41 SVKITA Webb
Major tournament debutants Slovakia probably realised that this was going to be their one shot on the world stage (they haven't been back since), and thus far hadn't really pulled up any trees in a draw with New Zealand and a defeat to Paraguay. It came down to this, almost a second chance for them.
Spluttering world champions Italy, by the same token, had laboured to draws against Paraguay and New Zealand, and everybody seemed to agree that they were in no danger of repeating their 2006 feat, but required only a draw against Slovakia to keep themselves alive for another day.
Both knew that elimination in this match would mean a career-worth of regrets, and that it really wasn't an option. In the end, it was Slovakia who won the battle of wills, and the nation who had reached the pinnacle four years before were out. Even undefeated New Zealand finished ahead of Italy.
Throughly dynamic and absolutely thrilling, this was the game of the tournament, of which Simone Pepe's chance right at the very death was the crescendo; it went agonisingly wide. Fabio Quagliarella changed the game when he came on (not least his fantastic goal), but it proved too little, too late. Slovakia's third, the result of a terribly-defended throw-in, decided the match.
After a good first outing (ESPSUI), English trio led by Howard Webb were the UEFA officials selected for this crucial match. What an intense fixture they had to face! It was very, very tough out there - if we back Webb and his first assistant Darren Cann regarding the high number of Key Match Incidents, then this was an absolutely excellent piece of officiating.
We will start then with those crucial decisions taken by Cann and Webb.
Key Match Incidents
34' - Potential second yellow card to Fabio Cannavaro
Having booked him just a few minutes earlier, English referee had a big call, deciding whether to issue Cannavaro with a second sanction. Italy player's tackle is an odd one - while he actually does catch Marek Hamšík in a manner that could very well be construed as reckless, the challenge itself seems to genuinely be the result of a mere slip in trying to block the ball.
Sending the Italy player off would be technically defendable, but in reality much too harsh - a freekick only was the right call here.
Sending the Italy player off would be technically defendable, but in reality much too harsh - a freekick only was the right call here.
51' - Potential red card to Fabio Quagliarella
Webb took a real gamble on a couple of levels when he told Slovakia goalkeeper Ján Mucha to "get up!" following a clash with Quagliarella: a) that it wouldn't be a futile gesture and b) that Mucha wasn't actually hurt (from a violent conduct).
English referee succeeded with his charisma on the first count, and in my opinion was just right on the second - Quagliarella went over to kick the ball back to Mucha, who actually impedes him in doing so! Slovakia 'keeper can't complain too much about being kicked in that case, I don't really see the scope for assessing those actions as excessive force.
Technically, Italy player should be cautioned, but actually Webb's solution was optimal in my view (given what Mucha did) - he clearly sent the signal that time-wasting would not be tolerated.
67' - Potential goal for Italy (AR1)
There are no camera angles to give us a conclusive answer to this question! This (infamously) the last World Cup without goal-line technology - there was a score missed at the penultimate edition - leaves one seriously wondering if this ball had in fact crossed the line.
In dubio pro reo, and FIFA backed Darren Cann's call that it didn't cross; a very good one if correct (as odd as that sounds).
In dubio pro reo, and FIFA backed Darren Cann's call that it didn't cross; a very good one if correct (as odd as that sounds).
76' - Potential red card for Simone Pepe
Personally, I would have liked to seen Pepe sent off for this kick - his is not an attempt for the ball and in my view uses excessive force in deliberately trying to hit his opponent.
However, given that unlike many comparable violent conduct-type incidents, Pepe is challenging from the side and not behind, ie. where he still theoretically can kick the ball. On the grounds that his challenge could be seen to be vaguely ball-orientated, one can support Webb's call to only issue a caution.
81' - Potential red card to Ján Mucha?
The whole mêlée actually is the result of the way Antonio Di Natale passes the ball into the net, if he'd have smashed the ball in at the near post, I doubt such a confrontation would have arisen!
With it having crossed the line long ago, Mucha holds the ball for as long as he can plausibly get away with, as enthusiastic Fabio Quagliarella then tries to get it off him, and the two bundle each other in the goal net.
Webb's policeman (and perhaps more importantly, match control) instincts dictate that he should sprint over and break the two up, which largely does work; his solution, to equally punish Mucha and Quagliarella with a booking (the Italy player was hardly amused)
One big problem here - that Mucha should definitely have been sent off. While on the ground, he punches Quagliarella in the face. A crystal clear red card, missed by Webb as at that point he was extremely close to the two players having sprinted towards them upon seeing the Slovakia 'keeper refuse to release the ball.
