51 FRAPAR Bujsaim

 

France finally defeated obstinate Paraguay as Laurent Blanc scored the (first ever World Cup) sudden death extra time winner - a golden goal, in every sense. The participants of this match must have lived and died a thousand times, an epic, more-or-less without World Cup finals equal. 

The capricious officiating style of the Emirati referee, Ali Bujsaim, was an indelible part of that. A man from the desert, and two linesman from a cricket-playing nation and the middle of the ocean -  together with a passionate home crowd, quite some pressure cooker for the appointed officials indeed. 

Capricious though he was, and the English media were far from convinced (before a whistle blown, too), Bujsaim in the end came out a winner of the most remarkable match. He reffed it his own way, and certainly rode his luck, but as Blanc calmly slotted in France's decisive score, the Emirati had secured his own progression too. 

Big Decisions

There are three calls which I would like to focus on, montage below:

33' - Potential red card to Paraguay no.16 (SFP)
82' - Potential penalty to France (handling)
+93' - Potential penalty to Paraguay (impeding)

I think Bujsaim got the first two correct. Yellow to Julio César Enciso was just right for me - it was a follow-through from kicking the ball, not just a straight attack on Thierry Henry; though, it seems the referee only took that decision upon inspecting the injury. There was a deliberate charge at 82', so correct defensive freekick, no penalty. 

+93' is fascinating though - because one could quite easily make the case it should be a penalty. Fabien Barthez is beaten to the ball by José Cardozo, who is then clearly impeded by the France goalkeeper. I don't think Cardozo was trying to win a penalty, but one can ask the question if he would have reached the ball with that touch. 

I can perfectly understand the arguments that this "is not enough", for that Cardozo wasn't going to reach the ball and the late contact with Barthez is clearly careless. However, Bujsaim remarkably gives a defensive freekick(!) - you can infer that his instant reaction to the incident was one of some panic. 

I don't want to go for Bujsaim, you can hardly blame him (or any ref) for not giving a penalty, in that moment no less, but the instant defensive freekick decision is absolutely fascinating, at least in my view. 

Managing the Game

The key to this whole match was tension - it was inconceivable that France would lose, that Paraguay would win, but also very likely that a penalty competition would have been won by the plucky South Americans, and in the unlikely hosting city of Lens, the crowd were incredible tense too. 

Tension was a key part of the match officials' work. It was obvious that both the referee and his two assistants felt the pressure, but for Ali Bujsaim in charge, it also played in his favour - chiefly, because as the game went on, tactics went out the window and this became a question of courage for the players, but also in a more discreet way too. 

José Luis Chilavert stated before the match that he feared the performance of the officials more than the host nation's team, and his prophecy came true - Bujsaim had him in the book after less than twenty minutes; I'm not sure (m)any other(s) would have done the same as the Emirati. 

Confirmation bias saw this decision derided as ridiculous, but actually, this was excellent preparation on Bujsaim's part - before every goal kick in Paraguay's previous game (NGAPAR), Chilavert ran out to his defenders to berate them in a faux way to delay the game. He tried it again here - warning the first time, booking the second. For this World Cup - excellent. 

But, it would make scant difference surely as Chilavert would know that the referee would never give him a second caution again for DtR? Well, no, actually. First, Bujsaim showed he was not going to stand for such offences when he cautioned Miguel Benítez for that only five minutes later. 

More pertinently however, I think Chilavert calculated there was actually no predicting what this referee would do next. Most referees wouldn't dare send a player, least him, for two delaying the restart cautions, but there was a sneaky feeling on Chilavert's part that perhaps Bujsaim was 'crazy' enough to do it. So it worked! 

Getting the game back on was a very clear plan by Bujsaim for this game, and one which he pulled off quite successfully. He was always agitating Paraguay to restart a bit quicker than they otherwise would have, and seeing what appeared an erratic referee on that front, meant that more often than not, they heeded his messages and got going again. 

And that sums up the success of this performance - unpredictable, but enough. In general Bujsaim's foul selection was really not more than okay (eg. 39', 54), disciplinary control too (11', 33' after delay, 42', 51'), but with his proactive approach, managed to keep a hand on these nervous players; you can even say he called their bluff with how he reffed it. 

It was hardly textbook, or terribly aesthetic if I may say so, but he kept the game going with a very liberal use of advantage, and by the end there were actually rather few infractions for him to judge. The second period of extra time was quite special sporting drama, and Blanc's golden goal signalled mission accomplished not just for the France team, but Ali Bujsaim too. 

Assistant Referees

Nimal Wickramatunge and Lencie Fred were under high pressure in this match, with the world's media having made clear note of their origins as they prepare to officiate the most high-profile game of their respective careers. 

Both had performed well thus far, but Wickramatunge did not have a good afternoon. His tight flag at 50' is supportable, but an utterly disastrous offside at 22' in addition to rather failing as a team member a couple of times - 5', 55' - make this performance below par (failed the test). Fred was quiet, and did fine. 

Balance

An absolutely epic game for which neither refereeing highlights or a report fully do justice to! Ali Bujsaim was a key, perhaps even unwitting, part of the great tension in Lens - he simultaneously didn't inspire the greatest confidence with his style, his decisions, as doing a good job in a very tough environment. 

After two strong passing performances, albeit in two rather 'random' games from a refereeing perspective, a further appointment to the very late stages remained open for the Emirati referee I'd say. 

Ali Bujsaim - 7 Nimal Wickramatunge - 5 Lencie Fred - 7 Esfandiar Baharmast UAE, SRI, VAN	France 1-0 Paraguay (after sudden death extra time) Round of Sixteen 28 June
	Chilavert (19') - Delaying the Restart Benítez (24') - Delaying the Restart Enciso (33') - Challenge Rojas (85') - Tackle Arce (100') - Not Respecting 9.15m