Sunday 8 July 2018

2018 FIFA World Cup - Referee Appointments - Andrés Cunha to officiate FRA - BEL Semifinal

Referee appointments for Semifinals at 2018 World Cup. Andrés Cunha from Uruguay will handle France - Belgium, the first full European semifinal of the tournament. 

Match #61
Saint Petersburg, 10 July 2018 20:00 CET
France - Belgium
Referee: Andrés Cunha (URU)
Assistant Referee 1: Nicolas Taran (URU)
Assistant Referee 2: Mauricio Espinosa (URU)
Fourth Official: César Ramos (MEX)
Fifth Official: Marvin Torrentera (MEX)
VAR:
AVAR1:
AVAR 2:
AVAR 3:

179 comments:

  1. Superb appointment for Andrés... For sure deserved reward for excellent group stage performances!

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  2. Impossible to predict. So now I'm ready for a big suprise in the other game, a CAF official possible if you ask me!

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    1. In that case Çakir for Final??

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    2. Excellent appointment - unsurprising after how he did the group stages. Faghanni should get Croatia vs England . But can an Iranian referee get Croatian game- is there any problem from any other angle ? If no other problem , Faghanni for England vs Croatia and neck to neck race between Kuipers and Pitana for the Final with Kuipers just edging it. 3rd place game goes to the Senegalese referee.

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  3. Big surprise - has anyone predicted that?

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    1. Not many, I would assume :D

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    2. I said you already Soham,no one of the qf refs will reach final,,sf and final refs already selected,,my predicts were faghani fra Bel,,cunha eng cro and final cakir :)

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    3. If someone predicted that he has my full appreciation. Nobody could know that he gets directly a semi final after a group stage match on MD2. Big surprise! Now we can expect everything for the last matches. Did we forget someone?

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    4. Shukralla, Sikazwe, Marrufo for the remaining matches? ;)

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    5. Cakir %100,faghani %80,

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    6. I saw some people predict him in the predictions thread

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    7. I've bet on Faghani for final with 177x

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    8. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    9. It's impossible that Collina has planned this before the QFs.
      If Uruguay had beaten France, Cunha wouldn't have been designated for either SF.
      Collina is deciding match by match.

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    10. Agree friend but cunha and another name planned for this sf,cunha was 1, option. And it happened now

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  4. What a surprise, nobody saw this coming. Also a huge risk taken by committee

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  5. Deserved IMO. I think he's been excellent and his use of VAR has been on point.

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  6. Collina and Busacca are really unpredictable.

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    1. Collina and Busacca are two capricious.

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  7. OMG, I am very surprised but happy for him. Well done!!!

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  8. Soham, can you see if somebody predicted Cunha in game? If yes, you should give him 100pts hahaha :D

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    1. I think Bugra is the only one to get it correct!

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  9. However, with all the respect for Cunha, there isn't a logic there.
    If Pitana wont appear again, one should assume that Cunha was better than the Argentinian for committee.

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    1. I'm sure Cunha wasn't part of the original plan because if Uruguay didn't lose in the QFs then this appointment would never be possible!

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    2. Hmm I don't think that shows who is rated more.
      Pitana got 4 games, all of them very important.
      But hey only two people can be in the middle for semifinals and one for the final.
      We have seen many good performances. Good to see Cunha again.

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    3. Absolutely. Some of these candidates won't handle another match: Cakir, Kuipers, Faghani, Rocchi, Mateu Lahoz, Diedhiou.
      Ricci and Pitana only with minor chances as they got a QF.

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    4. Not at all a surprise if Pitana gets Croatia vs England.

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  10. After this I expect Norbert Hauata as a final referee.

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    1. Unfortunately he has returned home :(

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  11. Before the tournament we were thinking whether he would at all get games on the pitch and now he gets a semi-final... The least experienced CONMEBOL referee makes it the biggest! A very pleasant surprise and I'm so happy for him!

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  12. For me, this could be a signal that we reall will probably have UEFA referee in final. This is the way to satisfy CONMEBOL. ENG-CRO could go to Cakir, I see Faghani and Kuiper in last two matches, depending the one in which Belgium will play.

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  13. Ehh wow; i didn't see that coming! He had two good matches so not totally undeserved. Good luck to him!

    Cakir for the other semifinal seems logic, but after this i see a lot more possibilites!

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  14. Soham can you explain me can Kuipers have final match.

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    1. I'm not Collina so difficult for me to say anything :D

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    2. Well if Belgium is eliminated, for sure final referee will be from Belgium hum no well then Netherland ! :D

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    3. Best way to keep going the tradition of assigning referees to France in this KO stage!

