Football
Reuters 18y

Soccer-Board orders World Cup referees to take tough line

By Mike Collett

LUCERNE, Switzerland, March 4 - Officials at this
year's World Cup finals will be told to clamp down harder than
ever before on time-wasting, elbowing, diving and serious foul
play following the annual meeting of the International Football
Association Board on Saturday.

The International Board, soccer's ultimate law-making body
which comprises four representatives from FIFA and the four
British associations, also sanctioned a number of modifications
to the laws of the game.

Approval was also given for World Cup match officials to
communicate with each other by radio if a suitable system can be
found in time. Referees and officials have been using one in
Scotland for the last three seasons and that system is expected
to be modified for the finals.

The Board also paved the way for further experiments to take
place in goalline technology with the Adidas "Smartball"
microchip technology and also welcomed continuing experiments
with a new Italian system using digital cameras.

However it rejected a French video-based system because it
cannot, at present, deliver an "immediate" indication to the
referee on whether a goal has been scored or not.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter said afterwards: "We will go on
with the experiments with the Smartball because we had some very
positive results when it was used in last year's Under-17
tournament in Peru, but the results were not conclusive.

"There will be no goalline technology at the World Cup, but
we could have a communications system for the officials.

"It is paramount there is better refereeing in 2006 than
there was in 2002."

EIGHT POINTS

The Board highlighted an eight-point hit-list which referees
will be told to look out for at the World Cup -- and to punish
to the fullest extent of the law.

They are: elbowing, reckless tackling, shirt-pulling,
time-wasting, attitude towards referees, diving, behaviour in
the wall at free-kicks and wearing jewellery.

Of those elbowing, reckless tackling and serious foul play
will all be punished by immediate red cards while shirt pulling
and those players who provoke a confrontation by deliberately
touching the ball after the referee has stopped play will be
yellow carded.

FIFA will warn players who surround or insult the referee
they also face a yellow card.

Jose-Maria Garcia, FIFA's referee chief, told reporters: "We
have to bear in mind the safety of players, take care of them
and take care of the game.

"The game has to flow as much as possible and we are trying
to deal with these kind of delaying tactics and those which
endanger the players with the strongest sanctions we can use."

The decisions taken by the Board on Saturday will be relayed
to the 32 World Cup coaches taking part in their two-day
workshop in Dusseldorf next Monday and Tuesday.

The 44 referees short-listed to officiate at the World Cup
will also be told of the decision at their workshop in Frankfurt
between March 21-25.

The decisions have been welcomed by David Davies, chief
executive of the English Football Association.

"It was very important that the Board raised the awareness
of everyone concerned with the World Cup about these issues as
they affect everyone involved."

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