2022 FIFA World Cup - An overall analysis

Please find below an analysis about each referee who officiated at this World Cup in Qatar. Feel free to discuss and integrate with your opinions.

Collina and Busacca can be content for some reasons but definitely not for others...

AFC

Mohammed Abdulla Hassan Mohamed distinguished himself at this WC

The treatment of AFC officials at this World Cupo has been surely something never seen before in terms of lack of appointments. After Matchday 2, they have totally disappeared from the assignments until the third place game with Al Jassim in charge. This should already suggests us that things didn't go in the best possible way for Asian referees. Let's talk about them. 

For sure, the big disappointment must be mentioned before all the others: Alireza Faghani  has spoiled himself with that penalty call in the second game he officiated. A decision that has clearly cost him the chance to officiate the big final. A pity, because otherwise he had been very good in the 180 minutes (maybe a bit more, given the "monstre" added times :D) he refereed. There isn't too much to say if not to underline again that this was a technical failure from the Asian crew in charge. Feeling the pressure? A lack of knowledge? Both arguments would be very poor if confirmed, but knowing the referee from Iran, one should wish it was just a black out. 

Focusing then on home-nation referee,  Abdulrahman Al Jassim, his treatment has been very particular. After a rather ambiguous first performance, in the meaning that it was very debatable to assess whether negative or positive, a totally poor performance followed in third place game. Maybe he lost motivations, but for sure some clues of what happened in second game were absolutely present already in his first display. Overall, not a positive World Cup for him. 

To follow, another disappointment came from Australian referee Chris Beath  who had joined this tournaments surely with big hopes after the path in FIFA tournaments. The fact that committee wanted to bet on him was clear, the first (and only, unfortunately for him) game for which he was assigned was quite sonorous and very open, Mexico - Poland in group stage. He didn't manage to do well and he was rather poor, not that bad, and maybe could have had another chance, but the work of VAR was another problem, indeed when he was called to OFR, the decision to whistle penalty was not clear. He should have done more by himself on the pitch, such issues were already visible during the previous FIFA tournament in which he had several OFR in a game. 

The only positive note from Asia was surely the referee from UAE, Mohammed Abdulla Hassan, Mohamed: two good games for him, maybe the first one not a real test, as it was a more than easy win for Spain, but in the second he convinced again. Should have had a chance to referee in KO stage, appointed twice as Fourth Official, in my opinion it was clear that Collina didn't dare after all happened in previous games with AFC, and this was a pity for him.

CAF

Gambia's Bakary Gassama, a "case-study"

In an overall context I think that African confederation showed a bit more than Asia but still extremely below expectations. Let's start then with the pictured referee, Bakary Gassama from Gambia. One should suspend the assessment because there are clearly unknown reasons for which he got that treatment. A referee at his third World Cup, and so you would argue, among the most experienced officials in Qatar, officiated only one game without a real importance, on MD3. Deliberate choice by Collina, my idea is that he lacks in technical knowledge and the committee has been disappointed with him during the meetings and before WC for this reason, there can't be other arguments. His game was not so bad but it was clear he joined the field already demotivated. 

One of the biggest disappointment of this World Cup has been surely Janny Sikazwe from Zambia, unluckily his first and only game was too poor (to be accurate, only first half but it was definitely enough)  to get a second chance. An officiating team must be seen as "equipe" and the terrible mistake by assistant referee, not corrected by referee, added further shock to an already poor appearance. Very sad for this outcome because I had been really positively surprised to see him at WC after the health issues at AFCON, but definitely something went wrong here as well. 

Victor Gomes from South Africa has been in charge of two games in group stage, the second one being more challenging than the first, but still, not a real test to say more. I think it is possible he paid the announcement to be ready to retire after the tournament, one should never say that before, because committees can look at you with different eyes. On paper, enough to officiate in KO stage, but in reality no place for him.

Mustapha Ghorbal joined the tournament with big hopes for officiating a game in KO stage, in the first appearance he didn't manage to convince due to many missed cards. Nevertheless he got a second and decisive game in which he did well. The very experienced AR2, Etchiali, from the same country, at his third WC did a masterpiece with a great offside call. Still, overall not enough to find a place for them in KO stage, but surely the first name in case of appointment for Africans in Round of 16. He can surely say to himself that he could have done better in  first game, but maybe nothing would have changed for assignments in KO stage, given the rather weird management by committee (read more in CONMEBOL section). Overall, a rather positive appearance, but still a feeling of something missing... 

