FIFA to blow whistle on official

JAPANESE referee Toru Kamikawa may have officiated in his last World Cup match...ever.

This prospect loomed large after his performance in Thursday’s Group B World Cup match between Trinidad and Tobago and England came under increasing fire from football pundits throughout Germany.

So FIFA, the world governing body for football and the organisers of the World Cup Finals have placed Kamikawa on a list of referees whose performance will be reviewed.

This is a clear signal that FIFA is unhappy at the way the Japanese official conducted his duties at the Franken Stadion in Nuremberg as the Soca Warriors conceded two goals in the last seven minutes to lose the match.

His situation was not helped by German television, which mere hours after picked up the foul by lanky England striker Peter Crouch who leapt over the until then impenetrable Trinidad and Tobago defence to break the deadlock in the 83rd minute.

Television replays which were magnified showed Crouch pulling at the dreadlocks of defender Brent Sancho as he jumped to head in the David Beckham cross and despite the protestations of Sancho, referee Kamikawa pointed to the kick-off spot indicating the goal was good.

Also there was much debate here in Frankfurt about the disallowed goal scored by Stern John in stoppage time.

It was a decision, many felt, that should have gone the way of the Warriors but as his decisions throughout the match proved, Kamikawa was not giving anything to the World Cup debutants.

His judgement appeared clouded by the fact that the Trinidad and Tobago team was the smallest nation ever to compete at the World Cup Finals and were rank outsiders especially against a team like England.

Evans Wise, who plays for the Third Division German side came on as a second half substitute and sprinted down the right flank and fed a piercing cross to John in the box who flicked the ball past the England ‘keeper Paul Robinson.

As the Trinidad and Tobago fans rose in delirium to celebrate the historic achievement, referee Kamikawa deflated the football atom bomb with a fierce blast of his whistle.

Trinidad and Tobago fans were also left pondering the decision of the stadium announcer to use the public address system during play.

Announcing “three minutes more” to indicate the period of extra time appeared to have startled Trinidad and Tobago goalkeeper Shaka Hislop just as England midfielder Frank Lampard curled in a left-footer to put his team two-up.

Despite the loss there was a lot of admiration for the Trinidad and Tobago footballers who with a little more luck could have already ensured their place in the round of 16 knockout stage at odds of 1,000 to one.

The results on Thursday meant that the Soca Warriors must defeat Paraguay by two clear goals in their final Group B match in Kaiserslautern and England must beat Sweden in Cologne to achieve the historic feat. Both matches are on Tuesday at the same time.