Last round for our Predictions' Game at 2022 World Cup.
You have to guess the exact referee for each game by filling in a form. Just insert your name, or, if you want, a nickname (it must be always the same for all your future predictions) and then for each game just select the referee.
Send your predictions here (TWO DIFFERENT LINKS):
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In this last phase of the game, you have to send the predictions for the Third Place Game and the Final.
Appointments are expected on 15 and 16 December respectively or maybe both on 15 December. When published, the predictions will be officially closed. The predictions sent after that (official time will be checked) will not be accepted.
Points will be assigned according to the following pattern:
10 points for having guessed the exact referee of a match
5 points if a guessed referee for a game will be appointed as fourth official
3 points if the appointed referee is from the same confederation as the guessed referee
Starting from semifinals we have also decided to introduce the predictions about VA, according to following scheme:
10 points for having guessed the exact VAR
5 points if the guessed VAR takes another role in the VOR
3 points for correct confederation
A special thank to Philipp, who once again is here to help us and he will be responsible for collecting your predictions.
Final is 75% Marciniak, 20% Elfath and 5% Taylor, all remaining contenders are already out from this race
ReplyDeleteout of curiosity: why Elfath's chances are so unlikely?
DeleteRational: Conflict with Morocco
DeleteIrrational: Ignoring the Morocco factor and putting him as the 4th behind UEFA's 5th or 6th referee who has a weaker resume before the tournament, didn't stand out during, and breaks neutrality
I think it's more to do with the fact that Ramos from CONCACAF has done a SF for me. UEFA or CONMEBOL potentially would difference (they have a larger pool of refs at the tournament).
DeleteFinal: Referee Marciniak, FO Elfath
ReplyDelete3rd place: Referee Al Jassim, FO Claus
Marciniak final
ReplyDeleteClaus 3rd
My full predictions
ReplyDeleteCRO-MAR: Sampaio, Boschilia, Pires (all BRA), Al Jassim (QAT) - Gallo (COL), Martinez (ESP), Back (BRA), de Burgos (ESP)
ARG-FRA: Marciniak, Sokolnicki, Listkiewicz (POL), Elfath (USA) - Kwiatkowski (POL), Hernandez (ESP), Atkins (USA), Irrati (ITA)
CRO V MAR: CLAUS / AL JASMIN /BUSCANAN
ReplyDeleteARG V FRA: MARCINIAK / ELFATH / KWIATKOWSKI
In surveys you have "Argentina - W SF 2" and "Croatia L SF 2" ;)
ReplyDeleteFor the future, I think that predictions for fourth official for finals is important like predictions for VAR, so maybe small please for euro 2024 :)
Thank you very much for your work at this WC!
OT: As I've said in the previous post, Daniel Siebert was on German TV tonight and talked about his WC and especially URU-GHA.
ReplyDelete16' - Siebert said that maybe because the ref team thought it was offside he wasn't as focused and well positioned to assess the incident. Penalty after OFR was the correct decision though in the end.
58' - He saw that the ball was played and told that VAR Dankert. Dankert looked at the images and didn't see a touch at first and recommended an OFR but then saw that the ball was played and even apologized to Siebert. Correct no-penalty decision.
93' - Siebert mentioned that there have been two other similiar situations this WC (Lahoz in QAT-ECU and Sikazwe in BEL-CAN) where no penalty was given. Correct no-penalty decision.
Siebert also mentioned that there have been meetings with all referees every day where they talked about relevant situation from the day before and Collina announced the next appointments in front of everyone.
Also the support referees were informed before the start of the tournament that they won't get any games.
Sorry, Lahoz in QAT-SEN of course.
DeleteSiebert finally mentioned his goal was to get 2 games, which he thought was already quite ambitious. So obviously also didn't expect more after the 2nd one as he is one of the least experienced referees at the WC.
Very interesting Dominik, thank you for sharing.
DeleteIs there anywhere one could view the video and/or transcript of this full conversation?
