Discussion about referees' performances at 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, Quarterfinals.
Saturday 28 June 2025, 18:00 CET
Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia
Palmeiras (BRA) - Botafogo (BRA)
Referee:François Letexier FRA
Assistant Referee 1: Cyril Mugnier FRA
Assistant Referee 2: Mehdi Rahmouni FRA
Fourth Official: Glenn Nyberg SWE
Fifth Official: Mahbod Beigi SWE
Video Assistant Referee: Jerome Brisard FRA
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Bram Van Driessche BEL
Support Video Assistant Referee: Bastian Dankert GER
Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte
SL Benfica (POR) - Chelsea (ENG)
Referee: Slavko Vinčić SVN
Assistant Referee 1: Tomaž Klančnik SVN
Assistant Referee 2: Andraž Kovačič SVN
Fourth Official: Said Martinez HON
Fifth Official: Walter Lopez HON
Video Assistant Referee: Marco Di Bello ITA
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Alejandro José Hernández Hernández ESP
Support Video Assistant Referee: Tomasz Kwiatkowski POL
Sunday 29 June 2025, 18:00 CET
Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta
Paris Saint Germain (FRA) - Inter Miami (USA)
Referee: Wilton Sampaio BRA
Assistant Referee 1: Bruno Boschilia BRA
Assistant Referee 2: Bruno Pires BRA
Fourth Official: Mustapha Ghorbal ALG
Fifth Official: Mokrane Gourari ALG
Video Assistant Referee: Nicolas Gallo COL
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Leodan Gonzalez URU
Support Video Assistant Referee: Guillermo Pacheco MEX
Sunday 29 June 2025, 22:00 CET
Hard Rock Stadium, Miami
Flamengo (BRA) - Bayern München (GER)
Referee: Michael Oliver ENG
Assistant Referee 1: Stuart Burt ENG
Assistant Referee 2: James Mainwaring ENG
Fourth Official: Cristian Garay CHI
Fifth Official: Miguel Rocha CHI
Video Assistant Referee: Carlos Del Cerro Grande ESP
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Rob Dieperink NED
Support Video Assistant Referee: Shaun Evans AUS
Monday 30 June 2025, 21:00 CET
Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte
FC Internazionale (ITA) - Fluminense (BRA)
Referee: Ivan Barton SLV
Assistant Referee 1: David Moran SLV
Assistant Referee 2: Henry Pupiro NCA
Fourth Official: Tori Penso USA
Fifth Official: Brooke Mayo USA
Video Assistant Referee: Tatiana Guzman NCA
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Erick Miranda MEX
Support Video Assistant Referee: Mahmoud Ashour EGY
Tuesday 1 July 2025, 03:00 CET
Camping World Stadium, Orlando
Manchester City (ENG) - Al Hilal (KSA)
Referee: Jesus Valenzuela VEN
Assistant Referee 1: Jorge Urrego VEN
Assistant Referee 2: Tulio Moreno VEN
Fourth Official: Yael Falcon ARG
Fifth Official: Maximiliano Del Yesso ARG
Video Assistant Referee: Juan Soto VEN
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Hamza El Fariq MAR
Support Video Assistant Referee: Alejandro José Hernández Hernández ESP
Tuesday 1 July 2025, 21:00 CET
Hard Rock Stadium, Miami
Real Madrid (ESP) - Juventus (ITA)
Referee: Szymon Marciniak POL
Assistant Referee 1: Tomasz Listkiewicz POL
Assistant Referee 2: Adam Kupsik POL
Fourth Official: Espen Eskas NOR
Fifth Official: Isaak Bashevkin NOR
Video Assistant Referee:
Assistant Video Assistant Referee:
Support Video Assistant Referee:
Wednesday 2 July 2025, 03:00 CET
Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta
Borussia Dortmund (GER) - Monterrey (MEX)
Referee: Facundo Tello ARG
Assistant Referee 1: Juan Pablo Belatti ARG
Assistant Referee 2: Gabriel Chade ARG
Fourth Official: Juan Gabriel Benitez PAR
Fifth Official: Eduardo Cardozo PAR
Video Assistant Referee:
Assistant Video Assistant Referee:
Support Video Assistant Referee:
For BENFICA-CHELSEA the truth is that Vincic had an extremely poor performance: decisions always unshareable (the handball on the penalty brainless, no RC for the insults from #6 Chelsea, second YC solely caused by the dynamics of the players' mutual movements), law authority, market discrepancies in assessment. Ultimately, absololutely insufficient for a FIFA standard
ReplyDeleteApart from the fact that you do have a valid point on some observations regarding Vincic it’s very intriguing that you more or less ‘kill’ the Slovenian, but refuse to accept ANY word of criticism towards his French colleague earlier on yesterday. The approach towards both officials seems without any nuance and and rather biased. A little more objectivity and nuance would not harm credibility.
DeleteVincic did quite well, and not extremely poorly, in my opinion.
DeleteHi Chefren, what do you think about that?
