FIFA Won’t Allow Video Replays

Despite admitting there have been refereeing mistakes, FIFA, soccer’s world governing body, reiterated Sunday that video replays would not be used to help settle disputes.

But some kind of video technology might be used in the future as a way to determine whether the ball crossed the goal line, FIFA spokesman Keith Cooper said.

“No doubt as technology moves on, the pressure for adopting some kind of video technology will increase,” he said. “If any kind of technology were to be introduced it would be solely for judging whether the ball has crossed the line between the goalpost and under the crossbar.”

Several countries, particularly Italy, Spain, Mexico and the United States, have criticized the officiating at the World Cup.

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Midfielders Claudio Reyna and Landon Donovan of the United States are among 33 finalists for the Mastercard All-Star team selected by FIFA’s Technical Committee. The finalists will be announced today, and the team will be revealed Friday.

Donovan, 20, had two goals in the World Cup and was the youngest player to score in the tournament.

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Celebrations in Turkey over the World Cup team’s 1-0 victory over Senegal in the quarterfinals were marred by deaths and injuries.

Fours fans were killed and eight others injured in traffic accidents in the cities of Mersin and Izmit as cheering fans drove through in convoys of cars.

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Brazil’s Ronaldinho will be able to play in the final or third-place game, depending on how his team fares against Turkey in a semifinal game Wednesday.

Ronaldinho, who scored the winning goal in Brazil’s 2-1 quarterfinal victory over England, was ejected for a hard tackle, meaning an automatic suspension for the semifinal.

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Through 60 games, there have been 152 goals, or 2.53 per game, below the average of 2.67 at France four years ago. Eight years ago in the United States, the average was 2.71.