32 ROUENG Batta

 

Romania were the better team over the piece and if either team deserved to scramble a scrappy ninetieth minute winner, it was them; England and Colombia now faced a decisive tie, probably for second place, in the final group game. 

Representing the host nation, Marc Batta was the referee of the match. Two teams who mostly wanted to get on with the game made it a pretty academic evening for the man in charge, who reffed it well on the whole. 

Big Decisions

Few, if any, for the officials to take in this one - perhaps a potential second yellow card against Gheorghe Popescu (62') aside. 

Managing the Game

Marc Batta used his cards effectively in this game which didn't demand too much of it's referee (on a World Cup finals level).  

The players had no real issue with the Frenchman's foul detection, though I slightly struggled to detect a clear line which he was following. There were some positive calls (17', 86'), but also some counting in the other direction (eg. 14'); it was not the most predictable amongst the World Cup 1998 refs squad. 

Batta correctly identified four caution offences, and issued a yellow in each of them - Gheorghe Hagi's is worth highlighting, having been fortunate to get away without sanction a minute earlier, his deliberate 4' trip rightly earned him a booking. +93' was well-spotted, taking place off-the-ball. 

His disciplinary control would have been improved if he'd have sent clearer tactical signals on more borderline fouls (10', 30', 49', 56', 62', 82'), as opposed to just whistling the freekick normally. Adrian Ilie (25', striking) and Paul Scholes (42', simulation) should have been cautioned for isolated incidents. 

The players respected this referee who presented respectful / determined top-down authority, but some scenes hinted at a lack of more refined soft skills, for example in caution procedure (4') and dissent management (10'). 

Batta's whistle tones reminded me distinctly of Michel Vautrot's, actually FIFA's director of refereeing for this tournament. After the former blew up for the final time on this evening, he stepped in well to prevent some kind of flair-up, which was the conclusion to a successful evening for the 1998 French referee. 

Assistant Referees

Aristidis Chris Soldatos, whom Dramané Dante replaced in England's first game (ENGTUN) and the South African deputised in his place, was felled by two offside calls in five second half minutes (61', 66'). 8,1 would be the UEFA mark for him. Batta's compatriot on the line Jacques Poudevigne was not really challenged. 

Balance

Despite some technical considerations cropping up, good performance by the home ref. A second appointment would follow. 

Marc Batta - 7 Jacques Poudevigne - 7 Aristidis Chris Soldatos - 6 Said Belqola FRA, FRA, RSA	Romania 2-1 England Group Stage 22 June
Hagi (4') - Persistent Infringement Gh. Popescu (+46') - Tackle Ciobotariu (79') - SPA (Tackle) Filipescu (+92') - SPA (Striking)

World Cup 1998 refereeing blog will now take a break from reporting matches for a short while.