Optimum Officiating: AFC Cup 2009 QF 2nd Leg

The referee team officiated the match between Hong Kong’s South China and Uzbekistan’s Neftchi intelligently and effectively.

During the half-time break, referees should use their time wisely by considering the match situation and possible team tactics. The half-time score is: South China (red) 1 : 0 Neftchi (yellow); and the aggregate score is 5:5.

Match situation. South China (red) are one goal up, and simply need to protect their lead in the second half to win the quarter-final tie against Neftchi (yellow). Neftchi need only to draw the game in order to win the quarter-final tie.

The experienced match officials understand that the home team’s strategy is to “run down the clock”. If the referee is not careful, tensions and ill-feelings could potentially escalate and boil over as one team seeks to delay, and the other team seeks to play.


The following related posts are 6 videoclips of the second half of the 2nd Leg Quarter Final tie, with punctuated remarks. The videoclips show that the referee’s management of this tension-filled second half is intelligent and effective.

2009 09 30 South China v Neftchi AFC Cup 2009 1 of 6
2009 09 30 South China v Neftchi AFC Cup 2009 2 of 6
2009 09 30 South China v Neftchi AFC Cup 2009 3 of 6
2009 09 30 South China v Neftchi AFC Cup 2009 4 of 6
2009 09 30 South China v Neftchi AFC Cup 2009 5 of 6
2009 09 30 South China v Neftchi AFC Cup 2009 6 of 6

HKRef welcomes comments and remarks about refereeing in particular, and football in general.

Alex Ferguson Wrong About Wiley And Referees

Sir Alex Ferguson's specific comments on Alan Wiley is seen by many as a general slur on the refereeing community. Referees up and down England, left and right across the world (including here in Hong Kong!) would like to see the English FA impose a significant punishment on Ferguson.

Ferguson questioned referee Alan Wiley's fitness and the evidence for Alan Wiley's performance does not support Ferguson's biased opinion (see graphic). The ProZone analysis of Alan Wiley's match performance reveal the referee covered more ground than all but seven players during the Manchester Utd v Sunderland match on 3 October 2009. Additional statistics show Wiley also sprinted when needed, was on average about 17 meters away from the ball, and was on average about 15 meters from fouls.

This evidence clearly shows that Alex Ferguson is wrong to criticize Alan Wiley's fitness, and his overall performance as a premiership referee.

Ferguson must explain his remarks to the English FA by 13 October 2009.


Plain ridiculous (Hong Kong Standard)

Wednesday, October 07, 2009

Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson has been asked by the English FA to explain his controversial comments about referee Alan Wiley while Blackburn's Sam Allardyce has escaped sanction over his remarks about Peter Walton.

Ferguson questioned Wiley's fitness after United's 2-2 draw with Sunderland, claiming the 49-year-old struggled to keep up with the pace of the match at Old Trafford.

Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher felt the comments were unfair to all referees.

"I have never known a manager to say a referee wasn't fit enough. It's the most ridiculous comment I have ever heard," Gallagher said.

"The referees are fit for purpose. They are training four, five, six times a week ... to an intensity which 10 years ago I would never have believed."

AGENCIES

Alex Ferguson Verbally Abuses Premiership Referee Alan Wiley

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson accused referee Alan Wiley of being physically unfit, and could be charged by the FA with improper conduct.

Following Manchester United’s 2-2 draw with Sunderland on Saturday 3 October 2009, Ferguson claimed that Wiley took “at least 30 seconds every time he booked a player” because he needed a rest.

Referees, referee assessors and reasonable independent observers watching the match can observe for themselves that Wiley had a very good game. For instance, Wiley had presence, anticipated play well, kept close to the action, correctly applied advantage (Two examples: as Darren Fletcher slid and lunged at Sunderland’s Andy Reid, which soon created Sunderland’s second goal; and as Johnny Evans slid and fouled Sunderland’s Jordan Henderson, which created a good attacking opportunity), and issued six justifiable cautions (two being for Sunderland's Kieran Richardson, who was sent off for a second yellow card).