The story at 58’ is really interesting, Dankert apologizing to him for missing the touch on the ball at first. To be honest, I think too much focus was on the ball in this incident; it’s a penalty anyways IMO.
ARG-FRA
ReplyDeleteMarciniak (POL) - Sokolnicki (POL), Listkiewicz (POL)
Elfath (USA) - Parker (USA)
Kwiatkowski (POL) - Hernandez Hernandez (ESP) - Devis (ESP) - Irrati (ITA) - Diaz (ESP)
CRO-MOR
Valenzuela (VEN) - Urrego (VEN), Moreno (VEN)
Frappart (FRA) - Gringore (FRA)
Soto (VEN) - Bascunan (CHI) - Belatti (ARG) - Gallo (COL) - Bonfa (ARG)
Frappart is already at home again.
DeleteAnd probably Devis, Diaz, Gringore, Belatti and Bonfa also left together with their referees.
DeleteThats actually nice. I thought we are gonna get super political Frappert somewhere appointment. Without her its probably Al-Jassim. You can judge if thats better :)
DeleteFor 3rd I think it will be Claus and Taylor but not sure who will ref and who will be 4th official
ReplyDeleteTaylor maybe for final 4th official
DeleteFrom 1990 to 2006, the host is rotate every 8 years, if the host in Europe the final referee is non Europe and vice versa, the final referee is alternate every 8 years, and since 2006, every 12 years Europe host WC(minimum until 2026), and the final referee is if the host in Europe the final referee is non Europe and vice versa, maybe UEFA referee will officiate 2022 and 2026 finals since the World Cup held outside Europe
ReplyDeleteOT: The Slovenian FA announced yesterday that FIFA had published new lists of international referees for 2023. They also commented on the changes regarding Slovenia. Any info about that or I missed it somewhere on the blog?
ReplyDeleteProbably countries who submitted their names are notified. Official list not out. I saw a Dutch female AR sharing the news of earning her first FIFA badge on social media.
DeleteI have seen the ENG list.... Some changes there too!
DeleteFinal Danny Makkelie. Most experienced and most trusted name on the biggest stage.
ReplyDeleteHas been consistenly on the highest level for 5+ years. Deserved the Champions League final last season. The Pole had a great run to this World Cup, but a few decent games in group stages do not place him ahead of the Dutchman.
Danny makkiele for the final he deserved it
ReplyDeleteIs there a chance the Final referee is announced today at the same time as the 3rd place?
ReplyDeleteIn wc 2018 in Thursday 3 rd place match and final referees announced
ReplyDeleteYes, that's why I said it. In 2014 they announced Haimoudi (BRANED) & Rizzoli (GERARG) on different days, though.
DeleteYes haimoudi in Thursday and rizzoli in Friday
DeleteIn south africa they were announced at the same time
DeleteIn the same time
ReplyDeleteI say Marciniak but with doubt......If Marciniak were designated Argentina would only have UEFA Referees in this WC....
ReplyDeletePredictions
ReplyDeleteFinal
ARG-FRA: Marciniak (POL), FO: Elfath (USA), VAR: Kwiatkowski (POL)
3rd Place:
CRO-MAR: Taylor (ENG), FO: Valenzuela (VEN), VAR: Dankert (GER)
It seems unbelievable to me that Danny Makkelie is even considered for the final. Somehow there seems to be a huge capacity to close eyes on crucial mistakes made by the Dutchman, and IMO his WC has been over since that joke of a penalty whistled for Argentina. It would absolutely undeserved, and the fanl HAS TO go to Marciniak - the best performing referee of this WC.
ReplyDeleteOfc, crucial mistakes, that’s why he’s still in Qatar and guys like Faghani were sent home after Round of 16. It’s felt deep your dislike, I notice :)
DeleteYou are right about final appointment going to the Polish.
