My house has finally calmed down... I thought De Bleeckere was overall outstanding. He made a few mistakes, but nothing that really impacted the match significantly... The offside call is judgment. ESPN loved the shadow box, but it is entirely possible that Dempsey's foot was off. We just don't know. I have a hard time faulting the AR, if that's what he saw. I know the shadow box made Dempsey look onside, but the angle and the box wouldn't pick this nuance up. There was a foul in the first half committed that the US had a clear advantage. De Bleeckere called it back... I thought because he was going to caution the Algerian. Instead he dressed him down, no card. If he was going to just yell at him, he should have played advantage. This missed punch to Dempsey's face was horrible, but it was very sneaky and I could see De Bleeckere and his AR possibly missing it; I can't fault them for it. A shame, would have been a red card and a PK. #4 Algeria clearly looked at Dempsey before he punched him, so it was not incidental. The final call on the corner was absolutely correct... #19 was doing the same thing that Samuel was going for Argentina in the Nigeria game. #19 and #5 Algeria should have been booked for dissent a minimum, and #19 could have been sent off with a straight red (he was already on a yellow) for what was clearly abusive gesturing... he was in De Bleeckere's personal space screaming obscenities in his ear. De Bleeckere was always going to pull a yellow on somebody, and #4 happened to be the unlucky guy who wouldn't walk away, even though he seemed to be under control. I would bet that had he not followed De Bleeckere when he backed away, #19 or #5 would have been called over. Honestly, you could either do this by the letter of the Law and caution all of the responsible parties, or you can just send a "team" message and caution one. I really don't have a problem with how he handled it. Truly, in a high-pressure match with so much riding on it, one of the best performances of the tournament. Bully for De Bleeckere!
Yebda seemed to commit several fouls in the match after being cautioned at 12'. ESPN stats list him as having committed 5 fouls. I was surprised once or twice that he didn't get a 2nd caution. On the sendoff, there appeared to be a player with black hair gesticulating in the referee's face. That was not Yebda, sporting the classy blonde mohawk, but I don't know if it was the captain #4 Yahia or someone else. The referee had reason to be ticked off with either one of them. The USA got more than its fair share of decisions in the 2nd half, in my view. But, there were free kicks given in the penalty area against the attacking team both ways, not just against Algeria.
Possible. I still think the captain is the third guy in and that De Bleeckere had finally decided to caution the first or second guy (either of whom might had a caution--I don't know). Anyway, we are speculating. I think he sent off the wrong guy but I don't know for certain. The good thing for him is that his decision can still be justified in Law, even if it looks a little odd. It's not a technical mistake from which he can't recover and can't explain. Right or wrong, though, the lesson is still there for us as referees. Don't turn your back on the players when you are beckoning one toward you (or, if you do, make damn sure you know which number you are calling over*). *now that I think about it, every time I've beckoned a player, I have the number in my head and I think most referees do that... would seem odd if De Bleeckere didn't, so maybe he did get the guy he wants... who knows, really? it's just that the optics looked really bad.
All in all, I think the referee did a good job -- even the best are going to miss some calls, and I liked his communication with the players (notice how a few of them were pointedly keeping their arms pinned to their sides while in the box?!?) I also thought he was consistent with his calls. That said, this tournament could use a little more overall consistency, and I hope that the referees who officiate during the next rounds try a little harder to get on the same page. There was a lot of blatant jersey-tugging, even in the box, the sort that led to yellows, PKs, or even disallowed goals in prior matches. The U.S. players got a lot of knocks that would have been deemed fouls by other referees. I realize that it's part of the player's job to adjust to the level set by the CR, but still, it would be nice to agree on some standards.
At the time, I thought it might be that the guy didn't realize the play was dead and was trying to kick the ball from the ground...maybe? But I agree generally, too many errors that he didn't do a job that's worthy of the final. Missing the deliberated punch to the face is bad...maybe the AR should have called that though. In any case, it deserves a multi-match ban by video justice because it was an intentional punch in the face.
