Would Extra Officials Help?

Referee’s have been getting a bit of a bad press recently and there have been cases of officials, such as Rob Styles, having to apologise to managers and teams after games when they have realised they have given the wrong decisions.

For some years now there have been calls to use video technology (like they use in Rugby league) but many say that it would disrupt the flow of the football and are against the idea.

So, would extra officials help? I did once ask a referee if four ‘linesmen’ would be better than two – each one being in charge of a quarter of the pitch. He laughed at me!

But, UEFA have been having trials where five officials – one referee, two linesman and two goal line assistants – have been used.

Under the watchful eye of Referee Development Officer, Hugh Dallas, a selection of Scottish Referees have been experimenting with the system and Hugh Dallas told the BBC that the main aim was to get more control of incidents that happen in and around the penalty area. ‘One positive that has come out of these experiments,’ Dallas said, ‘is that there is practically no pulling or holding anymore.

‘But, I don’t think we will see this idea implemented in domestic football although it could be used in the future in certain European games.’

The International Football Association Board are going to review the idea in February with delgates from UEFA saying the experiment was ‘very positive.’