36 GREARG Ėrmatov

 

Greece had a chance here - if they could get a result against Argentina against the odds, then they'd have a presentable shot at advancing through. Both the magnitude of the task and the prize of success were certainly not lost on them, this was a very tense, edgy fixture.

For seventy-five minutes they managed it, but succumbed at the end, and were eliminated; Argentina's progression was assured before a ball kicked, even if they didn't necessarily play like it. 

A tough assignment for Ravšan Ėrmatov. Opener of course has it's own pressures, but neither that nor his prior game could match the trickiness of this one. Uzbek referee couldn't really put so much as a foot wrong, especially in the first half, or risk losing all control of these crafty players.

Ėrmatov did well - he picked his moments, kept his concentration, and defended himself effectively. Kóstas Katsouránis actually did him the favour of the night with his blatant tactical foul, and this game was navigated effectively; a banana skin avoided. 

Let's look back then at how the referee passed through this encounter.

Match

2' - Theoretically a missed advantage (especially when Lionel Messi has the ball), but asserting yourself early and giving those freekicks in such a game is a good tactic.

7' - The first of very many invitations Ravšan Ėrmatov had to issue a caution in the first half; Juan Sebastián Verón was late on Giórgos Karankoúnis (the one from the EURO 2008 documentary :)). Replays the stamp was actually reckless, but sensibly the referee awards a freekick only, as vociferously as Karankoúnis complains.

12' - Sergio Agüero commits an interesting looking tackle which Ėrmatov was close to (too close?) and assessed as fair.

16' - First half had already been played in a tense manner thus far and now it was starting to show; I actually agree with Ėrmatov here, this was simply an unfortunate result of momentum generating a normal footballing contact. It is fair to say that a few Greece players didn't (want the ref to) see it that way, and passively mobbed him at the scene. 

Ėrmatov neither really fails nor succeeds when ushering the players away, though closer to the latter. The game correctly restarts with an Argentina throw-in.

20' - Getting testy now, Avraám Papadópoulos is warned for a not-clearly-SPA tactical foul on Diego Milito when Argentina demanded for a tarjeta amarilla. An acceptable choice, but having been presented with a good moment to open the cards, a moment that potentially the Uzbek could regret.

23' - Messi is carelessly tripped by Sokrátis Papastathópoulos which incenses the Argentina players; Ėrmatov has to do something, so time for a rather synthetic verbal warning for Papastathópoulos. For a censure which only really excited to calm everyone down, it was given with some gusto by the referee!

30' - As if by divine intervention. The referee now really needed a clear yellow card which everyone could (essentially) agree on the way the game was going and Kóstas Katsouránis did exactly that, referee obliged. Happy days. 

34' - Hard to see but the freekick should actually have gone the other way; notwithstanding, good prevention of delaying the restart, which is really important for SPA-ish fouls (by their very nature - if a DtR offence occurs, then in reality the fouling team have succeeded in their SPA attempt).

38' - Coherent with the 2010 interpretation, even regardless of Ėrmatov's approach, to assess such a kick as careless (the lack of reaction from any players suggests they did too).

41' - Interesting scene on a management level; at first, I thought the referee was better to approach Karankoúnis in a co-operative rather than firm manner, but on balance, it seems Ėrmatov got it spot on. Greece player did seem to accept that he "wasn't the referee, I am!". Well played.

42' - It seems that all the players in that little gaggle assumed Ėrmatov's whistle (on the flag of his assistant Rafael Iljasov) had accepted that the call was a defensive freekick to Argentina, when in fact Greece has been awarded a promising opportunity with an attacking kick. Uzbek ref left his teammate to fend for himself there a little bit, bearing the protests of a couple of Argentina players.  

52' - Correctly seen, no penalty. 

54' - Ouch. No foul given. 

65' - Iljasov should have the courage to flag for the careless foul there and deny Argentina a corner - mistake.

66' - Netherlands vs. Czech Republic from EURO 2000 anyone? :) - in this instance, Ėrmatov took the sensible decision. 

72' - Especially having already been warned, tokenly or otherwise, Papastathópoulos should really go in the book there once the ball next goes out, very cynical play.

76' - Correct caution for Mario Bolatti, tactical foul.

77' - Neigh-on impossible for the officials to detect, but Martín Demichelis holds Papadópoulos' shirt in an excessive manner, and Argentina's opening goal looks like it shouldn't really have stood.

That being said, off the ball elsewhere, a clear penalty seems to take place, no replays shown.

Rest of the match was delivered without any real issues (good onside by Rafael Iljasov for the second goal).

Balance

In the end the game was delivered to a benign conclusion (with a deserved winner) but that didn't always necessarily look academic - Ėrmatov's dealing with passive mobbing was certainly not as formidable as say Howard Webb's, but he succeeded nonetheless when the players put him under a lot of pressure in the first half with a smart piece of refereeing. 

Test passed, and Ravšan Ėrmatov's Central Asian trio could look forward to big things in the knockout stage. 

Ravšan Ėrmatov - 8,4 Rafael Iljasov - 8,4 Bachadyr Kočkarov - 8,4 Peter O'Leary Matthew Taro UZB, UZB, KGY – NZL, SOL	Greece 0-2 Argentina Group Stage 22 June
Katsouránis (76') - SPA (Impeding)	Bolatti (30') - SPA (Holding)