Referees will have help in Russia

SANTIAGO - FIFA president Gianni Infantino confirmed on Wednesday that video-assistant referees will be used at next year's World Cup in Russia for the first time.

"We will use video refereeing at the 2018 World Cup because we've had nothing but positive results so far," Infantino said at a congress of the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) in Santiago, Chile.

"In 2017, when everyone in the stadium or at home can see within seconds if the referee made a mistake, we can't have a situation where the only one who can't see it is the referee."

Video assistance was introduced to support referees with "game-changing" decisions for the first time in a FIFA competition at the Club World Cup in Japan last December.

The four areas covered by the video replay official were goals, penalties, red cards and cases of mistaken identity.

Infantino had already said he wanted video refereeing for the next World Cup, but that "little hiccups" would have to be worked out first.

That included slow decision-making by video-assistant referees, he said at a meeting of the International Football Association Board in March.

"The referees... will be able to take decisions much faster when they use it more often," he said.

CONMEBOL said on Wednesday it was considering ways of boosting attendance at the 2019 Copa America, South America's top international tournament, which will take place in Brazil.

Proposals include raising the number of competing countries to 16 from the usual number of 12, said CONMEBOL vice-president Arturo Salah.

It has also been suggested that European countries be invited to take part.

"The Copa America with European teams would be like a World Cup. That is a discussion for another time," Infantino said.

Millions in graft

The head of CONMEBOL said the body lost more than $140 million to graft under former managers indicted in a US corruption investigation.

Between 2010 and 2014 "CONMEBOL was defrauded of more than $140 million," president Alejandro Dominguez said after unveiling the findings of an external audit at the confederation's congress.

South American soccer officials have been heavily implicated in the US-led investigation into corruption in world soccer which led to the downfall of FIFA president Sepp Blatter in 2015.

Paraguay's Dominguez was appointed to root out graft in CONMEBOL after investigations indicated officials had pocketed millions of dollars in bribes for awarding sponsorship and marketing contracts.

Three former presidents of CONMEBOL - Eugenio Figueredo of Uruguay and two Paraguayans, Nicolas Leoz and Juan Angel Napout - have been indicted in the US investigation, accused of accepting bribes.

Figueredo and Leoz are under house arrest pending investigations.

They are among some 40 international officials detained in the scandal.

The audit released on Wednesday details "suspect operations recorded in the 2010 to 2014 period under the managements of Nicolas Leoz and Eugenio Figueredo".

The transactions "represent institutional diversion of funds for personal gain," the report says.

Agence France-Presse

FIFA president Gianni Infantino delivers a speech at the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) congress in Santiago, Chile, on Wednesday. Esteban Felix / Ap

(China Daily 04/28/2017 page22)