Tuesday 3 July 2018

2018 FIFA World Cup Match 55: Sweden - Switzerland (discussion)

Let's discuss here the performance of Damir Skomina in Sweden - Switzerland. Good luck to the officiating team!
Match #55
Saint Petersburg, 3 July 2018 16:00 CET
Sweden - Switzerland
Referee: Damir Skomina (SVN)
Assistant Referee 1: Jure Praprotnik (SVN)
Assistant Referee 2: Robert Vukan (SVN)
Fourth Official: Nawaf Shukralla (BHR)
Fifth Official: Yaser Tulefat (BHR)
VAR: Daniele Orsato (ITA)
AVAR1: Bastian Dankert (GER)
AVAR 2: Roberto Díaz Pérez Del Palomar (ESP)
AVAR 3: Massimiliano Irrati (ITA)

121 comments:

  1. Good Luck to the officiating crew! I have been truly impressed with the adjustments made in the last week.

    The cream always rises to the top. Around 8 -12 of these guys are quality enough for the Final. Be hard to pick just 1.

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  3. Skomina is a very good referee. But I think that the comitee sees him behind Faghani, Kuipers, Mazić and Çakir.

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  4. Do you think this will be the last game for Skomina at this WC?

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  5. There were 8 round of 16 games and there are 8 games remaining. The first 6 officials proved their mettle. There were some AR's that made noticeable errors. Unless one of the two referees from today does a horrid job or the AR errors are considered strongly, is it probable to predict each of referees in round of 16 will get one more?

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    1. I don't think so. There's still some really good referees (Ricci, Cakir) who haven't gotten knockout games, and Cakir for sure is a candidate for a semi or the final too.

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  6. What do you think about the possilble YC in 23‘? For me clear SPA but Skomina only warns verbally.

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    1. Now Skomina gave a correct YC for SPA to Lustig from Sweden. There would have been less discussion I he had given this YC to the Swiss player in 23‘.

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  7. Skomina missed clear handball and Sweden had big chance to score. Would be crucial mistake if it was goal.

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    1. He was 3m away and it was not so clear hanball

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    2. It wasnt chance after that because it was offside. Hand is definitely not clear, it was in natural position

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    3. VAR would have corrected this if it was clear and obvious error.

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    4. No handling. Ball gets on his arm after the shot. Never deliberate.

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    5. It was so clear handball, how can you say it wasn't? And it was not natural position - hand was totally outstretched. Easy decision, but Skomina missed it.

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    6. Victor, it wasn't deliberate, it was unnatural position of arm. VAR would correct it, I am sure.

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    7. Teo you are wrong. criteria 1: Must be deliberate. In no way was that unnatural position. Have you ever taken a shot? Where do you put your srms when you shoot? Skomina saw it and play continued.

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    8. in usa alot of referees call all handballs. if you ask if was deliberate, they will say it doesnt matter if its deliberate.

      blows my mind how some guys interpret "a deliberate handball"

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    9. Maybe we are not speaking about the same situation. I rewind now - no doubt punishable handball after the cross.
      But in 46' (last seconds) Skomina whistled handling, even it was much less punishable than I am speaking about. By your criteria - never deliberate, and it wasn't. We have to underline than somewhere on the field refs are whistling handling much easier than in PK area.

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    10. 29 min IMO definitely no handball at all. No intention to play by hand and natural handposition. For me not even doubts here.

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  8. So far no VAR corrections in all Round of 16 games.
    That's an excellent thing to underline, if you ask me.
    There were of course silent checks, but not clear mistakes.
    Referees today should keep this standard.

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    1. The level of refereeing in KO stage is very high, but we have to underline that in most matches there were no suspicious situation, no harsh tackles - players were behaving mostly correct. Some refs had pretty easy job.

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    2. This is also my notification that players were behaving mostly correct despite the importance of the games. This is something that all football and referee fans really admire.

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    3. IMO Great credit of correct players behaviour belongs to VAR. Now they know that nothing can escape from the big eye of VAR

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    4. Don`t forget to take the credit to the referees, they are big part of that respect!

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  9. Replies
    1. For me a clear YC because he stopped a very promising attack!

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    2. Referees need to achieve balance.

      Swiss got away with a warning; Sweden should have got away with a warning. After this punish. More important since player was already sitting on a YC in tournament.

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  10. First YC is OK, but of course if one looks back at Behrami's situation... this is the issue when you avoid to show YC at the beginning. Then, the first one should be for something serious, otherwise you look to be that consistent.

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    1. It would have been so easy for ref to warn SWE player the same way he warned the SUI player, using big gestures saying ”no more”. One each. Then the next team who does something similar cannot complain when YC is given. Now Skomina needs to deal with SWE being upset.

