All pre-match discussion of the appointment, play-by-play descriptions and post-match analysis of the officiating performance for this match belong in this thread. Analysis threads in this forum are strictly moderated. Supporters of participating teams are welcome and encouraged to participate. But all posters should take non-analytical posts to the group or rivalries forums. Thank you. Uruguay v Netherlands Referee: Ravshan Irmatov (Uzbekistan) Assistants: Rafael Ilyasov (Uzbekistan) and Bakhadyr Kochkarov (Kyrgyzstan) Fourth official: Yuichi Nishimura (Japan)
My favorite ref of the tourney! I thought he would be saved for the final though. Hopefully he doesn't piss me off too much tomorrow
It happened in 1994, with the Colombian referee getting both a QF and a SF. Interestingly, 3 of the 2006 QF officials also worked R16 matches that year. So even though it looks surprising, back-to-back matches in knockout stages is not unprecedented.
Are my eyes deceiving me, or did Irmatov come out of the tunnel in short sleeves but now he's wearing long? Did he have his sleeves rolled up?!
So we've got the kick to the head, which results in a yellow for Cacares. Reckless? Yes. Sneijder's yellow looked like it was needed, too. I think he handled that well and coolly. What was the replay that they showed during it, of a Dutch player going over the ball? I didn't see that initially.
Irmatov screwed up at least 2 different ways on the bicycle kick from URU that connected with the Dutch player's head. First, he seemed to have no clue that the attempt was reckless. I don't think he decided to caution until after the mass confrontation, when he decided that he had to. The referee MUST realize that he needs to get in there after a player gets kicked in the face and lands hard on the ground! He was on the back foot and completely let that situation develop into more than it should have. The caution to Sneider is on the referee. Never should have happened.
No. The play at 18:53 was a hold/pull on the field of play. Uruguay #11 Pereira on Netherlands #12 Boulahrouz.
I thought he was slow to react. Sure, he stayed calm, but more shit happened because he didn't get in there right away or show any urgency with the whistle or his body language. I think he misread the situation completely.
I think the Dutch were going to react like that no matter what, so it's a bit harsh to put the Sneijder yellow on him. Preventative refereeing could work with some teams, but I don't think it would have in this situation. I think getting out of the incident with two yellows was rather well-done. It's speculation, but I honestly think he was deciding between yellow and red--that's the reason for any delay or non-immediate intervention. There's just no way he didn't know that was misconduct... he was too close to it to not see it correctly.
I can't believe Ian Darke questioned the yellow card on the basis that 'he (the Uruguay player) has a right to go for that ball.' Sure he does Ian, but if he kicks the opponent in the head, at head level, he gets punished for it. Besides that, the Uruguay player completely moved back and snuck up on the Dutch player. It's not like the Dutch player saw the bicycle kick being prepared where the ball was coming toward, and he chose to go in and challenge for it anyway. What an idiot.
I defended his performance in his last match, but I don't give him the benefit of the doubt on this one. The Dutch may have reacted the same way, but the outcome likely would have been different if the referee was standing in the middle of it, blowing his whistle and arm-motioning for players to move back, rather than 6 yards away walking toward it. I still think he saw what happened, from a close distance and a good angle, and was only going to call a foul until it turned into a mass confrontation.
He was already close to the play and probably felt he was close enough and the whistle was loud enough due to the proximity. He still handled things calmly and well and I don't think taking two more steps closer would have prevented the push back by #11.
I agree, though I'll raise you one on this. Personal preference, I know people are going to go ape over me saying this. I think Caceras is guilty of serious foul play. He kicked a guy in the face. There wasn't any kind of care for whether a defender was near the ball, he attempted an overhead kick and struck an opponent in the face with excessive force. I love bicycle kicks, but I have a problem with people executing them in traffic. The odds of an injury are quite high. I think if you're going to bring your foot over your head, you darn well better be sure nobody's skull is in the way. I Know at this level, a caution or foul-no-caution is all we're likely to see. But that kind of action can send somebody to the hospital. OK, now everybody can tell me that I'm off my rocker and that the players know what they are getting into. The cautions in that fracas appeared to be USB to Sneijder for pulling Caceras away from his teammate, and then Caceras decided to crumple to the ground and, I suspect, was booked for simulation. I guess the only thing you might agrue against Sneijder that he should have stayed out of it, but like bluedevils said, at the least Irmatov should have seen this as a problem and showed more urgency, pulling Caceras out of there after quickly motioning the trainers on. The only thing we can fault Sneijder for is putting his hands on Caceras, so I guess maybe he deserved his card. But what a shame...
Just be clear, because while these statements aren't contradictory, they do indicate two different things... Do you think that, in this match, with this situation, there should have been a red card? I'm not sure about this. Let's remember FIFA's definitions: "Complete disregard to the danger to, or consequences for..." seems to fit a bicycle kick like this. For you to tick the excessive force box and get to SFP, you need the danger of injury and--not "or"--"far exceeding the necessary use of force." Can you claim that Cacares actually used more force than was needed for him to shoot the ball on net with a bicycle kick? I think that's a tough claim to substantiate. Though not a bicycle kick, there is a player currently on the field who has seen red for SFP involving a high kick. It was much debated at the time, but it should be noted this referee was never seen or heard from again in Europe after this match: [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nvPRkHJmJg"]YouTube- van Persie sent off[/ame]
Seemed like a good first half to me except the missed onside calls by the two ARs. To me, that bicycle isn't a red card, it is a reckless play. For what he was doing, there was no excessive force, nor do I think it was cynical in any way.