43 DENJPN Damon

 

Japan deservedly won this playoff for a second round place, beating Denmark by three goals to one in a Group E decider. Notably, both Keisuke Honda and Yasuhito Endō scored direct from freekicks in the first half; Honda's strike especially was quite spectacular!

Jerome Damon's trio was something of a wildcard choice by FIFA for this match - recognition that none of the three CAF referees were likely to handle a knockout stage tie, this do-or-die group game was compensation for their confederation, as well as for the host association (c. RSAURU). 

Damon did a good job in what was a strong outing for all three officials, repaying the trust put in them to handle this crucial fixture, which was also a smart appointment at the same time.

The most important decision of the evening was the penalty awarded to Denmark for a charging foul on Daniel Agger (80'). The call wasn't wrong, but personally I would a prefer a defensive freekick here - Agger jumps across Makoto Hasebe, and in any case the contact is rather minimal. Sub-optimal but supportable call.

Damon cautioned five players - two from Japan for slow play (ref was on their case even before kick-off; no complaints from either booked) and then three for isolated Denmark offences, all correct. Further potential cards were rightly overlooked, in my view (55', 60', 66'). 

In addition to his card selection, Damon showed he was a no-nonsense man in his interactions with the players (eg. 2') - however he took this perhaps a trifle too far at the end, especially in the scene at 89' where Makoto Hasebe sheparded the referee away from his teammate; one could even say the aggressor was the South African of the two. 

The smaller mistakes that Damon did make (41', +46', 59') faded into the background in the bigger picture. He kept moments like 10', when he ignored two clear fouls in quick succession which did not cohere with his idea of match flow, to a minimum. Denmark's two appeals for a handling penalty at +92' rightly fell on deaf ears.

Both Enock Molefe (+47') and Célestin Ntagungira (57') decided correctly in very important-crucial situation; from what we can see, I'd back the Rwandan in a further decision to flag at 80'.

Ultimately, we can reflect on a fair-spirited game in which the officials made an overall net positive contribution to the match - by any metric, this was a successful night for the Rwando-South African trio. 

Balance

Jerome Damon should be proud of what he achieved at his home World Cup - with a different constellation, he might have been in charge of the third place playoff, but not to be. His later appointments as fourth official had obvious political value, but in my eyes they were sportingly deserved too. 

Jerome Damon - 8,4 Célestin Ntagungira - 8,4 Enock Molefe - 8,4 Martin Hansson Henrik Andrén RSA, RWA, RSA – SWE	Denmark 1-3 Japan Group Stage 24 June
Krøldrup (29') - SPA (Holding) C. Poulsen (48') - Charging  Bendtner (66') - Striking	Endō (12') - Delaying the Restart Nagatomo (26') - Delaying the Restart