Debut for the third Argentinian referee at 2026 WC, Dario Herrera in charge of Belgium - Iran.
Match #39
Group G
21 June 2026, 21:00 CET
SoFi Stadium, Inglewood
BELGIUM - IRAN
Referee: Dario Herrera ARG
Assistant Referee 1: Cristian Navarro ARG
Assistant Referee 2: Gabriel Chade ARG
Fourth Official: Yusuke Araki JPN
Reserve AR : Jun Mihara JPN
Video Assistant Referee: Hernan Mastrangelo ARG
Assistant Video Assistant Referee 1 : Leodan González URU
Assistant Video Assistant Referee 2 :Carlos Del Cerro Grande ESP
Herrera looks way too serious in my opinion!
ReplyDeleteHow is that different from the "'militant" approach people were praising Barton and others for?
DeletePotential SFP ?
ReplyDeleteWhy not red ?
ReplyDeletePossible RC for Lukaku?
ReplyDeleteUnless someone is dead no red will be awarded this WC
ReplyDeleteYou mean, unless it's group A or B ;)
DeleteOrange card foul of Lukaku. I think YC is supportable.
ReplyDeleteNever ever a red card. Honestly people on here act like they have never seen a game of football and don't understand collisions happen
ReplyDeletekicking the goalkeeper in the throat with full force be allowed?"
DeleteExcept he didnt kick the gk in the throat did he
DeleteI will go with yellow there. Totally enoguh. Var correct to stay silent!
ReplyDeleteLukaku is lucky not to have been sent off."
ReplyDeleteWhy red card? Lukaku is only going for the ball and is unlucky to catch the keeper on the way. The studs are not straight at the keeper and it is not deliberate at all.
ReplyDeleteThen the red card against Qatar for the broken leg was wrong
Deletecrn.ple +1
DeleteYes, it sort of was. We are unfortunately seeing more and more refereeing based on an "unfortunate result" rather than the severity of the foul itself 🤷♂️🤷♂️🤷♂️
DeleteNever red. Glancing contact. Retracts leg. Contact on arm, upper body.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteYC is ok. Good decision by Herrera.
ReplyDeleteImo this action by Lukaku is putting his opponent in danger by not controlling his movement, for me it’s a SFP, if the keeper is going out then a red would had been giving, not really understand.
ReplyDeleteI think If Herrera had shown a RC, I don't think VAR would have intervened.
ReplyDeleteThe BEL9 situation with the GK of IRN for me is not SFP. He comes in with high leg and studs showing, in a normal football action to try and get a touch on the ball and score. However, before he makes contact with the GK he retracts his leg (not streched) and his studs don't make heavy contact with the tie of the GK. YC is mandatory here, RC would be harsh. Don't think VAR would intervene here tho. So no KMI missed
ReplyDeletehttps://streambug.org/cv/1c62ff
ReplyDeleteBasically, the classic late challenge by an attacker on the goalkeeper, when the attacker cannot stop or is unaware of the keeper in the immediate moment, is a yellow card. Here we are maybe facing a slightly more particular case: had referee shown a RC, VAR would have supported, but the yellow card will not be considered a mistake. As someone pointed out, there are also elements of accidentalness in the contact. Obviously, these can't cancel everything and the challenge stays as very bad, but a caution is acceptable. It would, of course, have been a serious mistake not to issue any card at all, and in that scenario one would have been curious to see the VAR reaction (which probably still wouldn't have intervened). Then again, it is clear that much more forceful challenges can sometimes be punished with a yellow card, while less dangerous ones in other matches may result in a red card; it is impossible to make direct comparisons from one game to another.
Goal should be disallowed even if not offside. Attacker in the wall
ReplyDelete"We couldn't hear the referee's announcement.
ReplyDeleteOnce again long check for an offside call, SAOT down once again ?
ReplyDeleteTight offside on free kick, given it was a set piece, AR2 should have spotted it.
ReplyDeleteHerrera didn't want to show whether fluent in English or not, announcement not working once again.
Blatant offence by attacker being closer than 1 m to the wall. But VAR cannot intervene for that (I emailed the IFAB about it previously). So lucky for the referees that it was offside.
