52 NGADEN Meier
Denmark stunned Nigeria with two goals in the opening quarter-hour of their second round clash, before going on to complete a surprise four-one victory and date with Brazil in the next round. Excitement of Nigeria facing the South Americans in the quarterfinal ostensibly had gotten to Bora Milutinović's players too.
From one diplomatic incident to another - no sooner had Urs Meier delivered the powerkeg United States - Iran tie (USAIRN), than the Swiss was at the centre of more political wrangling. Nigeria had rejected the appointment of a European ref for this game; Nigeria seeing themselves as bastion of the African flag, given the controversial eliminations of Morocco (BRANOR) and Cameroon (CHICMR).
Urs Meier was originally appointed for the Netherlands - Yugoslavia game and Spaniard José María García-Aranda for this, but the two were switched. Nigeria didn't get the non-European official they demanded, but on apparent account of their defeat of Spain in the group stage, they did manage to change the match referee.
At the final whistle, Nigeria could hardly blame the officials in any case. Meier, with his characteristic lenient and determined style, refereed the game very solidly, and qualified himself to the final group of officials for the lattermost rounds in the process.
Big Decisions
Clip montage of the following incidents, in that (non-chronological order) - 72', 11', 24', 49'.
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With the game already decided at 0-3, Meier decided to ignore a clear penalty to Denmark (DOGSO?). This was the second game running in which the Swiss referee decided to turn a blind eye to a pretty clear cut penalty incident.
To be honest, I can't lose much sleep over this decision. A clear 7,9 indeed - but on a contextual (game was definitely already run), and even theoretical (partly tricky situation which could have been a dive, though it is worth stating that it very clear was not one), not a clear match error, or even a too relevant mistake if you ask me.
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Much more interesting I think is the freekick decision from which Denmark scored their second goal - I believe it was more wrong than right. While there is a contact on the attacker which causes him to lose his balance a bit, he can still execute the attempted pass without any problem, which the defender intercepts with good play.
You can see my discussion with usaref on this topic beneath another post (ROUTUN). What is interesting is that Meier blew for this offence on a purely game-management level, he needed to slow it down a bit at this exact moment, and took the opportunity to do so.
To be honest, I can't lose much sleep over this decision. A clear 7,9 indeed - but on a contextual (game was definitely already run), and even theoretical (partly tricky situation which could have been a dive, though it is worth stating that it very clear was not one), not a clear match error, or even a too relevant mistake if you ask me.
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Much more interesting I think is the freekick decision from which Denmark scored their second goal - I believe it was more wrong than right. While there is a contact on the attacker which causes him to lose his balance a bit, he can still execute the attempted pass without any problem, which the defender intercepts with good play.
You can see my discussion with usaref on this topic beneath another post (ROUTUN). What is interesting is that Meier blew for this offence on a purely game-management level, he needed to slow it down a bit at this exact moment, and took the opportunity to do so.
Look, this is very far from a scandal (though, of course a non-European referee would never done the same ;)), but I think it is worth highlighting that choosing a freekick for its tactical value in a promising part of the pitch has its pitfalls!
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Both cautions given were close to Serious Foul Play, but I agree with the Swiss ref who assessed them both as reckless only.
24' - the intense contact is on the top of the Nigeria player's foot, not shin, so yellow card only
49' - very late tackle and certainly a borderline tackle-as-an-attack red card decision, however given the lack of force, and crucially no dangerous trapping contact, yellow card is the correct decision
The testy minutes of this match were in the middle of the first half. Despite being offside, the reckless kick at 20' should have resulted in a yellow card; making a point on the 26' tackle might have been a good idea, but given the attacker pulled out and the contact was ultimately careless, no card was okay as well.
24' - the intense contact is on the top of the Nigeria player's foot, not shin, so yellow card only
49' - very late tackle and certainly a borderline tackle-as-an-attack red card decision, however given the lack of force, and crucially no dangerous trapping contact, yellow card is the correct decision
Managing the Game
Urs Meier refereed the game well. His tactic to only punish the most clearly reckless offences with cards and manage the rest with his strong presence proved to be a good one, in a match essentially of normal difficulty.The testy minutes of this match were in the middle of the first half. Despite being offside, the reckless kick at 20' should have resulted in a yellow card; making a point on the 26' tackle might have been a good idea, but given the attacker pulled out and the contact was ultimately careless, no card was okay as well.
He solved the rest effectively according to his determined and strict manner (25', 28'). A yellow card right at the end - 89' - would have been more tactically valuable than not, but I liked that Meier stuck to his lenient line hitherto, and most importantly, that the game was calm thereafter.