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  15. While I'm sad for the refs who didn't get this game that may have been hoping for it and who had better chances for it, have to be happy for Cunha to get such a big game. Let's hope he rises to the moment.

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  16. The committee has a lot of options for the final through this appointment. In case one of the teams rejects a referee; committee can fill in an other name without problems.

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    1. Why should the committee consider the opinions of the teams when deciding the referee?

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    2. Because teams can give some kind of veto, remember Argentina and Irmatov on WC 2014

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    3. Under what authority can they give a veto?

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    4. There is no official authority as such but it's a well-known fact that it is the way in which FIFA operates behind the scenes!

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  17. I can't believe that the Committee see Cunha as one of the top 4 refs in the world or at this tournament! He simply isn't. Congratulations to him and his team, but for me this isn't deserved appointment.

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    1. Don't you think his performances in the group stage were excellent? 🤔

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    2. I don't think this necessarily means they see Cunha as one of the top 4 refs in the world. It means they see him as the best man to take charge of this game in particular, France vs Belgium World Cup Semifinal. I'm sure they have a much better idea of each referee's and each team's individual qualities than we do, and they must see Cunha's qualities as being the best fit for this game.

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    3. Who is top 4ref for you?

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    4. @Bugra At the very top has to be Mazic lol 😂

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    5. Wow, thats so funny
      Respect others, thanks.

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    7. It wasn't disrespect by any means... Teo admires Mazic the most just like I admire Kuipers... Don't take it in any other way! :)

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    8. mazic one of them sure, I wonder others :)

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    9. I'll give you at least 8 names, not 4

      Ricci
      Pitana
      Diedhiou
      Kuipers
      Mažić
      Cakir
      Skomina
      Lahoz

      But that doesn't mean Cunha doesn't deserve it.
      Simply, there are people who deserves it more...
      I agree with some previous comments:
      'We will probably have UEFA referee in final. This is the way to satisfy CONMEBOL'

      So, I expect Faghani and Diedhiou for other semifinal or 3rd place match.
      Cakir/Kuipers for the final

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    10. Cakir had 2 games, and Kuipers 4, don't forget that.
      I hope to see Mazic in one more game, with best VAR team available.

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    11. I'm quite sure Cakir will have one more match!

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  18. Interesting that Cunha got FRA-BEL after FRA-AUS in the group stage. Could this indicate a referee who also already handled either France or Belgium before for CRO-ENG? Otherwise Cunha could have swapped with the second semifinal referee.

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  19. Prediction for tomorrow: Sikazwe.

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    1. That is first thing that came to my mind after seeing this appointment

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    2. Would explain why FIFA didn't swap Cunha: Cunha already had France, Sikazwe already Belgium.

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  20. What???? France defeated Uruguay and now referee is from Uru!!!!

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  21. Not deserved.

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  22. I predict Çakir for Croatia v England now!

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    1. I think cakir will handle final,people can discuss the other sf name after now, because fra bel is the early final and cunha got it,,just one game suitable for cakir and it's the final game,, remember Collina,he protected cakir's handball desicion on the press conference,and i see that he save cakir for the final game,because he didn't take any risk about cakir ( cakir didn't handle any game after group stage)

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    2. The argument is why should someone "save" a referee for a World Cup final?? There are so many options and one name can't just be fixed from the Group stage... Referees earn it with performances in R16, QF or even SF so if something was fixed since Nigeria v Argentina then it's unfair on the other referees!

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  23. I predicted Cunha for the other SF, but I now think that it would have been impossible for him to get CRO - ENG because his AR2 Mauricio Espinosa was involved in the Lampard goal incident in the 2010 WC. I thought Cunha did an excellent job in Iran-Spain and am very happy that he received such a wonderful appointment!

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  24. Congrats to my namesake Andrés :-) . He was born in 1976, other referees born in the same year and still in Moscow : Shukralla, Çakir & Skomina. Maybe one of them candidate for the 2nd semi-final :-) ?

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    1. Final referee should be 1973 born please :D

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    2. Soham, not problem unless he has officiated 3 or less matches in total up to now 😉

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    3. Soham is so childish that doesn't deserve my answers anymore. I'll remain quiet on his provocations.
      Of course, I am happy to have compatriot to admire. Pity there is neither one on the horizon from India...

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    4. I love Kuipers for his calmness but I appreciate Mazic's positioning more. And 1973 is will be :)

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    5. @Teo What part of my comment is childish and provocating? In case you don't know, Kuipers is 1973-born and I was extending my support to him here! You're actually so obsessed that you see your compatriot everywhere even when it's not meant to be interpreted in that way!

