Sunday, June 11, 2017
Indonesian Ref Uses Pitchside Video Technology
Another first for Indonesian football? From the country that has had two players unions, different clubs sharing the same name, two leagues, two national teams and god knows what else, now Indonesia has seen a referee change his decision after watching video evidence.
The whistler concerned awarded a penalty to PS TNI during their home game with Persija last week after he felt a Persija defender handled the ball in the box. Persija weren't too happy with the decision and complained so the hapless ref, Fariq Hitaba, turned to one of the TV cameras pitch side and watched the incident again. He subsequently decided his initial decision was wrong and annuled the penalty.
FIFA has talked about allowing match officials to use video technology to assist them in their decision making but it hasn't been implemented yet, not even in Indonesia.
PSSI official Joko Diriyono, who has spent years trying to explain the unexplainable in local football, struggled to account for the ref's actions. 'I don't know where the ref got the idea from. But for sure the use of video technology is not allowed in Liga 1,' he said.
Persija coach Teco likewise shrugged his shoulders at the latest lunacy. 'I have known about football since I was three years old. I have coached several teams but I have never seen anything like this before,' he said after the game.
The PSSI recently appointed Scotsman George Cumming in a bid to raise standards of match officials in the country. This incident suggests the bar is even much lower than we expected.
# posted by Me @ 4:51 AM 