I think he got it right. There are two guys yelling at him, the captain comes up, between the two taller ones, you can see him scream and see an arm gesture, that's when DeBleedkere looks right at the short one (captain) and motions him over, then yellow/red. the foul on Altidore, to far out for DGF, I like the call.
I think we are picking the poor guy apart. Look, I don't question the punch to Dempsey being a red card, the kick-out at Altidore, etc. I agree DeMerit was lucky to escape without a PK. But we just don't know if De Bleeckere saw these things. I explained what I thought happened on the dissent card in my earlier post, so I won't repeat it, but I thought the decision was just fine. If he didn't we shouldn't be crucifying him for not seeing it; a more important question would be if he missed them due to poor positioning or otherwise. It's like that offside touch by Reid in the NZL game... it's a game critical decision, but sometimes, there are "dark" areas of the field where things can happen and not get caught. We can't expect referees to be superhuman. If they are technically sound and manage the game's temperature accordingly, then they are doing what they can. I think he did a solid job in this match. And yes, if the US loses, I still feel the same way.
I am thinking he got it right also. The referee made a motion after showing the card like someone had bumped into him, or maybe he was imitating the arm motions that the player had made. That seemed to have been done by #4 who he sent off. the foul on Altidore, to far out for DGF, I like the call.[/QUOTE] Yes, there should be no debate on that, only a yellow. A defender right behind the player who committed the foul, plus the goalkeeper. Not OGSO at all.
Yes, we are! that's what we do here Seriously, I am glad we had De Bleeckere on this match. He is solid, experienced, world-class, the match was in safe hands and I think everybody knew it going in and feels that way afterward. Overall he had a pretty decent game. But when you miss critical incidents, whether they are hard to see or not, it reflects on your performance. It may be unlucky, but that's how it is. I don't know where he was positioned during some of the key incidents like the Dempsey face slap or the one DeMerit shirt pull int the box that the cameras caught (geez, I hope there weren't more of those). But if something gets missed, it gets missed. It doesn't matter if you were looking right at it but didn't blow the whistle, or if you couldn't have seen it in a million years. It is a mistake.
I don't think this is possible. The Captain quite clearly is trying to stop his players and appears completely calm the entire time while the other 3 are gesturing wildly in front of the referee. If as the referee you are giving a single caution for dissent out of that fracas, I think it is important to card the most obvious dissenter, and not the person trying to calm the situation down (which the captain achieved as well). EDIT: Just to add, this card is as much for the rest of the players on the pitch than the individual player. Players watching this incident and seeing that card are going to be very confused and it won't likely end dissent in the future.
I understand. Maybe I'm just relieved to see a few mistakes made in this tournament that do not affect the outcome of a game.
did the ball actually hit Beasley's arm on that play when he was cautioned? It was hard to tell, but looked like maybe it was straight off his chest and not even handball, much less a caution. This is another example of a referee in this World Cup cautioning a player for a touch to settle the ball in the penalty area, presumably under the 'handles the ball in an attempt to score a goal.' It seemed a harsh call.
Most of these were already mentioned, but he seemed intimidated to me. He had late whistles, he was indecisive on the Altadore card, and he had a lot of the repeated whistles on fouls (tweet tweet tweet). I don't know if he often does that, but it strikes me as nervousness or indecisiveness. This seemed to carry over to at least the SAR, but it certainly was not a composed performance. Both teams seemed to take it all in stride though, until the dissent at the end, which again, he did not handle with composure, regardless if he got the right person.
Right. From a refereeing standpoint I'm less interested in whether Beasley handled the ball and much more interested in what sort of instructions referees are getting about what constitutes "handles the ball in an attempt to score a goal." It seems it's being interpreted at the top much more broadly than the text of the clause, yet I've never seen an instruction on it trickle down.
This is subjective, but I've got to say that I disagree 100%. It was a typical De Bleeckere performance for me. He can interact with the players, but he's still steadfast and unflappable.
