10 JPNCMR Benquerença

 

One of the most most fascinating refereeing performances I have ever seen, all the while in a game that was the epitome of boredom itself - and the two aren't unconnected. 

On his World Cup debut, Olegário Benquerença whistled and whistled (and whistled...); in a tournament almost universally noted for the yawnful way of playing football, this Japan - Cameroon game was tedium on another level. And thanks in no small part to the Portuguese referee.

I found Benquerença's performance quite amazing. The admittedly long highlights do not do this game justice at all; and yet, it would simply be cruel to recommend someone else to watch this from start to finish. 

Japan's celebrations at the end might seem excessive given they had only won their first group match of the tournament, but it shows just how much of a titanic tussle this game was, and what relief and joy they had at having come out the winners. 

So then - an attempt then to work out what really happened in this most boring and yet remarkable match, and how the Portuguese referee in the middle was allowed to get away with it by the players and ultimately manage to pull off a miraculous performance to the end. 

Analysis

Rigorousness

Olegário Benquerença's tactic was very clear from the start - to pedantically blow for infringements in a consistent manner. Portuguese referee had particularly set his sights on holding offences (10', 24', 37', 45', 51', 59', 68') and seemingly innocuous aerial duels (11', 16', 25', 32', 56'). Both assistants even got involved (eg. 50')! 

All in all, Benquerença blew for forty-nine (!!) freekicks! The result was a mind-numbingly boring game for football fans.

His eye was always on the pulse of the game - when he saw it would be safe to do so, he ignored some clear freekicks on purpose when the match became frantic (84', 85'). Not the most agreeable thing to do, but in such demanding surroundings as this game was, you do what you can to survive. 

I counted only three duels which the referee did not properly assess (2', 29', 65') - that is actually unbelievably strong accuracy in this game. 

But why?

Certainly the last World Cup where such an approach was even remotely possible, I really think the referee had the right idea - I would love to be able to turn back time and put a more forgiving referee in charge and see what would have happened. My bet is that this game would have been carnage! 

In terms of actual intensity, this game was definitely amongst the top five in 2010. Don't be fooled by the card count - this match was an extreme challenging to officiate. 

With that in mind, I do think it was smart to blow for more freekicks than one might otherwise, in order to keep everything in check. Normally, one would whistle more often at the start, and then after the opening stages become a bit more forgiving.

The difference here was that Benquerença started even stricter than most, and did not relent in that approach at all, save for a mere couple of minutes.  

I never could have foreseen that such an unapologetic suffocation of the game from start to finish was actually possible in practice: Benquerença showed it was. The fitness and mental strength / concentration needed to successfully pull this off - and he did - was extremely impressive in my opinion.

Accepted leader

One would think that the players would not have seen that foul detection too kindly - remarkably, as it happened they basically accepted Benquerença's approach! 

From where he found the strength of will and concentration to even operate that foul detection / selection as accurately as he did is astounding enough alone, but he also managed to find the optimal leadership style to accompany it.

Benquerença remained totally enthusiastic throughout, taking every interaction with the players very seriously and showing them great respect (which he also got in return, 26'); any sign of disinterestedness detected by the players would probably have been fatal. The enthusiasm Benquerença managed to show in killing this game was quite incredible! 

His match practice also greatly assisted him. This was not only an extremely tiring match to referee, but also to play in. I really think the players did not have any excess energy to seriously complain. 

Benquerença's very reasonable and rather pleasant manner simply could not have irritated them, and the Portuguese referee simply had more energy than they did - any argument with the ref would have resulted in the player losing. And within a minute another such freekick would probably be given anyway. 

Ultimately, I think Benquerença succeeded because he understood how big a game this was for both teams. Somehow, his predictable (if extremely irritating) foul detection combined with his very respectful manner managed to win them over. In the end, the players actually accepted being subjugated both in their play and their (lack of) complaints. 

What about cards?

Benquerença synthesised extreme pedanticism in foul selection with quite extreme leniency when it came to card choices. He gave two cautions (72', +91'), I noted a further nine scenes where he might have also shown a yellow card. A short analysis of those scenes:

2' - a clear tactical impeding / striking foul; if there is a contact with the face, a caution is mandatory.

29' - a nasty studs-on-thigh contact missed by the referee, who happens to have a poor insight angle; not enough for a red, but a clear yellow card.

48' - given the presence of another defender, no problem with assessing that as "no SPA".

49' - a clear lack of respect holding, but no bigger problem there with no caution, as it would have been seen as a bit random after an advantage.

52' - deceptively nasty standing leg tackle; yellow card should be given.

64' - accidental kick to the head, consistent with the other referees to assess that as careless.

70' - rather reckless scythe designed to halt any potential attack, yellow card should be given. 

72' - opening card of the match; is that really (any) worse than what's come before it?

79' - standing leg tackle, of a reckless nature, but this was a changing era for assessing those sorts of challenge, so no bigger blame for the officials here.

81' - very, very clear tactical foul; blatant yellow card not given.

+92' - correct caution for tactically kicking the ball away. 

If Benquerença had started throwing cards around as well, everything would have gone to pot. Players accepted his foul selection on the premise that he wasn't going to card like a policeman; if he started to do so, he would simply have lost control. 

While it was necessary for the approach he took, his disciplinary control was technically simply poor. That limits how positively I can mark this performance quite significantly. 

Balance

In most people's minds, this was an extremely boring game, memorable perhaps only for how tedious it was. For most refereeing people, I guess they just saw an extremely pedantic referee and thought little more of it. Perhaps one has to watch the full match again to appreciate how simultaneously remarkable and boring this encounter was. 

Japan might have beaten Cameroon, and in doing so taken a big step towards advancing, but the real winner here was the referee Benqurença. This game had all the potential to end his only World Cup early, but by sheer force of will and a very smart approach, he simply would not and did not let that happen. He suffocated this game right to the end, and somehow escaped unscathed. 

One cannot gloss over his technical difficulties, and the man who showed the ability to take such an intense game head on rather than like this would get the final, but regardless - how Portuguese referee pulled off what he sought out to do was nothing other than very impressive in my view. 

Portuguese referee had a strong set of assistants by his side - experienced José Cardinal took correct judgements in important offside situations at 21' and 75' (in the former situation, perhaps saving a penalty award). Younger and promising Bertino Miranda, he of Champions League controversy (and not only him) two months earlier, meanwhile was pretty quiet. 

Olegário Benquerença - 8,2 José Cardinal - 8,4 Bertino Miranda - 8,4 Óscar Ruiz Abraham González POR – COL	Japan 1-0 Cameroon Group Stage 14 June
Abe (+91') - Delaying the Restart	N’Koulou (72') - SPA (Impeding)