I’ve been following the World Cup pretty closely over the past month, and although I haven’t been able to watch every match, I’ve seen my fair share of games to realize that something needs to be done to improve the quality of the “world’s most beautiful sport,” especially on the a stage as big as the World Cup. In this post, I’ll go over a couple of soccer’s biggest problems and what can be done to help fix them.

• FIFA should introduce goal-line technology

One of the most common events in the game (and the subject of frequent controversy) is the infamous offsides call. An official FIFA match will feature one official referee, two assistant referees, and a fourth official (who primarily signals substitutions and time added from the midfield line). Of these officials, the two assistants (or linesmen) are in charge of sticking with the last defender on each side and making sure that the opposing forward is not past the last defender (“offsides”) when a pass is hit from the attacking player’s teammate. The problem with this system is that referees make mistakes from time to time, and these mistakes often lead to goals that should have been disallowed, or conversely, disallowing a perfectly legal goal (such as the U.S.’s goal against Algeria). With goal-line technology (which could be anything from putting a chip in the soccer ball to track its precise location to simply using video cameras to review a controversial play), referees would have a powerful tool at their disposal that would drastically reduce the rate of human error. Opponents of goal-line technology argue that using such technology would take away from the “human factor” of the game. However, in a low-scoring game such as soccer, one bad call or mistake from the referee can make a huge impact on the game. I was truly amazed that such an incident occured not once but twice during today’s quarterfinal matches between Germany and England and Argentina and Mexico. In the first game, England was down 1-2 when Frank Lampard hit a shot that bounced off the crossbar and landed a good 1.5 yards inside the box before bouncing out again (see Lampard’s Disallowed Goal). However, to the outrage of the English players and fans, the goal was not counted by the referee. While I do believe that Germany was the better team and deserved to get the win, let us put into perspective the importance of such a goal, had it been counted. The game would have been level at 2-2, and all the momentum would have shifted to England going into the second half. Psychologically and emotionally, England would have been better off. Instead, Frank Lampard and his teammates went into the half feeling somewhat deflated and never recovered with the same energy that they finished the first half with. Similarly, Carlos Tevez’s goal against Mexico (see Tevez’s Offsides Goal) was clearly offsides (a good 2 yards or so), but the referee called it good dispite heavy protests from the Mexican side. As with the England match, Tevez’s goal was extremely crucial, as it was the first of the match (statistically speaking, the first side to score in a game are heavily favored to win, and especially in the World Cup, as teams tend to focus more on defense). With that crucial (and illegal) goal, Argentina grabbed all the momentum going forward, and Mexico seemed to lose its nerve, committing several defensive blunders that led to a second goal. And although Mexico did go on to recover its spirit in the second half, the damage had been done.

It’s a shame really, that such huge mistakes were allowed to stand at a World Cup, but the two examples above also illustrate just how important it is for referees to the make the fair call in any controversial situation.  Of course, we are led to believe that in both cases, none of the officials had a very good look at the play, but with goal-line technology, the mistake could have been easily corrected in less than 30 seconds. Instead, fans around the world are led to wonder why two obvious calls that even a kid watching television could see was wrong was not recognized by the officials and FIFA at the World Cup Quarterfinals.

Opponents of using technology in matches go on to argue that embracing such a change would lead to a complete restructuring of the game’s officiating. That is, if we were to introduce cameras and other technology to monitor the goal-line, then we would have to go all out and replace the linesmen with technology as well. However, this doesn’t have to be the case. Like I mentioned before, technology should simply be regarded as a tool at the disposal of the officials, an extra pair of eyes, if you will. Referees and linesmen should still be confident in their work, but instead of turning a blind eye on a possibly game-changing call, they should utilize technology to help them review the play and make a decision given the full facts of the situation. Lastly, opponents point out that implementing technology in games would affect the “uniformity” of soccer matches. Because it may not be feasible to implement the technology in poorer nations or youth leagues, the argument goes that the technology should be excluded in order to preserve the uniformity of FIFA’s rules. This is absolutely ridiculous. Major international sports such as tennis, hockey, and cricket have already introduced some sort of line technology into the game and it has been accepted by their governing bodies and athletes alike. However, this doesn’t mean that the same technology is used in youth or lower level play. Obviously, high school and college tennis matches still rely on the umpire to make the calls (and in many cases, players make the calls themselves). Same with hockey and cricket. FIFA should not use “uniformity” as an excuse to not introduce goal-line technology in major matches. In fact, there is no reason that technology should be uniform in the first place. You don’t use Hawk-Eye camera technology in a high school tennis match because it’s simply not worth it. You do use it on the ATP because more precise officiating is called for on the professional circuit. Similarly, shouldn’t the World Cup, the single most important tournament in all of soccer, have access to the most advanced technology available in order to assure that all calls are made fairly?

• Implement severe punishments for diving

It’s called the beautiful game, but most fans know that it’s anything but when it comes to fouls. While diving has always been an issue in soccer, with improved video technology, it has become more and more obvious to even to the most casual TV watcher. Players dive in order to try and win their team a crucial free kick, give the opposing player a yellow/red card, or simply delay the game as much as possible. These tactics have become very familiar to almost anyone who either plays or watches soccer, but simply put, such underhanded tactics take away from the spirit of the game as whole. However, because the incentives for diving are high, and since players can usually get away with it with relatively little punishment, the only way to reduce it is to enact more severe punishments. I can guarantee that if FIFA made diving an automatic yellow or red card offense, then the number of dives per game would reduce dramatically.

• Players and officials should take responsibility for their actions

If you dive as a player, you should be prepared to accept the consequences. It is not only a personal disgrace, but for all the fans around the world watching the game, it is a disgrace for your country. It baffles me that players seem to feel no shame in their actions on the pitch, when it is clear the consequences of these actions can extend far beyond themselves. Similarly, referees must show a sense of responsibility on the pitch. When was the last time you saw a referee revoke a controversial decision after he found out about his mistake. Chances are, never. While I’m positive that both referees today realized the terrible mistakes that they had made, they most likely decided to stick with their decision because they wanted to preserve their dignity. I, for one, would love to see an honest ref come out and say, “Hey, I made a bad mistake, but I’m going to correct it.” Surely, if the referee in the England game had come back onto the pitch after reviewing the replays at the half and announced that the score was now 2-2, it would have caused a huge controversy (not to mention anger from the German fans). But in retrospect, that would have been the right call, and I think that everyone would agree with it after seeing the replay with their own eyes. The ref, rather than being disgraced (and most likely now suspended from any major match in the future), would be respected for his honesty. Along that note, I think that German goalkeeper Neuer should really be ashamed of himself. Not only did he see the ball bounce in behind the line, he picked it up and continued to play on as if nothing had happened. Yeah, he got away with it all right, but Germany lost a fan in the process.