Saturday’s games will feature two repeat referees and one we have only seen as a fourth official: New Zealand’s dreamy Peter O’Leary. Argentina and Iran have Milorad Mazic. The Serb is very well thought-of around FIFA, though I thought his original outing (Germany v. Portugal) was rather hit or miss. One of the best referees I’ve seen in the tournament
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We had another exciting day, with 2010 champions Spain exiting the tournament and Alex Song treating us to the stupidest behavior of the tournament so far… Djamel Haimoudi (ALG), Netherlands v Australia Haimoudi’s inability to hide his sheer, unbridled joy at walking out onto the pitch was truly charming. It’s a good reminder that these are human beings and it’s
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The ball did hit Daryl Janmaat of Netherlands on the hand in the box. No question. So, if you’re going by the letter of the law, Algerian Djamel Haimoudi might be considered right to give the penalty. But I have two questions about the call, the second more serious than the first. 1.) Did it rise to the level of a penalty?
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Yay! Switzerland get Bjorn Kuipers!! When my Suisse play France on Friday, we’ll have the very best in the middle. Kuipers (above), a supermarket owner from the Netherlands, put on a masterclass in his inaugural game: England v. Italy. He’s a “by the book” kind of referee, but we’re a “by the book” kind of team, so that should work out
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Have you noticed that weird-ass board the fourth officials are holding up to note substitutions and added time? Well, that’s the biggest piece of product placement you’ll ever see. Yes, luxury watch maker Hublot bought the game board. Not only does it say ‘HUBLOT’ in giant letters, as it has in the past, but it’s actually shaped like the original
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The showpiece today was Brazil v. Mexico and what a showpiece it was, thanks in part to the refereeing crew. But we start with the Mexican referees… Marco Rodriguez (Mexico), Belgium v. Algeria First of all, this guy loves his hair product, doesn’t he? Rodriguez tended to let a lot of potential fouls go, but it was equal for both teams,
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So, very few sane people argue Pepe’s red card in Germany v. Portugal. But shouldn’t Muller have seen yellow for his play acting after Pepe’s initial smack to the upper body? In short, no. The big myth amongst football fans is that this kind of dramatic exaggeration – designed to call a referee’s attention to a transgression – is simulation,
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Over a week into the tournament, we finally get our first glimpse at England’s Howard Webb (above). I wouldn’t even call it a showpiece, pitting as it does Colombia against Cote D’Ivoire. The biggest game of the day (which Webb could obviously not take) would probably be Uruguay v. England. Uruguay pretty much must win to have a chance at
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Another great day of games in Brazil. Here are my thoughts on today’s referees: Milorad Mazic (SRB), Germany v. Portugal Mazic (above) is not a big guy, and he hasn’t been an Elite referee for very long, but he pretty much towered over this game. He called an early penalty for Germany after a tug in the box (more evidence
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Well, this was an exciting match, wasn’t it? Milorad Mazic, the Serbian who has taken refereeing by storm the last few years, had complete control over this match from the start, physical pushing players around (mostly Portuguese players) when they got out of hand. But, like it or not, he had a big impact on the game with two calls
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PLAY THE ADVANTAGE 