Monday, 16 June 2025

2025 FIFA Club World Cup - Referee Appointments Matchday 2

Appointments of match officials at 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, Group Stage, MD2. 

The list of all selected officials 

Group Stage, MD2

Group A
Thursday 19 June 2025, 18:00 CET
MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford
Palmeiras (BRA) - Al Ahly (EGY)  
Referee: Anthony Taylor ENG
Assistant Referee 1: Gary Beswick ENG
Assistant Referee 2: Adam Nunn ENG 
Fourth Official: Omar Al Ali UAE
Video Assistant Referee: Ivan Bebek CRO 
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Bram van Driessche BEL 
Support Video Assistant Referee: Bastian Dankert GER

Group A
Thursday 19 June 2025, 21:00 CET
Mercedes Benz Stadium, Atlanta 
Inter Miami (USA) - FC Porto (POR)
Referee: Christian Garay CHI 
Assistant Referee 1: Miguel Rocha CHI 
Assistant Referee 2: José Retamal CHI 
Fourth Official: Ilgiz Tantashev UZB 
Video Assistant Referee: Juan Lara CHI
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Nicolas Gallo COL 
Support Video Assistant Referee: Alejandro José Hernández Hernández ESP 

Group B
Friday 20 June 2025, 00:00 CET
Lumen Field, Seattle 
Seattle Sounders FC (USA) - Club Atlético de Madrid (ESP)
Referee: Yael Falcon Perez ARG 
Assistant Referee 1: Maximiliano Del Yesso ARG
Assistant Referee 2: Facundo Rodriguez ARG 
Fourth Official: Campbell-Kirk Kawana-Waugh NZL
Video Assistant Referee: Hernan Carlos Mastrangelo ARG 
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Juan Soto VEN
Support Video Assistant Referee: Leodan Gonzalez URU 

Group B
Friday 20 June 2025, 03:00 CET
Rose Bowl, Los Angeles 
Paris Saint Germain (FRA) - Botafogo (BRA) 
Referee: Drew Fischer CAN 
Assistant Referee 1: Micheal Barwegen CAN
Assistant Referee 2: Lyes Arfa CAN
Fourth Official: Gustavo Tejera URU 
Video Assistant Referee: Shaun Evans AUS
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Guillermo Pacheco MEX 
Support Video Assistant Referee: Marco Di Bello ITA 

Group C
Friday 20 June 2025, 18:00 CET
Inter&Co Stadium, Orlando
SL Benfica (POR) - Auckland City (NZL) 
Referee: Salman Falahi QAT 
Assistant Referee 1: Ramzan Al Naemi QAT 
Assistant Referee 2: Majid Al Shammari QAT
Fourth Official: Danny Makkelie NED 
Video Assistant Referee: Khamis Al-Marri QAT
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Fu Ming CHN
Support Video Assistant Referee: Rob Dieperink NED

Group D
Friday 20 June 2025, 20:00 CET
Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia 
Flamengo (BRA) - Chelsea (ENG) 
Referee: Ivan Barton SLV
Assistant Referee 1: David Moran SLV 
Assistant Referee 2: Antonio Pupiro NCA 
Fourth Official: Ma Ning CHN
Video Assistant Referee: Guillermo Pacheco MEX
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Erick Miranda MEX
Support Video Assistant Referee: Carlos Del Cerro Grande ESP 

Group D
Saturday 21 June 2025, 00:00 CET
Geodis Park, Nashville
Los Angeles FC (USA) - Espérance de Tunis (TUN)
Referee: Espen Eskas NOR
Assistant Referee 1: Jan Erik Engan NOR
Assistant Referee 2: Isaak Bashevkin NOR
Fourth Official: Jean Jacques Ndala Ngambo COD
Video Assistant Referee: Tomasz Kwiatkowski POL
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Bram Van Driessche BEL
Support Video Assistant Referee: Mohammed Obaid Khadim KUW

Group C
Saturday 21 June 2025, 03:00 CET
Hard Rock Stadium, Miami 
FC Bayern München (GER) - CA Boca Juniors (ARG) 
Referee: Alireza Faghani IRN / AUS 
Assistant Referee 1: Anton Shchetinin AUS
Assistant Referee 2: Ashley Beecham AUS
Fourth Official: Tori Penso USA
Video Assistant Referee: Tatiana Guzman NCA
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Shaun Evans AUS
Support Video Assistant Referee: Jérôme Brisard FRA

Group F
Saturday 21 June 2025, 18:00 CET
TQL Stadium, Cincinnati 
Mamelodi Sundowns FC (RSA) - Borussia Dortmund (GER) 
Referee: Juan Gabriel Benitez PAR 
Assistant Referee 1: Eduardo Cardozo PAR 
Assistant Referee 2: Milciades Saldivar PAR
Fourth Official: Ibrahim Mutaz LYB 
Video Assistant Referee: Leodan Gonzalez URU
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Nicolas Gallo COL
Support Video Assistant Referee: Armando Villarreal USA 

Group E
Friday 21 June 2025, 21:00 CET
Lumen Field, Seattle 
FC Internazionale (ITA) - Urawa Red Diamonds (JPN)
Referee: Dahane Beida MTN
Assistant Referee 1: Jerson Emiliano Dos Santos ANG 
Assistant Referee 2: Stephen Yiembe KEN
Fourth Official: Campbell-Kirk Kawana-Waugh NZL
Video Assistant Referee: Hamza El Fariq MAR
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Juan Soto VEN
Support Video Assistant Referee: Bastian Dankert GER

Group F
Sunday 22 June 2025, 00:00 CET
MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford
Fluminense FC (BRA) - Ulsan Hyundai (KOR)
Referee: Michael Oliver ENG 
Assistant Referee 1: Stuart Burt ENG 
Assistant Referee 2: James Mainwaring ENG
Fourth Official: Omar Al Ali UAE
Video Assistant Referee: Alejandro José Hernández Hernández  ESP 
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Ivan Bebek CRO
Support Video Assistant Referee: Mohammed Obaid Khadim UAE

Group E
Sunday 22 June 2025, 03:00 CET
Rose Bowl, Los Angeles 
CA River Plate (ARG) - CF Monterrey (MEX)
Referee: Slavko Vincic SVN 
Assistant Referee 1: Tomaz Klancnik SVN 
Assistant Referee 2: Andraz Kovacic SVN 
Fourth Official: Gustavo Tejera URU
Video Assistant Referee: Carlos del Cerro Grande ESP
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Jerome Brisard FRA
Support Video Assistant Referee: Rob Dieperink NED 

Group G
Sunday 22 June 2025, 18:00 CET
Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia
Juventus (ITA) - Wydad Casablanca (MAR)
Referee: Said Martinez HON
Assistant Referee 1: Walter Lopez HON  
Assistant Referee 2: Christian Ramirez HON 
Fourth Official: Ma Ning CHN 
Video Assistant Referee: Erick Miranda MEX
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Shaun Evans AUS 
Support Video Assistant Referee: Khamis Al Marri QAT

Group H
Sunday 22 June 2025, 21:00 CET
Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte
Real Madrid CF (ESP) - Pachuca (MEX) 
Referee: Ramon Abatti BRA 
Assistant Referee 1: Daniolo Manis BRA
Assistant Referee 2: Rafael Alves BRA
Fourth Official: Espen Eskas NOR 
Video Assistant Referee: Hernan Mastrangelo ARG
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Juan Lara CHI
Support Video Assistant Referee: Marco Di Bello ITA 

Group H
Monday 23 June 2025, 00:00 CET
Audi Field, Washington 
FC Salzburg (AUT) - Al Hilal (KSA)
Referee: Wilton Sampaio BRA
Assistant Referee 1: Bruno Boschilia BRA
Assistant Referee 2: Bruno Pires BRA 
Fourth Official: Jean Jacques Ndala Ngambo COD
Video Assistant Referee: Nicolas Gallo COL 
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Armando Villarreal USA
Support Video Assistant Referee: Bram Van Driessche BEL

Group G
Monday 23 June 2025, 03:00 CET
Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta
Manchester City (ENG) - Al Ain (UAE) 
Referee: Mustapha Ghorbal ALG
Assistant Referee 1: Mokrane Gourari ALG
Assistant Referee 2: Abbes Akram Zerhouni ALG
Fourth Official: Alireza Faghani IRN / AUS
Video Assistant Referee: Mahmoud Ashour EGY
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Leodan Gonzalez URU
Support Video Assistant Referee: Fu Ming CHN
Posted by at
Labels: , ,

187 comments:

  1. Peter16 June 2025 at 19:59

    Very one-sided appointments so far: With the exception of Fluminense-Dortmund (Tantashev) and the low-profile Salzburg match, all CONCACAF-CONMEBOL duels have gone to UEFA, all CONCACAF-UEFA duels to CONMEBOL, all CONMEBOL-UEFA duels to CONCACAF and all UEFA-UEFA duels to UEFA.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. usaref16 June 2025 at 20:14

      Why do people keep saying Salzburg-Pachuca is low-profile. It's likely an elimination match between two teams that will be highly motivated. I really think people need to calibrate their expectations better for some of these games. Match difficulty or prominence is not necessarily directed related to the popularity of one or both teams.

