Friday, 18 August 2023

Tori Penso (USA) to referee 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup Final

The US referee has been appointed for the final after having handled a semifinal, that's the first time in a FIFA tournament. 


Match 64 (Sydney)
20 August 2023, 12:00 CET
SPAIN - ENGLAND
Referee: Tori Penso (USA)
Assistant Referee 1: Brooke Mayo (USA)
Assistant Referee 2: Kathryn Nesbitt (USA) 
Fourth Official: Yoshimi Yamashita (JPN) 
Reserve AR: Mijensa Rensch (SUR) 
Video Assistant Referee: Tatiana Guzman (NCA)
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Pol van Boekel (NED) 
Offside Video Assistant Referee: Ella De Vries (BEL)
SVAR: Armando Villarreal (USA) 

117 comments:

  1. I for one will be tuning out again. I don't very much care to watch England kick Spain into submission as the referee acts as an accomplice to the Lioness' tactics.

    #MakeRefereeingGreatAgain

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    1. How bitter

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    2. I understand that the truth hurts. But no matter how much it hurts or bothers you, it's still the truth.

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    3. What a load of rubbish! England vs Australia was a great semi played fairly and in great spirit, Tori wasn't perfect bit overall did very well and absolutely deserved this appointment. You 'll not find any criticism of Tori or England tactics in Australian media, thats a very good indicator

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    4. Tori Penso is a total disgrace to the sport , turning soccer into rugby .
      A disgrace to see her referee a World Cup final , sad 😔

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    5. The 2023 World Cup final- Spain vs Tori Peso !!

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    6. You are seething too much, I recommend to take a sedative)

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    7. Pathetic comments ,firstly England have commited less fouls in the tournament than Spain .Secondly Penso is there on merit ,her only serious contender for the final was Olofsson.

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    8. Penso has only been a referee for about 11 years. A mediocre one. Her appointment is a shame.

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    9. Who are you and why should we consider anything you say? Experience? Level of refereeing experience in particular would be good to know

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    10. I’m not a big fan of soccer at all, and didn’t want to watch the England vs Australia game , but only for a couple of friends who talked me into watching the game.
      I was a bit shocked while watching it thou , thought I was watching a rugby match of all the pushing and shoving from the English players , was shocking ??????

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  2. WOW, what a thrilling appointment. The same referee of a semifinak, in final. Collina found aagin himelf at 2016 (Cakir, Clattenburg) times. It seems that US referee were "discovered" only on latter stages, at the beginning of tournament there wasn't any focus on them. Impossible to guess and predict, this appointment means that a certain time FIFA was without names for the final, otherwise they would have planned it differently. My first feeling reading tha names, including VAR is that Melissa Borjas would have had an extremely easy road to the final in case of expected level performance, but she failed in England - Nigeria. Also, it seems that it wasn't indeed UEFA turn for a final in this edition due to previous appointments. Tatiana Guzman was a quite written name for the last act given the management she had, but in my opinion she was "forgiven" for her big mistake with Frappart. That's what I can point out from the appointment.
    Kathryn Nesbitt rewarded with the final, how much happy will be Mijensa Rensch, after having worked all the time with Penso and now ruled out for the US AR? This is how heads of refereeing work, they make appointments based on the names, not caring about the person who is behind. It is sad if we see this under the human point of view.
    Yamashita removed as fourth official in the semifinal to get the same assignment in final was just a mismanagement but it was clear to me she wouldn't have been assigned to the final, absolutely impossible to think after having appeared as fourth official, FIFA would have never done that.

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    1. I Echo your words Chefren!!! Because there was no way A US refree would have thought to get to the Semi final not to mention the Final because everyone expected the defending champion to reach the semi final but when the team crashed out, I think that’s when the switch of referees came, but to get a semi final and final is just rubbish, surely they are refs who could do the semi Final and then save Penso for the Final, to ref England just 3 days before and after just seems not like a World Cup

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    2. Totally agree. Mijensa is still young, she is 29. She will have time

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    3. Can you positively say that Rensch will have another chance to be an AR in a FIFA Women’s World Cup Final?
      The answer is NO!!!
      A lot can happen in 4 years time. She may not even be part of a trio.

