16 USAPOR Moreno
HIGHLIGHTS
What a chaotic game! And what a chaotic piece of refereeing: strict foul detection - only not always -, a firm distant impression - only not all the time - and a disciplinary control which was hardly the most predictable. And yet, I am left with the impression that I have just watched a genuinely top class referee - certainly the biggest natural of the competition so far - who handled a breathless game on the whole certainly well.
This time, I will analyse the performance in different technical facets:
0) Match
Portugal lost remarkably to the United States, by three goals to two. Iberians were three goals down having played a shade over half-an-hour, and ultimately could not level the match. With the Americans a goal up inside four minutes, the game was dynamic and fast-paced from the start. Portugal's irritation throughout was also clear. To add - the celebrations of the United States after the final whistle, in this the first round of group matches, was telling for how hard-fought this match was. Referee from Ecuador had to face a tough one here.
1) Tactical Approach
In principle, Moreno operated a strict foul selection, especially in the first minutes. However, he also had a handful of very surprising play on decisions, for instance at 67' in the highlights. Differently to say, William Mattus in the Japan - Belgium game, his foul selection was not really flow-based either; I cannot really put my finger on what he was trying to do here. In a hectic game, this did not really calm the players down, though it did not make them visibly more anxious either.
2) Disciplinary Control
Referee was lenient regarding SPA offences, for which he did not caution once. A clearly reckless tackle at 28' went under-punished, with only a freekick awarded. The rest was somewhat capricious: he opened the cards, indeed not at 28', but at 34', for simulation, having at first seemed to award an attacking freekick in the situation (any communication with his compatriot on the line who flagged the offence seemingly as an attacking freekick, Bomer Fierro, was not shown on the broadcast; just replays). The caution for simulation was correct. A reckless tackler was admonished in the 2H, before a caution for 'time-wasting' right at the end.
Perhaps most problematic is a situation that went rather under the medial radar - almost certainly, Portugal no.9 commits a Serious Foul Play on his opponent, that went unseen by the referee. Replays are not totally conclusive, so Moreno can, in the end, be backed.
3) Leadership Style
Here, Moreno absolutely excelled. Despite still using the typical South American gestures that use a lot of body tension in signalling freekicks and presenting sanctions, which hardly present a friendly image, Moreno was years ahead of his time with his mimics and gestures which were very effective. More than that, his very aura was apparently enough to keep a hand on this game; the way he took charge of the match was really natural. Impressive.
4) Movement
Moreno quite liked running from wide, which made him have to work very hard to be in good positions, but he had no problem with that. Good.
A word then on his teammates. Besides the caution at 34', Fierro was not really in focus and got the only replayed offside in his vicinity correct. Awni Hassouneh was busier - he made an important mistake at 67', but more crucially missed the offside leading to the second goal for the United States. It was quite a bizarre situation, but the AR from Jordan would have gotten it right (offside position was crystal clear, by the way) if he expected the unexpected. It should have been possible to perceive what happened from the pass at his vantage point.
What a chaotic game! And what a chaotic piece of refereeing: strict foul detection - only not always -, a firm distant impression - only not all the time - and a disciplinary control which was hardly the most predictable. And yet, I am left with the impression that I have just watched a genuinely top class referee - certainly the biggest natural of the competition so far - who handled a breathless game on the whole certainly well.
This time, I will analyse the performance in different technical facets:
0) Match
Portugal lost remarkably to the United States, by three goals to two. Iberians were three goals down having played a shade over half-an-hour, and ultimately could not level the match. With the Americans a goal up inside four minutes, the game was dynamic and fast-paced from the start. Portugal's irritation throughout was also clear. To add - the celebrations of the United States after the final whistle, in this the first round of group matches, was telling for how hard-fought this match was. Referee from Ecuador had to face a tough one here.
1) Tactical Approach
In principle, Moreno operated a strict foul selection, especially in the first minutes. However, he also had a handful of very surprising play on decisions, for instance at 67' in the highlights. Differently to say, William Mattus in the Japan - Belgium game, his foul selection was not really flow-based either; I cannot really put my finger on what he was trying to do here. In a hectic game, this did not really calm the players down, though it did not make them visibly more anxious either.
2) Disciplinary Control
Referee was lenient regarding SPA offences, for which he did not caution once. A clearly reckless tackle at 28' went under-punished, with only a freekick awarded. The rest was somewhat capricious: he opened the cards, indeed not at 28', but at 34', for simulation, having at first seemed to award an attacking freekick in the situation (any communication with his compatriot on the line who flagged the offence seemingly as an attacking freekick, Bomer Fierro, was not shown on the broadcast; just replays). The caution for simulation was correct. A reckless tackler was admonished in the 2H, before a caution for 'time-wasting' right at the end.
Perhaps most problematic is a situation that went rather under the medial radar - almost certainly, Portugal no.9 commits a Serious Foul Play on his opponent, that went unseen by the referee. Replays are not totally conclusive, so Moreno can, in the end, be backed.
3) Leadership Style
Here, Moreno absolutely excelled. Despite still using the typical South American gestures that use a lot of body tension in signalling freekicks and presenting sanctions, which hardly present a friendly image, Moreno was years ahead of his time with his mimics and gestures which were very effective. More than that, his very aura was apparently enough to keep a hand on this game; the way he took charge of the match was really natural. Impressive.
4) Movement
Moreno quite liked running from wide, which made him have to work very hard to be in good positions, but he had no problem with that. Good.
A word then on his teammates. Besides the caution at 34', Fierro was not really in focus and got the only replayed offside in his vicinity correct. Awni Hassouneh was busier - he made an important mistake at 67', but more crucially missed the offside leading to the second goal for the United States. It was quite a bizarre situation, but the AR from Jordan would have gotten it right (offside position was crystal clear, by the way) if he expected the unexpected. It should have been possible to perceive what happened from the pass at his vantage point.
| Byron Moreno - 8,3 Bomer Fierro - 8,4 Awni Hassouneh - 7,8(1) Saad Al-Fadhli (ECU, ECU, JOR) | United States 3-2 Portugal Group Stage |
 Beasley (90.) - Delaying the Restart | Beto (34.) - Simulation Petit (51.) - Tackle |
Quickly on the scene, maybe theatrical but very clear in his gestures and from the looks of it, he got most decisions on a perception level quite right. However, I counted a high number of potential YC incidents (6', 17', 28', 29', 31', 59', 76'). The one in 31' even had SFP character and before the second goal, they not only missed an offside but for me a clearly reckless challenge that started the scene. Gestures are a matter of taste and most of them were good, but he should avoid ones that seem belittling (32'). Overall: It worked. Again, I believe a full match with all little details serves a final assessment better than highlights, were mostly critical scenes feature. One crucial mistake remains though.
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