R16 Analysis: ESP-POR - Baldassi (ARG)

I liked the attitude of the ref in attempting to let this game flow naturally, rather than pull up pathetic non contact dives and even letting little "taps" go (players at this level should be able to handle a bump here and there).

But the refs attitude did seem to be premediated and the longer the game went the more he seemed to let go that which seemed an obvious violation (major bump, rather than minor) and that took out of the game some of the better attacking players.

 

Nice application of Ask-Tell-Remove.

He looked quite unfit, but always seemed to be on-the-spot, frequently having to adjust slightly to avoid the path of the ball. He didn't do it by sprinting; he did it by constant motion.

He made good use of advantage, too, in addition to his (generally) good calls.

That said C. Ronaldo couldn't buy a call. The referees have read his book and seen his act and the reviews are negative.

Given that, it is unfortunate that the 89' send-off of Costa may have been the result of some embellishment. Baldassi was 20+ yards from that challenge, looking through several players. The AR certainly didn't call it as he can be seen running to the goal line.

 

This is about the only truly missed call that I saw in the entire match.
I do agree that it was a foul and that Portugal was deprived of a whistle, but I would like to offer an explanation other than referee bias, which isn't likely.

I believe that both the AR and the CR were straight-lined on the play. What I mean by that is that the officials were directly in line with the two players instead of being perpendicular to them. The perpendicular view would have allowed a view of the space between the two players and a look at the two handed push to the body. However, the positioning of officials left them each looking at the back of one of the players and unable to see the push. Specifically, the CR was looking at the back of the Spanish player and blocked from seeing his arms, while the AR could only see the body of the player from Portugal and similarly blocked from the arms of the fouling player. This sometimes happens when the two referees on one end of the pitch are working hard to box in the play between them.

The only person who could have called this foul would have been the 4th Official. He would have had a decent angle to observe the shove and could have used the communication system to alert the CR, but that would depend upon what their pregame discussion was.

 

I see your point but I don't agree with it. Even if we assume that neither the CR or the AR could see the push...they both certainly saw the Spanish defender turn his back on the ball when it was still in flight and never looked back at it. So....if there is any contact at all it has to be seen as a foul. The defender made zero attempt to play the ball and that could be seen by anyone in the entire stadium.

Also...I find it a bit strange that FIFA would find it permissable to have an Argentinian officiating crew with Spain playing. A little too close for comfort imo.

What can you do though. Another game where missed calls and phantom calls oveshadow the game itself.

 

Spain's close to Argentina now? I don't understand.

 

I watched the push on Ronaldo quite closely on the replay. It seemed clear to me that he got pushed then completely flopped. I thought it was a good non-call. Be that as it may, it's funny (as in peculiar) that we have rants and rants about diving, then when a referee does appear to take a stand, we have rants and rants...

 

Well duh, they both speak Spanish!! (dripping with sarcasm)

I really do love this guy (Baldassi). He actually smiles, seems to be really at ease out there, and seems to catch everything important that is going on. I do love how he keeps his cards in his little wallet...reminds me of what younger referees typically do. I really hope to see him again.

 

No they're not close..but they are both latin/spanish ish...if you know what I mean.

 

You saw the red card near the end of the game right?

He "caught" what he thought was something important and was fooled by a flopping Spanish player. The same flopping he did so well (dripping with sarcasm) in catching when Ronaldo was legitimately being fouled.

 

I always change how I keep my cards. Sometimes like for some high school games I keep them in my wallet. Other times I have them out in the pockets...sometimes they're write onable other times they're not and I use the wallet.

I like how he does it, he just had a presence about him that show'd control.

 

Looked like an elbow to the head to me. I haven't seen any conclusive evidence to prove otherwise.

 

Please tell me my sarcasm meter is broken.

 

So would you have the same problem if an American say refereed the England against Germany in the round of eight?

 

That was an excellent call on the send off. If you have the game on tape watch for 89:09. It's a view of the entire penalty area. You can see the Portuguese player Costa, cock his left elbow and deliver a shot that catches Capdevilla.

 

I'm in London this week so I don't have access to my DVR (yes, I know about Slingbox and no I don't have one). It does mean, however, that I got to watch the game on BBC. They weren't sure about the elbow either, at first, but eventually we got to see a replay that shows it was well-earned and that Baldassi was well-positioned to see it. Capdevilla's amateur theatrics, while distasteful, had nothing to do with the call.

(I posted this before I saw Alberto's post that immediately precedes it. The view to which Alberto refers is the same view the BBC eventually showed us. Sorry, v00d00, but I think there's nothing phantom about that send-off.)

 

While I think he's mistaken in saying that there was anything horrendous about the officiating in this game, his point is well-taken and it is exactly the same one we were making about Stark having the England-Slovenia game. The winner of this match has a good chance of playing Argentina in the semifinals.

 

Does anyone else think that the player who flicked it on to Villa came from an offside position to play the pass? I think he is the one who is offside first. i caught it as play happened and all the closeup shots on ESPN showed the camera behind villa as he finished. if anyone has a DVR shot of the ball being played to (I think #13 on spain) who flicked the pass to villa, i'd like to see it.

 

Yeah but he also said he was biased against Portugal. If you wanted Argentina to win I'd suggest having Portugal win rather than Spain.

 

He is in an offside position for a period of time before the ball is played to him, but is JUST onside when it is, so that is a good call. This play really had 2 extremely tight offside decisions within 2 seconds...

 

The game was so much easier as a spectator. I find myself tracking 2lds and observing the ref's diagonal almost as much as I do the buildup of play. Is it strange that instead of following the ball into the goal with my eyes, I look at the ar? LOL

 

Is there a replay that shows the elbow to the face for the send off? All I'm seeing are replays that start too late to catch it happening.

A side note. I can't believe how crazy people can be (in the thread for the game) and think the reffs are all horrible and think they are out to get their team.

 

I guess I can understand why some people think he did a bad job, but this was one of the few games that I did not push the fast forward button on the dvr. And here is why
a. the players respected his calls. In about the 80 minute puyol cleanly tackles the left winger close to the 18 yard box. the winger gets up and they exchange hugs. It looked like a hard tackle in real time, but the ref got it right.

b. not once was there a player in his face or wagging the finger in his face or in his chest(ala lannoy and lucio from brazil)

c. he let them play like men and they respected that.

d. ronaldo dives a lot and unfortunately for players like that in games, referees will be aware of that. If he stops diving, then he will get the benefit of the doubt!!!!

e. He was so fluid and spot on when he called fouls. Thereby gaining the respect of the players

f. On the red card- could have escalated into a brawl, but was handled really well by the players themselves.

g. costa was itching for a fight. the only thing i think baldassi could have done is when costa twice had his arm around villa's upper chest in an aggressive manner on 2 fouls- perhaps a talking to on that one?

h. He did a bloody great job.I just sat there and watched him and and hoped he would get the final.

 

Everyone keeps talking about the replays. I think the key footage is the live feed. The incident happens at 88:14. Watch that moment. First, look at the intersection of the D and watch the Portugal player and the Spanish player. It is clear the Portuguese player lead with an elbow.

Then, rewind and watch Baldassi. He is looking DIRECTLY at the play. He then whistles immediately ad is pulling his book out as he heads in.

For me, this is the bed shot of the entire incident...even better than the final replay an much better than the first couple that start after the elbow is down.

I think there is no doubt he saw it and reacted immediately (regardless of the pathetic exaggeration) with a decision in which he showed complete confidence.

 

I think Capdevila did a good job selling the alleged elbow to the ref...
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJPiyKbR_ew"]YouTube- Ricardo Costa gets Red Card for Nothing[/ame]