ReplyDeleteI didn't watch the game
DeleteInteresting for PSG first goal we have two attackers at far post moving from an offside position into defenders to act as blockers & ultimately created space for attacker unmarked goal. Some minor protests but nothing out of the ordinary... Not VAR stuff but no verbal warning from Sampiao prior to the ball being put in play maybe lacking? Bonus for set pieces coach lol
ReplyDeleteIt looked like the defenders ran straight past them, so nothing punishable. If the defenders ran into those blockers, then it would have been an interesting decision
DeleteSuarez played the blockers onside didn’t he? Otherwise it would have been a clear Law11 offence.
DeleteHaven't seen another replay Mikael but he must've done?
DeleteEasy 1 half for Sampiao... Every stoppage & foul is a double blast of whistle though...lots of whistle can potentially lose its effectiveness when required but minor. Battle between PSG #7 & Miami RB should now be solved after RB YC but was bubbling along nicely before intervention
ReplyDeleteIn the stadium and there are a lot of whistles from the stands. Might be the reason.
DeleteI predict that in the final 7 matches (QF, SF, and F), the following referees will each receive a match:
ReplyDelete• Sampaio
• Faghani
• Marciniak
• Makkelie
• Turpin
• Abatti
• Nyberg
Poor performance for letexier and vincic
ReplyDelete74‘ Bad management by Sampaio. Suarez with multiple clear actions of dissent right into the referees face and for everyone to see. Sampaio just stands there in a timid way. After all he issued s YC but way too late. Better late than never I guess.
ReplyDeleteI'm slightly surprised to see any added minutes... A normal difficulty match, helped by the dominance of PSG. An acceptable performance by Sampaio, but at no point did I feel fully convinced. Foul detection a little inconsistent, never quick to stop for a head injury (10'), and a few off the ball incidents missed. Still, nothing major to speak against
ReplyDeleteSzymon Marciniak sędzią meczu Real Madryt - Juventus
ReplyDeleteMarciniak for Real-Juve and Tello for Dortmund-Monterrey (ArbitroInternacional)
ReplyDeleteLet' say that UEFA referees get by far more interesting and hot games than CONMEBOL officials... South American referees for games like UEFA against AFC or UEFA - CONCACAF.. with most of the times an expected outcome (see Sampaio today).
DeleteVery rare to see a CONMEBOL referee in a full UEFA duel.
Faghani as AFC referee got more than them.
The best referees in the tournament ali reza faghani, cesar ramos , facunda tello , baheida , tantashev
ReplyDeleteBoth Alireza Faghani and César Ramos appear to be out of step with the modern refereeing approach, often showing a lenient attitude toward clear infractions.
DeleteUEFA or FIFA, it's the same: for a game like Real Madrid - Juventus, not so many options. The top UEFA must get it. It will be Marciniak, loved by Collina. It's interesting to point out that Collina found himself to make an appointment for this game, after the very famous match in 2018 with Michael Oliver. He decided for sending the best name, but in this case in my opinion it will be not really challenging for the Polish, as one should expected a rather easy win by Spanish side, but of course then everything is possible.
ReplyDeletePossible QF for Beida? Would be the success for CAF. I think they will wait and maybe send him to the easiest tie... would be deserved for sure!
QF for Beida is possible, but not too sure.
DeleteIt could also be Faghani, Ramos, CONMEBOL and UEFA in the QF - or even more from CONMEBOL or UEFA.
Michael Oliver missed a clear foul during the first corner, where a Bayern Munich player used his hand to push a Flamengo defender. This should have been penalized, but instead, it led to a second corner from which Bayern scored.
ReplyDeleteI'm not convinced it was a corner, or if it came off the Bayern player last. That being said, very hard to spot, and I didn't see a clear push, just some mutual light contact, certainly not enough for a foul
DeleteThere are six referee appointments remaining before the final. In my view, the following referees are the most likely candidates for these matches:
ReplyDelete• Turpin
• Beida
• Abatti
• Ramos
• Faghani
Not sure about the sixth name. FIFA may opt to assign one of the R16 referees for a third appearance (Letexier, Oliver, Barton, Vincic, Tello). However, names such as Zwayer or Taylor cannot be entirely ruled out I think.
The referee for the final is expected to be selected from the “R16 pool” of officials.
To confirm — there is no third-place match?
What about Makkelie? I would definitely add him to the list. I‘m not that sure about Abatti though, his second game was good but I‘m not sure about his first. Also a lot of Brazilian teams in KO stage.
DeleteYeah, no third place match in this tournament, good decision IMO, such games are always unnecessary
Makkelie? I’m not sure that would be deserved. From what I’ve seen, he’s played it very safe, with an unclear and somewhat unpredictable line.
DeleteThat said, the absence of Dutch clubs in the competition works in his favour, compared to Taylor, Oliver, or Zwayer. Still, I’d sooner expect Vincic or Marciniak in a third appointment (for example a semi-final) than Makkelie.
