Saturday, 13 June 2026

2026 FIFA World Cup Match 8: Qatar - Switzerland (discussion)

Said Martinez from Honduras is the first referee from CONCACAF to officiate at 2026 World Cup.

 

Match 8
Group B
13 June 2026, 21:00 CET 
Levi's Stadium, Santa Clara
QATAR - SWITZERLAND 
Referee: Saíd Martínez HON 
Assistant Referee 1: Walter López HON 
Assistant Referee 2: Christian Ramirez HON 
Fourth Official: Oshane Nation JAM
Reserve AR : Caleb Wales TRI 
Vidéo Assistant Referee: Guillermo Pacheco MEX
Assistant Vidéo Assistant Referee 1 : Erick Miranda MEX
Assistant Vidéo Assistant Referee 2 : Leodán González URU

75 comments:

  1. Dear colleague Chefren, may I ask you for an on-field review to proofread the phrase "frist referee" again – in my opinion, it's a clear and obvious mistake. 😜

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    1. Could have intentionally meant the Norwegian noun for deadline ;)

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    2. Has the same meaning in German usage too. ;-)

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    3. After On Field Review, I decide to change the word "frist" to "first". Reason: typo.

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  2. The VARs being made to smile at the camera every match is starting to make me giggle

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  3. Absolutely unnatural smile by Pacheco from VAR room, definitely no need to do that...

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    1. Why on earth not. I guarantee that the majority of people seeing that smiled themselves and thought it must be cool to be a referee.

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    2. Why?! They dont need to be serious full time, the Brazilian broadcast loved! And I did too

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  4. Come on, lets smile! Acid people hahaha

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  5. Potentially missed YC at 12’

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  6. Offside before the penalty correctly whistled by referee.
    Maybe even two offsides, the second one being 100% clear, though.

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    1. Apparently not offside

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    2. Yep the second one is clear let's wait for animation

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  7. Correct PK call but potentially offside

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  8. One of those I think where the angle distorts things. Actually onside. A great call from the AR

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  9. Og I was wrong, no offside before :) strange because player looked to be ahead

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  10. Not offside the second time ? Hum hum 🤨

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  11. Waiting for animation for bouth action

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  12. That is surprisingly not offside

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  13. Do var check for offside with the new aitomated tool

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  14. Did you notice that when the referee blew the whistle to restart play after Switzerland’s first goal, his positioning was incorrect? This is an inexcusable mistake for a referee officiating at the World Cup.

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    Replies
    1. There is no incorrect position in that situation. Felix Brych was known for his odd position while restarting the play after goal 10 years ago

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  15. Even without offside it should not be a penalty, ball was already gone and the contact was soft.

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    1. In what world could you possibly describe it as soft? It's potentially as clear a foul as you'll ever see

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    2. Extremely clear penalty. You won’t see a clearer one this decade.

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    3. We are watching the same match, right?

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  16. It seems that the TV camera angles in this stadium are different from the others, being farther away and perhaps not exactly parallel to the pitch.

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    1. I wonder if fifa was still using line what will be the outcome

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  17. No offside same defender line. Good and clear PK gesture by Martinez. Exceptional so far

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  18. Harsh Yellow card in 21 minutes

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    1. Good yellow. He warned the same player 10 minutes before

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    2. Very harsh for me indeed, but that same player could have gotten a yellow at 12

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    3. I agree. A well-executed application of progressive player management where a previous verbal warning to the same player was appropriately followed up with a caution for stopping a promising attack.

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    4. Clip: https://streamable.com/a3v90q

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  19. The swiss totally overreacting when they are being fouled.

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  20. "Pelanty" and ONSIDE by AR1:
    https://streambug.org/cv/c3b42d
    About the call by referee, I think we can say that keeper was very late and he directly went on opponent, yes, in the end not a strong contact, but clear arguments to say penalty for me. Hard to play on.

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  21. Elegant refereeing style, high signal tempo, excellent "wait-and-see" approach when assessing fouls, and very good timing of whistle signals. I really like the overall style shown in the opening stages of the match.

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    1. + 1 : very fan of Said Martinez during first 30 mn ! Well done by Honduras 🇭🇳 ref and his ARs !

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  22. Correct penalty and two YCs. Very good start for Martinez

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  23. Hand to the face and SPA, so not soft, especially bc it’s the same player that had received a warning in min 11 already

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  24. In the 30th minute, a Qatari player who received treatment left the pitch and immediately re-entered. Doesn't he have to wait a minute?

