FIFA president eager to see young referees
Published:Tuesday | August 10, 2010 | 12:45 PM
FIFA president Sepp Blatter believes top international referees should be younger.
Blatter says a plan regarding top referees will be released in October or November and there will be a rejuvenation.
FIFA has a mandatory retirement age of 45 for referees. Blatter did not give any details of what changes might be made.
The World Cup's two most-criticised refereeing decisions, the failure to award England a goal for a shot by Frank Lampard that crossed Germany's line, and a goal awarded to Argentina ever though scorer Carlos Tevez received the ball in an offside position involved referees in their 40s.
The two youngest referees who officiated matches in South Africa, both in their early 30s, were rated highly enough to be given control of the two semifinals.
The final was handled by England's Howard Webb, then 38, who took extended leave from his job as a policeman to be a professional in the Premier League.