Germany's goalkeeper Manuel Neuer fails to save a shot by England's Frank Lampard. Lampard's shot, which resulted in a goal, was later ruled to have not crossed the line. - Reuters Photo
JOHANNESBURG: FIFA president Sepp Blatter apologised on Tuesday for the refereeing mistakes that have blighted the World Cup and said football’s governing body would look again at introducing goalline technology.
However, Blatter ruled out using video replays to help officials with other decisions, such as offsides.
“It is obvious that after the experiences so far at this World Cup it would be a nonsense not to re-open the file on goalline technology,” Blatter said at a briefing with selected media on Tuesday.
“We cannot change anything with 10 games to improve refereeing at major tournaments.”
Blatter, who also said FIFA would not tolerate any interference from the French government into the running of France’s FA following their poor World Cup, added a major initiative to improve refereeing would be held later this year.
“We will look again at technology, goalline technology, at the business meeting of the (law-making) International Football Association Board in Cardiff, Wales in July,” he said.
TWIN VICTIMS
England and Mexico were the victims of blatant mistakes in their second round matches on Sunday and Blatter said he had spoken to representatives of the two teams to express his regret.
The first incident came in the England-Germany match at Bloemfontein when a shot from England midfielder Frank Lampard struck Germany’s crossbar and bounced down well over the line when England, chasing a comeback, were 2-1 down.
The goal was not given and Germany went on to win the second round match 4-1.
In the later game, Mexico had been enjoying the better of the match against Argentina when Carlos Tevez opened the scoring from a clearly offside position, setting Diego Maradona’s side on their way to a 3-1 win.
“I have apologised to the two delegations and I understand they are not happy,” Blatter said on Tuesday. “The English delegation said ‘thank you’, the Mexicans nodded their heads.”
He added: “I deplore it when you see the evident referees’ mistakes. They were not five-star games for referees.”
Blatter has been opposed to the use of goalline technology or video replays for years and in March the International Board repeated its long-standing opposition to the idea.
FIFA have examined various technology systems using either cameras or a chip in the ball for years.
After an experiment at the Under-17 World Cup in Peru in 2007 and other selected games, the idea of technology was put on hold indefinitely as FIFA decided none was 100 per cent accurate.
In a recent statement on FIFA’s website (www.fifa.com), Blatter said: “The game must be played in the same way no matter where you are in the world. The simplicity and universality of the game is one of the reasons for its success.
“No matter which technology is applied, at the end of the day a decision will have to be taken by a human being. This being the case, why remove the responsibility from the referee to give it to someone else?”
Clearly the outcry over the two incidents this week has caused Blatter to re-think, and he revealed new plans to improve officiating at matches, without going into detail.
“We will start with a new concept on how to improve match control. I cannot disclose it now because the dossier is still on the presidential table,” he said.
“We are going forward and will announce something in October or November, because something needs to change.”
However, he stated he still opposed using video replays which might have been used to spot the error in Mexico’s game.
The twin mistakes highlighted the fact that football has become isolated, with other major international sports using video replays or infrared systems to decide on close calls or to track the ball.
FRENCH WARNING
Blatter also warned that FIFA would not tolerate the French government or president getting involved in the affairs of the French Football Federation (FFF) after their team’s failure in the World Cup.
He threatened to suspend France’s football federation, whose head Jean-Pierre Escalettes announced his resignation on Monday, if there was an attempt to exert political influence.
“In France they have made an ‘affaire d’Etat’ with football, but football remains in the hands of the federation,” Blatter said.
“French football can rely on FIFA in case of political interference even if it is at presidential level, it is a clear message. We will help the national association and if cannot be solved by consultation then the only thing we have is to suspend the federation.”
If France was suspended, the country would be banned from international tournaments and French clubs could not take part in European competitions. – Reuters
