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| July 05, 2006 | Wednesday | Jumadi-ul-Sani 8, 1427 |
Frings ban should have come sooner, says FIFA chief
BERLIN, July 4: FIFA's decision to ban Germany's Torsten Frings for Tuesday's semi-final clash with Italy should have come sooner, FIFA President Sepp Blatter said. “The decision should come more than a day before the match,” Blatter said on Tuesday.
“FIFA has learned something from this experience.
“We accept responsibility that it took so long. But the decision is final and clear.”
World soccer's governing body ruled on Monday that Frings could not play against Italy in Dortmund.
The decision followed FIFA's review of video footage that showed the midfielder throwing a punch at Argentina forward Julio Ricardo Cruz during a fracas that followed Germany's penalty shootout win in the quarter-finals.
FIFA had initially said it was taking no action against any Germany players but changed course on Sunday after the video footage was played on Italian and German television and was followed by a probe into Frings's role in the incident.
Although Frings may not be irreplaceable, he has superbly anchored the German midfield and had a key role on Friday in containing Argentina playmaker Juan Roman Riquelme.
Frings had said he was innocent and Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport quoted Cruz saying he had not received or felt any punch. But FIFA's disciplinary committee ruled on Monday that his actions were “tantamount to an assault”.
Amid criticism in the German press that Italy had triggered the FIFA probe, coach Marcello Lippi denied on Monday that anybody in the Italian camp had pressed for Frings to be banned.
“Let this be clear for everyone, no-one from our side has lifted a finger for this to happen,” Lippi said.
Although Lippi was not asked specifically if Italy had played a role in the affair, he twice stated that there had been no initiative regarding Frings on their part.
“Our Federation has been very clear about this. We didn't know anything. I don't know what happened. None of us said a word.
“If other people want to wind things up for their own reasons that's nothing to do with us,” Lippi said when asked if the decision would fire up the home crowd even more.
The role of Italian media in highlighting Frings' involvement in the post-match fracas on Saturday had led some German media to object that there was an effort being made to get the player banned for the game.
“Italians want Frings suspended,” read the page one headline in Germany's best-selling Bild daily on Monday. “Are they so afraid of us?”
“We didn't request the decision taken on Frings,” said Italy keeper Gianluigi Buffon. “If they have punished him that means that he needed to be punished.”
Midfielder Andrea Pirlo added: “We're happy that an important player for them is missing. But someone else, of his ability, will come in to to try and stop Italy.”
Forward Alessandro Del Piero agreed that Germany had the strength in depth to cope with the absence of Frings.
“If you look at the team, and their substitutes, starting with (Tim) Borowski who came on against Argentina and changed the course of the game with his part in the equaliser, they're certainly capable of finding a suitable replacement, without taking away from the fact that he (Frings) is a great player.”
Francesco Totti, who would probably have been marked by Frings, said the absence of the combative German midfielder would definitely make a difference.—Reuters
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