Antonio Mateu Lahoz in Iran - USA and Slavko Vincic in Wales - England are about to officiate decisive games of group B. Let's comment their performance here.
WALES - ENGLAND
Referee: Slavko Vincic (SVN)
Assistant Referee 1: Tomaz Klancnik (SVN)
Assistant Referee 2: Andraz Kovacic (SVN)
Fourth Official: Yoshimi Yamashita (JPN)
Reserve Assistant Referee: Karen Diaz Medina (MEX)
Video Assistant Referee: Marco Fritz (GER)
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Paolo Valeri (ITA)
Offside Video Assistant Referee: Pawel Sokolnicki (POL)
Support Video Assistant Referee: Bastian Dankert (GER)
Standby Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Vasile Marinescu (ROU)
Game 34 - Doha (20:00 CET)
IRAN - USA
Referee: Antonio Mateu Lahoz (ESP)
Assistant Referee 1: Pau Cebrian Devis (ESP)
Assistant Referee 2: Roberto Diaz Perez del Palomar (ESP)
Fourth Official: Kevin Ortega (PER)
Reserve Assistant Referee: Jesus Sanchez (PER)
Video Assistant Referee: Juan Martinez (ESP)
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Ricardo de Burgos (ESP)
Offside Video Assistant Referee: Neuza Back (BRA)
Support Video Assistant Referee: Alejandro Hernandez Hernandez (ESP)
Standby Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Bruno Pires (BRA)
Good luck to Mateu, I don't envy him. One mistake against Iran and he 'll have to deal with death threats from those bigots so hopefully no controversy today!
ReplyDeleteQuicker response from Vincic for the head injury. Collina must've gave him a rollicking after his previous match
ReplyDeleteSurely that should be a YC for SPA for Henderson in 28'?
ReplyDeleteLot of Praise for Lahoz (especially game management) in German TV. So far, definitely deserved...
ReplyDeleteLahoz has a little white box attached to the front of his shorts. What could it be?
ReplyDeleteEvery referee in the tournament has one.
DeleteVery quick offside check
ReplyDeleteVery strange, looked onside from images shown but of course it was close
DeleteLahoz has been impressive
ReplyDeleteEpic offside call by AR2 Diaz Perez Del Palomar in the last minutes of first half, but I think he had also a bit of luck there...
ReplyDeleteNot a challenging game for Mateu, quite easy.
This game can be considered extra-ordinary for off the field reasons, but in terms of football, one could have definitely expected such an outcome. The level is not high, nevertheless, he did well and the appearance of a referee is always positive if nobody talks about him, regardless of game difficulty.
Tbh, when I saw the replay, I thought it was onside. Excellent call.
DeleteI agree, absolutely brilliant offside call.
DeleteAlso a very good performance by Mateu Lahoz. It is quite an easy game, however he seems to be really enjoying himself tonight. No issues whatsoever.
Surprisingly, a very easy game for Mateu Lahoz. I hope he really waited for confirmation of offside from VAR. Otherwise...
ReplyDeleteI think this "he ignores VAR" nonsense is getting out of hand. Why on earth would he (or any referee) choose not to wait for a possible correction of a factual decision knowing that even if the call is right, he will be sent home?
DeleteGeorge +1
DeleteMissed yc for Taremi and Rezzeian
ReplyDeleteGood to see Mateu smiling. He looks as though he's enjoying himself out there tonight.
ReplyDeleteHis smiling is meant as a tool to prevent a heated game, he often talked about that, a friend from Spain told me.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoy Mateu's style, it looks very elegant and likeable, I think he could be candidate for the final, of course depends how Spanish natioal team will play on the next rounds.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely never handball in penalty area right now. Good by Mateu, he made his classic gesture "I saw, don't worry". Nobody can do the same in a so convincing way, but the problem is that he does that even when he is wrong (sometimes.. :D ).
ReplyDeleteHaha true, a legend.