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    4. The comment that it is the fitst time in a fifa tournement that a referee handle semi final and a final is not correct. In 2005 world cup -17 in Peru referee Frank de bleeckere did a semi final Turkey-Brazil and the final Mexico -Brazil

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  3. What poor and unprofessional treatment of AR Mijensa Rensch. She was good enough to be part of team Penso up till this point. But not enough for the Final?
    Why should she be excluded/replaced by an AR (Nesbit) from a trio in which the referee (Koroleva) wasn't good enough?
    If trios aren't going to be kept. Just send a bunch of Referee's and AR's and the just mix and match those who do the best.

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    1. I hate to play devil's advocate. But the optics on this "switch" (Nesbit for Rensch). Definitely open up the FIFA Referee Committee to criticism. If you know, you know. If you don't see it, may you soon be enlightened.

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    2. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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    3. She is still 29 yo, with maybe 4 WWC ahead of her

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    4. The optics of replacing the AR look awful. Unjustifiable.

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    5. Well, Nesbitt is clearly the more experienced and better overall assistant than Rensch.

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    6. There are technically more ‘experienced’ referees than Penso. If they insist on having teams of officials, then they should leave them barring a major problem. If she was good enough for the 4 games including the SG, she’s good enough for the final.

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    7. Justifying that the Suriname AR is 29 and has time just doesn’t cut it either - as we’ve seen, there are all kinds of reasons why she could do endless tournaments and still not get it, not least she has to be with a ref that is chosen and she’s already done that!

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  4. No surprise given that the US crashed out early. Got to take the opportunity to put an American ref on the final stages.

    On another note, Olofsson not getting any KO appointments after having two stellar GS games has to be the biggest snub of the tournament.

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  5. Only the organization and the Americans are satisfied with this appointment.

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    1. Got to give them some sort of consolation prize to keep them happy. As their team (for whom the tournament was unfairly tailored for) was an utter embarrassment. I mean for the next 3 (possibly 4) years. The U.S. will basically be hosting it all.

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    2. Why do you think the tournament was tailored for Americans? Their team played poorly for their standards, yes, but at the same time they were very unlucky against Sweden. completely dominated the match but missed too many chances. And last but not least what does this have to do with refereeing???

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    3. I am not American and satisfied. Deserved appointment.

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    4. FIFA expected the US National Team to be 1st in group and “tailored” the match schedule to the US time zone. The R16 game in Sydney for #1 in group was played at a very suitable time in the evening for people living in US, however Netherlands ended 1st, but people living in Central European Timezone had to wake up at 04:00 to watch the game. And the QF even worse (03:00). And the same applied to the people living in US - they ended 2nd in group and their R16 game was locally also broadcasted during the night.

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    5. It obviously was tailored for USA. Payback time from FIFA.

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  6. Que no debió ser una arbitra de conmebol muy mal ahí la comisión arbitral fifa

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  7. This appointment us very sad for this WC tournament, which is why people who performed well are excluded from a team and someone replaces them. I cant believe and my heart us broken for her. Now i can many referee understund that other things having more important things in real life than going away from home for a long time. So sorry for AR to put you out and other referees how also deserve a semifinal or final.

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  8. Surely a very surprising appointment. We could not expect that to happen, a final after a semi for Penso.
    I could not watch many WC matches, but I saw Penso in her first game GER-MAR + some minutes of the semi and I was quite impressed by her management skills, also recognised be the commentator. Very natural, friendly and strict at the same time. So for me, a deserved appointment.
    Indeed, we cannot say the same thing about Guzman after a big mistake, very wrong VAR intervention in ESP-NED. Surprising to see her again, especially in a match with the Spanish team.

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    1. Unless FIFA agreed with Guzman’s VAR intervention… UEFA is very strict about clear & obvious, but it seems FIFA chose a different standard and wants OFR in case of big doubts.

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    2. Well, I did not even see a wrong decision by Frappart…

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  9. For the people making arguments to give Penso the final after her R16 game:

    - Groupstage: Germany - Morocco 6-0
    - Groupstage: Switzerland - New Zealand 0-0
    - R16: France - Morocco 4-0

    This obviously wasn’t enough to get the final. Two very one-sided games and one that doesn’t stand out. However, her semi final was great management in a way FIFA likes it. Alves and Yamashita didn’t convince. Jacewycz unknown (injured?). There are plenty of arguments against a European… So, here we are. In the end performance does matter.

