Ekaterinburg, 21 June 2018 17:00 CET
France - Peru
Referee: Mohammed Abdulla Mohamed (UAE)
Assistant Referee 1: Mohamed Alhammadi (UAE)
Assistant Referee 2: Hasan Almahri (UAE)
Fourth Official: Janny Sikazwe (ZAM)
Fifth Official: Jerson Dos Santos (ANG)
VAR: Daniele Orsato (ITA)
AVAR1: Abdulrahman Al Jassim (QAT)
AVAR 2: Taleb Al Marri (QAT)
AVAR 3: Szymon Marciniak (POL)
I hope it goes all well for him... It's a big appointment for him!
ReplyDeleteIn the first match at Ekaterinburg there were lots of empty seats but today Peru fans have filled up!
ReplyDeleteMohammed in the lime green kit btw!
I don't like his positioning in first 5 minutes. Always far away from the ball, already missed at least one foul in 1st minute.
ReplyDeleteAgree, he should really improve his positioning.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteDeserved YC for Matuidi.
ReplyDeletecorrect first yellow
ReplyDeleteAfter nervous begin perfect moment for 1st YC /tact.foul Matuidi 15.min. But his positioning could be a problem...
ReplyDeleteIMO, during his warning on the corner kick, he took too much time, too much gestures, it became Mateu-Lahoz’ stylish.. but good 1rst YC !
ReplyDeleteClearly disagree here. There is two clear holding on Pogba as same as Matuidi did. So if you booked here, you have to caution also before. Bad management especially was one of the first French foul against couple of Peru fouls.
ReplyDeleteC’etait une faute plutôt évidente, tu ne peux pas ne pas mettre de carton jaune.. quant aux fautes sur Pogba, c’est loin d’être le même acabit que celle de Matuidi !
DeleteMaybe it is different because in Pogba situation 3-4 Peru players were close enough,while Peru player was in full sprint and then he was pulled.
DeleteDon’t say YC card was an error but it could be managed differently, as a lot of referees did during the tournament. Harsh YC for Guerrero after.
DeleteClear YC for SPA, no doubts for me.
Delete@Clément Takks can you say that in English, please?
DeleteThanks.
YC for holding doesn't exist in LoTG, only holding used for SPA.
Delete@Chefren sorry !
DeleteI said : « it was quite a obvious fault, you can’t cannot book him for this fault.. talking about Pogba’s fault, it’s far way less big than Matuidi’s »
I‘m afraid that Mohamed could lose control...
ReplyDeleteAgree. This referee seems to appear unsecured and hesitant. Don’t feel him safe and calm. And agree about his hazardous positionning...
DeleteI think now you all can understand why I was so worried about this appointment... It's very risky to give a new face a UEFA v CONMEBOL match straightaway!
DeleteNow Guerrero gets YC for too much talk.This game will be big challenge for ref.
ReplyDeleteAre you sure? Or was it for the arm in the face?
DeleteCommentators said for too much talk!
DeleteVery difficult match.
ReplyDeleteBig UEFA team v CONMEBOL team match is always expected to be challenging and more so when it's a must win match for the CONMEBOL team!
DeleteAgree with you completely, Soham. This was always going to be a 'testy' match. In light of this I tend to view Mohamed's performance so far in a positive light. He has been dealing with the issues and solving the problems as they arise. If he keeps that kind of consistency up then the players will begin to make a more full acceptance IMO.
DeleteI'm overall not impressed... He isn't in our AFC top 5 to be fair and that's why I was surprised at his appointment!
DeleteI have to agree with the thoughts echoed here... Positioning needs to improve and he is slightly struggling with management... Not full acceptance from players, which is expected for someone who is new at this level!
ReplyDeleteRef is losing control of the game.. he needs to sharpen himself ASAP !!
ReplyDeleteI'm afraid he hasn't been able to stamp his authority on the players... He has always been slightly weaker than his other AFC colleagues in that regard!
DeleteAgree Soham. What a clear lack of charisma with him...
DeleteSomewhere in his hotel room in Moscow, Ryuji Sato will be thinking what more he needed to do to get an appointment :)
Deletewhy did they appoint him ? Bad idea for him, for players, for football.. but the game is still on, let’s see if he will make us wrong
DeleteThat's what you get when Collina is making appointments... Both Mohammed and Marrufo are results of Collina's experimentation IMO :D
DeleteTechnically Busacca makes the appointments.
DeleteNo he doesn't... Collina and Busacca have double votes and all other Committee members have only a single vote... Busacca is never ever a risk taker, any risky appointment is more likely than not suggested by Collina!
