FIFA, the governing body for soccer and the World Cup have announced their choice of referees for the June event. Fans who might be hoping for a non-controversial Cup might be disappointed.

Among the 30 referees chosen are 8 of the officials from the 2006 World Cup, roundly considered one of the worst officiated in history. Three of the refs chosen have made headlines in the last several years for some highly controversial plays.

First, Englishman Howard Webb who famously awarded a penalty shot to Austria in the 2008 UEFA Euro Cup, leading to a 1-1 between them and Poland, leading to some extremely unhappy Poles.

Then there is Swiss ref Massimo Busacca who at the 2006 World Cup gave a phantom red card to Ukraine, leading to their defeat by the Spanish, and in a separate later game in the tournament was criticized for NOT giving a red card when warranted.

But most famous of all the refs chosen, or at least the one whose incident is most recent, was the selection of the Swedish ref, Martin Hansson (right). You might remember him as the ref who presided over the France-Ireland game and completely missed Thierry Henry's handball, leading to the French qualifying for the World Cup and the Irish being stuck on an island.

Despite missing an INCREDIBLY important, game-changing goal in one of the most important settings, FIFA seems to feel that Hansson will be fine in the biggest, most important soccer tournament in the world.

Good luck!

[ESPN]

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