NEWS AND REACTION:SWEDISH REFEREE Martin Hansson still stands a good chance of officiating at the World Cup finals despite his failure to spot Thierry Henry's handball at the Stade de France on Wednesday night, according to a prominent member of Fifa's referee's panel, the body that chooses who gets to oversee games at the tournament.

At present, Hansson is one of 14 European referees on a preliminary list of 38 for the finals in South Africa. Though he is well regarded, his record is not exactly flawless and a year ago he hit the headlines for his handling of the Champions League game between Atletico Madrid and Liverpool.

The Swede mistakenly awarded the English side a penalty five minutes into injury-time which Steven Gerrard converted to salvage a draw for the home side.

The mistake would appear to have damaged his reputation with Uefa but not with Fifa, who have continued to give him big games. Over the course of this summer he oversaw the final of the Confederations Cup, the world body’s traditional dress rehearsal for the World Cup itself, something that was taken as a strong indication that he would be returning to South Africa this summer.

In the wake of his latest mistake, there has been some speculation that he would now be dropped by Fifa instead but Peter Mikkelsen, the Danish member of the committee that will choose the referees who travel to the tournament next June is not so sure.

“In January or February, we pick those that definitely will go to the World Cup,” he says. “I think we will be selecting about 30 referees.”

Asked about Hansson’s prospects by Swedish daily newspaper Aftonbladet Mikkelsen suggests that the 38-year-old’s prospects need not necessarily be written off in the wake of his blunder at St Denis.

“Refereeing mistakes will always happen, but Martin Hansson makes them rarely,” he says. “I have full confidence in him. When we choose the World Cup referees, it is on the basis of a comprehensive evaluation of many appearances. I think Martin has a very good chance of being at the World Cup.”

Another, unnamed, official in Fifa’s refereeing department agreed that Hansson is well regarded but admitted that he may not survive another high profile error between now and the start of the tournament.

Scotman Hugh Dallas, meanwhile, was the referee’s observer at Wednesday’s game and the tone of his official report will also go some way towards deciding the Swede’s fate.

Hansson himself was philosophical about events in Paris this week, insisting that “life must go on” when asked about the game yesterday by a local radio station back at home.

“I cannot comment on the game itself but life must go on and I hope I will survive this too,” he said. When it was put to him that the newspapers were saying that he might indeed still make it to South Africa, he replied, with a hint of sarcasm: “Really? Has it been in the evening papers? Well, then it has to be true, hasn’t it?”

Aftonbladet was not nearly so charitable towards the match official as Mikkelsen with the newspapers suggesting that Hansson and his two assistants, Stefan Wittberg and Fredrik Nilsson, should feel guilty for their role in Ireland’s elimination for the World Cup.”

“There will be no World Cup for Ireland and I assume that Team Hansson has also forfeited its right to continue to take charge of major international matches,” wrote one of the newspaper’s correspondents. “Anything else would be a further insult to the Irish nation.”