Saturday 1 December 2018

Referee of the Year - Néstor Pitana is the best CONMEBOL referee of 2018

The second contest of our "Referee of the Year", in cooperation with guesstheref.com, has ended. Néstor Pitana, with 514 points, has been elected as  CONMEBOL best referee of 2018 by our readers.
As we could have expected, Néstor Pitana from Argentina is leading the ranking of his confederation with 514 points and he is the best CONMEBOL referee in 2018 according to our readers. He has officiated 5 matches at World Cup including the final between France and Croatia. He has shown very good performances, being always in control of his games. The success he obtained at 2018 WC is surely a consequence of what he had already achieved in previous seasons. You can read a more detailed analysis about him here. 2013- 2018 The Rise of Néstor Pitana


Andrés Cunha from Uruguay is the runner up with 459 points. The Uruguayan can be for sure very content about his experience in Russia, with the appointment for a semifinal. This was absolutely not expected before the tournament, given the background and his past experience. So, this factor has surely increased the perception of the quality of his officiating. He was able to convince committee and he got a deserved trust. In addition, he has been appointed for 2018 Copa Libertadores final second leg (Argentinian Superclásico), but the game has been postponed. 


Sandro Ricci is third-placed in this ranking with 405 points. The Brazilian has confirmed to be a very solid referee at 2018 WC, having already matured a big experience in previous seasons. He officiated two group stage games and a quarterfinal. For sure he was also a candidate for the final, but he had a strong contender from the same confederation, Pitana. After World Cup, he has retired, and he can be definitely proud of what he achieved in his last years as FIFA referee.

CLICK HERE to read the full ranking.

Meanwhile, you can continue to send your preferences. Click here: REFEREE OF THE YEAR
The next contest is about best UEFA CL debutant.

33 comments:

  1. The candidates for the CL debutant poll should be:
    Gestranius, Siebert, Madden, Massa, del Cerro Grande, Grinfeld, Kehlet, Treimanis, Raczkowski, Kovacs
    (please correct, if I made a mistake)

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    Replies
    1. Yes all the referees who made their CL debut in 2018-19 group stage. These are the names. We should have waited for MD6 but well, this time it will be played quite later on December...

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    2. Maybe one can gamble and choose Ekberg anyway ;)

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    3. Kabakov and Agayev could have their CL debut as well...

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    4. Or maybe Gozobuyuk still has a chance?

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    5. After having missed an appointment on MD3 and 4, I think very difficult...

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  2. http://www.cariverplate.com.ar/comunicado-de-prensa-1-12
    River Plate published an official statement. The club doesn't want to play this game outside Argentina.
    Well, I'm quite convinced that the match wont be played at all and CONMEBOL will have to decide what to do with the title.

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    Replies
    1. This is a real circus. The worst thing is I never saw River Plate making a statement about the behaviour of the fans. It seems acceptable for them.

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    2. Hard to believe that professional football can be run so unprofessionally. Reminds me my duty as a sport management student hahah

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    3. This is the end result of when football clubs allow "Barras Bravas", "Ultras", "Hooligans" and fringe supporter groups to have too much influence within a club. Something that plagues the entire footballing world.

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  3. Hoffenheim - Schalke
    Missed handball before PK given? If you didnt gave handball for that how can you give PK?
    https://streamja.com/ln5Z

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    Replies
    1. We can laugh, we can cry, but it is more correct to remove this “referee”. There was a recent attempt to prove that in the "big" leagues the referee is better. Here is an example.

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    2. Both handballs in this situation are not deliberate IMO. First one, because of the unexpected ball from a very short distance. Second one, because of a natural position and the short distance.

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    3. Agree with Philipp 100%. First handball was not deliberate and punishable, for second one it would be much better not to whistle but definitely not a crucial mistake. VAR obviously thought the same.

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    4. There were 2 situations, i.e. 4 options. And the referee chose the only option that allows to make an assumption about the bias against one of the teams.

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    5. I disagree with your statement. UEFA and FIFA both said that when a player touches a ball with a hand directly after he has played the ball with another part of his bodie it is not deliberate (remember Cakir in Arg-Nig). Handball was clear, but not punishable because it hit a player's head before. And again, VAR would surley intervene there if he thought that first hanball was punishable.

