I’m sorry, but I just do not believe there wasn’t some sort of directive, whether direct or implicit, that has discouraged giving red cards. There has not been one single red card for a field player in live play in this World Cup. Today was a game where two red cards were there for the taking and nothing happened. A referee that has not been afraid to make a big decision looked like he was refereeing in a way he was never used to doing. If this isn’t an effect of pretty clear advice to referee in a particular way, I’m not sure what it is.
This is essentially Carlos Velasco Carballo in the 2014 Brazil - Colombia quarterfinal. This thread is at 353 posts now, still some way short of the 764 posts in the 2018 England - Colombia match handled by Mark Geiger. Let's see how far we can go in the coming days
What caused that match to be so crazy? People always make these claims about directives especially with respect to not giving red cards to keep games 11v11. Are these ever actual confirmed real directives, or always just assumptions?
Actual technical refereeing thing that just dawned on me… Dumfries only sees red for a 2CT because his first one was during KFTM. If his first one had been during the match, it would have just been a yellow (notwithstanding questions over whether Mateu bothers giving it at that point). And no, I’m not saying I just realized KFTM is different know—I knew that. What I’m saying is that “post-game” when it’s all over is also part of KFTM, and the effect of that is apparent in situations like this. IFAB and FIFA wanted cards reset so no one stupidly gets sent off during KFTM. Okay. But now it also means the clock is reset for everyone and in a very controversial or heated match, that’s not a good thing for when the game + kicks is finally over. In a match with 17 yellows up to that point, somehow only two individuals were actually on a yellow when a brawl almost broke out post-match. That’s wild. Or were three? Do technical area personnel cards reset for KFTM? Is that defined at all? There’s a semi-colon in Law 10 where this comes up. It seems like a coach has his card reset, too, which is amazing.
How does one even attempt to rate this referee today given what transpired? I really don’t care WHAT strategy he employed, there is absolutely no way in the world Paredes and Van Dijk should have avoided straight red cards. None whatsoever. Under ANY circumstance. This is a classic example of where a referee tries to outthink himself, maybe just maybe with a little nudge/suggestion from competition authorities. And then he finds himself with ZERO respect, from either side, and all hell breaks loose. I really would give him a ZERO, if I could. never thought I’d do this with respect to a WC referee, but then again I’m not sure I’ve ever seen anything like this in a WC game either.
So, in this world cup, if you got booked in the 10' of the semi final and then during kicks, is it a suspension in the final?
I can somehow fathom the 8 score, but who in the hell gave Lahoz a 9 or a 10? I guess they were entertained
I mean if your goal was to finish that game 11v11 Lahoz rates a solid 10. I just hope FIFA sends a dump truck full of money to his house, cuz no way doing that was worth it.
https://files.catbox.moe/qhii72.mp4 @RedStar91 is right... referees are no more than 'event managers' nowadays. The zeitgeist moved after WC2010 to this 'referee costume' style and while MassRef is 100% correct to say that this tournament has been better than Brazil, the differences are essentially pretty marginal. And the funniest, funniest (really: saddest) thing - what did Mateu achieve by not sending anyone off? A further game, widespread acclaim for 'understanding the game'? Nope and nope. He might as well have enforced the laws by the end. Instead, he just looked depressed and powerless in ET, and will go down in infamy now for this match. They really destroyed these human beings with (post-)modern refereeing...
https://files.catbox.moe/etmn2w.mp4 Not in this world but Acuña's 43' foul is a verrryyy clear SFP to be honest (I would say even for this WC - if anyone remembers Cameroon vs. Comoros at last AFCON). I'm pretty sure Mateu only gave it after Hernández said "check complete on RC challenge" too.
I would say that for the amount of time the Argentinian spent bashing this referee, it seems they underestimate how lenient he was with handing them YCs and RCs
Just imagine how post-game yesterday would have gone if Argentina lost after being down 10 v 11 or worse.
What’s the point of no return in this match, the moment it is clear to him he will not get another match at this tournament but decides for whatever reason(s) not to switch modes and then it becomes too late to switch? Or is there none?
The more I think about this game the more angrier I get. The competition authorities worried MORE about absurd amounts of stoppage time than actually letting the referees adjudicate the matches. I cannot get that image of almost the entire Dutch bench ON THE FIELD to remonstrate their displeasure and VVD running from 20+ yards away to absolutely level Paredes. If he had sent off both of them properly then I would posit that the rest of the match goes much smoother. But, by taking away the referee’s ability to referee, the match devolves into what we saw. Earlier, folks had posted that the game will be remembered but the refereeing will nit be the reason. I did a bit of social media sleuthing last night, and the clip of VVD was all over the place. Just an awful spectacle.
"Lack of respect" falls under "unsporting behavior", so no need to say either/or. Now, in a vacuum or in an amateur match, you can give this YC depending on what you feel is right for your game - gauge the players' reactions and react accordingly. I don't think this will always be a good caution - a recreational youth player making an "oopsie" that everyone just laughs at comes to mind. But we do what we have to to survive our MMB/O35/O45 matches; there's no pointing risking our skin there to be skin-tight to the Laws. However, in the context of this tournament, where the standards for dissent have been sky-high - like that or not - I'm just not having this argument. Recall that, on the same day in the earlier match, a Brazilian player, after Oliver awarded Croatia a free kick, marched with the ball in his hands for 10-15 yards, smashed it against his own head, then literally punched it to the turf (granted towards the spot of the FK) in frustration. Thus, even if I accept the speculation offered here as to why Messi did it, it's not worse that what's already happened this WC and escaped punishment. And if you think Lahoz should have said "f*ck the standards" here, then he should have done that much sooner for incidents much more damaging to match control, and that's a separate issue already being discussed. I should also point out that, in the case you "routinely" see players knocking the ball around deliberately with their hands, you have a tool for that in any case: a YC for persistent offenses. Finally, your example isn't even of deliberate handling, just a player with their arms high enough to be clearly making themselves unnaturally bigger.
I have a contrary opinion here- For all those saying Lahoz' leniency is a fault of referee culture today or whatever... I respect a lot of you, but it sounds like you are new to soccer. WC QF's have been rodeos since forever. Lahoz doesn't care what FIFA "told him" to do, or didn't "tell him" to do. In a game like this, he doesn't care what "FIFA wants is..." No way. This is the kind of game you train your whole life to referee. All the U12 games, all the tournaments, all the garbage Pro-level 3 games, all the midweek UEFA games in Macedonia or whatever, it all is preparation for a game like this, to ref like you want to. All of his credibility he felt he could cash in to get through this game. DId he get ratteled? Absolutely. But holy smokes. Finally, the idea that two players both deserve sending off (one 2CT, the other borderline VC), so you reduce to only give one caution...that is NOT NEW. That is like Gantar's oldest MLS trick. That is Geiger in his WC QF (or whatever Eng/Col was). That was every world cup QF and semi through the 90's. That was every game Irmatov did. That is not new. Lahoz didn't want to send two players, so he cautioned the instigator, and then had to ignore a lot of other crap to make up for it. I hate that kind of refing, and wish he would have gone 10v10. But to pretend that impulse is new, or on Collina, or a product of what FIFA wants is crazy. Lahoz did what he wanted to do in what will likely be his last meaningful international game. He doesn't need to bank credibility or appease anyone. That's the point of assigning someone like him to that game.