DeleteHe’s lost control. Rabbit in headlights
ReplyDeleteMohammed's positioning is really odd in this game... In his AFC matches he never had such a problem... Is he trying to conserve his energy or something??
ReplyDeleteare you referring to his distance to play or the angles he is taking?
DeleteHe doesn't strike me as a very athletic and/or agile referee. He seems to like to walk and trot quite a bit.
DeleteThat's surprising. I never saw him before and therefore thought that his bad positioning is standart. I never saw such bad positioning in such a top-class-match.
Delete@Logan Angles are okay... But the distance from play is way too much and it's like that from the very beginning of this match!
DeleteGame has cakmed down a little bit,but now with France goal I'm sure will be seeing very emotional and nervous Peru players.
ReplyDeleteOT:
ReplyDeletePersonally I am happy that the Tribunal made a sensible decision in allowing Paolo Guerrero to participate and giving him a once in a lifetime opportunity even though he's facing a suspension.
I liked his intervention on a corner kick at 14' for excessive holding.
ReplyDeleteIMO he is more accepted then Geiger yesterday. I don't know why are you so harsh 'lack of charisma, affraid etc'
ReplyDeleteCome on people, he's doing fine, the things you mentioned are just something for improvement, no big mistakes.
Expected level performance with important points of improvement :)
DeleteA correct observation. You definitely have a point there DrMr.
DeleteAgreed. No big mistakes and he has managed the players well...as the game has progressed his consistency is paying off as the match is settling down.
DeleteGeiger's match seemed to be much more on edge. Almost if at anytime things could boil over. Not getting the same feeling in this match however.
DeleteI just hope that Mohammed is physically up to it for the 2nd half.
I actually agree with Sheriff on something... Wow :O
DeleteSmall steps Soham. Lol :)
DeleteIn my opinion some comments are quite harsh there. I don't see this poor performance you are describing so far... please take into account that he is among the least experienced referee among the ones at this WC and maybe he didn't expect as well to be appointed on the pitch. For me so far more or less expected level.
ReplyDeleteI was one minute faster :)
DeleteLook above
It is not a polished display :) Positioning is absolutely poor!
Delete@ Soham, are you referring to his distance to play or his angles? I see him as remaining too central...
DeleteMainly the distance... I have a feeling he is trying to conserve his energy!
DeleteCompletely agree with you Chefren and drMr. So far no controversial situations and the last 20-25 mins calmed down.
DeleteAnyway until he takes the right decisions and keep the game somehow under control, I don't care that much about his positioning. (even though he should work on that area, that's true )
Soham, if that's true. That's a scary proposition going into the 2nd half. I hope not however.
DeleteI see and can agree with the assessment. I think if he gets wider in his runs that will help address the distance to play issue.
DeleteAlready appears to be doing better in the closing minutes...IMO
Surely he will get some advice from Janny in half time :D
DeleteNever said the performance was poor but only my personal feeling about this referee was a lack of clear charisma in regard at others referees selected to the World Cup. You need to be the top of world refereeing to be there. And this man isn’t. That’s all.
Delete
DeleteTotally agreed with Chefren and DrMr! I’m a little surprised reading the harsh tone of the comments. Also for me expected level with -of course - some points to consider, but not that many more than for some of his more experienced colleagues.
But agree about the technical performance and foul detection. Expected level. You are ok about that. But for me many points of improvements about positioning and personality.
DeletePositioning problem is one-off, it's not like this in the AFC matches he does... Personality wise he isn't as strong as Irmatov or Faghani ever so I'm not sure that will change with experience... He isn't a great manager but his decision making skills are good from what I have seen of him!
DeleteOne more French goal will completely settle this down for Mohammed!
ReplyDeleteIMO he can't read the game properly which leads to the bad positioning. Sometimes he seems to be quite surprised about the one or other action.
ReplyDeleteBut all in all, as some mentioned above, no mistakes so far. I think with more experience with teams from UEFA, CAF,etc. he won't have his positioning problem anymore.
+1
DeleteNice analysis!
Hopefully his energy conservation effort in the first half will pay dividends for him in the second...it's relatively cool and not so humid at the venue, so hopefully his legs are up to the task!
ReplyDeleteI agree with DrMr and Chefren. Reading all the comments right now and I can't believe you are so harsh watching a good, expected level performance. DrMr is right saying he did more to be accepted than Geiger yesterday.