      As to everything else, yes, confederational neutrality leads in that direction. Particularly when the CAF and AFC referees are very inexperienced outside Faghani (who got the opener) and Ghorbal (who got, well, that game that everyone besides me and FIFA seems to think is nothing).

      Delete
    2. usaref16 June 2025 at 20:15

      Edit to add, actually Tantashev got a pretty great game all things considered. I'm really bewildered by some of the complaining on this site. If FIFA had gone in an opposite direction, everyone would be wailing about wasted talent and such (which a few people did do when they saw the Turpin assignment!).

      Delete
    3. smala01717 June 2025 at 05:53

      A match can be consequential and still be “low-profile”. There’s not much attention on that game due to the lack of popularity of the teams, even though the game is important to the standings.

      Delete
    4. usaref17 June 2025 at 13:25

      Well, I would argue there's not that much attention on *any* of these games, but that's a different matter.

      Still, stipulating your point... "low-profile" was my phrasing and I cut some corners. The argument above was that the appointments were "one-sided" and I saw similar language in the matchday 1 thread. The explicit argument seems to be that Pachuca-Salzburg should be reserved for a "lesser" referee and I just think that's wrong.

      Delete
  2. PAPARESTA17 June 2025 at 00:32

    The Portuguese refereeing committee has published the ranking of 1st division referees.
    Luis Godinho, UEFA's first group referee, was the best referee of the season. João Pinheiro, an elite referee at UEFA, came in second place and the recent international referee João Gonçalves closed the podium in third place.
    Below is the ranking of all the referees.

    1 LUIS MIGUEL BRANCO GODINHO 9.402
    2 JOAO PEDRO SILVA PINHEIRO 9.339
    3 JOAO ANTONIO FERREIRA GONCALVES 9.304
    4 FABIO JOSE COSTA VERISSIMO 9.302
    5 ANTONIO EMANUEL CARVALHO NOBRE 9.297
    6 MIGUEL BERTOLO NOGUEIRA 9.282
    7 TIAGO BRUNO LOPES MARTINS 9.249
    8 GUSTAVO FERNANDES CORREIA 9.243
    9 DAVID RAFAEL OLIVEIRA SILVA 9.239
    10 ANDRE FILIPE DOMINGUES NARCISO 9.229
    11 CLAUDIO FILIPE RUIVO PEREIRA 9.228
    12 BRUNO JOSE RIBEIRO PIRES COSTA 9.223
    13 CARLOS ANDRE FERNANDES MACEDO 9.223
    14 JOSE ARMANDO TORRES BESSA 9.212
    15 HELDER MIGUEL AZEVEDO MALHEIRO 9.208
    16 IANCU IOAN VASILICA 9.205
    17 MIGUEL ANDRE MONTEIRO FONSECA 9.195
    18 PEDRO MIGUEL TORRES RAMALHO 9.191
    19 HELDER FILIPE CLAUDIO CARVALHO 9.188
    20 SERGIO JOSE SANTOS GUELHO 9.183
    21 ANZHONY FRANCISCO GONÇALVES RODRIGUES 9.173
    22 RICARDO JORGE ANTUNES ROQUE BAIXINHO 9.078
    23 GONCALO RAFAEL SANTOS NEVES 9.060
    24 BRUNO MIGUEL CARMO VIEIRA 9.046

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. JR18 June 2025 at 07:40

      Does the ranking determine promotion and relegation? And what grading scale is used?

      Delete
  3. diego61217 June 2025 at 06:06

    Looking at the upcoming games, I assume Barton will have a "hot potato", as we say in my country, in his hands, whether it's Flamengo-Chelsea or Bayern-Boca... as long as Collina doesn't decide to break the "unwritten law"... Falahi sounds like another name in one of those games, but it already smells like disaster with the Qatari if it happens ;)...

    ReplyDelete
  4. smala01717 June 2025 at 18:12

    [The matchday 1 thread is closed to I will continue here]

    Very different start from Tantashev in contrast to Ramos yesterday. Two early yellow cards. The first one maybe a bit harsh, the second absolutely deserved.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. diego61217 June 2025 at 18:17

      +1

      Delete
    2. smala01717 June 2025 at 19:10

      It almost seems like Tantashev changed his style a bit, as there have been several other challenges that could have been cautioned, but have not been, including 49'.

      Delete
  5. M17 June 2025 at 18:14

    Well if they watches yesterday's matches, they would see that it's better to show card earlier than later.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Chefren17 June 2025 at 19:30

    So far no focus on Uzbek referee, despite of a 0-0 score, I must say one of the most entertaining football game to be watched at this tournament, finally... both teams thinking to play.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Chefren17 June 2025 at 19:56

    Now a very mandatory card issued. Good performance by the Uzbek referee, definitely a good news for Asian refereeing at this tournament. One can't know whether the early yellow cards gave a fair address to the rest of the game, but of course absolutely good that he issued them. Sometimes under my eyes making a game complicated by not giving cards is something so easy on paper to avoid that I can't understand why certain referees keep on in that manner...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. smala01717 June 2025 at 20:06

      I’m not totally convinced, because there was very little consistency in what merited a yellow card. Still, you make a good point: one could say this was not a difficult match, but you could also argue that the early bookings made it easier than it could have been (see: Ramos yesterday).

      AR2 also had a pretty bad moss in the 28th minute.

      Delete
  8. Oliver17 June 2025 at 19:59

    Normal difficulty game but Tantashev got most things, including all cards spot on. I’m always impressed when I watch him. He will never be Irmatov but this guy is a really good referee

    ReplyDelete
  9. M17 June 2025 at 20:02

    Good performance,but again,time managament.

    6 minutes of added time,in that added time atleast 1 minute of no play and he whistles right at the 6:00.

    Also,this game got 6 mins,yesterdays 5.

    Looks like different refs,different added time.There is no clear guidance from Fifa like there was on WC,where every second was added.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Chefren17 June 2025 at 20:12

      Maybe Marciniak in his games will be the only Referee to keep that, but it seems Collina guidelines have been indeed abandoned.

      Delete
  10. Philipp S17 June 2025 at 20:23

    83:05 in FLU-BVB is a rare observation of the new counting process, when the GK holds the ball too long.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. VG17 June 2025 at 20:28

      This will be a much bigger issue in domestic European leagues. That’s where goalkeepers time waste.

      Delete
    2. usaref17 June 2025 at 21:40

      @VG - you don't think goalkeepers time waste outside domestic European leagues? Ha, okay. Never been on the other side of the Atlantic, I suspect.

      And it's not going to be an issue anywhere. It's a smartly crafted rule. No elite goalkeeper is going to let the count go past 1, except in extreme circumstances. It's like the passback rule. It changes the game without referees having to do much.

      Delete
    3. VG17 June 2025 at 21:53

      First you ask a question then reply to it yourself. Then you think you can predict the future by saying it's not going to be an issue ''anywhere''.

      Delete
    4. usaref18 June 2025 at 15:04

      Have you heard of a rhetorical question?

      The idea that timewasting is a bigger issue in European domestic leagues than on the international level or, specifically, in CONCACAF or CONMEBOL competitions is laughable. It illustrates either a bias or a lack of knowledge about what is outside Europe.

      And yes, this will not be a problem. Have you seen the statistics of the trial from Malta, Italy and England? It was called 5 times in over 400 matches and in two of those situations, the authorities determined the referee was too aggressive. In Malta alone they tracked 800 incidents of goalkeeper possession with the new rule and not once was it called. The way the rule was written means goalkeepers will rarely violate it. It's like the passback rule. I can predict the future because I am aware of the history and evidence behind this.

      Delete
    5. VG18 June 2025 at 21:52

      My suggestion to you is to calm down a bit and stop answering your own questions.

      Delete
  11. Howard Maxi17 June 2025 at 20:39

    If anyone wonders what was stuck to Ramos' RC when he showed it for the third time: A picture of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

    ReplyDelete
  12. diego61217 June 2025 at 21:52

    Good and normal first half of Zwayer

    ReplyDelete
  13. Chefren17 June 2025 at 22:56

    Looks like Zwayer had a regular performance, correct penalty for what I can see.
    No appointments released today, only the VAR to complete MD1.
    Maybe time for first reflections by Collina has come.
    One can't be sure but maybe shortly after Ramos performance something should be changed. We will know soon.

