Referees and linesmen in football leagues the world are frequently 10 to 15 years older than the players they are charged with regulating, which puts them at a serious physical disadvantage. As such, it’s not really fair for fans to expect them to get crucial goal-line decisions correct every single time. No other employer would put such unfair pressures and expectations on their employees – so why do FIFA bosses?

Well, it appears that FIFA’s reluctance to adopt the technology – in stark contrast to the Football Association (FA) and the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) – may be fading. Jim Boyce, FIFA vice-president, recently told Sportsmole.co.uk that he now thinks FIFA head honcho Sepp Blatter is getting behind the idea. According to Boyce, the simple lack of a “quick and precise” system being available was behind the 76 year-old Blatter’s reluctance.

But that’s rubbish.

There are at least two “quick and precise” systems that have been available for a few years, now – the two that FIFA will, hopefully, start trialling soon.

In reality, Blatter is more of a populist than anything else. His conversion probably has more to do with the fact that a large chunk of fans and football associations – the latter being the ones whose support he relies on – now support goal-line technology. Around 10, or even as recently as five, years ago that probably wasn’t the case – hence Blatter dragging his heels.

In the end, goal line technology would produce a fairer, more efficient and better-managed game, and that should be paramount. After England crashed out of the 2010 World Cup following Frank Lampard’s goal-that-never-was, former Scottish FA chief executive Gordon Smith told the Telegraph: “Why do you arrange a tournament so that the whole world can see that a goal has been scored — yet you don’t allow the referee to have the same advantage?”

Setting employees up for failure never helped anyone.

Management ups and downs

Promotion

Owen Coyle
For maintaining a quiet dignity during the hospitalisation of his midfielder Fabrice Muamba. If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs…

Relegation

Harry Redknapp
Ghost goal or no ghost goal, Redknapp’s continued insistence on throwing caution to the wind with his Tottenham side yet again resulted in his boys taking one hell of a beating. Is this the best man for the England job?

Image of Frank Lampard courtesy of mooinblack / Shutterstock.com