44 USAYUG Al-Ghandour
Yugoslavia were unable to beat the United States by the necessary three-goal margin in order to avoid a second round match with the Netherlands, winning by the virtue of a single score, in the fourth minute. The States had actually played well in all three of their matches, and were unlucky to be eliminated without a point to their name.
The referee of a match that would have been more tense if it had happened a few years later was Egypt's Gamal Al-Ghandour, who had convinced in a tough first assignment (CHIAUT). In a game that wasn't always academic to ref, Al-Ghandour had another good performance, ensuring he went the way more of Yugoslavia than the US in this tournament.
Big Decisions
The Egyptian referee faced two more noteworthy situations in this game.
19' - correct play on, no handling (offence), decisions supported, if not solely taken, by South African assistant Achmat Salie.
64' - a very bizarre situation. David Regis tries to kick the ball, if he succeeds the contact on it is ultra-minimal, before kicking Perica Ognjenović in the face. I guess that Ognjenović not having clear control of the ball is the reason for the zero complaints?
19' - correct play on, no handling (offence), decisions supported, if not solely taken, by South African assistant Achmat Salie.
64' - a very bizarre situation. David Regis tries to kick the ball, if he succeeds the contact on it is ultra-minimal, before kicking Perica Ognjenović in the face. I guess that Ognjenović not having clear control of the ball is the reason for the zero complaints?
Correct decision for 64' would be a penalty + yellow card (reckless), but a surreal situation which (in 1998) should not be a CM(E). The freekick from which the only goal was scored appeared correct / supportable.
Managing the Game
Gamal Al-Ghandour faced a game more interesting than challenging, and contributed to it positively with his officiating.
The biggest strength of this performance was foul selection - astutely, Al-Ghandour chose to be quite rigorous in his line for infractions (eg. 21', 35', 41', 63', 69'). This did not impede the playing of the match, but was necessary in my view in order to keep a hand on everything in this slightly fractious encounter. Good officiating.
His use of sanctions was okay - caution at 42' was well-timed, the second half simulation call a good one (what an awful dive!). Honestly, I think the 13' tactical foul yellow would have been better spent for the kick(s) from behind at 20', but neither of those two decisions were clearly wrong.
Al-Ghandour missed a reckless striking offence which drew blood (38'), and should have booked the perpetrator of a reckless foul from behind (89') when he gave a freekick only. He used presence well for a couple of VC-ish incidents while the ball was still in play during the first half (39', then 44').
Besides the two mentioned, there actually were some quite interesting penalty appeals in this game; and finally, we have to mention the Egyptian ref's soft skills. Very good! He looked like a genuine comedian, at appropriate times, in this game - at least in my refereeing consciousness, he is the most gifted African referee ever in this regard.
The biggest strength of this performance was foul selection - astutely, Al-Ghandour chose to be quite rigorous in his line for infractions (eg. 21', 35', 41', 63', 69'). This did not impede the playing of the match, but was necessary in my view in order to keep a hand on everything in this slightly fractious encounter. Good officiating.
His use of sanctions was okay - caution at 42' was well-timed, the second half simulation call a good one (what an awful dive!). Honestly, I think the 13' tactical foul yellow would have been better spent for the kick(s) from behind at 20', but neither of those two decisions were clearly wrong.
Al-Ghandour missed a reckless striking offence which drew blood (38'), and should have booked the perpetrator of a reckless foul from behind (89') when he gave a freekick only. He used presence well for a couple of VC-ish incidents while the ball was still in play during the first half (39', then 44').
Besides the two mentioned, there actually were some quite interesting penalty appeals in this game; and finally, we have to mention the Egyptian ref's soft skills. Very good! He looked like a genuine comedian, at appropriate times, in this game - at least in my refereeing consciousness, he is the most gifted African referee ever in this regard.
Assistant Referees
A familiar pair of ARs for anyone who watched Match 64 - Achmat Salie was busier than Mark Warren in terms of offsides, the South African correct in his few situations (2', 45', 90').
Warren however had what looked a pretty tight goal/no-goal situation at 18'. Perhaps Warren fell to the Englishman fell to our disease of ultra-politeness when the corner taker prevented him from getting in the optimal position to assess this scene(!), parallel to the goalline. The ball surely didn't cross regardless, to be fair.
Warren however had what looked a pretty tight goal/no-goal situation at 18'. Perhaps Warren fell to the Englishman fell to our disease of ultra-politeness when the corner taker prevented him from getting in the optimal position to assess this scene(!), parallel to the goalline. The ball surely didn't cross regardless, to be fair.
Balance
Another promising performance from Gamal Al-Ghandour, especially considering his (CAF) political origin, but even regardless, I'd say he deserved to be retained for a third match in the quarterfinal round.
| Gamal Al-Ghandour - 7 Achmat Salie - 7 Mark Warren - 7 Ian McLeod EGY, RSA, ENG | United States 0-1 Yugoslavia Group Stage 25 June |
 Reyna (13') - SPA (Holding) | Stanković (42') - Tackle Ognjenović (62') - Simulation |
Imagine min. 64 with VAR...
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