CONCACAF

Considering the expectations, the big surprise of Qatar 2022, Iván Barton

CONCACAF was a mixed bag of positive notes and disappointments, but surely a big surprise must be mentioned before all the rest: the referee from El Salvador, Iván Barton, showed unexpected skills and he deserved a big call for a KO stage game (if you ask me, almost impossible to predict that). Having a very firm style, and being sure in everything he did, he managed to officiate a Round of 16 game. Well deserved, but even more, see you at WC 2026. The assistant referees could have been a problem, but FIFA decided to help him, because he showed to be a talent, and one can agree. The best from his confederation, without doubts.

Coming to US referee Ismail Elfath, in my opinion one must underline that, on the contrary if compared to Barton, the expectations were high but he didn't meet them after the first performance. A rather poor and difficult management of the game, with a soft crucial decision. Based on that, he could have been treated differently, but he got a chance again and he did well on his subsequent games. Of course, for honesty purposes, one must say that if you do that with all referees, you can get similar results at least in some cases. The final assessment from my side is that committee sees something special in him, still not clearly shown at this tournament, but maybe, more important, they are preparing him for 2026 World Cup. The appointment as fourth official in the big final shows us that. So I think overall quite good, but with a "help" , not given to other referees (this must be mentioned...). Also, I think, differently from other opinions, he was very likely never considered as candidate for the final, even more after reading Ramos name for semifinal. 

Mexican César Ramos was at his second WC after Russia 2018. He showed some good performances, leading him to the officiating of a semifinal, in which in my opinion he didn't convince too much. Nevertheless, in the overall picture, you can still talk about a "normal referee", showing average performances, but being better than others, who were poor, and coming from a strong refereeing country. In terms of style, maybe most of people will answer that Chiquimarco, who got same honor in Brazil 2014, had been a more "enjoyable" referee. Nevertheless, Ramos can be extremely proud with what he has achieved.

The last name to analyze from this confederation is Mario Escobar from Guatemala, a referee we have seen in many different shapes in recent times. According to my opinion he could have had on paper a better tournament than Barton, but clearly it turned out to be the contrary. An extremely poor display in his unique appearance, with a crucial mistake and several wrong decisions, cost him the end of the chances. One can't blame Collina in this case, the referee trying to follow Carlos Batres's footsteps failed, and in a very blatant manner. 

CONMEBOL

Jesús Valenzuela, a positive note from South America

What happened inside CONMEBOL seems to be quite clear. There has been a pool of Argentinian - Brazilian referees who got - simply (!) - everything, and maybe they were also reason for which AFC and CAF officials, at least one name, didn't get assignments in KO stage. But let's explain everything: I think that basically all four officials from these two countries showed good officiatings in most of the cases, especially the Argentinians but also the Brazilians, nevertheless they got too much in terms of room. Differently from the concept of pushed referees (one can say that only about Elfath after first game in this tournament), they were simply overused. 

In this context one could analyze together the World Cup of Wilton Sampaio and Raphael Claus, the former was overall quite good, but he didn't avoid some crucial mistakes like a very clear second yellow card missed in a first half. This should have been enough to end the World Cup, but he got another game. Raphael Claus had a more "normal" treatment, he did well in almost all games, let's also say that the work of VAR in England - Iran, his first game, can be described as controversial,  and so not his fault. VAR from Uruguay didn't  get further games after the first one, a clear signal by Collina. So, were they good or not? Still difficult to answer, one could say they were "strong". 

Similar speech for the Argentinians Fernando Rapallini and Facundo Tello but in this case better because they showed performances without evident mistakes. Nevertheless, they got assignments more than other referees from different countries in their position, that's clear. The blame is not for them, but it is about the management. We can mention the troubles experienced by Rapallini in his second-last game, before final whistle, and the good decisions by Tello in his last game, he was critiziced for that but he was right. I think that for a matter of fairness, one can say that they overall were good, but they were  "different" from other referees in case of mistakes. 