And if that one against Beasley was a caution, then it would seem almost any handling in the box to control the ball by an attacking player will bring a caution??? Beasley was pretty much on his own, no reason to handle it, had a good look at the ball and it wasn't a tough one to settle. As one of the announcers said, why would he handle the ball there? Certainly not on purpose. Makes me think maybe it wasn't handling. I just don't see the need for a caution there. If FIFA feels a caution is warranted for that sort of 'inadvertent handling' just to settle a ball in an attacking situation, then I find that to be very troubling. It's not like the one the other day where the ball was flying past the player as he ran into the box, so he tried to be cheeky and sneak his arm up to bring it down.
I also disagree. He seemed calm and confident throughout the match, including the 2nd caution near the end.
That's what Harkes said and I was planning to put that in the 'amazing things you hear from the commentators' thread. To me it was a clear bring-down guidance with the upper left arm, no problem with the caution. During play the camera angle was from behind but even from there you could see his left shoulder rise up and out, suggesting he'd lifted his arm; and the behind-the-net replay made it plain. Except to Harkes I was bothered by the mere yellow for the cynical takedown on Beasley's breakaway. I suppose since there was still a defender between him and goal it wasn't an automatic red, but the trailing defender had no play on the ball and his step onto the inside of Beasley's ankle/top of his foot was dangerous, could have broken his ankle. I would have sent him off. The captain was the one who gesticulated angrily into the referee's face; De Bleeckere's face instantly went blank, his eyes lowered, he turned away; that was his line crossed, the gesticulator got his card for dissent. He got exactly the guy who had pushed his button. 2nd caution, too bad.
On the goal by LD, watching it during the run of play, at the camera angle of the original shot, it really looked like Buddle might have been in an offside position when LD hit the ball. I know he was outside the post and he didn't move a muscle, but it was my first impression. Even if he was in an offside position, I don't think it would have been called, but it did make my heart stop for a second. Looking at the replays, it appears he was even with the keeper on the ground and I think there was a defender that came in that would have prevented it. I was still nervous after the first goal was disallowed.
You mean Altidore, right? There was a yellow there for the tactical nature of the foul, and I suppose you also could argue a yellow there for the reckless nature of the contact. But if you are going to send the player off, you need to pick one reason. You can't go red there because a 'reckless tactical foul' has 2 negative components in it. It is either denying an obvious goalscoring opportunity, which it clearly wasn't, or it was serious foul play for a nasty step onto the ankle/foot -- which I really didn't pick up on that personally.
I think it would be insane to "fail" De Bleeckere for the missed face punch by Yahia. It occurred well away from the ball, out of sight of the CR and FO. The AR could have seen it but he has enough to do watching the offside line and who last touched the ball. Maybe that is "how it is", but it is not right. When De Bleeckere turns his back on Yebda (#19) and Halliche (#5), I am quite certain that he has already decided to give a card. Both seemed equally deserving, so perhaps De Bleekere was trying to decide which to get the card. When the Captain showed up, Yahia (#4), it was not a difficult to decision to give the card to him. It would have been even easier if word got to De Bleeeckere that it was Yahia who gave Dempsey a bloody nose, and I don't really have any doubts that he was informed by US players if not the FO. I agree that the Beasley card was harsh, it wasn't clear if he handled the ball, but assuming he did, I can see how De Bleeckere could conclude that the handball was tactical (even if a last second decision by Beasley). Rather amazingly, John Harkes and Ian Darke saw the red card infraction by Yebda but failed to reiterate the significance of a missed red card and penalty for the US, instead harping only on the very close offside call which denied a goal.
These refs need to let the players decide the game, too many times this world cup the advantage or momentom has changed because the refs don't or can't make the right calls.
The shadow box isn't 100% conclusive, but it is close. What did it for me was the examination of the play at halftime when the yellow highlighting was put on the screen and the video angle was altered to a much more straight across view. That clip shows that 100% Dempsey was onside. Excellent comment. I thought exactly the same thing during the game. That has to be a card if he is going to stop play. Again, I agree. I concur. I thought that the captain was the 3rd guy on the scene and was actually trying to get the other two to leave the referee alone. Yep, nice comment.