Elleray red card for Van Basten’s plan
FA referees chief David Elleray chose to be highly critical of FIFA technical director Marco van Basten just before the Holland legend and the rest of the Zurich leadership come to London for the rules-governing IFAB summit next week.
Van Basten has proposed radical changes to the laws to stir debate. These include replacing penalty shoot- outs with hockey- style eightsecond run-ups from 25 metres, scrapping offside and introducing orange cards for 10-minute sin-bin offences.
But arch-traditionalist Elleray was scathing about the suggestions when he addressed FIFA referees at their annual meeting held in Leeds.
The timing of the attack is surprising, especially considering the FA’s desire to build bridges with FIFA. The FA didn’t comment and FIFA said Van Basten’s suggestions were personal rather than FIFA-endorsed. SPECULATION
that elite referee Michael Oliver will follow Howard Webb to work with him in Major League Soccer will only grow after Oliver was at Borehamwood last Sunday to watch the testimonial match for England women’s record goalscorer Kelly Smith. Webb was the official in charge and Oliver’s wife Lucy was an assistant referee. Oliver, who will arguably be the top referee in the Premier League when Mark Clattenburg departs for Saudi Arabia, has ambitions of officiating at a World Cup and could be in contention to take the latter’s place at Russia 2018 if he doesn’t join Webb in the US. But it may be that FIFA referees chief Pierluigi Collina arranges for Clattenburg, of whom he is a big fan, to go as a Saudi Arabia representative. NOTABLE among the absentees from the England players’ dinner at Lord’s, attended by 230 past and present cricketers, were Andrew Flintoff (right), Steve Harmison, Marcus Trescothick and Simon Jones — four members of the great England side who regained the Ashes in 2005 after 16 years. CHELSEA
have wasted no time in appointing a successor to managing director Christian Purslow, who left last Friday. But the choice of former London 2012 commercial director Chris Townsend is surprising, considering he has a similar character to the abrasive Purslow and even compared himself to Sir Alex Ferguson in a magazine interview.