The second day of knockout stage action is a good one if you are a female fan of the referees. Two lookers up: Pedro Proenca of Portugal and Ben Williams of Australia. I must say, I’m pleasantly surprised to see Williams. I thought he did really well in his last outing, with great fitness and foul detection and a good red
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Steven Defour’s straight red card was the typical “miss the ball, get the player with your studs” challenge we’ve seen punished over and over in this World Cup. Though there was a moment when it looked like Australian referee Ben Williams wouldn’t actually send the Belgian off, he produced the card in short order. At least the referees are calling
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Honestly, none of the referees blew me away today with their awesomeness. And a couple of them did some really, really strange things… Ravshan Irmatov (Uzbekistan), USA v Germany In a game shadowed with rumors of match fixing, I really expected the referee to come out swinging and call the game very tight. Irmatov did the opposite. I saw him
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FIFA aren’t screwing around with the first knockout stage games. They’re pulling out the big guns: Howard Webb of England and Bjorn Kuipers of Netherlands (both shown above). Brazil v. Chile will need a strong hand, and they have it in Webb, who was stellar in his last appearance. Kuipers has impressed in this tournament, as well. Also, we get some pretty, pretty boys
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By now, everyone’s heard FIFA’s pronouncement on Luis Suarez and his inability to control himself. FIFA said he violated “Article 48”, which I assume prohibits players from being giant dickheads. Nine matches (including the rest of the World Cup) Four months of no football activity whatsoever: No training or playing for club or country, no supporting from the stands, no
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First of all, being in their group, I can tell you that Ecuador played a lot better than their record indicates. They were a definite threat throughout the group stages. Unfortunately, late in their game against France, Antonio Valencia was sent off for a studs up challenge on Lucas Digne. You can see it on Fansided (which is where the below images
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I only covered two matches today. If you watched the other matches, feel free to leave your thoughts on the referees below. Nicola Rizzoli (Italy), Nigeria v. Argentina Yes, I have an enormous schoolgirl crush on Nicola Rizzoli (above), but these are the days when he reminds us of what a great referee he is. His fitness was great, allowing
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These appointments came quite late compared to the other appointments, which usually came early in the morning two days before the match was played. The one other exception: Brazil’s second match against Mexico. Officials had been accused of favoritism in Brazil’s first game, including a soft penalty, and had disallowed two onside goals for Mexico. Cuneyt Cakir was announced for
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Greece went through to the knockout stages by the skin of their teeth: A stoppage time penalty award by Ecuadoran referee Carlos Vera. Here it is… What do you think? Penalty or not? Featured photo: Huffington Post
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I didn’t watch all the games today, because I took some time to off go into the city and watch a game with my Colombian buddy. I’ll review the referees I watched. Feel free to add your comments and thoughts on the other referees below! Marco Rodriguez (Mexico), Italy v. Uruguay These teams required a strong referee, which is just what
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PLAY THE ADVANTAGE 