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    6. @ Teo it will be one day from India as well, you just need to wait.
      @ Soham, I agree that the final should be handled with the referee at the and of his career, so borned 1973. It would be Kuipers or Mazic. Or maybe both.

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    7. @Niko There is also Rocchi... 1973 born :D

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  25. What a surprising appointement... I don’t know what to think...

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  26. Three options for tomorrow in my opinion:
    Sikazwe, Shukralla, Çakir

    But we don't really know...

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    1. Mikael, I just saw your comment on our domestic refereeing blog. If you are interested in Serbian refereeing, you can contact me on twitter:
      @DrMr_Referee

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    2. I'd love to see Shukralla. Leaving Shukralla with the throwaway Panama - Tunisia match made me think that the committee didn't like his first performance, but after the surprise of the Cunha appointment, really anything is possible.

      I hope to see Shukralla again. I really like how he looked in the Senegal - Poland match.

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    3. It was reported that Shukralla was not actually planned for Panama v Tunisia... They wanted to put Al-Jassim there but it didn't materialise and Shukralla was appointed... So basically Shukralla was going to stay with only 1 game it seems!

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  27. Well I think that Cunha has performed very well in the group stage, but my feeling is that this appointment is mainly driven by a politic reason.
    With 4 european teams in the semifinal, a presence would must be guaranteed to america confederations, like happened in wc 2006 when larrionda archiundia e elizondo got the last 3 top matches with 4 european teams. And since pitana and ricci were already be appointed for qf, collina and busacca had to choose between cesar ramos and cunha and probably cunga got higher marks from assessors.

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  28. Çakir now is the only referee still there never appointed in KO stage, not even as fourth official.
    We can't give this for sure, but of course one can expect him.
    So in case: semifinal, third place final, or directly the final?
    Otherwise, he would be the only referee without any appointment.

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    1. I agree with some previous comments:
      'We will probably have UEFA referee in final. This is the way to satisfy CONMEBOL'

      So, I expect AFC referee (Faghani/Shukralla) and CAF referee (Diedhiou with Sikazwe as 4 official) for other semifinal or 3rd place match.

      Final goes to UEFA:
      Cakir/Kuipers with Mažić as 4 official

      To conclude:
      AFC-Semifinal/3rd place match
      CAF-Semifinal/3rd place match
      Final-UEFA

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    2. It looks like Collina is keeping him for the Final. Some time ago, if I recall correctly, Soham mentioned on this blog that the President of the Turkish Referee Association was very powerful and that he had openly recommended Çakir as the referee for the Final.. we'll see in short if this turns to become true ..

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    3. To be honest, Cakir deserved it on the field and that's the main reason.
      President's influence is only plus

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    4. Agree, I don't think so Collina will care president's recommend if cakir don't deserve the final

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    5. My prediction is:

      Cakir semi
      Diedhiou/Sikazwe (CAF) for the 3rd place match
      Faghani for the Final

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    6. @Andreja I don't think that was a recommendation in the strictest sense... He was just supporting his countryman after the tough Real v Bayern game and said if he performs well, he can take charge of the Final! Obviously as a Turkish he wants to see Çakir in the biggest match of the tournament but not sure if he has made any official request or something to the RefsCom :)

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  29. I cannot believe it. I'm very happy for Cunha, but I think that Collina and Busacca are in confusion!

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  30. Collina and Busacca are just two incompetent.

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    1. Bad Pierluigi Collina. Bad Massimo Busacca. Good Alberto Monty Python.

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    2. What is Alberto Monty Python??? 😂😂😂

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  31. When we expect next appoitment?

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  32. Some people's dreams has fallen about their favorite referee by this appointment

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  33. On dutch news site they just mentioned Cakir got other Semi Final. Source: voetbalzone.nl

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  34. I never commented about Çakır here. Although I live in the USA now I am original from Turkey. I personally contributed a lot to Cüneyt’s development. He is a very good referee and his performance in this WC has been phenomenal. But I still think that there are other referees who are as good candidate for the final as Cüneyt. I personally would prefer that people do not comment on referees that they share the same nationality because you can not be objective or people might think you are not objective. I do not know who and when wrote that the chairman of the Turkish referee committee has an influence on FIFA referee committee knowing most of the people involved personally this is not possible. Good luck who ever gets the final. This has been the best officiated WC in the history even though I disagree with the leniency imposed by the committee causing some disrespect towards the referees.

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    1. This is one of the best posts ever made in the blog... Now for the certain lobby to follow your advice of not commenting on their countrymen all the time! :)

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    2. Ahmet, you have my full support and thank you.

