Referees ready for technology if approved
Reuters - Tuesday 29 June 2010, 11:55
PRETORIA - International referees are
ready to include goalline technology in their arsenal if it
would make them more credible and is approved by FIFA, they said
on Tuesday.
Only hours after world football's governing body president
Sepp Blatter apologised for refereeing mistakes that have
blighted the World Cup, the referees said they could
only use what FIFA had ordered.
"I am open-minded for anything that would make us more
credible," referee Howard Webb told reporters after a World Cup
referees' training session in Pretoria. "Whatever tools I have I
will use to the best of my abilities.
"I was a policeman and I enforced the law of the land but I
did not make the law. We will be watching this space with
interest," Webb said.
England and Mexico were the victims of blatant mistakes in
their second round matches on Sunday, prompting a fierce call
for the use of technology, which FIFA has long resisted.
The first incident came in Sunday's 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.
Uruguayan referee Jorge Larrionda waved play on and Germany
went on to win the 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, with Italian referee Roberto Rosetti
letting the goal stand.
REFEREES ABSENT
Neither of the two referees involved in those games appeared
at the training session with throngs of reporters waiting.
"They have a recovery session and they decided not to be
here for personal reasons," said FIFA's head of refereeing Jose
Maria Garcia-Aranda.
He did not disclose what FIFA discussed with the two
referees after their matches.
"This is an internal matter. But we have been talking about
these technical matters," Garcia-Aranda said, adding he fully
supported the referees' work at the World Cup.
"My opinion is that referees are taking decisions according
to what they have seen on the field of play.
"We have to talk about the 54 matches and the decisions the
referees have been taking. Nobody is talking about the excellent
goals that have been allowed because of excellent decisions."
Follow FFT.com on Twitter
Join FFT.com on Facebook