55 PARJPN De Bleeckere

 

Paraguay and Japan were both trying to reach the World Cup quarterfinal for the first time in this Round of Sixteen tie - and it showed. A tense, cagey match went all the way to penalties; Yūichi Komano missed, and at the end Óscar Cardozo scored; it was Paraguay, who would go on. 

Frank De Bleeckere took charge of his third match of the tournament. After easing himself in with a very good performance in Argentina - Korea Republic, he struggled greatly having been importantly delegated the United States - Algeria game, but all the while avoided larger controversy. 

De Bleeckere showed his attributes as top class manager in this game, well-justifying FIFA's choice to appoint him again. Most importantly, he didn't antagonise an already nervous set of players, even if his performance was not technically perfect. 

Let's take a closer look how the Belgian refereed the game.

Match

2' - Daisuke Matsui goes in late, but pulls out a bit when making his sliding tackle; very good decision not to issue a yellow card, and just warn Matsui.

5' - standing leg tackle from behind by Paulo da Silva, somewhat lacking force; again, good choice not to issue a caution.

31' - this well-judged by the Belgian too, Roque Santa Cruz's foul could have been seen as a deliberately late one, but I agree with the ref that it merely a case of momentum taking him into his opponent; freekick and a small word is spot on.

36' - De Bleeckere correctly penalises da Silva for his ball-playing standing leg tackle, much to the indignation of the Paraguay players and substitutes bench. Really, da Silva should be booked (especially after 5'), but the referee's choice is okay and probably smart not do so. 

37' - a fascinating LotG case study. Yes, it is possible to impede your opponent without contact! Of course, understandable that a goalkick was given, but theoretically, that's a very clear offence in my view!

44' - correct Japan freekick, push. They are then denied the taking of a quick restart by Paraguay, and the ref's solution is to pick the ball up, allow everyone to return to calm, and then give it ball back. Is that smart, preventative refereeing? Yes - but risk-free refereeing isn't necessarily good. De Bleeckere essentially rewards the DtR offence in order to keep control. 

Especially at the World Cup finals, referees should remember that football and not themselves are paramount (see 2014...)! To be fair, the rest of De Bleeckere's performance chimes that very much. 

45' - sorry, but that is clearly a reckless foul by Yoshito Ōkubo. It's a poor perception mistake if neither the referee, nor AR Walter Vromans could detect that. I prefer that version of events, to them both seeing it clearly, and choosing to turn a blind eye.  

Halftime

57' - De Bleeckere turns his fire on another attacking player who dares handle the ball - Daisuke Matsui then kicks the ball away, and is the first player cautioned.

61' - Nelson Valdez is late, in a reckless tackle that only makes a trifling contact. The last point of which is clearly the most prescient to Valdez, who is very keen in making that point to the referee. His reaction probably deserved a booking, but De Bleeckere rather bravely verbally warns him, and seems to arouse a decent amount of respect in doing so. 

64' - Cristian Riveros thinks he was fouled, the referee thinks he wasn't, and Riveros dissentingly disagrees. Theoretically a clear caution, but I agree - better just ignored in this instance, and a quiet word later.

71' - correct admonishment of Yuto Nagatomo with a yellow; tactical foul.

80' - missed striking incident, rather on De Bleeckere's blind side, which should have been spotted by Peter Hermans. Reckless, or more? Well, the last replay looks bad, but I think Claudio Morel was simply trying to protect himself and did so in a(n only) reckless manner. The contact - contrary to FRARSA - is not that intense. Missed booking. 

82' - unlucky and careless foul, good that the Belgian in charge saw it that way too. 

87' - I wonder if Khalil Al-Ghamdi saw this and smiled. Saudi ref actually tried to be more preventative than De Bleeckere was, but it cost him and not the Belgian, whose players weren't really bothered by what Paraguay did at this dropped ball. 

88' - excellently seen defensive freekick and not a penalty to Japan, da Silva had won the position and was felled. Top class. 

90' - clear dissent, this time by Yoshito Ōkubo, again ignored, again probably wise to do so.

+93' - Keisuke Honda is the latest player to find out that De Bleeckere really hates handling offences, and is cautioned. 

Fulltime -> Extratime

92' - rather careless trip by Enrique Vera, good that the ref didn't bite at the chance to balance the cards a bit. 

Halftime Extratime

110' - should that have been a penalty for Japan? Hard to tell if Riveros' tackle was in or outside the penalty area, but theoretically anyway  it was certainly a foul. Nobody on the pitch or elsewhere really cared, and shortly afterwards De Bleeckere found a defensive freekick to give.

112' - after a correct freekick, a rather aggressive dissent by Antolín Alcaraz. Unlike Undiano the day before, De Bleeckere deals with it - solution being a verbal warning, whilst also remaining calm. Okay, some people might scream "this a clear yellow card, modern refereeing, arrghhh!!"; actually I found this very sensible and again well-judged by the Belgian ref in the circumstances. 

113' - correct caution for Yasuhito Endō, late tackle. You probably can find some arguments to assess this as careless, but in practicality, a clear yellow card.

117' - De Bleeckere's unrelenting and ruthless crackdown on ostensibly innocuous handlings in attack continues, Cristian Riveros is the latest victim, picking up a caution. 

118' - very clear foul missed by the ref and his compatriot on the line Hermans. 

120' - after a freekick given in midfield, De Bleeckere picks the ball up and brings to an end a rather tedious two hours for football fans. Kicks from the penalty mark will decide the game's winner. 

Fulltime -> 

Penalty Competition

The only miss is not a save - Yūichi Komano hits the crossbar - and Paraguay score all five of their penalties to score a famous win. 

For second time in three World Cups, Japan lost a second round tie they really might have won, but the joy was reserved for Paraguay; they had, through what felt like the backdoor, made the last eight on the biggest stage, for the first ever time. 

Balance

Perhaps not technically the most sound performance, but I found what Frank De Bleeckere did in this match actually quite impressive. He sensed the key to success in this one - being reasonable with these nervous players and not acting as a policeman; he didn't make the match all about him. In the end, everybody appreciated his officiating, which should say enough about how well he did. 

The doubts from his second match not erased, but I would say the chance to referee eg. a semifinal should definitely not be out of the question for the Belgian, who showed skills as a manager on a very high level, which FIFA could certainly use again to their advantage. 

Frank De Bleeckere - 8,4 Peter Hermans - 8,3 Walter Vromans - 8,4 Peter O'Leary Matthew Taro BEL – NZL, SOL	Paraguay 0-0 Japan (aet, Paraguay win 5-3 in a penalty competition) Round of Sixteen 29 June
Riveros (117') - Lack of Respect (Handling)	Matsui (57') - Dissent Nagatomo (71') - SPA (Holding) Honda (+93') - Lack of Respect (Handling) Endō (113') - Tackle