Some big news here. First, the list of officials: [#MundialSub17] Lista completa de árbitros convocados —> pic.twitter.com/vwnuKPVHms— ArbitroInternacional (@ArbitroInteBlog) August 21, 2019 Reminder/stipulation that this is part of the process for WC2022 identification/selection. These aren't all official candidates, but performing well here (or at the U20s) gets you into the race for the 2021 tournaments, which decisions are mostly made off of. The VAR thing is harder to figure out, since this is the first time there is a separate or parallel process. So... From the US perspective, Villarreal goes as a VAR. I think that's a pretty clear signal it's Elfath as the secondary candidate for 2022 and that's it. Fischer also goes to his second tournament as a VAR. Experience in MLS and at WWC as an AVAR should make him a top choice here, but we'll see. For CONCACAF, Barton gets his chance. So does Escobar, who did the Gold Cup final. We'll see if he's competing with Lopez from Guatemala or if he's already passed his countrymate. In UEFA, this is the traditional test for potential "next generation" referees. Jovanovic is the one who I think will probably stand out and get a real chance at 2022. Pawson goes from England as a VAR; everyone who goes as a VAR from Europe comes from a domestic league that uses it, but is more of a second-tier international official. That includes Steinhaus, who is there as a VAR. But last and probably most importantly, Umpierezz goes with a full female trio from CONMEBOL. Female officials worked as FOs at the 2017 U17s. This will be the first time a female official referees a FIFA level men's event, unless I'm mistaken (EDIT: I am mistaken, as Stauli had a whistle on the last group stage day last edition despite being selected as a fourth official... so this is the first time a female is explicitly appointed as a referee). Alves Batista is also there as a FO, so I think that's five female officials called in here. Beath, Gomes, Barton, Haro, Jovanovic are the five officials to watch for me. But someone else could break out.
With Frappart's appointment and this appointment now, I have to believe we will see a women at the men's World Cup in Qatar. If not Qatar, you can bank on it 100% at the 2026 World Cup. My only qualms about a female official being at the World Cup in Qatar is the fact that the World Cup will be in a part of the world that doesn't believe in equal rights for women.
Meh. Only three of 21 referees at the U17s in 2015 made it to the next World Cup and had whistles. So Umpierrez has a long road to travel here and the odds are against her (and Steinhaus/Frappart, who seem like the only other two possible candidates). Steinhaus/Frappart would have to go to EURO 2020 and start getting UCL knockout matches this season to be in any sort of serious contention from UEFA. Otherwise, there's just no way to justify them ahead of their male counterparts. Something similar applies for Umpierrez. Unless she's doing Libertadores knockout matches and goes to a Copa America, you can't possibly put her over the top male CONMEBOL referees. And I don't see that happening. The Super Cup was a good PR stunt for UEFA. A slot at the WC U17s in the off-cycle is a good PR stunt for FIFA. But an actual spot at the World Cup? If we're talking about whistles, we are nowhere close to that. Given some of the names FIFA has been willing to leave behind based on perceived performance issues, there's just no way you can justify serious consideration for the top female referees unless something huge changes over the course of the next 30 months (and starting this Fall--Steinhaus and Frappart would have to start getting UCL group stage matches this season). Maybe you can plausibly put someone there in the FO or VAR role, but what's the point of that? More likely, yes. But I wouldn't say 100%. There will be more matches to pass around but the format might make an expanded referee corps less likely, so competition will be stiff then, too. Also, once you open up the men's WC to female centers, it does beg the question about closing the WWC off to male referees. Some might see that as precisely a reason to do it. But yes, FIFA might balk if they were seriously considering it otherwise. Regardless, strictly on merit and performance, it shouldn't be considered for 2022 for the reasons outlined above.
If we are going to put women on these men's matches, then why not men on the women's matches? What's the difference? We bend over backward to accommodate the women, who are then taking away spots from the men. But then we don't do the same in return. ** Before you get all upset, I am only saying this in a sarcastic, devil's advocate-type way. **
I'm surprised there is no VAR official from Australia considering they were, I believe, one of the first countries to introduce VAR. Never heard of the Canadian AR (Michael Barwegan) but good to see Fischer is getting some good VAR assignments. Hopefully, it can lead to being Canada's lone representative at the next World Cup.
