Referee: William Collum (SCO) Assistant Referee 1: Damien MacGraith (IRL) Assistant Referee 2: Francis Connor (SCO) Additional Assistant Referee 1: Bobby Madden (SCO) Additional Assistant Referee 2: John Beaton (SCO) Fourth official: Michael Oliver (ENG) Might as well start this, since it doesn't appear to exist. So far so good, although there has been quite a few times that Albania has taken a long time on a restart for no discernible reason.
Glad this finally opened up. Not an exciting match overall. But Collum has replaced Moen at the bottom of my performance list. He seemed erratic and unsure several times, and made some very odd decisions. So much for the "Auld Alliance." PH
The only really odd decision I can remember is not calling a French player for a very obvious foul, and then not calling an Albanian player for a very obvious foul on the ensuing counter, only to call a very ticky-tack call on another French player in breaking up *that* counter. This was around the 70th minute or so, IIRC?
That French player Kante, should have been cautioned on that foul. He was cautioned later, so that should have been a 2nd caution = red. Not a very good performance IMO, but I bet he gets more games. PH
Admittedly I didn't see the majority of the match, but I'm surprised to see you write this in a declarative fashion. Cautions sometimes fail, but they are designed to modify player. Couldn't it be argued that a first caution would have possibly prevented the second act that resulted in a caution? At the 2004, 2008 and 2012 tournaments, there were 12 referees and 24 first round matches. Each referee worked two first round matches, regardless of performance (perhaps most famously, Howard Webb's team wasn't sent home after their first match in 2008). At this tournament, there are 18 referees and 36 first round matches. It seems the exact same principle is in place and every referee will get two first round matches barring something catastrophic like an injury or an objective and critical error in the application of the LOTG.
Yes, of course! But it can also be argued that it would not have, as we have seen with the other red cards for 2nd yellows. That is why it is better to give it the first time, that way the player doesn't get two bites at the cherry. Yes, all true. I was being ironic with my comment. Notice I said games, not game. He has a big supporter (who I don't like, he was overrated IMO). Politics again. PH