Czuch Chuckers: Yes, that's what I really think. There are still many refs who are literally afraid to pull a red card out of their pocket or make a penalty call. Fortunately the number of these decreases. The biggest problem with referees at the World Cup is, in my opinion, that FIFA selects too many inexperienced refs from all over the world, which is wrong. Take a look at the Champions' League. The best of the best referees umpire those games and there haven't been any major problems there, as far as I remember. Why most of these are not called to come to the World Cup is beyond me.

The FIFA officials do have the possibility to make such distinctions. They can suspend a player for a certain number of games, for instance. The problem is how effectively this instrument is used.