DID VIDEO KILL THE REFEREE STAR?
Gosh, what a game. Hard fought, low scoring and only a point in it. But the story of this year’s Rugby World Cup isn’t so much what happened on the field. It’s what happened off it that’s got people talking.
Rugby World Cup 2023 was optimised by technology. The game started with 30 players and the world’s best referee. It finished with 28 players, three yellow cards, one cancelled try and the All Black Captain’s shoulder seeing his tournament end in the 29th minute.
VIDEO REFS CAN SEE MORE
These calls were led by the Television Match Official (TMO). Experts using close ups and technology to give a second opinion on margin-calls. It’s their job to double-check the detail to see that everyone follows the rules.
It’s not new technology. It’s everywhere. In soccer they call it the Video Assistant Referee - or the VAR - where AI informed goal line technology sees stuff that humans can’t see. It’s world class technology to help us check the facts. It just doesn’t feel much like sport.
MAGIC ISN’T STACKED WITH FACTS
Rugby, like any sport, is entertainment. A battle of skills and agility, our team against theirs buoyed by the energy and passion of the crowd. If the players are an orchestra, the ref is like a whistle-blowing conductor and the music they play is the rules of the game.
It’s an 80 minute magical opus. A joy to experience. Until it stops. And it starts. And it stops. And so it goes. With an auto-tune-adjudicator calling out every imperfection.
Of course, the rules are the rules and I’m not suggesting the ref never blows his whistle. It’s just that humans are human and I reckon our human imperfections are more fairly judged by another human. That’s the referee’s job, right?
WHY MAGIC AND FACTS DON’T MIX
It’s not just sport. Think about anything that entertains you and the magic is in the feels, not the facts. Great movies that tell stories by brushing over the boring bits. Songs that get in your head with the most ridiculous lyrics. Rugby games where calls are made and the game keeps going.
Technology can be awesome. Video never killed the radio star. Nor did Spotify. But the best tech advances always focus on the magic that’s being made and the humans it’s being made for. How can the tech make the experience even better?
That’s why I reckon fact-checking tech like a video referees will never be loved by fans.