Should World Cup Football Refereeing Decisions Be Overturned?
With the 2010 South Africa World Cup still in its early stages, there have already been several controversial refereeing decisions that have had an unwanted impact for some of the players and teams in the competition. Indeed, World Cup controversy isn’t new to this year’s tournament, as many people are claiming that poor refereeing decisions in previous tournaments have ultimately affected the outcome of many matches. So, what is the answer? It’s fair to say that modern refereeing was probably initiated by English public school football matches, notably Eton football in 1845. A match report from Rochdale in 1842 shows their use in a football game between the Bodyguards club and the Fearnought Club. The game has come far from its modest beginnings with a world wide audience of hundreds of millions and the technology needed to broadcast it to all corners of the Earth. No one can claim that a referee’s job is an easy one, as they strive to be the all seeing and knowing eyes of the match.