So, you can clearly understand why a referee like Jesús Valenzuela can be even more proud of what he achieved, coming from a minor (but maybe not so much) country inside CONMEBOL. The first assignment for him was absolutely unexpected, a very sonorous one, and he managed to convince, getting then the deserved chance to officiate in KO stage. Similar to Barton, but maybe in this case more possible because referee coming from a certain Soth American country, it was a positive surpise to see him appointed for a full European clash in KO stage, France - Poland. He did well, no problem if he ended WC with an OFR. Extremely good signals for him.

Last but surely not least, Andrés Matonte from Uruguay: his game was among the ones I couldn't watch but it looked like it was normal one without a real challenge. A name called for making experience, can't add more for now. 

OFC

One referee from OFC, and so only one picture possible :)

According to expectations and not managing to do more, only one game for NZL referee Matthew Conger, he officiated Tunisia - France in group stage. Unluckily, after a not so bad game, everything happened in the end with the call by VAR from Qatar and the disallowed goal, out of protocol. I'm really sorry to say the referee had some responsibilites there, but this is the truth, he should have informed VAR  that changing the decision was not possible anymore, since he had resumed the game before final whistle. In that regard, I point out  that some referees think that they must end a match only when the ball is in play (example: whistling only after a goal kick is taken by keeper, and not before, very common scenario). I don't know but this could even be a lack of technical knowledge, with ball out and nothing in course, it's the best moment to whistle for the end. Having said that, still for these reasons, referees from Oceania show always some troubles to officiate at very top level, and that's sad. He will not remember this tournament with happiness. 

UEFA

We can say: "Gratulacje, Szymon!"

The European confederation showed again to have an excellent pool of extremely trusted and top referees, this is what we can say at first glance.  The best officiatings of the tournament came from the UEFA officials. This was the reason for which, once the final chances ended outside UEFA (Faghani, as already reported, was strong name), Collina was convinced to select a candidate from Europe. They ensured a high level of refereeing, including the ones who were not appointed in KO stage Let's have a closer look with a short analysis for all of them.

I like to start this section with Daniele Orsato, the efforts by Italian referee to give his best at this WC were fully visible. He had three excellent games, including the semifinal, but all for him, as already said, had been decided before. Not more than a semifinal, hopefully Argentina - Brazil, but he was not lucky and this didn't happen. We can't say anything to him, among the best referees at the tournament, but maybe what one can point out is that, differently from Marciniak, he put everything about himself on the WC games, not being so brilliant before, the contrary for the Polish, who convinced Collina also for his form. Nevertheless, a wonderful World Cup for Orsato, last rumors report that he could continue for a certain time, we will see how long.

The second name I want to write about is Dutch Danny Makklie who was in a very particular situation during this World Cup. Big expectations for him with at least a game in KO stage, but this didn't happen and it was absolutely a surprise if you ask me. Why? Let's try to analyze. After an excellent first display in a full European clash, he was the "selected referee" for breaking for the first time the confederations unwritten rule, surely a honor. He was assigned to Poland - Argentina in which the discussion was about the penalty after OFR. Personally, I think that he would have got in all cases another game after that, but the presence of his national teas made things complicated. The signal that committee didn't want to leave him was the fact that he was kept until the end. Without NED another tournament would have happened for the Dutch.  The signal that penalty decision had been accepted by Collina was the new appointment for Van Boekel with Oliver in KO stage.

Let's connect the Dutch name with a referee with a similar treatment, Anthony Taylor. Being among the UEFA top officials, he ended with two group stage assignments. In this case, apart from the same issue experienced by Makkelie, I think he had this treatment because Collina opted for Oliver. So, considering also England in KO stage, just impossible to see two Englsh referees. He had done well in both games, so another game on paper could have been expected. 

Having mentioned him, let's then talk about Michael Oliver: with two very good GS games, he gained ticket for a KO stage match, Croatia - Brazil. In normal conditions, I think that he is more liked by Collina than Taylor, so for this reason he was awarded a third game. In my opinion in this last game he did a clear crucial mistake, by missing a clear penalty for handball, but I also think he wouldn't have got more than that after in all cases, so very good tournament for him. 

