Technology's influence on sport could not have been better shown than in Thursday's Champions League quarterfinal. Photo / David Blunsden (Action Plus)
Technology's influence on sport could not have been better shown than in Thursday's Champions League quarterfinal. Photo / David Blunsden (Action Plus)
You've got to admit, its a bizarre and slightly eerie photo.
The image captures Turkish referee Cuneyt Cakir during a particularly tense moment in the second leg of the Uefa Champions League quarterfinal between Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur, played at Etihad Stadium on Thursday morning (NZ time).
To me,it seems as though Cakir is focusing intently on the conversation between himself and what looks like a black, updated version of the famous Pixar lamp. Without any hint of a screen within the confines of its "head", it's an interesting moment to ponder as man seemingly converses with technology.
And to be honest, it doesn't look like the referee is in charge of this conversation. With its "face" pointing down, Cakir searching for any clues as to what he should do, it really makes you ask who is in control with technology a growing part of sport.
That's really what caught my interest in what will be one the greatest footballing moments in my life and quite possibly, one of the most spectacular games in Champions League history.
As a fervent Spurs supporter, I don't think I've ever had a Thursday that started with as much anticipation, despair, excitement, horror and complete and utter relief as I did this week.
The game itself is quite rightly, a game for the ages. Usually in football, a lot of people complain about its slow-paced nature which often ends in a 0-0 snoozefest or an uninspired 1-0 bore.
No second of this game was without a sense of excitement, regardless of what badge you wear on your chest. Thanks to a furious start with five goals in 21 minutes and the close nature of the ties, fans were on the edge of their seats as time ticked by, slowly drawing to a conclusion no one was anticipating.
As you could probably tell, I could go on about the game until it filled a book so I'll stop myself there, save for addressing the key moments which relate to the topic at hand: technology in sport.
At 73 minutes, with Manchester City looking likely to progress to the semifinals, Spurs striker Fernando Llorente bundles a ball into the opposition goal in what would be the game-deciding moment.
It was a far from impressive goal, the Frenchman totally missing the ball with his head and instead coming off his hip. But just before the ball made contact, replays showed the ball may have brushed his arm which would render the goal invalid in most people's book.
But, as we see in this photo, Cakir wasn't convinced in what he was seeing and the goal stood. A huge decision in the context of the game and a reminder to all sports fans that technology isn't the be all and end all when it comes to getting decisions 100 per cent correct.
What a lot of people felt when things like VAR (video assistant referee) in football and the review process in cricket, is that it would ruin the authentic nature of the game, it would take away subjectivity of umpire and referee decisions, rendering them to the role of supervisor rather than official.
But what technology provides is just another tool in a referee's belt. Whether it was the right or wrong decision, Cakir used the technology but was unable to formulate a clear and obvious decision from it.
Review technology's true purpose in sport is for the clangers, for the clear and obvious moments where an action directly violates the rules of the code. As City fans will know, their team's ticket into the semifinal was signed, sealed and delivered when Raheem Sterling scored his third goal in the game with about two minutes left to play.
The pure joy and excitement of Manchester City forward Raheem Sterling and his fans was short-lived thanks to technology's intervention. Photo / David Blunsden (Action Plus)
However, in comes the voice in Cakir's ear and by the magic of replays we get the right decision and the goal is disallowed.
People say, especially in football, say the reviews take too long and they waste time. Yes, they do take long but I would bet every person watching that match was not bored at any stage in those two review instances because of how much drama it caused.
At the end of the day, review technology was always destined for sport and it will continue to be fine-tuned to quicken and clarify the process. However, from the examples we have so far, it has not had the effect most expected and the sanctity of the referee's role persists.