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    2. This is the issue when FIFA tells their refs to be lenient on the cards... in any other competition I'm sure Behrami would've been booked for his foul earlier. IMO The Lustig foul is more of a promising attack than Behrami's was, so in that sense I think it can be fair to caution that one but not the other, if the "line" for a yellow card lies between the two.

      I blame FIFA's directives more than I blame Skomina for this issue.

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  11. Incorrect handball called just before the halftime whistle. Ball bounced up on the arm. Inconcistent with the two handballs that weren’t called before.

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    1. Agree on this one. But it is almost always whistled.

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    2. FIFA does not want goals from players playing ball into own arm. When defender does it, no PK. When attacker does it, it's a free kick out. Please become familiar with Futuro III expectations. :)

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    3. I know but this wasn’t a goal scoring oppurtunity. This was just an attack. I know how it works.

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    4. No handball for me even here. Skomina even not really consistent about YC and foul detection. I miss Skomina's typical easygoing bodylanguage. Looks like he is not feeling comfortable.

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  12. 49' funny situation with Skomina avoiding the ball. FS1 comment made me laugh: "good defending by the referee"

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    1. And I must say, I love his haircut today, very brave and unique for the referee.

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    2. He struggles with positioning. Looks nervous.

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    3. @Niko, I believe Skomina would have been pleased with your compliment 😉

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  13. 54 min. missed tact.foul Shakiri/holding - given advantage disappeared at once. Why not free kich SWE and YC Shakiri!

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    1. After an advantage for a tact. foul you can‘t give a YC.

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    2. Yes you can Domi. No such thing stated as you claim.

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    3. For sure you can. You SHOULD!

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    4. UEFA RAP is pretty clear about this. Caution is for stopping a promising attack (team concept), not for stopping a player's personal progress. As such, once advantage is applied, the YC is not needed.

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    5. ... and this WAS a promising counterattack! YC mandatory!

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    6. The attack got stopped because of the arm pull.

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    7. Agree. This supposed to be YC.

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    8. Coreect no yc! Why yellow? Does player stopped promissing attack? No! So, no card

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    9. Ref-world, Aldawg Wiels, and Domi are correct! Once you play advantage on a SPA you cannot go back and caution as the promising attack wasn't stopped because you played advantage. Unless the challenge was reckless of course.

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  14. Replies
    1. Skomina explained it was not for the foul itself, but for the number of the fouls made by same player: persistent infringment.

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    2. I don't know for sure myself but on ESPN's match page, it appears that it was only Behrami's second foul... though perhaps he should have been booked for his first one.

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  15. At the end, Behrami got his YC. Persistent infringment, Skomina explained the reason of his choice...

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    1. Oh, if that is reason than it is correct, i missed explanation by Skomina

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  16. Caution for Persistent Infringement. Very, very minor offence -- many such have been ignored by other referees.

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  17. For me SWE 9 is on the edge. 3 fouls in and around half time, started with trying to remove the SUI defender's shorts.

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    1. Berg could have received YC for pulling shorts. Not after that

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  18. Totally wrong yellow card now...Not even a foul. I have seen better performances by Skomina that today‘s one so far

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  19. 61. min YC after several fouls Behrami correct. 63. min.next foul by him. Manager should make a change to.protect him ...

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  20. Not a great match by Skomina so far in terms of foul identification (blows whistle any time the wind blows and someone falls) and YC consistency. I like his style but am not convinced today so far.

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  21. Next correct YC Xhaka. SUI will get in trouble ... ending with 11 players if they don't make necessary changes now.

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    1. Only 2 of their players got cards. Not alarming situation at all. At those event werent for some rough fouls

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  22. Was there ANY YC at this tournament for simulation so far?

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    1. Geiger gave a YC to Son in Germany - South Korea

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    2. Yes. Son in Korea-Germany booked by Geiger.

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  23. Not 100% convincing Skomina today in my opinion.

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    1. Just average. No more good chances for more...

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    2. Skomina is always like today.
      FIFA doesn´t risk and gives easy games (on paper) for him.

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    3. On general, no big mistakes and the RC was absolutely correct. PK corrected by VAR thanks to the technology but it won't matter too much. The problem was there are quite a lot small mistakes although most of them are minor. I am just curious how 'lucky' Skomina is as he got 2 DOGSO + RC cases. This is quite rare and they are the only two direct RC in this world at this stage.

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  24. In my opinion the push ended outside the box.

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    1. 1m outside, only AR can see that

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    2. But more than likely no assistance or input. Could have prevented unnecessary time wasted. And of course, the time lost wasn't added.

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    3. What time lost. It was already last 15 seconds of additional time.

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    4. No need for more time to be added.Even without VAR intervention it was already past added time

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  25. Replies
    1. Clearly outside. RC corrrect. Wisely reviewed despite it being factual.

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  26. As it was a factual decision (and not crucial for the match), Orsato could/should have decided by himself, I think.

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  27. Congratulations Skomina on a good performance at this WC.