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    3. Thank you Mr. Guvener.
      You had big role on development of Turkish Referees. I wonder who do you see next as Elite Group Referee? My opinion is Halil Umut Meler.

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  35. İf cakir handle final game i think he will accept China's offer because he will be reach top level on his career( 5 million Dollars is big money) so after clattenburg uefa will lost other big name.

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  36. Can anybody answer me what does voetbalzone wrote abot Kuipers

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  37. translation is
    FIFA has announced which two referees are allowed to whistle in the semi-finals of the World Cup. The Uruguayan Andrés Cunha is on the duel between Belgium and France and the Turk Cüneyt Çakir has to manage the match between Croatia and England in the right direction.

    Björn Kuipers will therefore not take action in Russia during the semi-final battle. It can not be ruled out that the 45-year-old Dutchman still has a chance to be awarded the final. Other candidates seem to be the Iranian Alireza Faghani and the Argentinian Néstor Pitana. Besides the finals there is also played for the bronze at the World Cup.

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  38. Thank you so much, mr refjohn.

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  39. Everything is possible, maybe also Mark Geiger for the final...

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  40. Not definetley,afer col-eng very bad managment by him, so he is out

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    1. Well, it was a exaggeration, but with Collina and Busacca nobody knows...

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  41. Voetbalzone.nl states that “FIFA has announced the referees handling both semi finals”. It’s nonsense, because FIFA only announced the referee for the first semi final (see fifa.com and FIFA media Twitter account). Moreover voetbalzone.nl is not known for their research and reporting of important scoops, so we can easily guess this concerns - at least at this point in time - a false message because of citing an unreliable source. At least that’s my conclusion.

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    1. Agreed. I think that voetbalzone based its article on a tweet (https://twitter.com/mactempel/status/1016046007891742721), and that tweet has been clarified in a follow-up tweet stating that "just to be clear: Cakir is likely but not yet officially confirmed". Also the liveblog at the VI website (Dutch readers will recognize this) referred to the same tweets.

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  42. What I know is that the Committee knows who the referee for the 2nd SF is. They can not wait to see the outcome of the first SF to make the assignments. They will announce on Late Monday. it is probable that info might have leaked to this website.

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  43. Cunha. Well, congratulations to him, but personally, I wasn't too much impressed with him in both his matches. But, ok, let's see how he'll handle.

    Is it possible that the penalty for Nigeria wasn't judged well by the committee? In this case, I wouldn't be surprised if Shukralla or Sikazwe will referee CRO - ENG.

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  44. I actually quite like this appointment.

    In my opinion there IS an argument that he has been the best CONMEBOL referee at this WC (I know this is minority opinion), but I do agree that this is a designation "appeasing" CONMEBOL also.

    If one can remember to the last time that the Semifinals were all contested in UEFA was 2006, Jorge Larrionda from Uruguay handled a combustible France - Portugal very well. And now Cunha has 'that' match in 2018, also direct from the group stage.
    All three last referees represented Latin America in 2006, none from UEFA, could we expect sth similar this year?

    In my opinion, Cunha showed at that he is very flexible as referee during this championship. Assured and calm in France - Australia, and then furious and imposing, but still proactive in Spain - Iran. The latter wasn't the most edifying, especially for a European audience, but IMO he absolutely succeeded in both matches with smartly changing approach.
    Surely he'll need to find a middle line between FRA-AUS and IRN-ESP in this Semifinal, but he seems a referee that is sophisticated to design the appropriate approach.

    Perhaps a final point to add, Cunha is a very good example that in refereeing (also in life) it is crucial to seize the moment, the luck of chance:
    Dario Ubriaco was appointed as referee for Copa America, but failed the fitness test, and so was replaced by his largely unknown compatriot Cunha. He was excellent in all three matches he handed, and was in other words the most convincing referee at the whole championship.
    FIFA I'm certain planned Daniel Fedorczuk for WC 2018, but they couldn't have ignored Cunha's quality.
    In the world where he was bad, or even average at CA 2015, I'm sure that he wouldn't have attended this WC.
    He took his chance.

    Regarding tomorrow I think FIFA will have made a joke in at least one of two ways:
    1) Shukralla only being given PAN-TUN after showing to be a great referee in POL-SEN with a very sophisticated personality.
    2) Not giving Çakir a knockout game after the second best performance of the championship, NGA-ARG. (He could get directly the final though).

    It seems all referees who were working as support teams during KO stage seem out from taking the whistle again, this list is:
    Marrufo, Mateu, Shukralla, Conger, Faghani (!), Sikazwe
    I can't stress enough "SEEMS" there.

