FIFA president Sepp Blatter has apologised to England and to Mexico after two refereeing blunders.
On Sunday, England found themselves 2-0 down against Germany after 30 minutes in their Last 16 match of the World Cup.
But England scored two goals in just one minute just before half time that would have brought them level at 2-2. But the second goal - a sublime Frank Lampard shot which hit the underside of the crossbar before bouncing into the net - was amazingly disallowed by the Uruguayan referee and linesman who said that the whole of the ball did not cross the line. This is despite the fact that the ball was at least a yard over the line - a fact obvious to almost everyone else in the stadium. A shellshocked England went on to lose the match 4-2.
After that match, Argentina and Mexico met in the other Last 16 tie. A Carlos Tevez goal for Argentina was allowed to stand despite the Manchester City striker being way offside. Argentina won the game 3-1.
Both England and Mexico went out of the tournament.
Blatter, who is Swiss, put aside the anti-Englishness that he and his organisation are famous for by saying: "The only thing I can do is yesterday I have spoken to the two federations [England and Mexico] directly concerned by referees mistakes. I have expressed to them apologies and I understand they are not happy and that people are criticising. We will naturally take on board the discussion on technology and have first opportunity in July.”
Just three months ago, FIFA ruled out introducing technology to the game that would enable referees and linesmen to see whether a goal has been scored, or whether a player was offside, if it is not clear. Amongst the Home Nations, the English and Scottish FA's voted in favour of introducing technology but the Welsh and Northern Irish FA's voted against.
The technology which was ruled out include HawkEye, which is used in cricket and tennis, which uses several cameras located in strategic positions which show the precise location of where a ball travelled and where it landed, and putting a microchip in the ball and sensors behind the goal which sends an electronic message to the referee whenever a legal goal is scored.
But now Blatter - who has been against introducing technology as he wants to keep the game simple and like it is played in a local park - may make a U-turn and look again at the possibility of introducing technology.
England and Mexico may still be fuming, but the injustices against them could finally bring much-needed technology to the world's richest team sport.
World Cup 2010: Sepp Blatter shamed into policy U-turn over Frank Lampard 'goal'
By Paul Kelso, Chief Sports Reporter
29 Jun 2010
Sorry figure: Fifa president Sepp Blatter has been in touch with the FA Photo: PA
Frank Lampard may not have officially scored against Germany, but the Chelsea player appears to have achieved the rare feat of shaming Sepp Blatter into a change of policy.
Two days after Blatter was among the 40,000 people at the Free State Stadium who saw Lampard’s perfectly good goal ignored the Fifa president announced that he would look again at the issue of goal-line technology.
Blatter’s move represents a surprise U-turn given his long-standing and oft-repeated resistance to using technology to help referees adjudicate on the most important decision they make.
As recently as March, Blatter ended two years of research and discussion on the issue, persuading the International Football Association Board to back a motion that ruled out any use of technology for the foreseeable future. Just the day before England and Germany met, Fifa general secretary Jerome Valcke reiterated the position, saying technology was “definitely not on the table”.
England were robbed: Frank Lampard's goal against Germany on Sunday was at least a yard over the line - but the referee and his assistants thought otherwise
And then so were Mexico: Later that same day, this Argentina goal against Mexico was allowed to stand despite Argentine striker Carlos Tevez (furtherst left in the picture) clearly being in an offside position
Three days and two high-profile embarrassments later, it very much is. At a hastily arranged media briefing yesterday, Blatter said that in response to Lampard’s ghost goal, and Argentina’s first goal against Mexico on Sunday evening that was clearly offside, the IFAB would re-open discussions over technology at a meeting next month.
He also revealed that he had apologised to both aggrieved national federations. The Football Association, he said, had accepted his apology.
“It is obvious that after the experience so far in this World Cup it would be a nonsense to not reopen the file of technology at the business meeting of the International FA Board in July,” Blatter said.
“Personally I deplore it when you see evident referee mistakes but it’s not the end of a competition or the end of football, this can happen.
