A small review of the first twenty-four matches in the twenty-third FIFA World Cup.
A match-by-match review of the refereeing in the first round of group matches at World Cup 2026.
Match 1: Mexico vs. South Africa (Sampaio)
Nicolas Gallo underlined his credentials as one of the world's leading video match officials with his intervention for the violent conduct expulsion, which was an excellent piece of VAR-ing. The announcement by Sampaio did not leave an exceptional impression, of course. The episode clearly put the Brazilian referee off, because his officiating thereafter immediately became a lot more jittery with some missed fouls and unconvincing rulings. The red card to Mexico was a deeply dramatic refereeing incident because, while this nuance would be lost on most (non-referee) people, Sampaio's tournament hinged on it: had he awarded a yellow card, as at one point it seemed he was to do, he would have experienced a second OFR, and ran the risk of being rejected by FIFA. So, it was very important that he got that call correct on-field, and the decision itself was a very good one. All told, after the majority of the match being good (-83') and the end being a little bit shaky (83'-), the refereeing in this match was satisfactory.
Grade: 6
Match 2: Korea Republic vs. Czech Republic (Amin)
In terms of level, of the five CAF referees selected by FIFA as main referees in this World Cup, Mohamed Amin showed to be one of the top two. All early matches in the World Cup are considered (internally) prestigious appointments, and Amin justified the vote of confidence in his refereeing with a good performance. The key decision, the allowing of the Czech goal, was correct and well-seen. My feeling was that Amin put a little too much energy into the first sixty minutes, and tired a little in the last twenty or so - but in general, he handled the game well, and put himself in the best position of the African referees at this tournament.
Grade: 7
Grade: 7
Match 3: Canada vs. Bosnia-Herzegovina (Tello)
The opening match for the northernmost hosts of this tournament was not an easy affair for Facundo Tello, but I don't think it is unfair to describe his performance as "frustrating". The key inflection point for the manner in which this game was handled was the foul tackle by Canada no7 in 19'. It was probably possible, just about, to solve this incident with a very firm verbal warning - but in principle, a yellow card should usually be awarded. As no (Bosnia) players reacted to the incident, Tello didn't see fit to make a 'big deal' of it in terms of management, and the Canada player undermined the Argentine referee's authority by walking past him during the small lecture. Tello failed in this incident. As such, his disciplinary line in this match was haphazard, and he used his excellent fitness and proximity to incidents in order to 'survive' the game, rather than leading it authoritatively. As said - the match was quite difficult and Tello showed merit in passing through it okay, but this performance was explicitly-praiseworthy either.
Grade: 6
Match 4: United States vs. Paraguay (Makkelie)
This is perhaps the most tricky match in which to make a ruling about how the game was refereed. There are lots of positive points about this refereeing - Makkelie used his experience and skillful decision-making to keep the match under control, and had the Dutch referee awarded a goalkick (in my opinion, clearly the most optimal on-field decision) in the now-famous 'OFR for diving', I think the performance would quite evidently be a good one. Given it has been reported by diverse and reliable sources, we can now say with certainty: FIFA approved of this OFR. However, given that this intervention was triggered by a clear mistake by the Dutch crew, together with some other areas for consideration (some behaviour by the Paraguay team which went without censure and a handful of missed incidents), the fairest ruling would be to deem this performance satisfactory. I am doubtful that too many other referees could have done an authoritatively better job than Makkelie here in the game overall, however.
Grade: 6
Match 5: Qatar vs. Switzerland (Martinez)
In a match (or at least a first half) which offered quite big challenges to the referee in technical matters, Said Martinez navigated impressively, and should be rewarded for the manner in which he handled this game. He correctly awarded a penalty to Switzerland, eventually confirmed by images to have been ruled onside by FIFA's technology, and gave a textbook great rendition of how to use warnings and cards to keep both teams in check (and after the matches yesterday, this surely looks even more impressive!). In UEFA's system, this performance would be clear grounds for an upgraded mark of 8,5.
