Former Swedish international referee Anders Frisk received the Fifa president’s award from Sepp Blatter here on Monday in what the soccer supremo termed was a message of support for referees.
Frisk retired from the game after receiving several death threats following the Champions League quarterfinal first leg match between Barcelona and Chelsea last season after he sent off the Premiership champions’ striker Didier Drogba.
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho stoked the fires by saying he had seen his Barcelona counterpart Frank Rijkaard go into Frisk’s dressingroom at halftime — something strongly denied by both men.
”Aside from paying homage to such an individual, who was one of the greatest referees, this award sends a powerful message of support to his fellow referees who are still working,” said Blatter.
”It is an appeal to respect and discipline.”
Blatter also used the award to reiterate his opposition to resorting to video replays over contentious decisions, and which many players and federations have asked to be brought in.
”To take such powers away from a referee and resort to videos like certain people are proposing would dehumanise football. It would be suicidal.”
Frisk’s retirement drew widespread disbelief in the European football community and UEFA slapped Mourinho with a £9 000 fine and two-match touchline ban for the ”false comments”.
”We must live in a crazy world if people think a referee should be the target of intimidation in his house and that his children are also victims,” said Frisk, who also in an earlier Champions League match had been felled by a lighter thrown by an AS Roma fan.
Frisk refereed 132 international matches and appeared at three European championship finals (1996, 2000, 2004) and one World Cup final (2002). – Sapa-AFP