Under-fire Hansson in line for World Cup
Saturday November 21 2009
SWEDISH referee Martin Hansson is still on course for the World Cup finals despite his terrible error in the Stade de France on Wednesday night.
But Hansson has been warned that he is one major mistake from missing out on South Africa next summer.
The 38-year-old was listed on a preliminary roster of 38 referees for the finals, with that number set to be whittled down to 30.
And he has received support from a Scandinavian colleague, Peter Mikklesen, who will be involved in making the decision.
"Ref mistakes will always happen, but Martin Hansson makes them rarely," said Mikklesen, a senior member of FIFA's Referees Committee.
"I have full confidence in him. When we choose the World Cup referees, it is a comprehensive evaluation of many appearances. I think Martin has a very good chance to be in the World Cup."
Reports in Sweden have quoted another member of FIFA's referee panel who said: "Of course Martin has eyes on him. If he does one more big mistake in a Champions League game it will be difficult to pick him."
Scotsman Hugh Dallas, best known for being struck by a coin thrown by Celtic fans in an Old Firm game 10 years ago, was the referee observer at Stade de France and has said he met the officials afterwards for a briefing but refused to comment further.
Hansson broke his silence yesterday to tell Swedish regional radio channel Radio Blekinge: "I cannot comment on the game itself but life must go on and I hope I will survive this too."
- Daniel McDonnell
Irish Independent
