29 ARGJAM Pedersen
Argentina equalled World Cup 1998's biggest win by defeating Jamaica by five goals to nothing, confirming the team's progress and elimination respectively. The Caribbean side conceded one goal in the first half, but four having been reduced to ten men in the second.
Norway had a World Cup referee for the first time - Rune Pedersen took charge of this fixture. The Norwegian official adapted well to the specific demands of this performance and didn't get the big call wrong; he did well in general.
Big Decisions
Darryl Powell was given his marching orders, receiving his second yellow card in additional time at the end of the first half. Nobody could argue that Powell deserved to walk after the +47' tackle - FIFA dictated that it was SFP, and the referee should have issued a straight red card.
Jamaica's Powell was clearly seeing red mist before being shown the red card. Seconds before, he might well have been shown a second yellow for fouling Ortega from behind. Pedersen gave only a freekick - perhaps a verbal warning have prevented Powell's crazy tackle that followed; it's hard to know.
Ariel Ortega, no surprise, appealed twice for a penalty in the last fifteen minutes - the first claim (77') was turned away, the latter (82') resulted in a spot kick. Actually, I think the former was more of a penalty! At 77' he had his progress impeded; 82' the holding was a bit trifling.
Jamaica's Powell was clearly seeing red mist before being shown the red card. Seconds before, he might well have been shown a second yellow for fouling Ortega from behind. Pedersen gave only a freekick - perhaps a verbal warning have prevented Powell's crazy tackle that followed; it's hard to know.
Ariel Ortega, no surprise, appealed twice for a penalty in the last fifteen minutes - the first claim (77') was turned away, the latter (82') resulted in a spot kick. Actually, I think the former was more of a penalty! At 77' he had his progress impeded; 82' the holding was a bit trifling.
Weirdly, I suppose Pedersen took the more expected decision in both those cases, the same as for a holding incident on Diego Simeone right at the end of the first period.
Managing the Game
If I had to describe Rune Pedersen's performance in one word, I would probably plump for attentive. Good, would be another option.
Jamaica came out playing combatively, and the first fifteen minutes of the match were certainly the most demanding for the Norwegian ref over the piece. He instantly chose to make a point, cautioning Daryll Powell for a deliberate late charge.
A defendable caution. However, I wonder if a firm warning would have been more appropriate, and the yellow itself would have been better if accompanied by clear words (player) and gestures (audience). Pedersen did well to resist further potential yellows early on (5', 10', 12').
Dean Burton should have gone in the book for a reckless elbow at 13', but the referee had succeeded in terms of calming the game down. Two interesting looking potential violent conduct incidents - 19', 40' - might be worthy of theoretical discussion.
I would argue that Pedersen should have stuck to what proved effective at the start of the first half in the second, and caution Peter Cargill for his deliberate foul at 50'. But no matter really. José Chamot was correctly cautioned for an isolated incident (66'), the end of the game was a bit choppy, but the 88' yellow was enough.
Pedersen's manner was highly interesting. He was a determined figure on the pitch, closely following play and selling his decisions in an effective manner, but amongst the UEFA squad here, I wouldn't say natural authority was his strongest suit. Very excited to see the Norwegian in a more challenging match!
Jamaica came out playing combatively, and the first fifteen minutes of the match were certainly the most demanding for the Norwegian ref over the piece. He instantly chose to make a point, cautioning Daryll Powell for a deliberate late charge.
A defendable caution. However, I wonder if a firm warning would have been more appropriate, and the yellow itself would have been better if accompanied by clear words (player) and gestures (audience). Pedersen did well to resist further potential yellows early on (5', 10', 12').
Dean Burton should have gone in the book for a reckless elbow at 13', but the referee had succeeded in terms of calming the game down. Two interesting looking potential violent conduct incidents - 19', 40' - might be worthy of theoretical discussion.
I would argue that Pedersen should have stuck to what proved effective at the start of the first half in the second, and caution Peter Cargill for his deliberate foul at 50'. But no matter really. José Chamot was correctly cautioned for an isolated incident (66'), the end of the game was a bit choppy, but the 88' yellow was enough.
Pedersen's manner was highly interesting. He was a determined figure on the pitch, closely following play and selling his decisions in an effective manner, but amongst the UEFA squad here, I wouldn't say natural authority was his strongest suit. Very excited to see the Norwegian in a more challenging match!
Assistant Referees
Very quiet when they controlled the respective halves that Jamaica were attacking, Mikael Nilsson and Gennaro Mazzei were not too much more challenged when Argentina were attacking. Mazzei played a decent onside at 62', Nilsson quite a poor mistake at 41' which would lose him 0,2 points in UEFA.
Balance
Convincing performance in a partly challenging game by Rune Pedersen - a second appointment should follow.
| Rune Pedersen - 7 Mikael Nilsson - 6 Gennaro Mazzei - 7 Pierluigi Collina NOR, SWE, ITA | Argentina 5-0 Jamaica Group Stage 21 June |
 Chamot (66') - SPA (Holding) | Powell (4') - Challenge Cargill (88') - Aggressive Behaviour |
 Powell (+47') - Tackle |
Pedersen was a surprise name among the selected European referees, but he proved to be a good choice.
ReplyDeleteCollina fourth official? A rarity!