In a match (or at least a first half) which offered quite big challenges to the referee in technical matters, Said Martinez navigated impressively, and should be rewarded for the manner in which he handled this game. He correctly awarded a penalty to Switzerland, eventually confirmed by images to have been ruled onside by FIFA's technology, and gave a textbook great rendition of how to use warnings and cards to keep both teams in check (and after the matches yesterday, this surely looks even more impressive!). In UEFA's system, this performance would be clear grounds for an upgraded mark of 8,5.
Grade: 7
Match 6: Brazil vs. Morocco (Vincic)
This match caused the Slovenian official much less trouble than Levnikov in '98, and I think he handled the game well. I would criticise in fairly strong terms the non-yellow in the incident just after halftime, 49' - it came across like the referee was reticent to make the score 0-3 in bookings, and turned a blind eye to the reckless offence. The rest was really strong in terms of management and control (+49', at the end of the first half, was very difficult to spot on an expectation-perception-recognition level) and in the end, I think this was a good performance by Slavko Vincic.
This match caused the Slovenian official much less trouble than Levnikov in '98, and I think he handled the game well. I would criticise in fairly strong terms the non-yellow in the incident just after halftime, 49' - it came across like the referee was reticent to make the score 0-3 in bookings, and turned a blind eye to the reckless offence. The rest was really strong in terms of management and control (+49', at the end of the first half, was very difficult to spot on an expectation-perception-recognition level) and in the end, I think this was a good performance by Slavko Vincic.
Grade: 7
Match 7: Haiti vs. Scotland (Ghorbal)
This match had a foul count which was more reminiscent of World Cup 2002 than 2026 (forty-four!), and Mustapha Ghorbal did not distinguish himself with the manner in which he refereed this game - but his performance was not a disaster, either. On about twenty minutes, it was noticeable that the tactic of the Haiti team changed, and they began to try undermining the referee's authority over the game (deliberate fouling, exaggerating contacts and not retreating). Ghorbal's tactic, remaining calm and unimpressed, remained unchanged however. This was far from the referee 'losing control' of the game, but one could hardly say that the Algerian referee led this match authoritatively, either. It seems to me that the two penalty appeals for handball were not such - given the tools available to the video match officials, I haven't seen clear evidence that VAR crew were wrong at 73', and 78' looks to me like an optical illusion (as in Siebert's Wales-Denmark).
This match had a foul count which was more reminiscent of World Cup 2002 than 2026 (forty-four!), and Mustapha Ghorbal did not distinguish himself with the manner in which he refereed this game - but his performance was not a disaster, either. On about twenty minutes, it was noticeable that the tactic of the Haiti team changed, and they began to try undermining the referee's authority over the game (deliberate fouling, exaggerating contacts and not retreating). Ghorbal's tactic, remaining calm and unimpressed, remained unchanged however. This was far from the referee 'losing control' of the game, but one could hardly say that the Algerian referee led this match authoritatively, either. It seems to me that the two penalty appeals for handball were not such - given the tools available to the video match officials, I haven't seen clear evidence that VAR crew were wrong at 73', and 78' looks to me like an optical illusion (as in Siebert's Wales-Denmark).
I would personally accuse the VAR, Abdullah Al-Shehri, of passing over an SFP offence in additional time however - the bent leg factor should be overriden by the fact that the foul was studs-to-knee (very likely relative to other contact points as causing serious injury) and high intensity, especially relative to the aim of what the Scotland player was trying to achieve, clearing the ball away for a throw-in. It seems like FIFA's view is different, or at least less critical. As such, Ghorbal's performance should not be rejected but instead deemed as acceptable.