    ReplyDelete
  14. crn.ple18 June 2025 at 00:06

    Still don't understand the appointment of Turpin in that game

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Elliot18 June 2025 at 00:24

      I do. Everyone expects Dortmund and Fluminense to go through from this group and if these two teams want to have any chance to surprise they probably need to win this game. Also now after two disasterous performances from two big names (Kovács and Ramos) it's also good to have some names kept out of the spotlight (even if this couldn't been known before appointments were made, it was always a risk)

      Delete
    2. Mikael W18 June 2025 at 00:27

      A niche game for all time: a referee and even fourth official who are probably more famous than all but one player on the pitch, a sub-1000(?) crowd in Orlando and now the kick off has been delayed due to the threat of lightning. Now with some time to reflect on the appmnt, you are thinking about it 'the wrong way around'. At WC2010 -- the only tournament where FIFA amazingly managed to implement total, 64/64 match, confederational neutrality -- there were only nineteen matches available to UEFA refs in the group stage (so just less than 40%!), and consequently only on two of those occasions was a European not appointed to an eligible clash, and one of these was the S.Africa-Mexico opening game. Turpin, to compensate the 'exoticness' of this clash today, will surely be the referee of (eg) ManCity-Juventus on MD3.

      Delete
    3. crn.ple18 June 2025 at 00:44

      Ok, cool to get ur opinions on this, agree with the fact that in a way this appmnt was made to protect him for the future as we know the FIFA believe in him after the WC in qatar but in an other way if he gets this MD3 game then it will be forgotten. So, i understand it a bit more tbf.

      Delete
  15. diego61218 June 2025 at 01:09

    Turpin with a short shirt without the sleeves gathered…make a wish ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. crn.ple18 June 2025 at 01:37

      So weird to see him with short sleeves

      Delete
    2. ScotRef18 June 2025 at 01:41

      Normally i woild recognise him straight away, he looks so different!

      Delete
  16. Andrei18 June 2025 at 01:38

    Clear "Maradona goal" and Turpin need VAR to annulled the goal, not best for Turpin.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. crn.ple18 June 2025 at 01:39

      Tbf nobody react to it and I think quite difficult to see it for him, but not the perfect decision

      Delete
    2. Mikael W18 June 2025 at 01:42

      https://www.streambug.io/cv/bed628

      Besides that, absolutely nothing to report so far in this game.

      Delete
    3. Chefren18 June 2025 at 04:52

      Difficult given that it was made with the "covered" arm by attacker, from Turpin point of view, but still, not an expected reaction by referee. Once I was told that handball is the totally unexpected incident a referee can think about before, and inded it's true it can happen in all moments and there aren't elements before like possible conflicts for the normal fouls, but the French referee could have tried to be closer to goal to ensure a better view. Rather passive.

      Delete
  17. DB18 June 2025 at 01:44

    It's clear how much more comfortable Uefa officials are at being proactive, constantly talking to the players when the ball is in play, especially with Makkelie, Zwayer, and Turpin in the last 24 hours. Also clear how much better some officials English is compared with others, a very clear announcement with explanation. Always difficult to spot a hand live near the goal line, even if that was a clearer example

    ReplyDelete
  18. diego61218 June 2025 at 01:46

    Good offside decision by A2 Pages, hard to spot live

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. crn.ple18 June 2025 at 01:51

      The SATO 3D simulation is quite insane, don’t really know how this is offside

      Delete
    2. DB18 June 2025 at 01:54

      In some competitions' SAOT that would be onside. Super tight and no blame could be put on an AR either way

      Delete
  19. crn.ple18 June 2025 at 02:51

    First time for the 8seconds rules by Turpin

    ReplyDelete
  20. crn.ple18 June 2025 at 03:09

    Good game by Turpin, not perfect because he needed a VAR intervention for a handball and deny the goal which was hard to spot. But in general he let the game flow as usual for him, good foul detection and correct sanction when needed, great decision by AR to cancel a goal.
    And as always calm approach, great communication with players, and for the first time he apply the 8s rule. Good point for FIFA after some controversy perfomances by tops referees to see him have this type of game.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Upstylon18 June 2025 at 05:06

    Good performance by Sampaio in Monterrey-Inter. Very thorough handling of set pieces (stealing meters at throw-ins, goal kicks execution), and steady disciplinary - including a potential RC for DOGSO the Brazilian rightly resisted for my taste.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bgymn18 June 2025 at 05:12

      Indeed. I think he is a candidate for the final.

      Delete
  22. Anonymous18 June 2025 at 16:17

    It seems practically impossible to assign all UEFA referees to two group-stage matches while simultaneously maintaining confederation neutrality. There simply aren’t enough fixtures to make that feasible.

    My suggestion is that some of the more experienced referees are given a Matchday 2 assignment, followed by a direct progression to the Round of 16. I’ll nominate Marciniak as a prime example.

    I’m also curious about the appointment for Inter Miami vs Palmeiras on Matchday 3. My expectation is, it will be a UEFA referee who officiated on MD1. I suspect Kovács may have been the original plan, but following MD1 performances, Zwayer could now be in contention?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. diego61218 June 2025 at 16:40

      We will see in the next few hours but I think that rule should be broken soon, having analyzed the games and the remaining names lead me to say that Marciniak could have Bayern-Boca knowing everything he represents and how the Argentine team behaves. The other "fire" of this matchday is Flamengo-Chelsea, perfectly Letexier would go here, but I see more Barton as the main option and Letexier for LAFC-Esperance. Dahane for Benfica-Auckland seems to be the main option.

      On the others groups, Vincic for River-Monterrey, Oliver for Inter-Urawa (impossible as you said not to break the rule), Mamelodi-Dortmund for Falahi, Fluminense-Ulsan with Eskås and the remaining name Benítez either for City-Al Ain or Juventus-Wydad... In theory 3 referees would repeat with a second game (RMA-PAC/HIL-SAL/JUV-WYD or MCI-AIN)

      Delete
    2. diego61218 June 2025 at 16:43

      Well, I didn't remember Szymon's incident with Bayern... If it's a factor against, Vincic for Bayern-Boca and Marciniak with River-Monterrey.

      Delete
    3. Philipp S18 June 2025 at 17:02

      I agree, that it would make more sense to break confederation neutrality now than to leave two UEFA referees without game until MD3. Also, we don't know how many R16 games will exist, where an UEFA referee is neutral. So it could also be difficult to find second games for them respecting confed neutrality.

      Oliver for Bayern-Boca and Marciniak for Flamengo-Chelsea would be my idea, but many permutations are possible there.
      Furthermore I would prefer Beida on a more challenging game (maybe INT-URD) and maybe Benitez for Auckland.

      Delete
  23. diego61218 June 2025 at 17:28

    Well, Faghani repeats with Bayern-Boca

    ReplyDelete
  24. diego61218 June 2025 at 17:35

    Marciniak and Letexier, both without games so far.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Ecosse18 June 2025 at 18:18

    15 mins, yc for the Moroccan side. Very surprised there wasn't more of a check for SFP

    ReplyDelete
  26. DB18 June 2025 at 18:23

    I really don't know what to think about Faghani's appointment. Is it a chance for redemption given the value of having a non-Uefa/Americas referee available? Are the committee judging past performance more than the current tournament performance? Is not being spoken about in terms of the result all that matters? Or are there rewards for keeping 22 on the field and allowing endless dissent? Whichever it is, I'm not sure the message is great

    ReplyDelete
  27. Ecosse18 June 2025 at 18:23

    Now a very clear yc not given for a pull

    ReplyDelete
  28. Anonymous18 June 2025 at 18:37

    The remaining MD2 games aren’t compelling enough to justify breaking confederation neutrality, are they? Perhaps Marciniak or Letexier is indeed being reserved for Inter Miami vs Palmeiras (MD3).

    I don’t see the long wait as a bad sign. There are only a limited number of matches available for UEFA referees, also in the knock-out phase. I believe most referees will officiate two games, so those who have to wait longer for their first assignment might actually have a better chance of going deep in the tournament — after all, they don’t need to prove themselves twice in the group stage.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. diego61218 June 2025 at 22:23

      agree, both can do just one game on MD3 and go straight to R16 game.

