Russian referees have significantly underperformed in comparison with their European counterparts in recent years, and face a "long and difficult" path to regain the trust of European football's governing body, a retired top official said Monday.
Roberto Rosetti, one of the world's highest-profile referees before leaving the profession in 2010, said in a blog post Monday that the poor reputation of Russian referees means UEFA is likely to overlook the country entirely for Euro 2012.
"If we are objective, then in recent times the work of Russian brigades in the international arena has been below the level of other referees. This was clear, and it is why we have the result that we have," said Rosetti, 44, who is now employed by the Russian Football Union to clean up the domestic game.
The blog post appeared on the union's website Monday.
The last major tournament to feature Russian referees was the 2006 World Cup in Germany. There, the Russian delegation led by Valentin Ivanov garnered criticsm from FIFA president Sepp Blatter for brandishing 16 yellow cards in one match. Blatter later apologized, conceding that Ivanov was merely enforcing FIFA's own sterner regulations, but the damage was done as the Russians were snubbed at Euro 2008 and last year's World Cup.
Some observers even mooted the existence of an unofficial ban on Russian referees in connection with unsubstantiated comments made last year by former English Football Association chairman David Triesman that they were prone to match fixing.
"Today in the country there is whole group of high-potential referees who have every chance of playing leading roles in Europe. [But] they have a long and difficult road ahead," said Rosetti, who officiated the Euro 2008 final between Spain and Germany as well as several games at last year's World Cup. He was criticized in some quarters for allowing Argentina's offside goal in a 1-0 last-16 match against Mexico to stand.
Rosetti added, however, that he saw positive times ahead for Russian referees. "I look at the future with optimism. We have a clear vector of development today, and every day of our work is aimed at getting Russian referees to be a permanent fixture at the most prestigious international tournaments."
