Defender Damien Delaney says football should follow America’s NFL and have more than one referee. The Irish international feels that a single ref is unable to keep up with the pace of the modern game.

Delaney told the club site: "For one referee to cover the whole pitch now is almost impossible.

"The speed of the game now is frightening. You watch how quick a team like Arsenal or Man United break from one end of the pitch to the other. No referee is going to get anywhere near staying up with play at the speed they move the ball. Defenders can't keep up with them, let alone the officials.

"My solution would be to have two referees. You could have one referee in each half, or one who is up and down and the other stays within the vicinity of the halfway line. If the first ref doesn't see an incident but the one on the halfway line does, then he gives it.”

Delaney feels UEFA’s current experiment with officials behind each goal is a start but thinks the football authorities could learn from the example set by America’s oval ball game: "They've introduced the refs behind the goal in the Europa League competition. I'm not totally convinced by that but it is a step in the right direction in my book.

"I watch a lot of NFL and I think we can learn from them. They've got about six referees with line judges, back judges. You've got every inch of the pitch covered and you very rarely get a controversial decision."

Photo: Action Images

bluepirate added 19:36 - Mar 8 No No No Damian. They still get things wrong, and it takes them longer to do it. They use the two refs system in High School Football (real football not American) and it doesnt work to well in all honesty.
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tom_the_blue added 20:45 - Mar 8 another simple answer: get fitter referees! I actually agree with this, though, as I would agree with most things that would steer us away from using technology to make decisions. Controvery that helps make the game so great, and technology would remove this.
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Blueknight85 added 21:18 - Mar 8 Thats what the frickin linesmen are there for
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ShefTractor added 21:32 - Mar 8 It would work if they worked as extra linesmen, rather than referees. I think sport in many ways could learn from the NFL, everything is run very efficiently. I understand that football is a constantly flowing game, making it more difficult to apply but there are definately improvements to be made.
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JayITFC added 21:40 - Mar 8 No progress will be made whilst Blatter remains in power.
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sereneblue added 22:04 - Mar 8 Totally agee with you Jay.The blokes an idiot who hates England and progress.
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Big_Foot_Blue added 22:26 - Mar 8 BLATTER OUT!!!! Makes a nice change from Keane out doesnt it and also Blatter is actually an idiot so it works both ways! :P
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campowasgod added 08:47 - Mar 9 Forget NFL , Hockey works perfectly with two umpires ,one in each half and it is a much faster game with a lot more technical fouls for umpires to pick up. They even run the line ! (albeit no offside)
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brazil1982 added 10:13 - Mar 9 Comparing NFL with football really is naiive. What next, compare Baseball to Cricket? Recent research shows 75% of captains questionned from the Europa League thought the additional goal line referees had made to difference. In fact, on two occasions, these new refs have failed (a potential Fulham penalty for one). So what if there are controversial decisions? How far do we go?

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bennyblue added 11:40 - Mar 9 i think we could take this further and maybe have 2 or 3 managers imagine where we would be now if roy was'nt in charge for 2 thirds of our games we had played this season
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