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Soccer

FIFA Satisfied With Officiating

By HELENE ELLIOTT
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David Wills, president of the FIFA referees’ commission, said the committee is “very satisfied” with the work of its referees and linesmen, despite widespread criticism of the inconsistency of handing out red cards and the number of hotly disputed penalty calls.

“The quality of the refereeing has proven superior to that found in the previous World Cup in the USA in 1994,” he said. “We should pay tribute to the assistants, as they are not in the spotlight despite their very high quality work. Their grades average 8.3 out of 10 and for the referees, it’s 8.5 out of 10.

“Of course, there have been some errors. But I would like to point out that in 40 matches, only three calls have been contested.”

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Helene Elliott

Helene Elliott was with the Los Angeles Times’ Sports department from 1989 to 2024, first as a staff writer and then, starting in 2006, as a columnist. She became the first female journalist to be honored with a plaque in the Hall of Fame of a major professional sport as the 2005 winner of the Hockey Hall of Fame’s Elmer Ferguson Award, awarded to writers “who have brought honor to journalism and to hockey.” A native of Brooklyn, N.Y., and graduate of Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, she has covered 18 Olympics.

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