Michael Barwegan is a newer FIFA AR. He was appointed to the FIFA list in 2018. He has worked 11 MLS matches this season, as well as working in the Gold Cup during the summer.
So we haven't followed this at all, but it's already the knockout stages. I've watched a bit of a few matches. The unfamiliarity with VAR for some referees is stark. We see this again and again at tournaments (U20s, CONMEBOL) where the referees don't regularly have VAR in their leagues. As has been said and, I think, mostly accepted here--FIFA got really lucky in 2018. I think 2022, particularly after the general soccer populace has gotten a little more used to VAR working certain ways, is going to be tougher. With that said, just a few notes on assignments: Umpierrez worked two group stages matches and is poised to be the first woman to work a men's knockout match at the FIFA level when she does France v Australia. Villarreal and Fischer have both worked as main VARs, which is a good sign. I think each has three VAR assignments and one AVAR assignment, but I haven't been paying that close of attention so it's very possible I have missed a few. Villarreal is AVAR for Spain-Senegal in the R16 and Fischer is VAR for Nigeria-Netherlands. Full R16 whistle assignments: Angola : Korea Republic - JOVANOVIC (SRB) Nigeria : Netherlands - ESCOBAR (GUA) Spain : Senegal - GUERRERO (ECU) Japan : Mexico - MOHAMMED (EGY) France : Australia - UMPIERREZ (URU) Brazil : Chile - TREIMANIS (LVA) Ecuador : Italy - TBA Paraguay : Argentina - TBA Finally, Villarreal was involved in an interesting/unfortunate situation while acting as VAR. He correctly spots the VC. But play had restarted, which is fine per the LOTG (whether or not the referee or VAR bears responsibility for allowing play to restart is a different question). However, note what the referee does for the restart. This was a huge mistake. Also worth noting, as I allude to above, how clearly uncomfortable and unfamiliar the referee is with VAR. https://streamable.com/7i4ot
Why in the world did he bring it back to the spot of the foul? Isn't the restart a goal kick?. He let a fast restart happen and that was the next stoppage for the card.
Personally, I think this is a great example of a fast restart and then giving the card at the next stoppage...
I can't quite tell if you're joking or not. So if you are, ignore me. But... There was no fast restart opportunity when the referee came in. The ball was in the technical area. Also, he didn't recognize the VC so it's not like he allowed play to continue, knowing he was going to give a card. And in the hypothetical where that is true, VC isn't the type of play you should be doing that on. Plus, it needs to be an OGSO, anyway. In no way does this fit the new clause to allow the restart and then card later. That's why I think you're joking! Regardless, the big issue is the restart after VAR intervention. The incident happened. A free kick was taken. Then the ball went out of play for a goal kick. The restart has to be a goal kick even after the VAR gave the red card. I usually scoff when people use this word, but if New Zealand had scored directly off that free kick and it affected the result, we're talking about a protestable error.
Yeah... sorry. Missed the smiley at the end of my sentence. Whoops. But yes, disastrous restart at the end of it all.
I watched the full game - Escobar was terrible. As we know him, his disciplinary control was awful - cards as a last resort, and no criterion detectable. He lost control for some moments in the 2H - though there were no bigger confrontations. He turned an easy game into a challenging one. Really, I have no idea what CONCACAF / FIFA see in him - his only skill is an okay ability to know when to sort out a verbal warning, and that is while lacking better soft skills. Please: 1) Give Iván Barton, a genuine HUGE talent, what he deserves 2) Give up on Escobar and instead stick with Walter López, okay his ARs messed up in big games (MEXCRC, PANCRC) but he is a good referee - or at worst a lot better than Escobar
We can only hope that this is finally the end of the Escobar experiment. He was awful in the Gold Cup final. He was out of his element in a U17 game. He's terrible. I've said it a few times, and I'll say it again. There is a VERY short list of non-Mexican referees I'd trust for a US road game at the Azteca, San Pedro Sula, or San Jose. Ivan Barton is on that list. Give him a chance to prove himself.
