Juan Gabriel Benitez from Paraguay will make his debut at 2026 WC in Germany - Ivory Coast.
Match #33
Group E
20 June 2026, 22:00 CET
BMO Field, Toronto
GERMANY - IVORY COAST
Referee: Juan Gabriel Benitez PAR
Assistant Referee 1: Eduarco Cardozo PAR
Assistant Referee 2: Milcíades Saldívar PAR
Fourth Official: Khalid Al-Turais KSA
Reserve AR : Mohammed Al-Bakry KSA
Vidéo Assistant Referee: Antonio Garcia URU
Assistant Vidéo Assistant Referee 1 : Guillermo Pacheco MEX
Assistant Vidéo Assistant Referee 2 : Juan Soto VEN
It is being reported that the Uzbek referee didn't give Scotland a penalty because the ball was going to go out of play ,if this is on the referee audio ,it could be the end of his tournament
ReplyDeleteWith the source being from a player's brother, I think that has to be taken with a very large degree of scepticism. Also on that incident, for me it's not a penalty and VAR were right not to intervene. And as a final point, that really should have been mentioned on the match thread for that game rather than this one which has no bearing on it.
DeleteKeep your hair on
DeleteIt wasnt a penalty John . Get over it and get on with your life
Deleteclear foul
ReplyDeletehttps://www.instagram.com/p/DWbKkYIDAfC/?igsh=MW9kcmp0eWo2MXNwOQ==
ReplyDeleteCorrect call to disallow the Germany goal for foul on the goalkeeper.
ReplyDeleteGood start. Stayed in the background. Now a KMI to disallow a goal, clear foul. Would be OFR to change had a goal been awarded
ReplyDeleteClear foul. Good decision by Benitez.
ReplyDeleteWhy didnt they just do the hydration break when the keeper was down. Honestly common sense lacking
ReplyDeleteSo obvious right?
DeleteI assume for advertising purposes, they can't have it early. And as there would have been a brief check on the no goal, they couldn't show adverts whilst that was being looked at, so it couldn't be merged and done simultaneously. If it was an old fashioned drinks/cooling break, where FIFA hadn't allowed some broadcasters to show ads, then I'm sure it would have been done all in one. It is all rather daft though
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DeleteHe should have used the injury of the gk to start the hydration break. Instead he made a little show and 2min after he is stopping the game
ReplyDeleteBad management imo
I think because publicities are already planned at a precize hour…
DeleteI'm sure it's contractural/an instruction. I think the blame must go elsewhere
DeleteIts a commercial break for US networks ,time FIFA started to be honest about it.
DeleteIt was already the 22th and we have seen a lot of break starting at that minute but I guess your point of view is most likely correct.
DeleteMy apologies !
No you’re correct jpl. In many other games they have taken it on 22 minutes. I think it was the perfect time to take the hydration break.
DeleteBut let's be honest, the Ivorian goalkeeper was putting on an act: it wasn't a high-impact foul, and then he feigned pain during treatment.
ReplyDeleteIt doesn’t change the fact of an obvious foul on his arm by attacker.
DeleteAgree with you both here, foul by the attacker, no goal but he has definitely embellished the injury afterwards
DeleteAnother good foul call to disallow the Germany goal, clear trip, well signaled and confident body language, really enjoying his performance so far.
ReplyDeleteBut why late??
DeleteAs per the VAR guidance as there was a goal scoring opportunity. Better to whistle after the ball is in the goal to disallow rather than whistle potentially incorrectly early.
Delete+1
Delete👏 👏
ReplyDeleteWhy are they allowing players in front of the ball at freekicks?
ReplyDeleteAnother good decision to disallow the goal due to a clear foul before the goal. However, the referee initially seemed inclined to let play continue. Perhaps following advice from his assistant?
ReplyDeleteThe foul on the Ivorian player was very obvious, and there was no need for the Paraguayan referee to allow play to continue in order to disallow the goal. I found it inconsistent.
