Disbelief: American Clint Dempsey challenges
World Cup referee
Koman Coulibaly, after the wining goal of
the match with Slovenia
was inexplicably ruled illegal, June 18.
Sueddeutsche Zeitung, Germany
In U.S.
and Germany, Shared Derision Over World Cup Referees
Is there a problem with the officiating
at the FIFA World Cup? After the Americans were inexplicably denied the winning
goal against Slovenia by a Malian referee and Germany lost against Serbia due
to the peculiarities of a Spanish official, Thomas Hummel of Gemany's Sueddeutsche
Zeitung sheds some light onwhether there's more to the controversy
than just the usual frustration.
Johannesburg: Even before U.S. players emerged from their changing room, their
journalists were looking for answers. In the press tent at Ellis Park in
Johannesburg, some approached our colleagues from traditional football
countries in Europe, because surely they would know: "Excuse me, can you
tell me what exactly it was the referee called?" Unfortunately, neither
English nor Germans nor in fact anyone from the traditional football states had
an answer to that question. The call by Koman Coulibaly from
Mali was unfathomable.
At 86 minutes, Landon Donovan put a free
kick into the penalty area, from where Maurice Edu, who appeared totally
unguarded at the back post, scored the 3:2 goal for the United States. But then
Coulibaly whistled and called a free kick for Slovenia. "On the field we
asked him numerous times what it was or who it was on," Donovan said
later, "but he ignored us or didn’t understand." Whether out of
ignorance or because Coulibaly quite possibly doesn't understand English,
Donovan couldn’t say.
Did he see an offside where there was none? Or foul play
in the penalty box during the ubiquitous scramble - which didn’t happen either?
There will be no answer. The FIFA World Federation has banned its referees from
commenting on decisions on the pitch. "As far as games are concerned, we're
generally not allowed to comment," German representative Wolfgang Stark said
before the tournament. He had just received an e-mail from FIFA stating that
all interviews had to be completed prior to his arrival in South Africa.
Which is why German players and fans won't receive an
answer from Alberto
Undiano. The Spanish referee was the target of harsh criticism from both
the public and so-called experts after the DFB-Eleven's
0:1 loss to Serbia. The focus was on the brisk handing out of nine yellow cards,
which led to Miroslav
Klose being sent off with a second yellow-red card all within the first
half hour. “It’s no fun playing football anymore if you can’t do anything on
the field without being immediately yellow-carded. I’ve never seen anything
like it,” complained Bastian Schweinsteiger on behalf of the Germans and
capturing the mood in the German locker room.
In the Stuttgarter Nachrichten, Bundesliga
referee Knut Kircher
called Undiano a “card player without a personality.” Meanwhile Franz Beckenbauer
expressed his dislike in his own unique way: “If send-offs like this set a
precedent, we may as well stop playing football.” The fans, meanwhile, let off
steam on one of many Internet sites, with Facebook and Twitter even blocking
sites because the insults had become just a little too harsh.
FIFA’S ESOTERIC REFEREE SELECTION PROCESS
It took about a week during this World Cup
for indignation with the referees to appear. Up to then, it was only South
African coach Carlos Alberto Parreira who had complained about Swiss referee
Massimo Bussacca, but that was taken as just a diversion after Switzerland's
0:3 defeat against Uruguay. Other than that, referees had been receiving fairly
high assessments, for example from the head of the newly-set up Referees Committee
of the German Football Federation, Herbert Fandel.
"By and large, one can be very, very
pleased," Fandel said. However, he had noticed even before Friday’s matches
that his colleagues, "were directed to set a high standard right from the beginning.
They were of course then at pains to make very accurate calls. This can always be
seen at the beginning of such a tournament.”
Posted by WORLDMEETS.US
And so the accusation is in the air that
the German team should have adapted their play to the petty calling of Alberto
Undiano. He had warned even before the game, after all, that he was “intent on
commanding respect from the very first minute.”
Although Undiano's issuance of the first
yellow card was severe, when considered dispassionately, Miroslav Klose at
least should have known from that moment on that he’d have to forgo tripping
someone on the center line. Especially since at the same time, Klose kept playing
unnecessarily and took a shot on goal, despite the referee’s whistle. His
yellow-red card was a harsh decision, yet utterly consistent as far Undiano was
concerned. Even Germany’s highest authority on football, Franz Beckenbauer had
to acknowledge: “Admittedly, this referee is known for making petty calls. You
have to know that and as a result, one should know not to go in there like that.”
While at least Undiano enjoys a reputation
as the best referee in Spain's Primera
Division, the case of Coulibaly in the USA-Slovenia game will re-kindle a
debate that occurs at every World Cup, and which is as certain as debate over
the English goalkeeper [Robert Green, who gave up a goal against the Americans].
“It was his first game at this level, so perhaps he was a bit overwhelmed,”
Donovan speculated after the 2:2 draw with Slovenia.
For the World Cup, FIFA generally
nominates only one referee per country. As a result, many hardened referees from
the Champions League
have to stay at home. On the other hand, this is an elegant way of keeping as
many member countries as possible in good spirits in the hope they'll tick the
right box in the next round of voting. This approach allows countries to
participate in the World Cup, something their football players will probably never
achieve. Mr. Coulibaly is from Mali; the last group games will be called by
referees from the Seychelles or Guatemala.
