January 5 – Former England manager Roy Hodgson has warned that the introduction of video technology in English football will not necessarily be a positive move judging by recent instances of controversy elsewhere.
Video assistant referees will be used for the first time in the English game during Monday’s third round FA Cup tie between Hodgson’s current club Crystal Palace and fierce rivals Brighton.
Video evidence has failed to prevent numerous disputes at both club and international level and Hodgson said: “I experienced it during the Confederations Cup, albeit from a television studio and it was chaotic there because the communication between the referee and the guy on the machine wasn’t working well.”
“No one wanted goalline technology and now we can’t live without it so I am certainly not one of those people who would suggest there’s no future for technology in the game. But spectators expect the game to continue. I think there are a lot of questions to be answered with regard to how things can dovetail together.
“How many times are you going to need to see the incident before you can have an opinion. And if three people see an incident, are they going to all have the same opinion?”
“How are we going to get to a stage where we only use it for the gross injustices? That’s my fear.”
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