Two referees per match in next World Cup?

In an interview to London's [ Images ] The Daily Telegraph, FIFA President Sepp Blatter has revealed that three radical new steps -- introduction of the two-referee system, using balls with electronic chips and an amnesty on yellow cards after the quarter-finals -- are being considered.

FIFA has tested the two-referee system earlier, and Blatter said though results in Malaysia and Brazil [ Images ] were encouraging, the Norwegian and Italian referees -- especially now-retired celebrity referee Pierluigi Collina (the bald guy with the piercing look) -- had responded negatively to the two-referee system.

'But now we are facing a situation in the game where the pace is such that we must ask if there should be a further experiment,' Blatter told the British newspaper.

About the balls with chips that would tell if the goal-line had been crossed, Blatter said talks were on with Cairos-Adidas and that the balls would see action in next year's FIFA youth championships, the under-17 championships in Korea and the under-20 tournament in Canada [ Images ].

Blatter also said he found merit in the yellow cards not being carried over at the quarter-final level.

In the present World Cup, a player who gets a yellow card in Round Two and another in, say, the semi-final, will miss the final if his team qualifies.

The FIFA president said disciplinary action based on video evidence might also be enforced.