DeleteThree goals, a couple of injuries, and a plethora of substitutions, with only four added mins. So old school... I wonder if +8 was deemed too many in the Spain 7:0 Costa Rica match?
ReplyDeleteWhat a chaos by Iran for nothing, sorry unacceptable behavior by players. That VAR gesture with the ball still in play was simply worthy of a double YC... Excellent Mateu Lahoz in being firm, in this case you can't blame him!
ReplyDeleteWell, after all what I saw, it is clear that Mateu Lahoz, in my view, booked knock-out phase. Excellent performance.
ReplyDeleteI think even more after today games we can say that best performers (almost all of them, to be honest) come from UEFA. Maybe the weakest performance of an UEFA referee was the first one by Vincic, then all the rest very good. This can put in real trouble committee in making appointments and this can also allow us again to think that another referee from UEFA will get the final...
ReplyDeleteWhat about the other confederations?
I think second best performers come from CONMEBOL, for sure, a pair of very good games by almost all officials, at the end one can say that all were okaysh..
AFC could follow as third confederation, still between a positive and negative assessment.
With Faghani spoiling himself after two very good games, we have positive notes from Mohammed and maybe in part also Al Jassim, but at moment still unknown how committee assessed him (second appointment as fourth official can maybe suggest something). Beath was definitely not good. The only clean name so far seems the official from UAE.
In CAF, we have seen a too poor display by Sikazwe, in my opinion he was storng name before that assignment and he could have got even KO stage. Particular treatment for Gassama and difficult to say something due to committee's management. Ghorbal and Gomes are the "survivors", with the RSA referee as "clean name" so far, waiting for their second games for which they are already assigned.
Last confederation is CONCACAF, and in my opinion this is the one from which the major disappointments came, because two referees were fully unconvincing. Elfath and Escobar were also strong names before, at least on paper. There isn't a way they can appear again... all now is in Ramos and Barton hands, but that's not enough for CONCACAF I would say.
Out of discussion, OFC, impossible to say before Conger's game.
So making a "ranking" I would say:
1) UEFA
2) CONMEBOL
3) AFC
4) CAF
5) CONCACAF
With all due respect, but isn't it in a way logical? The best football players are playing in the UEFA countries. Almost 55% of the players at this WC play in the big five competitions in Europe, more than 70% play in Europe. So these referees encounter a lot of the players at this WC at least a few times in a single season. The best South American players do play in Europe, but the football level in CONMEBOL is still very high. Just look at the WC for club teams. The final is quite predictable: UEFA against CONMEBOL, only a few times, the CONMEBOL team lost in the semi final to a non UEFA club. Therefore, the referees from UEFA and CONMEBOL are used to the players (and vice versa), which makes it easier to manage.
DeleteI would actually exchange CONCACAF and AFC in the ranking.
DeleteCONCACAF has two quite strong referees (in the sense of two good performances at the WC), for whom currently a QF (or more) would be deserved.
CAF has at least two referees with a solid first game, who are appointed to decisive games on MD3.
And AFC only has Mohammed as fully convincing option for the KO stage, also shown by no(!) MD3 appointment so far.
But yes, rewarding the good performances by many UEFA and CONMEBOL referees, but still leaving room for the other confederations will be a challenge.
DeleteFully agree with your analysis Chefren and I would dare to say that from Uefa to the other confederation there is a deep groove. Yeah I guess that final will deservedly go to a Uefa referee. It's logical: Faghani, Beath and Elfath could have been a solution but after their performances there is no more way. Where are the other confederations ? I think that it's a committee fault, who has not developed enough the refereeing outside Uefa. It's matter of hard work and I really think that the most successful way is to deploy a wide confederation exchange with the full cooperation of the single nations. Referees from other confederation could be trained in the Europe League, nation League or Conference League
DeleteThe strongest final candidates at the moment (after two games): Mateu Lahoz, Orsato, Turpin.
