59 ARGGER Ėrmatov

 

Germany emphatically qualified for the World Cup semifinal, defeating Argentina by a comprehensive four goals to nothing. The scoreline belies a tighter match for the most part - Germany scored their first goal inside three minutes, but the second with a shade over twenty minutes remaining. Even if they did collapse at the end, Argentina never really looked winning; they and manager Diego Maradona were out. 

Having convincingly handled the opener (RSAMEX), Ravšan Ėrmatov got this top match on the back of two good performances in middle-ranking group matches (ENGALG - GREARG). The referee from Uzbekistan was a somewhat unlikely man in the middle of this heavyweight tie - and did a good job.

Ėrmatov started well, with steadily increasing disciplinary measures - a small warning for a deliberate Miroslav Klose foul (1'), then formal warning for a fully deliberate handling by Angel Dí Maria (7'), before finally a caution for Nicolás Otamendi at 11', well-deserved for a late foul. 

For the rest, the Uzbek ref was rather forgiving when it came to challenges (15', 20', 26', 52'). To highlight a couple - Ėrmatov was very brave at 15' not to issue a sanction, in one of my games I'd have come running over with a yellow card instinctively; 26' should really have been used as a balancing caution, but the referee decided a freekick was enough.

Thomas Müller's yellow card at 35' put him out of a semifinal - judged extremely harsh at the time. For me, it was simply wrong, but Ėrmatov was only following what he was told. FIFA directives ordered referees to issue cards for handlings that tried to "deceive them", which was also reinforced during the tournament debriefings. 

Müller's fitted that category, and was hence issued a yellow card (more on that directive in the tournament review). 

The biggest weakness of this performance was player acceptance. Ėrmatov offered Carlos Tevez an olive branch at 38' after his dissent, but when the Argentina player again very clearly showed he had no respect for the ref, he should have been shown the yellow card. Gabriel Heinze also could consider himself lucky at 45' for similar behaviour. 

But that was all part of the plan - Ėrmatov was just doing his job, with a minimum of fuss (including when he ought to create a fuss - 38', 45'). By taking smart decisions and keeping the overview and utilising solid soft skills, the Uzbek ref showed that you don't have to the most charismatic person to succeed in even the biggest games.

A couple of notes: Ėrmatov's fitness was again excellent, he was a real athlete on the pitch, and, was correct to assess Lionel Messi's stamp at 86' as an accident, wasn't he? And for refereeing nerds - didn't you find Rafael Iljasov's gestures at 72' quite amusing (read: interesting)? 

I do smile at such managing the game / players mimics by ARs, because they are often not the most sophisticated. Iljasov aptly showed the difference between top referees (as people-managers) to the rest of us. The foul call he was defending was correct by the way, and really Javier Mascherano should have been cautioned for his confrontational manner with the Uzbek assistant. 

On Iljasov then - he correctly disallowed a goal for Argentina in clear offside (36'), and then allowed for Germany's from a tight onside (67'). Bachadyr Kočkarov got a tight and quite important offside right in the second half (56').

So overall - definitely another good afternoon for the Ravšan Ėrmatov. Uzbek ref showed that he could use his style effectively in the most high profile matches (though the difference between the difficulty here and NEDBRA shouldn't be understated). The final would have been too much in my view, but on the back of this performance the Central Asian received a record-tying fifth appointment, for a semifinal, on merit. 

A remarkable achievement!

Ravšan Ėrmatov - 8,3 Rafael Iljasov - 8,4 Bachadyr Kočkarov - 8,4 Jerome Damon Enock Mofele UZB, UZB, KGY – RSA	Argentina 0-4 Germany Quarterfinal 3 June
Otamendi (11') - Tackle Mascherano (79') - SPA (Tackle)	Müller (35') - Lack of Respect (Handling)