Blatter Supports Goal Line Technology, Winter World Cup, and Qatari Non-Issues

For some time now global soccer fans and federations have been calling for FIFA to institute goal line technology particularly so things like this, this and this can’t happen anymore (the last one probably doesn’t get taken care of, but its a step in the right direction). Sepp Blatter has finally shown some sign that he is willing to actually allow some kind of replay or goal-line technology in International competition in a CNN interview.

“If one of these systems is accurate and immediate and not too complicated, then I think goal-line technology has a good chance to be accepted,” added Blatter.

Blatter also notes that some of the biggest problems many people saw with Qatar’s World Cup bid are actually not problems at all. First Qatar is unbearably hot during the June and July when every World Cup has been played in the history of the event. Blatter has decided that having the World Cup during summer is unimportant even though it is set like that as one peg in a very complex international scheduling mess that naturally comes out of trying to have a World Cup in the first place. Blatter says “if you ask me the percentage to play in their winter, it is definitely over 50%. It means this is more than just a probability to play in winter time.” So no problem there.

Second Blatter states that “if the principles of human rights will not be respected, then this could be a problem,” but also insists that “we will push Qatar to make sure the World Cup will be played in such conditions that other World Cups have been played and that human rights are respected.” To simply sum up the opposition to that thought I’ll use John Amaechi’s words on the subject, which are definitely worth reading in their‎ entirety. “What kind of crazy hubris gives that man (Blatter) the idea that, in 12 years, he can drive change in the Middle East, a region that has been resistant to change in this matter under pressure from far bigger and better men?” Apparently Sepp believes he has that power and I hope he does because as much as I’d like to have seen a World Cup in the U.S. I’d love to see a good one in Qatar which Blatter seems to think shouldn’t be any problem at all.

http://edition.cnn.com/2011/SPORT/football/01/13/football.blatter.interview.technology/