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  10. Guzman as VAR… hahaha, are FIFA actually serious here?

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  11. Where is Chenard?

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  12. I see why FIFA appointed an US referee for the final and Penso was the more convincing of them both. But I don't get, why she must have a SF and the final game. There are plenty of other good (in this tournament even better) referees who could have gotten the ENGAUS semi final instead. Must be very disappointing for Staubli, Olofsson, Yamashita and some other names and in my eyes not a good management by FIFA.

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  13. It’s the third time FIFA has assigned the same referee to one of the semi-finals and the Final of the same World Cup, but you have to go back to John Langenus (Belgium) in 1930 and Ivan Eklind (Sweden) in 1934. Without precedent in the Women’s World Cup.

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  14. Olofsson was planned in a semifinal, but Sweden reaching it ruled her out. Yamashita was appointed and then removed because committee’s only option was to give Olofsson a fourth official game. Penso was chosen instead, and then again in the final act.
    With UEFA ruled out, Edina having a semifinal, CAF forgotten, Yamashita not good enough and Keighley at home, CONCACAF referee was the only option. Borjas’s previous performance was not at WC level, Koroleva had some problems in her quarter final, Garcia is too young. Beaudoin could have been an option

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  15. Sorry but what a horrible appointment by the fifa. We have no UEFA teams in the great three last games of the tournament? Why? We have a realy good women with Penso in the final, but why she have also a semi? No semis for Staubli or Oloffson? But we have in the final the same appointment with Penso/Yamashita also in the second semi four days before. I dont now about the guys from the FIFA...

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  16. I‘m just so sad about Esther Staubli..

    Having performed with so well, totally above average with a astonishing game and player management her WC journey and WC career ends with a semi final.

    She‘s the oldest ref at this years competition with the overall best performances. It‘s sad she didn‘t receive at least a 4O appointment.

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  17. So what do we think? Did FIFA internally assess Guzman’s intervention for Frappart as a mistake and gave her the final anyway since they ‘have’ to appoint a woman, or did they assess it as correct and create a mess, just so they can appoint her here without too much internal backlash? No idea why Chenard wasn’t chosen though, she’s female as well and would actually deserve it

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  18. US influence on FIFA RefCom is incredible. Most likely it will be Elfath handling the WC26 final... Disgusting...

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    1. Before WC26, upcoming final new format FIFA Club WC, IMO Elfath in pole position simply because the best team only come from UEFA and CONMEBOL and he is host representative. But regarding WC26, with Saudi movement in player transfers and the oil money from that region, I don’t think that US influence will not easy to “set” Elfath for the final, they still have Abdulrahman Al Jassim and maybe Alireza Faghani, totally different circumstances with WWC as Chefren said that we don’t have designated name for this WWC and even break the record for SF ref lead the final, I don’t think that it show something very very powerful lobbying but just the circumstances support that unbelievable idea.

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    2. Faghani removed from the final due to protest of sponsors. Elfath should be out after his terrible first game at last WC but he got the second chance, got the R16 and was fourth official (plus Nesbitt as fifth official) in the final - you don't give it to the referee who screwed up the first game. Now Penso with a semi and final while there were some other candidates not getting a further game although they deserved. Surinamese was a part of this great (at least in FIFA eyes) team yet she is dropped to make a place for... Nesbitt. Yeah, I stand behind my word - DISGUSTING.

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    3. Agree with everything. It’s disgusting.

      It’s obvious, Elfath is in a very good position at WC 2026. But if he screws up, I trust Collina/Ref Com to reject him and appoint someone else, like what happened to Faghani 2022.

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    4. I didn’t have a problem with Elfath being forgiven for his bad game - he is clearly a good referee and it happens. But Faghani handled 2 hot games perfectly and got thrown under the bus by VAR and that was enough to send him home 🤷‍♂️ I know it’s politics but it shouldn’t be like that

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    5. Hmm, as for Faghani I meant WC18 where he should've got the final. At WC22, there was a wrong VAR intervention, of course, but Faghani was given the chance to watch it in front of the monitor and he still made a mistake in assessment. That was also his fault, so I agree with his rejection at WC22 tbh.

