ROME, 21 June — FIFA President Sepp Blatter has launched a strong condemnation of refereeing at the World Cup, saying Italy had been the main victims on the way to their shock quarterfinal elimination.
But he denied media allegations that FIFA had been part of a plot to oust Italy in favor of hosts South Korea, calling on the Italians to show dignity in defeat.
The head of soccer’s ruling body also told Italian sports daily La Gazzetta dello Sport that he would demand changes in the way referees were selected in future, with the emphasis on ability rather than nationality.
“The refereeing has been the only negative aspect of this World Cup,” Blatter said, replying to howls of protest in Italy over a string of controversial decisions which eventually saw them knocked out by South Korea on Tuesday.
“The (referees) have been quite good, but the (linesmen) have been a disaster, especially when it comes to offside...they haven’t even realized that it is better to award an offside goal than to disallow a good goal.”
Italy complained bitterly after they were knocked out, saying a string of mistakes by referees had combined to sink the three-times world champions.
The team had five goals controversially disallowed during their four matches and also had striker Francesco Totti sent off in the South Korea game for allegedly diving in the penalty area — a decision that Blatter condemned.
“Sadly, and I have suffered greatly because of it, there have been exceptional circumstances and coincidences that saw many errors consecutively made against the same team, Italy,” he said.
“Totti’s sending off against Korea was neither a penalty nor a dive. A referee with a feeling (for the game) would not have shown him the card, bearing in mind the same player had already been booked.”
The Ecuadorian referee, Byron Moreno, has defended the sending-off.
“I would do it again. I don’t even have to watch the replays...Totti dived,” he said in an interview with Il Messaggero newspaper published yesterday.
Blatter told La Gazzetta: “A World Cup that receives the best players and teams in the world should be overseen by the best referees regardless of their nationality...from now on we will call in the best, full stop, even if they come from just a handful of countries.”
But while accepting that Italy had been unlucky to be knocked out, he added: “Italy’s elimination is not only down to referees and linesmen who made human not premeditated errors...Italy made mistakes both in defense and in attack.
“I call on Italian soccer to display some dignity and fair play because you can tell a great side more by the way it accepts defeat than by the way it handles victory.”
Italy were not the only side unhappy with the refereeing, he said, saying Turkey, Slovenia, Spain, Belgium and Mexico had all complained.
Yesterday, however, Edgardo Codesal Mendez, a member of FIFA’s referees’ committee, defended the referees.
‘Controversial’ referees
cut from final rosta
The four referees involved in the most controversial incidents of the 2002 World Cup have been cut from the rosta.
FIFA’s referee’s committee decided yesterday not to retain Ecuador’s Byron Moreno, condemned by Italy after their shock defeat to South Korea, Angel Sanchez, punched in the Portugal-Korean group match, Vitor Melo Pereira who missed a hand ball in the USA-Mexico showdown and Kim Young-joo, criticized after Brazil beat Turkey.
Altogether 16 of the original 32 named for the tournament have been released.
Moreno has come under an onslaught of criticism after Italy were sent packing by a Korean ‘golden goal’.
Moreno has been branded ‘public enemy number one’ in Italy after he sent off captain Francesco Totti.
Italian coach Giovanni Trapattoni had no doubt law student Moreno was to blame for his side’s shock loss.
“Everyone saw the match,” he said. “We were penalized. I don’t understand why we had to become a victim of bad decision making.” So severe has been the attacks leveled against Moreno, that newspapers in Quito have leapt to his defense.
“Byron Moreno did his job,” said the editorial in the morning daily El Universo. “Firm and calm-headed (...), Moreno showed perfect knowledge of the game’s 17 rules and prevented any outbreak of violence on the pitch.”
Another newspaper, El Comercio, said: “Moreno ran all over the place and had a good view of the whole match. The quality of Moreno’s refereeing fully came to light when he sent off Francesco Totti.
Sanchez has paid the price for talking out of line.
After being punched in the stomach by Joao Pinto when he sent him off Sanchez, instead of simply putting it all in his report, went public.
“Joao Pinto punched me in the stomach, on the left side just under the ribs,” Sanchez told a Portuguese radio station.
Sanchez added that Joao Pinto, along with Figo and former Portugese great Eusebio, came into his changing room after the match to apologize but not “to repent”.
FIFA was not amused.
“We were quite taken by surprise that the referee spoke to the press before the disciplinary committee heard the case,” said FIFA spokesman Keith Cooper. It spelt the death knell for Sanchez.