      Delete
  29. Chefren18 June 2025 at 18:40

    It's a clear RC, big mistake by Venezuelan VAR.
    https://streambug.org/cv/d770c2
    Excessive force, no control of the body...
    It's useless to have VAR without an intervention like this.
    Only small argument for having a doubt, how much intensity in the contact? But well, the opponent was clearly hit and this was enough in a scenario like this.
    It's very hard to find consistency with SFP, I will repeat that once again, as long as VAR is used in this way, one could even think to abolish it for red cards and penalties, all seems to be always subjective.
    Take another VAR, you will have 95% different outcome, is that what refereeing needs?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ecosse18 June 2025 at 18:51

      Weirdly if the contact was lower (on the shin) there may have been an intervention. For me the intensity is more than enough for a red card

      Delete
  30. Chefren18 June 2025 at 18:49

    The promising referee from Mauritana, whom we admired at Africa Cup of Nations, seems to have got the most sonorous game of the African pool of officials. He will officiate an Italian team, and with Collina in charge, I think the speech is similar to Rosetti. In case they would have done fully different assignment. Still, it's against an Asian team, and surely not a top game, but after the draw on MD1, this will be crucial. It seems at moment he could be potentially ahead even of Ghorbal, but of course we must wait and see.
    On the contrary, I was curious about Auckland City second assignment, and here we have the referee from Qatar, surely the least ranked in AFC at this tournament, not difficult to understand why.
    Makkelie given a fourth official role in my opinion to help the crew, but it's interesting that after he had the situation with Chinese referee, this time he will be on the "other side".
    Second game for Faghanim a big one: one can have mutiple reads of this choice. First one: giving him big games now and nothing after because after first appearance he didn't deserve more, but it's valid also the contrary speech, after the disaster by Ramos, the Iranian performance can look quite good under the eyes of Collina. All in all, I think he wasn't that bad, but surely not an expected level performance, the Italian head of FIFA refereeing closed his eyes and tried with this second attempt. It's another big chance for the referee who decided to leave his country and to join Australian federation.
    At least, he can't say that Collina doesn't consider him. But in most of cases, he was too disapponting, I just hope now it will be different.

    ReplyDelete
  31. usaref18 June 2025 at 19:30

    I think too many people believe the assigning here is akin to rocket science. It's not. I also think too many people believe a given referee is rejected or needs to be demoted in stature without thinking about what the alternatives are.

    Confederational neutrality is clearly paramount. That's the first point. The second point is that there are only so many options. Take Faghani, as the current example.

    The assignment for Boca v Bayern needs to be made today. It can't be UEFA or CONMEBOL. And it has to be someone who has already worked (once you dispense with Beida). Okay, so... if it's not Faghani, who?

    The non-UEFA and non-CONMEBOL referees who worked June 15 are Said Martinez and Issa Sy. Are those better choices?

    Because, if not, now you're moving to the June 16th referees who would only have 3 days rest. Ramos? Nope. People saying Faghani didn't deserve appointment would lose their minds if Ramos worked again on short rest.

    Who else?

    The answer is no one. Literally no one.

    Unless you want Sy or Martinez on Boca v Bayern, Faghani is quite literally the only option under confederational neutrality. No one else qualified would have enough rest.

    Sometimes people need to step back and realize there is/was probably a pretty clear plan through MD2 and into the first part of MD3. To the extent there's any deviation, there has to be a monumental collapse and poor performance.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Philipp S18 June 2025 at 19:47

      I agree, that the alternatives were quite limited for Bayern-Boca, if you are committed to confederation neutrality.
      Barton is one option, who you didn't mention - but then the same question would appear for FLA-CHE (which has a similar status to BAY-BOC, I think).

      However: If they really made a plan (or draft) for MD1/2, one could ask, why they didn't give BAY-BOC to Faghani as first game and used an UEFA referee (Marcinak or Letexier) on the opener. This would have solved two of the "problems", which people see now.

      Delete
    2. usaref18 June 2025 at 20:35

      Right. You can swap Barton and Faghani, sure. I actually said that elsewhere! But then it's the exact same discussion.

      And as for the opener, politics are involved as you know. Maybe the confederations want "the honor" of handling Miami passed around. Maybe AFC gets the opener so that it is easier to break confederational neutrality on the final. There are a number of possibilities. But I think it's always likely that the opener is a distinct single decision and then you map things out from there, rather than trying to work backward to figure out who should get the opener.

      Delete
  32. Andrei18 June 2025 at 19:53

    at a glance IMO it's wrong RC for Lewis.

    ReplyDelete
  33. Ecosse18 June 2025 at 19:53

    Red card for SFP. Unfortunate that the follow through made contact in the face but certainly not a clear error.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Andrei18 June 2025 at 19:56

      and then IMO it's harsh RC with I can support that decision if Abatti see the whole sequence but as referee cam appear, IMO he's not fully watch the sequence just at the end use his intuition based on player's reaction.

      Delete
    2. Philipp S18 June 2025 at 20:03

      Yes, interesting aspect, that the referee cam shows us, what he could see - so the actual contact was at most in his peripheric vision.

      I also agree, that it is harsh, because it looked accidental, but also supportable, because one can assess the whole action as too risky/dangerous.

      Delete
  34. Unknown18 June 2025 at 19:57

    Haha Ma Ning again seemed to have an argument with the (English) team officials concerning a substitution (91.)

    ReplyDelete
  35. diego61218 June 2025 at 19:58

    Another confusion with the changes, not as evident as that of Flamengo-Espérance, but it still seems that Ning doesn't get along with the board ;) I don't know who he yelled to but the Chinese seems a little irritable…

    ReplyDelete
  36. Chefren18 June 2025 at 20:11

    Well, after this one even more one can't say that Makkelie was wrong in intervening in previous game, but of course other referees don't dare to do that... nevertheless, this was solved quicker than the other case.
    Chinese referee very agitated:
    https://streambug.org/cv/c5ee61

    ReplyDelete
  37. Chefren18 June 2025 at 20:17

    RC: https://streambug.org/cv/ba0dda
    It's an interesting case. Clear that VAR can't remove this one and you can find arguments, the final point of contact of course suggests to all, it could be red card. But... if you read the action from its beginning, with a rather very unlucky sequence leading to this contact, and absolutely no chance / possibility to predict that by fouling player, you have to say harsh. Decision made just on the final effect on opponent, sometimes it's very hard to judge, but well, nobody can deny that the early incident in first half, was a by far clearer RC because the player from Moroccan team went in that way directly against opponent. Not a good performance by the Brazilian, a taste of randomness in these choices, but again, it's vry hard to assess in some cases.

    ReplyDelete
  38. M18 June 2025 at 20:58

    Interesting to see if 8 second will rule will be held and will refs implement that.

    However, I think that also showing YC for timewasting was also effective.

    Where is the problem there?

    Refs would often show YC to GK or they would delay that YC for as long as they could.
    As soon as GK received YC,ref will not book him again for continuous timewasting cause then double YC for that would be too harsh.

    In my mind,refs had the power and if they were were brave enough to show RC's for timewasting,then we would not even think about 8 second rule or anything similar in other departments.

    Only ref that I know had the courage to do that was Lahoz but then again Lahoz is unique in many ways.

    Looks like we continue with FIFA and general policy in entire refereeing department and that is:less YC's and RC's means less controversy.
    And less controversies is far better than any.

    Just look at Ivanov's 2006 Battle of Nurnberg as example.
    Showed 16 YC's and 4 RC's,all of them were correct.

    And then day after Blatter criticizes him in the media.
    We had same case with Kovacs year ago at Euro.
    Maybe all of those bookings were correct ,but again-better small amount of YC's than any.

    We also had in 2016 Clattenburg,who openly admitted years later that in Battle of Bridge(Chelsea-Tottenham)he on purpose did not show 2 or 3 RC's to Tottenham players cause he did not wanted to be headline.
    What kind of message is that?You can do whatever you want I want do anything?!?!

    As I say,we see this trend being implemented in the entire world,except maybe England who are punishing every timewasting and every crunching tackle.

    We'll se what will happen in the future,but right now this leniency trend is getting out of hand and we saw that with Ramos as example the other day.

    I'm sure we will see even greater examples in this CWC.

    ReplyDelete
  39. Ecosse18 June 2025 at 21:29

    Bellingham loudly telling the AR to f*** off. No action from the referee

    ReplyDelete
  40. thegreatwar18 June 2025 at 21:35

    Tello with a correct simulation caution to Vinicius and good management of dissent so far. Feel like Tchouameni’s tackle at 16’ was missed but his foul detection has been good otherwise.

    ReplyDelete
  41. Chefren18 June 2025 at 21:45

    Very soft penalty right now. Honestly it's a mistake for me, but VAR can do nothing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ecosse18 June 2025 at 21:47

      Clumsy action from the defender imo. 2 hands. Fleeting contact but very silly

      Delete
    2. Modric18 June 2025 at 21:48

      As an (obvious) Real Madrid supporter, penalty is very justified to me, the defender was outplayed there and prevented a very clear goal scoring opportunity (although the foul wasn't much).

