Arsene Wenger has said that it is impossible for football to carry on without video technology after the poor decisions in the Champions League this week.
Arsenal conceded a penalty and were reduced to 10 men on the back of a dive and an incomprehensible decision by the extra official. PSG, similarly, were undone by a dive (or three in the case of Barcelona) while they had to watch their own calls rejected.
The FA Cup are set to start trialling video technology from next season and it seems that Arsene Wenger is giving it his backing.
“No matter what you do in these situations, you lose,” Wenger wrote in his pre-Lincoln programme notes.
“Paris Saint-Germain for example conceded six, everyone reproaches them for not having played and only defended.
“We were in an impossible position after the sending off of Koscielny and it just typifies how important it is to have video replays and get as many decisions right as we can.
“If you look at the Champions League matches on Tuesday and Wednesday, it is impossible for it to continue without video technology.”
The game against Lincoln will also see extra subs come into play in extra time should the game go that far.
“An interesting aspect about today’s game is that there will be no replay if it’s a draw,” Wenger continued. “That’s an interesting innovation that I’m convinced will help. The teams will also be allowed an extra sub if it goes to extra time, which is interesting as well.
“We have spoken about introducing more subs into football many times in managers’ meetings in Geneva. There are pros and cons. You do not want to interrupt the game too much, by making more substitutions.
“It can become a tactical weapon as well to slow the game down, so you would have to group the substitutions maybe. Overall I think we have to take care that the game remains fluent and dynamic, and that there aren’t too many stoppages. Especially if we go to video replays as well, it will become a stop and go game. In extra-time though, I think it can be interesting.
“I heard the England rugby coach Eddie Jones talking about subs recently, and he prefers to call them ‘finishers’. I agree with him, I don’t like the word ‘subs’ either, it’s negative.
“Also it doesn’t really reflect accurately what they are about, because sometimes people think being a sub means you are not good enough, or it can be you are replacing a guy who had a bad performance.
“But that is not always the case, sometimes you take your best player off because he has given so much, or you bring a guy on who has different qualities to keep a result. I would say they are just players who are helpful to the team at the moment you decide to use them.