31 TUNBEL Shield
I think the referee from Australia suffered from something you might call "self-perceived token status", that in my view is quite often visible from some referees at FIFA Tournaments. I had never had the impression that Shield felt he was good enough to handle a World Cup match (in 2002), yet I would counter that he was, he was just nervous in this game - too many of his simple calls surprised the players, as a leadership figure he was too cold and isolated and positionally, despite being amongst fittest at the tournament, he was lacking, being too close to play in midfield a number of times.
Most problematically he totally misread a situation in the penalty area: it should have resulted in a penalty to Tunisia, who were instead awarded a corner.
So, "self-perceived token status" - if Shield were an Englishman and selected for the World Cup, despite hypothetically having exactly the same repertoire of skills, would perform better than he did, as "the best referee from Oceania". Why? The Englishman believes that he deserves his place on the pitch there, I don't think Shield really did. Besides any skills or so (though it does work both ways), it is incredibly easy to under-estimate how important that is. Both Al-Ghandour, referee at this tournament, and Ravšan Ėrmatov speak very well on this topic.
Besides any refereeing solution to that problem, it is quite entrenched and cultural, and tricky to solve. Especially the OFC Paradox with some pleasant exceptions, certainly still exists. I would add that I am glad Shield got a second chance at the World Cup, which he deserved.
ARs were not challenged, and were correct in the all the situations replayed by the broadcaster.
| Mark Shield - 7,8(1) Paul Smith - 8,4 Sankar Komaleeswaran - 8,4 Gilles Veissière (AUS, NZL, IND) | Tunisia 1-1 Belgium Group Stage |
 Gabsi (22.) - Simulation Ghodhbane (43.) - Tackle Trabelsi (68.) - SPA (Holding) Melki (69.) - Tackle | Van Buyten (40.) - Tackle |
Very little to say really. He did seem rather distant and from what I saw, a number of surprising calls or little mistakes. In 16', I think he might have been a bit relieved that Tunisia scored from the free kick he gave maybe a bit too early - though we can discuss if the following shot would have happened the same way if he didn't. Unlucky, then lucky.
ReplyDeleteHe wasn't bad, his cautions given were rather clear cut. However, he also missed a clear penalty for Tunisia - he had bad angle to clearly differentiate between foul and fall. YC in 22' is wrong, there was a clear contact at the chest. Two potential reckless fouls (50', 52') and one clear YC missed for reckless use of arms (54'). The Belgian penalty appeal in 76' can't be seriously assessed due to the lack of replays.
Not really bad, but also not really arguments for a further appointment.