Is sports tech causing more problems than it solves? 

Video Assistant Referee (VAR) in football and Decision Review System (DRS) in cricket is here to stay for good whether we like it or not.

There was a time when there was none of that in sports and technology simply hadn't reached a level to help the referees or umpires out in their decisions. 

But over time, that has changed and the refs and umpires get as much help as they need from tech in the form of VAR and DRS.

The reason tech became part of decision-making in sports is self-evident. For starters, the umpires and referees are human beings and susceptible to human limitations. Think back to the Multan Test in 2003 where Bangladesh lost against Pakistan because umpire Ashoka De Silva seemingly made wrong decisions that eventually played a vital role in the result.

Had DRS been there, Bangladesh would probably have ended up on the winning side. There have been countless occasions where controversial decisions by the referee impacted the final result in a crucial encounter. The match between Argentina and England in the 1986 World Cup where Maradona scored a goal with his hand which infamously became the 'Hand of God' goal, for example.

As a result of instances like these, commercial sporting bodies adopted and integrated new technologies to diminish the number of incorrect decisions in sporting events. 

Does tech help?

There is no doubt that tech has helped in bringing down the number of incorrect decisions.

According to the most recent ICC statistics, "In Test matches, the increase in correct decisions was 4.27%, and in ODIs, the increase was 5.01%, producing an overall improvement of 4.49% to 98.26%."

Similarly, the use of VAR in football has been beneficial in reducing critical errors and improving refereeing accuracy in complex and dynamic football match situations. For example, Fifa revealed that during the 2018 Men's World Cup, the accuracy rate of refereeing decisions was 95.60% without VAR and 99.35% with VAR. Furthermore, in a 2021 study of 13 men's national leagues, using VAR increased refereeing decision accuracy from 92.1 to 98.3%.

Then, where is the debate?

Things are not still perfect even with the use of tech and decisions are not always correct.

That happens because some decisions can have rules which leave it up to an umpire's or a referee's interpretation. 

For example, in the recent T20 World Cup match between India and Bangladesh, there were calls for India to be reprimanded five extra runs when Virat Kohli was accused by Bangladesh batter Nurul Hasan Sohan of fake fielding.

The replays clearly showed Kohli attempting to field and throw the ball even though he didn't have it in his hand. But the umpires didn't deem it to have distracted the batters. Umpires' call and on-field soft-signals have also been a cause for debate among fans when the decision has gone against their team. And most importantly, the tech used to determine decisions is not 100% accurate and sometimes, that has led to fans getting a bad impression of the tech.

Similarly in football, decisions such as handballs in the penalty box, tackles in the penalty box, and the inconsistency in penalising with yellow and red cards continue to occur because the laws have left a lot up to the referees. That has meant that the quality of refereeing has been called into scrutiny despite the technology being there to help.

What does the future hold?

It is clear that technology has helped but it is also clear that it is not 100% accurate, which leaves a lot of room for debate among fans and experts. In the future, technological advancements should help get even more decisions correct to a greater degree of accuracy.

But at what cost? 

Umpires and referees are already being questioned by fans and players on their decisions and are more scrutinised than ever. Their control and power over a game are at an all-time low and there is a general lack of respect from fans towards most of them. That might lead to further marginalising their roles in sports and could lead to fewer people pursuing careers in this line.

So, are technological tools in sporting decision making causing more problems that they solve? Sports with the aid of high-tech have marginalised the power of umpires and referees but has in return enabled more accurate decisions. However, in a sport like football, the game has lost some of its spontaneity when a goal is scored because players and fans may have to wait for the decision on its validity. But it seems this is a sacrifice most would be willing to make if the correct decision is eventually made. One positive, however, is that you get to celebrate the goal twice sometimes.