On Further Review...
A couple thoughts about replay in sports.
I know I’ve banged on replay often over the years. I still believe my solution for fixing video review is the best: a fixed number of coach-requested reviews, replays shown only at real-time speed, a definitive time window given to arrive at a decision.
Flaws with my solution? 100%. But that’s true with any replay system.
However, last weekend I noticed something. I saw replay reviews in college football, NFL, and WNBA games that resulted in decisions that made no sense given the video evidence. In each case, the announcers doing the game were dumbfounded by the final decision. Depending on the network, the “rules expert” either expressed confusion over the final decision, or scrambled to cover for the game officials. The later, of course, happens far too often, a former official now getting paid to talk on TV not wanting to undermine their former colleagues.
As I watched, I developed a new theory: officials are intentionally getting reviews wrong in an effort to get replay completely scrapped. Or at least taken out of their hands, as the NBA has done.1 Fuck up enough calls, my theory goes, and public pressure will become so intense that league offices will step in with a dramatic overhaul that sends the review to a neutral party in New York or wherever. Or, even better, completely eliminates in-game reviews.
Am I crazy? Maybe. But look at the world around us. There are way crazier things going on than officials intentionally flubbing replay reviews to protect themselves.
Now is this likely, are refs ignoring clear evidence that the whole world can see? No, of course not. But after seeing three rather notable incorrect reviews across two days, my mind jumped to this far-fetched conclusion.
Oh, one replay system that seemed to work well? The FIBA Women’s World Cup. Game officials walked to a display off the court and turned a microphone on. The head ref asked for the replay to run, directing the operator to move back-and-forth or freeze as needed. He talked through what he saw: “Ball off blue, ball off blue, now ball off white.” He made a conclusion: “I see ball off white,” and asked their partner, “Do you agree?” Each time the partner agreed, the whistle was blown, and the blue team was given the ball. This took about 30 seconds and we had full transparency.
Now none of the calls I saw were particularly controversial and had pretty obvious conclusions. If it had been a play like the one in overtime in the Colts-Chiefs game Sunday, perhaps it would have taken longer.
But what I saw, there was no fucking around.
Oh, speaking of that call Sunday night, I thought it was awful. Yes, I was glad it went in the Colts’ favor.2 But I thought it was insane that it came down to whether a defender’s fingertip was on a receiver at the exact quarter-second he gained possession of a moving ball. As I’ve said a million times, if it takes looking at frame-by-frame evidence for five minutes, you are not doing something an actual referee could do in real time.
One final note about replay. In England there have been some prominent voices calling for the Premier League to completely scrap replay review. In response, a new panel has been instituted to review controversial plays after the fact, akin to the NBA’s Two Minute Reports.
A couple games back, Sunderland was awarded a penalty against Arsenal when the field official believed an Arsenal defender pulled a Sunderland player down in the penalty box. Replay clearly showed that the Sunderland player actually pulled the Arsenal player down and then made it appear he was the one who had been fouled. Penalties are often reviewed before the PK is taken. In this case, however, the VAR crew did not signal down to the referee to review the play. Sunderland converted the kick, but Arsenal escaped with a 2-1 win, so no real effect on the final result. The Arsenal people I follow online were incensed that the play was not reviewed and the foul reversed.
A week later, the review board ruled 5-0 that the penalty was given incorrectly. HOWEVER, the board also ruled 3-2 that the game official was correct in not reviewing the play.
If I was a bigger Arsenal fan my mind might have exploded at the lack of logic in those rulings.
Either have replay or don’t, but don’t keep it while adding auditing procedures that seem more designed to protect the officials than ensure the proper calls are made going forward.