What probably saved Webb (running at them preventatively) in the bigger picture was, ironically, what caused him to miss this violent conduct, for being too close - it is true that it was rather a de jure mistake (and I'm sure FIFA were ultimately happy, or at least not bothered by his solution) and we should remember the extraneous circumstances in the incident.
The whole mêlée actually is the result of the way Antonio Di Natale passes the ball into the net, if he'd have smashed the ball in at the near post, I doubt such a confrontation would have arisen!
With it having crossed the line long ago, Mucha holds the ball for as long as he can plausibly get away with, as enthusiastic Fabio Quagliarella then tries to get it off him, and the two bundle each other in the goal net.
Webb's policeman (and perhaps more importantly, match control) instincts dictate that he should sprint over and break the two up, which largely does work; his solution, to equally punish Mucha and Quagliarella with a booking (the Italy player was hardly amused)
One big problem here - that Mucha should definitely have been sent off. While on the ground, he punches Quagliarella in the face. A crystal clear red card, missed by Webb as at that point he was extremely close to the two players having sprinted towards them upon seeing the Slovakia 'keeper refuse to release the ball.
What probably saved Webb (running at them preventatively) in the bigger picture was, ironically, what caused him to miss this violent conduct, for being too close - it is true that it was rather a de jure mistake (and I'm sure FIFA were ultimately happy, or at least not bothered by his solution) and we should remember the extraneous circumstances in the incident.
CRUCIAL MISTAKE
85' - Goal disallowed for Italy (AR1)
FIFA evaluated this decision as correct - I had wondered whether Cann only determined Quagliarella offside as regarding Radoslav Zabavník, and not Ján Ďurica, but the superior technology in the hands of them and not my naked eye confirmed otherwise; a totally decisive call (Italy would surely have advanced had this stood) and Cann got it spot on!
+95' - Potential red card to Giorgio Chiellini
It does seem as though Chiellini strikes Miroslav Stoch, otherwise inexplicably jumping while next to the Slovakia player. It's true that Stoch would have wanted to waste time at a delicate moment of the match, but I don't see why he would have gone down for nothing here, ie. if Chiellini had just walked past him and not violently struck him.
That being said, I am simply working with educated guesses here - given we only have the live sequence and not even the insight angle we need, one (definitely!) has to support the referee here.
That being said, I am simply working with educated guesses here - given we only have the live sequence and not even the insight angle we need, one (definitely!) has to support the referee here.
Approach
Slovakia and Italy played an extremely intense, if mostly fair and mature match, in their fight to avoid elimination; they needed a referee to guide them through proceedings, being generous whilst setting clear boundaries, and Howard Webb executed that role quite perfectly.
Webb has a huge advantage over (almost) any referee ever, in that his personality, presence and manner all immediately stand for common-sense, friendliness and fair play, even before a whistle blown. He profited a lot from that, as he ensured the players would trust him to handle the match in a good way, and they could focus simply on playing football.
By turn, the English referee put his trust in the players, stayed in the background, and served football with his approach - not making the protagonists more anxious than needed and intervening when required with whistles (which like Larrionda, were often a split second late (eg. 32'), but more consistent in what they were for) and sanctions.
He set tactically clever signals - perfect use of whistle tones at 8' (loud), 9' (louder) and 10' (quieter) let the players know how close they were testing his line, even if the lattermost foul was actually rather reckless on closer inspection. In the early period, Webb also ignored (7') and missed (14') clear freekicks for Slovakia in the Italy half.
Some very minor inconsistencies in assessing fouls besides (12' vs 14'), before Zdeno Štrba offered Webb the clearly reckless tackle (16') he needed in order to set his line with cards - good. Cannavaro's tactical block clearly went beyond the brief of passionate fair play, and he was also booked (30').
It was highly interesting when Webb decided to use his soft skills to either quicken the game up (23'), and then to slow the game down with the third caution of the game, a heavy tackle (on the RAP scale, 7) by Róbert Vittek (39'), interceding his two goals. The result of Gennaro Gattuso's challenge at +46' was horrific, but genuinely accidental.
Webb has a huge advantage over (almost) any referee ever, in that his personality, presence and manner all immediately stand for common-sense, friendliness and fair play, even before a whistle blown. He profited a lot from that, as he ensured the players would trust him to handle the match in a good way, and they could focus simply on playing football.