ReplyDeleteWhen people from this blog see a ”new” ref they critisize no matter how it goes. If you had seen this exact performance from a well known european ref people would have said ”well handled first half, full control.
DeleteThat's your view and you are entitled to it...
DeleteCompletely false. I was a big fan of Gamal El Ghandour, Said Belqola, Ravshan Irmatov, Ali Bujsaim (from same country that Mohamed) or M. Kamikawa before to know them. So please don’t react with biaised thinking...
Delete@Benoit Often times it happens that people who are themselves highly biased think that everyone else is biased ;)
DeleteSo for older bloggers, if you compare Mohamed to Ali Bujsaim (UAE countrymen both) who refereed 3rd match in 1998 in France, no point of compare...clear big difference between us !
DeleteWow Benoit! Talk about a trip down memory lane. With those names your mentioned. Those were the good days. My first World Cup in which I can clearly remember referee's was USA 94. Really enjoyed watching Joel Quinou that year.
Delete@sheriff :)
DeleteAbout ACCEPTANCE:
ReplyDeleteThere are two reasons why the referee is not accepted:
1) The players know well who judges, therefore they know how much a ref is experienced / inexperienced.
Also, lets be honest, it is also important from which continent, country referee is.
Prejudices always exist
2) Even when they do not know who is refereeing, players quickly understand it on the field.
They are all experienced, laced players. They feel all your insecurity and will try to use it.
Even at a much lower level, the players know it, just imagine how good professional players good are.
Plus, the third thing, the look of the referee.
It's not a crucial thing, but it's important.
I don't want to comment that, everyone gets his impression, it's natural.
But thats also important.
Completely agree doc. That’s a part of my talk. This referee doesn’t look as an « umpire » and appears with a lack of elegance and well-looking.
DeleteAdd temperament of some national teams and you have one complete image about acceptance.
DeleteSorry for long post
Experience is a big thing... Players here mostly haven't seen him before so they will try to put pressure on a new name!
DeleteI refer to the last paragraph of DrMr.. from the woman's perspective/eyes some referees are very handsome and exude manliness while being the man in the middle on the pitch 😉. These, beside the game itself and attractive football players, attract more and more women to watch this interesting sport 😉😃...
Delete@Andreja Definitely Skomina is one of those? :D
Delete@Soham, you are absolutely right 😉!
Delete58': good PLAY ON call, but again no YC for simulation.
ReplyDeleteThis time it was outside the box.
Clearly, this management should be explained by Busacca and Collina...
At this point he was in an excellent position to judge the incident... Credit where it's due :)
DeleteAgree. Good call and position here. Better during 15 mn of second half.
DeleteMuch better 2nd half!
DeleteThe worst thing is that Fair Play could have impact on standings. If you keep avoiding booking players, you're affecting the standings in a way that benefits teams which should have more cautions than they do.
DeleteIf they don't want to have players banned due to card accumulation, then they should remove that rule. But not the approach they have taken.
@George: If you remove the rule about the ban due te accumulation than the players won't care about YC for time wasting when they are subbed off or in the end of the game. I think if you remove that rule, there will be much more things like that.
DeleteIndeed. My opinion is that it is the player's problem, not FIFA's nor referees'. If they don't want to miss a match, do not make bookable offences.
DeleteIf they remove that rule or instruct the referees not to book due to simulations or dissent, we get players acting at least once or twice in every game (until they get a strong warning), wasting time, etc, which in the end benefits the teams that do not play fairly.
David, there are already too many things being overlooked with the rules in place. Players have already figured out that will not be caution for simulation, dissent, and or time wasting.
Delete2nd half is very calm.
ReplyDeleteHe whistles very petty and the players are no longer in agreement with any of the decisions. Unusual if one considers the previous World Cup line.
ReplyDeleteHe is a new face and acceptance will be less... Players will always try to pressurise and use the relative inexperience of the referee to their advantage... You can't expect him to accepted as much as Irmatov or Faghani!
DeleteMuch better display from Mohammed in the 2nd half... The initial nerves of a debut World Cup game must have settled by now! The game has also not thankfully boiled over!
ReplyDeleteMaybe he should have booked Mbappe for time wasting.
ReplyDeleteThe referee was literally guiding him through and Mbappe didn't even care that the referee is continuously telling him to hurry up... Not a great scene!
DeleteHe was even giving hands to almost eaxh of his teammeates.
DeleteBad scene for sure.
Yeah ignored the referee completely and made him look like a fool :/
DeleteFIFA talks a lot about fairplay but as long as time wasting like Mbappé's or dives like Carrillo's aren't booked, we will see more of that instead of fewer.
