Unfortunately, human error is part of every game that involves referees/umpires/judges. It is simply unavoidable. However, there are ways to deal with it. Athletes today are lucky. Back in the day, instant replay was not available. A call was made the instant a play happened and that was what stayed. Heck, in some plays, we still don't know whether or not the right call was made. I'm looking at you, Franco Harris. You're probably the only guy in the world that knows for sure if that catch was legal.
Players today don't seem to reflect on the past, though. Yesterday in the Rangers/Senators game, a horrendous call was made late in the game. With the Senators down 3-1 and the goalie pulled, the puck made its' way to the front of the goal and eventually over the line to narrow the lead to 3-2. However, Chris Neal made 2 infractions in front of the net which should have been seen and cancelled the goal. First, he pushed Lundqvist out of the way with his stick, which is goaltender interference. Second, he kicked the puck into the goal.
Here's a video of the whole situation:
Henrik Lundqvist was extremely upset and with good reason. Here's the problem, the refs were not in position to see everything that happened. Oh, but wait. We have instant replay! Certainly that will fix the problem. It didn't and I can see why. First, goaltender interference is a referee call on the ice. It is not reviewable. Second, the kick went over the puck. I truly believe the puck was kicked. (The puck picks up speed as Neal's skate goes over it.) However, because the skate did go over, technically there is not enough evidence to say he kicked it. It's ridiculous, yes... But there has to be indisputable evidence to change a call on the ice. You could argue that rules of physics prove Neal kicked it, but it is what it is. Maybe his skate caused a breeze that made the puck increase in momentum. Technically that's legal.
I'll admit I'm torn on this specific play. While I truly believe the goal should have been disallowed, I have another small interest. I am 2 degrees of separation to Chris Kreider. I'm friends with his cousins. (Not incredibly close friends... But then again, we played in the same Fantasy Football league last year. How much closer can guys get?) Not only did Chris score his first NHL goal yesterday for the Rangers, but he also was given the game winning goal due to the Neal kickerference goal. (On a side note, congratulations Chris.)
So what's my solution to the problem? No more referees. At least not on the ice. Well, let me revise that. There should be a couple referees on the ice, but not for making calls. They should be there simply for breaking up fights and whatnot. Referees should be monitoring video feeds that a computer analyzes to determine any rule infractions and goals. It could be done. If that seems like too much computer analysis for people to handle, then put 12 people in a booth. They each have their own video feed(s) that follow a specific player on the ice. Now you have people watching literally everything that happens at all times. You still might miss a few things due to bad camera angles or something... But most calls would be seen and made.
That won't happen, though. For some reason, while everyone complains about refs in every sport, no one wants drastic changes to fix the problem.
Look at baseball. Balls and strikes are the most argued call in sports. Solution? 2 cameras. 1 at batter level watching the height of a pitch. 1 above the plate making sure the ball goes over the plate. Simple. And with the slow pace of baseball, this would be easy to implement. While you could make video analysis software to make balls and strikes, that's not even necessary. You can just have an ump watching the video.
But what do I know? I'm just a crazy nerd that likes technology. Technology and making the right call in sports. Meh.
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