WORKING on the principle adopted by Perugia, I can only assume that Sunderland keeper Thomas Sorensen is going to be named in the next Honours List.

The sacking of South Korean hero Ahn Jung-hwan has to be the one of the most petty decisions in the history of football.

He has apparently ruined Italian football single-handedly with his header - if that is possible. In contrast, Sorensen could hardly have done more to help the land he plays in.

The whole reaction in Italy has been hysterical with the conspiracy theories flying around faster than the rotten tomatoes expected on the squad's ignominious return.

Take my advice, avoid the Chianti of 2002 vintage because the whiff of sour grapes from Italy is extremely pungent.

Now don't get me wrong, they have had the smelly end of the stick with a number of decisions in this World Cup, not least the two goals that were disallowed in their group game against Croatia.

But to launch an assault on Ecuador official Byron Moreno as being corrupt and working for FIFA to get Italy out of the tournament from the start is pasta joke.

Let's face it, it was Trapattoni who put hopeless Marco Materazzi on the pitch against Croatia, not Sepp Blatter.

As for the Korea game itself, the wounds of Christian Vieri's miss are still very raw but quite how FIFA organised that is beyond me. Totti was unlucky to be sent off for diving but there was no way on earth it was a penalty.

As for the penalty that was given against them, it should have been two as both Coco and Panucci tried to break the world shirt swapping record, 87 minutes before full time.

Yes it was touch and go whether Tomassi was offside in golden goal time but that was hardly the ref's fault. If your assistant assists, you have to go along with him.

It is the performance of the linesmen that has been the big disappointment of the tournament to date. They have been so bad that the Sunday League system of having one man and his dog waving a snotty hanky could be adopted next time around.

That was of course not an option in Korea as the man's dog could easily have ended up in the half time pie.

In contrast I have been happily surprised by the standards of the refs, much higher than that seen in the English League on a weekly basis.

One man who will be buying Senor Moreno a pint in the ref's lounge is Pierluigi Collina who must now have a great chance of taking charge of the final following his country's demise.

His big rival could be the dashing Swedish official named after a Grand National winner - Mr Frisk. Adorable Anders is clearly sponsored by Piz Buin as his perma-tan and bleached blond hair make him look like a dead-ringer for one half of 70's pop duo Dollar, the smiling David van Day.

The good news for the rest of the world is that England's progress to the quarter-finals ensured that Graham Poll was released from his duties before he could cause any damage to the latter stages.

Mind you, as the ref in charge of Italy versus Croatia he might be better joining Senor Moreno in a holiday hideaway, as far from Sicily as possible. If they can get a room for three, Ahn Jung-hwan can join them.