ReplyDeleteDon't forget about the immense amount of dissent aimed at Referee's that is going unpunished.
Delete79' correct offside call by AR1.
ReplyDeleteIn considering M's distance to play issue and observing this second half a bit...my sense is that speed is not his strength. He has a difficult time closing distance so he accounts for this by remaining a bit central and away from play when it is tucked away in corners near touch/goal line...
ReplyDeleteThoughts...?
As I said, in his AFC matches, he is closer to play usually whenever I've seen him!
Deletegood VAR work!
ReplyDeleteMistaken identity here?
ReplyDeleteIndeed it was... The YC is changed on advice of the VAR... This was a careless error!
DeleteClear one. Big mistake by Mohamed. VAR corrected him about identity fouler.
DeleteYes should be avoided at this level!
DeleteFirst VAR intervention after mistaken identity? He booked Flores instead of Aquino first.
ReplyDelete80': mistaken identity was corrected by VAR... but without the official gesture made by referee. This is very interesting, because among the 4 main cases for VAR intervention, this is the least common.
ReplyDeleteThe TV signal has to be made only when the decision is changed after a pitchside review, isn't it?
DeleteI seem to recall that it is to be used on any VAR decision (ie, OFR or factual ones like offside or inside/outside, or mistaken identity)
DeleteThen Mohammed missed it!
DeleteNo, Soham. It must be done in every case when a decision is changed, even without review. So, referee missed it in this case.
DeleteNow wrongli given card to Flores changed to player who commited foul ,Aquino.
ReplyDeleteVAR warning?
First VAR intervention for mistaken identity!
ReplyDeleteThis mistake doesn't play in his favor. That's something too big for WC.
ReplyDeleteCareless error :) Anyway I don't think he will get a 2nd game!
DeleteI think M, rushed the card a bit...he didn't take time to replay the foul in his mind before issuing...Indeed a careless error.
ReplyDeletei don't know about that yellow!!!
ReplyDeleteHarsh YC. Quite no volounty to hit the opponent.
DeleteI agree, but it was hands to face with a bit of force. Cautions reset after Group stage, correct? I so, I think it was a good caution on Pogba.
Delete@Logan I dont think that cautions are clearing after group stage,that is in my opinion one rule that needs to adapt to the players.
DeleteM you are correct! It sounds like the first reset is at the semifinal. That changes things a bit. Still feel that a caution was correct in Pogba's case.
DeleteYeah it was correct but I think that is very stupid rule ,if I can say it like that.Why?I mean players have to play at their limit when they have 1 yc till semifinal.Or if they get that 2nd yc in KO stage they might miss next importaant game (ex.Ramsey Euro 2016,Xabi Alonso CL 2014)
DeleteI think all cards should clear after group stage so we can see players play and tackle more with freedom.
replay shows it much better...a good caution.
ReplyDeleteConfirmation shown on TV screen via graphics! VAR overturned the YC call on grounds of mistaken identity!
ReplyDeleteWas it a foul at 86'?
ReplyDelete86': I think correct YC to Pogba, at least one can have the doubt that Pogba had a bit of malice there. Neither totally innocent, nor a clear violent conduct: middle way.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was accidental?
Deletevery well said Chefren!
DeleteCan't be sure it was 100% accidental, Soham. Here, YC is the best solution to me.
DeletePogba swung out a bit with his arm...possible malice for sure, but caution solved the problem for me.
DeleteMy summary of Mohammed's performance will be an expected level performance with important areas of improvement... My mark will be 8.1... Overall I think he can be happy with his debut WC match!
ReplyDeleteHey Ray and Chefren! How many points cost an identity error for a caution ? :)
DeleteOverall, his performance was ok.
ReplyDeleteOT: Many will complain about the low quality of games. Before blaming the "small teams", take a look at teams like Portugal, France, Uruguay - who everyone would agree are among the best - scoring once and then doing nothing but defend.
I must agree. "Best teams" are playing a poor football there.
DeleteThey score and then all they want to do, is to defend the result. For this reason, we don't see beautiful games.
It is not pleasent to watch that type of football,but we have to understand also that there is a lot of pressure on these big teams to pass group stage so we see more tactical then free football.
DeleteWell, last WC in group stage was definitely much more interesting than this one. But i dont think this one is that bad. I think, per example, it is much more interesting than 2010 group sstage
DeleteFor sure, M, but still, not even some counter-attacks? I find it hard to believe. Or Uruguay vs Saudi Arabia yesterday.
