AFTER Steve Bennett, the referee in the bad-tempered Manchester derby at the weekend, omitted his half-time altercation from the match report, Sir Alex Ferguson, the United manager, may be grateful that the authorities do not use the most advanced sound analysis at games.
The Football Association cannot take any action against Ferguson, and Wayne Rooney, his volatile striker, despite the presence of about 40 witnesses to an alleged stream of invective aimed at the referee. If his words had been caught on tape, however, there would be no disputing them.
The incident highlights the FA’s problem in dealing with abuse directed at referees. Rooney was booked during his team’s 3-1 defeat for swearing at Bennett, but more than 40 per cent of all FA disciplinary cases this season dealt with a breach of Rule E3 — abusive and/or insulting words towards match officials — and much goes undetected.
Scientists from Siemens, the electronics group, have approached the FA about new technology that would leave no hiding place for foul-mouthed players. The Universal microphone, a by-product of military research, pinpoints sound sources and isolates them from background noises. The reactive microphones could swivel towards the dugout, tunnel or other off-the-ball incidents while fading out unsavoury crowd chants.
At present, gun microphones detect sounds only directly in their path. “It is pot luck what is picked up,” Dr Dean Thomas, the inventor, said. “Broadcasters are very interested in the technology.”
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The microphone — which needs a manufacturer — could improve behaviour by being used as evidence in disciplinary hearings. It could also mean that some matches, like MUTV’s Roy Keane interview, are “unbroadcastable”.