Fifa gave its backing last night to Martin Hansson, the
referee at the centre of the game’s most recent high-profile
controversies, and confirmed that he will officiate at the World
Cup.
Sepp Blatter, the Fifa president, will not bow to any clamour to
sacrifice the Swedish referee after another torrent of
criticism.
Hansson was blamed for missing the extra-time handball by
Thierry Henry that led to the goal that helped to put Ireland out
of the 2010 World Cup in June and now is the target of Arsène
Wenger’s rage after the disputed free kick that gave Porto a
first-leg lead over Arsenal in the Champions League round-of-16 tie
on Wednesday night.
Blatter dismissed any criticism, saying: “This is a never-ending
story. It is not terrible. It is what can happen in football.”
Wenger, the Arsenal manager, described Hansson’s decision to
allow Porto to take a quick free kick in the Arsenal penalty area
as “laughable”, turning up the pressure on Hansson.But Blatter and
Fifa are standing by the referee, who has been through a series of
intensive training sessions, along with the panel of 14 European
referees preparing for the World Cup in South Africa.
Some believe that the use of goalline technology will take
pressure off referees and Blatter said that it would be examined at
a meeting next month, with Jérôme Valcke, the Fifa general
secretary, saying that the use of video technology during matches
is now on the table.
“We are human and if the system is not perfect today then, if we
can improve it, we will,” Valcke said. “Do we need to use video at
a game? My opinion is that it would be a huge mistake but there
will be a lot of discussion about that.
“It is true that there are mistakes, but how many compared to
the amount of action and the number of goals in a weekend? So let
us not make a decision too quickly based on the pressure from
outside.”
The pace of change may not be quick enough for some, though, and
Blatter, the most powerful man in world football, could face the
most determined challenge yet to his reign.
Mohamed bin Hammam, president of the Asian Confederation, is
expected to stand against Blatter in the presidential elections
next year. Bin Hammam has raised the stakes by calling on the Fifa
executive committee to introduce a limit of eight years for the
presidency at its meeting next month — a direct challenge to
Blatter, who has been in power since 1998.
Blatter refused yesterday, however, to back away from seeking a
fresh term from June next year, even though he will be 75 by then.
“I am still here and I hope I am still there in 2011 — I have not
yet finished my mission,” Blatter said.