DeleteWhen I look back at 2006 for example, we had debutants aplenty like Angola, Trinidad & Tobago, Togo, Ukraine etc. These games were still more entertaining.
Sorry for getting nostalgic.
Okayish performance by Mohammed Abdulla.
ReplyDeleteIf we exclude the mistaken identity, that is for sure a more than significant mistake if made at WC, I think good, expected level performance by referee. However, I don't think he is planned to get a second game in any case.
ReplyDeleteLet's wait now for the appointment of MD3 in this group: we will have Denmark - France. In this match, Denmark will need just onepoint to qualify. France already qualified. So, sadly said, a 0-0 without any will to risk by both teams is possible there...
In the other game, Australia should beat Peru in any case.
I would like to see Çakir and Skomina in the two Group C games on MD3... Brych and Mazic in the Group D ones maybe!
DeleteBoth matches on MD3 still relevant in group C. I assume, there will be 2 UEFA referees and think, that Skomina will be one of them.
ReplyDeleteAfter the newest nominations I expect everything and exclude nothing... Collina's lottery... but it worked sort of well so far.
DeleteOT :
ReplyDeleteMy question to German readers : Is it regular that Reiner Kuhn copies comments from this blog word by word and translates it to German to publish in his site IG Schiedsrichter or something?? I was just shown my comment about Mohammed being copied word by word to his site... Not that it's something really bad but I guess one should be at least told once before their comments are copied and used elsewhere!
That's new to me, but I must admit I'm not very familiar with Kuhn and his site.
DeleteI think Phillip can shed some more light on this!
DeleteSoham, nothing new. Quite the contrary, it is done very often. Some people will never get it...
DeleteSoham, I follow FB page IG Schiedsrichter but have not noticed copy-paste of comments from this blog until now that you've mentioned. Though it's an interesting German FB page on refereeing.
DeleteDear Soham, I am german but don't follow that side. German colleagues tell me that would happen from time to time and they would characterize our side here as an international opinionleader. I do not know more about it. Referring to german law they can use marked quotes but have to ask the writer before copying and translating complete articles.
DeleteThanks to all for the inputs... He made a comment in this thread to which I replied and he copied that word by word just by translating into German... Not a big problem for me as I said but doesn't seem something ethical... What I heard is most recently he copied Esther Staubli's full interview to Jan (Dutch Referee Blog) word by word and uploaded in his site without mentioning a single source or credit initially... On being pointed out he added the source, but even on Jan's denial to give him permission he kept arguing and didn't remove it... He has even copied things from Phillip's blog too, I think... Highly unethical from Reiner Kuhn!
DeleteThis attitude is not acceptable, quoting source is a must! I was expecting that as a German he would be more strict and obedient to the intellectual property!
DeleteCopying a comment is not something new. It's actually quite common on the internet world.
DeleteYes, that Facebook page and the connected website often uses texts (100% copies or translations or only stolen text modules / formulations) from other pages with no or unsufficient citation. This blog and my Bundesliga blog including the comments of their visitors are a common "source".
DeleteAs a rule of thumb, well-phrased texts on that site are likely to be stolen.
Very bad habit of him but then what can we do :)
Delete@anonymous Yes, it's true. But using quotation marks " or quoting source is not that difficult; a user shows the respect of IP rights what brings also the credibility.
DeleteE.g. the latest post (pre-match ARG-CRO) is taken from
Deletehttp://www.weltfussball.de/spielbericht/wm-2018-in-russland-gruppe-d-argentinien-kroatien/liveticker/
There was a clear violent conduct in the 71st minute missed by all officials. Lucas Hernández kicked an opponent close to a corner arc. Accidentally, no replays were shown...
ReplyDeleteAre you sure, Ray? Remember VAR can check everything.
DeleteIf there was no intervention at all, very likely it wasn't something so clear.
Hi kicked him deliberately after the ball was already played. Clear deliberate move and hit.
DeleteIn fact there was another similar situation some minutes later. Possible arguments for not intervening could be the lack of excessive force and/or brutality, nowadays required for a VC.
DeleteClearly agree Ray. I saw the kick near throw-in line. Obvious violent conduct by Hernandez. Cristal RC.
DeleteThese are the videos of both situations (71'and 79'):
Deletehttps://vimeo.com/276326394
https://vimeo.com/276326443
And here a compilation of key match incidents:
ReplyDeletehttps://vimeo.com/album/5246039
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ReplyDelete