Disciplinary points played a role in determining the team that advanced to the Round of 16. Vietnam and Lebanon are tied on points, goal difference, and goal scored, so Vietnam, which received two yellow cards fewer, advanced as the 4th best third-placed team, while Lebanon was eliminated. Kyrgyzstan and Oman also had to be separated on disciplinary points as 2nd best and 3rd best third-placed teams. They both advanced, but the one yellow card difference between them was decisive in determining the team that they will face in the next round.
Lebanon scored a goal at 90 + 8' to make it a 4-1 game today and then picked up a yellow card at 90 + 9'. Luckily, as you state, they missed out by two yellow cards and not one, because if that had been the decisive issue ...
Have there been instances where teams are tied on points, goal difference, goals scored, and disciplinary points?
From the broadcast booth, sure. Field level, I’m not giving him a pass. I could understand looking away early and maybe missing this completely. Seeing the challenge, late as it was, and only going yellow? Classic Irmatov.
I don’t know what’s more head-scratching-that Irmatov didn’t go red here or the decision to assign Mr. Man Manager to a game between two nations that would rather kill each other than look at each other. This would be a game that Cakir would have trouble keeping a lid on. Irmatov’s “style” wouldn’t have a chance.
Round of 16 appointments Iran : Oman - RAMOS (MEX) Thailand : China PR - MOHAMMED (UAE) Jordan : Vietnam - FAGHANI (IRN) UAE : Kyrgyzstan - FU (CHN) Australia : Uzbekistan - AL JASSIM (QAT) Japan : Saudi Arabia - IRMATOV (UZB) Korea Republic : Bahrain - TBA Qatar : Iraq - TBA AFC gives Ramos a knockout match, which I imagine could have been pre-arranged. Irmatov gets the biggest match because he's Irmatov. VAR pairings are going to be interesting here. Rumor has it Valeri and Makkelie are at the tournament as VAR consultants or instructors; am very curious to see what the assignments look like and what the roles will be.
Or the passback that Irmatov called as an AAR, which while somewhat justifiable, reeked of a three-time WC referee big-timing his less experienced whistle. But to the point, two things. One is politics and reputation. Irmatov and Faghani and Ramos (particularly if it was agreed to ahead of time) were always going to get knockout matches. More importantly in this case, the senior referees who have some experience with VAR are going to be prioritized in the knockout stages now. I think Mohammed is the only assigned referee so far without decent VAR experience and--on top of the possibility of me being wrong--he's from the host country.
Wow. I totally missed that. You're right. It's the QFs. http://www.the-afc.com/competitions/afc-asian-cup/latest/news/var-to-come-into-play-from-qf-stage Well, scratch my point immediately above relative to assignments. But double down on the insanity. AFC is going to run 8 knockout matches without VAR, but do 7 matches with. Because... because why, exactly?
Fair enough. I was trying to come up with a plausible rationale as I agree it is more than a bit odd.
Yeah, it wasn't clear a penalty was awarded. Ramos makes no signal after looking right at it. Did call come from the AAR. Should have been a card for simulation.
Over/under on the number of “smiling, palms down” motions to man-manage is set at 3.5, and I’m taking the over.
Irmatov's match apparently went off without a hitch. So expect to see him again. Quarterfinals Vietnam : Japan - MOHAMMED (UAE) China PR : Iran - AL-JASSIM (QAT) Beath is VAR on the Vietnam match with Valeri as AVAR. Irmatov is VAR on the China PR: match with Makkelie as AVAR. No AARs, so that answers that question. This whole thing is even more farcical now. AFC isn't even pretending its top referees can implement VAR without European help. Since that's true, call me crazy but maybe they should have brought VAR in at a lower level first.