    My guess would be Çakir tomorrow, but even Diedhiou seems a possibility. I'm sure FIFA will make fools of us all, in any case.

    If you made it to the end of this comment, you have my respect :-D.

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    1. Excellent analysis, Mikael!

      I did not watch Copa America 2015 but very closely followed the 2016 tournament. I thought Fedorczuk was AWESOME in the opening Argentina-Chile game. Meanwhile, my first experience watching Cunha referee was actually in person at the Peru-Brazil game. That game was, of course, marred by a crucial mistake as Cunha missed the handball that scored for Peru the only goal of the game. His handling of the situation was not at all ideal; he took many minutes to converse with everybody before finally awarding the goal (but it sure made for good excitement as a spectator!). For this reason, it comes as a surprise to me that you say Cunha wrestled the WC spot away from the pre-planned Fedorczuk, but I'll take your word that Cunha's appearance in that Peru - Brazil game was an anomaly for him!

      I agree with you about Shukralla. The only thing I can think is that perhaps FIFA thought he made a mistake by waving Niang on the field during the passage of play which led to his goal? I think it's crazy to think that Shukralla did anything wrong there, but that's the only reason I can find to justify his lack of further (meaningful) appointments.

      Re: Cakir, I think he will get the remaining semifinal or final (and I hope he gets the final, as that was my prediction before the tournament!), but it wouldn't surprise me too much if FIFA "punish" him for the technical mistake of allowing Mascherano to play with blood for 20 minutes.

      Either way, IMO it's a darn shame that at least one of Faghani, Kuipers, and Cakir will be left without a semifinal or final appointment at this tournament. They have been the three best in my opinion and have all earned the opportunity more than Cunha (Cunha wasn't bad, but why not give him, for example, a Ro16 game and give one of the 'big 3' this semifinal?). Anyways, I'm sure FIFA knows waaaaaaaaaayyyyyy more about the referees than we do, so perhaps it's foolish for us to even try to understand their ways.

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    2. Two excellent analysis :)

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  45. Faghani has gotten the hardrst matches in this wc, Ger-Mex, Bra-Ser, and finally the hardest match Fra-Arg, he was done very well even without using VAR in all matches, so why we shouldn't expect final match with Faghani as main ref?

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  46. Faghani merits the Final. But Collina and Bussaca only
    seek to surprise.

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  47. Philipp S. had asked for knowing whether Cunha had been guessed for that game, here the answer:
    https://s22.postimg.cc/qo9yycnc1/image.jpg

    ENG - CRO:
    https://s22.postimg.cc/rqk5h5tdd/image.jpg

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  48. SANDRO RICCI FOR THE FINAL!!!!!

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    1. Please don't write enigmatic comments, if this is your prediction, specify it. Other people could think you are reporting a true info. Thanks. Such comments, if not clear, could even be deleted. We must be clear on the blog.

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    2. https://www.kerkida.net/articles/mundial-2018/608513-aytos-sfyrizei-ton-teliko

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    3. We can't trust such sources :)

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    4. This article states that according to Brazilian UOLesporte, Sandro Ricci will officiate the final. I don't think this info is validate.

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    5. The original source just said that maybe Ricci is a candidate among many others for the final after the good performance in the last game, it was just a translation error of that other site.

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  49. It seems that ,Cakir is the final

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  50. I have to say that I'm truly disappointed with both the appointment and some of the comments here praising his performance in Iran - Spain. Yes, I'm from Spain, and as I said then, I might be biased. But don't forget we won that match in the end.

    Cunha's management in that match was disastrous. The only thing that allowed him to keep control was Spain's goal. I read somewhere that he was "proactive" and "preventive". Really, did we watch the same match? Iran took all the time they wanted to simulate, exaggerate injuries and delay play restart. He didn't do anything to stop that nor via warnings that proved to be effective nor via cautions when all that failed (first caution was when Spain was already winning and Iran had to change their way of "playing" football).

    Which was Cunha's reaction with this attitude that clearly violates the Laws of the Game? (Remember, simulation is a booking offence, as is delaying restart of play): none. He was even uncapable of managing time lost, as he added far less time in the first half than what had been lost by iranian players.

    Some may say: "but he didn't lose control!", "that was just his line and it suited him!", "he read the match very well!". Yes, it suited him (not so much before Spain's goal as you could clearly see that there was poor acceptance among Spain's player who showed some dissent), but at the cost of allowing unlawful actions and killing the spirit of Fair Play.

    Russia used a similar strategy against Spain: keep defending. It suited them and it worked for them. But with a very big difference with Iran: they respected the opponent and football rules. They did not waste near as much time, they didn't fake injuries. In the end, they got they deserved prize: defeated Spain and advanced to the next round.

