Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, June 06, 2002
FIFA Rejects Turkey's Request of Replacing Referee
"I'm aware of the request, but its not a habit of FIFA to change referees," said FIFA spokesman Keith Cooper, "All referee appointments have been made on the basis of recommendations of national federations. We know them all from previous FIFA competitions. They have FIFA's full confidence."
FIFA rejected Turkey's request of replacing the referee of their match against Costa Rica on Thursday.
"I'm aware of the request, but its not a habit of FIFA to change referees," said FIFA spokesman Keith Cooper, "All referee appointments have been made on the basis of recommendations of national federations. We know them all from previous FIFA competitions. They have FIFA's full confidence."
Turkey asked FIFA to replace referee Coffi Codjia of Benin for Sunday's match against Costa Rica on Wednesday.
Turkey said in a statement that they preferred a more experienced referee to officiate their second match.
The Turkish team lost 1-2 after South Korean referee Kim Young-Joo awarded a controversial penalty to Brazil and sent off two Turkish players in their first group match on Monday.