Referee who handed Switzerland controversial penalty against Northern Ireland left off World Cup list

The referee who awarded the penalty that eliminated Northern Ireland from the World Cup play-offs has been dropped from Fifa's pool of match officials preparing for the tournament.

World football's governing body published a list of 36 referees to attend a World Cup seminar from between 25 and 29 November in Abu Dhabi that did not include Ovidiu Hategan of Romania.

Fifa said its final selection was planned for January.

Hategan was at a 61-man World Cup session in April, and is the only one of eight referees who handled European play-off games this month to be left off Saturday's list.

His decision to award Switzerland a penalty against Northern Ireland for a disputed handball in Belfast led to the only goal in the two-leg play-off.

Fifa also has not picked any British referees among the 36.