Egyptian referee Essam Abdul-Fattah insisted that his decision to count Japan's goal against Australia was correct and denied Australian reports that indicated that he issued an apology regarding his decision. “FIFA's refereeing committee convened on Tuesday to assess the referees' performance during Monday's games and agreed unanimously that Japan's goal against Australia was correct,” Abdul-Fattah told FlGoal.com exclusively on Tuesday. Abdul-Fattah insisted that Japan striker Shunsuke Nakamura was pushed by an Australian defender to collide with goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer and that it was a correct decision to allow the goal. The international Egyptian referee also insisted that he would've awarded Japan a spot-kick if Nakamura's shot deflected from the net. Australia, however, came back from a goal down to beat Japan 3-1 in the World Cup Group F opener thanks to a double salvo from substitute Tim Cahill. Australia manager Guus Hiddnik had said in a press conference after the match that Abdul-Fattah should thank God that Australia managed to beat Japan after they were awarded the controversial goal. On the other hand, Abdul-Fattah said that he doesn't know what matches he will run in the World Cup's second round and said that he was chosen for the Australia and Japan match given the physical demands of the match and his ability to keep up with the players' pace, especially after acing the Cooper test. Abdul-Fattah said that he watched several matches for Australia before the World Cup and noticed that their game was generally rough, that's why he decided to be strict in his decisions on them. Abdul-Fattah is the only Arab referee in the 2006 tournament and one of only two African referees, the second being Coffi Codjia from Benin.
