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| May 25, 2005 | Wednesday | Rabi-us-Sani 16, 1426 |
Poor refereeing prompts AFC officials to act
KUALA LUMPUR, May 24: Slipping standards of refereeing have forced the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) to increase its vigilance in a bid to arrest the problem. The AFC took Syria’s Abbas Mahmoud Ashek off their elite panel of 50 FIFA-accredited referees earlier this month, citing poor performances at the Arab club championship.
With the final round of Asian 2006 World Cup qualifiers reaching a climax in August, referees are coming under severe scrutiny following a controversial year.
Last year’s Asian Cup was plagued by poor officiating and there have been further problems during the qualifying competition for next year’s World Cup.
Tough measures were needed to raise standards, the AFC’s director of referees Gary Power said.
“It is a positive approach because by using only the best referees the risk of errors will be minimised,” he said.
“But the long-term solution lies in better initial selection and training of referees.”
AFC general secretary Peter Velappan acknowledged there had been problems but said they were being overcome through close monitoring.
“There were some issues with refereeing at the Asian Cup,” he said. “But the AFC is constantly trying to improve the standards. Our referees know that they are being watched.”
Asian soccer’s image was tarnished by some controversial decisions at the 2004 Asian Cup in China.
Three hotly disputed goals helped Japan to beat the hosts 3-1 in the final in Beijing, provoking a furious reaction from Chinese fans who burned Japanese flags and fought with riot police.
A quarterfinal between Japan and Jordan ended in farce when Japan’s players persuaded the referee to switch ends during their penalty shoot-out, to Jordan’s fury.—Reuters
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