The newly released document states that one cause for satisfaction from a refereeing point of standpoint was the emergence of young talent at the competition, who officiated some of the very difficult matches.

The 288-page book says: “This is the fruit of the FIFA programme preparing World Cup referees. For example, the young Uzbek referee Irmatov did a brilliant job in the opening match, surprising many, but not FIFA, as he began his training with us in 2003.”

Irmatov, 33, impressed with his deft handling of the FIFA World Cup opener between South Africa and Mexico.

He went on to equal the record for number of matches in charge in a single FIFA World Cup – five - when he took charge of the Netherlands-Uruguay semi-final.

The Uzbek earned 9.02 points for his performances in 2010 compared to fellow referees Yuichi Nishimura’s 8.88 and Khalil Al Ghamdi’s 8.8.

The report also says despite the demands of modern football, the number of matches held, the travel and the weather conditions, the referees’ physical performance was excellent.

“The good disciplinary control, among other factors, proved decisive in ensuring that the number of injured players was much lower than at other FIFA competitions, for example the 2006 World Cup in Germany,” the report says.