Grade: 6
Match 8: Australia vs. Turkey (Valenzuela)
This was amongst the easiest of the first round matches, but nevertheless, Jesus Valenzuela's performance was generally very convincing. One could formulate a couple of small criticisms: 1) he didn't use the countdown tools to his advantage in dealing with the quietly-spoiling tactics of the Australia team from about 35' on, and, 2) the end to the game was not the best in terms of calls. However, these are quite small points amidst what was overall, a good and strong piece of refereeing.
Grade: 7
Match 9: Germany vs. Curacao (Jayed)
The lack of difficulty in this game masks the relatively unimpressive manner in which Jalal Jayed handled it - the way it came across to me, Jayed was visibly quite nervous, which should not be the case at the level of the World Cup finals. One detected that there were not-that-infrequent inaccuracies in the Moroccan referee's calls - the penalty call, correctly given, was not among those mistakes. The quite blatant stealing metres (54') and ignored not retreating (60') incidents part way through the second half were perhaps the most critical. I wonder if Jayed will receive a second appointment in this World Cup.
The lack of difficulty in this game masks the relatively unimpressive manner in which Jalal Jayed handled it - the way it came across to me, Jayed was visibly quite nervous, which should not be the case at the level of the World Cup finals. One detected that there were not-that-infrequent inaccuracies in the Moroccan referee's calls - the penalty call, correctly given, was not among those mistakes. The quite blatant stealing metres (54') and ignored not retreating (60') incidents part way through the second half were perhaps the most critical. I wonder if Jayed will receive a second appointment in this World Cup.
Grade: 6
Match 10: Netherlands vs. Japan (Elfath)
There is very little to say here - Ismael Elfath handled this very easy-going game in a perfect manner! If he keeps up the slightly modified style that I detected in his refereeing since returning from his long-term injury, with a really impressive use of cards, then it is more than clear that he can go very, very far in this World Cup.
There is very little to say here - Ismael Elfath handled this very easy-going game in a perfect manner! If he keeps up the slightly modified style that I detected in his refereeing since returning from his long-term injury, with a really impressive use of cards, then it is more than clear that he can go very, very far in this World Cup.
Grade: 7
Match 11: Ivory Coast vs. Ecuador (Letexier)
Substitute referee Francois Letexier delivered the best performance of the first round of group matches, in managing to tame a partly-bizarre match, which despite being seemingly quite calm for the most part, had an undercurrent of bad blood. Letexier ensured that it was kept from surfacing, and finished the match with full control. His approach to solving conflicts with the Ivory team was surely quite noteworthy - he did not act as a strict enforcer, with the team whom he shares a mother tongue, but acting instead in an empathic way, even as they committed quite hard fouls (which he punished). I was a little dubious at this choice, but at the end, having ensured control in this very difficult game, it proved a real success. The level of difficulty in this match was higher (even) than it seemed.
Substitute referee Francois Letexier delivered the best performance of the first round of group matches, in managing to tame a partly-bizarre match, which despite being seemingly quite calm for the most part, had an undercurrent of bad blood. Letexier ensured that it was kept from surfacing, and finished the match with full control. His approach to solving conflicts with the Ivory team was surely quite noteworthy - he did not act as a strict enforcer, with the team whom he shares a mother tongue, but acting instead in an empathic way, even as they committed quite hard fouls (which he punished). I was a little dubious at this choice, but at the end, having ensured control in this very difficult game, it proved a real success. The level of difficulty in this match was higher (even) than it seemed.
Grade: 8
Match 12: Sweden vs. Tunisia (Falcon Perez)
The most noteworthy element of this game was the apparent part-failure of the SAOT system (and not optimal way in which Falcon announced the final decision), in the Swedish fourth goal. Besides that, this was an easy-going and not challenging game - he ignored one rather clear yellow card, but otherwise handled the match in a sound manner. A performance at the lower end of 'good'.
The most noteworthy element of this game was the apparent part-failure of the SAOT system (and not optimal way in which Falcon announced the final decision), in the Swedish fourth goal. Besides that, this was an easy-going and not challenging game - he ignored one rather clear yellow card, but otherwise handled the match in a sound manner. A performance at the lower end of 'good'.