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    6. What is your source for your theory about Faghani in 2018? Sponsors? Is this anything more than baseless speculation?

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    7. The source is... the source ;)

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    8. Those rumours about WC18 final are confirmed.

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    9. If you hadn't noticed the USA reached the last 3 finals ,so there has been no US involvement in the refereeing appointments. Penso deserves the final and there has been no US influence as they are minows in terms of the sway they hold at FIFA.
      Penso deserves the final and only Olofsson was a serious contender.

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    10. Minnows? Hardly.
      When you have Kari Seitz (USA) in such a privileged position within the FIFA Referee Committee. That’s a lot of sway and influence in favor of all US referees.

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  19. Szymon Marciniak appointment in UEFA champions league last season is happening here at WWC finals!

    Great to see Penso again! Hope she perform well and silence the criticism. I like her game management and reading of the game✍️

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    1. The criticism will stay no matter what she does, as we’re not criticizing her but rather FIFA. It’s a terrible appointment on so many levels, firstly Penso already did a semi-final so she should simply be out, if you want her in the final give the semi-final to someone else who deserves another appointment, like Staubli. Secondly we have Rensch, who didn’t really do anything wrong, but she’s out. I believe Penso was considered stronger than Koroleva from the start, so why not put Rensch in her team instead? Now we have this situation which is incredibly unfair. Thirdly there’s Guzman, who did do something wrong, but she’s been given the most important game of the tournament. There is no appointment strategy or performance principle visible in the final appointment, and therefore every single bit of criticism is as deserved as it can be, which won’t disappear with a good performance. FIFA have massively f-ed up this tournament from a refereeing perspective

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  20. If you can't make independent appointments, then there is only one path: resignation....

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    1. Collina is one of the best ref managers in the world if he is allowed to work as he wants. However, FIFA RefCom compromised themselves so many times last years with stupid instructions and extremely political appointments that you start to doubt their integrity...

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    2. "Collina is one of the best ref managers in the world if he is allowed to work as he wants."

      We saw that in UEFA. Zero development of referees, no planning on appointments....

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  21. Ella De Vries is the best AR VAR... also in Belgian Men Proleague

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  22. Everyone has their own opinion, but I rate Yamashita more than Penso.

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    1. Just about half of the WWC referees field are better than this Penso.

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  23. This blog: FIFA should totally replace Nesbit in for Rensch in a Pensó appointment because Pensó is the better referee but Nesbitt is the best AR I the tournament.

    FIFA appoints Nesbitt to work with Pensó.

    Also this blog: How dare they. This is so unfair. This is really poor management on FIFA’s part. Disgusting.

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    1. So because one or two posters ridiculously suggested that Nesbitt replace Rensch in Penso’s crew. We all get grouped into your lame attempt to justify the unjustifiable?
      Try again. Do better. Be better.

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  24. Shame on you PLC! He is thinking just about his pocket and place in Fifa. The worst manager for the referees ever… (Uefa/Fifa both) Time for the retirement, but for sure he didnt care…

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  25. Referees for Play-Off matches are now available at uefa.com

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    1. Can you give a link? I only see appointments for AEK vs Dinamo Zagreb match

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    2. I think Anty is referring to the referees of the Europa League and Conference League playoffs, I think that for the referees of the Champions League playoffs we will have to wait for the match on the 19th and Sunday to find out who will referee the first leg of the Champions League playoffs

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  26. Shambolic and demotivating appointing from FIFA. I think Penso has been great, that’s not an issue. But why give her the semi?? How hard can it be to pick different referees for the final 4 games? WC only every 4 years so you really do need to spread out the KO appointments, especially as there were plenty of good referees available.

    Just as bad is the outrageous decision to replace the Suriname AR who has been excellent and has presumably played a part in Penso getting the final. No justifiable reason to replace her and it stinks. Have to feel real empathy for her.

    Something very weird happening early on when Olaffson want d given an early KO game even through it was highly likely Sweden would do well.

    Not sure why the ref comm make it look so difficult.

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  27. Wheres usaref silly comment :)
    Penso is good referee, she deserved to lead the final IF she not whistle in SF! Simply disgusting political interference and you must admit this is very very poor management by the refcom.