    But Iran's attitude could only occur if accepted by the referee, and is in this point in which FIFA refereeing committee are wrongly sending a clear message: Iran's way of playing football is accepted and that it infringes the rules doesn't really matter. The referee, who was the only one who could stop that and chose not to do so, has been rewarded for what I think is an awful performance (mind you, I'm only talking about Cunha. AR2, with that offside decision supported by VAR was top class). But well, it seems the powers in charge think differently. What a shame. I'm starting to wish that Spain had not scored to see what would have became of that match... and of Cunha's approach.

    Anyway, best luck to him and FIFA. IMO, they are really gonna need it.

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    1. Are you sure you've swatched Iran-Spain match?

      They did not delay the match even for 1 min, when wild Costa hits the goalkeeper and he gets injury you think it's killing time? I think you've watched another game :D or maybe you think this way cause you're Spanish and you want to run out of ugly playing tactics of Spain for this wc, of course Iran's tactic was mostly defensive but you can't say they were killing the time, please re-watch the game and see how your boring tiky taka is dead :)

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    2. I agree with the last sentence. Strongly disagree with the rest. I'm not talking about that incident with the GK and Costa (which is a player I heavily dislike both in behaviour and quality). There were many other incidents where players fell too easily and spent a lot of time on the ground. I recall a defender falling twice to the ground in a few seconds time in order to delay restart of play but when he was out of the field of play only needed a few seconds to fully recover and ask for re-entrance. I'm pretty sure I watched the game. Also, if they did not delay the match for even 1 min, how does it come that added time at the first half was 3 mins, and that was even short?

      BTW, which ugly tactics? If you say so because Costa deserved some card, in your opinion, or that Spain's first goal against Portugal was a foul on Pepe (which I think it was), it does nothing but to add to my point that Cunha's performance was in no way good enough to grant him a semifinal. Nor was Rocchi's to give him a R16 match and leave others without, but that is more supportable given the round.

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  51. Cakir wil lead the other semi final rus/eng

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  52. Mateu Lahoz and Skomina have been informed they can leave.
    UEFA referees who will stay: Mazic, Rocchi, Cakir and Kuipers.
    There are also other referees who have been informed they can go, I don't know whether I will manage the know the names, however now they should be 10 now (of course, apart from VAR officials).

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    1. So like EURO16 referee finals will depend on nations.
      Belgium out - Croatia in - Kuipers final/Faghani 4th?
      Belgium in - Croatia out - Mazic final/Ricci 4th?
      Belgium in - Croatia in - Faghani/Ricci/Cakir/Pitana?

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    2. What was the reason for retaining Skomina just for the quarterfinal matches without appointing him (either as head referee or as fourth official)? Would he have been an option for a semifinal game (or more) in the case that Croatia had been eliminated? Or was he just kept as a standby in order to be able to react to unforeseen events like injuries? But even then, the other five UEFA referees would have been sufficient.

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    3. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    4. So, the only refeferees who are limited by teams playing are Mazic (matches involving Croatia) and Kuipers (matches involving Belgium). My guess is they are considered for something because they would be sent home I am sure.

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    5. I think that FIFA is doing strange things without a lot of sense.
      12 referees for 4 game seems to be quite a lot.
      And why keep Skomina on first for letting him going home? Why keep Lahoz only for being 4th official?
      Why keep Geiger after the mess made in his game?
      BAH!

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    6. You keep extra referees both for contingency and to prevent match-fixing. If everyone knew who the referees were, it could be dangerous for the referees.

      Also Geiger’s performance was rated higher than most of you think.

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    7. It`s also difficult to understand what was the reason to keep Skomina by this day?!

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    8. @Sviat What if Uruguay and Brazil reached the semi-final? In such a scenario Cunha and Ricci would be out after QF... So back-up officials were needed!

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    9. @Soham, agree with you)

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  53. I'm in St. Petersburg . Tomorrow I will see Cunha from the stadium. But I was shocked when I saw his name. Honestly, it's unbelievable and impossible to explain.

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  54. Bjorn Kuipers for the FINAL sure for me.

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  55. Bjorn Kuipers for the FINAL sure for me.

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  56. Dont be so sure, lets se what will happen tommorow.

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  57. I don't expect Kuipers for the final given that all remaining matches are all-European ones. I rather assume that only one out of the four remaining matches will go to UEFA - either the second semifinal or the third-place game, but not the final.

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    1. I agree Peter. My guesses are:
      2nd semi : Çakır
      Final:
      If FRA-ENG : Ricci
      If FRA-CRO : Kuipers
      If BEL-CRO : Pitana
      If BEL-ENG : Ricci

      3rd place : Faghani/Diedhiou

      I am quite sure that referee of the final will be one of the QF referees.