      Delete
    3. thegreatwar18 June 2025 at 21:54

      I don’t think the defender can really complain after having clearly held the attacker, even if the latter could’ve stayed on his feet. Maybe in the big picture play on might be preferred, but not wrong to give it IMO

      Delete
    4. Bgymn18 June 2025 at 23:34

      Clear pen for me

      Delete
    5. usaref19 June 2025 at 17:49

      He got beat through the legs, held the opponent with one hand and then wrapped the second arm around to slow him down. It's deliberate and clear cheating. It would be a mistake not to call it.

      The only reason anyone thinks this is soft is because it's pretty clear the defender didn't HAVE to do it. But that's his problem, not ours (as the referee). It is a clear penalty.

      Delete
  42. Jobinho18 June 2025 at 21:51

    Just noticed that AR2 didn't stand in the intersection between the goal line and the penalty area for Al Hilal's penalty. Can anyone advise on why that was the case?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. wzy318 June 2025 at 22:59

      I believe this is new guidance for these officials, since VAR can watch for goalkeeper encorachment, AR should be in line with offside line (the ball).

      Delete
    2. Bgymn18 June 2025 at 23:33

      This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
  43. DB18 June 2025 at 21:58

    It's easy to see why Tello was appointed for the Euro's, he certainly has the most European style from the non-Uefa officials, and generally a good performance. I'm unconvinced with the simulation caution. Yes, Vini has a reputation for going down with ease, but you are allowed to jump over a tackle to avoid contact (usually getting the foul) and if he didn't then I think he would have been clattered into. The angles shown aren't great, but I think it was a foul. Also, agree the penalty is supportable, but soft, Real unfortunate there

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nerazzuri18 June 2025 at 21:59

      For me he has to call the penalty there. Even though it’s soft

      Delete
    2. Mikael W18 June 2025 at 22:15

      Agree with you on the ‘Vini’ booking in principle, but I think the key nuance of this scene is that it was a DOGSO scenario and that the RM attacker was (very likely) trying to unsportingly generate a red card decision against his opponent. Meanwhile, I’m surprised about the comments re the penalty, to me it was a crystal clear foul! Tello was perfectly positioned to see it, and in general the Argentine’s movement around the FoP is absolutely outstanding. His handling of technical matters, including the deliberate kicking of a ball against a prostrate player, has been lenient so far and he should be careful not to lose control in the second half.

      Delete
    3. Oliver18 June 2025 at 23:10

      What you mean by most european style is most competent, as he’s one of the few that allows games to flow without it descending into chaos

      Delete
  44. Nerazzuri18 June 2025 at 21:59

    Outstanding half by Tello for me.

    ReplyDelete
  45. VG18 June 2025 at 22:30

    Minute 61, goalkeeper holding the ball for 12 seconds. No action by the ref.

    ReplyDelete
  46. Quilava18 June 2025 at 23:00

    One could see how in the live sequence Tello was just about to give the PK (putting the whistle into his mouth) but in the end decided not to.á

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. diego61218 June 2025 at 23:15

      I noticed that too, unfortunately he didn’t do it.

      Delete
  47. Modric18 June 2025 at 23:00

    I strongly dislike this kind of penalty, the defender is clearly in front, no chance for attack. I would appreciate a rule change here, seen too many stupid penalties like this since the introduction of VAR.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. usaref18 June 2025 at 23:03

      What's the rule change? That you're allowed to swing your arm to strike your opponent in the face in the penalty area but not outside it?

      It's a clear, clear, clear foul. How do you legislate this not being a penalty but still a foul elsewhere?

      Delete
    2. Nerazzuri18 June 2025 at 23:07

      Sadly he has to give it even though I also don’t agree with it especially with how the defender was ahead..

      Delete
    3. VG18 June 2025 at 23:08

      Very clear penalty that should have been spotted.

      Delete
    4. Modric18 June 2025 at 23:48

      There's actually a very simple solution: Give an FK at the edge of the penalty area instead of a FK if there was no scoring oppirtunity. Or just ignore it, like in the good old days when there was no VAR :-)

      Delete
    5. usaref19 June 2025 at 01:17

      Allegedly simple solutions are almost never simple.

      You want referees deciding between DFK and Penalty on the subjective assessment of whether or not there is a "scoring opportunity?" I think that's a recipe for disaster and would invite the type of dissent we can hardly imagine.

      Take Tello's first half penalty today, for example. Was there a scoring opportunity? Probably not. But the defender cynically and blatantly held because he lost the ball and got beat. We want to put the judgment as to whether that foul warrants a penalty or DFK on the referee? I can only imagine Al-Hilal's reaction if Tello says "yes, definite foul, but not enough for penalty" there.

      No thank you.

      Delete
  48. Lincoln18 June 2025 at 23:03

    This hesitation from Tello and Gonzalez is unlikely to please Collina. In my opinion, the two will not make it very far in the final phase of this World Cup. Or maybe they won't even make it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. diego61218 June 2025 at 23:10

      He wasn’t bad at all, i would say really good. Well, that’s my opinion.

      Delete
  49. Nerazzuri18 June 2025 at 23:08

    I liked Tello today. Good performance overall

    ReplyDelete
  50. Målilla18 June 2025 at 23:12

    Tello is very good but the sport football is terrible with all these protests!!

    ReplyDelete
  51. Jojo19 June 2025 at 00:26

    Tello‘s penalty does strongly remind me of Brugge - Atalanta…
    Meler completely disappeared from any UEFA stage after his penalty, and today Tello was even called to OFR. I know the scenes are not identical but I do somehow feel even more sorry for Meler now (who knows, maybe he could have even attended CWC…)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. RAPenjoyer19 June 2025 at 06:33

      Funny, it also made me think of the Meler incident. I feel very sorry for him as well. The blowback he got was completely unwarranted.

      Delete
  52. RefNewGen19 June 2025 at 03:15

    Makkelie Fourth Official with Qatari RefTeam in a Benfica vs Auckland game... = Lamborghini in Sahaara Desert

    ReplyDelete
  53. diego61219 June 2025 at 03:30

    Interesting situation in Al-Ain-Juventus: Juventus scores a goal and Al Ain claims a possible previous hand (the player slips, falls, involuntarily touches with his elbow and gets up again and assists the goal), the decision on the field was GOL, Penso makes the VAR sign and announces something that was not heard (audio not turned on) and points out that yes, it is a goal ... I really didn't understand.

    ReplyDelete
  54. Lincoln19 June 2025 at 03:59

    It's been a quiet game for Penso so far, given the scoreline Juve has built up so far.

    Just one observation: given that the first half was a rout, the right thing to do would be to blow the whistle for half-time as soon as the injury time limit is reached. I don't understand why Penso played an extra minute of injury time.

    ReplyDelete
  55. Chefren19 June 2025 at 04:48

    After many issues with referees' announcements in previous FIFA tournaments, it was simply impossible that everyhing was perfect here :D
    Here the clip:
    https://streambug.org/cv/f56f86
    Impossible to understand what she said but maybe a rather unnecessary announcement, confirming that scorer hadn't committed handball, otherwise no need to do so, unless they called it from the pitch as wrong decision (but goal was clearly allowed).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. smala01719 June 2025 at 07:35

      I don’t understand why she made the VAR signal anyways? The call on the field initially was a goal, right? So there is no review needed, just a Check Complete.

      Delete
  56. Anonymous19 June 2025 at 08:07

    As the group stage unfolds, it becomes clear that FIFA has a clear plan with UEFA officials, knowing full well the limited number of appointments available. And typically, only five UEFA officials make it through to the knockout rounds at a World Cup.

    Historically, referees appointed on MD1 or early MD2 are strong candidates for a MD3 assignment—possibly their final one. Consider the likes of Espen Eskås and Glenn Nyberg. Both are relatively inexperienced at FIFA level. FIFA wants to give them a taste of the big stage, but normally it’s likely their tournaments will end after two groupstage games.

    Felix Zwayer presents a different case. Though a known name, he hasn’t been a regular on FIFA’s top-tier radar. He’ll likely appear on MD3, but with fierce competition around him, that may be it. The same applies to Danny Makkelie. While he did feature at the 2022 World Cup, his past season wasn’t great. Unless he delivers something exceptional in MD3, his path likely stops there. Anthony Taylor, another strong referee on paper, may also be facing a “MD3-and-done” scenario. Despite his high reputation, the balance within UEFA makes it difficult for all the elite names to break through.

    István Kovács is an interesting case. It’s possible he was penciled in for MD3 from the beginning, but whether he’ll get a second match remains to be seen.

    Then we have the names still waiting. François Letexier and Szymon Marciniak haven’t appeared yet, which almost certainly signals an MD3 debut. Given Marciniak’s track record and Letexier’s growing reputation within UEFA, a solid performance would all but guarantee a quarterfinal, unless their opening performance turns out to be a disaster.

