Gabriele Marcotti has a good article on the “ghost goals” that are breathtakingly missed by the human eye and calls for technological innovation which already exists to put them to rest.
On Saturday, against Juve, Sulley Muntari’s header saw the ball clearly cross the line about a yard inside before Gianluigi Buffon was able to push it out. The linesman Roberto Romagnoli had a line of view that appeared unobstructed when it happened but after conferring with referee Paolo Tagliavento, play was allowed to go on. As the stunned Milan players milled around, Inter almost scored at the other end.
Marcotti provides evidence that these “ghost goals” are not as uncommon as one would think. So why is football still run by Luddites? One of the strongest objections to any goal line technology is the myth that these controversies keep the sport alive as people endlessly debate these injustices. However one must bear in mind that the first priority is to ensure a fairness and not controversy. Secondly, such events further cynicism that is already dangerously prevalent in the sport. And lastly, the introduction of such technologies does not preclude a memorable match which will go down in the annals of history for the right reasons. Refer to Rafael Nadal vs Novak Djokovic’s Australian Open classic.