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  58. https://www.fifa.com/worldcup/news/match-officials-appointed-for-russia-2018-s-final-phase

    official release on FIFA website

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    1. The best referees were chosen. However, the presence of Mark Geiger surprises/confuses me - I don't see any (fair) chance for another appointment. Conger could get another game as fourth official. Lahoz and Skomina had to leave while Mazic and Orsato remain in Russia despite the very crucial mistake. Having said that, I still don't think that Mazic will get one more game.

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    2. Obviously there is no "very crucial mistake"

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    3. There wasnt any very crucial mistake from Mazic.

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    4. Agree with Jovan and Bozidar.

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    5. It depends on that penalty situation... If Committee assesses it as penalty missed it's a very crucial mistake and if they assess it as supportable no penalty then it's not a mistake!

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  59. As Soham stated and as I said in a previous post (QF performance disscusion topic)...
    Can anyone please explain me this...

    Bob 8 July 2018 at 13:49

    I don't understand.
    How can you appoint referees for the final four matches judging by their performance in the Q4?
    That won't be fair .
    It's the overall performance and experience that matter and maybe some residual factors that the referee committee may accept.
    What if Cakir got a q4 and failed? Or any other referee?

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  60. Can we consider retaining Orsato, Zwayer & Gil shows, FIFA supported the decision that they made for penalty position at Brazil-Belgium game? Or these are the most experienced VARs so they can't send them home?

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    1. Given the number of high profile mess ups Zwayer has done in this tournament, I don't think sending home or not has any indication on the evaluation of the decision... The most important thing is that Mazic cannot be blamed at all as he made his call and waited for VAR to provide with some inputs but they didn't tell him to do an OFR... Let's see whether Mazic gets another game or not!

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    2. Not in my opinion Gil is possible for the final as AVAR1 and Zwayer or Orsato as AVAR3!

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    3. @Soham I agree, I don't think Mazic can be blamed. It is very hard to detect from his angle. Looks like FIFA thinks VAR Team's decision is correct.

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    4. My gut feeling just about says the referee for the final will be either Mazic or Kuipers... If Ricci is fit then maybe him as well... I don't know the reason but I'm getting a feeling that these 3 are the frontrunners!

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  61. FIFA has only selectet 24 Referees? Mhhh:
    AFC: Sokhandan, Mansouri (IRN)
    CAF: Camara, Samba (SEN)
    CONCACAF: Fletcher (CAN), Torrentera (MEX)
    CONMEBOL: Taran, Espinosa (URU), Maidana, Belatti (ARG), de Carvallo, van Gasse (BRA)
    OFC: Lount (NZL) as AR or AVAR2
    UEFA: Duran, Ongun (TUR), van Roekel, Zeinstra (NED), Ristić, Durdević (SRB), di Liberatore, Tonolini (ITA)

    These 21 names should be clear as well we have as AVAR2:
    CONMEBOL: Astroza (CHI)
    UEFA: Borsch (GER)

    So there is one spot left maybe we have Makasini (TGA) for a possible 3rd Place match (or fith official duty in ENG-CRO) or Gringore (FRA) as AVAR2 or del Palomar (ESP) as AVAR2 or maybe even Anderson for a match with Geiger as main referee. Oh and what about Hernández (MEX) rather not but everything is possible.

    I would go for Makasini or del Palomar. Other opinions?

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    1. There are 26, all assistants of the referees who stay, plus 2 AVAR, probably Astroza and Borsch.

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  62. Most of the bloggers rule Kuipers out in case of Belgium reaching the final. This is bases on assumptions. I’ve checked some things with dutch refereeing experts and they don’t know this rule.

    So Kuipers has as much or less chance to get the final regardless of which team will play the final.

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    1. I also asked some FIFA instructors and former referees and they said there is no problem in appointing Kuipers to Belgium if Pitana can be appointed to Uruguay... But that said, in a big Final if they have other options available they maybe tempted to opt for them!

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    2. I didn't rule him out due to the (possible) presence of Belgium, I fear that politics will prevent FIFA from appointing a European referee for an all-European final that is played in Europe after the last two finals also have been handled by Europeans. That's something that SHOULDN'T count - but we all know that performance is not the sole criterion ...

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    3. If 4 European teams can reach the semi-final on their own merit then the referees must be given the opportunity to do the same as well... Cunha got 1 SF and now another CONMEBOL referee getting the Final would mean that it's the confederation producing the best referees! But surely UEFA guys are at least equal with their level if not better! But knowing how FIFA works, performance is never the sole operative factor and that's highly unfortunate!