Spanish Antonio Mateu Lahoz at a certain time of his WC before the officiating of his then last game, had turned into a real candidate for the final. The two group stage games for him had been both extremely important, the first one because with Qatar involved, and still with the chance to qualify, he did well, the second because historical game between Iran and USA, and the Spanish had been excellent. But then, Netherlands - Argentina, the game in KO stage before the real chance to get the final, was a poor performance, he didn't change his mind and he wanted to keep his well known style of doing in that manner, not booking players and trying to manage everything. Blatant cards were missed and control rather lost. A pity, he was so close to final, but then he had to give up. We will always remember him as a referee with unique style but still with something missing for being at the top in major tournaments (let's also remember both prevous WC and EURO). 

Coming to Slavko Vinčić, his World Cup has been rather as one could have expected, with two appearances in group stage. It was already a challenge for him to appear in KO stage, because he had to show excellent performances if compared to other referees. In this context, his first game had been not so good, at least in my opinion, with a possible crucial mistake and some weakness in the control of it. I didn't  watch second game but very likely an expected level, in all cases not enough to officiate in KO stage, also due to other referees' performances. 

Daniel Siebert from Germany has shown once again that it is extremely difficult to make a real assessment about him. In my opinion in the first game, very wise  appointment by committe, he gave very good signals, deserving a second match and trying to change the "history". This unluckily turned in something very disapponting when he officiated second game, the decisive Uruguay - Ghana. South American players simply didn't accept him, it wasn't a matter of correct or wrong penalties, but the overall imagine was absolutely damaged. The most importnt reproach one can make to German referee is the missed sanction for the player who mocked him, celebrating the missed penalty, simply unacceptable. I draw the conclusion that from the German background of Bundesliga, their referees can't handle such games and such teams, because this is happening too often. Still, Siebert expected to experience a more peaceful WC. 

Clément Turpin from France was called to cancel the memory of a rather poor EURO tournament. His World Cup has been strange, assigned to mostly easy games without big teams, or games with a closed prediction, he didn't have so much to do in all his appearances. One can discuss about a penalty whistled to Brazil but nothing more, just normal officiating and then good-bye due to France. One can't say he was excellent but not due to his fault, he just had normal games and he did what was expected, wihout leaving a "signal" of himself at WC. Sometimes you must be lucky, to get more, but you can also be unlucky...  life and paths of a referee.

Remaining in France, it is now turn to talk about  Stéphanie Frappart, my idea is that she was planned for something else and not the for the game she got, but due to groups' situations and the need of appointing her, this was a big occasion to referee a crucial game. Then, being honest, one must admit that she did well in a game that presented some challenge for referee, because very open and decisive. Assistant referees were not at her level but surely if the target was to get a WC assignment with her name and then ending it without issues, we can simply said: "Job done".

The final analysis is reserved to WC finalist, Szymon Marciniak  from Poland. Let's say at first that I totally agree with Mikael's post and I think this was an absolute topclass by the Polish. I can't imagine other referees officiating the final and doing a so brilliant job. But at first glance, this was clearly not expected. Marciniak had been appointed for two normal games, a group stage and a Round of 16, both involving the teams that later would have met in final. Was Collina so clever in making such deliberate choice or just a coincidence? In all cases, what turned out during the final was simply amazing, one can maybe have to discuss whether, based on the short context of WC, Szymon deserved final or not, maybe answer is the latter because two games without real difficulty were less than othre referees, but Collina in my opinion had already noticed that he was in superb form and so when he had to make this choice he selected him. With the outcome, we can say that this decision was a very good one. Without doubts, the final officiating has been the best officiating in the tournament, but not only of this tournament. Congratulatios to Marciniak for having used the chance he got. I think that, in a very easy lesson we can learn, sometimes a referee just has to make his best, wait, and then to wait again, big and wonderful things can follow as reward, if deserved. 

A final remark and short comment about the blog, it is Chefren writing, thank to all of you for having supported us during this adventure, it was a pleasure, the pure passion for refereeing has enjoyed us. There were, as always happens, also negative things, but this is the life. Hope you like our work.

Thank to Mikael and all who wrote reports and Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all.