Can technology make sports more equal, or does it only widen the gap between competitors?

VAR (Video Assistant Referee) is used in football to see if players are using the rules of the game fairly and to help referees make correct and fair decisions. An Argentinian legend named Maradona was caught by many fans handballing the ball into the goal but as there was no VAR at the time to check, it was counted as a goal when it should not have been.

These are only some of the biggest examples of tech that are used to monitor things like this.

The Halo is another prime example that describes tech used well in sports. The Halo is a titanium, safe guarding tech used to protect the driver’s head whilst driving. During a dangerous accident, Lewis Hamilton was lucky enough to have the Halo as a piece of debris flew directly at his head but the Halo was there to keep him away from any injuries. A fascinating fact that I have heard is that the Halo is able to hold the weight of a London double decker bus.

In tennis, a system called Hawk-eye is another piece of tech that tracks the ball if the ball goes out of the area on court. I believe that having Hawk-eye is a way to follow the rules and be fair in a way that won’t cause conflict between players. It also helps people and umpires see whether the ball went in or out of the court.

At home, I use a Fitbit that controls and tells me information in regards to my training. It can tell you my heart rate, blood and other types of valuable information. Sometimes, I use it for football training to monitor my vitamin levels and keep me on track to becoming a better player.

In my opinion, I believe that special pieces of tech are highly important because it makes the game fairer, which means that people enjoy the sport more. On the other hand, some people say that although tech makes the sport fairer, it ruins the fun. This is a quote from a football fan :‘As a fan of football ,hate it ,hate it, it takes the emotion and excitement from the match!’ (June 2025).