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    4. Remember the World Cup 2006 when also four UEFA representatives (France, Germany, Italy and Portugal) reached the semifinal and not a single (!) UEFA referee was appointed any more - the last four matches were handled by Archunia, Larrionda, Kamikawa and Elizondo.

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    5. As a rarity or even for the first time , a referee got a European final - EUROPA final , this completed season , in the form of Bjorn Kuipers who had earlier once done the EUROPA final , and of course also the ATM vs Realmadrid Champions league final , in 2014. , such was the confidence in him and the sensitivity of a final , by the UEFA refrees comittee, although there were referees like Rochi available at their disposal. If you have observed , he got all the top games in the Champions league in the just concluded season including a semi final leg , if I am not mistaken. So , Bjorn Kuipers seems a definity for the World cup final , just about edging Nestor Pitana , unless Collina and Busacca decide that last 2 World cup finals were done by European referees, Howard Webb - Spain vs Netherlands in 2010 and Nicola Rizolli who officiated the 2014 final between Germany and Argentina, so they go for Nestor Pitana who is as good as Bjorn Kuipers . My opinion is that , seeing Bjorn Kuipers wonderful season in Europe - UEFA , they will decide that this is the best way of giving Bjorn Kuipers a perfect send off with the final although Nestor Pitana misses out very narrowly. And obviously Nestor Pitana will be the 4th official for the final if he is not the referee for that game.

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    6. @Peter In 2006 one could say Archundia, Larrionda and all such names were much ahead as well as much better performers than the UEFA refs in that edition... But this time it's not a similar picture with Kuipers, Cakir and Mazic present! These are very big and experienced names and their performances in the tournament has been excellent too!

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  63. I think Cakir will get the other semi-final. Faghani should, in my opinion get the final for place 3/4. Kuipers should do the final match.

    Why? First of all, I think Kuipers has been a very reliable referee for years. He deserves to end that with the biggest final. I think Kuipers deserves it more than Mazic, sinc Kuipers has been there much longer, always stayed motivated and always delivered good performances.
    It's the last chance for Kuipers, so this match would be a very good farewell gift.

    Faghani should do the match for place 3. The last 3rd place final turned out to be a very difficult match, so it should not be underestimated. I think it would be a crown on the tournament of Faghani. Besides, it would keep him motivated towards the next WC. What could Faghani reach in the future, if he gets the final now? Next WC is in Asia, a very good and trustworthy Faghani is needed there, and could very well do the final. That simply seems the right moment for him. Besides, Kuipers had the benefit of Makkelie, who IMO turned about to be the best VAR of this tournament.

    Cakir should do the semi-final, if he has to be appointed. I would have preferred him in a QF, since both Mazic and Kuipers have delivered better performances than Cakir the last years. Mazic in a SF would have been deserved in my opinion.

    I can imagine Rocchi to be 4th official to Cakir, Mazic 4th official to Faghani and maybe Geiger 4th official to Kuipers. That would make sense, since that would give an American referee the chance to be at the final match (which means that more confederations are involved in the semi's and final) and both Kuipers and Geiger worked a lot with Makkelie, which may improve coorporation.

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  64. To be honest CONMEBOL has already been overappointed in this tournament... Pitana 4 games, Ricci and Cunha 3 games each, Roldan and Cáceres 2 games each... That makes it 14 games for 5 referees... Among UEFA referees till now the equation is Kuipers 4 games, Mazic, Skomina and Rocchi 3 games each, Marciniak, Turpin, Mateu Lahoz and Cakir 2 games each, Brych and Karasev 1 game each! That makes 23 games for 10 referees... Based on this at least 2 of the remaining 3 games should go to UEFA referees with the remaining game for AFC/CAF!

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  65. Where can we get the official announcement of the referee appointment?

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    1. Did you mean "when"?
      Maybe at the same time of yesterday's announcement.

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    2. If you meant “where” they are posted on FIFA media’s twitter page.

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  66. Referee: Cuneyt CAKIR (TUR)
    ASR 1: Bahattin DURAN (TUR)
    ASR 2: Tarik ONGUN (TUR)
    4th Off. Bjorn KUIPERS (NED)
    Res.Ass S. VAN ROEKEL (NED)

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  67. No final for Kuipers, as he has been appointed as fourth official... if you ask me, now the choice is between Pitana and Faghani.

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    1. Sandro Ricci is also there! Or even Milorad Mazic!

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    2. Faghani was designated as Fourth Official in FRA-URU.
      In my opinion, it's between Pitana and Mazic as the main candidates.

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