Sports and Technology and Connection between them - Research Paper Example

Abstract Application of technology in sports is a controversial issue that threatens the sustainability of major sports. Introduction of goal-line technology in football resulted from the need to eliminate errors or mistakes committed by referees affecting their judgment. It is believed that application of goal line technology will lower the popularity of football. Football fans consider this application destructive to their game. Although football officials have significant anticipations in technology, its application will not be highly successful. Thus, football fans as the main stakeholders in the game are likely to oppose application of technology in football. Moreover, application of technology will reduce uniformity of the game and its enthusiasm. Introduction The issue of sports and technology has remained an endless debate. It is evident that the world is advancing rapidly in application of technology and this has a similar implication on sports. Sports particularly soccer has two elements that are significant to all the stakeholders. There is the entertainment or pastime aspect of sports and the competition aspect. The competition aspect is critical to the sporting fraternity. This requires sporting or match officials to make accurate decisions and hence the need for applying technology in sports. Following recent incidents of referee misjudgment, the world football governing body advocated for application of technology in football. Goal-line and the hawk-eye technologies are the two technologies that will be incorporated in soccer. Application of technology in football will compromise the quality of the game. Although FIFA has ruled in favor of goal line technology in the 2014 world cup, technology should not be applied in football. Football officials and governing bodies are more concerned with the commercial aspect of football than the entertainment and cultural aspect of football. It is evident that football has become the most popular game in the world due to its entertainment aspect and the cultural aspect. This implies that applying technology in football is similar to elimination entertainment and cultural aspect that have led to the growth of football (Reilly, 2007). The entertainment and cultural values attached to football explains why other sports such as golf or cricket do not attract global attention as football does. This has made the world cup a major global event compared to other sporting activities at a global level. In addition, the entertainment aspect of football has made the European soccer leagues such as the Barclays Premier League and FA Cup have massive global following. Introducing technology will reduce or eliminate the factors that have made soccer attractive to the people. His indicates that applying technology in football is equivalent to killing the game. The issue of Goal-line technology attracted global attention in 2005 in a match between Tottenham Hotspur FC and Manchester United FC. During this match, United’s goalkeeper Roy Carroll caught and dropped the ball about one yard behind the Goal-line before clearing it off (ESPN, 2012). It is evident that a football match or decisions made by a referee are prone to errors. However, people should start looking at the positive side of the error and their significance instead of considering the negative side only. It is time that football officials review the long-term benefits resulting from a miscellaneous error by a referee instead of considering the short-term implication of the error. During the Tottenhum Hotspur vs. Manchester United game, the short-term objective was determining the winner of the game. This is significant to both the football officials and supporters of each of the team. However, there are long-term benefits, which are not perceivable by all people watching a football game. This element keeps football going since its inception in the ancient world. It is evident that the unpredictability, curiosity, and love that people have for football is the main factor that enhances continuity of football. For instance, the mistake that the referee made during the Tottenhum vs. Manchester United made is what will make people anxious to watch another match between the two teams. If football were all about winning then there would only have been one world cup competition to determine the winner and rank countries according to their performance (Gilbourne, 2003). However, the element of enthusiasm makes people to look forward to the next tournament. Introducing technology will eliminate this aspect since it will make football a boring game. Football is an art or a performance while technology is applied science. This indicates that applying technology in football is similar replacing human beings with robots. It is evident that a football game that involves robots is a boring or an unattractive game. The referee is part of the game and he or she has a role to play. To the match officials, a referee is a person who makes critical decision in a football match. On the other hand, a referee has a different implication to the fans of a football match. For instance, Introduction of the “fifth official” or referee assistant was tried out during England vs. Ukraine during their 2012 Euro match (Matthew & Hayden, 2009). It was observed that having extra officials in a match did not eliminate certain common mistakes. For instance, the extra referee failed to awards a goal to Ukraine from a deflected shot from Marko Devic. This incident indicates that we should not expect referees to officiate a match at a hundred percent accuracy. Misjudgment of referees that results into wrong judgments indicates human shortcomings or weakness. This indicates that enhancing a referee’s performance through technology is similar to the introduction of robots as players of a football game. Football is a game of humans and thus we should not expect a hundred percent accuracy from neither the players nor the referees (Mandelbaum, 2009). Moreover introducing goal line technology is similar to not accepting human limitations that keep us together or keep football going on. The fans are the main stakeholders in the football game. This indicates that developments or changes effected in the game should focus on the fans and not the football officials or the sponsors. Unlike the goal line technology, the hawk eye technology relies on cameras that are set at strategic positions in a football pitch. These cameras take instant frames of the ball at any in stance. Thus, a controversy of a ball crossing or not crossing the goal line can only be ruled out through replays. It is believed that constant replays would interfere with the flow of the game and affect the outcome. The fans who are the main stakeholders of a football match are more concerned with the flow of the game. Thus, technology would interfere with the enjoyment that fans derive from watching a football match. FIFA should therefore review its planned application of technology in football since this measure does not cater for the main stakeholders of a football match. According to the International Football Association Board (IFAB), a sufficient Goal-line technology should only apply Goal-line decisions, should have a high degree of accuracy, should send instant signals to the referee and the signal should only be accessible to the match officials. This indicates that application of technology is likely to compromise the rules of football. Football has attracted the massive global interest due to its clear rules. With the ongoing debate concerning digitalization of football match, football stakeholders are worried about football rules. It is evident that technology has its own weakness and this will compromise football rules. In addition we cannot have technology that would enable us detect misconduct of players, fouls or handballs. This indicates that human intelligence is beyond technological intelligence. Thus, FIFA should retain the natural football that incorporates people from all lifestyles. Conclusion Application of technology in football has remained a controversial issue despite successful application of technology in other sports such as cricket and tennis. Goal line technology should not be applied in football since it compromises the quality of the game. Application of technology eliminates the entertainment aspect of football, which lies in its unpredictability suspense and the curiosity of the fans. These elements have maintained the flow and sustainability of the game leading to its development. The fans are the main stakeholders of football and therefore, any adjustment of the game should be focused on the fans. Introducing the goal-line or hawk-eye technology compromise the entertainment and enthusiasm element of football. Finally, technology is likely to interfere with football rules, which have contributed to its growth. References ESPN. Soccer: No goal-line aids until 2013. London: ESPN. Retrieved from http://espn.go.com/sports/soccer/news/_/id/7061644/soccer-not-set-install-goal-line-aids-2013 Matthew, M and Hayden, O. (2009). “Sports Law, Implications for the Development of International, Comparative, and National Law and Global Dispute”. Resolution Sport & Law Journal. 19. 123-34. Print. Mandelbaum, M. (2009). The Meaning of Sports: Public Affairs. New Jersey: John Wiley & sons. Reilly, T. (2007). "Science and Gaelic football: A review". Journal of Sports Sciences 19.3. 181–193. Gilbourne, R. (2003). "Science and football: a review of applied research in the football code". Journal of Sports Science 2.1: 693–705. Read More