53 MEXUSA Melo Pereira
HIGHLIGHTS
Mexico - United States was a very tough game in which to be the referee, a task which was bestowed on Vítor Melo Pereira. Referee from Portugal ostensibly satisfied FIFA in the quite weird Denmark - France game. Considering this would have tested every referee at the competition to the limit, Melo Pereira actually did reasonably well, but - the missed ultra-deliberate handling in the United States penalty area which should have resulted in a penalty to Mexico sours that.
I'd bet that most (assistant) referees at the competition would have missed the handling, but Melo Pereira and his AR Egon Bereuter had the misfortune to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. On an expectation-perception-recognition level, this offence was very difficult to detect. Still, between them they had to see that, with more blame at the assistant from Austria's door, and the mistake was potentially decisive for the outcome.
I genuinely mean this with all the respect for a World Cup and UEFA Cup Final attendee - Vítor Melo Pereira was a weird referee. His presence doesn't foster a convincing relationship with the players; he is short of either a commanding and distant authority or being co-operative leadership figure on the pitch. His decisions are not befitting of the most confident man either, and that was in evidence in this match.
His tactical approach changed throughout the game, on the whole he adapted well. He was a bit lenient at the start but maybe that wasn't the worst choice; he started chucking cards around for technical infractions from the start of the second half, but rather than leave him with a mountain of paperwork, that actually proved an astute choice, well done.
Most problematic was what happened in the last ten minutes - Mexico were frustrated and it was obvious what would happen next once they stopped really trying to win the game. García Aspe, flying, dangerous, out of control in front of the benches at 81' offered Melo Pereira the perfect opportunity to say "f*** off" to Mexico kicking the sh*t out of their opponents; referee didn't oblige and only issued a caution. Márquez was correctly sent off for a ridiculous tackle later, but by then the tone was set. Thankfully, the anarchic final stages passed without serious injury (you can have your own view as to how many 2020 SFPs there were ..). I think Melo Pereira did enough to avoid formally losing control - but only just.
Not the best afternoon for the assistant referees - Carlos Matos was right in important situations at 24', 42', but wrong at 31' and in another scene at 29'. Egon Bereuter made a mistake of the rare variety at this competition, an incorrect (important) onside at 37'.
Mexico - United States was a very tough game in which to be the referee, a task which was bestowed on Vítor Melo Pereira. Referee from Portugal ostensibly satisfied FIFA in the quite weird Denmark - France game. Considering this would have tested every referee at the competition to the limit, Melo Pereira actually did reasonably well, but - the missed ultra-deliberate handling in the United States penalty area which should have resulted in a penalty to Mexico sours that.
I'd bet that most (assistant) referees at the competition would have missed the handling, but Melo Pereira and his AR Egon Bereuter had the misfortune to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. On an expectation-perception-recognition level, this offence was very difficult to detect. Still, between them they had to see that, with more blame at the assistant from Austria's door, and the mistake was potentially decisive for the outcome.
I genuinely mean this with all the respect for a World Cup and UEFA Cup Final attendee - Vítor Melo Pereira was a weird referee. His presence doesn't foster a convincing relationship with the players; he is short of either a commanding and distant authority or being co-operative leadership figure on the pitch. His decisions are not befitting of the most confident man either, and that was in evidence in this match.
His tactical approach changed throughout the game, on the whole he adapted well. He was a bit lenient at the start but maybe that wasn't the worst choice; he started chucking cards around for technical infractions from the start of the second half, but rather than leave him with a mountain of paperwork, that actually proved an astute choice, well done.
Most problematic was what happened in the last ten minutes - Mexico were frustrated and it was obvious what would happen next once they stopped really trying to win the game. García Aspe, flying, dangerous, out of control in front of the benches at 81' offered Melo Pereira the perfect opportunity to say "f*** off" to Mexico kicking the sh*t out of their opponents; referee didn't oblige and only issued a caution. Márquez was correctly sent off for a ridiculous tackle later, but by then the tone was set. Thankfully, the anarchic final stages passed without serious injury (you can have your own view as to how many 2020 SFPs there were ..). I think Melo Pereira did enough to avoid formally losing control - but only just.
Not the best afternoon for the assistant referees - Carlos Matos was right in important situations at 24', 42', but wrong at 31' and in another scene at 29'. Egon Bereuter made a mistake of the rare variety at this competition, an incorrect (important) onside at 37'.
| Vítor Melo Pereira - 7,8(2) Carlos Matos - 8,2 Egon Bereuter - 7,8(2) Jan Wegereef (POR, POR, AUT) | Mexico 0-2 United States Round of Sixteen |
 Vidrio (37.) - Tackle Hernández (67.) - Simulation Blanco (70.) - Aggressive Behaviour García Aspe (81.) - Tackle Carmona (84.) - Charging | Pope (26.) - Tackle Mastroeni (47.) - Delaying the Restart Wolff (50.) - Delaying the Restart Berhalter (53.) - Holding Friedel (83.) - Delaying the Restart |
 Márquez (88.) - Serious Foul Play (Tackle) |
#13 of Mexico's "tackle" at 90' was used in one of the first FIFA Futuro courses as a textbook example of SFP. So that was one miss that definitely needs to be noted.
ReplyDeleteThanks for that, interesting piece of info.
DeleteBoth that 'tackle' and the stamp in the penalty area a minute later are clear Red Cards, I'm glad FIFA agreed even back then. The former was probably hard for Melo Pereira to perceive from his position.
To be honest maybe my mark should have been more in the 7,7 region - it was not acceptable that the United States players in the final minutes were playing just to avoid serious injury.
Well for a cards bingo this game would be one of the best choices ever. I'd say Melo Pereira did seem to me as being in charge of affairs, his gestures were very clear and he seemed not hectic or fussed most of the time. It wasn't like he knew everything, but he certainly did a credible job in suggesting that.
ReplyDeleteCard-control wise, I must say I agree with the very strict approach in the second half. Some of them seemed a bit harsh (53', 83') while especially the ones for DtR early were a good signal. The dive was well-spotted in 67' and the aggressive behaviour by Blanco who certainly tried to provoke his already booked opponent suitably carded as well (70'). I'd argue that 6' and 20' were mandatory bookings as well, but such challenges were under-punished back then. The same can not be said for the foul in 17', which was a very clear SPA in my eyes. A SYC in 57' was possible just like a booking in 82', but again, we have talked about these sorts of fouls repeatedly.
As for the crucial scenes, the ultra-blatant handball penalty for MEX missed in 55' meant that his tournament had to be over. It nearly boiled over in the end, with Mexico's frustration being discharged by nasty challenges. I can still agree with YC in 81', but Márquez should have been sent off earlier for a blatant challenge after the whistle in 86' before his SFP RC in 88'. The nasty stamp in 90' was VC as well.
Melo Pereira made it through in the end and I like to give him credit for being partly strict and having some good decisions both on a disciplinary and a match control level. But he made a very crucial mistake and in my eyes lacked the will to further inflame Mexico by correctly punishing unsportsmanlike behaviour in the end. The lack of further appointments is justified, albeit some of those to come were worse.