Grade: 7
Match 13: Spain vs. Cape Verde (Makhadmeh)
When the Jordanian referee made a terrible decision to play on from a clear foul in the tenth minute, owing to a 'brain explosion' about whether the offence was SPA or not, I feared the worst for this game. However, in a match with few duels (no match has had fewer fouls so far), Makhadmeh generally handled the match fine - I would highlight the opening yellow card, given immediately and without hesitation, as an example of a very good call. However, perhaps slightly originating from 10', I felt there somehow there was not absolute security in the calls accuracy in this match. Overall, a good performance.
Grade: 7
Match 14: Belgium vs. Egypt (Abatti)
I liked two (well, perhaps three) elements of this performance: 1) that Abatti showed to be a great 'student' of refereeing; 2) the non-mandatory opening YC, which showed that the Brazilian had read the nature of the game perfectly; and, 3) that his style oriented around giving what he saw. The problem with this performance is that there were surely too many things that he didn't see - a relatively large number of reckless fouls without sanction, and some unconvincing missed fouls in the goings-on of the match. I do not consider the offence at 89' to be one; this seems rather consistent with how impeding offences are dealt with in today's football. I don't think Abatti's presence is a particularly big strength, either. I wouldn't be as harsh as some people, but overall this was evidently one of the weaker performances so far.
I liked two (well, perhaps three) elements of this performance: 1) that Abatti showed to be a great 'student' of refereeing; 2) the non-mandatory opening YC, which showed that the Brazilian had read the nature of the game perfectly; and, 3) that his style oriented around giving what he saw. The problem with this performance is that there were surely too many things that he didn't see - a relatively large number of reckless fouls without sanction, and some unconvincing missed fouls in the goings-on of the match. I do not consider the offence at 89' to be one; this seems rather consistent with how impeding offences are dealt with in today's football. I don't think Abatti's presence is a particularly big strength, either. I wouldn't be as harsh as some people, but overall this was evidently one of the weaker performances so far.
Grade: 6
Match 15: Saudi Arabia vs. Uruguay (Mariani)
In the city where the tournament's referees are based, Italy's representative made quite a strong start to the World Cup - Maurizio Mariani found a clear and predictable line in both fouls and cards (one can accuse him of missing some, indeed I would, but he was clearly consistent), and quite well solved this match which promised more problems for its referee than it delivered on. Perhaps this helped Mariani, but one can only referee what the game puts in front of you, and the Italian did that quite well.
Grade: 7
In the city where the tournament's referees are based, Italy's representative made quite a strong start to the World Cup - Maurizio Mariani found a clear and predictable line in both fouls and cards (one can accuse him of missing some, indeed I would, but he was clearly consistent), and quite well solved this match which promised more problems for its referee than it delivered on. Perhaps this helped Mariani, but one can only referee what the game puts in front of you, and the Italian did that quite well.
Grade: 7
Match 16: Iran vs. New Zealand (Ramos)
Cesar Ramos handled this game very impressively! It is nice to be able to reflect on games where the referee has made an explicitly great contribution to the match as a whole - for a game that was high in enthusiasm but mostly absent in malice, Ramos's style where he worked hard in verbally setting expectations with players worked really well. I didn't detect any clear cautions that the Mexican referee missed either. It would perhaps be slightly remiss not to observe that different matches require different approaches, but this was nothing other than a very good piece of refereeing that deserves explicit praise. After Letexier, this was arguably the best performance of the first round of group matches.
Grade: 7
Cesar Ramos handled this game very impressively! It is nice to be able to reflect on games where the referee has made an explicitly great contribution to the match as a whole - for a game that was high in enthusiasm but mostly absent in malice, Ramos's style where he worked hard in verbally setting expectations with players worked really well. I didn't detect any clear cautions that the Mexican referee missed either. It would perhaps be slightly remiss not to observe that different matches require different approaches, but this was nothing other than a very good piece of refereeing that deserves explicit praise. After Letexier, this was arguably the best performance of the first round of group matches.
