Yes to video assistance for referees

I am sure that we all can agree upon the fact that technology is here to stay. So why not use what we have? As an above average-football fan I do have some thoughts about the debate after the game between England and Germany. First of all, the referee did not rule out England from the game, they did that perfectly on their own. I believe that Germany would have won even if it was a tie at half-time. But there is no doubt that the nature of the game would have been completely different. England pushed on for an equalizer and, with some help from Barry, the result was 3-1 rather than 2-2.

Now, Lampard's show was way over the line. The whole situation took me back to a game between Man Utd and Tottenham and Carroll's blunder. In both these instances, the referees made the wrong desicion. Not because, I hope, they cheated, but because they did not see the incident (a little pun on Arsene Wenger here). That is why either replays from cameras should be allowed. As far as I am concerned, you can not blame the linesman here. He had to stand where the defence line was to check for 1)the defender nearest the goalkeeper 2)see if there's an offside 3) notice where the ball was shot from 4) see if the ball takes a deflection. The people who oppose new rules (Blatter, I am looking at you) claim that the flow of the match is ruined. I have seen many games where the play has been stopped because of several throw ins or free kicks. I might have misunderstood this but from what I have been told the fourth official has a monitor beside him at the sideline. Instant replays are just that, instant. Confirming it was a goal takes no longer time than the players use to celebrate the goal so I do not think ther will be lost more time because of this. Just as a conclusion, I hope that the winning team wins, not because of a mistake by the referees, but because they were the best team on the field.