Henry fallout: More refs?

Thierry Henry’s handball against Ireland could lead to Fifa fast-tracking the introduction of two additional referees for the World Cup in South Africa.

Thierry Henry’s handball against Ireland could lead to Fifa fast-tracking the introduction of two additional referees for the World Cup in South Africa. One of Fifa’s most senior officials yesterday confirmed it will be on agenda at the law-making International Football Association Board meeting in Zurich next March.

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“The situation of additional referees will be spoken about at the IFAB meeting,” said the official. “If you had additional referees in place, they would have seen it. Michel Platini is in favour of the system of two more referees.”

Platini said last month that “it is [my] role [as] the president of Uefa and Fifa’s vice-president to help referees see everything”. He added that with two more referees “it would be better, this system is fairer. You’d have two more pairs of eyes; that’s easier.”