Grade: 7
Match 17: France vs. Senegal (Faghani)
This was surely the most controversial match so far, on account of Alireza Faghani not awarding a penalty to France after an on-field review. Having previously presented a critical view of both Faghani and Ramos, I want to say that the overall manner in which they both handled their matches with their own styles was very good, in my opinion. So, the assessment of Faghani's performance comes down to the penalty area incident.
I think it is quite clear that Faghani won't be (and surely hasn't been) rejected for this call.
I would make the following observations:
1) after the OFR, the correct term Faghani that should have used to explain his interpretation was "instigated" and not "initiated"; the former is not only easily disprovable, but clearly wrong
2) the match result, with France going on to win comfortably, is a big coup for Faghani (in 2022, the OFR that Faghani conducted proved extremely crucial for the group standings)
3) I disagree in extremely strong terms with calling this intervention wrong; Faghani had given a corner, but the ball was never played! Not intervening here would be a big mistake, worthy of rejection
The argument for not awarding the penalty is thus: the attacker pushes the ball forward, with no real intention to continue the attacking move, but instead only anticipating the slide tackle coming at him; and then the contact is fairly slight. In old football terms, Faghani read this incident perfectly - goalkick is exactly what top referees would have decided in (let's say) World Cup 1986. We are not, however, in 1986 - the defender has made a late tackle, not played the ball and there is a clear contact. The instruction from UEFA and FIFA at big tournaments, amplified in the VAR era, is always 'make the most generally expected decision from the television images'. Faghani did the opposite of this.
I think FIFA would much rather the penalty had been awarded, but that the Iranian-Australian will still be able to continue in the tournament - however, I doubt he will encounter France again (which could become relevant in the latter stages).
Grade: 6
Match 18: Iraq vs. Norway (Atcho)
Pierre Atcho's performance was, from my perspective, the weakest in the World Cup so far. I would reject his refereeing for handling the game in too weak a manner. Atcho was the best member of what was a shaky crew, but he still made way too many bizarre calls throughout the game, which surprised the players of both teams. Of all twenty-four performances in the group stage so far, the only one which would befit the term 'amateurish' was this. Atcho strung together some good refereeing in 2026 to justly be called to the World Cup as a main referee, but he 'missed the boat' with his handling of this match.
Pierre Atcho's performance was, from my perspective, the weakest in the World Cup so far. I would reject his refereeing for handling the game in too weak a manner. Atcho was the best member of what was a shaky crew, but he still made way too many bizarre calls throughout the game, which surprised the players of both teams. Of all twenty-four performances in the group stage so far, the only one which would befit the term 'amateurish' was this. Atcho strung together some good refereeing in 2026 to justly be called to the World Cup as a main referee, but he 'missed the boat' with his handling of this match.
Grade: 5
Match 19: Argentina vs. Algeria (Marciniak)
This analysis should be split into two parts:
1) Argentina no10 committed a reckless challenge in minute 31 of this match, and should have been cautioned. Although the hitting point was quite high, the force was not. It seems that all the people who claimed that 'Argentina no10 is being treated differently to other players' did not realise that their own focus on this situation, indeed, displayed that they held the situation in different consideration because it involved Argentina no10. I actually think the recklessness of this offence is quite hard to detect, and wouldn't point to this missed yellow card as a significant point of criticism in this performance. The VAR intervention for the missed offside on an Algeria goal (8') should have been avoided and correctly seen on-field.
This analysis should be split into two parts:
1) Argentina no10 committed a reckless challenge in minute 31 of this match, and should have been cautioned. Although the hitting point was quite high, the force was not. It seems that all the people who claimed that 'Argentina no10 is being treated differently to other players' did not realise that their own focus on this situation, indeed, displayed that they held the situation in different consideration because it involved Argentina no10. I actually think the recklessness of this offence is quite hard to detect, and wouldn't point to this missed yellow card as a significant point of criticism in this performance. The VAR intervention for the missed offside on an Algeria goal (8') should have been avoided and correctly seen on-field.
