Why the Fans are the only people losing in Sport | Thebigtip

1) England scores a goal, the crowd erupts and the English fans go wild... only one problem, the referee didn't see it. England loses to Germany.

2) Harry Kewell stands on the Goal line whilst a Ghanain rockets the ball at the goals... Harry incidentally is in the way of the ball, closes his eyes and gets hit in the arm... then gets red carded. Australia play majority of the game with 10 players and the game ends in a draw... a win would keep them in the World Cup.

3) Tom Hawkins picks up a wet ball and kicks for goal, skimming the post as it passes... but the umpire is on the wrong angle and the goal is rewarded.

4) Thierry Henry palms the ball to his foot, kicking the winning goal... Ireland misses out on the World Cup.

Everyone knows what happened, the people watching the game know it and the people commentating know it. the only people that don't know what happened are the umpires... and for some strange reason they're the only one's that can make the decision.

The introduction of different technologies has enabled us as a people to be able to fly to the moon, connect with people on the other side of the world in an instant and even... you guessed it... view and replay goals and decisions in sport. In every one of the above cases, the outcome of their respective games and competitions would have been completely different if the correct decision was made.

But for some reason, sports authorities are hesitant to embrace technology in fear it will destroy "the culture and traditions" of their games. Executives and administrators don't seem to think that changing rules for insurance purposes, increasing their paychecks and promoting betting on sporting results effects the "culture and tradition" of their game... but they somehow have it skewed in their mind that introducing technology to ensure the correct decision is made does.

Essentially what they're saying is "we're okay with the wrong decision being made because that's part of the game", "we're okay if the supporters walk away feeling cheated by the umpires, because that's part of the game", "we're okay that a human error can determine the outcome of the game because that's all part of it". NO! wrong decisions are not part of the game. The only people that lose in these situations are the supporters. England players still walked away with their 20 million dollar contracts with their league teams, FIFA and the AFL still walk away with their games intact and with their millions of loyal followers. The umpire walks away with his paycheck, knowing he never had any friends anyway. The fans walk away devastated, and feeling completely cheated. The only losers are the supporters, and yet, they are they only group unable to contribute to the outcome of the game.

If administrating bodies acted in the best interest of their supporters and players, technology would have been introduced to their games as soon as they were made possible. Goal camera's would be able to communicate to umpires whether a goal was scored or not. Third umpires would be able to see whether a free kick or penalty should be awarded.

There are many sports where this technology has been introduced. Cricket and tennis are the two most notable sports that have embraced technology to improve their sport. No longer are the ashes won or lost by a run out that wasn't a run out or an LBW that was going down leg side. No longer are tennis games won by Aces that were actually faults, or outs that were actually in. The Umpires image is drastically improved because they make the right decision...every time. Supporters of cricket and tennis win every time, because the game is won or lost fairly.

Supporters around the world are always devastated when they lose. But in every case, when the loss is fair, no one complains. But when the loss is as a result of an umpiring 'error' the fans feel cheated... it is bad for the game.

Another major issue that is solved by the introduction of technology in sport is 'match fixing'. Who's to say that the referee in the Germany vs. England game or the Ireland vs. France game wasn't been paid off to assist one team in winning. Technology never lies, and millions of dollars helps someone lie. Match fixing can still exist on a player level, but when someone is already earning upwards of 10 million dollars a year, there's not much incentive for them to fix a match for money. Technology would make the outcome of a game completely up to the competing teams, and less to do with the umpires and referees.

Administrators of sports world wide need to look at ways that technology can ensure the correct outcome in their games, so that the game is always won or lost fairly. It's not right that supporters are overlooked when these kinds of decisions are made, considering that supporters are the financial life blood of every sport around the world; without the supporters the games would be nothing. Without the supporters there would have been no one to blow the Vuvuzela's at the World Cup, no one to cheer at the AFL Grand Final, and no one to finance the buildings that the sports are played in.

Come on administrators and Executives, give us supporters a helping hand here, make the outcome fairer.... that's all we ask.