MONACO, (Reuters) – Bad referees have no place in soccer and will no longer be tolerated by UEFA, president Michel Platini said yesterday. “If you cannot see the ball has crossed the line from three metres away then you are no good,” he told a news briefing. “The time has come — there will be no more excuses for referees.”
Platini, who had the original idea to use five officials at Europa League and Champions League matches, remained steadfast in his opposition to goalline technology.
He said the experiment with five officials would eradicate a lot of problems in and around the penalty area.
The experiment sees one additional assistant standing behind each goalline, alerting the referee to fouls in the penalty area and when the ball has crossed the line for a goal.
“I am more in favour of the experiment where the extra referee can see when the ball has gone over the line. For me that is the only solution,” said the president of European soccer’s governing body.
“I think it’s a very good system. We have always been very tolerant as referees cannot see everything.
“Now with this system they can see everything. They have an assistant standing behind the goalline. If they cannot see if it’s gone in they should get another job,” said Platini.
“There should be near zero tolerance with regard to referees because they should be able to see everything now.”
Frenchman Platini added: “A Champions League final with only three referees makes me nervous now … with five referees we can be 99 percent or 100 percent certain.”