THE WOMEN’S WORLD Cup is not being used as an experiment for new laws, according to Fifa referees chief Pierluigi Collina.
There have been several controversial decisions in the tournament so far, the majority relating to the use of VAR.
Goalkeeper encroachment at penalties has been a contentious issue, with several spot kicks being retaken in the group stage after it was deemed the keepers did not have at least part of one foot on the goal-line.
That rule was introduced shortly before the competition in France started, with Scotland eliminated in the group stages after Argentina were allowed to retake a spot kick that had initially been saved.
But Collina, the chairman of Fifa’s refereeing committee, used a press conference in Le Havre on Wednesday to defend some of the decisions that have caused controversy.
“The only issue so far has concerned penalty kicks, and honestly we have been a bit surprised,” he told reporters.
If we have a tool that can show clearly without any doubt that there is an offside position and a goal is scored by the player who was in an offside position, it doesn’t matter if it was two centimetres or 20 metres.
“There is not a small or a big offside, there is an offside. We have technology which was well received by the entire world, goal-line technology, which allows us to see if the ball crossed the line by 0.5cm, so if the ball is over the line by 0.5cm, it is a goal.
“If a goalkeeper moves both feet off the goal-line before the penalty kick is taken, we have no choice but to order the penalty kick to be retaken. I repeat, it is not a matter of a small encroachment or big encroachment, it is a matter of encroachment, and this is what we can do by using technology.”
Collina pointed out that teams were notified in December of the new laws and were given the chance to play with the rules in effect during pre-tournament friendlies.
And the 59-year-old also warned the Professional Game Match Officials Limited that all Premier League matches will have to use VAR to check goalkeeper encroachment from the start of next season.
We didn’t consider the Women’s World Cup — which is our flagship tournament in 2019 as a World Cup — as an experiment,” he said.
“I want only to remind you that the new version of the laws of the game have been implemented in Poland for the Under-20 World Cup for the men, it has been implemented in the Copa America, it has been implemented in AFCON, and also here.”
He added: “The laws are the same all over the world. What is written in the laws of the game has to be enforced in every one of the countries that belong to Fifa and in every one of the competitions arranged by the member associations of Fifa.”
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Listen to this man. Commanded the football pitch like a rugby ref. Gave players the brow and they shut up which is the way it should be.
Sinister how he had to leave so early.
@Quoka: how was it sinister, he hit the age limit and had to call it a day
@Fear Uisce: not true. he signed a sponsorship deal with opel. disagreement with Italian football and he resigned.
@Fear Uisce: They increased the age limit to accommodate him for an extra season, he signed a contract of more than half a million euros, and then a ‘conflict of interest’ accusation was raised against him because of a shared sponsorship deal so he was shipped out of top flight games – so he retired. Google it.
Also, regardless of all this, he was capable of refereeing at the highest level and was a breath of fresh air so should have been allowed to.
@Quoka: so when you say “sinister how he had to leave so early” you mean he retired a few months early, after the Italian FA had raised the age limit specifically for him, due to a potential conflict of interests arising from having a sponsorship deal with Opel who sponsored AC Milan at the time.
This from the man who gave England a penalty for the blatant dive of Michael Owen against Argentina. Even Lineker said he was embarrassed by it.
@GARFARKLE: and this defines his entire career? Negates everything else?
I’d hate to work for you
@reg gordon: Not at all. He was a very good referee but not perfect.
So if the keeper steps off the line for a penalty but the player scores will the penalty be retaken?
I don’t think too many are disagreeing with the points he makes. However he doesn’t mention the real big controversy of now awarding a penalty for ball-to-hand and, worse still, even when the ball is struck from as near as two meters. I pity these girls in the World Cup. They are a breath of fresh air to watch. There is no constant slogging against massed defences. There are no particularly defensive outfits which gives more open play, more attacking and even mistakes all of which are enjoyable to watch. I’d love to hear Collina’s honest opinion on this new penalty rule.