2 MARNOR Un-Prasert

 

In the late game on opening day, Morocco and Norway's lent styles lent to an exciting match. Morocco took the lead in both halves only for Norway to equalise both strikes; the two-all final score was probably a fair result on the balance of play. 

Not quite the prestigiousness of reffing the opener itself, but an appointment to this day one game still constituted a huge vote of confidence from FIFA for those who got it. A trio of South-Asian officials, led by Pirom Un-Prasert from Thailand, were in charge - and did a very sound job in a game of normal difficulty. 

Big Decisions

There were no calls taken by the officials which were really headline-worthy.

Both Norway goals came from freekicks which were correctly awarded (+46', 61') - the latter by Malaysian assistant Halim Abdul Hamid. The scores themselves for the Norway team came from messy goalmouth scrambles, in which Un-Prasert correctly determined that there had been no foul play. 

Any regular AFCON watcher would have identified recognisable features in the Morocco goalkeeper Driss Benzekri - an excellent ability to save shots, but a vampire-esque fear of facing crosses, which could have seen him concede a couple penalty kicks in the first half. 

While at 8' he punches the ball away cleanly, his knee in the back of attacker Øyvind Leonhardsen would probably result in a penalty and a caution at World Cup 2022, at least according to trends in UEFA games at the moment. 

37' is trickier - Benzekri misses the ball before colliding with Ole Gunnar Solskjær in the penalty area. I agree with Un-Prasert's play on call. The centred-ball had passed Solskjær anyway when the goalkeeper charged him, and he did so in a manner that was only careless. The referee from Thailand was well-positioned and on hand to make, in my view, the right call. 

Un-Prasert correctly saw through an attempt by backing in to win Norway a penalty (79'); was Dan Eggen struck in the box as he was jumping to head the ball at 81'? Perhaps, but the pictures are not really conclusive. 

Managing the Game

Despite being a rather dynamic match, it was not a challenging one to officiate in the sense of managing the players and the event. 

Saïd Chiba escaped a clear caution for a (very) reckless foot-up foul at 41', Un-Prasert was content with a warning and ordering an apology from him to the fouled player. Chiba's was then booked at 79', correctly, having committed a tactical foul. Besides that, there was relatively little on the disciplinary front. 

Morocco captain Naybet might well have been cautioned for his angry reaction at not getting a freekick in a tussle with Tore André Flo (52'), and was perhaps struck by the Norway player in front of the same AR (Hamid) a couple of minutes later. Un-Prasert visibly looked out to his Malaysian teammate, who obviously told him that no disciplinary sanction was in order. 

In terms of minor points - the Thai referee missed just a few fouls here and there (4', 18', 20', 65', 87'), was strict on shirt pulling (19', +46') and was clearly very fit, easily gliding across the field to keep up with play. 

Finally, I liked the Thai referee's smiley, friendly and reasonable manner a lot. It was well in-keeping with a fair-spirited evening; a near-perfect start, to FIFA's World Cup.

Assistant Referees

Another good match for the ARs on opening day, what a vast improvement made in four years, for which FIFA deserve great credit. Both Halim Abdul Hamid and Nimal Wickramatunge showed a solid ability to deal with crossover situations, and functioned very well as team members too. 

Wickramatunge actually made a clear mistake at 58', it seems he just lost concentration, and perhaps the Morocco player right in front of him put him off. The tight calls by the Sri Lankan to flag (27'), seems better than Hamid's at 18', but the AR from Malaysia did play what seemed a very good onside at 10' (no replay, no widescreen). 

Balance

FIFA must have been really chuffed with how day one of World Cup 1998 went for the officials - all three members of this South-Asian trio performed well, referee Pirom Un-Prasert deserved to make the tough cut in getting a second appointment in the middle. 

Pirom Un-Prasert - 7 Halim Abdul Hamid - 7 Nimal Wickramatunge - 7 Edward Lennie THA, MAS, SRI	Morocco 2-2 Norway Group Stage 10 June
Chiba (79') - SPA (Holding)