Video technology MUST be brought in to help referees

One of the most debated topics in football is whether to have video technology in order to aid referees. 

It's clear to see why too; the amount of big decisions that have been called wrong by Premier League officials is off the scale.

And this weekend has been no different with referee Anthony Taylor incorrectly sending off two players in the  FA Cup quarter final between Aston Villa and West Brom. 

Referee Anthony Taylor incorrectly sends off West Brom's Claudio Yacob
Photo: Daily Mirror

For me, video technology in football is an absolute no brainer. A system whereby referees are given a second look at an incident before making a decision which will have a major impact on a game, i.e. giving a penalty or sending a player off, seems perfectly sensible, no? 

Well apparently not as we persist in reluctantly failing to give our refs any help. And instead decide to continue with this horrible culture where whenever there's a contentious decision in a game, straight away those in the press box, TV studios, watching at home and even fans in the crowds watching vines on their phones are able to instantly watch the incident again to reach a verdict. And yet the one person who actually makes the decision, the referee, is the least informed out of everyone. It's ridiculous.

 Thierry Henry and Graeme Souness watch replays of an incident in the Sky Sports studio
Photo: Daily Mail

In our other national sports which have video technology (cricket, rugby and tennis), we are seeing far fewer contentious decisions, so why can't it work in football?

And yet there are still those who are staunchly against the use of video technology in football, claiming that it would 'ruin the game'. But the simple fact is that the game is already being ruined by the amount of poor refereeing decisions that are happening at the top level. 

And to those who claim it would destroy the flow of the game, when you're watching a replay of an incident at home, how long does it take for you to reach a verdict? 10, 15 seconds? Maybe a little more? Not long enough to ever really disrupt a game's flow though.

Instead, by implementing video technology, far less games will be ruined by incorrect decisions and, perhaps even more importantly, we'll see the end of managers using refereeing decisions as a woeful excuse for their team's poor run of results.