I notice Makkelie can hardly do anything good in Anonymous’ eyes. As I watched both of his games I take the opportunity to clearly disagree.
DeleteI think he more or less played it safe, but is that a bad approach? Do we prefer to see the Ramos approach? And if we consider which teams played each other (BRA-TUN and MEX-KSA) I actually think it was a very sensible approach!
Important to notice as well, there was hardly any dissent in both of his games and decisions were accepted without major problems (and both games were far from one-sided). We saw differently the last couple of days right? When applying an unclear or unpredictable line one would definitely expect much more dissenting behaviour.
So no, I don’t share Anonymous’ opinion and criticism.
Whether or not Makkelie will have another game of course depends on many other factors, as there are only 7 matches left still to be appointed.
Ah, there it is… Makkelie’s defense squad activated in record time ;-)
DeleteDon’t get me wrong — he is a reliable referee, especially in intercontinental clashes. Those matches seem tailor-made for him. He can be satisfied after two “expected level” performances (8.3–8.4 range) with no OFRs or controversy (!!!). That’s the most important thing.
But let’s be fair — there’s still plenty of room for improvement.
We all know what Makkelie is capable of when he’s at his very best. Right now, there’s a gap between him and the likes of Turpin, Letexier, Marciniak, Oliver, and Vincic. They’ve all overtaken him over the past three seasons — and not by a small margin. Of course, I wish him all the best and hope to see him back at his top level soon. Who knows next season.
Wow,that was some foul from Pulgar.
ReplyDeleteI think if Oliver issued RC he would not be wrong.
43' A potential red card offense was committed by Flamengo’s #5, who went straight into Harry Kane’s knee with a dangerous challenge. ] Michael Oliver issued a yellow card for recklessness, and there was no VAR intervention.
ReplyDeleteVery tense match that Oliver is somehow handling well.
ReplyDeleteTense for the fact that Brazilian team is losing and they are becoming more and more frustrated as the match goes on.
No mobbing like Argentinian teams,but late tackles and dangerous fouls.
Dark YC was given for very dangerous foul.
Then after that we had conflicts between players and one more late foul that he punished .
It's unpleasant, but characteristic of modern FIFA tournaments, to see (for instance) the extremly blatant aggressive behaviour/not retreating at 18' just ignored, but in the circumstances Oliver has adapted his unobstrusive style relatively well thus far. Polgar's foul was surely an example of 'challenge as an attack', but it is hard to say 100% without having seen the live sequence. Good that the English ref didn't surrender to anarchy and delivered two cautions for aggressive behaviour in the aftermath of it.
DeleteIMO rather RC than YC in 43‘. Only argument to support is not a full contact.
DeleteYes, game definitely heated up after the foul.
The corner/goal kick/offensive foul incident in 5‘ prior to the goal was handled supportable I think. Goretzka pushes himself up with the arms on the opponents shoulder but these incidents are often not punished nowadays. And if no foul I think corner is correct according to the replays I watched.
Correct penalty given by Oliver and AR2 Mainwaring for very clear handball in 55‘
ReplyDelete53' Fairly clear, but somewhat rare to see a handball penalty given on field. And good that Oliver was very alert when the ball went in the net that Flamengo players would want to get the ball quickly to restart play
ReplyDelete64' very tricky SPA situation where Sane cleverly puts himself in front of Wesley.
ReplyDeleteOnce foul whistled,deserved YC
Now maybe soft YC influenced by Flamengo' mobbing.
ReplyDeleteWhat do you think about a repeating a nomination to CWC final?
ReplyDeleteMarciniak (2023), Taylor (2022), Ramos (2017), Faghani (2015) handled a final.
Now Kane with very late tackle that earns him YC.
ReplyDeleteGreat awareness by Oliver and great prevention of escalation by showing card very early.
Oliver very good again - he still has the occasional erratic moment but I think he has now overtaken Taylor to be honest. Final candidate? I think the penalty award on field gives him a good chance
ReplyDeleteI think there a lot of factors to be taken into account when it comes to the final appointment, and performance might even not be the most important.
DeleteFinal teams of course play a significant role. But then for example, which confederation do they want to grant this final? Have they already in mind which confederation they want to award next year’s ’big’ final to? Is this year’s final referee excluded from next year’s final?
I think many factors with much uncertainty as to how Refcom regards them.
I would not say very good,I would say great performance given circumstamces and tension that this match had.
ReplyDeleteMaybe even the best performance if the tournament, also with great match from both teams.
Great fitness,always close to the play and he proved that with right approach and early actions,teams from South America can be calmed down.
Debatable decision will be very dark YC to Pulgar.
Penalty was well spotted and rightly whistled.
Oliver’s main obstacle remains the presence of English clubs. Chelsea and Man City are on the same side of the draw and could face each other in the semi-finals.
ReplyDeleteIf I’m not mistaken (and do correct me if I am), the other bracket features Bayern, Real Madrid, and PSG.