ReplyDeleteChelsea v Crystal Palace in PL last year, a goal was ruled out for that after review
DeleteIFAB has been clear that it is not a reviewable offence. Which I disagree on.
DeleteHe made it but the mic was not yet on... Again ridiculous that it is not the referees in charge of the mic... So stupid
ReplyDeleteEnglish level from Herrera is outstanding ! 😂
ReplyDeleteDid I miss hrydation break or did they forget
ReplyDeleteVery tight offside, good job for VAR, extremley hard to spot it due to one player raised hand of Belgium!
ReplyDeleteWhy they don’t have mics like NFL that are activated by a button on the hip?
ReplyDeleteIn Germany, refs had tested that option last year during their training camp but deemed the button on the waist as uncomfortable. I am also not aware of any confederation that would do it "NFL-style"...
DeleteIn my opinion, they deliberately skip the announcements because South American refs don't know English... there's no other explanation."
ReplyDeleteHe clearly gave the announcement, the mic was just not on and when they turned it on he was already telling the players to restart... This comment is ridiculous.
DeleteThe ref is aware his mic isn't working because his voice isn't echoing in the stadium. He could've repeated the announcement... that's what Felix Zwayer did."
DeleteThe Mice wasnt activated
ReplyDeleteGreat game from Herrera so far! Body language +++
ReplyDeleteThis issue with announcements almost never working properly is unacceptable, anyway. I repeat, in Serie A in Italy during this season nearly half of the announcements experienced some kind of problem. I honestly don't understand whether these are issues that simply can't be solved at all; if so, they should just abolish this procedure, because otherwise it really makes no sense whatsoever.
ReplyDeleteEven VAR communication itself is sometimes problematic, but the failure rate there is still acceptable.
These announcements, on the other hand, have been a complete disaster ever since they were introduced. If they really can't fix them and still want to keep the thing, my suggestion would be to display the explanation as on screen text, both as a VAR graphic on television and on the stadium screens.
Simple solution, give back the ability to open the mic to the referee himself and not VAR. Push to talk button and it will be way better.
DeleteIn Germany, they worked fairly well to be honest. I don‘t like announcements in general, but there are ways to do it properly. At WC it is done so unprofessionally though.
DeleteI cannot understand why FIFA is not able to organize this. In Germany we have these announcements since March 2025 in a couple of "test stadiums“, since August 2025 in all Bundesliga stadiums and since October 2025 also in the Second Division and it works without problems. You can always hear the referee.
DeleteThis isn't exactly a new thing, why wouldn't it be fixable? Many sports already have it and it works fine... Reminds me of how the English FA tried to go against the grain with VAR (for no reason) and just made a mess of it 'til they finally gave in...
DeleteExactly crn.ple
It is especially embarrassing because these matches are mostly in stadiums used by American football where the official make announcements every penalty over the in stadium audio and tv audio. And have for years. It is not rocket science yet it seems incapable in this tournament (and certainly other competitions).
DeleteHerrera very firm, but he doesn't want to show cards.
ReplyDeleteSo far, this game is the paramount example of what Collina and Busacca want: very mandatory cards (Lukaku), then you can manage all the rest.
Exactly.
DeleteThere was at least one more yc for an Iran Player. Which other yc do you think he should/ could have given?
DeleteI like that he ist not falling on Irans actings...
This announcement nonsense should be completely scrapped
ReplyDeleteIt gives nothing for the sport and just confuses everyone. Let VAR write the explanation so it’s shown on the big screen and on the broadcast.
DeletePotential 2nd YC for Lukaku no replay yet.
ReplyDeleteI like what I have seen so far. Authoritative and decisive, yet able to reach the players through softer interpersonal skills—this is what I observed between minutes 20 and 45 (I did not see the opening stages of the match).
ReplyDeleteHe awards the correct free kicks and demonstrates very good match management around the 30th minute when he initially considers applying advantage but correctly recognizes that a free kick is the better option. He engages with the player involved (the gesture used to call the player over was slightly aggressive and exaggerated, but this is a minor detail), and then calmly and composedly delivers an effective verbal warning to the player who committed the foul.