I think it could be Ghorbal or Al-Jassim for the final. It would be perfectly in line with the most important principle for appointments, to divide them as equally as possible under all confederations, regardless of quality or performance of referees.
ReplyDeleteSorry for being sarcastic, but I'm still recovering from Ramos' performance last night. Without the sarcasm, I think it should be Marciniak. Had a good tournament, is capable of handling heated clashes like this. As a Dutchman, I would have loved to see Makkelie here, I think he's very hard done by without a KO-match, but it's not very likely to see him in a final directly, especially with Argentina there.
Let's hope for the next World Cup quality and performance will return as most important principle to appoint referees and we won't have to go through performances like the ones of Sampaio and Ramos again.
Only 1 time in the last 10 World Cups has a referee received the final without doing a knockout match (1998)
ReplyDelete- Ruling out Al-Jassim, Claus, Ghorbal, Makkelie, Mohammed & Taylor.
Similarly no referee has refereed or been 4th official of a semi-final and then refereed the final (not since 1934/1930 has this happened)
- Ruling out Orsato, Ramos, Mohammed and Valenzuela.
It is unlikely a Brazilian will referee a final featuring Argentina
- Ruling out Claus & Sampaio.
That leaves Moroccan born US official Ismail Elfath (who would have been ineligible had Morocco beat France) and the Polish official Szymon Marciniak as the leading contenders to take the whistle.
According to english wikipedia, claus is on 3rd and Marciniak is in the final. Until now english wikipedia didn't make mistake. I guess that's it. We have decisions.
ReplyDeleteSomeone has been vandalizing that page constantly, at one point it said Claus would referee FRA-MOR which didn't happen, so I doubt it has been confirmed
DeleteElfath for the Final - this would then allow the excellent Kathryn Nesbitt as asst. It would also meet confederation neutrality rule.Taylor ruled out because of Argentina. My understanding is that both finalists get a say on who may do the Final - remember the 1978 Final. Claus as you say for 3rd place. Rather fitting at this time of year ....
ReplyDeleteWhat happened in wc 1978
DeleteMarciniak was a marginalized referee by UEFA until last year.
ReplyDeleteNo important matches were given. I don't think he will manage the FIFA final with only 1 year of performance. The referees of other federations (CONCACAF, AFC, CAF et al.) are also quite inadequate.
I think Taylor is closer to the Final. This trophy is his last trophy and the English lobby has the power to do it.
English referee for Argentina would be rather impossible. Formally both countries are still at war over the Falklands. If they want to appoint a referee with more merit it will be Makkelie
DeleteAs a rugby referee I can tell you many Englishmen have reffed Argentina even in World Cups (I remember Wayne Barnes on NZ / Argentina in group stage at WC 2015 which was a huge appointment, like Spain / Germany at this Qatar World Cup)
DeleteI understand your statement but don't see why it could happen in rugby and not in football
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DeleteAs some people have mentioned Marciniak isn’t exactly experienced in terms of finals, although I hope he gets it and I trust him to handle it. Taylor being denied the chance to officiate a World Cup final because of a war 40 years ago is absolute nonsense
ReplyDeleteMarciniak didn't even qualify for the EURO2020 tournament last year. It's unbelievable that he managed the world cup final a year later.
DeleteDidn’t he need an operation and decided to have that instead? He definitely would’ve been selected. But this is a sign that the quality of referees is lowering. Cakir, Brych, Kuipers, Skomina all gone and that’s just from Europe. Orsato and Lahoz nearly done too
DeleteYou should at least point out that he didn't qualify for the EURO, because of health reasons (he had gone though COVID and tachycardia that year), not because he is a weak referee
DeleteNo one was experienced "in terms of finals" (whatever it might mean) while handling a final for the first time. By the way, was Mr. Ramos experienced "in terms of semifinals" or was Mr. Lahoz experienced "in terms of quarterfinals" before this WC? Yes, they were! And what was the outcome?