2) The overall manner in which Szymon Marciniak handled this match was actually not good. He missed a number of incidents over the course of the game, came across as too insecure in his calls, and accordingly faced some trouble with acceptance, which the Pole was able to get over using his presence/profile. The lack of match practice was writ large in this refereeing - I would say by a long distance, that Marciniak displayed the lowest level of any UEFA referee in the World Cup so far. If the Polish official's second performance matches the first, then FIFA actually have a fairly big problem: the very apparent internal consideration would be too far distant from the level shown on the pitch. I think this is one of the most interesting 'storylines' to monitor from the first round of group matches in this tournament. However, I would stress, that the handling of this game was still clearly adequate.
Grade: 6
Match 20: Austria vs. Jordan (Beida)
It is a pity what happened in this match - the Mauritanian official refereed the game in a good manner, displayed very good soft skills (maybe the best in all CAF officials since Al-Ghandour!), particularly in facial expressions, and made mostly sound decisions. However, Beida was not able to avoid the fate that Sampaio did in the opener: the Mauritania referee was called twice to the review area (both rightly), to correct missed incidents. Beida's body language during and after the second intervention suggested he knew the significance of what had happened. It will be very interesting to see how FIFA proceed: it would surely be silly to throw away one of the two best African referees in terms of level, and clearly this was much different to the mistakes made by Juan Gabriel Benitez in Sudan-Bahrain, which did not prevent the Paraguayan from being appointed to a semifinal of the Arab Cup in December. Beida's next assignment, whether it be as reserve or main referee, seems one to watch for.
It is a pity what happened in this match - the Mauritanian official refereed the game in a good manner, displayed very good soft skills (maybe the best in all CAF officials since Al-Ghandour!), particularly in facial expressions, and made mostly sound decisions. However, Beida was not able to avoid the fate that Sampaio did in the opener: the Mauritania referee was called twice to the review area (both rightly), to correct missed incidents. Beida's body language during and after the second intervention suggested he knew the significance of what had happened. It will be very interesting to see how FIFA proceed: it would surely be silly to throw away one of the two best African referees in terms of level, and clearly this was much different to the mistakes made by Juan Gabriel Benitez in Sudan-Bahrain, which did not prevent the Paraguayan from being appointed to a semifinal of the Arab Cup in December. Beida's next assignment, whether it be as reserve or main referee, seems one to watch for.
Grade: 5
Match 21: Portugal vs. DR Congo (Al-Jassim)
This seems the match on which my view contrasts most clearly with the consensus: I think this was one of the weaker performances so far. Why? I would say: the decision to issue the yellow card at 13' is a very good one, and should be praised, but the manner in which he solved it gave the impression 'I have to give this card; but I don't want to'; this should not happen! The game's next yellow card was a bit dubious, too. The way in which he solved both the injury at 58' and confrontation at 68' was not convincing, and the referee no longer felt in control of the game in additional time at the end of the second half, between the substitution confrontation at +92' and the player-player confrontation at +95'. As I said previously: not every referee (or any other referee) can be Mateu! But: Al-Jassim needs to find a way to overcome a 'lack of natural authority' in a way which ensures that his head does not go down, and he continues to make confident decisions on the field of play. I don't believe this was (always) the case on Wednesday. However, there were still positive and likeable elements to his refereeing, and the performance was indeed satisfactory.
