China drafts in foreign referees
CFA invites high-level match officials to league games
The Chinese Football Association (CFA) said Thursday it will bring in foreign referees to officiate selected Super League games starting this weekend and later introduce the use of video replay in response to recent pitch controversies.
Swedish referee Jonas Eriksson will oversee Saturday’s game between Tianjin Quanjian and Shandong Luneng, accompanied by another two Swedish assistants, the CFA said on its website.
French referee Tony Chapron will officiate a Sunday game between Shanghai Shenhua and Tianjin Teda.
The CFA will invite “highlevel European and American” referee teams to judge key matches to “help finish the league smoothly,” the statement said.
The league also will bring in additional video referees on a trial basis near the close of the current season next month and will officially introduce the practice next year, it added.
Chinese soccer has a history of controversy involving referees. In 2009 a high-profile crackdown was launched on match-fixing and other corruption in the sport, which led to dozens of arrests and prison sentences.
The two Tianjin clubs triggered a CFA investigation after relegation-threatened Teda stunned Fabio Cannavaro’s heavily favored Quanjian 4-1 last month.
Four match officials were beaten up following a secondtier league match in July after the referee ordered extra injury time and a debatable penalty that turned the game into a draw.
CFA Vice President Zhang Jian had admitted in August that “there were rather big controversies with the referees’ decisions in some games.”
Foreign officials have been employed in the past but that was stopped beginning last year in a bid to cultivate the league’s own domestic refereeing corps.
However, the latest CFA statement indicated a reversal of that plan. “To improve the abilities of referees is a main part of the CFA’s job. Inviting high-level foreign referees will help further improve referee accuracy in key matches and provide domestic referees with opportunities for learning and exchange,” it said.