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    Replies
    1. Not when the injury was caused by a collision with his own player

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    2. That’s if BOTH need attention. Not one.

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    3. I think when Swiss players complain he shows the head, which will mean in a head collision this rule will not apply

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  25. Did the broadcasters end up showing the offside animation? Why have they been so lazy this tournament?

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    1. It is incredibly poor from the director. The Uefa method of a few mins later at worst is really needed, if not the English instant (without the live camera overlay) system. We saw a really delayed and difficult to work out why it was shown image in the US:Paraguay match, then nothing for these two close onsides. Not good

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    2. We had the water break with replays of everything but the SAOT decision...

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    3. Strange considering for the World Cup, they usually get the best TV directors from Europe, which also get the big games in the Champions League.

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  26. The only area I see now for improvement is his movement pattern, particularly when play develops down his right-hand side towards the touchline. He occasionally reacts a little late and sometimes rushes unnecessarily to catch up. He would benefit from being more dynamic in the way he moves both towards the touchline and back into the field of play, allowing him to maintain better positioning and observation angles.

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  27. Third YC totally mandatory and almost perfect refereeing by referee crew ! Congrats : very impressed by Martinez style, line and attitude. A boss on the pitch !

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  28. 45:20 – Good advantage played for Switzerland. However, there is a slightly amateurish mistake here as the advantage signal is shown too late. By the time the arm goes up, the advantage may already have been fully realized, which can create unnecessary protests and confusion from the players. My impression is that he may have received input through the headset reminding him to signal the advantage. At this level, however, the referee should not need assistance from the team to remember to apply and signal an advantage correctly.

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    Replies
    1. Agree that the advantage signal was late

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  29. In this first half, Honduran referee Said Martinez has delivered a very good performance so far, I must say, and has tried to "challenge" the position of Salvadoran referee Iván Barton, who, in terms of reputation and consideration, could be seen ahead of him, at least before the start of this competition. He will need to continue at this level if he wants to complete the task. For me the two (Barton and him) can be better referees than Ramos.

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    1. Agree. For me, the better refereeing performance of this WC now. Hope the same on second half.

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  30. Given that Collina reads the blog, we must inform him that it would be good thing to instruct VAR to show the confirmation of crucial onside / offside decisions before penalties and goals. That's a miss by the room in first half. They should always think they are working for transparency.

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  31. O desempenho de Martinez foi realmente impressionante. Talvez o melhor primeiro tempo até agora nesta Copa do Mundo. Seguro, perfeito em seus penalidades, aplicação convincente da área de grande penalidade, chamadas de falta corretas e um estilo clássico de arbitragem de esperar um pouco antes de soprar o apito e usar a inteligência para parar em momentos acalorados.
    Collina deve se orgulhar de que excelentes árbitros da CONCACAF estejam emergindo de países inesperados e possam contribuir significativamente para jogos decisivos e grandes!
    Uma grande e maravilhosa surpresa, espero que a segunda metade continue esta masterclass! Simplesmente perfeito!

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    1. Martinez's performance was truly impressive. Perhaps the best first half so far in this World Cup. Secure, perfect in his penalties, convincing application from the penalty area, correct foul calls, and a classic refereeing style of waiting a bit before blowing the whistle and using intelligence to stop in heated moments.
      Collina should be proud that excellent CONCACAF referees are emerging from unexpected countries and can contribute significantly to decisive and big games!
      A great and wonderful surprise, I hope the second half continues this masterclass! Simply perfect!

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  32. They have to show the replay, we all want to so why not, its quite frankly ridiculous as it makes people lose trust in the decision if they dont show us the evidence.

    Otherwise I really like Martinez, love his style.

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  33. Excellent first time for Said !! Excellent. Rizzoli work very good .

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  34. I’m still not convinced about trusting Honduran referee Said Martínez deep in the tournament. His performance in the Canada vs. Mexico CONCACAF Nations League semifinal last year Was disappointing
    Here is one of the key decisions he made!
    https://youtu.be/eXjxVuv9Oy4?t=89s

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  35. A very decent performance so far. It's very bizarre however that the SAOT image has not been shown

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  36. That should be a caution IMO

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    1. Maybe. Maybe not. Generally for a blatant pulling offense you'd expect a YC

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  37. So the referees at World Cup know the law change? Play stopped because of injury and player does not have to go off. New law is very clear that once play is stopped for an injury the injured player has to go off for 1 Minute regardless if they get treatment or not

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  38. Replies
    1. Full-Sequence: https://streamable.com/9qh1ep

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