Widely publicised and highly controversial decisions by match officials during the FIFA World Cup prompted leading market research company Synovate to canvass 300 World Cup fans who were visiting South Africa for the tournament. The intention was to uncover supporters' views of the officiating during the tournament and whether or not technology should be introduced to support referees.
While press and public support for introducing new technology appears to have been prolific, opinions were varied amongst some of the football fans present at South Africa's tournament this year.
Forty-six percent of those interviewed stated that the quality of officiating during the World Cup was "excellent" or "very good" whilst 19 percent stated it was "very poor", the remainder rating it somewhere in-between.
Richard Rice, sales and marketing director of Synovate said: "While the subject of technology in decision making is a complex one, the opinion of the man in the street can be a persuasive factor when it comes to such a popular sport. One can certainly sympathise with FIFA having to make a decision that has a potential impact on many careers and, ultimately, affects the very nature of the beautiful game."
Fifty-two percent of the fans interviewed agreed that FIFA should make use of technology to support on-field officiating, with only 11 percent disagreeing with the statement. "There is a relatively large group of unconvinced respondents, who probably did not take a strong position because of the gene
