The Sydney Morning Herald from Sydney, New South Wales, Australia • Page 54

I I 10 Che Pwninj derate Monday, June 8, 1998 TO THE IMU CUP 033 i HARRY MICHAELS Television entrepreneur Winners: France Runners-up: Brazil TONY WATSON England fan Winners: Brazil Runners-up: Italy ALEX TOBIN Socceroo captain Winners: Brazil Runners-up: Germany MAN Referee Eddie Lennie will represent Australia at the Cup. MIKE REID looks at the man behind the whistle. WORLD CUP 4)4 SBS achieved 1 its highest ever ratings (34) for last year's Aus ancru a 32: tralia-Iran qualifier. I Frenchman Just Fontaine holds the record for most number of goals scored at a Cup finals (13 in 1958). Ronaldo aims to beat this in 1998.

33! Lens, one of host cit ies and located in a former coal-mining district in northern France, is where Australia's Robbie Slater enjoyed four successful seasons and met his wife. 34 Major World Cup upset 3: 'in 1982 in Spain, Algeria's deserved 2-1 win over West Germany sparked calls in their homeland for Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and Co to be sent home in disgrace. 35; Apart from the host nation, Brazil looks set to have the biggest support at the Cup. Up until late last month, of the 300,000 reservations made in 610 hotels affiliated with official reservation company Mondiresa, 30,000 were by Brazilian customers. Japan had the next biggest booking with 20,000.

More facts page 12 KYLE PATTERSON Head of Sport, SBS Winners: Italy Runners-up: Brazil DAVID CAMPESE Wallaby great Winners: Germany Runners-up: Brazil Eddie Lennie has a final virtually booked his ticket to France, so impressed was the FIFA observer. Like good goalkeepers, referees get better with age, Lennie said. "You definitely get more mature with experience and better able to deal with players." Lennie attended a pre- 8 EATER I OUR 1 jfi FRANCIS AWARITEFE Marconi-Fairfield striker Winners: Brazil Runners-up: France IE RENE RIVKIN Financier Winners: Spain Runners-up: Brazil ambition at France 98. tournament gathering in France last month where FIFA officials hammered home to all finals officials what was expected of them and, in particular, their obligation to uphold the governing body's crackdown on tackles from behind. "I think you will find there will be a 011.

fmz 3 el DAVID MITCHELL Sydney United coach Winners: Brazil Runners-up: France MARK WAUGH Cricketer Winners: Brazil Runners-up: Netherlands lot more cards than we're used to, especially at the start of the tournament," Lennie said. "It's going to be difficult for both players and referees to get the balance right" But the officials have a strong incentive to do so: they've been told they are guaranteed one match in charge, but if they don't shape up, they will be unceremoniously shipped out "They've told us if we can't do the job, they'll have no hesitation getting others in who can," Lennie said. "But it's going to be a real juggling act Referees have got to remember that it's the players the fans are there to see, not the referees. We shouldn't be hogging the limelight." LENNIE also passed the fitness test in France with flying colours, covering just over 3,000 metres (comfortably beating the benchmark) in the 12-minute time trial which included a series of 50m and 200m sprints. A refresher test just before the opening-round matches has been invoked to dissuade officials from blowing out in the interval.

With no team to cheer on, let's hope Lennie, the national sales manager for a firm which sells navigational equipment, can steer a course all the way to the final. Perhaps then we might even find it in our hardened hearts to give the ref from down under a little cheer. Oh well, it's a nice thought just the same. nwniccHi Mtnaucupj mm. MAVING presided over Old Firm matches in the caul-I I drons of Ibrox and Parkhead for 10 seasons, Eddie Lennie reckons he's prepared for most things this World Cup can throw at him even taking charge of the final on July 12.

Lennie will be Australia's sole representative at France 98, the only referee from the Oceania region selected to officiate there. It's a prospect that has the 38-year-old former Glaswegian bubbling with anticipation and caps a meteoric rise up the local ranks to the pinnacle of his profession. And Lennie is not discounting making it through to the biggest one of all, the final at the Stade de France. "Coming from a neutral country, I've got a better chance than most," said Jennie. It's the frank, no-nonsense response you would expect from an assertive referee who prides himself on being a strong disciplinarian but and a whistle-blower who is able to talk with the players.

Lennie took up the profession as a 16-year-old when a serious knee injury put paid to his playing days. "It's a dream come true for JOHN KOSMINA Fcmer Socceroo captain Wii ers: Germany Runners-up: Argentina me," he said. "It's been an ambition to work at the World Cup since I started refereeing 23 years ago." But it was an ambition that seemed unlikely to be realised when he emigrated to Australia in 1991 and settled in Perth. His Scottish premier division pedigree earned him few credits in Western Australia and he was forced to start at the bottom again, refereeing lower-division State league matches. It wasn't long before his authoritative style was noticed, however, and he entered national league ranks for the 1993-94 season.

Since then it's been a rapid ride to the top. In early 1996 he joined Eugene Brazzale as Australia's only FIFA-accredited referees (Simon Micallef, Gerry Connolly and Brett Hugo have since joined them) when he oversaw an Olympic qualifying match in Adelaide. Later that year he took charge of four early-round matches at Atlanta, the highlight being the draw between the US and Portugal before a crowd of 80,000 at RFK Stadium in Washington DC. An excellent display, if he says so himself, in the Asian group qualifier between Kuwait and China in October PRADO rs FROM 'jfi HILUX 4X2 mur Jfcj BIG iyjuviiyjiw) mm FOR SMALL BUSINESS! WITH FREE AIR ON RV, GXL AND RV6 Hilux 4x2: Excludes fleet and government buyers. At participating dealers for a limited time only.

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