Claus is Rapallini's fourth man. Does this mean he is out from further games? The only fourth official to work again as referee was Faghani (URUFRA QF) in 2018. This is quite surprising if so IMO.
No game fee as such. Used to get a per diem allowance in either Swiss Francs or dollars at $100 per day including travel days. So a 2-week tournament would be $1400 but a three day one match such as in a WCQ would be $300. IIRC in 1994 FIFA stopped the per diem system for tournaments and paid several thousand dollars to each referee. It later got much higher and last I saw it was in the $70,000 region for the WC! PH
Quote from that article. “A successful referee who would officiate all the games, including the final, could earn up to $300,000 during the tournament.” What the hell!?
Surely. Live non-European refs are verrryyy limited from here, and non-UEFA/CONMEBOL options should in reality be with only one man now... (I agree btw - he was very good in CMRBRA!).
I will echo Pierre Head here. In the late 90s/early 2000's, the per diem went up to 150/175 a day starting when you went to the airport and ending when you got home. For many US refs, it was a loss of money, especially compared to what they could make on their real jobs. For colleagues from Central America, being appointed to a tournament was a financial windfall.
There were doubts over Ramos’ return to this WC. He’s serviceable and a relatively safe pair of hands, but he’s also not that good. History and politics allow him a KO match but he’s not—or shouldn’t be—a late round option. Elfath would have to fall flat for that to even be a consideration. I think the next round is Mateu-EPL-Orsato-Claus with the possibility that Orsato is held for a semi (in which case Marciniak or even Makkelie would find themselves on a QF… it’s all about that England/France game). I wouldn’t close the door to Ghorbal completely, given we are considering Claus. But outside that, I don’t see a CAF or AFC option until the playoff.
More on an 8,5 than 8,6 level in UEFA marking scale, so this would constitute "very" rather than "verrryyy" I'd say (I don't pollute the forum with too many posts so add sth else here - no, I don't think any CONMEBOL official is able to handle Argentina vs. Brazil clash, Matonte definitely no, Valenzuela still solid no; only Tobar would have been able IMO, and they didn't choose him...)
As @Mikael_Referee said, no. I think the possibility is one argument for saving Orsato. Marciniak feels like the alternative. Or… Elfath.
BRA/ARG feels like a perfect Orsato match. Although if France is there in the other semi, it does raise a lot of questions about the final.
If France eliminates England, Taylor or Oliver is back in the mix there (edit: presuming it is Brazil)I also wouldn’t discount Marciniak. Nor, if he nails it today, Elfath.
Do national referee committees alter their own referees standings based on their World Cup assignments? By which I mean does PRO make elfath the by far A#1 MLS ref based on all his WC assignments if he wasn’t already, he’ll get all top MLS cup games, etc?
From the BBC article: Jose Maria Gimenez, Edinson Cavani, Fernando Muslera and Diego Godin all face potential punishments for breaches of Fifa's disciplinary code relating to offensive behaviour and misconduct. Of these four, only Gimenez will be around for 2026 World cup qualifying.
No. In fact some national committees pride themselves on seeing things differently than FIFA. And, in fairness to them, there is a different skill set and mechanics needed in a country's pro league than in a nation's WCQ matches. Think the difference bw an afternoon at Dick's Sporting Goods Park vs. the Azteca. I do think the countries who get their officials the farthest in the WC though do so largely because they bring up officials that they think FIFA will be responsive too. In other words they try to make a concerted effort--not to respond to WC assignments, but to feed WC referees who are what FIFA wants. That's not always the case (nor has it always been the case in MLS for example)
We're not England. You don't need Elfath to do every LA derby when you have six or seven refs you'd trust on it.
No. Though perhaps two important clarifications/distinctions here. USSF already has Elfath at #1. Or, rather, they have been told he's #1 if for some reason Marrufo was. Those are actual tangible rankings that go to FIFA. PRO is a different entity regardless. Your league performance is going to help determine where you slot. And big matches and cup finals need to be rotated anyway. So is Elfath #1, #2, #3 or #4 in any given week in MLS? It doesn't really matter.
So with elfath being #1 in USSF, does USSF ever try to get him doing non-MLS matches like NWSL college etc? Or does a contract with PRO prevent that
PRO assigns all professional matches in the United States, including NWSL. College soccer isn't through USSF. The only thing USSF assigns of any note is the US Open Cup, and that's, to some extent, in coordination with PRO. He wouldn't get a match there other than the final. The simple answer here is "no." When you're a FIFA referee you officiate in your domestic top division and that's more or less it, with some rare exceptions (e.g., you might rehab an injury in USL--oh, and some countries deliberately have their referees work a few second division matches as a matter of course).
Is it really realistic to think we will have a knockout round without any referees from AFC, CAF, or OFC? When’s the last time that happened?