The fitfh contest of our "Referee of the Year", in cooperation with guesstheref.com, is over. Alireza Faghani from Iran has been voted as the best 2018 FIFA World Cup performer with 582 points.
The referee from Iran has officiated four games in Russia: two group-stage matches, a round of 16 and then Third place final. Despite of having missed the appointment for the "big final" he has been recognized by our readers as the best official in terms of performances. He has shown an excellent control in all the games, with a very strong body language and players managemenet. In addition, he has managed to end all his games without any single VAR intervention, the most challenging one has been for sure the round of 16 between France and Argentina, ended with an amazing score of 4-3. For sure AFC has reached the top thank to the referee from Iran, who could be still there in Qatar 2022.
To follow, Björn Kuipers from the Neterlands with 440 points. Once, again the Dutch has shown to be among the best UEFA referees ever, given also his great experience in important competitions. He has officiated four games: two group stage matches, a round of 16 and a quarterfinal. In addition, he has been appointed as fourth official for the final. For sure, he has been a candidate for the most important game until the end. In his matches, he has shown an excellent players management with remarkable skills in terms of game control. There were some difficult players to handle, but he did that without any issue. He also accepted to be corrected by VAR, changing an original decision, and this was also a signal of his intelligence. Despite of being already 45 y.o., according to some rumors, there is a chance to see him at the next big tournament, EURO 2020. We will see.
Néstor Pitana is third-placed with 420 points in our ranking. He has officiated 5 matches at World Cup including the final between France and Croatia. He has shown very good performances, being always in control of his games. The success he obtained at 2018 WC is surely a consequence of what he had already achieved in previous seasons. Having already talked about him in many occasions, you can read a more detailed analysis about him here. 2013- 2018 The Rise of Néstor Pitana.
CLICK HERE to read the full ranking.
Meanwhile, you can continue to send your preferences. Click here: REFEREE OF THE YEAR
Meanwhile, you can continue to send your preferences. Click here: REFEREE OF THE YEAR
The next contest is about best AFC referee of 2018.
Choice 3 and Choice 5 are missing in the results list.
ReplyDeleteSorry, we will update the correct document soon. There were some problems in this contest for some fake votes from a certain country.
DeleteFixed, thank you for having reported the issue. There was a small change, with Kuipers now runner up and Pitana third-placed.
DeleteOT: What an incredible mistakes in Premier league to day (and that’s only what I sam changing channels):
ReplyDelete1. Liverpool first goal clear OFS ide from Salah.
2. Man Utd third goal - Mata who asssisted was offside.
3. Incredible mistake on Arsenal match. Lacazete’s goal was denied due to alleged offside. IT was offside once uspon a time but today - what a shame for the ref and AR! Few minutes later, ref missed penalty for Arsenal. At least it was not simulation and no YC whatsoever.
OT: Del Cerro will have a difficult match tonight if it keeps going as it is in these five minutes.
ReplyDeleteHighly motivated Carlos on the field, runs a lot. On the first goal of Messi whistles the falta at 1 meter
DeleteYes, he's very fit. And the game has calmed down a bit after Messi's show. What a player. Carlos must keep focused, as this kind of games can turn hot very quickly. Very good so far.
DeleteI dont think there's more lenient referee in La Liga than Del Cerro.
DeleteIn some moments Espanyol players were desperately trying to stop Messi,there were 2-3 SPA on him but he remains quiet.Weird to see that from Soanish referee.
OT:
ReplyDeleteMazzoleni again had straight RC today in Cagliari-Roma match.He allowed way too much talking during the match and when that crossed the line his solution was to show 2 straight RC's.
I dont have any videos of that situation.
One of my favourite Italian referees, definitely.
DeleteSkomina with Liverpool - Napoli
ReplyDelete