PARIS - The list of referees and assistant referees for the 1998 World Cup Tournament, issued Monday by FIFA is as follows. What is worth note is that no Iranian referee or assistant referee has been cited in the list. Iran is power house of Asian soccer and the oldest member of AFC. Now a question arises as to why Iran has been ignored in the list.

Is it because of shortcoming on the part of Iranian soccer federation officials or the reason should be sought beyond Iran's borders? The question remains to be answered by the respected FIFA officials and we Iranians look forward to hearing the international federation's cogent resons for not inclusing Iran in the list of referees. Referees Asia (AFC): Abdul Rahman Al Zeid (KAZ), Ali Mohamed Bujsaim (UAE), Masayoshi Okada (JPN), Pirom Un-Prasert (THA) Africa (CAF): Said Belqola (MOR), Gamal Ghandour (EGY), An-Yan Lim Kee Chong (MUS), Sidi Bekaye Magassa (MAL), Charles Masembe (UGA) North and Central America (Concacaf): Esfandiar Baharmast (USA), Arturo Brizio Carter (MEX), Ramesh Ramdhan (TRI) South America (Conmebol): Javier Castrilli (ARG), Epifanio Gonzalez Chavez (PAR), Marcio Rezende De Freitas (BRA), Mario Sanchez Yanten (CHI), Alberto Tejada (PER), John Jairo Toro Rendon (COL) Oceania (OFC): Edward Lennie (AUS) Europe (UEFA): Marc Batta (FRA), Gunter Benko (AUT), Pierluigi Collina (ITA), Hugh Dallas (SCO), Paul (DENG), Anders Frisk (SWE), Jose-Manuel Garcia Aranda (SPA), Bernd Heynemann (GER), Nikolai Levnikov (RUS), Urs Meier (SWI), Manuel Melo Pereira (POR), Kim Milton Nielsen (DEN), Rune Pedersen (NOR), Laszlo Vagner (HUN), Mario Van Der Ende (NED) Assistant Referees Asia (AFC): Mohamed Ahmed Al Musawi (OMA), Hussein Ghadanfari (KUW), Halim Halim Abdul Hamid (MAS), Young Hyun Jeon (KOR), Muhamad Wickeramatunge Samarathna (SRI) Africa (CAF): Dramane Dante (MAL), Mohamed Mansri (TUN), Achmat Salie (RSA), Aristidis Chris Soldatos (RSA) North and Central America (Concacaf): Merere Louis Gonzales (TRI), Owen Powell (JAM), Elias Salinas Rostran (HUN), Luis Fernando Torres Zuniga (CRC) South America (Conmebol): Jorge Luis Arango Cardona (COL), Jorge Alberto Diaz Galvez (CHI), Celestino Galvan Soto (PAR), Arnaldo De Menezes Pinto Filho (BRA), Claudio Anibal Rossi (ARG) Oceania (OFC): Lencie Fred (VAN) Europe (UEFA): Evzen Amler (CZE), Youri Dupanov (BLR), Eddie Foley (IRL), Nicolae Grigorescu (ROM), Gennaro Mazzei (ITA), Michael Nilsson (SWE), Jacek Pociegiel (POL), Jacques Poudevigne (FRA), Laurent Rausis (SWI), Erich Schneider (GER), Fernando Tresaco Gracia (SPA), Marc Van Den Broeck (BEL), Mark Warren (ENG), Emanuel Zammit (MLT).

(AFP)