ReplyDelete+ Ramos, Sampaio
DeleteIMO, Ramos was quite lucky to have his second game under control at the end. Sampaio (+4OF) missed a blatant 2YC to Cash (POL) in the 20th minute of POLKSA (2:0) what was an important mistake with huge influence on the game.
DeleteAnd, officially, there was an offside at disallowed USA's goal:
ReplyDeletehttps://twitter.com/dalejohnsonespn/status/1597683262985756672
My predictions:
ReplyDeleteMateu: strong candidate for the finale (so save for quarter-final)
Sampaio: strong performance, another candidate for quarter-final
Barton: highlight of this wc, round of 16 and 3rd place final? (or directly quarter-final)
Mohammed: will be there for the round of 16 (for example, Netherlands vs the US)
Faghani: strong candidate for the finale in the first place, but let's see what will happen after yesterday's handball penalty.
Orsato: could be saved for semi-final considering his performance and no need to worry about his national team
DeleteAnalysis
ReplyDelete48' FK decision prior to 0-1, foul ?
My personal broadcaster didn't provide a camera angle from the back of the scene which would have allowed to be definitive about whether the contact Vincic penalized exists or not. I have the feeling this is nothing more but a (cleverly executed) dive by the English attacker, who simply fell over the Wales defender without being hit.
Although I can't prove with the utmost assurance that there wasn't any contact, I will support the Slovenian on this one.
61' reckless challenge vs SFP, YC given.
When we analyse a borderline challenge, we must remember the competition the foul is being in. It is essential because obviously each confederation has a different view on precise offenses, and an expected way to deal with it. This foul is in my opinion what you could describe as one endangering the safety of the opponent (cynical attempt from behind, hitting with studs). However I am convinced that FIFA's assessment of this challenge is reckless and nothing more, hence the decision Vincic took was correct one according to them. Frankly speaking, I can argue otherwise.
Overview:
DeleteVincic adopted an approach matching the ideology of two UK countries facing each other: allowing a decent amount of physicality, staying in the background as much as possible and focusing on letting the game flow. In this regard, the Slovenian had a successfull night and wasn't troubled at all, as the players were interested in playing football only.
Talking about physical play, it was visible in the referee's handling of the game that the set for a foul or a caution was high. This easily explains why the two cards we saw were nothing but absolutely mandatory (reckless stamp in 29' and the aforementioned situation in 61'). In every other possible occasion, Vincic chose to restrict his action by blowing the whistle only or producing small chats/warning: borderline tackle in 21' (I expected a stern warning), SPA-like fouls in 29' and 53', LoR in 83' (where only a free kick wasn't enough, that was a clear YC for my taste even with a 0-3 scoreboard), and a rash charging in 90+2'.
Warning were issued in 21', 29' and 85', reaching their targets.
He allowed the game to gain in intensity by playing a couple good advantages in 22', 28' and 85'. Furthermore he displayed very alert handling of head injuries in 24' and 63', showing a precise understanding of a clear guideline from PLC and his team.
To summarize, it was a good performance from the Slovenian crew, who understood well what tactic would benefit the game and the show in the most efficient way. With this showing, the prospect of a KO appointment for Vincic remains fully possible; my bet is that we will see him in a R16 game.
Marks:
Vincic - 7
Klancnik - 7
Kovacic - 7
Fritz - III
I've just finished watching the recording of this match and can fully agree with your analysis.
DeleteRegarding the FK in 48', I've seen a decent enough replay that proves contact with Foden's leg existed, with enough intensity to warrant a FK IMO. And my opinion on the 61' incident is the same as yours, however it's certainly a correct decision according to guidelines.
Generally, I really liked Vinčić's performance. His foul and disciplinary line has been ideal for a match involving these two teams. The only clear mistake for my taste is the missing YC for LoR in 83' that you mentioned in your analysis.
Does anybody know how the reaction in South America regarding Faghani's decision yesterday has been?