DeleteProtocol when there's a foul but then a very very clear goalscoring opportunity is to delay the whistle to allow VAR to check the decision
DeleteDelayed whistle keeps it reviewable. I'm sure he saw the foul initially
DeleteSo very good management indeed.
DeleteHe showed with his arm that he saw a foul and he is waiting. Are we watching the same match?
DeleteQuite enjoying benitez so far
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, the standard in the first half was not good enough. It started with a poor advantage decision that should have been brought back for a free kick to Germany near the technical area in the 2:50 minute, but the referee allowed play to continue. There were several late signals, a reactive refereeing approach, and clear fouls before Germany scored on two occasions, with delayed whistles. The standard needs to improve in the second half.
ReplyDeleteAgree with the first advantage and I notices it. But not the rest, very firm and sure performance.
DeleteLate signals in a World Cup where careless fouls have been let go? Where fouls sacrificed for a fast paced game without minimal intervention? It seems to me that he is delaying the whistle and letting the game flow where possible. I’d certainly prefer this approach to not calling it at all.
DeleteI don’t have a problem with delayed whistles when there is genuine doubt or when the referee is waiting to see whether an advantage materialises. My concern here is that several of these situations appeared to be clear fouls with a good angle and sufficient information to make an immediate decision.
DeleteFor me, this is less about allowing the game to flow and more about showing confidence in on-field decision-making. When obvious fouls are repeatedly signalled late, it creates uncertainty and gives the impression of a reactive rather than proactive refereeing style.
A referee at this level should trust their reading of the game and make decisions when they have the information to do so.
It’s worth noting that the Ivorians are behaving very differently from their first half against Ecuador under Letexier, where the challenges and fouls were much more pronounced.
ReplyDeleteBlatant double standards between the two teams, one being allowed to be more physical than the other
ReplyDeleteI think the bar for a foul in this match, is far far higher than Germany, or any European team, would be used to. And the temperature and agitation from the players are rising because of this
ReplyDeleteI agree.
DeleteIt’s good for the public but I think he can whistle 1 or 2 small contacts to reduce the agitation from the players.
I didn’t know him but he is being very impressive, good “big” decisions, a lot of presence and very good body language
Really like Benitez letting the game flow. Good stuff
ReplyDeleteI believe the referee needs to trust his own ability more and have the confidence to make decisions immediately on the field. Several situations in the first half involved clear fouls that should have been penalized without delay. When the whistle comes late, it creates uncertainty for both players and spectators, while also risking the referee’s credibility and control of the match.
ReplyDeleteVAR is an important tool for correcting clear and obvious errors, but it should not become a reason to hesitate in situations where the referee has a clear view and sufficient information to make a decision. If referees begin to rely on VAR in such situations, there is a risk that proactive on-field leadership is lost. The game should be managed by the referee on the field, not by the VAR room.
Only 5 foul in such a fast game. Ive enjoyed the game being allowed to flow and credit Benitez for his consistent high bar for fouls
ReplyDeleteFormer Bundesliga referee Kinhöfer agrees in German tv with both decisions to give not the German goals but the commentator criticizes the "nervous" body language of the referee
ReplyDeleteWho's commenting on German TV? Oliver Schmidt?
DeleteYes
DeleteSimilar to Tantashev last night, this will split opinion again. A very high bar for what is or isn't a foul and contact allowed. A very fine line the referee is treading but for me has been fairly positive throughout this first half. Very strong body language and genres along with personable features have contributed to this. Good to call both goals for Germany as fouls and to follow VAR guidance for the second one. Fitness and movement are expected level. It will be interesting to see if he keeps the consistency through the second half or it loses some of that like last night.
ReplyDeleteIts basically a Premier League game in terms of physicality and foul selection and the players are behaving as if they're good with it.
DeleteIt is not “high bar”, it is “no bar”. :D
DeleteHorror-refereeing… huge fouls borh sides not called… What is the point? The first injury is just question of time…
ReplyDeleteRight now 3 players on the ground at the same time… Jesus christ…
Sorry. What are you talking about?
