2010 FIFA World Cup Referee Appointments

A few comments.

A Uzbekistan referee for the opening match? This is typically a showcase match given to one of the better officials. Other than AFC Champions League and the under 20 World Championships in Canada what has this guy done?

First match sets the tone. You want a capable referee.

Stark for Argentina vs. Nigeria, no, no, no! I think a referee like Webb would have been a better choice. Webb is wasted in his assigned match.

Australia better start playing and stop fouling because Marco Rodriguez, Chiquidracula will have none of that.

Why a Japanese referee for Uruguay vs. France. Naive Asian Confederation referee for a match that could be highly testy and nasty.

Larrionda gets the difficult Portugal vs. Ivory Coast match. That could well be a very contentious match with lots of physical and chippy play.

 

Stark in an Argentina match is pretty controversial considering past matches. Larrionda getting the Portugal / Cote d'Ivoire game is a good choice, experienced ref for what I see as a tough game.

The big surprise for me is Viktor Kassai getting picked for the Brazil v North Korea game. I saw a couple of North Korea's qualifiers and they hack and kick away at their opponents, and I thought they would have elected an experienced ref such as Archindia, Larrionda, Webb or Simon to look after this game, as a young ref like Kassai could potentially lose the plot early on. We shall see, let's just hope the refs aren't the centre of attention like 2006, or even more so as in last year's U20 world cup.

 

Apparently, a ref from one confederation only refs teams from other confederations or matches with 2 teams from his own confederation. Which explains an Asian for Uru vs France (don't think CONCACAF or CAF would have been much better)

That doesn't explain the opening match, though. Should have gone to a European.

 

I had wondered about that, but in 2006 I seem to remember refs from a particular confederation taking charge of games with a team from that confederation and another not from that confederation, such as Rosetti getting Argentina v Serbia & Montenegro, Spanish ref got the Italy v Australia game and I'm pretty sure De Bleeckere did England's next game against Ecuador. Although if that rule above now stands, then I think it's a pretty decent enforcement, although you'd hope refs would be impartial at all times lol, I can't imagine Howard Webb being a die-hard European patriot .

 

Barred would have been an ideal appointment for France vs Uruguay.

 

Because of the number of European teams, and their strength, and the number of European referees, and again, their quality, it's inevitable that they'll referee European teams at some point. The same goes for CONMEBOL to a lesser extent.

A bit disappointed with Webb's game, as he could referee that any time. I'd have liked to have seen him tested on a team with a different footballing philosophy than the European way. Still he'll get another game barring a disaster.

I'm glad they've given Kassai middles, though I also suspect he's going to have his work cut out on the North Korea match. If anything, the fact Brazil will wipe the floor with them might help him out and turn it into a non-contest...or Korea get frustrated and take it out on Brazil...

And I wouldn't necessarily call Nishimura a 'naive Asian Confederation Referee'. That's a bit condescending. If I were to have an Asian referee on an England game, I'd want him to come from Japan.

You'll probably find that some of the referees from AFC, CAF and OFC are quite impressive.

Finally, it seems like Aguilar, O'Leary, Salleh and Vazquez are out there as 4Os then plus possibly Al Ghamdi.

 

Stupid autocorrect on my Droid. Batres is who I wrote.

 

European referees are the most biased and should not ref any game where a European team plays a non-European team.

 

LOL.

 

The really sad part, this poster is completely earnest in his mistaken belief.

 

I know, which is why I just laughed at him rather than dignifying him with a proper response.

 

Which means...

 

Wait. You mean you European referees aren't the most biased in the world?

 

Oh I think it means


Lots of these knowing Larrionda. Unless these two teams have an epiphany........I don't think that's possible.

 

I think this depends on FIFA's plan for Webb. I think they want to let him get his feet wet on a European style match with which he would be comfortable. If he has a good performance and builds his confidence, then they can give him a second match with a different atmosphere. If they put him directly into a match type that he has never seen before, and makes a meal out of it, it would be impossible for FIFA to keep him into the later stages of the tournament.

Seriously?! Way to ruin a conversation. Next time you have a thought like this, please don't share it with the rest of us. We are more interested in talking about the skills of a particular referee and how they match up with a particular match. Blanket statements about "European referees" have no place in this thread.

 

The Japanese FA must have a deal with FIFA that it's referee always gets the second match of a World Cup as this is the third straight Cup this has occurred.

 

IMO, the toughest match of the first round of games will be Brazil vs North Korea. Korea will be so outskilled, they're only tactic will be to foul the Brazilians, so I think Kassai will have his work cut out there.

I can't see Argentina vs Nigeria or Portugal vs Ivory Coast being too difficult. All are quite skilful teams so I can't see anything out of the ordinary happening between them. Besides, in Stark and Larrionda they've put two of the strictest referees on them. And of Stark referees in the only style he seems to know, he won't allow the game to breathe enough to get out of control anyway.

And MassRef, I'm with you. I think Al Ghamdi will be given a game, with O'Leary on board duties. It'll be a bit of a surprise if Hansson is also on board duties, but I don't think you'll hear much dissent from the Irish.

 

Howard Webb:

The players should be the stars, not the referees http://tgr.ph/cLTH9P

 

http://www.boston.com/sports/soccer.../?rss_id=Boston+Globe+--+Today's+paper+A+to+Z

Check that link for specific statements about referees. Interesting that the article notes that officials from Eastern European countries would be the most likely to be involved in something like this, and even explains how a referee could do that w/o affecting the result of the game.

 

is there a rule that from the semis on a referee from a confederation cannot be in a match where a team from his confederation plays? I remember Michel was refereeing the Argentina vs Germany quarter final last time...

I assume if Argentina and Germany would play against each other in a semi final, there could neither be a southern American nor a European referee or isn't there a fix rule for that?