Referees take first steps to Germany

'Constant supervision'
In view of the performances of the 46 candidate referees - including 18 European hopefuls - chairman Angel María Villar Llona commended the workshop's success. "We have taken the first step along the road to a World Cup in which the match officials will be expected to deliver performances of a consistently high quality," said the Spanish FIFA and UEFA vice-president. "The candidate referees will now be under constant supervision and will be observed during domestic and international matches until the next workshop in February 2006, when the final list of match officials for the tournament will be drawn up."

Four tournaments
FIFA said that in order to gauge the performances of the 46 referees, the world body's Referees' Committee will also assign the officials to take charge of matches in one of the four FIFA tournaments in 2005: the FIFA World Youth Championship in the Netherlands, the FIFA Confederations Cup in Germany, the FIFA Under-17 World Championship in Peru and the FIFA Club World Championship in Japan. The referees will also form trios with assistants from either their home country or from the same continent in order to improve communication and understanding within the teams of match officials.

European hopefuls
The candidate referees from this continent are: Massimo Busacca (Switzerland), Frank de Bleeckere (Belgium), Massimo De Santis (Italy), Herbert Fandel (Germany), Anders Frisk (Sweden), Alain Hamer (Luxembourg), Terje Hauge (Norway), Valentin Ivanov (Russia), Claus Bo Larsen (Denmark), Luis Medina Catalejo (Spain), Manuel Enrique Mejuto González (Spain), Markus Merk (Germany), Lubos Michel (Slovakia), Graham Poll (England), Eric Poulat (France), Roberto Rosetti (Italy), Alain Sars (France) and Kyros Vassaras (Greece).

Highest levels
Europe's list contains a number of household names, and all the candidates have taken charge of games at the highest levels, either at previous World Cups or in UEFA's premier club and international competitions. FIFA President Joseph S Blatter reiterated the referees' important role in the game. "If we want to keep football at such a high level, we have to make sure the referees deliver top-class performances," he said. "Therefore, the match officials must be ready for action and show authority, courage and assertiveness."

Negative developments
With regard to recent negative developments, in particular the refereeing affair in Germany, the FIFA President was quick to reaffirm his faith in match officials. "There are more than 700,000 referees worldwide and 99.99 per cent officiate out of a love for the game. It would be wrong to tar them all with the same brush," he said.

Female officials
The FIFA Referees' Committee also launched a long-term development programme, similar to the one in place in the men's game, to ensure that only the very best female referees officiate at the next FIFA Women's World Cup in China in 2007. As there are no FIFA women's events in 2005, 24 referees and 14 assistant referees have been appointed to arbitrate at matches in the Algarve Cup in Portugal (8-15 March). FIFA said that in the next few years, leading female match officials will be tested and trained in various aspects of the game, including fitness, tactics and regulations.