To be honest the decision that irked me most was 31' - football fans don't pay money to watch the matches in the stadium and on the television to see play broken up with deliberate, tactic fouls only for the offenders not to be sanctioned (so they can do it again!). In the wider picture of this match though, pretty irrelevant.
His dropped ball management at 63' didn't matter, but actually a bit of a disaster - in a hotter game, that could have cost him quite a lot. A moment to be glad for the current LotG, and a moment to wonder how we managed with the old one regarding dropped balls for so long!
Combining his strong manner with excellent fitness, Meier's very elegant impression gave one the impression that FIFA had a real star in their midst for this tournament. A referee who certainly stood out from the crowd.
His dropped ball management at 63' didn't matter, but actually a bit of a disaster - in a hotter game, that could have cost him quite a lot. A moment to be glad for the current LotG, and a moment to wonder how we managed with the old one regarding dropped balls for so long!
Combining his strong manner with excellent fitness, Meier's very elegant impression gave one the impression that FIFA had a real star in their midst for this tournament. A referee who certainly stood out from the crowd.
Assistant Referees
García-Aranda was originally appointed with the top duo Hussain Ghadanfari and Fernando Tresaco Gracia at his side, and Meier resumed his role as ref with them running his lines.
It was a quiet game for Ghadanfari, who functioned as a solid team member, but Tresaco Gracia was quite challenged and realised an eight-level performance with excellent onsides (17', 59', 81') but made one clear mistake in a cross-over scene, 70', an important wrong flag.
It was a quiet game for Ghadanfari, who functioned as a solid team member, but Tresaco Gracia was quite challenged and realised an eight-level performance with excellent onsides (17', 59', 81') but made one clear mistake in a cross-over scene, 70', an important wrong flag.
Balance
Urs Meier displayed his top class for a second game running. Sure, he displayed a propensity to ignore penalties (and consequent red card(s?)) which he calculated were not in his interest to give, but in the wider picture of managing the game, and the event, he showed to be one of the top referees in France.
FIFA would retain him for the final stages, as they would all four officials involved in this match.
FIFA would retain him for the final stages, as they would all four officials involved in this match.
| Urs Meier - 7 Hussain Ghadanfari - 7 Fernando Tresaco Gracia - 7 Abdulrahman Al-Zaid SUI, KUW, ESP | Nigeria 1-4 Denmark Round of Sixteen 28 June |
 Okocha (49') - Tackle | Rieper (24') - Tackle |
Hmmm... do you actually think that he deliberately ignored the PKs DOGSO in both his matches? They do seem clear on video, but on the field... if he indeed ignored them deliberately, he must have had strong support from FIFA...
ReplyDeleteBy the way, his fitness was one of the best, if not the best at this World Cup.
I don't think it's a case of ignoring them, he just decided they weren't enough for him in his games, and that giving them weren't in his interest. All referees do that, but his bar was a bit higher than others.
DeleteYou used the word "ignored", so I responded to that specific wording. I agree 100% that giving them was not in his best interest, especially that, once given, they would have required a red card for DOGSO. Self-preservation at high-level that worked well for Meier.
DeleteI think we again have a very different perception relative to 11'. I have two thoughts.
DeleteFirst, I disagree with the notion that he could "execute his pass with any problem." He stumbles quite clearly and, consequently, is likely making that pass later than he might like. He has a wide open teammate flanking down the right of him. The foul made that pass more difficult to complete. I don't see any advantage here. And I don't see the foul as being "trifling." I think it's quite simply a good foul call. Even the Nigerian defender doesn't offer protests and, given everything we knew about the African teams of that generation, that didn't happen too often on "soft" fouls in the attacking third.
And that leads me to my second point. We can't see fully from the replay, but I think there is an argument that the second tackle (the one you allude to as "intercet[ing the ball] with a good play") was two-footed with studs exposed. It's the kind of tackle that--again, in that era--most European referees would want to instinctively punish while most African teams would think is perfectly fine so long as they get the ball. So I wonder if Meier felt he had to punish the first foul because he didn't like the second tackle, but he KNEW the first foul was more sellable to the Nigerian players. Watch his body language when he whistles. He immediately makes it clear that he's calling the initial contact and not the second tackle. That placates the Nigerian defenders and makes everything more acceptable to them. And the Danish players, to the extent they care, lose 3-4 yards of distance on the free kick (but get it more centrally located).
Ultimately, I think this is the right call either way. But I also think Meier processed a bunch of different factors to also get the most acceptable result while still helping himself to establish a clear line and match control for the rest of the game.