Repeat, please

The problem of refereeing in football, as in the criminal process, is easily solved. Only nobody needs it

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I did not write about football for a long time, but there is an occasion: the Moscow Torpedo was expelled from the Russian Premier League for “trying to organize contractual matches”.

More precisely - for bribing at least two judges whose "mistakes" helped the team gain the right number of points and leave the second division to the highest. And the leaders of Torpedo have already been detained both of the judges and sports officials about thunder and lightning, condemning bribe takers and bribe takers ...

The torpedo today, of course, is not that during the time of Eduard Streltsov, Valery Voronin and Glory Metrevo (I still found them on the field), but still-one of the most famous clubs in the country.

In the zero and tenths, I have more than once (including in the "new") I advocated the introduction of video replacements in football in football. In order to quickly view the controversial episode (including the one that led or, on the contrary, did not lead to the goal) and adequately evaluate it. And if the judge - accidentally or intentionally - was mistaken, fix this mistake.

When the repetitions of key episodes began to practice in television broadcasts, anyone who watched TV could see all the details. To see whether there was or was not an offside, there was or there were no violations, and if it was - before the penalty area or after, and so on. Once upon a time, the results of the competitions of runners, skiers and swimmers were evaluated “by eye”. Then a photorefinish appeared, then - video recovers, and this does not surprise anyone in the twenty -first century.

However, in football, this opportunity was blocked (including a special point of the rules) for both football players and judges, strictly prohibiting video recovers. And to the question "Why?" - They replied that football is so beautiful, that judges make mistakes, as is characteristic of a person in general.

They quoted the famous “Kaiser Franz” - German football player Franz Beckenbauer:

“Football is a drama in which there should be a place for the human factor, mistakes create a lot of emotions necessary for this game.”

They said that the introduction of repetitions would “drag the game”.

And in general, as the familiar sports journalists told me, this cannot be, because it can never be.

It turned out - maybe: in 2018, the VAR system was introduced. She did not guarantee the corrections of all errors (including because you can only watch repetition on the initiative of the judges themselves, and not coaches or players), but they became much less.

However, the question hung in the air - why are the “effective” judicial mistakes that influenced the match are not subject to correction? Then, when the error is discovered, they can be punished by the judge - to be removed from refereeing for one or another. But only - the account on the scoreboard will remain unchanged. And he, as the famous saying says, is the most beautiful as a result of the match ...

Five years ago - after the introduction of video replacements - wrote in “New” that such a state of affairs makes us think about the analogy: the incorrectly passed the sentence was canceled, but instead of the release of the sentenced, the judge’s punishment follows. Although today, of course, the remark asks: what am I talking about? The abolition of an illegal sentence with the release of an innocently convicted person, as well as the punishment of a judge who passed such a sentence, is no less exotic than the replay of an incorrectly played match ...

... Who is older - remembers the fatal goal of the Uruguayan Espargo at the 1970 World Cup, clogged into the goal of the USSR national team after the ball clearly went beyond the gate line. The players saw this, the viewers saw it - only the judges did not see.

And the Union’s team, which had a very good composition, went home. True, there was no chance of going further - if the Uruguayans had passed, in the semifinals she would have been waiting for the magic team of Brazil, the future “codes”, the composition of which I remember almost by heart. But, as they say, there would be something to remember ...

Forty years will pass - and the French team will fall into the World Cup - 2010 only because the judge will not notice the completely clear game of Thierry Henry in a match with Ireland. And at the championship in the match in England and Germany, the Uruguayan judge did not count the “pure” goal Frank Lampard, which would allow the British to equalize (recouped with 0: 2), and a completely different game could begin.

A year before, in May 2009, the Champions League semi -final was, where Chelsea met with Barcelona and did not get to the final only because the Norwegian judge Ovrebo “did not notice” two cases with Spanish defenders in the penalty area.

If we talk about the affairs of closer days, then in 2023 Liverpool lost his points in the game with Tottenham, because the judges did not count the pure goal of Luis Diaz because of the imaginary offside.

Liverpool announced the “undermining of sports integrity” and demanded a replay, but in vain.

Finally, more recently, Barcelona did not get to the Champions League final, losing to Inter in overtime, because the judges, even resorting to the VAR system, did not appoint a penalty for violation of Lamin Yamal. Then this will be called the “gross judal”, but in the final with PSG will already play “Inter” ...

Well, examples of “productive” mistakes in the Russian championship are easy to find on the network (one of the sports publications calculated that there were a third more than last season). None of them was subsequently corrected by changing the account.

Are there any norms in the football rules that allow you to change the result of the already played match or replay it?

In principle, there are, but they are not about: for example, in the case of unrest in the stands or bad weather conditions, they can stop the match and then replay it.

If it is established that a player who did not have the right to do so (was not declared or was obliged to skip the game after deleting or several “yellow cards”) or the numerical composition (the “extra” player) could take into account the technical defeat.

Finally, there was a precedent when in 2001 the Russian “Lokomotiv” played with Tyrol, and the referee mistakenly showed the “yellow card” to the wrong player - and if he showed him to be deleted for two warnings. UEFA then canceled the result and appointed a replay ...

The current incident with Torpedo in this sense is the first Russian example of how “judges” (I put quotes, because it is likely that these are not mistakes, but completely conscious actions caused by material interest) that changed the result were fixed, and radically.

But, firstly, the circumstances in this case are extraordinary: it is stated that the bribery has been proved, which I somehow do not recall in Russia before (although many situations that I observed is difficult to explain only by unprofessionalism of judges, it was most likely to talk about quite concrete benefits). True, in Italy it was, and more than once, including in 2006, when five clubs were accused of “buying” games and conspiracy with the judges (Juventus, Milan, Fiorentina, Lazio and Regina) and were deprived of points (Juve not only lost the most champion titles and was also “exiled” in a year. Lower division).

And secondly, not a word says that it is necessary to change the system: to correct the consequences of the “effective” mistakes of the judges, changing the result of the match, if the mistakes influenced it qualitatively-turned victory into a draw or defeat or vice versa.

Yes, “strange” judicial decisions are characteristic, and especially in Russia, not only for football. And the consequences of these decisions are much harder: the lost championship or the European Cup is not a prison term.

And, of course, not only in football “System must be changed”, although it is “more than the game”. But in it, too.

Otherwise, what I’m talking about for a long time - the most profitable “business” in football will be “working with judges”, and not the search and cultivation of young players and persistent training.

Especially in a country where corruption constantly, steadily and successfully for many years fights until complete eradication, and it, evil, does not want to be worn out.

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