2014fwc_tsg_report_15082014_neutral

110Refereeing reportpoints for improvement and the importanceof employing good practices for futurematches.The refereeing delegation stayed at theWindsor Barra Hotel in Rio de Janeiro, wherethey received excellent hospitality and enjoyedgood facilities, suitable meeting rooms, anda gym that met the needs of the referees. Inaddition, special mention should be madeof the attention and professional supportreceived from the Local Organising Committeeand its partners, particularly for matters suchas transport, logistics and different sportingfacilities for the referees’ practical trainingsessions with well-prepared football players.Members of the Referees Committee took onthe important role of assessor and assisted thematch officials in the venues. Accordingly, theywere responsible for FIFA refereeing mattersand supported the referees’ needs for theentire duration of their stay in the respectivevenues. A technical instructor assisted incarrying out the functions of a match analyst.The members of the Referees Committeeand the instructors carefully monitored all ofthe match officials’ performances, and theirevaluations were very positive. In summary,the refereeing of this competition was verysuccessful.The high level of fair play on theplaying field during this tournamentwas noteworthy as, compared to othertournaments, there were relatively fewfouls, and fewer yellow and red cards wereissued.The preventive measures of meeting andtalking with the teams beforehand, both inthe coach and team administrator workshopand in the Team Arrival Meetings (TAM),were effective. Having a strong workingrelationship with players and coaches onand off the field of play was instrumental infostering mutual respect.Goal-line technology (GLT) was employedat this World Cup with great success as thesystem helped referees in situations whereit would have been nearly impossible forthe referees to detect a goal having beenscored. For the very first time in World Cuphistory, the GLT system was used in thematch between France and Honduras tohelp the referee to correctly award France’ssecond goal, which would have beenvirtually impossible to detect without thehelp of this innovative system. The refereesalso used the vanishing spray with greatsuccess to ensure the 9.15-metre distancewas observed at the taking of free kicks.