    Slavko Vinčić, with his late MD2 appearance, will face a real test where he can easily blow himself up. Personally, I’m not a fan of his style, nor of how he’s been seemingly “carried” to the top by UEFA politics. Still, should he deliver on the pitch, a R16 appointment is well within reach.

    Finally, Turpin is set for MD1 and MD3, and with a solid performance, he’s a safe bet for the knockouts. The same goes for Oliver, who has a consistently strong track record at major tournaments. I suspect this is the plan on paper, driven by reputation, but ultimately, performances will decide.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Peter19 June 2025 at 08:52

      My prediction for Espen Eskås and Glenn Nyberg is different: Eskås refereed the 2023 FIFA U-17 Final and Nyberg the 2023 FIFA U-20 Final. Therefore, I don't think they are that inexperienced at FIFA level and would find it only logical for both of them to gain further experience in the knockout stage.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous19 June 2025 at 09:48

      Yes, gaining experience is certainly a valid argument.

      My prediction was based on the limited number of available matches. Most officials will receive a maximum of two games.

      I expect that a referee appointed in MD1 will appear again in MD3, and similarly for those with an early MD2 appearance.
      If the appointment comes in the later part of MD2, I either expect a late MD3 appearance or a direct move to the Round of 16.
      Letexier and Marciniak are likely to proceed directly to the Round of 16 or even the Quarter-finals after a MD3 appearance.

      Delete
  57. Quilava19 June 2025 at 10:54

    OT: Miguel Sesma Espinosa (1995) will referee the 2nd leg of LaLiga promotion play-off final (Real Oviedo - Mirandés). He will be the first ref to oversee all 3 promotions (handled Burgos - Levante in second-last MD of regular season, and Deportivo - Elche in the last MD, plus the play-off final 2nd leg)

    Play-off appointments recap:
    SF first legs: Dámaso Arcediano Monescillo (1984) & Rafael Sánchez López (1991)
    SF second legs: Jon Ander González Esteban (1985) & José Luis Guzmán Mansilla (1995)
    Final first leg: Iosu Galech Apezteguia (1991)
    Final second leg: Miguel Sesma Espinosa (1995)

    2-3 referees will get promoted to LaLiga, depending on whether CTA-RFEF will give César Soto Grado a special derogation to continue for another season despite having turned 45.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nerazzuri19 June 2025 at 11:46

      I read rumors saying Sesma Espinosa and Galech Apezteguia are getting promoted next year

      Delete
    2. Quilava19 June 2025 at 12:10

      Yes, they are the biggest candidates.

      Delete
  58. Ecosse19 June 2025 at 11:19

    There was a very good offside call by Penso's AR2 to disallow a goal for the Emirati side

    ReplyDelete
  59. Mikael W19 June 2025 at 16:01

    As there were no comments on this match: Ghorbal refereed well in Pachuca-Salzburg, a normal difficulty game which hotted up a bit after the long lightning delay. Short HL to follow.

    ReplyDelete
  60. Chefren19 June 2025 at 18:38

    Big decision by Taylor with a RC fro SFP.
    I think it's a mistake.
    Now OFR.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Chefren19 June 2025 at 18:40

      One must praise the excellent technical announcement in mother tongue, of course.

      Delete
    2. max9619 June 2025 at 18:40

      Good decision to only give a yellow after review.

      Delete
    3. Chefren19 June 2025 at 18:45

      And in 43' another borderline challenge, same action by fouling player but with full impact on opponent, would have been RC for me.

      Delete
  61. smala01719 June 2025 at 18:41

    Wrong red card by Taylor in the 38’. You can see why he went red to begin with, given that the challenge was studs up at shin height. But the contact is only on the foot and the leg is very bent, so good by the VAR to send him down.

    And, finally, we get a very detailed explanation with actual considerations when he gets on the mic. This is good for everyone to understand the decision and the considerations that go into it.

    ReplyDelete
  62. smala01719 June 2025 at 18:44

    Wow, now after an advantage in the 43rd minute, PAL4 gets a yellow card that really I think would (and should) be recommended for review for SFP. Lunging and forceful studs to Achilles / calf area

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Chefren19 June 2025 at 18:45

      Not a full contact suggests YC is not clear and obvious mistake, agree with VAR again, but if in this case Taylor had issued direct RC, it would hav e been confirmed.

      Delete
    2. Jordan Van Geyn Referee20 June 2025 at 04:53

      These two described plays , by Taylor verbally is what the USA is used to in other sports...I'm sure collina likes this

      Delete
  63. Chefren19 June 2025 at 18:52

    Clip of the OFR and announcement:
    https://streambug.org/cv/94b9c7

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nikmar2319 June 2025 at 18:55

      Do they no longer have to signal for the RC to be cancelled?

      Delete
    2. Chefren19 June 2025 at 18:58

      An 43', rewatching it, Taylor should have definitely opted for a RC there, but you can see, after a mistake, it's very hard to make such an assessment when it reveals it will be a correct one.. unlucky events for the English. Still, one can understand VAR didn't intervene, but you can say that the referee made two important on-field mistakes in the end of first half.

      Video: https://streambug.org/cv/db9bd5

      Delete
    3. Chefren19 June 2025 at 18:59

      @Nikmar23 I think that Taylor just forgot to do that.

      Delete
  64. Ref19 June 2025 at 19:06

    Issuing a red card for the first time does not look good for him, as he made a big decision that he was not fully sure about. It was good that VAR reviewed it. Anthony Taylor’s personality does not seem well suited for this game. The first half showed a high possibility that Taylor could lose control of the game in the second half.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. smala01719 June 2025 at 19:36

      I disagree about your last point. While the technical decisions on the field at the end of the first half were erroneous, I think he’s had a good match otherwise. Very different from an English Premier League match of course, but I think his personality (particularly the way he’s explained his decisions) has given him good control over a difficult game.

      Delete
  65. referee observer19 June 2025 at 19:11

    OT

    Any news on the UEFA Referee Categories? The new season is about to start.....

    ReplyDelete
  66. Chefren19 June 2025 at 19:22

    https://streamin.me/v/a4533cdc
    Goal by Palmeiras, it's interesting to point out that, despite of having allowed it, Taylor made an announcement about offside, stating that a player according to his opinion was not punishable.
    So one can link this to the announcement Tori Penso made, and it seems Collina has asked for making announcements even in case of particular situations that can be related to a goal scored, even if the pitch decision is confirmed by VAR.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ref-0519 June 2025 at 19:29

      Beat me to it Chefren. Did you notice the "however" like now famous MLS announcement

      Delete
  67. Ref-0519 June 2025 at 19:27

    Now after goal check for potential offside after on field decision of goal originally we see Taylor announce this same decision after Penso yesterday also with handball check. It seems FIFA demonstrating to competitions the option to announce check results after a review, which IMO is sometimes unnecessary.
    Also Taylor made similar announcement to that of the famous MLS ref leading fans down one path then saying "however!"

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Chefren19 June 2025 at 19:33

      If you want my honest opinion, this "however" announcement went viral but without any reason! Maybe it's me, but I don't see any special or particular resonance of the statement by the famous US referee, in order to have such a success. Some processes can't be explained... :)

      Delete
    2. smala01719 June 2025 at 19:37

      Small correction Chefren: this was not a “US referee”, Filip Dujic is Canadian :)

      Delete
    3. Chefren19 June 2025 at 19:43

      Sorry.
      Here the "However" Announcement by Taylor.
      https://streambug.org/cv/cc21f9

      Delete
  68. DB19 June 2025 at 19:33

    I have a feeling one of the things this tournament will be remembered for is the very different attitude to thunder and lightning in the US compared with Europe/much of the world. I recall in the Euros last year we had quite a while with the storm and lightning before Oliver took the teams off

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Chefren19 June 2025 at 19:37

      I was reflecting on that. USA take definitly this as very serious, and one must agree, the climate compared to Europe it's fully different. Personally, I didn't know it worked in this way during football games in the USA.

      Delete
    2. wzy319 June 2025 at 21:50

      And I can add as a canadian, that we treat it the same here, so it will be interesting next year for the world cup. Lightning frequency in our two countries during the summer time is very high, so we should get used to these kinds of delays.

      Delete
  69. DB19 June 2025 at 20:53

    I think this game has been typical of many Taylor's Uefa games in recent years. He's in full control, and has put in a very good performance, but has had one or two very difficult KMIs to resolve, and they haven't always been resolved correctly initially. I think the on field decisions were understandable, and all it would have taken for the initial RC to be correct would be if the player who was fouled had had their foot any lower. As it was, a good OFR

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. M19 June 2025 at 21:18

      Very good performance from Taylor.

      As for the game,I feel that only that RC was his big mistake .

