World Cup over - what now?

SportsAustralia's number one football pundit Phill Chadwick ponders over the 2006 edition of the World Cup, and casts an eye to the future of the game at home and abroad.

So, that is it for another four years. We can sleep again.

A dubious penalty, a well-worked set-piece, a Zidane brain explosion, and a clinically taken set of penalties.

Italy are world champions, again. A fourth gold star for their jerseys.

As for the game, it was certainly enjoyable, up until the point where the great Zinedane Zidane lost his mind and perpetrated one of the most deplorable (and puzzling) acts ever seen in a World Cup Final. What went on in the lead up to that extraordinary incident, we may find out in the coming days. But it was a very sad sight for a great player to exit the football world in that way.

How he still won the Golden Ball award is beyond me.

Those who believe in Karma may feel that the penalty awarded to France restored the cosmic balance for that awarded against Australia. Somehow, after Zidane's cheeky conversion, all my parochial antipathy towards the Azzuri evaporated and I watched the rest of the match as a neutral.

France, on the balance of play, probably deserved to win it, but the Italian defence once again proved it is the best in the world.

And, then, disaster.

Zidane's last game was, until then, going well. Some of his old touch was still there and I had the feeling that it was only a matter of time before Zidane, Henry, Ribery or Viera managed to crack the code and unlock the Italians.

But it was not to be. Something said by Materazzi upset Zidane so much that he was able to throw away a whole career filled with honour for one dishonourable act. It was a tragedy of Shakespearean proportions. My heart sank as I watched him descend to the dressing rooms and into retirement. It may be some time before that one inexcusable act is seen in the context of a long, distinguished career. What a pity.

And now for the future. South Africa 2010 and beyond.

I think it is a real pity that the most talked about incidents in this World Cup have been the result of referees' questionable decisions. For all the great goals, giant killing heroics and dramatic endings, the things that stick in the mind are dubious penalties, inconsistent interpretations, inconsistent yellow and red card awards, diving players escaping punishment and calls for video reviews.

All of this controversy is the result of poor refereeing. When referees are unnoticed, then they are doing their job. If players, spectators and commentators come to see the match officials as a source of contention and injustice, then there is something wrong.

Sure, Cristiano Ronaldo, and many others, are at fault for diving, or simulation (really it is cheating) but the referees as as much at fault for not detecting it and punishing it. When players are rewarded for diving, gaining undeserved free kicks and penalties, rather than the yellow cards they deserve, they will inevitably continue to do it. Who can blame them?

Referees skilled in detecting such activity would stamp out this blight on the game.

How can we make the referees less contentious, more invisible?

It seems that many of these refereeing controversies can be explained by a form of stage fright. Just as the players are the best their nations can assemble, so the match officials are selected for their long term performances at domestic level.

But on the biggest stage, many referees, human as they are, seem to be intimidated by the occasion, by the crowds, by the big name players and by the big name countries.

This problem can and should be attended to in the period before the next World Cup.

Here is my suggestion.

FIFA should assemble a number ,say twenty, of full time professional officiating teams. Each team would consist of two referees, and four linesmen. That is a total of 120 elite match officials, paid handsomely by FIFA, and under the direction of one FIFA referee coaching structure.

Referees would be specialist referees. Linesmen (or referee assistants as they are now known) would specialise as linesmen.

Each team would stay together, training together, attending workshops, conferences and coaching sessions together. They would have the best of sports science and sports psychology to help them prepare.

Every full international and as many international friendlies as possible would have one of these teams appointed to officiate.

That is all very simple, but now for the radical part.

Whenever there are no internationals, these teams of officials would rotate through the world's major domestic leagues and club competitions.

They would therefore be exposed regularly, as guest officials, to football at the highest club level in Europe, Africa, Asia, North America and South America.

They would officiate on a rotating basis in UEFA Champions League, Asian Champions League, Copa America, and so on.

Only exposure to this variety of football at the highest levels, on a continuing basis, will equip match officials for their World Cup responsibilities.

Exposure to domestic football all around the world will also result in a greater level of consistency. What English referees accept in EPL matches may not be the same as what Japanese referees accept in J-League. The international officials would tend to standardize interpretations worldwide.

Surely, if our best officials were working in all of these leagues on a regular basis, not only would they achieve more consistency in internationals, they would also allow footballers across the globe to gain experience of the style of refereeing they can expect at international level.

If FIFA implemented a system like this, we could all look forward to South Africa 2010 and at the end of that tournament be talking about the football, the officials having been largely invisible.

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