The only point I can remark on is a slightly delayed signal for a handball offence by an Iranian player.
Good performance so far, but in the last ten minutes, it felt like listening to a South American whistle concert again…
ReplyDeleteSorry, but disagree with most of you. IMO
ReplyDeletea FH not brilliant at all
The technical assessment was too often late, inconsistent, and uncertain; the disciplinary management was questionable and non-linear. If you add a nervous and unresponsive approach, tbh his authority is just above a sufficient level.
I dont see a nervous approach at al
DeleteLook at him more carely even only by his gesture: more authoritarian than authoritative
DeleteThat’s a red card
ReplyDeleteSo many countries talk about protecting player safety. It's unbelievable the level that that isn't cared about. He has completely misjudged this challenge
DeleteMissed YC in 47'
ReplyDeleteAgree!!
DeleteThe referee didn't even give a yellow card for a potential red card... unbelievable..."
ReplyDeleteI will keep my cards in pocket for this situation, he goes for the ball, unintentionally trip his leg. Good Herera.
ReplyDelete‘Trip’? He clips his studs on the back of his opponents leg, should be at least YC
DeleteYou must be absolutely joking. Bare minimum is YC here. Clear stud marks on back of the leg.
DeleteNever ever unintentionally. At least dark yellow, even RC supportable, but NOTHING is unacceptable!
DeleteThats a horrible challenge. Honestly pathetic for var to stay silent
ReplyDeleteThat’s Red card. Even not a YC is here scandalous and completely Incredible.
ReplyDelete100% red card missed, not even YC given. Terrible decision by both Herrera and VAR
ReplyDeleteBlatant YC missed 46’. I’d say even borderline red.
ReplyDeleteAre refs competing who will miss the most gruesome challenge?
ReplyDeleteI get the feeling that these kind of stud tacklings are instructed to not be a straight red
ReplyDelete47:00 – Clear missed disciplinary sanction. The player challenges from behind with the studs exposed towards the opponent’s unprotected leg. Even though the contact is not clean, the challenge is highly dangerous and ranks high on the UEFA scale for reckless play. The situation requires at least a caution (yellow card) for reckless play.
ReplyDeleteVideo of possible RC for SFP in 47', clear missed YC at least:
ReplyDeletehttps://streambug.org/cv/9f3cec
This is a more debatable incident than the early challenge by Lukaku on keeper, that can be more codified than this one.
Here the referee is surely unable, in my opinion, to make a proper assessment, because, as you can also see, this extremely dangerous contact with studs happens in a while and if you stay at live sequence, you can't think immediately about such an outcome. Then, add the fact that referee was far away and you have explanation why no card.
The possible intervention was left to VAR but once again we discover that FIFA doesn't want interventions unless extremely mandatory incidents (I think back to the opener and I'm convinced they assessed Gallo intervention as mistake about the red card for violent conduct).
Here the decision is very bordeline, the effects of the challenge are terrible and I'm inclined to say VAR should have intervened for protecting the safety of the player. This was a very rough one, extremely risky, socks with a hole and a stamp on the leg with obvious marks, that seems enough to me.
+1
Delete+1
Delete+1
DeleteMissed YC on 58’ for BEL #4. Too many now
ReplyDeleteI have no issue with, and generally encourage, proactive match management through good communication, strong presence, clear signals, a balance between keeping the right distance and showing proximity, and the use of preventative refereeing where appropriate.
ReplyDeleteHowever, there are situations where match management cannot replace disciplinary action. When clear cautionable offences are managed without the appropriate sanction, the referee risks losing credibility and sends the wrong message to the players. It also does little to protect player safety or support the long-term control of the match.
I have noticed this tendency in this referee’s performance, and also by the Paraguay referee yesterday in germany match. At this level, it is not acceptable to manage obvious yellow card offences without showing the card. The best referees understand when a word is enough and when the game expects a clear disciplinary response.
Absolutely agree
DeleteI don't know but to much fod foul detection
ReplyDeleteCLear missed foaul again
ReplyDelete