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DeleteIts a World Cup game where 1st in the group is on the line and the players are fine with what he's doing. This style doesn't always work but its working today.
DeleteWhat do You mean “its working today”.
DeleteJust because the players do not make fire, it doesn’t mean that the mistakes are not mistakes…
Huge fouls not called, but when the Ivory keeper got “fouled” by his teammate, that is called as a foul… wtf
Here we go. First injury…
DeleteStop crying about the referee lettiimg the game flow. He gave a clear advantage
ReplyDeleteExactly as I suspected from the start: the failure to manage free kicks intelligently and clearly, along with delayed signals that create confusion and reduce acceptance, and a lack of focus on player safety, have now resulted in highly inconsistent and erratic judgments of foul play. Reactive refereeing is not the way forward.
ReplyDeleteA collision between the defender and the Ivory Coast goalkeeper. A terrible mistake by Benitez.
ReplyDeleteAt some point, enough is enough. The Ivorian goalkeeper feigns an imaginary injury and forces the referee to stop play. Then Kessié speaks very disrespectfully to Benítez, who backs down and almost apologizes for an imaginary foul. You can criticize Barton, but this would never happen with him. What a lack of character from the referee here!
ReplyDeleteThis also wouldn't happen to Letexier/Oliver/Turpin/etc either... This approach to refereeing is almost asking for problems, similar to how a hyper-aggressive, militant approach can with the right (wrong?) players...
DeleteThat captain privilege is gettting out of hands too much sometimes.
ReplyDeleteKessie can do whatever he wants,heck if he tries to kill Benitez, Benitez would just talk to him and say calm down.
Then by that logic,all teams can make their captains players that protest the most ,that way they cant get YC anytime.
77’: two obvious fouls missed. I’m in favor of letting the game flow, but there are limits. This is completely unacceptable from Benítez here…
ReplyDeleteI do think comparing this to the Premier League is a nonsense. The idea the PL has a bar significantly higher is a myth, there are some stages where more physical contact is allowed, but nowhere near this. I'm also not convinced the players are really accepting this, but more just finding they have to get on with it.
ReplyDeleteThen that drop ball, very very far from where it should be!
+1
DeleteThis is about smart refereeing: when a stoppage is needed, when to create flow, what the players accept, and what the expected decision is. Unfortunately, I have not seen a good performance in terms of game understanding, and the disciplinary/action management has been inconsistent throughout the match
I had to agree now.
DeleteSo far there haven't been any extremely serious mistakes.
ReplyDeleteBut I think that because of this choppy game from the Ivorians, Benitez is being complacent. It's one of two things: either the Paraguayan goes home after today or he'll have a second game, but it's of little importance. I don't see him in a knockout stage.
Translation:
ReplyDeleteI have the impression that the Paraguayan referee is “forcing” his tolerance for physical contact beyond the personal threshold he would naturally set, by strictly following instructions that are sometimes applied without any real feel for the game…
100% agree
DeleteAfter a very long time he calls a foul… BUT it was a clear tackle… Benitez barely has a good call….
ReplyDeleteVery good perfromance from Benitez with crucial decisions correctly taken. Only thing what I will suggest is he should improved on cautioning for dissent. Technical and disciplinary way was good from him tonight. Expect to see him in MD3
ReplyDeleteBenitez survives, definitely helped by the fact that the players were more focused on getting on with it than anything else...
ReplyDeleteWell Benitez has produced a performance that you'll either like or dislike. It's one of those ones. For me this was not as good as Tantashev last night with respect of maintaining a manageable high bar for fouls. The bar for what was and wasn't a foul was too high especially in the second half. Was a bit messy at points and as a result the foul detection became inconsistent at points. Fortunately the players just got on with it and in a different situation it could have become very difficult to manage. Deserving of a second game? Probably.. will that game be meaningful? Uncertain.
ReplyDeleteIn the end Benitez has not been controversial as the KMI's were correct but everything else around it was a bit untidy in comparison to other performances.