Analysis: USA-SVN - Coulibaly (MLI)

I hate to say it, but the second goal was NOT offsides. It was a perfectly timed run, wiht the attacker onsides but not by much. It was just perfect, and Gooch should have moved up to give him that offsides call as soon as he saw the pass going to that central midfielder looking for that pass.

 

isn't the center AR having his arm raised an indication of an indirect free kick?

 

Yes, which offside is. This is usually the way a referee (in addition to the raised flag by the AR) indicates an offside call.

 

To all the non-referees who are in the forum, welcome. Us refs often refer to the "moment of truth" in a match where the referee is called to step in and make the right call. This can be in the first half, 2nd half, it can be disallowing a goal, or sending off a player for Persistent infringement after a 2nd yellow. It takes guts and bravery sometimes and getting it right means all the difference in the control of the match.

After 10 seconds, it was obvious that the referee missed his chance. I'll take off the homer cap to say that Dempsey should have gone to the referee and begged for a yellow card as I saw him go up and cock his elbow into the Slovenian player. After he got off scott-free, I had doubts about how the rest of the game would go.

he looked scared to make a call, and scared to let an attack develop. Poor performance and I trust we wont be seeing any more of him. Or maybe FIFA will give him the france - South africa game or something.

 

If you replay the live feed (not any of the replays), Edu runs towards goal and appears to put an arm on the defender's back.
This source is the first I've seen suggesting that the call was "apparently for some shirt-pulling in the box."
A replay from behind the opposite goal should provide a clearer view.
The ref blew the whistle clearly before Edu made contact with the ball (imo).

 

I saw a number of comments on BS before the came about how he hadn't done enough big games, just the recent ACN final....too many of his tourney's only at youth level. There was some foresight here, at least, about this and it was proved correct.

 

Okay, I admit as an American, I am biased. I am a former referee (had to retire young due to disability), but I still love the game. I have watched the replay a bunch of times on the Edu no-goal. Here's what I saw:

1. As soon as the kick is taken, Coulibaly is blowing his whistle.
2. While the ball is in flight, his arm is moving pointing direction.
3. Edu scores, but the whistle had blown before the play had a chance to "play out."
4. There is a blue shirt on the turf just as the ball is in the net. No offside, Michael Bradley is bearhugged. The goal is disallowed.

I don't know what foul he called. I still don't see anything. I always was taught and taught as a referee you let the players decide the game, not you.

In looking at this, Coulibaly was in over-his-head. He might be the best referee in Mali, but not at this level.

 

Yes, but the AR didn't make that call, and the ref was poorly positioned to judge an offside infraction, so I assume he awarded an IFK for something else, real or perceived...If it was a shirt tug by Edu, I think that's the mildest (and least likely) thing that happened on that particular set play.

 

OK, a couple of observations.

I think you could have gone either way on the opening challenge. I was actually surprised that Dempsey was not cautioned for that challenge. The argument could have been made for a red, I think a yellow would have been fine. Again, I was surprised no card was given.

The Findley caution, I think that was a judgement call. The replay clearly shows that there was no hand ball. I don't know if the replay can be used for the challenge of a card. I don't fault the referee for giving the foul on that, though.

Slovenia's second goal. The player was onside and the goal was good.

The Edu goal that was disallowed, where was the foul?

I felt the referee did a poor job for a World Cup Final. I think he should be sent home.

 

- Dempsey should have been cautioned in the first foul.
- The offside: I thought it was bad in real time. After several slow motion replays, I trust my first reaction, but just barely, I trust it less. It was much closer than I thought and in all honesty, when it's that close, you have to give the AR a pass either way. And considering the "when in doubt" rule of thumb, he did the right thing.
- The card to Findley was laughable.
- I do not believe there was any deliberate bias or "fix." Reasons posted by others above are very clear....but the reality is he called multiple very "iffy" calls against the US in the penalty area to negate goal scoring chances (and one "good" goal).

So the question is... "why?" Clearly he was over his head. He may be the best referee in the universe on another day, but today he was over his head.

But there is another reason. It's very rare for the FIFA referee committee to announce that a call was wrong during the world cup. It's rare enough that it sends a message to all other officials at the tournament. "The committee thinks that was a huge screw up or they would NEVER publicly humiliate a referee for it." The next step in logic is. "I am not about to make that error. Any contact by an attacker in the box will be interpreted as an attempt to keep the defender out of the play. Foul coming out." It's what he did. The reason it seemed one sided... (all those against the US attack in the second half) is because the US was lobbing ball after ball into the penalty area in the second half.... The reason was not bias, it was a determination not to be singled out for humiliation.

I have watched every match except Germany Serbia (which I will watch tonight) hands down IMO, Irmatov had the best performance, this guy had the worst. I will be surprised if he gets a second match.

On a fan note, it will be very interesting to see post match interviews and follow the US reaction to this.

 

Bradley was mugged on the same play. So if anything, you let them play on

 

Even though Edu is the one who scored?
Would he have been in position to score had he not (apparently) tugged the back of a defender's shirt?

 

I believe that this is what got called.
I also believe that it is a direct result of the Argentina goal, where the attackers held the defenders back so an advancing, unmarked attacker could have a free strike on the ball. I didn't realize that FIFA had said anything about that play, but, Bob Evans, definitely wrote about it. Actually, it is Ed Bellion that wrote saying the goal should have been disallowed in Bob's blog:
http://fortheintegrityofsoccer.blog...-v-mexico-eds-observations-comments.html#more

While seeing the replay in toto, it seems that Bocanegra was much more folued against, if the ref turned his attention to that grappling contest late, then he may have seen Bocanegra's reversal (2 points) as shielding. And then it is very similar to the Argentina goal.

If the referee had this memo from the FIFA referee committee in mind, then a propensity to make this call becomes a reasonable assumption.

Quoting other news sources:
The Fifa referees’ committee released their findings on Tuesday, as a guide for future judgments in this year’s tournament. And among other rulings, they made it clear to referees that they must watch for infractions at corners and free-kicks - specifically attacking players blocking markers, as happened on Saturday. ... Although the ruling comes too late for Nigeria, it has interesting implications for the rest of the tournament; a sign that Fifa will not tolerate the pushing, shoving and holding commonplace on both sides at dead-ball situations, and that in future such offences will be punished with either disallowed goals or penalties in the case of the defence committing an infraction.

http://www.kickoff.com/news/16122/fifa-slams-ref-over-argentine-goal.php

 

Is this guy going to give any post-match interviews or explanations beyond the match report? Or is that just not done?

 

Another wider shot of the mess as the ball was coming in. If he was calling attackers blocking or holding defenders it has to be looked at the other way as well.

The ratio is well skewed in the solvina direction.

 

So how soon after the matches are the referee reports releases (if at all)?

 

I think it speaks volumes that the called back goal is not even in the video highlights package on the FIFA website.

 

See https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showpost.php?p=21045031&postcount=56

I'd love to find a telescoping stick that I could use as a flag handle/cane.

3 and 4 aren't worth talking about.


Other analysis belongs in the US men's forum.

 

I'd just like to know what Coulibaly's call actually was on the Edu disallowed goal.