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  28. Overall expected level performance. One missed yc and one that was soft but supportable. Correct RC and FK at the end after OFR

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  29. I don't understand why Skomina was invited to rewatch the incident, since it was outside, even in case of genuine attempt to play the ball, RC should have been confirmed.
    Also, I want to point out: after having whistled, and before deciding for card and penalty, Skomina had a consultation (very likely with AR2, I guess), but they failed in assessing the situation (of course, not a so big mistake, given the difficulty...).

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    1. It's penalty/no penalty situation, how you can ask why? :)

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    2. I think that it's like the Geiger not-offside one in the KORvGER match.

      It's a really easy sell to confirm things with VAR.

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    3. Inside / outside that doesn't change the rest of the decision, should be directly checked by VAR without referee's intervention.

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    4. Oh, didn't understand you at first.
      You mean no OFR needed

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    5. I meant an easier sell to confirm that it was a push/etc on the player.

      But it should be a relatively easy sell for that offence at that time either way.

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  30. Good game by skomina.he missed one yc in 23’!
    His movement was not so good. He can do better!

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  31. The only two direct RCs of the tournament (both for DOGSO for foul/handball) have been given by Skomina.

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  32. Average performance and this should be it for Skomina at this WC. All 6 refs in 1/8 finals were better (maybe only Rocchi was worst or in the same level). And there are some big names to come in 1/4 finals (or someone directly in 1/2 final?! - I don't think so, but who knows). Probably FIFA will chose 4 the best refs officiating 1/8 and 1/4 finals for last 4 games.

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    1. What did Rocchi wrong in Brazil-Mexico?

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    2. Not the best positioning, not the best foul detection, "situation" with Neymar, wrong offside from AR2 (very bad decision, especially in terms of protocol at this WC). Team Rocchi didn't have the best match.

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  33. RC should have stood. DOGSO.

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  34. One less ref for the final games. Confed rule Will be broken for sure in favor of UEFA refs

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  35. I have a question: Why FIFA and IFAB didn`t invent an idea of adding retired referees as VARs or even Comittee Members (their decision would be final, because they know everything:)

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    1. In Germany there are Wolfgang Stark and Günther Perl who served several matches as VAR

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  36. I didn't see the RC situation... Can someone please tell me how does the situation compare with the situation in Pitana's game?

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    1. Goalkeeper wasn't out of the question. Defender pushed the striker from behind, no attempt to play the ball.

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    2. Correct RC. DOGSO outside of the box. Lang makes foul from behind andv there is only GK in front of attacking player

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  37. Early predictions:
    Ricchi for Russia-Croatia,
    Cakir for Brasil-Belgium
    Irmatov (or Brych, if he is still there) for Uruguay-France (neither one of them deserved it, but it's hard to see Gassama there),
    Mazic for Sweden-England/Columbia (Swiss losing makes that possible).

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    1. Peter is about to write:
      "Ricchi should be a middle way between Rocchi and Ricci".

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    2. We must not forget, that also the R16 referees are completely possible for a QF match. FIFA has already shown with Faghani's last matches, that 2 days of rest are enough.
      BTW, will the prediction game be published tonight after the match? There is not much time left.

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    3. Ricci, Cakir, Mazic should be safe bets, the fourth name is really difficult to guess, hopefully not Irmatov after his bad performances. Then Pitana, Kuipers and Faghani for the (semi)final(s).

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    4. I heard that PLC announced the revitalization of the system with two referees on the pitch as tested some years ago in Italy starting with the quarter-finals - the first pair being "Ricchi e Poveri".

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    5. @Phillip Just waiting for the last team that will qualify and then it will be published immediately!

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    6. If Geiger does well today I could see him taking a QF instead of your Brych / Irmatov prediction. Brych or Irmatov for 3rd place game would make sense.

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  38. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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    1. I am also surprised by the deletion. If I remember correctly, you just cheered for Sweden and mentioned one point for improvement for Skomina.

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    2. Yes, Philipp S. That was my intention. Was not aware I broke any rules. Sorry if anyone was offended.

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    3. Sorry it was because of "Sweden", what you wrote looked like a wish for the team, nothing more than that, you can rewrite your post. I don't want that comments and cheers about national teams are mixed with referees opinions / assessments.
      I'm sure you will understand me, thanks.

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    4. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  39. in this round, it was only two uefa referee as FO. and they were Turpin and Lahoz. could be a sign that Cakir, Marciniak and Brych are sent home? my predictions are Irmatov for France-Uruguay, Lahoz for Brasil - Belgium, Cunha or Ricci for Russia - Croatia and maybe Mazic for Sweden vs England/Columbia.

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    1. Why do you think Cakir is/will be sent home??? :o :o

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  40. I think this was the last game of Damir Skomina as main referee. Maybe the will follow appointment as FO.
    Anyway good tournament for Skomina.

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