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  28. OT: Makkelie appointed on 2nd leg Cukaricki vs Olympiacos. My question (again and again) why always Makkelie? Chisinau, Elbasan, Prishtina, Tiraspol, Cluj-Napoca, Belgrade, Skopje, and now Leskovac. What a wonderful journey from Makkelie :)

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    1. My feeling, Makkelie wouldn’t lead the final of UCL this season, Makkelie would only lead final UCL if they don’t appoint Makkelie in the middle of nowhere.

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    2. If he wants the UCL final, he has to improve his fitness level imo.

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  29. Beautiful interview to Tori Penso released by FIFA. Collina confirms Jacewicz’s injury

    https://www.fifa.com/technical/refereeing/news/american-tori-penso-named-as-fifa-world-cup-australia-and-new-zealand-2023

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    1. Absolutely yuck interview. Not because of Penso but because of Collinas sh*tshow. "No better choice possible" what a great message to convey to the ones like Staubli, Carvajal, Fortunato and maybe even Olofsson. Absolutely disgusting. As if there was no other choice to give penso both the SF and the final. And why is Rensch replaced. She did nothing wrong and was part of the best team, so she should have been on the field instead of Nesbitt. Absolutely yuck appointment and Collina showed exactly why he should step down...

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    2. Collina is straight up telling all the other referees to include Rensch, “you all suck”.

      Rensch was good enough to work a semifinal with her assigned crew. It cannot be because of her abilities that she was replaced. So what is the real reason. We’ll obviously never get a straight and true answer from the Referee Committee. But I for one am not dumb, blind, nor delusional. I know the reason. It’s painfully obvious. If you know, you know. If you don’t see, I hope that you are soon enlightened.

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  30. Horrible, unacceptable, unprofessional, and downright disgusting treatment of Rensch by the Referee Committee. Don’t give me the lame and weak “she’s young”, “she’ll have other opportunities” BS excuses. One doesn’t know what can happen in four years time. This was her chance, her opportunity. Something that she had earned with her hard work and dedication. All for what? To be replaced by another referee who better fits the “look” FIFA is obviously going for.
    I would ask, why Nesbitt and not Mariscal? As Mariscal is far more experienced and deserving than Mayo and Nesbitt. But then again, Mariscal doesn’t fit the “look” that FIFA is attempting to portray.
    But what can be expected from an organization that banned captains from wearing certain “equality” arm bands in Qatar. FIFA certainly likes to talk a lot about equality within the sport. But then makes decisions that completely and totally go against everything they supposedly stand for. Bunch of hypocrites is what they are.

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  31. I understand the criticism towards the RefCom about her getting a SF and Final. I also agree that Staubli was very good this tournament and probably deserved a SF. But a European has done 7 of the 8 WWC finals. It really needed to be someone from outside of Europe.

    Jacewicz perhaps was an early finalist but she picked up the injury. Yamashita was simply not good enough. Alves wasn't amazing either IMO and she was fortunate to get a SF (probably more politics than the Penso assignment). Perhaps Carvajal was more deserving from CONMEBOL, but the optics with her AR2 was an issue.

    So you have two American refs who both had good to very good tournaments. I don't know what happened behind the scenes with Yamashita coming off the SF as 4th and how that all played a role in this. But Penso earned this appointment and let's face it an American was probably overdue to get late stage games at the WWC based on their officiating pedigree in the women's game.

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    1. I like how you conveniently fail to bring up and or mention the ridiculous AR switch. But I get it, the optics of it aren’t great. And it’s an hour uncomfortable topic because it reeks of something deeper. Something that has no place in modern football.

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    2. This blog saw the switch coming two weeks ago. It's been talked about nearly every time Penso had a match and when it was discussed about her possibly getting the final. Of course I feel bad for Rensch. I'm just surprised it didn't happen in the SF if they knew Penso was a final candidate and Koroleva wasn't.

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    3. Unacceptable! You succeed as a team and you fail as a team. That is why long ago FIFA switched to set trios.
      If Rensch was underperforming, I’d understand a change. But as others have correctly stated. She hasn’t done anything wrong to deserve this demotion.
      You may not see or want to see it. But removing Rensch and putting in Nesbitt is a bad look optically for FIFA.

