Extra Assistants Signal A New Era For The Sport of Football

The ongoing saga surrounding goal line features took a turn for the better today as the organisers of the Champions League confirmed the appearance of two extra officials.

The games within the tournament would be aided with an extra two heads, who would presumably control the goal area aspects of the game.

The tournaments governing body, the IFAB, sees it as a natural progression from the formats recent use in Europa League football.

I, for one, hope that the extra officials will be tested very early on.

A repeat of Frank Lampard's disallowed goal would provide the perfect focal point to the validity and success of extra officials.

Can they efficiently carry out the role that a system like Hawk-Eye could perform? Would their accuracy be just as effective?

The idea could essentially save FIFA's blushes.

If the extra men on pitch can prove themselves capable of righting wrongs, then any talk of chipped footballs or sensory systems could be blown out of the water. This is providing they make the same necessary additions to number of officials.

They could continue without the influx of technology which they see as having a detrimental effect to the traditions of the game.

Either way, with the direction in which the sport is heading, one option will now have to take precedence.

It is too late to turn back. The sport is under enough scrutiny already.

So we can now herald in a new era where blunders like those witnessed in South Africa will soon be a distant memory. The sport of football will acclimatise itself to the precision and accuracy of others like tennis.

And for that we will be incredibly thankful.