Tuesday, 23 June 2026

2026 FIFA World Cup Match 45: England - Ghana (discussion)

England - Ghana will be the second game for Honduran referee Said Martinez. 


Match #45
Group L
23 June 2026, 22:00 CET
Gillette Stadium, Foxborough
ENGLAND - GHANA
Referee:  Said Martinez HON
Assistant Referee 1: Walter Lopez HON
Assistant Referee 2: Christian Ramirez HON 
Fourth Official:  Ma Ning CHN 
Reserve AR: Zhou Fei CHN 
Video Assistant Referee: Armando Villarreal USA
Assistant Video Assistant Referee 1 : Erick Miranda MEX
Assistant Video Assistant Referee 2 :Abdullah Alshehri KSA

33 comments:

  1. Martinez has been very impressive so far

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  2. What’s the deal with the referees not following the 1 minute law for injuries? He told both players to leave for the head injuries but let them immediately after the restart.

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    1. Must be guidelines when one from each team!

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    2. No, there is an exception for serious injuries. Head injuries could be counted as such per default.

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    3. Show the law that says head injuries are not included ”RAP”.

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    4. If you leave the field of play for an injury you MUST wait 1 minute.

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  3. Sound so far. Showing good levels of personality. Able to switch easily and looks relaxed. Which the players are responding to

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  4. Is this for real? Can we now completely ignore the rules of the game and allow the play to continue showing advantage after whistling for a freekick?

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    1. Didn’t whistle. Held back but know what you mean

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  5. Great communicator , fantastic start to the game

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  6. He’s actually calling fouls… Love it

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    1. Wonder what the committee will think

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    2. It’s definitely against the grain. I’ve always liked Said Martinez so I hope the opinion of the committee is a good one. It’s only the first half though so we will see.

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    1. Incredible. I’m shocked. A yellow card for reckless for stepping on the foot in this World Cup? What will the committee think? Haha

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    2. Clip YC 41': https://streamable.com/63jpyv

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  8. Yes, good and correct caution!

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    1. Great decision by Martinez, slight hesitation, maybe getting info from AR1?

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  9. English commentators don’t think that’s a yellow 😂 what chance do you have!!

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    1. Correct and perfect caution.

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    2. They admitted it was correct after seeing the tight angle replay.

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  10. Said Martinez is pretty excellent. Authority and clear management. Well done and so proud to see refereeings like that. Good !

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  11. Plus his positioning. He's been in both top corners of the PA, because play required it.

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  12. Very good 1H. Straight forward YC on 41’.
    Any reason why he didn’t use the injury stoppage in 22’ for the hydration break? Some suggesting it didn’t align with the ad breaks :)

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    Replies
    1. Commercial agreements and money, almost certainly. If it was a simple drinks/cooling break without ads, then I'm sure he would have

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  13. Model performance by hondurian referee. One of my best referees so and on top 5 list to go at finals matches.

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  14. Kane approaching Martinez with a finger wag, and some confrontation after the halftime whistle

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  15. Excellent first half, but we see tensions after half time whistle so maybe indication that second half will be more demanding

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  16. I would say expected level, but given what we've seen elsewhere, I'd say rather good in a fairly straightforward half. A style of refereeing that felt like the English would be used to, a more regular foul line, correct YC for the step of foot. Rather good so far

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  17. Opuku should be YC as he left the pitch

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  18. Hes a fantastic referee... id certainly have him down for a R32/R16 game and have him in consideration for something beyond that

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  19. R16 minimum if he remains at this level

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