He proceeds to assert that retroactively overturning referee's decisions was a threat to the integrity of the game. He seems to think that using replay as a tool to ensure fairness is a threat to the referee's authority, a claim that he backs up with no evidence whatsoever. I recognize that I couldn't make a city league team and Alexi Lalas has actually played soccer at the highest levels, but I have witnessed the transformation that has taken place in American sports since the introduction of replay technology and it is absolutely worth the risk.
If FIFA was worth a damn, it would have reviewed the game within 48 hours of the final whistle and rendered a decision. They would have seen clearly that Joel Campbell was a lying douchebag, rescinded the yellow card for Matt Besler (making him eligible for the subsequent game vs Mexico), and given Campbell a yellow for simulation. No fuss, no muss. I haven't heard a single person advocate for a replay, forfeiture of the match by Costa Rica, or any other radical decision that would have shifted the outcome of the match. It's a simple decision that the most powerful governing body in soccer should be able to bang out without much trouble.
Replay has greatly enhanced the NFL, NBA, and MLB products. The amount of times I have felt as though the outcome of the game has been decided by the refs has been cut by something like 70%, and that used to bother me more than anything. Give FIFA refs the same respect that we give to those of the NFL: give them the ability to review their decisions. Even if it isn't until after the game and it is only for red and yellow card offenses, it would make a huge difference. Bullshit moves like the one that Joel Campbell pulled shouldn't go unpunished, especially when we have such an easy way to do it.
Now I should just say here: It's possible that Lalas is playing devil's advocate, and is simply trying to take as contrarian of a stance as possible in order to increase interest in the show. I don't have a lot of respect for that format of sports analysis, but at least that would be understandable. For his sake I hope that he is just being contrarian, because he has to understand that nobody is advocating for a complete overhaul of the way that the game is officiated, but simply that we should use the technologies that we have. It's embarrassing to be able to watch a blown call over and over on Sportcenter, knowing that it would be so easy to overturn the decision.
Regardless of motive, I'm disappointed in Alexi. He has emerged as one of the preeminent voices of American soccer, and he seems to often take this old school approach. I respect his experience and his right to his own opinion, but it would be so much more helpful for the American cause if he was a little more progressive. If he was on the forefront advocating for the implication of some form of replay review, going on national television and talking up the MLS system, making a stink about FIFA's cowardice, he could actually move things forward. He is so much more charismatic than somebody like Kasey Keller, we could really use him as the face of the new age of soccer in America. But he seems to insist upon hurting his credibility by arguing that MLS is as good as any league in the world, and that the perception of America as a footballing nation is entirely due to a public relations problem.
But in fact, the problem (if you can even call it a problem) is that MLS isn't there yet. But a great way to accelerate our path to the top would be to become the progressive moral authority when it comes to our domestic soccer league. The world is moving toward replay and goal line technology, why not lead the way? If Alexi Lalas wants to help American soccer reach it's full potential, he'd better find a way to figure that out.
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