By turn, the English referee put his trust in the players, stayed in the background, and served football with his approach - not making the protagonists more anxious than needed and intervening when required with whistles (which like Larrionda, were often a split second late (eg. 32'), but more consistent in what they were for) and sanctions.
He set tactically clever signals - perfect use of whistle tones at 8' (loud), 9' (louder) and 10' (quieter) let the players know how close they were testing his line, even if the lattermost foul was actually rather reckless on closer inspection. In the early period, Webb also ignored (7') and missed (14') clear freekicks for Slovakia in the Italy half.
Some very minor inconsistencies in assessing fouls besides (12' vs 14'), before Zdeno Štrba offered Webb the clearly reckless tackle (16') he needed in order to set his line with cards - good. Cannavaro's tactical block clearly went beyond the brief of passionate fair play, and he was also booked (30').
It was highly interesting when Webb decided to use his soft skills to either quicken the game up (23'), and then to slow the game down with the third caution of the game, a heavy tackle (on the RAP scale, 7) by Róbert Vittek (39'), interceding his two goals. The result of Gennaro Gattuso's challenge at +46' was horrific, but genuinely accidental.
In the second half, Englishman continued to card the most unfair actions out of the match (50', 67') and using his presence excellently to gently encourage fair play (60'). Yellow cards not given at 47' (low head) and 50' (flying late tackle; advantage) were good and bad calls respectively. He took risks - telling Mucha to get up (51'), underplaying Pepe's pretty nasty kick (76'), but they ultimately payed off.
I can scarcely recall a match more frantic (maybe EURO 2016 playoff Slovenia - Ukraine?) in the closing stages than this one! Besides not punishing deliberate charges on goalkeeper Mucha effectively (88' almost cost him a violent conduct; +93' probably only given on the shout of Darren Cann) Webb remarkably kept a hand on everything.
Referee should have added quite a lot more time at the end, but on a football understanding level, perhaps the Englishman got it spot on - Pepe's miss was the fitting conclusion to the match; the right team had won.
I can scarcely recall a match more frantic (maybe EURO 2016 playoff Slovenia - Ukraine?) in the closing stages than this one! Besides not punishing deliberate charges on goalkeeper Mucha effectively (88' almost cost him a violent conduct; +93' probably only given on the shout of Darren Cann) Webb remarkably kept a hand on everything.
Referee should have added quite a lot more time at the end, but on a football understanding level, perhaps the Englishman got it spot on - Pepe's miss was the fitting conclusion to the match; the right team had won.
Assistant Referees
Besides the scenes mentioned in the first section, Darren Cann had to evaluate further crucial situations (79', 81') and a further very important scene in the second half, and got them all spot on - well done! Mike Mullarkey was a bit quieter, Webb was late to notice his flag early in the match (4'), and did a good job.
Balance
With excellent football-feeling, Howard Webb utilised physical, mental and inter-personal skills on the highest level to first determine and then execute the optimal style of officiating this extremely challenging game. Managing to avoid big mistakes (in general, one can forgive him 81'), with his assistant Darren Cann getting two extremely crucial calls correct, this was a throughly top class resume for the best matches in the knockout stage, and perhaps even the top match itself for the Englishmen.
A simply simply stellar afternoon for them.
A simply simply stellar afternoon for them.
| Howard Webb - 7,9 (8,9) Darren Cann - 8,8 Mike Mullarkey - 8,4 Stéphane Lannoy Éric Dansault ENG – FRA | Slovakia 3-2 Italy Group Stage 24 June |
 Štrba (16') - Tackle Vittek (39') - Tackle Pekarík (50') - Tackle Mucha (81') - Aggressive Behaviour | Cannavaro (30') - SPA (Impeding) Chiellini (67') - SPA (Holding) Pepe (76') - Tackle Quagliarella (81') - Aggressive Behaviour |
The (debatable) crucial mistake non-withstanding, this match was perhaps the most challeging one with tons of crucial scenes and lots of management needed in between. One can debate singular decisions, but I would not say that any one of those was a glaring and clear mistake. Not even the missed VC: Webb gambled to prevent something "worse" by intervening the way he did and I think in the public eye, he made the correct call.
ReplyDeleteSimply phenomenal refereeing, Webb was THE referee of 2010 because he understood how to avoid card fests without closing his eyes and ignoring clear cautions. I must say his handling of 76' was not satisfying for me, such a cynical foul should have been punished either with a RC or with a stronger presentation.
On the whole though, one of the best performances for sure.