In rugby and cricket cameras are deployed successfully in support of the referee to determine the rectitude of decisions. By denying teams that possibility, Fifa are perpetrating injustice for no apparent good.

The linesman was doing his job in that he was in line with the most advanced player, Lampard, but he could not keep pace with the ball to adjudge if it had crossed the line. Not his fault. He can only give what he sees. That’s precisely the point. He could not see it.

The cameras did, and pinpointed the ball’s position accurately without the loss of time. A fourth official would have taken seconds to inform the referee. So why are cameras not allowed to decide? This is the question that Fifa must address without delay.

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