An interesting innovation from Super 15 rugby is ''Ref Cam''. This is a head-mounted camera which the referee wears during the game. It shows what the referee sees and captures discussions with players.
For more information, here:
I think it is quite clear that this will catch on in rugby and, in due course, there will be calls for it in football. I'm not hugely in favour of video technology for review purposes but I think this would be useful for any number of reasons and I think this is substantively different.
It would help us understand what a referee sees in game and that may be particularly useful for those controversial decisions. It is easy to critique a referee when we have the chance to see an incident from numerous angles in slow-motion. This would show us precisely what they see but also show us all the difficulties that they face.
Moreover, we'd see the level of abuse that referees have to put up with. This, I'd hope, would lead to better on field behaviour. One constant complaint I've heard from referees in Sunday league games is that they gets horrific abuse and they feel that this cascades down from the top. If Wayne Rooney can scream abuse at the referee and not be carded why can't the clogger from the Coach and Horses?
Finally, it could be excellent both as a coaching tool for other referees but also assist an individual referee to reflect upon their own performance.
It seems like a no brainer. Will football be brave enough to adopt it?
RCM
3 comments:
Abuse of referees doesn't happen in rugby for other reasons. You can get marched back 10 yards for questioning a ref's decision, let alone abusing them. Discussing this very matter in the rugby club last night, I found it hard to work out what sanction a Premiership footballer's level of abuse to a rugby ref would get as it is pretty much unimaginable on a rugby field - we finally agreed they'd be shown red. The lad I was talking to, an undergrad centre, said he plays some five-a-side footy midweek and get mocked for always addressing the ref as sir, something endemic to rugby.
I have long assumed the reason football refs and linesman and miked up and broadcast a la rugby's RefLink is they don't want anyone to hear the abuse...
In umpteen years of rugby I only once questioned a referee about penalising me in a lineout. "What did I do wrong, sir?" "You jumped using your hand on the shoulder of the man in front." [That was outlawed then.]
"Did I, sir?"
There followed a chorus of "Yes you did" from my team-mates.
I'm a fan of football. Since last couple of days i've spend my time to get this kinds of information. Right now I'm quite pleased to find this info. Thanks.
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