We had a large catch-all thread for all 2014 WCQ appointments, but we're already well into the process with other confederations (and early round CONCACAF matches) so I figured we'd just start here and focus on CONCACAF as the USMNT joins the process. So, for the Semifinal Round, Matchdays 1 & 2: MATCHDAY 1 Mexico : El Salvador - LOPEZ (GUA) Canada : Honduras - MORRISON (JAM) Costa Rica : Haiti - MARTINEZ (CUB) Jamaica : Panama - GARCIA (MEX) United States : St. Vincent - SOLIS (CRC) Guatemala : Trinidad & Tobago - BOURDEAU (CAN) [Fletcher as AR1 with AR2/4th coming from St. Kitts] MATCHDAY 2 Honduras : Mexico - PITTI (PAN) El Salvador : Canada - GEIGER (USA) [Morgante/Rockwell/Jurisevic] Haiti : Jamaica - SANTOS (PUR) Panama : Costa Rica - AGUILAR (SLV) St. Vincent : Guatemala - FISCHER (CAN) [Briere/Belleau with 4th from St. Lucia] Trinidad & Tobago : United States - RAMOS (MEX)
So Bourdeau gets another WCQ match. I may have lost count, but doesn't this mean he would now have more WCQs than MLS middles? Fascinating! PH
Guatemala - Trinidad match-up will probably provide the second qualifier for the HEX! Big Game! Interesting that the Panama - Costa Rica match doesn't have a crew announced. That group will be the toughest one.
Or Marrufo. Remember there will be a return leg, too. It is odd that it hasn't been announced. Given what happened with Panama at the Gold Cup, I wonder if there was an appointment they objected to and now it's in limbo.
Why is it fascinating? CONCACAF can't use only Mexican and US referees on these games along with Aguilar. So they have to use some of the other guys. He may not be good enough for MLS, but how many of the players on Guatemala and T&T are good enough for MLS. I think it's safe to say that is a lower quality match than an MLS match.
I actually do find it interesting that Canada's "#3" is getting games at this stage. Your premise is somewhat flawed because it's not just US/Mexico/Aguilar. There is a plethora of guys in Central America that are on the Elite CONCACAF panel and who have gotten far more opportunities than anyone from Canada so far. Hell, at this point all 5 of Costa Rica's referees have done either the latter stages of qualifying or a CONCACAF/FIFA-level tournament. Add in Lopez, Mejia, Rodriguez, Perea, Pitti and then a few of the guys from the islands who CONCACAF feel compelled to use and you can wonder why two Canadians show up this early. I guess we'll see how much the appointments get spread around and who ends up seeing more than one match--but I am surprised Bourdeau got a match straight away.
The other question is why is he ahead of the other US FIFA guys like Penso, Juresivic. They could also be suitable for Guatemala vs. T&T. And to answer the point in another post, anyone who thinks this is a lower quality match than MLS is kidding himself. The pressure and the huge vocal and partisan crowd together with what is on the line, make this game very demanding indeed. Far more so than a typical MLS match. That is not to mention the sight of large numbers of paramilitary with machine guns all around the stadium and police patrolling the outside of the pitch with german shepherd dogs! PH
Repped solely for the correct form of the dog breed's name, which includes the word "dog". A German Shepherd would by a guy from Germany who looks after sheep. He might own a German Shepherd Dog. Or more likely he is going out of business, as apparently the German sheep industry is in dire straits, which I didn't know until a few minutes ago.
Thanks, was none of the rest of the post worthy of a rep? But I am sure no-one reading this would really have imagined a group of actual German shepherds in their lederhosen patrolling the pitch in Guatemala! However I do strive for accuracy at all times. In other parts of the world this breed of dog is known as an Alsatian. This avoids any such confusion. PH
Doesn't make sense, this is a soccer referee board, not a dog breeders' board! Well, that is a lot of places and people! That war did more to change the world than any other and its effects and aftermath are still being felt today. This is also not a world history board! PH
Geiger's appointment got me thinking about US referee involvement in Canadian WCQ matches. Given three Canadian teams play in our domestic league, I had previously presumed it hasn't been allowed since Toronto joined MLS. Obviously I was wrong. I wonder if we'd see the reverse, though, with a Canadian referee on a USA WCQ. I know we used to get Navarro all the time years ago, but I am not sure if we've had a Canadian since they started refereeing in MLS. Quick look through history shows the following instances where an American reffed Canada in WCQ since neutral referees have been required. Notably, an American has only ever done a Canadian home match once and it was 30 years ago. 11-Oct-08 - Honduras : Canada - MARRUFO 9-Oct-04 - Honduras : Canada - STOTT 9-Dec-92 - Bermuda - Canada - CUMMINGS 9-Oct-88 - Guatemala : Canada - BRATSIS 13-Apr-85 - Canada : Haiti - BRATSIS 15-Nov-81 - Mexico : Canada - SOCHA (match played in Honduras)
Back in the 80s there were Canadian teams in the NASL, so clearly this is not a factor as far as using US referees in Canadian games. There were also some appointments in Olympic qualifying matches, which back then involved the same teams and were not a U-23 competition. Not sure if any Canadians worked US games, although back then their FIFA guys were higher profile and more successful. Several worked the NASL Championship Soccer Bowl match, Winsemann went to two World Cup finals (74 & 78) and two were linesmen in Olympic Finals (76 & 84). PH
US Soccer announced that Frank Anderson and Baldo Toledo were on the game in Guatemala last night. FIFA's report still indicates that AR2 and 4O were from St. Kitts: http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/matches/round=2000062536/match=300334123/index.html Wonder when/why the change was made and why it hasn't been recorded accurately.
Bribes and/or corruption perhaps? Remember, two former CONCACAF Presidents are under indictment for nefarious activities. PH
I would imagine Bourdeau preferred a PRO crew, since he couldn't have an all-Canadian one. Just wonder who might have initiated the change.
My response was tongue in cheek with reference to the recording of the info, not the initiation of the change. But who is responsible for the appointments in the first place? PH
MATCHDAY 3 St. Vincent : Trinidad & Tobago - KELLYS (PAN) Haiti : Panama - REYNA (GUA) Jamaica : Costa Rica - MARRUFO (USA) [F.Anderson/Garner/Jurisevic] El Salvador : Honduras - SANTOS (PUR) Guatemala : USA - PEREA (PAN) Canada : Mexico - WARD (SKN) That's a powder keg of a match for Santos in El Salvador. Also surprised to see a new name from St. Kitts on the Canada-Mexico match. El Salvador v Canada gets Geiger, but Canada v Mexico gets Ward?
My previous question is still valid. Who is making these appointments? The previous CONCACAF referee chief (Sonia Denoncourt, Canada ) was fired months ago following the Gold Cup fiasco last year, but Brian Hall who was recently appointed to the job has not started yet, or has he? PH
I don't know, though there is still a Referees Committee at CONCACAF, right? I think Ted Howard had stepped up his involvement there, last I read. But not sure what it means about appointments. Anyway... MATCHDAY 4 Trinidad & Tobago : St. Vincent - VASQUEZ (DOM) USA : Guatemala - LEGISTER (JAM) Honduras : El Salvador - MONTERO (CRC) Panama : Haiti - TBA Costa Rica : Jamaica - FISCHER (CAN) [Fletcher/Belleau/Toledo] Mexico : Canada - MARTINEZ (CUB)