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FIFA president urges better pay for refs
FIFA president Sepp Blatter wants referees to be paid more so they would be less susceptible to bribes, and soccer could avoid the kind of game-fixing scandal that has shaken Germany a little more than a year before it hosts the World Cup.
"Human beings are human beings and will remain human beings," Blatter said Tuesday. "They will always be subject to temptation, and we have to try to reduce that temptation."
FIFA's 24-member executive committee spent much of its regular two-day meeting discussing the German scandal. Referee Robert Hoyzer has admitted to fixing or attempting to fix seven league games. Hoyzer, who was arrested last month, is facing a lifetime ban and a large fine from the German soccer federation.
"In our game, as in every other game, people try to gain an advantage," Blatter said. "If there's evidence that even one referee is involved in corruption, that is painful."
Blatter said the use of strictly professional referees would bolster soccer. He said this matter has been on FIFA's agenda for a decade.
"If someone is not refereeing in professional football as an amateur but as a professional himself, he will think three times (before cheating) because of the possibility of losing his profession," Blatter said.
Blatter pointed to the different arrangements for referees. They are salaried in the English Premier League and French first division, as well as the Mexican, Brazilian and Argentine leagues. In Italy and Spain, their contracts cover only the soccer season. German referees are paid per game.
While referees cannot expect to earn as much as top soccer stars, they could be paid the same as a "middle-level professional" in their league, Blatter said without elaborating.
"There's so much money in professional football that there should be the money," he said. "A referee who is no longer in a hobby but who is officiating professionally will have another mind-set."
Hoyzer has admitted manipulating games to aid three Croatian brothers, whose betting scams are suspected of extending beyond Germany to a UEFA Cup game in Greece.
German prosecutors are investigating 25 people, including 14 players and four referees, who are suspected of rigging at least 10 games, mostly in lower divisions. In separate scandals, five teams have been docked points in the Czech league for rigged games while a first-division game in Belgium is under investigation.
"We have to ensure that situations as in Germany are not repeated," Blatter said.
Blatter said the German scandal has not hurt ticket sales for the World Cup.
"Football is 150 years old, FIFA is 100 years old and we will be able to digest this blow," he said.
France and Arsenal star Thierry Henry will lead a group of players and coaches in soccer's fight against racism. ... FIFA picked South Korea (news - web sites) to host the 2007 under-17 world championship, raising the number of teams from 16 to 24. ... FIFA said it was provisionally lifting last month's suspension of Macau.
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