ALEX FERGUSON has added his voice to a Europe-wide groundswell of concern about refereeing standards in the Champions League, where certain officials from smaller football nations increasingly appear to be out of their depth.
On Wednesday the already controversy-prone Norwegian official Tom Henning Ovrebo capped an eccentric performance by permitting Bayern Munich to beat Fiorentina with an 89th-minute Miroslav Klose header that both managers subsequently agreed was well offside.
Arsene Wenger, meanwhile, deconstructed the Swedish referee Martin Hansson’s decision-making during Arsenal’s 2-1 defeat at Porto, particularly the circumstances surrounding the winner.
“What can you do about the second goal?” said the manager “The back-pass was accidental, whenever do you see the defender kick the ball back with his toe?
“The ball hit Sol, it was not on purpose and it has to be intentional to be a free-kick.
“It is difficult to understand how the referee can interpret that.
“Then, on an indirect free-kick, if you allow the team to play quickly, just five metres from the goal, how can you defend that?
“It is better than a penalty. It was unbelievable that he allowed Porto to play straightaway and push the ball into the net.”
Already best known for missing Thierry Henry’s recent match-altering handball for France against the Republic of Ireland, Hansson is on the 30-man Fifa list to officiate during this summer’s World Cup in South Africa. Ovrebo narrowly missed the final cut.
“I saw the highlights of the Bayern Munich match and it was an incredible decision for that winning goal . . . deary, deary me,” Ferguson said.
“I think maybe the lad’s under a bit of pressure now because of last season.”
Manchester United’s manager was referring to Ovrebo’s handling of the second leg of the Chelsea v Barcelona Champions League semi-final at Stamford Bridge last May when he failed to award Chelsea a series of apparently blatant penalties.
The Scot clearly feels the Norwegian should be withdrawn from the firing line.
“Maybe it would be best if they (Uefa) gave him a break,” Ferguson said.
“These games are so high-profile now and such intense matches. You have to be really on the ball and you really need the top referees. I watched him and he’s not (the same standard as) the best Italian referee, or the best Spanish referee, who I always think are the best.
“It is hard because they (referees from smaller countries) are not used to these games. I think that the important thing is the way Uefa look at it, and of course they are right in the main, because they have to give these guys from the smaller countries the experience of having the big games. But they (Fiorentina) won’t be too happy at the moment.”
That is something of an understatement. Furious at Fiorentina’s misfortune, the Italian FA’s president, Giancarlo Abete, has lambasted Uefa. “Last night we all saw the wickedness that was evident and you all know what I am talking about,” he told the newspaper La Repubblica.
“A grave error has been committed at this stage of the Champions League and it weighs heavily.
“But what worries me the most is the level of quality in the preparation of referees for such big games. The game was conditioned by the referee and his assistants, who were not up to the standard.”
Similar fears are mounting that the World Cup could be spoilt by effectively novice officials lacking regular experience at the highest level. While Italy, Germany, Spain and England each have a single refereeing representative at football’s global showpiece, New Zealand boast two and the Seychelles and Benin one each.
Fifa is governed by a desire for geographical fairness in distributing prized appointments, thereby allowing officials from smaller or emerging nations the opportunity to fulfil their potential. Its general secretary, Jerome Valcke, yesterday emphasised that considerable care had been taken compiling the World Cup list.
