Is there a problem with the officiating at the FIFA World Cup? After the Americans were inexplicably denied the winning goal against Slovenia by a Malian referee and Germany lost against Serbia due to the peculiarities of a Spanish official, Thomas Hummel of Germany’s Sueddeutsche Zeitung sheds some light on whether there’s more to the controversy than just the usual frustration.
From Sueddeutsche Zeitung , Thomas Hummel writes in part:
Even before U.S. players emerged from their changing room, their journalists were looking for answers. In the press tent at Ellis Park in Johannesburg, some approached our colleagues from traditional football countries in Europe, because surely they would know: “Excuse me, can you tell me what exactly it was the referee called?” Unfortunately, neither English nor Germans nor in fact anyone from the traditional football states had an answer to that question. The call by Koman Coulibaly from Mali was unfathomable.
Did he see an offside where there was none? Or foul play in the penalty box during the ubiquitous scramble – which didn’t happen either? There will be no answer. The FIFA World Federation has banned its referees from commenting on decisions on the pitch. “As far as games are concerned, we’re generally not allowed to comment,” German representative Wolfgang Stark said before the tournament. He had just received an e-mail from FIFA stating that all interviews had to be completed prior to his arrival in South Africa.
For the World Cup, FIFA generally nominates only one referee per country. As a result, many hardened referees from the Champions League have to stay at home. On the other hand, this is an elegant way of keeping as many member countries as possible in good spirits in the hope they’ll tick the right box in the next round of voting. This approach allows countries to participate in the World Cup, something their football players will probably never achieve. Mr. Coulibaly is from Mali; the last group games will be called by referees from the Seychelles or Guatemala.
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