Question Number: 13098

Character, Attitude and Control 6/19/2006

RE: Rec Adult

E J Smith of Camp Pendleton, CA USA asks...

Is the quality of officiating sub-par this year at the World Cup due to a shortage of referees that are FIFA qualified; or is this just the norm now for FIFA referees?

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

I have no idea which games you are watching but in general the officiating has been very good . There are always situations or incidents that TV armchair referees thanks to slow motion and video replay where we can find errors or think we might do different. The WC is played at such speed and intensity it is beyond comprehension for most. I can only ask that you ask specific questions to which we could respond. The effort to have the highest of standards among the referees and officials has been incredible too bad the USA players and coach did not prepare as well.

Cheers

Answer provided by Referee Chuck Fleischer

Greetings Marine or Marine Junior, this is an example of a superior demonstration of skills by referees assigned to the tournament. Let there be no mistakes here. If all the world's referees were half as skilled as what you are seeing The Game would be better than Beautiful.

What fostered your bum gouge is listening to commentators on the TV broadcasts in America. I, for one wouldn't follow any of them out of a burning [pick a word starting with "s"].

Take care of My Marine Corps,

Answer provided by Referee Ben Mueller

I beg to differ. I have seen those referees make calls that 99.9% of the rest of world would have missed. They are also running 10 times harder than most adult referees I see doing youth games. Sure a few off side calls were blown, but the refereeing has been great for the most part. As Always,

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

Without reading my fellow referees comments I can say that this is the best group of referees I've ever seen at the professional level. You've been listening to commentators and coaches neither of which have a clue. These referees are actually punishing foul play!! What a concept! Why should the best players in the world be allowed to get away with things 16 years olds are not. If a player wants to kick the ball away preventing the opponents from taking a free kick, why shouldn't he get a yellow card. Players tackling from behind or studs up should be punished severely. These players know exactly what they are doing and these referees are holding them accountable for their actions. These referees are simply terrific and doing a wonderful job

The following questions were asked as a follow up to the above question...

See Question: 13219