Japanese referee Toru Kamikawa may have officiated in his last World Cup match...ever.
This is the scenario after his performance in Thursday’s Group B World Cup match between Trinidad and Tobago and England came under increasing fire from football pundits throughout Germany.
So FIFA, the world governing body for football and the organizers of the World Cup Finals have placed Kamikawa on a list of referees whose performance will be reviewed.
This is a clear signal that FIFA is unhappy at the way the Japanese official conducted his duties at the Franken Stadion in Nuremberg as the Soca Warriors conceded two goals in the last seven minutes to lose the match.
His situation was not helped by German television, which mere hours after picked up the foul by lanky England striker Peter Crouch who leapt over the until then impenetrable Trinidad and Tobago defence to break the deadlock in the 83rd minute.
Television replays which were magnified showed Crouch pulling at the dreadlocks of defender Brent Sancho as he jumped to head in the David Beckham cross and despite the protestations of Sancho, referee Kamikawa pointed to the kick-off spot indicating the goal was good.
Also there was much debate here in Frankfurt about the disallowed goal scored by Stern John in stoppage time.
It was a decision, many felt, that should have gone the way of the Warriors but as his decisions throughout the match proved, Kamikawa was not giving anything to the World Cup debutants.
The results on Thursday meant that the Soca Warriors must defeat Paraguay by two clear goals in their final Group B match in Kaiserslautern and England must beat Sweden in Cologne to achieve the historic feat. Both matches are on Tuesday 20th June at the same time.