DeleteAutor: you know exactly what I mean. Makkelie for example had the UEL final 2020. It’s unusual for a referee’s first major final to be the biggest of them all
DeleteMakkelie is not good enough for a WC final. Do you remember Raheem Sterling's penalty against Denmark in Euro 2020 semifinal or the disallowed CR7's goal against Serbia in Euro 2020 qualifications?
DeleteBy the way, UCL and UEL are UEFA's appointments, and WC are decided by FIFA.
DeleteI agree Makkelie is nowhere near that level, I don’t rate him at all. My point was experience will surely be a factor for such an important appointment. Marciniak is obviously a better referee than Makkelie but Makkelie is ahead on major finals
DeleteAll people complaining about the Makkelie fanclub on this blog… Blaiming him for the Serbia goal @Autor makes your opinion as laughable as incredible to me.
DeleteAt least the haters have taken over the supporters ;p
What about Stephanie Frappart with an experienced male VAR for the final? It would be a modern solution, and a hope for the future.
ReplyDeleteI assume this is sarcasm
DeleteFrappart went home
ReplyDeleteOff: Antoni Bandić is the new Bosnian ref with the FIFA badge. He joined Peljto, Bilbija and Gigovic).
ReplyDeleteI guess he replaces Haris Kaljanac (?)
DeleteGigović already replaced Kaljanac last year. This is the first time after 20 years that Bosnia has 4 FIFA refs.
DeleteMarciniak confirmed for final.
ReplyDeleteSource is Twitter message by very good oriented polish jurnalist who was always very close to refering topics. According to him decision has been already announced internally among referees.
DeleteAnd confirmed already by more PL journalists.
DeleteIf UEFA gets 2022, maybe 2026 final is also UEFA, and if 2030 WC held in Europe, non-UEFA will officiate WC final
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteI can say that it is confirmed as well, through other sources on this side of the pond.
DeleteSkomina Confirmed for Final, Rocchi for 3rd Place.
ReplyDeleteOkay we have decision. Marciniak in the final. Whole polish media are talking about that :)
ReplyDeleteYep, I didn't believe at first, but the reliable Polish sources say it's Marciniak
ReplyDeleteAl-Jassim also confirmed for 3rd place match.
ReplyDeleteConfirming the confirmation here, too!
DeleteDo you know the 4th officials ?
ReplyDeleteElfath for final
Deletehttps://mobile.twitter.com/pawel_kapusta/status/1603407621456896006
ReplyDeleteElfath is fourth. Nesbitt is 5th. Atkins offside AVAR. Parker stand-by offside VAR.
ReplyDeleteNot sure about the rest of the VMO team. Imagine Kwiatkowski is involved but not sure which position. Also have to believe Fischer is there, too. That would leave one other official who is unknown.
I can confirm Kwiatkowski as VAR.
DeleteAnd the rest of the crew?
DeleteMarciniak for final
ReplyDeleteAl Jassim for 3rd place
Marciniak's final appointment has been confirmed by Polish FA.
ReplyDeletehttps://twitter.com/LaczyNasPilka/status/1603420410736943105
https://twitter.com/LaczyNasPilka/status/1603420410736943105
ReplyDeleteRemarkable detail:
ReplyDeleteWith Marciniak for the final, all seven games of Argentina - four of them against opponents from Europe - would have been handled be UEFA referees:
ARG - KSA: Vincic
ARG - MEX: Orsato
ARG - POL: Makkelie (for our IFFHS assessor Mohamed rabie: Makkiele)
ARG - AUS: Marciniak
ARG - NED: Mateu Lahoz
ARG - CRO: Orsato
ARG - FRA: Marciniak
Must be a first surely
DeleteThis is clearly a request, and another example of Argentina getting whatever they want
DeleteThere are rumours that Argentina wants UEFA referees only. Probably more than rumours...
DeleteI think it's worth asking how much of it is a request versus how much of it is the powers that be not trusting non-UEFA referees on their matches. I bet it's a little of both. Argentina is comfortable allowing UEFA referees to do their games and FIFA would prefer it, given the difficulty the team can present.
