I'm sorry ... who did you pick?

FIFA picks Boyce to lead World Cup ref selection

ZURICH -- FIFA has appointed Vice President Jim Boyce to chair its referees committee, which chooses match officials for World Cup duty in Brazil.

Northern Ireland official Boyce replaces another FIFA Vice President Angel Maria Villar, who oversaw training and selection of referees for the 2006 and 2010 World Cups.

FIFA is currently preparing 52 refereeing teams for the World Cup. It typically selects 30 for the tournament. ...

See the whole story here, courtesy of Miami Herald.

Kicking Back Comments: I almost immediately though of this hotel chain when reading this announcement:

Read mo
re here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/08/13/3559356/fifa-picks-boyce-to-lead-world.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/08/13/3559356/fifa-picks-boyce-to-lead-world.html#storylink=cpy

Now Mr. Boyce is certainly a seasoned sportsman based in his background when can be gleaned from this interview. No issues with him at EXComm as he certainly fits the bill by all accounts.

But like the above commercial for Holiday Inn Express, even if looking the part, does he have the technical expertise to choose World Cup Referees?

From all of his sporting history it would seem he is not educated in officiating at all, never mind at the very pinnacle of refereeing on the planet Earth.

Is this a good idea?

Now, he may have a technical staff appointed to him to actually make the decision for him, and he rubber stamps it, but if true, it would seem too great an opportunity for some collusion.

How many referees from Ireland are we going to see at the World Cup this year? In future years?

This is not to imply that these folks if selected don't deserve the honor, but it will beg the question from others, putting unnecessary doubt on a qualified referee, or in the alternative, sending potentially unqualified ones (like Koman Coulibaly) into the FIFA witness protection program. I mean we haven't even seen him on a milk carton.

Why even monkey around, get Massimo Busacca on the job? He is in Dubai right now training folks for 2014 ... it would seem like a reasonable choice to me.

Why is FIFA choosing someone who is not truly qualified for the job?

Maybe he makes a mean panini.