The USWNT v Brazil friendly ended with 23 cards: 8 reds and 10 yellows to Brazil and 5 yellows to the US. I'm looking for the final count but based off of watching, I think 4 of the Brazil reds were to the coaching staff, including the head coach, and 4 to players (Bia's was a second yellow, and 2 of the reds were given after the final whistle; Brazil ended the match with 9 players). I was just wondering about the game management because it did look like the referee Paola Cebollada López (ESP) just let the game get away from her. It was going to be a spicy game regardless after the US had lost the previous friendly to Brazil a few days ago, and Brazil did sort of implode after the US scored, but it also looked like the referee had lost the plot at the end. I think all of Brazil's red cards were in stoppage time. I'm not arguing any of the cards shouldn't have been cards although even some of the yellows at the end didn't seem in line with what had been called earlier in the match. Did anyone here watch the match? Thoughts on the game management? One specific question, too: in extra time, US's Dickey was shown a yellow, and they said on the broadcast that it was for delay of the restart, but the restart was waiting for a red carded player to actually leave the field, and she (Bia) was taking her time and arguing it. Dickey may have very well also said something to get the yellow card, but it seems like you couldn't get a yellow for delay of restart in that situation, could you?
20:00 YT I know.. yards feets inches, etc... ball goes out near corner flag, they take it 10 yards up in the pitch with a USA player obviously delaying but no card this time. 10 seconds later, ball goes out again and this time it's like 20 yards up the pitch with another American player trying to impede. And the next one, also 10 yards up. Guess the American didn't care too much.
You are correct that a yellow card for delaying the restart of play should not be given if the “delay” occurs while an opponent leaves the field. However, I doubt that’s what this was for - she was all the way in the opposite half, so probably she was instigating some altercation with an opponent. I would say it’s likely a yellow card for the catch-all “lack of respect for the game.” I can’t comment on the refereeing without having watched the full match. Normally, my opinion in these situations, where the game becomes “out of control”, is that too much is blamed on the referee and not enough the behavior of the team(s). No matter how good or bad the refereeing was, it doesn’t justify this behavior. Furthermore, I think we usually need to commend referees who do have the guts to punish this behavior even when it does cause them to lose respect and control of one team; other referees may have chosen to condone certain things, so as to placate and appease the out-of-control team.
I would argue that you can’t control a game when the players and coaches refuse to be controlled. The only other thing she could’ve done would’ve been to show more cards to Brazilian players for mass confrontation, and then the game ends up abandoned because Brazil has less than seven players. Lowlights:
You can still control the tempo of the game from the start. There should be more fouls and yellows in the first half and the start of the second half. She just doesn't call them.
Are there any post game consequences for reds in friendlies? In a competition. The coach would get an extra game for his childish taking off his shirt and putting it in the AR.
I did see a few things that could've been called, but I think this game was doomed from the start because of the team's approaches. Brazil has no discipline, and the US knows how to exploit that.
The cards weren’t even working as a deterrent anyway. Brazil had an obvious SPA in the first half that went uncalled because it would have been a second yellow and that would have had the game spiral out of control in a different way. And while I think Sonnet went down easily for Brazil’s second yellow, that player was already on a caution and presumably should have been on their best behavior. (Though we know in the pro game that many players on a yellow will still push the issue knowing that the ref doesn’t really want to give a second yellow.) I swear teams could show up to the pitch with knives and clubs and some people would still blame the referee.
That’s a great referee performance. I saw the highlights that @frankieboylampard tagged me in, I saw the riot police come out to protect the ref and I said wow, what a great performance. joking aside it was nice to see a ref actually give cards for things. A few FRD cards when they ran up and blocked a free kick. A SPA card for deliberately blocking the goalkeepers release up the field where there was probably a counterattack that could come. The straight VC red for the elbow, even though that was a very OGSO she stopped to call it. Very nice
I hope so. Depending on what the coaches said it could deserve even more as well. And that defender with that VC elbow really needs to sit for multiple competitive games.
Usually when someone talks about getting control from the start, it's in regards to hard/questionable fouls, crowding, and the like. Brazil's reds late were for thrown elbows and striking an opponent; the hard fouls were controlled more often than not. If anything, the Brazilian coaches could have been tossed earlier, but it was still in half one when they were expelled. I've rarely seen expulsions to staffers that early in the game. I'm on the side of "not much else the referee could do" on this one.
yeah, but this is exactly what people mean when they say the referee should have gotten control. That play reveals the difference between a quality high level official, and someone holding on for dear life. Look, the ball went out at the corner flag. No foul? Ok, I don't know about that, but whatever. Now teh player runs up and is impeded. This is the chance to stop the game, move the throw back, use the AR to clearly spot it, and reign all things in. Heck if that throw in takes 30 seconds to do properly, it will be worth it, and would have reduced the temp by about 30 degrees. Instead, she allows an improper throw in, she allows an American to interfere with the restart and escape unpunnished, and neither team has any confidence she will sanction things. In this case it was less about the throw being 10 (actually, closer to 15) yards away from where it went out, as much as letting the inmates know that they are now officially running the assylum.
Depends on the referee's opinion of whether she was within playing distance of the ball. Impeding fouls require she not be in playing distance. I do think the play can be reasonably debated--could be an argument for tripping the way she went in as well. I think the R's view was the US player was trying to play the ball, in playing distance, and got there first. Hence a foul on the Brazilian driving later.
I think if she had managed to interpose herself without initiating contact, the play would be legal. But I think she drove into the Brazilian player's leg.
The ref really let this one get away. Granted the players were crazy (and the Brazilian coaches). But the ref let a lot of things go. Even calling all the fouls and handing out all the cards. Granted if she would have really cracked down, there was a good chance the game would have been abandoned. But Brazil wasn't there to play anyway. (and USA wasn't a whole lot better,) It would have probably been better to abandon the match. Very lucky only the one Brazilian player got injured.
Yeah this should definitely be a fault against the USA. She ran right into the brazil player’s right leg. But that’s easy to tell on replay, it would probably be pretty hard to tell in real time because it looked like the USA player got position in front of Brazil and then Brazil ran into her back there’s the USA player running in and first contact is with brazils knee But I would not call this impeding with contact”, it would purely be tripping because she ran into the leg. Impeding with contact would be if USA got in front and established position and then jumped backwards into Brazil
I went back and watched the full game yesterday (before the USA/Paraguay game... yes I'm justifying watching it durring the WC). I don't often say this, but this disaster was on the referee. Brazil misbehaved badly, but the referee made decisions that led to it being a nightmare. She didn't manage throw ins or restarts...as in at all, which led to the players taking the law into thier own hands. As the game got dicy, she did not call it tighter or slow it down... if anythign she let it get crazier. The Brazil coach was being a punk for sure, and totally blew off the 4th official (who seemed like she was diong more to manage the game than the R), and so it didn't surprise me that he got sent. But at least 2 of his assistants got sent too, and the referee looked out of control in the process, similar to how she looked after the game. Finally, the last red card in the game (the elbow) could have been totally avoided by calling any number of fouls earlier, or just ending the game (they were way past the indicated injury time). Anyway, the ref (I think from Spain) felt completely lost.