      I loved this last YC to Rios,you cant disrespect your opponets like that.
      Maybe with other ref talk would be enought,but this is English ref who wont tolerate anything.

      Also Palmeiras GK,Weverton has to careful with his behaviour.

      In first game vs Porto he was going away from goal non stop and was always protesting.

      He often does that in Brazilian Serie A and he is for sure one of the most problematic GK there is.

      So refs should do something about that in upcoming games.

      Delete
    2. wzy319 June 2025 at 21:52

      I don't see the YC to rios you mention

      Delete
  70. DB19 June 2025 at 21:09

    Clear and obvious error? If the contact was on a foot planted on the ground? Yes. If the force was greater? Maybe. But I'm not convinced that there is enough contact for a foul, and even less so that it reaches the VAR threshold

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Chefren19 June 2025 at 21:24

      Video:
      https://streamff.com/v/1654f42f
      I share your exact doubts, not a ground contact so not a full step on foot and one can't say how much intensity, it can be even that attacker fell very easily. Nonetheless, for me expected ON FIELD decision was penalty, surprised by referee playing on without reacting. In that case, direct penalty by referee, one could have more easily accepted the call.

      Delete
  71. Ecosse19 June 2025 at 21:10

    Good OFR for a penalty.

    ReplyDelete
  72. M19 June 2025 at 21:37

    Hmm ,now grabbing Samu,Garay could have also whistled penalty..

    For me,that was way more penalty than the 1st one.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. DB19 June 2025 at 21:40

      I agree. I would like to have seen a clearer replay, but it looked like it impacted the player getting to the ball, and looked more of a foul

      Delete
  73. DB19 June 2025 at 21:45

    I'd like to see what caused the Porto player to go down before that Melee again. I'm very surprised to see no disciplinary action for what followed however. I think Garay is losing control in this game

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mikael W19 June 2025 at 21:53

      Agree, it looked like the defender quite blatantly 'played the man' and it could have been a second spot-kick. Overall unconvincing by the young Chilean ref: clear penalty given only after intervention, pointless (and ineffective) warning to Mascherano and generally an unsteady impression. I guess that FIFA deliberately gave him a big match to see whether he is a better bet than the erratic Maza, but so far the feedback looks more negative than positive for Garay.

      Delete
    2. thegreatwar19 June 2025 at 22:10

      Based on previous times I’ve seen Garay, he might shift to calling the game more strictly and applying sanctions when things start to heat up.

      Delete
    3. M19 June 2025 at 22:14

      Looks like that's general South American style.

      Delete
  74. M19 June 2025 at 21:51

    This match could potentially get out of hand not only cause of result that will cause Miami to be more nervous,but also cause of Garay's way of handling match.

    For now,he is lucky cause players behave well,we had that one scuffle but that was it.

    There are plenty temperamental players from both side and this could grt out of hand if Garay does not react quickly in 2nd half.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Andrasch Neunert19 June 2025 at 23:20

      No, I saw Garay doing well, his communication was very good, he allowed the flow of the game, but never lost control. There was no need for a harsh approach and the players respected him. I like his style generally, and I always have the feeling that he could adapt to a heated game, if necessary.

      Delete
  75. Philipp S19 June 2025 at 23:54

    Predictions MD3 (+remaining MD2, because they probably will be revealed together...)
    JUV-WAC: Tantashev (UZB) - Fischer (CAN) - Evans (AUS), Ming (CHN), Al Marri (QAT)
    RMA-PAC: Sampaio (BRA) - Garay (CHI) - Gallo (COL), Mohammed (UAE), Soto (VEN)
    SAL-HIL: Abatti (BRA) - Valenzuela (VEN) - Lara (CHI), Villareal (USA), Guzman (NCA)
    MCI-AIN: Sy (SEN) - Ramos (MEX) - Ashour (EGY), Miranda, Pacheco (both MEX)
    SEA-PSG: Ghorbal (ALG) - Faghani (AUS) - El Fariq (MAR), Soto (VEN), Gallo (COL)
    ATM-BOT: Martinez (HON) - Ndala (COD) - Guzman (NCA), Pacheco, Miranda (both MEX)
    MIA-PAL: Marciniak (POL) - Makkelie (NED) - Kwiatkowski (POL), van Driessche (BEL), Bebek (CRO)
    POR-AHL: Tello (ARG) - Kawana-Waugh (NZL) - Gonzalez (URU), Al Marri (QAT), Evans (AUS)
    AKL-BOC: Kovacs (ROU) - Al Ali (UAE) - di Bello (ITA), Dieperink (NED), Hernandez (ESP)
    SLB-BAY: Letexier (FRA) - Ma (CHN) - Brisard (FRA), Bebek (CRO), Kwiatkowski (POL)
    LAF-FLA: Turpin (FRA) - Mutaz (LBY) - del Cerro Grande (ESP), Dankert (GER), van Driessche (BEL)
    EST-CHE: Falcon (ARG) - Tejera (URU) - Mastrangelo (ARG), Gallo (COL), Gonzalez (URU)
    BVB-UHD: Garay (CHI) - Ramos (MEX) - Lara (CHI), Soto (VEN), Gallo (COL)
    MSU-FLU: Nyberg (SWE) - Fischer (CAN) - Hernandez (ESP), Ming (CHN), Mohammed (UAE)
    INT-RIV: Barton (SLV) - Kawana-Waugh (NZL) - Guzman (NCA), Villareal (USA), Al Marri (QAT)
    URD-CRM: Eskas (NOR) - Ndala (COD) - Kwiatkowski (POL), Ashour (EGY), El Fariq (MAR)
    JUV-MCI: Makkelie (NED) - Mutaz (LBY) - Dieperink (NED), Brisard (FRA), Hernandez (ESP)
    WAC-AIN: Vincic (SVN) - Marciniak (POL) - van Driessche (BEL), del Cerro Grande (ESP), Kwiatkowski (POL)
    HIL-PAC: Oliver (ENG) - Tejera (URU) - Bebek (CRO), di Bello (ITA), Gallo (COL)
    SAL-RMA: Taylor (ENG) - Sy (SEN) - Dankert (GER), El Fariq (MAR), Ashour (EGY)

    ReplyDelete
  76. M20 June 2025 at 00:40

    Wow,I dont know about.

    Imo,once whistled,that is penalty in favour of ATM.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. diego61220 June 2025 at 00:46

      agree, wrong VAR call

      Delete
    2. Arbiter20 June 2025 at 01:32

      Why "invent" a foul and "gift" Atletico a "ghost" PK for a CLEAR and OBVIOUS dive??? A dive so good, that even the Russian judge would have given him a 9.5
      Stop rewarding the cheats!

      Delete
    3. VG20 June 2025 at 02:37

      Definitely not a dive. Could call it simulation as he sticks his leg there to create the trip. However, the whole point was that he dragged the arm of the defender, causing him to fall. Therefore there is nothing careless happening. No foul.

      Delete
    4. Arbiter20 June 2025 at 04:03

      Of course, it was a dive. Thus, the reason that "no foul", "drop ball" was the restart.
      Had it been a foul, it would have resulted in a PK if deemed inside the penalty area or a DFK if it was deemed to have occurred outside the penalty area.
      Or had it been an actual foul by the attacking player as you seem to suggest. The restart would have been a DFK to the defending team.

      Delete
    5. Chefren20 June 2025 at 04:24

      https://streambug.org/cv/4aff7d
      Not a clear and obvious mistale, wrong VAR intervention.
      A better decision would have been to whistle a foul by attacker before, outside penalty area, but once you allow play to continue and you whistle penalty, the decision must be supported. There isn't any conasistency at all among the international VARs and you have always differetn assessments on similar situations. Once again I must say this is the big limit of VAR in modern football and one should really wonder how much benefit it can give to refereeing, since it will be never objective. The technical explanation is of course minimal, "no foul", and we can't know more. When you instead hear a detailed argument, why refreree was cvonvinced to remove, and something like that, you can perceive that VAR is rather making a very good work. This was not the case. It gives always a feeling of random interventions.

      Delete
    6. smala01720 June 2025 at 04:31

      I think penalty is a clear and obvious mistake. There's no contact with the attacker inside the penalty area other than that which he himself creates by reaching his leg wayyyyyy back.

      I'm more confused, however, by the restart. This should be a clear foul outside the penalty area for the blatant holding (which stops before they reach the penalty area line).

      Delete
    7. Chefren20 June 2025 at 04:35

      Smala, you can see, even if you agree with the clear and obvious mistake for the penalty, given the complex situation, in my opinion the problem is that a "middle" decision was taken, without a correct analysis, every different decision by referee would have been accepeted, including what happened before penalty area, but if you ony remove penalty, you must raise doubts about the technical assessment, that's my point and I think here you can agree. It is not how VAR should be used, here a VAR has an opinion and referee is weak, following him.

