Berlin – The referee controversy is not harming TV ratings or keeping the crowds away from the World Cup.
FIFA’s TV rights partner, Infront, estimates an accumulated TV audience exceeding 30 billion for the tournament.
Infront managing director Dominik Schmid said about 40 percent of the viewing audience was female, something he could only attribute to “a World Cup phenomenon.” He said ratings records were falling around the world, even in countries that did not qualify. Schmid highlighted an England-Paraguay first-round match that had a viewing audience in China of 62.9 million – more than the combined populations of both participating countries. With stadiums at capacity, more than 11 million people have turned to “Fan Zones” in downtown areas of the 12 German cities hosting matches to watch on giant TV screens.
“We’re living the biggest football party ever,” FIFA spokesman Markus Siegler said. “Our expectations were surpassed.”
Tandem referees unlikely
FIFA is not ready to put a second referee on the pitch. Match officials have come under heavy scrutiny amid the record number of red (24) and yellow cards (298) and a spate of questionable decisions, some of which have decided the outcome of games. FIFA has ruled out video instant replay, and technology to detect the ball crossing the goal line was shelved because it is not 100 percent reliable.
Two referees in working tandem has been tried, but it was “not the right path to follow” right now, Siegler said.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
