14 ENGTUN Okada
England's second and clinching goal against Tunisia came with a less than a minute of normal time remaining, ensuring the Three Lions scored three points, from a game blighted by fighting in the city of Marseille on matchday.
Japanese Masayoshi Okada was the man in charge of proceedings as referee. Okada succeeded for most of the game with his extreme, but proactive leniency, however he failed to change his approach when the players turned, and by the end he had let too much go.
Japanese Masayoshi Okada was the man in charge of proceedings as referee. Okada succeeded for most of the game with his extreme, but proactive leniency, however he failed to change his approach when the players turned, and by the end he had let too much go.
Big Decisions
The most noteworthy situation in this match occurred at 66' - David Batty really should have been sent off in my view for his ridiculous challenge, trying to clear the ball with an overhead kick which totally predictably smashed Imed Ben Younes in the head.
Nobody really expected a red card back then, look closely at the players' reaction. The media's too - for example, German football magazine Kicker said that Batty should have been shown the yellow card. At least, I'd like to think that such a needlessly dangerous action nowadays, would instantly result in a red card.
Nobody really expected a red card back then, look closely at the players' reaction. The media's too - for example, German football magazine Kicker said that Batty should have been shown the yellow card. At least, I'd like to think that such a needlessly dangerous action nowadays, would instantly result in a red card.
Otherwise: England appealed for a penalty at 41' (director messed up the replays) in the biggest other call that the officials faced; 20' was much more a defensive freekick for simulation than a penalty and the freekick from which England scored the opening goal was acceptably / correctly given (holding)
Managing the Game
For the most part Masayoshi Okada's ultra-lenient diligence proved to be a formula for success on this afternoon, but when it started not to be, Okada failed to adapt his approach and the result was a mess at the end.
The most immediately striking thing about Okada is that mechanically, he doesn't really profit from a great amount of natural authority on a presence level. In that respect, this referee really impressed me - his serious tone aroused respect from the players, good job.
Widely accurate through the goings-on of the game, the ref from Japan opted for a really lenient approach to sanctions. In the first half, that worked really well - Sol Campbell's trip was surely on the borderline (16'), but no yellow card was surely okay too.
The Japanese made a good start to the second half, José Clayton's caution at 47' was one that everyone could agree on. I would genuinely praise him for staying true to his approach by not issuing a caution in the blatant holding scene at 53', but again, really everyone expected a sanction there.
Widely accurate through the goings-on of the game, the ref from Japan opted for a really lenient approach to sanctions. In the first half, that worked really well - Sol Campbell's trip was surely on the borderline (16'), but no yellow card was surely okay too.
The Japanese made a good start to the second half, José Clayton's caution at 47' was one that everyone could agree on. I would genuinely praise him for staying true to his approach by not issuing a caution in the blatant holding scene at 53', but again, really everyone expected a sanction there.
Even onto then, everything was going very swimmingly. Okada's warnings proved to be effective and well-timed (16', 53'), his leniency was proactive, and the game quite enjoyable. However, the Batty incident (66') made everyone much more anxious.
Okada was right to sanction Imed Ben Younes at 69', in so far as he was fortunate not to have been knocked clean out, but ostensibly the referee did not take the hint as for what was to come:
73' - wrong freekick to England
74' - tense fight for the ball, probably missed freekick but no replay
75' - missed freekick + yellow card (standing leg tackle), then potential red card for SFP
Okada then seemingly begins to panic a bit, he awards England a soft-to-wrong freekick in addition to blowing a prematurely early half a minute later, both at 77'.
Two very blatant tactical fouls go without a caution (79', 81'), before a red card challenge goes without whistle (82'); Okada though was well-positioned to waive off a Tunisia appeal for a handling penalty at 83', no replay.
Incidents at 87' (in my eyes, should be a RC) and 88' (very agricultural...), yellow cards given, were a direct consequence of the Japanese referee's approach. While Okada did not lose control in the classic sense, he lost his grip on the players' actions in the last twenty minutes, from which I can only conclude that he failed the test.
Okada was right to sanction Imed Ben Younes at 69', in so far as he was fortunate not to have been knocked clean out, but ostensibly the referee did not take the hint as for what was to come:
73' - wrong freekick to England
74' - tense fight for the ball, probably missed freekick but no replay
75' - missed freekick + yellow card (standing leg tackle), then potential red card for SFP
Okada then seemingly begins to panic a bit, he awards England a soft-to-wrong freekick in addition to blowing a prematurely early half a minute later, both at 77'.
Two very blatant tactical fouls go without a caution (79', 81'), before a red card challenge goes without whistle (82'); Okada though was well-positioned to waive off a Tunisia appeal for a handling penalty at 83', no replay.
Incidents at 87' (in my eyes, should be a RC) and 88' (very agricultural...), yellow cards given, were a direct consequence of the Japanese referee's approach. While Okada did not lose control in the classic sense, he lost his grip on the players' actions in the last twenty minutes, from which I can only conclude that he failed the test.
That's a genuinely a real shame - I was really impressed with his sophisticated style for the most part, and Okada did do a good job with his ultra-lenient approach. However, he risked the safety of the players by not adapting to the revised circumstances of the last twenty minutes, which spoilt this performance overall.
Assistant Referees
Pretty quiet one for Jeon Young-hyun and Dramane Danté respectively, though they were both overruled by their referee in a single scene each (Malian flagged for a freekick not given at 8', Korean a throw-in at 40' which Okada judged as a foul).
NB - originally, Aristidis Chris Soldatos was appointed as assistant referee no.2 on this match, but picked up an injury. So, Dramane Danté officiated in his stead, and South African Soldatos took Danté's place in the Romania - England game, at Marc Batta's side.
NB - originally, Aristidis Chris Soldatos was appointed as assistant referee no.2 on this match, but picked up an injury. So, Dramane Danté officiated in his stead, and South African Soldatos took Danté's place in the Romania - England game, at Marc Batta's side.
Balance
Masayoshi Okada showed to be quite a sophisticated referee, but in sticking rigidly to his very lenient approach even when the game got tough, he rather failed in this match. I warmed a lot to his sovereign and diligent style, but against strong competition from his confederation, the only real solution after this one was for his first match at World Cup 1998 to be his last (in the middle).
| Masayoshi Okada - 5 Jeon Young-hyun - 7 Dramane Danté - 7 Kim Milton Nielsen JPN, KOR, MLI | England 2-0 Tunisia Group Stage 15 June |
 Campbell (88') - Tackle | Clayton (47') - Tackle Ben Younes (69') - SPA (Challenge) Ghodhbane (87') - Tackle |
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