Referee for World Cup Semifinal between Netherlands and Argentina: Cuneyt Cakir
The second semifinal of the World Cup will be officiated by Cuneyt Cakir of Turkey.
This isn’t a huge surprise, for me, at least. Cakir’s well-respected by FIFA and he does have quite a bit of experience.
He’s done pretty well in this tournament. Here’s what he’s been in:
Fourth official will be Jonas Eriksson of Sweden.
Featured Photo: goalpost.tv
Expected, but thoroughly deserved appointment.
BTW – Italian newspaper La Gazzeta Delo Sport, who are usually reliable in all things refereeing claim this is the shortlist for the final: Cakir, Geiger, Irmatov, Proenca and Rizzoli. We can now rule out Cakir. So I see this happening:
Brazil-Netherlands: Irmatov
Germany-Argentina: Geiger
Germany-Netherlands: Rizzoli
Brazil-Argentina: Proenca
However, I doubt we’ll see Proenca again. Moreover, I still think Eriksson is in with a chance if it’s a all-COMMEBOL or all-UEFA final. If it is indeed a UEFA referee, I can only see Eriksson and Rizzoli getting the honour.
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Eriksson and Geiger are 4O for semis. If they were being held for final, they’d give the 4O to another ref
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I agree that it’s very unlikely we’ll see Messrs Geiger and Eriksson in the final. I don’t think it’s ever happened in the past (I’ll need to delve into the record books), but hey, there’s a first for everything. I personally wouldn’t rule them out just yet.
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I really don’t get the Geiger obsession. He doesn’t have the experience for a World Cup final.
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You could argue Horacio Elizondo or Said Belqola did not have the experience, but they ref’d a WC final, in their first ever tournament.
Geiger had two solid performances out of there. I haven’t seen much of on this side of the pond – but generally, I’ve been impressed. Yes, he had a poor game, but so have Proenca and Irmatov who are also (reportedly) also in the running, even though they are more “experienced”.
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Sorry for the grammatical errors – using smartphone…
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Oh…too bad…I was still hoping for Webb, never mind how unlikely that is.
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Instinct says it will be an AFC refereeing crew for the final and CAF for the Third-Place play-off to please all federations. Difficult to satisfy CONMEBOL given their current involvement.
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Who are you suggesting?
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Agree. I think that one part of FIFA’s anti racist campaign will be appointing a black man for bronze medal game. In this case Mr Doue. And the gold medal game for Mr Irmatov. I would prefer Mr Rizzoli for the last match, but I think it is politically impossible to grant UEFA two finals in a row.
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