FIFA Allows More Power to Referees For Fan Safety
April 28, 2009 by Jyle Dupuis
Filed under FIFA World Cup
The World FIFA Organization has announced that referees will now have the authority to delay matches for safety reasons. FIFA President Sepp Blatter told stadium and security committee members that “not one human life should be put in the balance by football.”
The decision comes as a direct result of the recent incident in the Ivory Coast when non-ticket holding fans stormed the makeshift barricade to get in. 19 fans were trampled under the stampeders and refs who were unsure as to what to do simply continued with the game as scheduled.
It has been a long standing opinion that what happens in the stands doesn’t affect what happens on the pitch, a ‘the show must go on’ type of attitude.
The new ruling by FIFA will give refs the power to delay (or cancel?) games if fans become too unruly. The only issue I perceive for this is that if refs were to ever cancel a game, it would most assuredly result in a full out riot. What needs to be discussed is how to make stadiums more secure. When there are enough security there isn’t an issue of safety. Problems arise when stadiums try to save a buck and cut security staff and put up cheap make-shift barriers.
Read the complete article at TSN.ca
Image: TSN.ca
