McLeish is no technophobe

by Admin , 08 March 2010 McLeish is no technophobe

Birmingham boss Alex McLeish has called for the introduction of goal line technology after Saturday's FA Cup defeat at Portsmouth.


The Blues were beaten 2-0 by Premier League strugglers Pompey at Fratton Park but McLeish feels things could have worked out differently had assistant referee Adam Watts spotted Liam Ridgwell's header had crossed the line with 10 minutes remaining.

In a bizarre coincidence, during Birmingham's FA Cup quarter-final defeat the International Football Association Board, football's rule makers, voted against the idea of using technology in the sport.

However, McLeish feels football should follow the example of sports where technology has been used successfully, such as rugby and tennis, to avoid incidents such as Ridgwell's disallowed goal.

He said: "They bring it in at the top level in other sports and I don't see why it can't be used in football, especially with what's at stake. There was a semi-final at stake in the FA Cup, one of the most coveted tournaments in the world, and it denied us a lifeline to possibly still be in the cup.

"There must be stringent rules for this level for referees to be top match-fit and obviously the eyesight is a huge factor.

"But sometimes it happens that quickly that you can see why assistants make mistakes, which is why they should bring in technology.

"You don't have to disrupt the game throughout the 90 minutes and make it boring for the crowd, but at key moments like that I think they're actually doing the officials a disservice.

"Although it's not responsible for us going out of the cup, it certainly would have given us a lifeline."

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