You know what? I thought Nicola Rizzoli was great. He took control of this match right from the start and never relinquished it. He was fair, communicated well and gave an air of confidence that you just can’t fake. He owes a lot of his success – in this game in particular – to his outstanding ARs, Renato Faverani and
Read more
The referee for the final match of the 2014 World Cup is Nicola Rizzoli of Italy. He will be assisted by his longtime team, Renato Faverani and Andrea Stefani, both also of Italy. Carlos Vera of Ecuador will be the fourth official, which I must say is a big appointment for him. I, personally, could not be more thrilled or less surprised.
Read more
Overall, Cuneyt Cakir had a good game, in the sense that he really didn’t affect the outcome. The match never felt out of control. He started off keeping control but not calling every little thing, so setting a good tone. His communication with the players was good. The call at 13 minutes to give Argentina a free kick right outside the
Read moreThe 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: Brazil v. Mexico Algeria v. Russia Fourth official will be Jonas
Read more
The refereeing performances on this second day of the quarterfinals were sure better than the first. Nicola Rizzoli (Italy), Argentina v. Belgium This is the second time Rizzoli (above) has had to step into the breach after a particularly rough outing for another referee. He followed Yuichi Nishimura’s opening day performance, and today he followed arguably one of the worst
Read more
The last two quarterfinal referees have been named for Saturday, July 5: Nicola Rizzoli of Italy (above) and Ravshan Irmatov of Uzbekistan. I’m both pleased and sad at the Rizzoli appointment; pleased because it’s a good appointment, and sad because this means he’s out of the final. But I’m not surprised; quite frankly, though he’s been good, this isn’t the
Read more
The final two games of the knockout stage showcased two pretty solid refereeing performances. Jonas Eriksson (Sweden), Argentina v. Switzerland Usual disclaimer: The Swiss are my boys and any referee starts at a disadvantage, even one of my favorites like Eriksson. I must say, he does tower over pretty much everyone on the pitch, and he doesn’t take a lot
Read more
I appreciate the fact that FIFA has seen fit to give Switzerland two of my favorite referees of late: Bjorn Kuipers and now Sweden’s Jonas Eriksson (above). Djamel Haimoudi gets the Belgium v USA game, which I find a little bit surprising. The quarterfinal appointments should be quite interesting… Referee: Jonas Eriksson (SWE) Assistant Referee 1: Mathias Klasenius (SWE) Assistant Referee 2: Daniel
Read more
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
Read more
Update: Here’s a great new video clip that should put this to bed (thanks to reader Cicero). It’s pretty clear here that Zabaleta touched the ball very cleanly and the ball was out of reach before he ever touched Dejagah. What it was an Iranian corner, which wasn’t given. And to everyone who’s commenting on this, I am glad you’re here. I
Read more
PLAY THE ADVANTAGE 