Why instant replay? To make it exciting

I won't say much about the World Cup, except that in much the same way that the questionable goalie interference call robbed the Canadiens-Capitals first round NHL playoff series this year of exciting drama, the amazing missed goal of the England-Germany match really deflated that particular match.

Yes, Germany was probably better. But soccer is such a game of luck + skill that a match can turn on a single moment or event. Lampard's missed goal was just such an event. England was pushing Germany, and the commentators were noting that Germany needed to survive to halftime. A tie would have meant, cliche-wise, a whole new ball game.

Blatantly obvious














Instead, in the second half, England, playing from behind, pressed too much on offense and gave up two easy counter-attacking goals, where Germany exploited the English lack of speed on defense, a known deficiency.

As a lot of comment has said (example here), FIFA is being ridiculous not to allow some basic implementation of instant replay. The English travesty is the best reason why. The fans of the game, particularly the English fans, deserved the excitement of their underdog team rising to the occasion. Instead, they got a heartbreaking second half. They deserved better. So do we all.