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    6. Both situations are play on. Not deliberate

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    7. I have to say that the referee here (Dr. Robert Kampka) is a very strong official who rarely makes mistakes I even see him as a FIFA referee in the future. So to „remove the referee“ is a total unfair comment and a generalization based on one match!

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  4. Some news from Holland. Kuipers is out with a injury. Is replaced this weekend at his match by Kamphuis. Unknown how long he will be out.

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    1. So very likely no UEFA appointment for him on MD6.
      He had not so many options in CL, having already officiated games in certain groups, maybe he could have appeared in Europa League...

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    2. Looks like it Chefren. Or it is a minor injury and he wants to be fit for a major European match and returns next weekend. KNVB hasn’t stated the period Kuipers will be out.

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    3. That happened before in the past.

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  5. OT:

    The offender was clearly in an offside postion, but does the defenders clearnce makes it another phase?

    What do you guys think? Do you agree with the raised flag or should it have been play on?

    https://streamable.com/ilaza


    Another incident:
    A goal was awarded but still, 4 days after the game people in Kuwait are still debating it. Was the player that assisted the goal offside (upper body)?

    https://streamable.com/xlz0s

    https://www.gulf-up.com/i/00077/dyritq098aiq.png

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    Replies
    1. 1) Defender makes a deliberate act to play the ball. New moment. No offside.

      2) Really tight. Impossible to answer 100%

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    2. 1) No offside. Even though the distance between the attacking player and the defender is short, attacker didn't make some obvious act to play the ball. He is just running. Deliberate play, play on.

      2) No offside
      Right leg of the defender is the key reason for no offside.
      Only attacker's arm can be in offside position and we all know that's not important in a terms of the offside offence.

      Very good decision from AR, bravo!

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  6. OT:
    I dont know if some of you are watching North London derby,but Mike Dean is having very busy match.I can say that his major decisions came whenever some team scored.
    1st one was penalty for Arsenal,handball by Vertonghen and correct decision.
    2nd one was Tottenham equalizer,Dier scored and then made gesture towards Arsenal fans which led to massivec cnfrotations between some players.Only YC to Dier.
    And 3rd one was penalty given to Tottenham,I dont know abou that, to me Son iniciated the penalty.
    I dont have any videos of these incidents,but all in all pretty interesting and fas paced match,challenging for the officials.

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    Replies
    1. 1) Penalty for Arsenal is correct decision, very possibly taken by the best English AR Caan. On the replay, it looks so obvious and clear but from the referee's angle it was harder to spot.

      2) Correct YC for Dier and a wonderful decision from AR2 to keep the flag down. Of course it's recommanded to give minimum one YC to each team in mass confrontation but I'm okay with ref's decision.
      Just to add, before Dier scored, Dean use strong verbal warning insted of the YC and he sold this decision very well.

      3) Live, I sad "Penalty!" and I'm sure without the replay most of
      the people would say the same. Unfortunately, replay showed us there wasn't contact at all, it is simulation and a crucial mistake.

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  7. I knew that Sandro Ricci had retired but it seems as he officiated a game today in Saudi Premier League...

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  8. In the Scottish League Cup final between Celtic and Aberdeen, Andrew Dallas awarded a penalty for handball which was outside of the penalty box and had been headed onto the player's own arm:

    https://streamable.com/3qbns

    Fortunately the penalty was saved...

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  9. I wrote a detailed report about Matthew Conger, who is about to lead his trio at FIFA Club World Cup this month. He took charge of the tough final in China's FA Cup between Shangdong - Beijing, and you can find such report in the link below, which evaluates his chances for World Cup 2022 also.

    https://kronikasedziowska.blogspot.com/p/reports.html

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  10. Yesterday`s match between Shakhtar Donetsk - Olimpik Donetsk in Ukrainian Premier League

    Missed RC: https://streamable.com/xy44u

    Missed offside goal by Shakhtar`s player: 3rd video and picture below
    https://ua.tribuna.com/tribuna/blogs/tivionline/2267268.html

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  11. UEFA confirmed that VAR will be used at the UCL knock-out stage

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    Replies
    1. And also in the EL final, Nations League finals and the U-21 Championship (all in 2019).

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