FIFA selects 23 referees for 2006 World Cup

IRNA - World football body FIFA on Friday picked 23 referees to officiate the 64 games of the 2006 World Cup.

The following refs were selected for the global football tournament:
Asia (2): Toru Kamikawa (Japan), Shamsul Maidin (Singapore) Africa (2): Esam El Deen Abd El Fatah (Egypt), Coffi B. Codjia (Benin) North -and Central America (3): Benito Armando Archundia (Mexico), Carlos Alberto Batres (Guatemala), Peter Prendergast (Jamaica) South America: (5): Carlos Arecio Amarilla (Paraguay), Horacio Marcelo Elizondo (Argentina), Jorge Luis Larrionda (Uruguay), Oscar Julian Ruiz (Columbia), Carlos Simon (Brazil)
Oceania (1): Mark A. Shield (Australia)
Europe: (10): Massimo Busacca (Switzerland), Frank De Bleeckere (Belgium), Massimo De Santis (Italy), Valentin Ivanov (Russia), Manuel Enrique Mejuto Gonzalez (Spain), Markus Merk (Germany), Lubos Michel (Slovakia), Graham Poll (England), Eric Poulat (France), Kyros Vassaras (Greece).

Some of the world's top 44 referees, among them Iran's Massoud Moradi, competed for the right to officiate World Cup matches.

The 2006 World Cup will take place in 12 German cities from June 9 through July 9.