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    4. Given collinas last words Penso is the replacement for Jacewicz. Its fairly obvious that Penso wasnt planned. However still a real shameful appointment. If I were Nesbitt I wouldnt be happy. She obviously is only there for the view. Not because shes the best AR.

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    5. You sir get it. It is all about “the look” for FIFA. And Rensch obviously doesn’t have “the look” FIFA wants.

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    6. Only, Nesbitt is probably the best AR... she did a R16 line on the men's tournament. And now you're arguing she is not worthy?

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    7. Nobody is saying she's not worthy. We're saying that Rensch is just as deserving if not more deserving than Nesbitt. Rensch is actually part of Penso's crew. And she has done quite well the throughout the tournament. She didn't do anything to deserve being replaced. If FIFA wanted Nesbitt on Penso's crew. They should have put her on that crew from the start. Not make this ridiculous switch that robs a referee from a once in a life opportunity.

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  32. I‘m just so sad about Esther Staubli..

    Having performed so well, totally above average with a astonishing game and player management her WC journey and WC career ends with a quarter final.

    She‘s the oldest ref at this years competition with the overall best performances. It‘s sad she didn‘t even receive at least a 4O appointment.

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  33. Imagine how big of a feel good story it could have been in Suriname if Rensch had been assigned to work the Final. In the US, nobody outside of the hardcore referee nerds will care that an American trio got the Final. The majority of women’s soccer fans in the US are still grappling with the disastrous performance and elimination of team USA. And are more preoccupied with who will be the new women’s coach to care about Penso and her crew.

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    1. This could have also served as an inspiring story for young girls of a certain demographic to take an interest in refereeing. At a time where most places at the grassroots levels are struggling for referees. We need any and all to sign up.

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    2. FIFA:

      https://i.ytimg.com/vi/8zXzhbBWV9o/sddefault.jpg

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    3. I have zero desire to read, see, or hear any garbage propaganda from FIFA.

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  34. Support VAR: Carol Anne Chenard (CAN)
    Support AVAR: Drew Fischer (CAN)

    Source: https://proreferees.com/2023/08/17/tori-penso-to-referee-2023-fifa-womens-world-cup-final/

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  35. Fifa instigate PROGAGANDA in article publish Collina. Jacewicz INJURY but in case of SPAIN x AUSTRALIA referee WHO?!

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    1. I don't understand your question, in case of Spain - Australia in final, same appointment because Penso is from USA.

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    2. Article Collina final designation write Jacewicz INJURY. Collina say Jacewicz FINAL in no injury by writing. But in case of Australia qualification still Penso. So fifa instigate PROPAGANDA article.

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  36. Just watched the interview with the final trio, that's incredibile: not even a single word about Mijensa Rensch. People watching this video will think that Penso, Mayo and Nesbitt worked together in all games before the final, absolutely unfair. Tori Penso could have spent some words about her even if FIFA didn't think about while making the video. Again, my solidarity to the removed assistant referee.
    Then going into the detail of Collina's words, I think we can easily understand that this was an emergency assignment and not a planned one. The injury of Australian referee was another issue, we can think that she was planned for something big. Add to that the poor performance by Melissa Borjas who could have handled the final and then committee was forced to look for another name to handle the final.

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    1. Even in the event of Jacewicz’s injury, though, they surely must have had another plan in case of Australia advancing to the Final. I agree it seems like an “unplanned” assignment, but I wonder what went down. Penso was perfectly fine on England vs Australia, but it didn’t strike me as a performance that was so earth-shattering that all the normal conventions and all the prior plans had to be thrown out.

      I wonder who they had in mind three days ago for an ESP-AUS final. We will probably never know.

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    2. One good reason: they couldn’t make a fair choice between Alves and Penso and treated their 1/2 finals as a final test.

      As stated before, Penso’s road to the semi-final wasn’t spectaculair. You can’t give her the World Cup final after a 4-0, 6-0 and 0-0 low profile game. She wasn’t challenged at all, compared to some other referees. After the semi’s, it was clear who is the better referee/manager.