      Delete
    8. DB20 June 2025 at 05:24

      The drop ball conclusion seems odd. I agree, there is no clear and obvious error and the VAR should not be involved, but even if they are, there is still an offence outwith the area. But we can see even more the power of (and uselessness of) the announcements. Yes, I understand Taylor has an advantage with English being his first language, but the difference between his announcements, clear, with a lengthy, technical explanation, compared with so many others this week, that have been saying no more than what a gesture would... A lot needs to be done to improve the standard of these announcements

      Delete
    9. Arbiter20 June 2025 at 06:21

      Do you expect nonnative English speakers to magically become fluent overnight?

      Delete
    10. Philipp S20 June 2025 at 07:42

      Actually, I would expect, that every FIFA referee has an advanced level of English skills. In other professions, where you work internationally, this is also a requirement. I mean, if they talk to captains or coaches, it would also be very useful, if they can explain their decisions in good English.

      About the decision: IMO it's not enough holding for an attacking foul before and it's too much contact for a dive. Attacking free kick outside would be possible, but play on / dropped ball is the best decision for me, because it mostly was mutual holding that lead to the players falling and making more contact.
      However, I also think, the penalty was not a clear and obvious mistake.

      Delete
    11. Arbiter20 June 2025 at 07:48

      Current referees have a hard enough time doing their job in a halfway decent manner most of the time. And you expect them to conduct themselves as if they were some sort of international businessmen. Sure ; )

      Delete
    12. VG20 June 2025 at 15:24

      Arbiter, if it’s a dive you don’t have a drop ball. So please read the laws of the game so you know the restart of play. I did not say it was a foul. I said he dragged his arm, normal contact but that’s why he lost balance. That’s not being careless. No foul.

      Delete
  77. wzy320 June 2025 at 03:53

    Unusual OS in 39' of PSG v BOT - Good catch from AR1. Normal half otherwise, two fouls near penalty area at 13', 20'. Will get tricky with PSG trailing now.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Chefren20 June 2025 at 04:49

      https://streambug.org/cv/9d9e31
      Very good decision by AR1.
      Last touch by PSG player a deflection and so offside due to previous touch by the other player after the throw-in. Very hard to detect this as offside. Also waited for a possible promising attack before raising flag, one can't ask for more...

      Delete
  78. Jackson20 June 2025 at 04:52

    Damn, the Dissent level from Brazilian teams is actually scary. And this is them on their best behaviour.

    ReplyDelete
  79. Arbiter20 June 2025 at 05:08

    The feeble and weak-willed Fischer true to his CONCACAF roots. Does absolutely nothing to put a stop to Botafogo's incessant dissent. This totally sends to "right" signal to young referees.

    However, he brought a lot of it upon himself and then refused to and/or was incapable of dealing with it.
    The optics of that match as whole. Were that any and all 50/50 incidents went PSG's way.
    There were also tackles made by Botafogo players in which they clearly played the ball first and Fischer was always duped by the theatrical falls of the PSG players.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. smala01720 June 2025 at 05:27

      Nothing will change about the dissent situation until FIFA, or another competition authority, takes a very strong stance, not just in the media but privately. Personally I'd love to see a firm instruction where referees would be required to show multiple yellow cards, even second yellow cards, in cases of mobbing where multiple players are dissenting. Too often I see instruction of "pick one person to caution and MAKE SURE it's not someone already booked." Why? Why is it our responsibility to baby these players and keep them on the field? It should be the players' own responsibility to keep themselves on the field.

      In other news: I agree that Fischer's foul selection in the second half was not ideal. The two very obvious wrong free kicks to PSG (including that one in added time just above the penalty area) stood out. Also, on that free kick, Botafogo players blatantly disregarded the vanishing spray, inching up at least a yard beyond where Fischer marked. Why not book somebody (or, in a fantasy world, everybody) in the wall here? But again that is a criticism of the competition authorities' instructions and not of Fischer himself. (Oops, I said I was done ranting)

      Delete
    2. DB20 June 2025 at 05:37

      On Smala's first point, we have seen some changes in places where there has been a stance. Uefa's captain's only approach has seen a significant reduction in mobbing and an increase in dissent YCs. In England for the last two years, I can think of many examples of 2YCs being given for waving an imaginary card, verbal dissent, kicking the ball away (DtR), etc. There are bodies who want to do things about it, and there have been changes in player behaviour where this has happened. Just a shame Fifa aren't so interested in that

      Delete
    3. Arbiter20 June 2025 at 06:14

      The "zero tolerance" for dissent is nothing but lip service by most Referee Commitee's. National, Confederational, or International. Very few actually enforce it and expect it from their referees.

      During the last men's EURO.
      It started off promisingly enough with the "Captains only" schtick. But after a few days and a couple matches. We were right back where we started.
      Anybody and everybody dissented, players surrounded/mobbed/hounded the referees, and time-wasting tactics (always unpunished) became the norm.

      Zero tolerance absolutely unequivocally needs to mean ZERO TOLERANCE! Don't leave it up to every referee to decide what is or isn't dissent. It shouldn't be on referees to decide how much he or she can or can't handle or tolerate.
      Referee Commitee's if they're truly serious about eradicating this from the game. Need to set the standard and demand that their referees meet the standard. The referees who are unable to or who blatantly choose to not enforce the standard. A couple of weeks of 4th official assignments should send a clear first message. After that, a couple of weeks with no assignments should leave no doubt as to what they are doing wrong.

      Enough with tolerating this infantile and boorish behavior. Referees need to reclaim their authority and respect.

      Delete
    4. Eric van Marwijk20 June 2025 at 12:38

      i realy ask myself with this tough comment, iff you ever refereed a match yourself, and iff so.... you make the full 90 minutes, or after 30 minutes or so the match was abondoned because you gave to many red and yellow cards, and have not enough players on the pitch???

      Delete
    5. Eric van Marwijk20 June 2025 at 12:54

      in the case of Botafogo, referee Fischer should start giving a yellow card to the captain as soon as "his" players misbehave, because the captain has no extra rights to talk to the referee, above the other players, the captain is the point of contact for the referee, and not the other way around, that is the mistake that many people who do not know the rules make, the captain is there to make sure his team behaves, and to ask the referee for explanations for important decisions (so not every).

      Delete
    6. Arbiter20 June 2025 at 12:56

      You to judged me based on words. How disappointing. However, you're entitled to have an opinion.
      But now allow me to make an assumption. I've probably been in the business longer than you've been alive. And to put your troubled mind at peace. No, I've never had to abandon a match due to too many send offs.
      I was fortunate to have great "old school" instructors and mentors who very early on thought me the golden rules.
      1) An early, well given card sets you up for success.
      2) Referees don't "give" cards, players "earn" them. And as referees we simply enforce the LoTG.
      They're called "Laws" for a reason. If not, they'd be called "suggestions".

      Delete
  80. diego61220 June 2025 at 05:25

    For those interested:
    Gold Cup MD2

    Suriname-Mexico - BROWN (HON)
    Costa Rica-Dominican Republic - SZPALA (USA)
    Curaçao-Canada - CALDERON (CRC)
    Honduras-El Salvador - LOPEZ (GUA)
    Jamaica-Guadeloupe - WILLIAMS (TRI)
    Guatemala-Panama - ESCOBEDO (MEX)
    Saudi Arabia-United States - ORTIZ (MEX)
    Trinidad and Tobago-Haiti - CORNEJO (SLV)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Arbiter20 June 2025 at 07:30

      CONCACAF is a disgusting cesspool of unacceptable garbage officiating. Yeah, I'm looking at you Marco Antonio Ortiz! There is a reason the term "CONCACAF'ed" exists.

      The US scored a controversial goal by a player who looked to be in an offside position. Unsurprisingly, the goal stood and no further replays of the goal were shown to justify the decision.

      The years go by, but the story never changes within the confederation. Mexican referees do the "dirty work" for team USA and vice a versa. Because you just gotta have that USA v Mexico Final. All the other nations only serve as "extras".

      Delete
    2. Ecosse20 June 2025 at 11:52

      Put the thesaurus down and maybe try and use some less extreme language

      Delete
    3. Arbiter20 June 2025 at 12:42

      Extreme?
      Extreme is how far CONCACAF referees go to avoid showing cards.
      Extreme is the amount of dissent they tolerate. While they stand there supposedly heroically with a empty look on their faces.

      Delete
  81. usaref20 June 2025 at 16:31

    Ramos for Atletico v Botafogo. Ha. Might as well pencil him in for July 19, 2026 right now. What a joke.

    ReplyDelete

New comments are not allowed.

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)