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For the record I am not a fan of either Manchester United or Chelsea. Nor do I experience wild mood swings depending on the results of either Bayern Munich or Fiorentina.

 

I am simply a fan of fair play. And some of what I've been watching recently just ain't fair. Something has to be done - perhaps something radical. But we have a problem, which needs fixing once and for all.

 

From the dawn of time until 1996 the men with flags who run the touchline were known as linesmen. The advent of assistant referees rendered the original term somewhat obsolete. Problem is some of their assistance is not very accurate. In a couple of high profile instances it has just been plain wrong.

 

Getting offside calls wrong

 

The offside rule has been tinkered with over the years but one constant remains. If the attacker is goal-side of the last defender, not counting the goalkeeper, when the ball is passed to him, the attacker is offside and a free kick is awarded to the defending team. Simple eh? Apparently not.

 

It is the assistant referee's job to raise his flag when a player is offside. He is the one official who has a clear view along the imaginary defensive line and it is his duty to alert the referee. A failure to raise his flag tells the man in the middle all is well.

 

This brings us back to the aforementioned teams and a serious lack of assistance. Bayern's winning goal in the first leg of their Champions League tie against Fiorentina in the second round was clearly offside. Bayern coach Louis van Gaal admitted so. No flag appeared and the referee allowed Miroslav Klose's late effort to stand.

 

Chelsea's second, and ultimately decisive, goal at Old Trafford on the weekend was also blatantly offside. Didier Drogba's strike was powerful enough to take the net off its stanchions. Once again the assistance was not forthcoming and the goal was awarded.

 

I'm not talking about marginal decisions or obscured views here. I'm concerned that two offside infractions, as clear as day, went unpunished. Without getting melodramatic, these oversights may have altered the history of the game.

 

Bayern went on to lose the second leg in Florence but advanced on the away goals rule. There's no guarantee Fiorentina would have won the decider 3-2 had the teams resumed all-square at 1-1 but if I was a manager, player or fan of La Viola I would feel I had good reason to cry foul.

 

Should Chelsea win their remaining EPL games they will be champions. And there's not a thing Manchester United can do about it other than contemplate what might have been. Once again there's no guarantee the Blues will close the deal, but what if they pip United to the title by a single point?

 

I have watched enough football to know these things can, and often do, even themselves out over the course of a season. But that's hardly the point. I don't care how high the stakes are but I do care when the rules of the game are not applied in an appropriate fashion.

 

How are defenders supposed to defend? They are taught to operate as a unit, in a line, and step us just before the pass is delivered, thus stranding the attacker in an offside position. If the players cannot rely on the Assistant Referee to react to their discipline, everyone suffers.

 

Introduction of goal-line technology

 

I am something of a traditionalist, but I fear there is only one sure way to make this right. In an era when we are talking about, and FIFA is steadfastly ignoring, the need for goal-line technology, video replays are also necessary to take the guesswork out of offside decisions.

 

I am equally sure FIFA, through its rule-changing arm, the International Football Association Board, will have nothing to do with it. The latest meeting of the IFAB resolved to abandon all experimentation with video technology. It is a policy that will not change while Sepp Blatter remains FIFA President.

 

Blatter doesn't want to tinker with the flow of the game. OK don't. Let the game run its course but the final score remains unofficial until any goal-line controversy or contentious offside ruling, which directly leads to a goal being scored, is reviewed.

 

When the review, which immediately follows the game, is complete, the final score is either confirmed or amended depending on the findings of the replay. As in tennis and cricket, the review can be conducted on the big screen to keep the spectators engaged and abreast of events.

 

I am well aware this is a solution for soccer in the 22nd century, not the 21st, but I find myself exasperated by a catalogue of erroneous officiating. This reflects badly on the game's global credibility and does nothing to encourage the lukewarm North American sports fan to take it seriously.

 

Ironically, in England at least, there already exists a "Dubious Goals Panel". The Premier League has a committee of former players and officials who adjudicate when the identity of a goal scorer is in question. Their collective wisdom could be put to much better use in my humble opinion.

 

So now it's your turn. Do you reckon it's time to give the assistants some assistance and if so how? Would video replays work and if so when? Or do you believe the human element is too integral to the game and we simply have to take the rough with the smooth?

 

I look forward to reading your comments.

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