Are you sure you watched it carefully? Please watch the video clip again! The RC offence did not cause the free kick awarded in front of the technical area; it happened afterwards, during play, when Escobar did not see any foul and allowed play to continue until the ball went out for a goal kick. Play was never restarted between the RC offence and the goal kick, so awarding a direct free kick for the red card offence identified by VAR was correct.
Wow. You’re right and I’m totally wrong. So in that clip, #11 of New Zealand appears to get struck or hit in the mid-section three times in the span of about 15 seconds of dynamic play. Tough luck for him. But yes, I got deceived here and jumped to the wrong conclusion. Apologies.
Quite a few boring games at this U17 WC as could be expected for football played by adolescents; certainly not the Paraguay - Argentina game! One of the craziest games that I ever watched for Georgi Kabakov. If you have a spare half-an-hour I would strongly recommend to watch the refereeing highlights you can reach below. Paraguay - Argentina, Georgi Kabakov
Spain : France - KOVACS (ROU) Italy : Brazil - ESCOBEDO (MEX) I hope Haro continues to do well. I liked him at Copa AMerica. The Italy-Brazil match is a big vote of confidence for Escobedo. Going to be interesting to see how Mexico's candidates shake out for 2022--particularly since FMF has VAR and they could make a play there, too. Speaking of VAR, Fischer is the VAR on Italy-Brazil; Pawson is his AVAR. I find that amusing given MLS and EPL usage. But it's also good for Fischer. Having been an apprentice at the WWC, the more he gets main VAR opportunities here, the better chance he has at Qatar. Also noteworthy that Barwegan is AR2 on the match. The way things look at the moment, MLS has a really good chance of having the most officials at 2022. I could see the Dutch being the only competition.
Same tournament. Quite similar challenges. Both get yellow cards on field. One gets reviewed and instantly upgraded to a red. The other--the one I would consider the slightly (or much?) worse challenge--gets no review. A reminder that objective consistency on SFP is impossible. https://streamable.com/ka23a https://streamable.com/6pk86?fbclid=IwAR0_jRAjYYDhKu4XEFWnYyiTYVKb1n-I-h2oMoTWS2YiQtbvChB7KQhxcnk
A little late after post #1 about the assignments. Interesting that no CR or AR from NED was selected. Only Dennis Higler as a VAR is on the list. Higler is a highly underrated CR from my watching Eredivisie matches. I think he has been a 4th official in some CL matches. If Makkelie ends up as a CR in the Euros I suspect that Higler will get VAR duty. I assume the answer to this following question is no, but is it possible that UEFA could take two CRs from the same country say Kuipers and Makkelie or do they customarily only take one?
You're reading too much into things. Not every country is going to get a referee at every FIFA youth tournament. Remember that these are some initial tryouts for WC2022. The more established referees don't have to audition in 2019--they will do the 2021 tournaments. This is about finding the next crop for further development. Given Makkelie is a near lock for Qatar, there's no need for him to attend any FIFA tournaments this year. And there is no Dutch referee who is currently identified for referee duty in Qatar other than him. Makkelie will likely go to th Right. This is interesting but for a different reason. When FIFA first published it's "candidate" list for 2022, Van Boekel and Gozubuyuk were on the list as potential VARs. Higler's presence does raise the question of whether or not he is a VAR candidate for 2022 now, too. Don't conflate UEFA with FIFA. Also, none of us should presume to know how UEFA will select VARs for 2020. It's possible that UEFA will try to assign crews and have VARs paired with CRs, but that's one way of doing it (and a way that hasn't been done at any tournament yet). It's more likely that many CRs will be able to act as VARs and then several VAR specialists (e.g., Irrati) will also be called in. Hard to say which, if any, Dutch referee would fill that role. The answer is 'yes.' Atkinson and Clattenburg both went last time. Kuipers and Makkelie will both go this time. The only question is whether or not they might swap out and act as VAR for each other or if a 3rd (or even 4th) Dutch official goes as a specialist VAR. Pursuant to my paragraph above, that's impossible to know right now--it's a total guess.