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As a referee myself, I'm dismayed by the way the refereeing has been handled. While there have no doubt been some very poorly officiated games, some of which have meant elimination or changes in seeding, FIFA still needs to stand by its officials. It's for that reason that I'm glad the Deco suspension was upheld. It's fine for the press, the public, and even players and coaches to criticize officiating - that is their right. But the association that backs the referees needs to have their backs at all times. Discipline, when meted out, needs to happen behind closed doors. It is easy to slam a ref in public, but the smooth operation of the game requires that the officials at least appear to have the full support of the association, and that their on-pitch decisions will be upheld.
I remember, in an NHL playoff game 3 years ago, a goal went into the net, came out, and was missed by the ref. The same thing happened in the hockey World Junior Championships last year. In both cases, the referees explained themselves immediately when the missed call was demonstrated, and there wasn't too much uproar (well, a little in the WJCs, but the Russians were involved, so hardly surprising). The correct way to deal with a poor officiating job is discipline in private, and support in public.
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