Deja vu?

So, the premiership season is only one game in, the Championship is two, and already an age old debate is raging. Why can't football learn from sports like cricket, rugby and tennis? Why is football so afraid to incorporate a little technology (technology as primitive as a television and two way communication) to make the game fairer?

Now I will admit that, in the past, the argument against technology, as an aid to match officials, has been something along the lines of: it would take the excitement away from post match discussions, damage rivalries and deny fans the controversy that is actually desirable. It is clear from at least one incident in particular, that this argument is sometimes totally irrelevant.

Let's go back to a week ago, when in the dying moments of the match between the Championship sides, Crystal Palace and Bristol City, Palace scored an equalising goal to earn themselves a valuable point. It was as they began to celebrate that the referee inexplicably ruled the shot wide and awarded a goal kick to Bristol City. To almost everybody watching the game - and later on, everybody watching the highlights - the ball had struck the back of the net and bounced back out. Never has the comical and popular statement "should have gone to specsavers" been more appropriate.

Now, my point is exactly this: if a fourth official had been sat in front of a televison set, with a microphone projecting a live feed in to the referee's ear, then he could have calmly informed Mr Shoebridge that he had made an error and a huge amount of embarassment and heartache could have been avoided in one moment of logic.

Please will the FA heed mine (and other's) words and incorporate a little inexpensive technology in to professional football, to spare everybody such costly (and unentertaining) mistakes.