AARs unlikely at the 2014 World Cup

Additional Assistant Referees are unlikely to be used at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil despite the system's apparent success at Euro 2012, FIFA president Sepp Blatter said on Friday. He added that the system, featuring one AAR behind each goal, had not featured in the World Cup qualifiers and it would be inconsistent to employ it at the finals. Blatter said the use of the AAR, championed by UEFA president Michel Platini who is an opponent of goal-line technology, was too expensive for most domestic leagues.

"All around the world, the qualifying system is done with the conservative system of one referee, two assistant referees and the fourth official," Blatter told reporters. "I am not going to say what is the final decision before the World Cup, but if you have the system which has run for the qualification, then you should have the same system in the final. There are not so many associations in the world of football that can afford to have so many referees, even in professional leagues. The AARs must have the same quality as the referee in the middle, that is the first principle," he said. However, Blatter did not completely write the system off. "Let us wait and see how many of the national associations will use this system of additional referees and how it will work in the different leagues," he added. UEFA employs five referees in Champions League and Europa League matches and the system is also used in Italy's Serie A. Blatter is a keen supporter of goal-line technology, which FIFA has already confirmed will be used at the 2014 World Cup when it is not clear if the ball has entered the goal. UEFA has argued that the extra linesmen also help reduce pushing and shoving in the penalty area, inhibit players from diving to win penalties and improve fair play.
Blatter said FIFA was also considering the use of vanishing spray to stop defensive walls creeping forward at free kicks. Widely used in South America where it was pioneered, it involves referees pacing the regulatory 9.15 metres between the ball and the nearest defender and then spraying a white line on the pitch to mark the correct position of the wall. The line disappears from the pitch within a minute. Blatter said the idea might be tested at the Club World Cup in Japan in December.

Source: FIFA