Sunday, Jun. 25, 2006

When Refs Are Officially Wrong

By BRUCE CRUMLEY

Questioning the referee is nothing new: it's an intrinsic part of most organized sports, high or low. But while World-Cup pressure seems to bring out some of the best field play, so far, this year at least, the officials have seemed noticeably incompetent. "They've been pretty bad," says an official with one of the squads favored to win it all — and who prefers not to make his team a target by identifying himself. "We haven't suffered the really terrible decisions that others have. But we're probably the exception, not the rule."

To err is human, and by that score, the Cup's officiating crew have been made of all too solid flesh. The scary thing is, the referees actually appear to be getting worse. Back in 2002, repeated errors during the Cup's knockout round prodded FIFA officials to officially deny rumors that the miscalls were part of a plot to assist co-host South Korea advance towards the final. This time, conspiracy theorists began their gripes during the opening round. In the worst cases, bad decisions have altered scores, got players unjustly expelled or suspended, and showed the kind of consistency only a schizophrenic could love.

Examples include Russian official Valentin Ivanov, who slapped France star Zinédine Zidane with a yellow card — his first in this Cup — for having taken a free kick before the whistle had sounded, normally considered a slight offense. In that same match, meanwhile, Ivanov refused to award France a penalty kick after Swiss defender Patrick Müller's hand irrefutably blocked striker Thierry Henry's shot from scoring. In their next game, Switzerland were similarly spared by Paraguayan referee Carlos Amarilla, who saw no ill in Müller's obvious foul as Togolese striker Emmanuel Adebayor charged toward the goal.

By contrast Slovakian ref Lubos Michel correctly granted Portugal a penalty last week after Mexican defender Rafael Márquez intentionally handled a ball that a rival player was poised to head home. Problem was, in all the excitement Michel forgot to slap Márquez the attendant yellow card — which spared the Mexican being sent off when he got booked in the second half. But the most glaring blunder of the Cup thus far came from veteran English ref Graham Poll, who flashed three yellow cards to defender Josip Simunic of Croatia during their final match against Australia. Simunic was booked twice in the second half alone, but was amazingly allowed to play on — until he assailed Poll at the final whistle, and got the Englishman brandishing a third yellow card, followed by the belated red.

Are these normal human errors? "Some of these guys aren't that bad, but have never officiated at this level, under this kind of pressure," the team official says — giving some Middle Eastern, South American and African refs as examples. "The ironic upside is, when refs have been bad, they're often bad both ways — both teams suffer."

Part of the problem may be structural. In FIFA's effort to ensure each geographical region is fairly represented at the Cup, it encourages a balanced mix of referees — similar to its approach to teams — from each zone. But that means officials who qualify aren't ultimately chosen as the best in the world, but the best possible from the various regions — where refereeing levels or philosophies may be better, worse or just a bit different than in others.

Indeed, geography seems unrelated to referee error in Cup play, as officials from virtually all regions have turned in performances ranging from commanding to borderline incompetent. Some say the deeper problem lies with officials simply having a harder time making the right calls in a sport that is getting faster by the day. Even professional refs admit the game moves so quickly — and now involves so many players using illicit efforts to gain advantage (principally by faking fouls) — that there is simply no way one man can get a good look at everything. Especially if he's rushing up and down a large pitch with players in front and behind him. Harried and at times bamboozled officials clearly need help — but how?

Gilles Veissière, a French pro and international ref who retired last year, says officials will gladly accept assistance — but only certain kinds. Veissière wouldn't object to seeing two central refs used — one for each end. "The majority of disputed calls take place in or near the penalty area, so assign a referee to cover each side of the pitch," Veissière says. "Give football the same number of officials to cover fields of play that tennis and rugby do." Not a bad call. But not one that will right the wrongs suffered already by players and fans in the Cup — or prevent still more from sparking outrage before July 9.