UEFA's Michel Platini Warns Referees of `Near-Zero Tolerance' of Mistakes
UEFA President Michel Platini warned referees in Europa and Champions League competitions there will be “near-zero tolerance” of officiating mistakes.
European soccer’s governing body is trialing the use of additional officials behind each goal on behalf of rulemakers after a spate of high-profile errors. These included the failure of a referee to see that a Frank Lampard strike crossed the line in England’s 4-1 World Cup defeat to Germany, and Thierry Henry’s handball that helped France to qualify for the tournament at Ireland’s expense.
“I think it’s a very good system,” Platini told a group of invited reporters in Monte Carlo today. “If they cannot see if it’s gone in they should get another job.”
Sepp Blatter, president of global soccer body FIFA, said during the World Cup that the rulemaking International Football Association Board had asked companies to come forward with ideas for technology-based solutions to detect if a ball crossed the line.
Platini said he favored human intervention. Any mistakes would be the fault of individual referees because having five officials made it 99 percent certain that all areas of the field could be seen.
“If you cannot see the ball has crossed the line from three meters away then you are no good,” he said. “There should be near-zero tolerance with regard to referees because they should be able to see everything now.”
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European soccer’s governing body is trialing the use of additional officials behind each goal on behalf of rulemakers after a spate of high-profile errors. These included the failure of a referee to see that a Frank Lampard strike crossed the line in England’s 4-1 World Cup defeat to Germany, and Thierry Henry’s handball that helped France to qualify for the tournament at Ireland’s expense.
“I think it’s a very good system,” Platini told a group of invited reporters in Monte Carlo today. “If they cannot see if it’s gone in they should get another job.”
Sepp Blatter, president of global soccer body FIFA, said during the World Cup that the rulemaking International Football Association Board had asked companies to come forward with ideas for technology-based solutions to detect if a ball crossed the line.
Platini said he favored human intervention. Any mistakes would be the fault of individual referees because having five officials made it 99 percent certain that all areas of the field could be seen.
“If you cannot see the ball has crossed the line from three meters away then you are no good,” he said. “There should be near-zero tolerance with regard to referees because they should be able to see everything now.”
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