he received the ball to score Chelsea`s equalizer. A goal that cost Arsenal dear as he later headed in a Robben cross to give Chelsea an undeserved 2-1 victory. Don`t get me wrong, the Arsenal youngsters did us all proud but their performance deserved so much more than they got – losers medals.

On Wednesday Arsenal were again punished by a poor performance from a referee. This time Graham Poll was the culprit. Arsenal had 2 stonewall pens turned down as Aliadiere was taken down inside the box before Emerton tripped Ljungberg inside the area. Poll waved both away.

That`s twice in 4 days that Arsenal have been punished by shocking decisions. If Wenger had been able to challenge the decisions then Drogba`s goal wouldn`t have stood and Arsenal may have won the cup.

If Wenger had been able to challenge Poll then Arsenal would have scored 2 penalties and Blackburn would have had at least 1, probably 2 players sent off and the tie would have been over.

It`s not just Arsenal that has suffered because of poor performances from Refs, just about every team in the league has suffered at some point. There`s a lot of pressure on refs, I accept that but these are professionals paid good money to carry out an important job (as Tim Stillman pointed out).

The arguments against it are quite pathetic. “It slows the game down” or “It disrupts the flow of the game.”

Trying to intimidate the referee slows the game down. The FA said last season that they were clamping down on it and it lasted all of 2 months. It wastes minutes at a time yet nothing is done. It would take a matter of seconds to watch a replay; the ref could then make a decision.

Disrupts the flow of the game? Well so does consistent fouling, yet unless you play for a big club it rarely goes unpunished. Arguing with the referee disrupts the flow of the game. Time wasting disrupts the flow of the game. Do the FA clamp down on them things? Of course not.