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    3. So I was thinking either Foster or Jacewicz was planned for the final, depending on the advancement of either England or Australia. But even if that was the case, surely another solution could have been found other than having Penso twice? It sounds like Jacewicz got injured before the semi-finals, so why not Staubli or Yamashita? Indeed really unfortunate (to put it lightly) to say nothing about Rensch, it's not like we can blame a language barrier either...

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  37. I stand in solidarity with Mijensa Rensch who has been unjustly deprived of a once in a lifetime opportunity. Through her hard work and dedication she EARNED the right to be running up and down that sideline on Sunday.
    If Mijensa Rensch cannot work the match, then I choose to not watch in solidarity with her. It’ll be my one person protest and it’ll not make any difference. But morally I feel that it’s the right thing to do and my conscience will be clear.

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    1. FIFA has a PR campaign named "Say No to Racism", but they removed a black female match official from her own referee trio despite doing her job in all previous appointments... is this how FIFA is actually "Saying No to Racism"? Western, democratic media should take action!

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    2. All the American media outlets Well, TBH the ones who actually care enough about world football. Will remain silent and not even mention the fact that this had to happen in order to have 3 Caucasian American women as the crew in the Final. The U.S. loves to point fingers, but they fail to acknowledge their own problems, much less actually attempt to fix them.

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  38. Hello referee friends I have been a reader of this blog for a number of years and have learned so much from the most of the dialogs and points of view expressed. I have found the contributions from the blog administrators especially enlightening. What I don’t understand is why so many contributors with strong opinions and pony’s of view SEEM to not have the courage to at least choose a nickname, pseudonym or something other than “anonymous” so their contributions can be more thoughtfully followed and responded to. I realize some may be well-known figures and all the more reason to choose an alias that stands out and is discernible from the generic and uncreative “anonymous”. I look forward to learning more from all of you!
    Thank you!

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  39. The referee and two assistant referees should be evaluated as a team.
    Why A2 not in the final ? So stupid!

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  40. This assignment is also a blasphemy against other refereeing teams.

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  41. This is the reason why FIFA is rewarding US Soccer: The US Justice Department recovered and returned to FIFA more than $201 million! https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-approves-remission-over-32-million-forfeited-funds-victims-fifa-corruption

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  42. FIFA to receive over $201 million in compensation: https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/sports/fifa-receive-over-201-million-forfeited-funds-corruption-probe-2021-08-24/

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  43. Regardless of freedom of democracy and personally I’m in position not 100% agree with Penso appointment. The comments above about “conspiracy” of corruption, etc totally disgusting and annoying, hopefully Chefren will delete that comment immediately after he read it. We know how politics work but conspiracy and defamation it’s different case.

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    Replies
    1. The comments are needed and should not be silenced. If it makes you uncomfortable to fathom that FIFA and everything that's within it is possibly corrupt. That's a you problem.
      If it continues to be mentioned. It is because FIFA themselves continue to do things that puts their credibility in question.
      Furthermore, if you think that FIFA is any different now that Blatter is out and Infantino is in. Then you're part of the problem. The names may change but the modus operandi remains the same.

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  44. What do you expect from FIFA when its the President of the organization says these stupidities?

    ."I say to all the women -- and you know I have four daughters, so I have a few at home -- that you have the power to change,"

    So, because he has daughters, he knows how all women footballers think?

    "Pick the right battles. Pick the right fights. You have the power to change. You have the power to convince us men what we have to do and what we don't have to do. Just do it. With men, with FIFA, you'll find open doors. Just push the doors."

    What utter garbage! Just goes to show that FIFA continue to view women footballers as second-class beings that must please men in positions of power to have better conditions.

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  45. I can read everything but using "racism" as argument against FIFA for having removed the AR is simply exploitation and I can't accept that on the blog, already deleted some comments. It is impossible to believe that an organization like FIFA could think to that: she was removed (terrible management if you ask me, and we all agree) because young and least experienced inside the trio, this is the reason. No need to use other arguments, you can say US had more power in the appointments and so on, still acceptable but already to be discussed, but definitely no more than that. I will not accept any further speculation and we were forced to disallow again anonymous comments because there were too many messages absolutely out of limits.

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  46. Racism is the wrong word, but the removed AR was never seen as one of the team, just an extra filling in. For the final this was corrected. Whether it was pushed directly or it indirectly influenced evaluations based on soft factors, I'm not sure.

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