LEGENDARY World Cup referee George Courtney believes goal-line technology will definitely be in place before the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
After the announcement yesterday that an experimental Hawkeye system would be put in place for England’s friendly against Belgium at Wembley on June 2, it seems FIFA are slowly but surely moving towards using this in full internationals.
This time, only scientists monitoring the system will know the results of any close calls, but the referee at Wembley will not be informed.
County Durham’s Courtney, who refereed at the 1986 and 1990 World Cups in Mexico and Italy respectively, saw this coming a long time ago and believes next month’s tournament in Ukraine and Poland will be the last time any borderline goal-line incident will be decided by only the referee and his two assistants
Courtney said: “The European Championships this summer will be the last major tournament of its kind not to have goal-line technology.
“For the next World Cup they will have a way of detecting whether the ball crossed the line and that information will immediately relayed to the referee.
“I don’t think we will have a second ref in the stand, as has been suggested in some places. That is a little way off just yet.
“But I am all for technology being used, by the way. Anything to help referees should be welcomed.
“I read somewhere that there are 27 cameras watching games now whereas it used to be three at most and so every incident is caught.
“Personally, I liked when there were a lot of cameras, but then I was a good-looking referee.”
The North East football scene has witnessed, and been the beneficiary of, goals being disallowed when they had clearly crossed the line.
At St James’ Park during Euro 96, Romania’s Dorinel Munteanu’s 25-yard shot against Bulgaria hit the underside of the bar, bounced over the line before being cleared.
Referee Peter Mikkelsen and his assistants all missed it and Bulgaria went on to win 1-0.
And Middlesbrough would never have made the 1997 FA Cup Final if Chesterfield had gone 3-1 up in their famous semi-final clash at Old Trafford.
Jonathan Howard was the man who ‘scored’ his side’s third, minutes after Fabrizio Ravanelli had put his side back into the match late in the second-half. Howard fired the ball off the underside of the crossbar and saw it bounce down over the line and then out again.
Referee David Elleray blew his whistle and signalled for a Boro free-kick.
Later he said the free-kick was given for a foul AFTER the ball bounced back into play and admitted Howard’s shot crossed the line.
Two minutes later and Boro, through a dubious penalty, equalised. The game ended 3-3 and Boro won the replay 3-0.
It happens too often and that is why Courtney, captain of Bishop Auckland Golf Club, is all for his successors being given as much assistance as possible.
The sprightly 70-year-old had to rely on his instinct and a bit of guesswork as he made countless decisions during his long career as a referee that lasted over 20 years.
He said: “I was always taught that if there is any doubt then don’t give it. Whether it’s about a goal, offside or penalty, if you cannot be 100 per cent sure then you don’t give it.
“I was told that if I didn’t see blood when a player went down looking for a penalty then don’t give it. It’s great advice.”
Referees the length and breadth of England heaved a sigh of relief this week when Joey Barton, the scourge of officialdom, was banned for 12 matches for his latest in a long line of bust-ups.
The QPR captain’s incessant moaning to the man in the middle, who earns less in a year than he does in a week, if you believe the rumours he’s on £90,000 at Loftus Road, will not be missed. However, Courtney’s position is that refs should be able to take a bit of abuse because, after all, they are the ones telling footballers what they can and can’t do.
He said: “Referees need to learn to take chat from the players, although maybe there is too much going on now. If I can give it out, then I should be able to take it from a player. I think that’s fair enough.
“As long as there were no profanities. That’s where I drew the line. We had a bit of fun on the park, I was always up for as chat, but if someone swore then we would fall-out.
One thing that has changed, and not for the better, is that referees and players don’t get on as they did 20 years ago.
Courtney said: “Maybe the relationship now between players and referees would not be as warm of friendly. I always thought that it’s about earning the respect of your contemporaries in football, whether you are a manager, player or referee.
“I worked hard at that. It may be a little bit more businesslike these days, I’m not quite sure because I’ve been away from the sharp end of refereeing for many years, but as in life you reap what you sow.
“If today’s referees work hard at it, then that respect will come. Take Newcastle United. I would always talk to the tea ladies or the groundsmen to let them know who I was.
“I would chat with anyone and people never forgot that.
“I worked hard to get a natural rapport with the players.
“I would tell a joke or two, especially if the game was a bit boring, and that helped the players get to know me. That is why I still enjoy the company of former pros who I refereed.”
