45 PORBRA Archundia

 

Portugal - Brazil was the most unhinged, aggro-heavy and tempestuous game of the group stage; the scoreless final result confirmed both nations through, with Brazil top of the group of death. Ironically - tickets for this fixture sold out quicker than any non-host match; boos at the final whistle, a signal that the watching public weren't impressed with a match widely considered rather mundane.  

But I'd disagree with anyone who called this game dull - experienced referee Benito Archundia faced an absolute nightmare of a task, with Portugal calculating that the more anti-football they played, the less likely it would be that Côte d'Ivoire would be able to catch them in the group. 

It was a strategy that payed off for them, and in the afternoon kick off, winning the group might even have meant playing Spain next (a preposition both they and Brazil would rather have avoided). In any case, Brazil didn't take terribly kindly to being provoked by their Lusitanic rivals, and we had a somewhat unlikely battle in a game many expected to be Gijón-esque.  

Disappointing in his tournament opening Italy - Paraguay, the Mexican referee had to be on his mettle to survive this game - and was. Archundia kept his head above water, especially impressive in a rather violent end to the first half (even if he partly caused that himself), and in the end came out of it with quite a lot of wider credit. 

So then, let's take a closer look at how Benito Archundia came through a game that would have sunk many. 

 

Approach

In Theory

Benito Archundia's style was quite unique, and it was very interesting to see how he adapted it to this very choppy game. Mexican had little interest in taking rough play out of his matches as a matter of course, and conducted proceedings with a co-operative and laissez-faire attitude. That being said, he was very quick to act when players challenged his leadership on the pitch (which nobody did in ITAPAR). 

This combined with Archundia's respectable and respectful manner, aroused a lot of trust from players in his matches time-after-time; he was a very popular referee, who perhaps more than any I've seen before, was consistently seen as a force for good in the games he controlled.

Player's referee

In Portugal - Brazil, this meant a lenient (yes, lenient despite all those cards) disciplinary control, where the Mexican referee set his stall out early that he was going to be quite forgiving (15secs, 4', 10', 13'). The players appreciated this. 

Archundia drew the line at a foul which occurred when the match was not in a dynamic stage - indeed, when the advantage he played came at such a moment where the freekick would have benefitted Portugal more, Luis Fabiano went in the book (15') for his late challenge. 

Juan's ultra-cynical handling offence (25') was right on the borderline to a DOGSO offence, but ultimately I agree with the Mexican ref that it was only worthy of a yellow. Duda very publicly didn't, and Archundia excellently cautioned him for that. 

Cautions for Fabiano, Duda and later for Tiago - excellently again, for a dive - all fitted into the same idea: when the players challenged him either as an authority or facilitator of a fast match, they were sanctioned for it. This is how he, even in this game, managed to successfully present himself as a force for good on the pitch.

Referee Archundia and I definitely agree on one thing - preventing players delaying the restart too much after tactical fouls is very important. He was very insistent that the players didn't hold the ball for too long in these instances (30', 35'); really good in my book.

In Trouble?

Archundia was in some bother at the end of the first half. Actually, he was fortunate that this wasn't the case a bit earlier - he totally failed in a scene at 21' with a foul close to SFP and a potential violent conduct, neither of which were dealt with by him, in any form. 

The end to the first half was chaotic - this was largely triggered by the under-punishment of a Serious Foul Play attack by Pepe (40'), with only a caution being given. Referee's reaction suggests he saw how dangerous this studs-on-calf attack on Felipe Melo was, and it seems self-preservation determined that Pepe would be given grace; he should have walked (crucial mistake).

Melo was not terribly happy about it, and should really have been booked at 41' for a deliberately late foul - Archundia allowed Portugal a quick restart so as to not have a fuss made about it. In that moment, one really wondered if the Mexican referee was a bit over his head.

He surely thought the same thing - Melo's deliberate foul at 43' gave Archundia a second chance to take his name, which he was wasn't going to let pass. Fábio Coentrão could probably consider himself slightly unlucky to be shown the yellow card a minute later, but the way the ref took the initiative here on a presence level was excellent, and ensured he could blow the halftime whistle still intact.

Letting it go

No cautions were shown in the second half - if he had so wished, Archundia had ample opportunity to issue a sanction (52', 67', 71', 74', 82') but he chose not to, credible in all those cases mentioned. However, he simply had to admonish Ramires at +93', a clearly reckless tackle by the Brazil player; it was not okay to ignore that in my opinion, simply for not suiting one's tactical approach.

Another nuance of Archundia's style is ignoring some fouls when they don't fit into his idea of match flow (30', 47') - or perhaps the ref did genuinely miss these contacts, which should have resulted in freekicks.

Penalty calls?

Archundia could have awarded a penalty at the end of each half, both actually at the same end of the pitch. He correct to assess Lúcio's handling as undeliberate (+94'); Ricardo Carvalho's impeding offence (+46') is theoretically a clear foul, but I understand that Archundia wanted something a bit clearer as a penalty in a (World Cup) match such as this. 

Star Recognition

An interesting note - Cristiano Ronaldo, who you can see chatting to the referee before the second half kicks off, gave Archundia his shirt after the match. Ronaldo quipped to him that Portugal were not the easiest team to officiate, and was impressed by the Mexican ref's performance in a demanding game. 

Assistant Referees

Finally, a word on the ARs - Héctor Vergara correctly assessed a really important to crucial scene at 33' which was not terribly close, but Marvin Torrentera made a very important mistake at 67' in a crossover situation (- 0,3). Besides that, not the busiest game for either of them despite the dynamic nature of the match. 

Balance

FIFA were very happy with Benito Archundia's performance. He deserves praise for succeeding in this match despite the very high difficulty of his task; Archundia's unique ability to get the players onside for his way of refereeing was simply really impressive! Decisions to only book Juan and Pepe were seen as excellent and not a problem respectively by the powers that be. 

Mexican referee ascertained the impression that he was a very safe pair of hands, even in the most challenging matches, who could be trusted to manage and avoid controversy in any knockout stage game. Somewhat conversely, by not appointing him to handle matches in any of the next three (knockout) rounds, FIFA actually payed him the greatest compliment they could. 

Ironically it was confederational neutrality, which was supposed to play in favour of his final appointment as it happened, probably was, what sank his bid for Match 64 in the end. 

Benito Archundia - 7,9(5) Héctor Vergara - 8,4 Marvin Torrentera - 8,1 Peter O'Leary Brent Best MEX, CAN, MEX – NZL	Portugal 0-0 Brazil Group Stage 25 June
Duda (25') - Dissent Tiago (31') - Simulation Pepe (40') - Tackle Coentrão (45') - Tackle	Luís Fabiano (15') - Tackle Juan (25') - SPA (Handling) Felipe Melo (43') - Tackle