Despite the more intriguing nature of second and third-round group stage games, it seems as though bad refereeing decisions have unfortunately marred several World Cup games. The decision of Koman Coulibaly to puzzlingly disallow a seemingly legitimate winning goal for the USA against Slovenia, and the even more baffling decisions of Frenchman Stephane Lannoy to send off Brazil’s Kaka and to allow Luis Fabiano’s second goal to stand despite two instances of handball during a clash against Cote d’Ivoire have inevitably placed the standard of World Cup refereeing under scrutiny. USA coach Bob Bradley, understandably infuriated by the decision of Coulibaly, was perplexed by FIFA’s lack of clarity with regards to refereeing issues.
Speaking at his side’s base camp, Bradley stated, “We’re all accustomed to the fact that if it’s an NFL playoff game and there’s a call that’s in question, there will be a statement by the league from the referees, but FIFA operates differently.”
The ire aimed at the aforementioned referees has been exacerbated by the refusal of officials to explain their decisions. Is a more stringent approach from FIFA required to curb bad decisions in matches?
The merits and demerits of video technology have been discussed and dissected several times (click here to see an earlier article I wrote on this issue), so I won’t spend time delving in to this area. However, the short nature of international tournaments means that the margins between success and failure are unbelievably fine; had Landon Donovan failed to net his last-gasp winner against Algeria yesterday, Coulibaly’s decision to rule out Maurice Edu’s ‘goal’ from six days ago would have borne much more prominent significance. Although Coulibaly is ‘highly unlikely’ to participate in further World Cup matches, punishing referees after abject displays is often scant consolation to teams disadvantaged by incorrect decisions.
With regards to the issuing of erroneous yellow and red cards, there is very little retroactive action FIFA can take to diminish the significance of such a decision – if a team, incorrectly reduced to ten men, subsequently loses a match, FIFA cannot do anything to rectify refereeing wrongdoing. However, FIFA’s rules denote that neither the organisation nor the referee in question is required to explain a disputed decision. In doing so, FIFA fail to implement any sense of accountability, placing less pressure on referees to make the right decision.
Implementing such accountability would allow for referees to explain decisions and formally apologise, thus showing an intention to try and redress the victims of poor officiating, as well as helping to maintain consistency within the refereeing fraternity. I for one believe it is time that FIFA introduce a more stringent approach within the game.
Click here to read an earlier article on the use of video technology within football
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