By Elias Hazou
WHAT do Fabio Capello, Arrigo Sacchi and Pierluigi Collina have in common, other than being of Italian extraction? They'll all be present in Cyprus this weekend, helping test UEFA's latest idea for the beautiful game.
The brainchild of UEFA President Michel Platini, it involves adding two more assistant referees who will be positioned behind either goal, meaning every game would be controlled by a referee, four assistants and a fourth (or is it sixth?) official.
Platini and FIFA President Sepp Blatter put forward the idea earlier this year, after proposals to introduce goal-line technology to football were scrapped at a meeting of the game's powerbrokers.
Now, an Under-19 international tournament in Cyprus will provide the testing ground for it.
"Cyprus could make football history," said William Gaillard, UEFA's director of communications.
That's assuming FIFA, football's governing body, is convinced that the scheme works.
It's thought having two extra assistants watching the goal lines will help the man in black make better calls on such controversial things as whether the ball crossed the line or if penalties should be awarded.
"This is about better observation without interrupting the flow of the game," Gaillard told the Mail.
Often, referees can't tell whether a player has been tripped in the box, for example when they're standing behind a challenging defender, who blocks the view.
UEFA are clearly making a big deal of the experiment, with football legends and the world media (including Canal Plus and Al-Jazeera) swarming on the island to observe the proceedings.
Retired referee Pierluigi Collina (yes, he with the intense stare and shaved scalp) will he here as one of the observers, as will Swiss ref Urs Meier and Scotland manager George Burley.
Cameras will be on hand to record the games, helping experts to later dissect plays and decide whether the new system is an improvement on the existing one.
This will actually be the third mini-tournament where the idea is being tested, the previous two having taken place in Slovenia and Hungary over the past few weeks.
The first fixture, featuring the Czech Republic v Cyprus, takes place tomorrow at 2.30pm at Larnaca's Ammochostos stadium.
Four teams are taking part - Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Georgia and Denmark.
The initiative was widely ridiculed when it was first proposed by Platini and, if approved, it will put additional strain on national associations who are already struggling to recruit enough referees and assistants.
"There's a lot more than just putting two more referees on the pitch… it's not that simple," said UEFA Executive Committee member Marios Lefkaritis.
Apart from the problem of finding enough people to officiate games, the cost of the scheme could be prohibitive for some national associations. It almost goes without saying that FIFA or UEFA would need to finance at least part of the extra costs.
Lefkaritis could not say whether the idea, if approved, would be implemented for Champions League matches or across the board, covering domestic and international fixtures.
"Maybe - and I'm only speculating here - the scheme will be on a voluntary basis. Either way, FIFA will study this carefully before reaching a decision.
"We'll see how it pans out," Lefkaritis told the Mail.
