It seems fitting that, in a World Cup where several big teams have produced decidedly mediocre performances, the refereeing has been similarly erratic. I’m reluctant to criticise the men in black, as the fast pace of modern football and the steady stream of helpful (haha!) advice from the players, not to mention the ever-growing list of FIFA directives, have made their job incredibly difficult. However, I’ve seen some pretty bizarre decisions over the past couple of weeks from what is supposed to be the cream of world refereeing. Graham Poll’s nightmare performance during the Croatia/Australia match has grabbed the most headlines, but there’s been plenty more.
The latest FIFA regulation tweaks seem to have created some confusion. I’ve moaned previously about the diving and play-acting by certain players, and to be fair, the FIFA line is “yellow card only when absolutely certain”, but even the most obvious examples are going unpunished. Related to this is the “card waving” mime, whereby players suggest to the referee that an opponent should be booked or sent off. I think I’ve seen one or two players booked for this, but in most instances they’re getting away with it. The ban on the “lunging tackle” has been more successful, but now some referees (possibly those unfamiliar with the harder, faster European game) are going too far, picking up on any tackle where both players are running in the same direction. They seem to be basing their decisions on the movement of the (possibly diving) tacklee rather than looking for lunging movement by the tackler.
Anyway, on to Saturday’s football. Appropriately enough, this looked like being a tale of two referees…
Yep, they’re starting to look like the second greatest footballing country of all time playing at home. The movement between Pig-Climber (come on, allow me my occasional bursts of schoolboy humour) Ballack and Klose were superb, and Podolski’s goals were quite a surprise after his ineffectual striking in previous matches. Sweden, on the other hand, never really got started. They looked stunned by the first two goals and their ageing team was always a couple of paces behind the lightning fast Germans. Swedish football is going through a transitional phase at the moment; just as France now have to learn to cope without Zidane, Sweden now have to adjust to life after the talismanic Larsson.
However, it wasn’t quite as simple as that. Let’s get back to refereeing…
Carlos Eugenio Simon was way out of his depth. I hate to make generalisations about countries and their different football cultures, but this Brazilian referee just didn’t seem equipped for a match between two robust northern European sides. He gave free kicks (and even yellow cards) for tackles where physical contact was minimal, and his dismissal of Teddy Lucic was simply laughable. As the BBC studio pundits said, Lucic’s second offence wasn’t even a foul, never mind a yellow card. With the new FIFA directives in mind, it was particularly galling to see Podolski slapping the referee approvingly on the back… surely that should be a yellow card offence, exactly the same as the “card waving” gesture?
In general, it was like watching Manchester United, Chelsea or Arsenal playing at home, with the referee terrified to give anything serious in front of massive home support. Now, I’m in no position to criticise, as I’d probably crap myself in front of 60,000 roaring fans, but is this is the sort of referee FIFA put on their shortlist?
Another Argentina match, another absolute delight for the neutral observer. However, while their demolition of Serbia & Montenegro was effectively an exhibition match, this was a proper hard-fought contest. Mexico contributed just as much to the spectacle, exorcising the demons of their half-hearted performances in the group stage with a stunning performance of defensive organisation and flowing passing moves. On his performance in that match alone, Rafael Marquez should be considered one of the players of the tournament. Although Maxi Rodriguez’s wonderfully taken goal was enough to clinch it for Argentina, there really wasn’t much to separate the two sides… the 2006 World Cup is a poorer competition for having to lose one of these teams.
In complete contrast to the previous match, the refereeing display during the first half was almost perfect. Massimo Busacca allowed the play to flow, clearly distinguishing fouls from robust (but fair) tackles and maintaining a good rapport with the players. He continued in the same vein, with only the odd mistake, but unfortunately the rest of the game was overshadowed by that absolute howler of a decision just before half time. Heinze should definitely have been sent off for his last-ditch tackle on Fonseca; how the referee could come to any other conclusion is baffling. Only one major error, and they’re all human, but that decision could have played a major part in the final outcome.