To err is human, goes the old adage. Under-fire Fifa is in no mood to have any of it and have sent back three of the referees whose blunders re-opened the debate to include technology to aid the officials.
Football’s governing body while trimming down its list for officials for the quarterfinals sent home Uruguay’s Jorge Larrionda, who failed to spot Frank Lampard’s legitimate game-tying goal for England in the Germany match.
Italy’s Roberto Rosetti, wrongly reported in some sections of the media as a front-runner to officiate in the final, whose crew failed to raise the flag after Carlos Tevez scored the opener against Mexico despite being offside by a yard was also not retained for the last 8.
Also on a flight back home are Koman Coulibaly of Mali, who disallowed Maurice Edu’s goal for the US in the closing minutes against Slovenia, and Stephane Lannoy of France, who sent off Brazil’s Kaka with a dubious red card.