This year we need instant replay

[Cory]

Originally Posted by Tristan Lall

Isn't this a variation on what Andy said earlier, about offending the volunteers? My skepticism regarding this still stands; the referees realize that people will disagree with them, and they realize that their authority will ultimately be final. Whether or not people seethe over bad calls shouldn't be an issue—both the referees and the competitors ought to be reasonable enough to examine the matter on the basis of the only evidence that matters; the referee's view of the play, be it live, or, as has been suggested, in a video replay. The fact that they're volunteers doesn't absolve them of any errors that they may make, nor does it remove teams' prerogative to criticize (objectively), irrespective of whether or not the team member could have done a better job.

I don't mean to say that refs should get a free pass just because they're volunteers. Objective criticism is fine. I don't think any ref would have a problem with someone saying "Hey, Mr or Mrs ref, can you explain why this call you made went the way it did?" It's when people start saying things like "OMG TEH REFS SUCK SO BAD, I HATE THEM!!!!" that's an issue.