Deleteusaref, not exactly like that. ARG have clearly had preferential treatment when it comes to referee appointments at this WC. Actually it's been like this for years. Can you imagine ARG getting a Portuguese referee in the context of Messi-Ronaldo rivalry? Let's not forget Proenca was a serious contender for the WC final in 2014 before Collina landed in Brazil to cater to ARG's every need and whim.
DeleteWell deserved for AI-Jassim! Still disappointed about Hassan. Ridiculous to not appointment him at R16. Big congratulations to both AI-Jassim and Marciniak! I must say I love these two appointments and let's see what they will bring!
ReplyDeleteI hope the appointment of Marciniak will not result in the same chaos during the match as happened with the appointment of Lahoz, Argentina-Netherlands and Ramos, France-Morocco.
ReplyDeleteLahoz and Ramos, like Marciniak had two good performances during their first two matches, matches that were rather uneventful.
Would have preferred a referee like Orsato, Taylor, Oliver or Makkelie, who have experience in decisive matches and who are generally not impressed by negative behavior by players
Orsato not for the final as he did the SF, but we can admit he did a perfect job overall in Qatar, big congratulations to him as well. Taylor was not very good in his games, and Makkelie, IMO his performance was worse than Taylor, absolutely no chance for him to get a final. The very last name you mentioned, Oliver, is the only person who is possible to get the final besides Marciniak. What an amazing tournament for Oliver, Orsato, Marciniak (so far)!!
DeleteIf they wanted to appoint Orsato for the final they wouldn't have appointed him to the SF.
DeleteEven famous players who have played Champions League finals can get impressed by the atmosphere of a world cup final. The importance of a World Cup final brings a different kind of pressure than a match between 2 European top clubs on a Wednesday evening.That is why I would have preferred a referee who has more experience in decisive matches.
Well......in the last 20 years, no referee did a wc final without any game in KO, so Orsato got a SF was predictable. I understand your point but I disagree to be honest. From performance standpoint, the names you mentioned (besides Oliver) was just not as good as Marciniak. People say Marciniak lack experience in very big games as he did not do any UCL/UEL final. Why this matters? Who cares? At least I do not care the past story...... Again, performance should be the only factor in referee appointment. Well deserved appointment for Marciniak. I wish him all the best in the final and I believe he will do well.
DeleteThere's little doubt Taylor would be the most reliable option for Sunday's championship match. Arguing that he could not be appointed for the final because there's an ongoing "war" between the UK and Argentina over the Falkland Islands is pure hogwash. Elizondo officiated Portugal-England in the 2006 WC QF match!
ReplyDeleteIn practice, there's no real consequence from this dispute, which pretty much belongs to History books rather than Realpolitik. Based on that reasoning, FIFA would have a really hard time finding "suitable" refs in any tournament.
I can now bring up issues that have become something of a hot button, sparking heated diplomatic rows between France and Poland. Earlier in April, Macron called Polish PM 'a far-right anti-Semitic' , somehow linking Poland to Nazi crimes, with Poland summoning the French ambassador in the country over Macron's remarks.
Look, stuff like that has no place in football (sports in general), otherwise it would be simply impossible to make any appointments. Let's set this straight - ARG don't accept any other referee. Marciniak is the only one left who's been given a green light by ARG. And this is a sickening attack on independent refereeing. Of course the French FA will see Marciniak as the guy chosen by ARG, which only puts extra pressure on Marciniak, something totally avoidable. Collina is the one to blame for this widespread notion that ARG hold sway over the entire FIFA Ref Committee and they want to give Messi the big title he lacks in his last WC dance.
Apparently Morocco has filed (or intends to file) a complaint with FIFA about the result of the France-Morocco SF. Because the referee didn't give Morocco two penalties in the first 30 minutes of the match. (according to French, Dutch and German media)
ReplyDelete