- Title: FRANCE: FIFA REVEALS A "VIDEO NASTY"
- Date: 7th June 1998
- Summary: GRESSY, FRANCE (JUNE 06, 1998) 1. JOURNALISTS 2. VIDEO OF TACKLES FROM BEHIND 3. DAVID WILL, HEAD OF FIFA'S REFEREE COMMITTEE, SPEAKING ABOUT THE TYPE OF OFFENCE THAT WILL LEAD TO A RED CARD (ENGLISH) 4. SCOTTISH REFEREE HUGH DALLAS SAYING THAT REFEREES HAVE TO BE IMPARTIAL (ENGLISH) 5. JOURNALIST 6. DALLAS SAYING THE RULES OF THE GAME HAVE NOT CHANGED (ENGLISH) 7. REFEREES Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
- Embargoed: 22nd June 1998 13:00
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- Location: GRESSY, FRANCE
- City:
- Country: France
- Reuters ID: LVA11FB4U2V0F77J0YAU86YTVSQ9
- Story Text: Fifa, determined to protect skilful players at the Worl Cup Finals, on Saturday revealed a "video nasty" illustrating the kind of tackles from behind which it wants to see punished with a red card.
Journalists were shown the FIFA video which is being used to explain the clampdown to the 34 World Cup referees.
The video has also been supplied to the 32 teams competing in the World Cup, which kicks off next Wednesday.
David Will, Head of FIFA'S referees committee said it was the vicious, deliberate assault designed to stop an opponent at all costs that will lead to a red card.
Englishman Paul Ince, Spaniard Juan Antonio Pizzi and German Stefan Reuter will have been given special food for thought as examples of their footwork were among the six tackles shown which FIFA said merited red cards.
Ince's tackle was a scything lunge straight from behind on a Chilean player in a friendly earlier this year while those from Pizzi and Reuter dated back to Euro 96, both players diving in from more sideways on but with the ball long gone.
FIFA has updated its instructions to referees in its rule book to ensure that tackles from behind deemed to pose a danger to the safety of opponents are punished with an instant red card.Will said referees had been informally told to do this at the 1994 World Cup but spelling it out in black and white now gave new force to the edict.
He said that of the six examples in the video, only two had actually resulted in red cards.
Coaches are worried that the move has not been properly tested before the World Cup and fear a rash of red cards once the competition kicks off.Many teams have called in their World Cup referees to help explain the change.
There are also concerns that referees will interpret the instructions in different ways.Will said that a briefing session earlier on Saturday had helped to drum home the message, building on a week-long course in March.
Will denied that the move amounted to a golden opportunity for play-acting by strikers trying to get defenders dismissed.
"The referees here are the best in the world," he said, adding that they would know when they were being conned.
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