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Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Webb gets it right - eventually

We hear it so many times as refs. Never let your guard down. Howard Webb had had a dream of a match in Bloemfontein until the 89th minute, when it all threatened to go pear shaped on him. Webb had trouble sorting out the penalty areas for a Brazil free kick and issued several warnings to players. He looked well placed as the free kick came in, but the ball broke to Lucio whose shot straight at the goal.
The Egyptian defender on the line collapsed holding his face and the ball went out of play. Webb pointed to the corner spot, apparently convinced that the defender had been poleaxed. The Brazilians, however, had a clearer view and saw clearly the defender deliberately blocked the ball with his hand.
As he walked 20 yards to the incident and waved away furious Brazilians, Webb changed his mind. It is pretty clear now that he was tipped off by his assistant Mike Mullarkey, who was a long way from the incident but had a clear view of the incident. The Egyptians, trying a classic smokescreen, protested to Fifa that the fourth official had viewed the incident on a TV screen, something that is not allowed.
On Tuesday, Fifa wisely rejected the Egyptians' complaint. The only fear is that the incident will damage Webb's chances of progressing in the competition, which would be grossly unfair. Fifa is famous for steering clear of controversy, however.

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