The list of refereeing scandals in the Qatari football club is shockingly long

Field report from our seconded colleague, Gábor Lantos, on the 22nd FIFA World Cup, from Qatar.

Before recalling the most memorable cases so far, let us point out that one of the biggest problems in the sport today is the often insufficient quality of refereeing and the mindless use of the video referee. If FIFA does not recognize all of this in time, huge problems could arise in the most popular sport in the world today.

England-Iran: 24 minutes extra time

In fact, it was in this match that the world was confronted for the first time with the fact that FIFA has given the referees unlimited power. The Brazilian Raphael Claus extended 10 minutes in the first half of this match and 14 minutes in the second. In the first 45 minutes, the game really stopped due to the injury of the Iranian goalkeeper, but there is no acceptable explanation for the +14 minutes of the second half. It was quite comical how the self-important referee videotaped another Iranian penalty in the 114th minute, with England leading 6-1. However, it seems that FIFA did not find anything objectionable in the operation of Raphael Claus, because the Brazilian referee has since been able to officiate another match.

Saudi Arabia-Argentina: The player kicked in the head and the Argentine attack

This match was refereed by one of the weakest and most notorious referees in Europe, Slavko Vincic, a friend of the Slovenian president of UEFA. In the second half, when the Saudi team was already leading, he supported Lionel Messi’s amazingly. The most beautiful scene was when the Saudi goalkeeper kicked the head of his own player with his knee, who was lying motionless on the ground.

The Slovenian referee did not stop the game, but waited for the South American team’s attack to end. Of course, FIFA did not send the completely incompetent referee home either, but instead gave him the responsibility of conducting the Wales-England match.

Belgium-Canada: a picture of a judge suspended for corruption

Janny Sikawze from Zambia was the referee who in the Tunisia-Mali Africa Cup match he blew the match first in the 85th and then in the 89th minute. He was subsequently suspended by the Confederation of African Football for corruption. What did FIFA do? He invited him to the World Cup and gave him the Belgium-Canada match. What did Sikawze do? Scandal led the match and did not give two penalties to the Canadian team. But at least since then he hasn’t received another match, although, if we look at the ones so far, there may still be tasks waiting for him.

Portugal-Ghana: Cristiano Ronaldo cheated the American referee

The American Ismail Elfath did not get to watch the matches of the Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo very often. If you do, you might not fall for the fall of the world star. But he collapsed and judged a kamut band as big as a house. Ronaldo thanked him, shot it in and thus took the lead for the Portuguese team against Ghana.

Wales-Iran: brutal beating, but the red card came only after video

Wayne Henessey of Wales amazingly knocked down Iran’s Taremi. The completely clueless Guatemalan referee Escobar only gave the Welsh player a yellow card at first, but then went out to video. By the time he came back, the yellow had turned red. The only question is, why couldn’t the goalkeeper be sent off immediately after such an obvious and brutal foul? For what reason did Henessy’s truly amazing strike only get a yellow card?

Poland-Saudi Arabia: another ridiculous penalty shoot-out

Brazilian World Cup rookie referee Wilton Sampaio was the main character in the Poland-Saudi Arabia match of the FIFA World Cup, which the Polish team won 2-0. Ridiculous penalty kick, ten minutes extra time – already in the first half. Don’t get me wrong: the first half had to be extended, but nothing justified the 10-minute extra time. And the penalty that the Brazilian gave to the Saudis after a short video was also suitable for a cabaret. It seems, however, that here even the slightest contact is signaled by the system, or I don’t know who, in any case, the Brazilian judge gave this as well.

South Korea-Ghana and Belgium-Croatia: the rampage of the English referee

The British Anthony Taylor is perhaps the referee with the worst performance of the World Cup. He had a foul in two games. In the South Korea-Ghana clash, he announced a 10-minute overtime in the second half, extended it by two minutes, and then blew the match away when the Korean team would have come with a corner. The Portuguese coach of the Korean national team, Paulo Bento, was so upset by this that he went to the English referee, who sent the coach off after the match.

But it was Taylor who, in the Belgium-Croatia match, first awarded a legitimate penalty to the Croatians, and then went out to film. To this day, it is not possible to know why, because they don’t usually call judges because of ambushes. But he went out, looked at the screen for a long time, and then withdrew the penalty due to offside.

Portugal-Uruguay: Gimenez’s “leaning” case

The Portuguese national team won 2-0 in the second group match against Uruguay, and before the second goal, the Portuguese were awarded a penalty very strictly. In the evening, Gimenez from Uruguay leaned on the ground – the ball reached his hand – after which Alireza Faghani from Iran allowed the game to continue, but the video referee challenged him to watch the incident again. After that, he awarded a penalty, badly. According to the rule book, a penalty must be awarded if the player intentionally touches the ball with his hand/arm, including if his hand/arm moves towards the ball. Touches the ball with your hand/arm when your hand/arm makes your body unnaturally large. gy player makes his body “unnaturally bigger” if the position of his hand/arm is not a natural consequence of his current body movement. When a player takes such a position with his hand/arm, he risks a penalty in the event that his hand/arm touches it to the ball.

In this case, the question was why his current body movement, i.e. falling, is not a natural consequence of resting on the ground. Or: that’s not even a question.

Argentina-Poland: To hit or not to hit?

And if he did hit him, did it have anything to do with the game situation? These questions arose seconds after the Dutch referee Danny Makkelie, after a long video, awarded a penalty against the Poles in a decisive match for both teams in terms of advancement. In the 39th minute, Messi tried to head a pass from the left, but the ball was high for him and just touched his head, and the hand of Wojciech Szczesny, who moved out of the goal, then reached Messi’s head.

The Argentinian couldn’t head it, not because the Polish goalkeeper hit him. Therefore, giving a penalty, especially after a long video, was a mistake. True, “in exchange” Messi missed the penalty.

Tunisia-France: Griezmann’s goal was taken away by the video referee after the whistle

In the third round of Group D of the World Cup, Tunisia defeated the French national team 1-0, but despite this, they could not advance because Australia won against Denmark. The meeting ended with video referee antics. Who doesn’t remember that the eight-minute extra time was almost over – with Tunisia leading 1-0 – when Griezmann shot into the goal from seven meters after a pass and a back header. Here comes the usual goal joy at this time, the Tunisians completed the middle start, and after a few seconds of play, the referee called off the match. However, the referee received a signal from the VAR room, so he reviewed the incident, and finally disallowed the goal due to offside. It is unbelievable that it could happen at the World Cup that Matthew Conger from New Zealand blew everything back after the end of the match.

Uruguay-Ghana: marathon overtime, no penalty awarded

In the third round of group AH, both teams entered the field with a chance to advance. After Arrascaeta’s two goals in the second half, only Uruguay had a real chance. The stake also left its mark on referee Daniel Siebert’s work. The German referee extended 10 minutes each in both halves, which could only be explained in the second half aggravated by 9 substitutions, but at the end of the first 45 minutes it was absolutely unjustified. Due to the prolonged first half, the parallel Portugal – South Korea match ended much earlier, which did not bode well. It’s not that Uruguay didn’t get a perfectly legitimate penalty in the extra time after 90 minutes, when Seidu overturned Cavani inside the 16-yard box in the 93rd minute. A 3-0 win would have seen Uruguay advance.