This has to be reviewed, surely. It’s as DOGSO as it gets… gonna be an awkward moment but surely, surely it’s gotta be…
Surely he’ll get it right with this long a delay… I mean what else would they be talking about among themselves?
The argument that’s he’s going away from goal is… I don’t know. I can’t explain it. It’s an empty net. He is in the center of the park. And he’s got possession of the ball when he’s fouled. That’s bad.
They didn’t really cover the broadcast very well, but it looks like Elfath changed it from the yellow he had out initially to red. He had some words with Crepeau before showing it, no doubt expressing his referees that he had to show a red card to someone injured so badly…. Can’t imagine many refereees in this league who would do better with that difficult conversation than Elfath, though.
Well immediately after he made the ball motion to the lafc player- I’m sure I’m the heat of the moment he was conflating with an in-the-box scenario.
Period 15 min Added 9 min. That’s the equivalent of adding 36 minutes to a 45 min half. it’s correct. Just humorous.
So on the save by McCarthy on Philly’s third kick, and perhaps also on his save on Philly’s second (Fox didn’t show a good replay) McCarthy was behind the line with both feet between the moment the referee signaled for the kick to be taken, and the moment it was taken. I thought that wasn’t legal, I thought they had to remain on the goal line until the kick was taken according to the LOTG. And I was pretty sure both officials were scolding the goalkeepers for it prior to some of the earlier kicks (at least, that’s what I assumed they were saying). I’ll assume i’m wrong here and that the professionals know what they’re doing. Man, what a game, regardless.
And there’s the crew on the field and the rest of the crew… I’d like to think Dickerson or Rockwell gave the advice but…
But Dickerson and Rockwell would have had the best view of the open net and the best angle to tell Elfath his explanation of the ball going wide didn’t justify a YC. But this all assumes the advice came from on the field.
That was one of the law changes this year. “When the ball is kicked, the defending goalkeeper must have at least part of one foot touching, in line with, or behind, the goal line.” Behind the line is a new addition.
So.....does the fact that Elfath did a pretty decent job on a huge and chaotic match that went to ET and then PK's increase his chances of getting a knockout match at the World Cup?
Yes, but Law 14 also states (and has, for many years) that "The defending goalkeeper must remain on the goal line, facing the kicker, between the goalposts, without touching the goalposts, crossbar or goal net, until the ball has been kicked." Furthermore, in the explanation to the change you referenced, the IFAB had the following to say: "Explanation of this amendment should emphasise that the ‘spirit’ of the Law requires the goalkeeper to have both feet on/above the line until the moment when the kick is taken, i.e. the goalkeeper may not stand behind (or in front of) the goal line." Now, this isn't the only big competition where this rule has simply not been enforced: if memory serves me correctly, the goalkeepers in the intercontinental playoff this past June got away with the same things. It's likely instruction coming straight from FIFA, and/or PRO in this case. Still, I don't get it. Law 14 is clear, and the IFAB's law change explanation is basically begging referee organizations to actually enforce it, yet in the professional game all around the world, they've declined to do so... but I guess IFAB doesn't have any power beyond putting words on a paper.
I would not say he increased his odds today but perhaps he stayed where he was which is already probably in the drivers seat to get one. He still missed what is a fairly straightforward dogso and a guy (who was going to the world Cup) broke his leg. You can argue he “got” the card since he showed it but as @MassachusettsRef says, there are some questions about how this decision ultimately got changed.
My three theories… 1) Elfath more or less got it himself. At some point he realized he screwed it up, he starts talking to his team and none of them hold him back from making the change. So while he gets advice, he leads the change based on the result, player reaction, and just replaying it all in his head. 2) Dickerson and/or Rockwell lead the charge and tell him what he allegedly saw (wide touch) wasn’t true. Functionally this is very little difference from theory 1, but I’m just imagining it’s a little more forceful from his crew and more at their behest than his own. 3) Fischer tells him this will have to be reviewed and then they have a conversation about just how obvious the red is. Given the amount of time the injury would take and how an OFR might attract unnecessary protest and distract from the injury treatment—and maybe further delay the game (you don’t want to do the OFR while the keeper is down after all)—Elfath decides to just trust Fischer and make the change… particularly when the rest of the crew agrees he’s probably right. 3 is against procedure, but at the same time I find it hard to believe Fischer wasn’t involved in the 4+ minutes it took to make the change. Maybe there’s a hybrid scenario where it’s Theory 2 and then Elfath gets a “check complete” based on the changed decision but before the red is produced.
This seems oddly phrased. Even if he had gotten the call right from the start, the broken leg was still going to happen.
Man, you must not be a coach, or you’d understand that injuries only happen when referees make bad calls!
If the Phillies lose tonight, is that the first team to lose two professional national championships on the same day?
I don't know, but I keep thinking that they would be working very hard to get this right on the field knowing that everything they do is on the record...
I'm sure PRO will be "pleased" with the level of refereeing in the playoffs this season. After all, no one is talking about MLS refereeing. I get "managing the game, producing an event, etc." However, there were absolutely some stunning decisions or non-decisions that are simply inexplicable in these playoffs that is pointing to bigger problems. We saw three referees with over 200+ professional games in MLS miss some absolutely easy decisions with varying degrees of obviousness and easiness. Elfath, Chapman, and Villarreal. Something is seriously wrong on a macro level with whatever PRO is teaching/expecting. You can't be missing decisions like this. Forest from the trees, etc. I don't know what it is. I don't have an answer. That Crepau red card is a play I've seen countless times in my amateur referee career and I could get right in my sleep. Yet, a FIFA World Cup referee can't? Forget it about being the Final, occasion, pressure, etc. It's such an obvious decision that it should be a reflexive decision to give a red card without even thinking. We had Unkel at the end of the regular season in LA on that DOGSO. Chapman with the headbutt. Apparently, there is some camera angle that shows it was more in the chest than head, etc. Chapman didn't see that. If he did get it "right," it's down to pure luck. Villarreal watching a step on the foot with replay and thinking it is enough for a penalty kick. At the end we are paid to get simple and expected decisions right. Something is wrong...