All the ladies will be glad to know that Dr. Dreamy is back! Yes, Dr. Felix Brych of Germany will referee Belgium v Russia. These teams have everything to fight for, but after shaky outings for each expect it to be ugly. At least the referee won’t be. (I love the above photo, from dw.de. He looks like he’s posing
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Two of refereeing’s old guard – Howard Webb of England (above) and Carlos Velasco of Spain – came out to play today. One performed well, and one performed…well…. Howard Webb (ENG), Colombia v. Ivory Coast Webb reminded us today why he’s one of the best. He was nigh on perfect the first half, keeping his cards in his pockets but
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The most controversial moment of the 2-1 Uruguayan victory over England came at around 30 minutes. Daniel Sturridge was sprinting down the sideline toward goal, pursued by Uruguay captain Diego Godin. In what appeared to be a cynical attempt to stop the run of play, Godin reached out and slapped Sturridge in the throat, elbow first. The professional foul worked,
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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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PLAY THE ADVANTAGE 