ReplyDeleteStrong candidate for finale are Lahoz(strongest in this case depending on Spanish team progree) Faghani and Orsato
ReplyDeleteGreat performance indeed, but I doubt he will get the final as his appointments were usually not "big" enough after EURO final 2020
DeleteFaghani was too bad in his last match, this ridicolous PK was only on top of many little mistakes.
DeleteAnalysis of IRNUSA
ReplyDeleteKey Match Videos
<< Roberto Díaz P. rightly wipes out a second American goal for offside (with SAOT replay) >>
https://streamable.com/af2alr
<< Mateu sees through a desperate Iran penalty appeal at the death of the game >>
https://streamable.com/c1kr33
Antonio Mateu Lahoz played a blinder in the geo-political clash Iran vs. United States.
His two tactics were:
1) to mostly ‘underplay’ potential reckless incidents
2) to keep the players ‘onside’ with his unique style
We all know about the second point, but I was quite stunned (positive way) about the first. After a deliberate, borderline-to-YC foul in front of the benches at 9’, I am sure that almost all referees would have given heavy blast(s) of the whistle, and sprinted in very quickly to prevent an escalation. Instead, Mateu stuck to his guns, read the game perfectly, and whistled it as a simple freekick. It reminded me much of ‘the great man’ in his WC1986 semifinal France vs. West Germany. The confidence one must have in your own abilities to trust your game-reading feeling and not ‘overreact’ in a IRAN VS. USA CLASH is deeply impressive (10’, 54’ were other such examples). Masterclass!!
For certain the game was easier at the start than many of us expected, but by the end it was extremely hectic, culminating in the big penalty appeal at the very end - Mateu rightly saw through it. It is not other referee’s fault for not themselves being Antonio Miguel Mateu Lahoz, but how he was able to keep Queiroz/Iran players ‘with him’ was a simply invaluable asset in this game. Everything really could have degenerated in this period as Iran threw everything at an equaliser, but even the mobbing at +99’ wasn’t that bad really. Just like the 1998 edition, ‘football’ was the winner of this beyond-football match - and that was again thanks to the excellent work of the this-time Spanish officials on the day. Bravo!
(8 - 7 - 8 - (III))
Analysis of NEDQAT
ReplyDeleteOFR/Disallowed Dutch goal
https://streamable.com/bxx9vd
Bakary Gassama faced the easiest game of the tournament; overall he performed well and had minimal problems in Netherlands vs. Qatar. For those looking for sth slightly more detailed: review clips below.
1H - https://streamable.com/s9omeb
2H - https://streamable.com/m8m78p
(7 - 6 - 7 (III))
With all due respect, giving this performance a 7 is making your scores ridiculous
DeleteI would just list 3 aspects that make his performance ridiculous
1. Foul against NL for 2 unfortunate head-to-head collisions
2. Gassama himself whistles incorrectly for offside while the AR does nothing
3. Do not penalize volleyball action that interrupted a promising attack
And then I conveniently forget about some phantom violations that only Gassama witnessed
Let me jump into the discussion.
Delete1) I think that a FK should be awarded if a player jumping for the ball is late and therefore causes the collision, de facto committing a striking offence.
2) I think in the situation you have mentioned, the referee awarded a FK for pushing?
3) Referees are told to punish only SPA (and DOGSO) handballs and the amount of deliberateness should not be taken into account. I disagree and I would like to see such blatant deliberate handballs to be sanctioned with YCs for lack of respect (the same case as blatant holding in a no-SPA scenario). However, as a referee you can only do what they want from you.
On the other hand, I agree that Gassama didn't leave the best impression awarding some very soft FKs and his body language at the OFR incident was simply terrible. Maybe 6 would be a better mark indeed.
I disagree that His body language was "simply terrible". I Likes His calmless while the OFR. Everybody accepted that. His gestures were quiet clear but he did Not make it with strong expressions, okay. But I don't think the we're needed.
Delete