List of 2002 FIFA World Cup controversies

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The 2002 FIFA World Cup created many controversies, mainly on the standard of refereeing.

Refereeing

General

There was much controversy over the refereeing in the tournament; FIFA officials have even criticised the quality of refereeing in the tournament. This led to a series of reforms for the next competition. One effect of the officiating controversies was to open discussion of the eligibility of referees from certain less-established footballing countries in the competitiion. Another was the introduction of the requirement of the referee and assistants speaking the same language, to avoid possible communication errors. This was done by requiring match officials to come from the same country, as well as additionally needing English proficiency.

In total Italy had at least 3 goals disallowed in the finals, in the group stage against Croatia and one against South Korea.

The progress of South Korea into the later stages was the subject of much debate. Questionable decisions in the Italy-South Korea match resulted in 400,000 email complaints. The Spain-South Korea match featured two controversially disallowed Spanish goals, though FIFA dismissed the incidents as human error.

The decisions have regularly been cited as some of the worst in the competition's history.

FIFA President Blatter while strongly condemning the calibre of certain refereeing, denied any conspiracy. Despite the criticisms, Blatter dismissed the possibility of technology aids being introduced for the time being.

In the aftermath of the tournament, a 286-page technical survey was released. In this report, FIFA described the general standard of officiating as 'good', but noted that linesmen were responsible for more of the mistakes made during the tournament, identical to a conclusion reached by a brief discussion of this document. The authors made little other mention of errors in the short discussion on referee performance, other than the statement observing that "Football is a game played by humans".

Turkey vs Brazil (group stage)

Rivaldo was criticized for simulation that got a Turkish player sent off. While the ball was kicked at Rivaldo's thighs, he went down clutching his face. When asked about his behaviour in this incident, he replied: "But what could I do? He was the violent one."

Rivaldo was later fined by FIFA.

Turkey were the recipients of two questionable red cards: this was the second of them; the first had occurred for a foul that appeared to occur outside the Turkish goal area. Nonetheless, a penalty was still given to Brazil.

England vs Argentina

Main article: Argentina-England football rivalry

In the England-Argentina group stage game, Michael Owen confessed to having dived over Pocchettino's leg to win the penalty that produced the only goal.<

In the years since the incident, Owen has indicated that he only did so since he felt it was better than trying to play one's way through a challenge or tackle.

Italy vs South Korea

The round of 16 match between Italy and South Korea refereed by Ecuadorian Byron Moreno was particularly controversial.

The Italians had a goal disallowed, as well as Francesco Totti sent off after receiving a second yellow card for allegedly diving in the penalty area. However, replays suggested contact between Totti and his opponent, and the decision to red-card Totti was later described as wrong by a FIFA official.

On the matter, FIFA President Blatter opined: "Italy's elimination is not only down to referees and linesmen who made human not premeditated errors... Italy made mistakes both in defence and in attack."

Moreno was subsequently struck off the FIFA approved referee list.

Spain vs South Korea

Spain had two goals disallowed in this match; the first for a foul and the whistle was blown for a goal kick before the 2nd one. These were questionable as no foul was apparently committed and a linesman wrongly ruled the ball had crossed the goal line.

Several Spanish players confronted referee Gamal Ghandour of Egypt after the match. Iván Helguera referred to the match's result as "a robbery" and led to Spanish press brandishing the officials "thieves of dreams".

USA vs Germany

A German defender handled the ball on the goal line, but no goal or penalty was given.

Discipline

Main article: 2002 FIFA World Cup disciplinary record

In the Cameroun vs Germany match, 16 yellow cards were shown to 14 different players, leading to 2 red cards (one per side).

Other matches with more than one red card include Brazil vs Turkey, Slovenia vs Paraguay, Portugal vs South Korea.

In the cases of Portugal and Turkey, both the red cards in their respective games were given to these sides.

Play-acting continued to be a problem in this World Cup, with Rivaldo being punished by FIFA and other incidents disputed by fans and commentators. This was despite FIFA having identified diving as an issue for the cup.

Others

Senegalese Fadiga was involved in a shoplifting incident on the eve of the competition, reminiscent of that in Bogota decades earlier. He would go on to play a leading role in his country's impressive World Cup debut, despite the accusations.

The scorer of the Korean golden goal against Italy, Ahn, was controversially dismissed by his Italian club apparently for his comments after the match. He was told by Perugia's president, Luciano Gaucci, that he would never play for the club again, only for Gaucci to have a change of mind the following day. Ahn later refused their offer to play for them, but later also admitted that the decision to release him was taken before the match.

Ireland captain Roy Keane was sent home for his leading role as a mutineer in the Saipan incident, and Slovenia had a player sent home for an argument with his coach.

Riots broke out in Russia after their 1-0 loss to Japan. A mob took the streets and started burning Japanese cars; two people were killed. Violence also occurred after England's victory over Denmark.

Cameroun were nearly banned due to their kit, which was thought to resemble track suits.

References

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