12 June 2014
South African referee Daniel Bennett has had his dream of officiating at the 2014 Fifa World Cup shattered by injury.
Bennett, a former South African Referee of the Year, had been selected as a support referee for the football world’s greatest spectacle, which kicks off in Brazil on Thursday and runs through until 13 July.
He picked up the injury in a routine training session at the Zico Centre in Rio last Tuesday, and unfortunately has been unable to overcome it.
Sidelined for four to six weeks
“The medical investigations revealed the seriousness of the injury, which means a minimum of four to six weeks for cure. The main consequence is that Mr Bennett will be unable to officiate and support matches at this 2014 Fifa World Cup,” Fifa secretary-general Jerome Valcke wrote in a letter to the South African Football Association (Safa).
The Fifa medical team had hoped Bennett would recover in time for the start of the tournament, but their efforts were in vain.
Treatment
“During these days, adequate rehabilitation (twice a day) has been provided to Mr Bennett. However, this represents an additional load on the medical team, which has to ensure recovery massage and specific treatments to referees and assistant referees actively involved in the 2014 Fifa World Cup,” Valcke said.
As a result, at the Fifa referees’ sub-committee meeting on Monday, it was decided to release and send Bennett home to ensure his proper recovery. However, his assistant, Marwa Range from Kenya, will continue with his duties in Brazil as a support assistant referee.
There will be no replacement for Bennett, as Fifa believe they have sufficient cover for him.
‘Quality paramount’
“The quality of referees and assistant referees at the 2014 Fifa World Cup is paramount, and the support referees were implemented in order to provide a seamless transition when a referee or assistant referee must be replaced for any reason after the final selection has been made,” Valcke explained.
“At this stage of the competition, taking any referee who is not on the final list of selected match officials is counter-productive, since those referees did not partake in any official Fifa fitness tests nor all theoretical, tactical and physical sessions since January 2014, when the final list of referees and assistant referees was approved.”
SAinfo reporter and South African Football Association
