German soccer official criticises FIFA referee choice

BERLIN, May 10 (Reuters) A German soccer official has criticised FIFA's choice of World Cup referees and said UEFA Cup final referee Herbert Fandel should have been picked.

''One referee who usually only works in the student city league in Singapore is going to the World Cup and Fandel is sent off into the cold -- and no one knows why,'' Manfred Amerell, referee spokesman for the German football association (DFB), said today.

He said Norway's Terje Hauge should also have been among the 23 referees chosen by FIFA for the finals starting on June 9.

''You can't treat the public as if they're dumb,'' said Amerell.

''If he (FIFA president Sepp Blatter) talks about the best referees, then a couple of the best, at least from Europe, are missing.'' FIFA's referees committee made its decision after fitness tests at a workshop in Germany in April.

Fandel, 42, will take charge of today's UEFA Cup final between Middlesbrough of England and Sevilla of Spain in Eindhoven.

Reuters