The decision to appoint Wolfgang Stark, the German referee, to officiate the match this afternoon between England and Slovenia marks a departure from the previous policy of the Fifa refereeing committee.
Given that England are in group C and Germany are in group D, there is a strong chance that the outcome will help to determine Germany’s next opponents, assuming that they qualify.
And if Stark has a less than solid game, the risk of perceptions of impropriety — that he might somehow steer England out of Germany’s path — would become very real.
For most of the past few decades, Fifa, world football’s governing body, had gone out of its way to avoid conflicts of interest such as the one facing Stark: officiating a side whom his country could potentially face in the next match.
This often meant appointing officials based on provenance as much as merit. It also fits into Fifa’s policy of encouraging the development of officials from beyond the traditional powers of South America, Europe and Mexico.
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That changed after the 2002 World Cup, when strong complaints were made about match officials, primarily from Spain, after the performance of Gamal al-Ghandour, the Egyptian referee, in their quarter-final against South Korea.
For the 2006 World Cup in Germany, the committee, led by Ángel María Villar Llona, a Spaniard, made its appointments largely on merit and experience, going with what were perceived to be “safe hands”. As a result, except for the third-place match, every game in the knockout rounds was officiated by a European, South American or Mexican referee.
Even in 2006 the policy raised some eyebrows. Spain’s round-of-16 game against France was given to an Italian official, Roberto Rosetti, while Italy’s match in the same round against Australia was handled by a Spaniard, Luis Medina Cantalejo.
Those who predicted some kind of quid pro quo stitch-up were disappointed — Spain lost 3-1 — but there is little question that Rosetti and Medina Cantalejo were put in an uncomfortable position.
Stark has been put in a comparable role. Officiating England in crucial games is often difficult enough — who can forget the experience of Urs Meier, the Swiss referee, who received about 16,000 abusive e-mails after taking charge of Portugal v England in the quarter-finals of Euro 2004 and disallowing Sol Campbell’s late goal — but to do so with the potential spectre of allegations of bias makes it that much more challenging.
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Fifa could have avoided this by making a different appointment. Particularly because, with two European teams facing each other, the committee could have selected an official from any confederation.
Stark will not be the only one hoping today’s game goes off smoothly. Otherwise, Fifa will have to shoulder some of the blame for creating this situation.
Terry looks back in anger
It is not just Fabio Capello’s management that has irritated John Terry in recent months, the Chelsea defender has also crossed swords in the past with Wolfgang Stark, the referee today.
The 40-year-old from Bavaria was in charge for Chelsea’s second-leg defeat by Inter Milan at Stamford Bridge in March, when he angered the Stamford Bridge club by turning down two strong penalty appeals. “It was a bad performance by us but a really bad performance from the referee,” Terry said. “I’m not going to say the word ‘conspiracy’. I am not using that term, but I’m so frustrated by what happened.
“When a decision didn’t go our way, I, as captain, went to speak to the referee and he turned his back on me. I wasn’t shouting. I went to try to talk to him and when he wouldn’t talk, that is when I got frustrated. That is just pure disrespect.”
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Stark forms part of an all-German line-up of officials with Jan-Hendrik Salver and Mike Pickel, his assistants.