30 June,2018 09:42 AM IST | Moscow | AFP
FIFA said it had no plans to change its fair play criteria that allowed Japan to qualify for the Last 16 of the World Cup at the expense of Senegal. Japan and Senegal were both locked on four points in Group H with identical goal differences and the same number of goals scored, but the Asian side went through to the next round on Thursday after collecting fewer yellow cards in the group stage.
In Japan's 1-0 loss to Poland, hardly a single tackle was made. "This is the first time [the fair play rule] has been used in a senior World Cup in this way. Obviously what we want to avoid is the drawing of lots," Colin Smith, FIFA's chief tournament and event officer, said.
"We believe teams should go forward on their performance and what happens on the pitch, not what happens in a draw pool. This criteria was introduced to provide one more criteria before we would have to revert to the drawing of lots."
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