Who's your father, camera man?

More than half of any half time analysis and post-game wrap ups and articles these days evolve around controversial or - more often - plain erroneous referee calls.

This has to end.  Everyone said their piece, here is mine.

Of course technical aids should be used in order to help referees make the right calls.  Of course this may be done without destroying the pace and rythm of the game and with appropriate checks and balances against abuse.

Here's what I would like to do.  (And never mind if all this cannot be done at all levels of the football game.  Fair for more is better than unfair for all.  And let's face it, the discussions we hear are mostly about football at a level where the cost of technical equipment will be minimal.)

• Goal cameras now.  All goals should be approved by a supervisor. This will only take a second in 90% of the cases, in others it is worth waiting a bit longer.  If we can have a chip in the ball that tells us when the ball has crossed the line, great, let's do that too.
• Make all players wear a chip that indicates to the linesmen (and to no one else) when a player is offside.  That way the linesmen can focus on when the ball is played and whether the offside player took part in the play (the latter however is mostly a call for the head ref).  One very important parameter less to leave to the human eye.
• Give all teams two challenges per half.  The coach and the captain of the team can make the challenge, and the supervisor has 45 seconds to review the call (which will be added to stoppish time), using the best evidence available. The supervisor may also during that time consult the referee.
• A successful challenge does not count. If a red card is challenged and changed to a yellow (for example), that counts as a successful challenge.
• If a player or a coach approaches the referee after a call (or the lack thereof), the referee should ask the captain whether that should be interpreted as a challenge.  If the captain does not confirm immediately, the player approaching the referee will be cautioned if he continues to challenge the referees decision.
• The yellow card for diving is abandoned.  Instead, much more severe bans are handed out subsequently, and according to a progressive scale.
• The technical aids are always for consultation only.  Humans will always make the final call.
• Scrap that idea with penalty box referees. Invest that money in technical equipment instead.

I only struggle with one situation. When a goal chance is interrupted by a whistle, the attacking team challenges and wins - what is the remedy? I imagine these situations to relate to offsides in 90%.  The best I can come up with is that first, the offside calls should improve with technical aids.  Moreover, with goal reviews and challenges referees should feel comfortable not to call offsides unless they are absolutely sure (that should be the yardstick anyway).  But still, it will happen from time to time, and the best I can come up with is that in those situations there should be a freekick from where the pass was made.  Not perfect, admittedly, but better than what we have today.