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| George Courtney Referee |
After the announcement yesterday that an experimental Hawkeye system would be put in place for England’s friendly against Belgium at Wembley on June 2, it seems FIFA are slowly but surely moving towards using this in full internationals.
This time, only scientists monitoring the system will know the results of any close calls, but the referee at Wembley will not be informed.
County Durham’s Courtney, who refereed at the 1986 and 1990 World Cups in Mexico and Italy respectively, saw this coming a long time ago and believes next month’s tournament in Ukraine and Poland will be the last time any borderline goal-line incident will be decided by only the referee and his two assistants
Courtney said: “The European Championships this summer will be the last major tournament of its kind not to have goal-line technology.
“For the next World Cup they will have a way of detecting whether the ball crossed the line and that information will immediately relayed to the referee.
“I don’t think we will have a second ref in the stand, as has been suggested in some places. That is a little way off just yet.
“But I am all for technology being used, by the way. Anything to help referees should be welcomed.
“I read somewhere that there are 27 cameras watching games now whereas it used to be three at most and so every incident is caught.
“Personally, I liked when there were a lot of cameras, but then I was a good-looking referee.”
The North East football scene has witnessed, and been the beneficiary of, goals being disallowed when they had clearly crossed the line.
At St James’ Park during Euro 96, Romania’s Dorinel Munteanu’s 25-yard shot against Bulgaria hit the underside of the bar, bounced over the line before being cleared.
Referee Peter Mikkelsen and his assistants all missed it and Bulgaria went on to win 1-0.
And Middlesbrough would never have made the 1997 FA Cup Final if Chesterfield had gone 3-1 up in their famous semi-final clash at Old Trafford.
Jonathan Howard was the man who ‘scored’ his side’s third, minutes after Fabrizio Ravanelli had put his side back into the match late in the second-half. Howard fired the ball off the underside of the crossbar and saw it bounce down over the line and then out again.
Referee David Elleray blew his whistle and signalled for a Boro free-kick.
Later he said the free-kick was given for a foul AFTER the ball bounced back into play and admitted Howard’s shot crossed the line.
Two minutes later and Boro, through a dubious penalty, equalised. The game ended 3-3 and Boro won the replay 3-0.
It happens too often and that is why Courtney, captain of Bishop Auckland Golf Club, is all for his successors being given as much assistance as possible.
The sprightly 70-year-old had to rely on his instinct and a bit of guesswork as he made countless decisions during his long career as a referee that lasted over 20 years.
He said: “I was always taught that if there is any doubt then don’t give it. Whether it’s about a goal, offside or penalty, if you cannot be 100 per cent sure then you don’t give it.
“I was told that if I didn’t see blood when a player went down looking for a penalty then don’t give it. It’s great advice.”
Referees the length and breadth of England heaved a sigh of relief this week when Joey Barton, the scourge of officialdom, was banned for 12 matches for his latest in a long line of bust-ups.
The QPR captain’s incessant moaning to the man in the middle, who earns less in a year than he does in a week, if you believe the rumours he’s on £90,000 at Loftus Road, will not be missed. However, Courtney’s position is that refs should be able to take a bit of abuse because, after all, they are the ones telling footballers what they can and can’t do.
He said: “Referees need to learn to take chat from the players, although maybe there is too much going on now. If I can give it out, then I should be able to take it from a player. I think that’s fair enough.
“As long as there were no profanities. That’s where I drew the line. We had a bit of fun on the park, I was always up for as chat, but if someone swore then we would fall-out.
One thing that has changed, and not for the better, is that referees and players don’t get on as they did 20 years ago.
Courtney said: “Maybe the relationship now between players and referees would not be as warm of friendly. I always thought that it’s about earning the respect of your contemporaries in football, whether you are a manager, player or referee.
“I worked hard at that. It may be a little bit more businesslike these days, I’m not quite sure because I’ve been away from the sharp end of refereeing for many years, but as in life you reap what you sow.
“If today’s referees work hard at it, then that respect will come. Take Newcastle United. I would always talk to the tea ladies or the groundsmen to let them know who I was.
“I would chat with anyone and people never forgot that.
“I worked hard to get a natural rapport with the players.
“I would tell a joke or two, especially if the game was a bit boring, and that helped the players get to know me. That is why I still enjoy the company of former pros who I refereed.”
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