"The only thing I can do is yesterday I have spoken to the two federations [England and Mexico] directly concerned by referees mistakes. I have expressed to them apologies and I understand they are not happy and that people are criticising. We will naturally take on board the discussion on technology and have first opportunity in July.”
Blatter added: "It happened in 1966 and then 44 years later, though not quite the same."
England accepted the apology and replied: "You win some, you lose some."
Sepp Blatter, the boss of football's world governing body, FIFA, is one of the most controversial, and odious, men in sport. Never afraid to voice the unprovoked anti-Englishness that he and his organisation are famous for, he said in July 2008 that Manchester United are treating their striker Cristiano Ronaldo "like a slave" when they initially refused to let him move to Real Madrid, despite the fact that, at the time, he was paid almost £200,000 a WEEK by the English team - some slave - and that the Portuguese had just signed a new four-year contract to stay ar United.
Fifa has explored a series of solutions to line calls. These include using video, though this can be inconclusive; a chip placed in the ball which has been developed by Cairos, an Adidas subsidiary; and a Hawk-Eye system similar to that used at Wimbledon.
These projects may now be revived. The English and Scottish FAs both reiterated their support for finding a solution to the goal-line issue yesterday, having been out-voted by IFAB members including the Welsh and Northern Irish FA’s at the March meeting.
In what appeared an attempt to tackle the worldwide criticism of the glaring errors that marred Sunday’s games Blatter’s briefing coincided with an 'open-day’ for referees staged in Pretoria.
Fifa had originally promised that the officials involved in Sunday’s errors, Jorge Larrionda and Mauricio Espinosa, of Uruguay, and Italian referee Roberto Rosetti, would be present to meet the media.
However, all three avoided the event, with Larrionda pulling out after receiving calls at his hotel, including some from journalists. Both Uruguayan officials have been cut from the list for the World Cup quarter-finals and have been sent home.
The officials that did attend were banned by Fifa from expressing an opinion on the technology issue.
telegraph.co.uk
On Sunday, England found themselves 2-0 down against Germany after 30 minutes in their Last 16 match of the World Cup.
But England scored two goals in just one minute just before half time that would have brought them level at 2-2. But the second goal - a sublime Frank Lampard shot which hit the underside of the crossbar before bouncing into the net - was amazingly disallowed by the Uruguayan referee and linesman who said that the whole of the ball did not cross the line. This is despite the fact that the ball was at least a yard over the line - a fact obvious to almost everyone else in the stadium. A shellshocked England went on to lose the match 4-2.
After that match, Argentina and Mexico met in the other Last 16 tie. A Carlos Tevez goal for Argentina was allowed to stand despite the Manchester City striker being way offside. Argentina won the game 3-1.
Both England and Mexico went out of the tournament.
Blatter, who is Swiss, put aside the anti-Englishness that he and his organisation are famous for by saying: "The only thing I can do is yesterday I have spoken to the two federations [England and Mexico] directly concerned by referees mistakes. I have expressed to them apologies and I understand they are not happy and that people are criticising. We will naturally take on board the discussion on technology and have first opportunity in July.”
Just three months ago, FIFA ruled out introducing technology to the game that would enable referees and linesmen to see whether a goal has been scored, or whether a player was offside, if it is not clear. Amongst the Home Nations, the English and Scottish FA's voted in favour of introducing technology but the Welsh and Northern Irish FA's voted against.
The technology which was ruled out include HawkEye, which is used in cricket and tennis, which uses several cameras located in strategic positions which show the precise location of where a ball travelled and where it landed, and putting a microchip in the ball and sensors behind the goal which sends an electronic message to the referee whenever a legal goal is scored.
But now Blatter - who has been against introducing technology as he wants to keep the game simple and like it is played in a local park - may make a U-turn and look again at the possibility of introducing technology.
England and Mexico may still be fuming, but the injustices against them could finally bring much-needed technology to the world's richest team sport.
