One of my favorite things about Djamel Haimoudi is that he always just looks so darn happy to be there. I mean I guess they all are, but Haimoudi just can’t hide his joy. It’s adorbs. But, to quote myself after his first match, because of that: “I wish he’d done better.” Or to quote my friend Mark: “Fastest referee
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
Pedro Proenca (Portugal), Netherlands v. Mexico As always when the Dutch play, this match threatened to descend into violence early. Proenca (above) is a good referee for that sort of thing. He doesn’t have the imposing visage of a Howard Webb or Bjorn Kuipers, nor does he have the temper of a Nicola Rizzoli. He’s just a very calm referee and
Read more
I watch Arjen Robben play the way I watch Luis Suarez, always half-cringing. They’re both so difficult to watch the way they throw themselves about, straining to get a foul or a penalty instead of – you know – playing the game. They’re both much too talented to have to act that way. I know it’s their game and it
Read more
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
Read more
Great performances from the referees today in some very physical and exciting games. Bakary Gassama (Gambia), Netherlands v. Chile First time I’ve seen Gassama (above), but I was fairly impressed with him. He was pretty good at foul detection, not missing much. These two teams are prone to, shall we say, over-exaggerating. He didn’t fall for much of that. Not
Read more
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?
Read more
PLAY THE ADVANTAGE 