Anyone see the AR just signal for a foul 88'? Just stood there waving the flag as the CR ignored it and play moved down into the penalty area. Shouldn't the AR have realized he was being ignored and just run down the line to continue following play?
Looked like a comms failure. Then the ref signaled for an IDFK for offside before he saw the AR wiggling the flag.
I just watched a replay of it. AR was clearly standing there wiggling the flag (obviously for attacker pull on defender) for 5-10 seconds as play moved on, then CR finally blew the whistle, but then the AR gave the middle-of-the-field offside signal and pointed with his finger as well (like he was pointing where the foul occurred) and CR gave offside call. Doesn't make any sense.
Thought Calderon handled the match well. Never heard of him before, but he seemed solid and had no trouble keeping everything under control.
El Salvador : Honduras - W. LOPEZ (GUA) Costa Rica : Mexico - ELFATH (USA) Costa Rica : Jamaica - FISCHER (CAN)
Overall assessment of last night. Calderon was good, even very good. I thought he could have carded McKennie for persistence at about 33 minutes (four fouls), and I though the foul by ES to Aaronson was a caution. Adams probably also got away with a card. The ARs were terrible. Several missed corners and missed balls out of play. The one play that really gets me is the play where the ES keeper is a good 3 feet behind the endline and plays the ball. If AR1 is anywhere close to the endline, it's a corner kick. How a FIFA-level AR is not hustling to the goal line for a play like this is inexcusable.
I was only half watching, as I was also attending a meeting, so I could be off base, but foul and card thresholds seemed inconsistent to me. On the other hand, it never totally blew up, which I guess counts as a win in a CONCACAF WCQ. . . .
So Marrufo, Ramos, Martinez and Parchment are the bigger names held back from this triple matchday. Maybe include Montero in there, too. Marrufo would seem to slot in nicely on Honduras-Costa Rica.
This is where I was--both in the half-watching and the assessment. I said to a friend that Costa Rica seems to consistently produce referees who fall in the C-/D+ range for me, which probably increases on the CONCACAF curve. He wasn't terrible and the game went fine, but I don't think he was necessarily good, either. Lack of card for Acosta late was the one thing that really stood out. 88' was bizarre and comms failure seems to be the most generous interpretation. I thought his mannerisms and "no more" gestures were either forced and over-the-top. Overall, no one got hurt and no major decisions were wrong. He was fine. But he didn't inspire confidence for me either.
Elfath has had two yellows at 35' and 38'. Both had elements of SFP. I'm not sure either could be sent down via VAR if it existed, but it wouldn't be out of the question. 38', in particular, appears to have led to a consequential injury.
Perhaps the biggest annoyance of P+ vs ESPN+ is the lack of a 10 second backwards button. So I don't have a good answer.
Come on now. You want three YCs to one team for reckless in the first half of a CONCACAF game? You crazy man.
The one that resulted in the injury could easily have been a red. Also the kick in the shin that led to the PK should have been a YC. But overall Elfath is doing well so far, clearly taking charge. PH