World Cup 2010: Sepp Blatter shamed into policy U-turn over Frank Lampard 'goal'
By Paul Kelso, Chief Sports Reporter
29 Jun 2010
Sorry figure: Fifa president Sepp Blatter has been in touch with the FA Photo: PA
Frank Lampard may not have officially scored against Germany, but the Chelsea player appears to have achieved the rare feat of shaming Sepp Blatter into a change of policy.
Two days after Blatter was among the 40,000 people at the Free State Stadium who saw Lampard’s perfectly good goal ignored the Fifa president announced that he would look again at the issue of goal-line technology.
Blatter’s move represents a surprise U-turn given his long-standing and oft-repeated resistance to using technology to help referees adjudicate on the most important decision they make.
As recently as March, Blatter ended two years of research and discussion on the issue, persuading the International Football Association Board to back a motion that ruled out any use of technology for the foreseeable future. Just the day before England and Germany met, Fifa general secretary Jerome Valcke reiterated the position, saying technology was “definitely not on the table”.
England were robbed: Frank Lampard's goal against Germany on Sunday was at least a yard over the line - but the referee and his assistants thought otherwise
And then so were Mexico: Later that same day, this Argentina goal against Mexico was allowed to stand despite Argentine striker Carlos Tevez (furtherst left in the picture) clearly being in an offside position
Three days and two high-profile embarrassments later, it very much is. At a hastily arranged media briefing yesterday, Blatter said that in response to Lampard’s ghost goal, and Argentina’s first goal against Mexico on Sunday evening that was clearly offside, the IFAB would re-open discussions over technology at a meeting next month.
He also revealed that he had apologised to both aggrieved national federations. The Football Association, he said, had accepted his apology.
“It is obvious that after the experience so far in this World Cup it would be a nonsense to not reopen the file of technology at the business meeting of the International FA Board in July,” Blatter said.
“Personally I deplore it when you see evident referee mistakes but it’s not the end of a competition or the end of football, this can happen.
"The only thing I can do is yesterday I have spoken to the two federations [England and Mexico] directly concerned by referees mistakes. I have expressed to them apologies and I understand they are not happy and that people are criticising. We will naturally take on board the discussion on technology and have first opportunity in July.”
Blatter added: "It happened in 1966 and then 44 years later, though not quite the same."
England accepted the apology and replied: "You win some, you lose some."
Sepp Blatter, the boss of football's world governing body, FIFA, is one of the most controversial, and odious, men in sport. Never afraid to voice the unprovoked anti-Englishness that he and his organisation are famous for, he said in July 2008 that Manchester United are treating their striker Cristiano Ronaldo "like a slave" when they initially refused to let him move to Real Madrid, despite the fact that, at the time, he was paid almost £200,000 a WEEK by the English team - some slave - and that the Portuguese had just signed a new four-year contract to stay ar United.
Fifa has explored a series of solutions to line calls. These include using video, though this can be inconclusive; a chip placed in the ball which has been developed by Cairos, an Adidas subsidiary; and a Hawk-Eye system similar to that used at Wimbledon.
These projects may now be revived. The English and Scottish FAs both reiterated their support for finding a solution to the goal-line issue yesterday, having been out-voted by IFAB members including the Welsh and Northern Irish FA’s at the March meeting.
In what appeared an attempt to tackle the worldwide criticism of the glaring errors that marred Sunday’s games Blatter’s briefing coincided with an 'open-day’ for referees staged in Pretoria.
Fifa had originally promised that the officials involved in Sunday’s errors, Jorge Larrionda and Mauricio Espinosa, of Uruguay, and Italian referee Roberto Rosetti, would be present to meet the media.
However, all three avoided the event, with Larrionda pulling out after receiving calls at his hotel, including some from journalists. Both Uruguayan officials have been cut from the list for the World Cup quarter-finals and have been sent home.
The officials that did attend were banned by Fifa from expressing an opinion on the technology issue.
telegraph.co.uk
Last edited:
