Gab & Juls Meet ... Pierluigi Collina, the man in charge of World Cup's referees

The aged cliché is that you cognize the referee had a bully crippled erstwhile you don't announcement him. But there's a ton that goes into making definite World Cup referees don't get noticed, and the antheral liable for bringing it each unneurotic is Pierluigi Collina, president of FIFA's referees committee -- himself a erstwhile FIFA ref who took complaint of the 2002 World Cup final.

Julien Laurens and I sat down with him for the latest occurrence of "Gab & Juls Meet," and helium walked america done the process.

- O'Hanlon: Predicting each azygous World Cup crippled (E+)

The archetypal happening to retrieve is that you can't conscionable fig retired however galore lucifer officials you request -- successful the lawsuit of this World Cup, 36 referees, 69 adjunct referees and 24 video lucifer officials -- and past fig retired who you deliberation the apical officials successful the satellite mightiness be. If you did, you mightiness extremity up with a clump of European referees from the apical leagues. After all, astir of the players astatine the World Cup play successful Europe's apical leagues and these refs person the astir acquisition moving with them. But conscionable arsenic the countries that enactment successful the World Cup are representative, truthful excessively are the lucifer officials. Eleven of them travel from Europe, 7 from South America, six each from Asia and Africa, 5 from North America and 1 from Oceania.

"We began the process astir arsenic soon arsenic the 2018 World Cup ended," Collina says. "We monitored hundreds of lucifer officials from astir the satellite successful each confederation. Our committee has members from each confederation and we tracked them passim the process. We had seminars for them, remotely during the pandemic and past in-person, we tracked them and past we made our decisions."

The 139 lucifer officials each enactment unneurotic successful the aforesaid hotel. They bid unneurotic too, and arsenic portion of their preparation, FIFA adjacent arranged a semi-professional tourney for them to officiate truthful they could get unrecorded signifier -- referees request to enactment acceptable arsenic good -- and not person to instrumentality a interruption from moving their home leagues to the World Cup. There are lucifer analysts who chopped video for them excessively due to the fact that these days, referees are expected to hole up of time, knowing the players they volition instrumentality complaint of, their characteristics and their tendencies. That way, Collina says, they are amended prepared and tin absorption connected their job. If you cognize Player X is apt to clasp up the shot and Player Y is apt to effort and tally down a defender, you tin expect and presumption yourself accordingly.

It's a acold outcry from past World Cups.

"I retrieve erstwhile I was asked to referee the 2002 last betwixt Brazil and Germany I had to inquire for VHS tapes of each of the games some teams had played until that point," Collina says. "I locked myself successful my country for a time and a half, taking notes and watching each infinitesimal of each match. Because the extremity of a referee is to beryllium 1 measurement ahead, to cognize what is going to hap earlier it happens.

"At the time, it was beauteous antithetic to hole similar that," helium adds, "but I'm arrogant of the information that contiguous this is mean prep for a referee."

Collina talks astir however there's a squad tone among his referees, but there's besides a earthy rivalry. Like the teams, refs privation to instrumentality astir the tourney arsenic agelong arsenic possible. Collina and his squad are charged with evaluating them and appointing them. In the past, this was often a governmental process, fraught with suspicion. Collina remembers however helium was sent location erstwhile Italy qualified for the 1998 World Cup quarterfinal. And, successful fact, nary of the referees successful the last 8 that twelvemonth came from countries that had qualified.

"I person to accidental our main criteria is quality," helium says. "Sure, there's a neutrality to beryllium respected. But the archetypal precedence is ever quality."

For example, we won't spot a German referee successful complaint of a Germany lucifer for the foreseeable future. Or, if Germany are playing successful 1 semifinal, determination won't beryllium a German ref successful the different immoderate clip soon. This is to debar conflicts of interest, either existent oregon perceived, and the benignant of conspiracy theories that dogged FIFA for decades erstwhile it came to officiating.

The committee Collina present chairs was historically seen arsenic 1 of the astir almighty due to the fact that it gave retired plum assignments to lucifer officials. Not coincidentally, the apical spots were usually assigned based connected governmental clout, alternatively than refereeing expertise. In 2010, for example, the president and vice president of the committee were FIFA vice president Angel Maria Villar and FIFA enforcement committee subordinate Ricardo Teixeira (the erstwhile resigned aft being arrested for embezzling funds successful 2017, the second received a beingness prohibition for morals breaches). Neither antheral had a refereeing background.

"[This practice] changed erstwhile Gianni Infantino became president of FIFA successful 2016," says Collina. "And it was a affirmative change. Those who person work for referees indispensable person a refereeing inheritance and, of course, they indispensable beryllium autarkic from anyone else."

Then there's VAR (or video adjunct referee) that was introduced to the World Cup successful Russia successful 2018. Collina is pleased with however it went, though helium says the barroom is adjacent higher successful Qatar. There volition beryllium 4 video lucifer officials for each game: a VAR, an adjunct VAR, different adjunct VAR who volition absorption exclusively connected offside, and yet different VAR whose occupation volition beryllium to facilitate the travel of communication.

"The video lucifer officials were chosen for their accomplishment and acquisition arsenic VARs," helium says, conceding that looking astatine a surface tin beryllium a antithetic accomplishment than officiating a match. "Crucially, compared to Russia, we each person much experience."

This clip determination are added wrinkles, similar the "semi-automatic" offside, which is fundamentally a three-dimensional visualization of players' positions connected the pitch. It's not similar the aboriginal days of VAR, with lines drawn connected screens. The strategy collects 29 information points from each subordinate 50 times per 2nd and the presumption of the shot is measured 500 times per 2nd successful bid to find arsenic accurately arsenic imaginable erstwhile a walk is made.

Then there's goal-line technology. "When it was archetypal introduced, the borderline of mistake was astir 3 centimeters," Collina says. "Now it's successful the portion of a fewer millimeters." All of this should marque decision-making quicker and much accurate, but arsenic Collina states, "Sometimes accuracy and velocity don't spell together. ... If you privation to beryllium sure, it takes time."

Collina has besides worked to code a perennial favored peeve: time-wasting and wounded clip astatine the extremity of games. He makes a favoritism betwixt things similar extremity celebrations and intentional time-wasting and delays which are an integrated portion of the game, similar the shot going retired of play oregon dead-ball/set-piece situations. "In Russia, we tried to beryllium much close successful compensating for clip mislaid during games and that's wherefore you saw six, 7 oregon adjacent 8 minutes added on," helium says. "Think astir it: if you person 3 goals successful a half, you'll astir apt suffer 4 oregon 5 minutes successful full to celebrations and the restart."

It volition beryllium the 4th officials' occupation to cipher the clip to beryllium added connected for clip mislaid during the game, portion 1 of the VAR squad members volition support way of clip mislaid to video reviews. Collina says it's a amended strategy than successful the past, erstwhile it was up to the referee to determine or, arsenic helium puts it, "pretended to decide" because, successful fact, it has agelong been the 4th official's job: the referee is simply excessively busy.

- How apical European clubs are spending the World Cup break

Unlike successful the past, determination won't beryllium a scientist arsenic portion of the FIFA squad to enactment referees who whitethorn endure anxiousness due to the fact that of the unit oregon intelligence wellness issues aft a mistake. Collina says it's not due to the fact that referees don't endure intelligence stress, but due to the fact that helium views it arsenic precise idiosyncratic and talking to a therapist you're gathering for the archetypal clip successful Doha is astir apt little utile than speaking to a person oregon therapist backmost home. "I deliberation you're much apt to unfastened yourself with idiosyncratic you talk to regularly," helium says. "But the enactment tin beryllium remote. ... They are nonrecreational and if they consciousness the need, we volition assistance them immoderate mode we can."

For the archetypal clip ever, Collina's committee has selected 3 women referees (France's Stephanie Frappart, Japan's Yoshimi Yamashita and Rwanda's Salima Mukasanga) and 3 women adjunct referees (Brazil's Neuz Back, Mexico's Karen Diaz Medina and the United States' Kathryn Nesbitt).

"They've each had acquisition successful men's football, not conscionable domestically, but successful FIFA competitions too," helium says. "I person to accidental I recognize it's rather large news, due to the fact that it's the archetypal clip successful FIFA history. But I'd emotion it if it wasn't news, if we simply treated them arsenic six members of the FIFA refereeing squad astatine the World Cup and thing more."

- Stream connected ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, MLS, much (U.S.)

It's different motion of however World Cup officiating is changing. What seemed novel, similar VAR, not that agelong ago, is present taken for granted. And it feels similar these changes, adjacent the large ones, person taken spot quietly. Which is conscionable however Collina likes it. Best erstwhile the referee isn't noticed -- by anyone but Collina and his team, that is.