Liverpool-Real Madrid: Further Evidence for Video Technology

Despite being one goal down in the match and 2-0 on aggregate, the game is closely balanced with Real Madrid still in with a very good chance of scoring the two goals needed to win the tie.

However, a very poor decision from the assistant referee gives Liverpool a penalty for what appears to be a handball inside the area by Madrid's Gabriel Heinze.

But within 10 seconds of the alleged incident, TV replays show that the ball clearly hits the Argentinian on the shoulder and nowhere near his hand or forearm.

Football governing bodies have claimed that video replays to assist the referees in such decisions as the this one will do nothing but slow the game down.

I am sorry, but by the time the Madrid players had finished complaining about the incident—with very good reason to, I might add—we had seen three separate replays that clearly showed the assistant referee was wrong.

Now, I'm not saying the linesman was at fault for his decision, because in such a fast-moving, highly-charged game, it would be very difficult to get everything spot on.

The point is that within 10 seconds we had clear evidence to show it was not handball.

All it would take is a fifth referee to be sitting in a video room with monitors and a radio mike linked to the referee on the pitch and inside 20 seconds the decision would have been overruled and the players would have gotten on with the game.

The penalty has completely changed the game and made it a great deal harder for Madrid to win the tie. This can obviously have a serious knock-on effect for the players, the manager, and the club for the rest of the season.

After 45 minutes, Liverpool has completely dominated the match with sublime football that has made Real Madrid look second class, and the red men completely deserve to be ahead—but not in this fashion.

I didn't celebrate when Steven Gerrard converted the penalty—especially as it will be an excuse for rival supporters to lay claim that Liverpool were lucky, whilst ignoring the fact that Liverpool have been far and away the better team over the first 45 minutes.

Another example of how video technology is desperately needed in football would be Steven Gerrard's dive on the edge of the area.

This could have quite easily led to another undeserved goal for Liverpool.

The speed in which video replays of an incident are shown on TV is incredibly quick and it is not too far a stretch of the imagination that an official in the video room could radio to the referee on the pitch with the correct decision.

I really do wonder if in my life time I will ever see football governing bodies wake up and eradicate a serious problem with such an obvious solution.

Video replays are needed in football.