To this end, 12 February 2005 marked the start in the selection process to unearth the all important men in black. Some 46 referees from all six FIFA confederations, named by the world governing body in January 2005 as would-be officials for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, gathered for an initial five-day course in Neu-Isenburg near Frankfurt.

The location will also be the effective headquarters for the 33rd participating team at the FIFA World Cup finals.

The workshop represents the start of a gruelling 16-month preparation programme implemented for the first time by FIFA ahead of a FIFA World Cup to ensure that the officials are ?technically, physically, tactically, psychologically and medically in optimal condition, because FIFA wants professionals of the highest standard at next year?s FIFA World Cup finals,? affirmed FIFA vice-president Angel Maria Villar Llona, the Spanish chairman of the FIFA Referees? Committee. The importance attached by FIFA to this special training and selection process was reflected by the fact that FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter travelled in person to Neu-Isenburg to attend the opening of the workshop.

?Our objective is to see top performances. This unique programme will help us to ensure that truly the best officials are used at the 2006 FIFA World Cup,? Blatter declared in his welcome speech. What followed was an intensive five-day programme including a comprehensive medical check, ranging from an eye-test to a body fat measurement with conditioning and fitness tests as well as practical and theoretical exercises on the laws of the game. ?I have never experienced such professionalism,? said Markus Merk, who was voted the world?s best referee last year and who took charge of the 2004 European Championship final in Lisbon.

The prime objective of the preparations is to ensure optimal and consistent refereeing at the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The 46 FIFA World Cup candidates will come under close scrutiny throughout the year ? notably at the four major FIFA events on the calendar: the FIFA World Youth Championship in Netherlands, the Confederations Cup in Germany, the U-17 World Championship in Peru and the FIFA Club World Championship in Japan. The intention is that each potential FIFA World Cup referee will operate in a permanent team of three, the other members of which he can nominate himself. Merk and his Bundesliga colleague Herbert Fandel have already submitted the four names of their nominated assistants to FIFA.

FIFA will finally name the FIFA World Cup referees at the end of February 2006. The pool of 36 referees from the 2002 tournament (plus 36 assistants) may also be reduced to 30. ?It will be a momentous challenge to make the final group and participate at the 2006 FIFA World Cup. However, the most important thing is that the FIFA World Cup referees present themselves correctly and as a team. The old adage applies that a team is only as strong as its weakest member,? Markus Merk stressed.

The officials? international elite made no attempt to gloss over the German refereeing betting scandal in Neu-Isenburg. ?All we can say on the matter is that it is in the hands of the German authorities, with whom the DFB are co-operating 100 per cent,? said FIFA refereeing figurehead Villar Llona, before exonerating German officials from any further suspicion: ?We support the German referees, whom we respect entirely. It is unjust that all refereeing performances should be called into question because of the indiscretions of a small minority. There is no collective responsibility.?
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