This seems the match on which my view contrasts most clearly with the consensus: I think this was one of the weaker performances so far. Why? I would say: the decision to issue the yellow card at 13' is a very good one, and should be praised, but the manner in which he solved it gave the impression 'I have to give this card; but I don't want to'; this should not happen! The game's next yellow card was a bit dubious, too. The way in which he solved both the injury at 58' and confrontation at 68' was not convincing, and the referee no longer felt in control of the game in additional time at the end of the second half, between the substitution confrontation at +92' and the player-player confrontation at +95'. As I said previously: not every referee (or any other referee) can be Mateu! But: Al-Jassim needs to find a way to overcome a 'lack of natural authority' in a way which ensures that his head does not go down, and he continues to make confident decisions on the field of play. I don't believe this was (always) the case on Wednesday. However, there were still positive and likeable elements to his refereeing, and the performance was indeed satisfactory.
Grade: 6
Match 22: England vs. Croatia (Turpin)
Not too much needs be said here! The referee from France correctly awarded a penalty (justly ordered retaken by the VAR), and handled the match in an elegant manner. When, mid-way through the second half, the tension slightly increased on the field of play, Turpin increased his presence in reaction to fouls (eg: pointing to his head at 67'), and ensured that everything would remain calm. Again: it is very nice when the referee makes an explicitly positive contribution to the game, as the French referee did here. A very good and likeable performance by Turpin, even with the match being fairly straightforward.
Not too much needs be said here! The referee from France correctly awarded a penalty (justly ordered retaken by the VAR), and handled the match in an elegant manner. When, mid-way through the second half, the tension slightly increased on the field of play, Turpin increased his presence in reaction to fouls (eg: pointing to his head at 67'), and ensured that everything would remain calm. Again: it is very nice when the referee makes an explicitly positive contribution to the game, as the French referee did here. A very good and likeable performance by Turpin, even with the match being fairly straightforward.
Grade: 7
Match 23: Ghana vs. Panama (Nyberg)
Having already outlined my view about the most contested decision of this match here, I would only add a few more details: although a match of a rather different mode to the other MD1 fixture in this group, Nyberg also displayed a really elegant piece of refereeing, with excellent soft skills/presentation and management. The only areas for consideration: blatant missed fouls at 43' and 88', together with the point that some incidents like (potential) mobbing were managed in a perhaps slightly too 'light touch' manner. But these are only small considerations: this match was a real success for Nyberg; very good refereeing.
Having already outlined my view about the most contested decision of this match here, I would only add a few more details: although a match of a rather different mode to the other MD1 fixture in this group, Nyberg also displayed a really elegant piece of refereeing, with excellent soft skills/presentation and management. The only areas for consideration: blatant missed fouls at 43' and 88', together with the point that some incidents like (potential) mobbing were managed in a perhaps slightly too 'light touch' manner. But these are only small considerations: this match was a real success for Nyberg; very good refereeing.
Grade: 7
Match 24: Uzbekistan vs. Colombia (Taylor)
Taylor refereed well in this match, in my opinion. The line that the English referee held on bookings after the early (but justified) yellow card at 7' was mostly consistent, though the off-the-ball blocking at +46' ought to have been given yellow, and the sliding tackle at 81' not being booked was a clear mistake. It would have been good to get better replays of the potential foul prior to the second Colombia goal, and the holding incident at the very end of the game (+98'). The Englishman had to show good focus to pass through the not-insignificant number of borderline offences throughout the game, but I felt he did that well.
Taylor refereed well in this match, in my opinion. The line that the English referee held on bookings after the early (but justified) yellow card at 7' was mostly consistent, though the off-the-ball blocking at +46' ought to have been given yellow, and the sliding tackle at 81' not being booked was a clear mistake. It would have been good to get better replays of the potential foul prior to the second Colombia goal, and the holding incident at the very end of the game (+98'). The Englishman had to show good focus to pass through the not-insignificant number of borderline offences throughout the game, but I felt he did that well.
Grade: 7
All marks are compiled according to this system.
This post is intended as a general overview, and not a deeply exhaustive analysis of each single incident!
Just wanna say thank you Mikael for this great summary!
ReplyDeleteThanks Mikael,almost perfect analyse!
ReplyDelete