Every referee makes a bad call, but in sports like football and basketball, the referee can use instant replay technology to correct his mistake. Even though instant replay has been used for some time, it is still not used in soccer. A referee can make a bad call that will greatly affect the game, and cannot undo the action they have done. Recently there was a Champions League semifinals match between FC Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid that has caused a great scene on the use of instant replay on offsides call. In soccer, offsides are when any part of the attacker is past the last defender before contact is made with the ball by his teammate. Or according to the 2005 IFAB Laws of the Game, "A player is in an offside position if he is in the opposing team's half of the field and is also "nearer to his opponents' goal line than both the ball and the second-last opponent".
The First match between the two teams resulted in a 1-0 win for Atletico; however there was a second match still to be played. In the second match between FC Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid, FC Bayern was behind by one goal. Thirty-one minutes into the game, FC Bayern’s Xavi Alonso scored a goal and tied the game at 1-1. The match would rage on until 53 minutes into the match, Antione Griezmann scored a goal that was offsides but was never called by any of the referees. It may be seem strict to call it offsides but the rules are rules and the referee's must make sure the rules are followed. Later in the match, Robert Lewandowski would score and make the score 2-2. However, because Atletico scored first in the first match that ended 1-0 and the second match ended in a 2-2 tie, FC Bayern would be kicked out of the semifinals, and Atletico Madrid would go on to the final. Antoine Griezmann’s goal that was offsides, yet ignored, cost FC Bayern the match and the possibility of being the best team in European championship.
Clip of the Offsides offense at 8:20:
World Cup Offsides Goal:
The referees in the Champions League and World Cup are highly trained and are supposedly the best in football, and despite all that, they are still human and must make crucial decisions of weather a player was offsides, a player was actually fouled or was diving and handballs in a matter of seconds without the aide of instant replay. The commentators originally exclaimed that he is on side, but when they used the instant replay to show the goal, they noticed he could have been counted as offsides. Regardless of whether or not Griezmann was offsides, it was a crucial decision that could have been simply solved by referee's using instant replay. This is not the first time and it will not be the last time that referees make mistakes. These mistakes could easily be avoided by using instant replay technology. Former FIFA President argued that mistakes “add to the fascination and popularity of football [soccer]”. FIFA has recently stated that they are willing to commence trials for instant replay in private matches before trying them publicly in other leagues in the future. Despite them testing the idea, they need to implement this idea as soon as possible with major leagues and continental championships to prevent teams from being cheated out of big opportunities.