[Alan Wiley is a fit, experienced and highly capable referee]

Even BBC pundit Mark Lawrenson and other commentators said referee Alan Riley “had a good game”. However whether comments about referees are good or bad, referees understandably do not to take opinions from managers, players, fans and football commentators seriously. This is because, in general, these 'critics' do not have a complete understanding of refereeing and the Laws of the Game (see future post titled Why Referees Close Ranks).

There is no evidence that Alan Wiley is unfit or unable to perform his duties as a referee. Alex Ferguson is wrong to attack Alan Wiley and should be charged with improper conduct. A public apology would not go amiss either.


Ferguson queries referee fitness (BBC Sport)
Man Utd 2-2 Sunderland (BBC Sport)
FA Charge Liverpool's No 1 and No 2 with Improper Conduct
English FA Condemns Referee Intimidation

Fine-Tuning Penalty Kicks for Europa League Referees

Penalty kicks during the second round Europa League matches yesterday (1 October 2009) revealed how the Extra Assistant Referee (EAR) can complicate positioning matters. In this videoclip between Valencia and Genoa, the Referee awards a penalty kick to Genoa when the score is 2-1. Take a look at where the Referee and the EAR are positioned.

Question 1: Who saw the foul and did the EAR play a part?

Question 2: Why is the Referee standing in a different position to the standard position?

[From the videoclip, this is the positioning of the match officials during the penalty kick.]

The presence of the EAR appears to have shifted the R to stand on the right side of the goal during the penalty kick. In HKRef's opinion, this is not Optimum Officiating.

HKRef’s suggestion. For penalty kicks, an EAR standing on the goal line is redundant because the AR is already responsible for ensuring that the goalkeeper remains on the goal line before the ball is kicked, and that the ball crosses the goal line between the posts and under the crossbar. An EAR on the goal line is therefore a waste of an extra pair of eyes and a waste of “presence”.

What would be better is for the Referee to use the EAR to help keep an eye on other players and to help prevent them from running in to the penalty area before the ball is kicked. The presence of another match official near the 18 yard line can help deter players from entering the penalty area prematurely during penalty kicks.

[HKRef's suggestion for Optimum Officiating.]

Does anyone else have other suggestions?

South China Secure Semi-Final Slot

Hong Kong’s South China are through to the semi-finals of the 2009 AFC Cup with a comprehensive 1-0 win in the second-leg of their quarter-final tie against Uzbekistan's Neftchi. In last night’s return leg at Hong Kong Stadium, the Hong Kong Division One Champions overturned their AFC Cup first-leg 5-4 deficit in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, and ultimately won the tie by the away goals rule.


The all-important goal by Brazilian striker Leandro Silva came in the second minute of the first half. There were 4 yellow cards in total, and the referee team officiated the match intelligently and effectively (further details to follow).


Reference
South China (HKG) 1-0 Neftchi (UZB). Agg 5-5.

Caroliners edge into AFC Cup semis (SCMP; subscription required)
Chan Kin-wa and Agence France-Presse
Oct 01, 2009

South China moved a step closer to completing their AFC Cup mission after sneaking past Neftchi of Uzbekistan at Hong Kong Stadium last night.

A slender 1-0 victory was good enough to take them through to the semi-finals, thanks to the away goal rule after they banged in four goals in the first leg when they lost 5-4 to the Uzbekistanis two weeks ago.

Brazilian forward Leandro Silva scored the only goal in front of a 20,000 crowd, mostly in red shirts in support of the home team, after heading home a Leung Kin-pong's cross in the second minute. But the Caroliners, who have set their sights on reaching the final in order to represent Hong Kong in the AFC Champions League next year, also had goalkeeper Zhang Chunhui to thank.

Two excellent saves from the keeper in the second half, including a one-on-one situation against Neftchi striker Alisher Halikov in the 70th minute, kept their hopes alive. Zhang also punched away a free kick from Iqboljon Akramov before any Neftchi players could reach it from close range seven minutes later.

"I want to buy the goalkeeper a dinner," said South China coach Kim Pan-gon. "He made two important saves that has helped us through."

South China received bad news the night before the match when forward Tales Schutz was banned for three matches by the Asian Football Confederation which meant he was not available for the encounter.

Coach Kim said: "We played as a team and it proved tonight that other players could come in and do a good job in the absence of others. I don't think [the loss of Schutz] will affect us too much."

South China convenor Steven Lo Kit-sing thanked the 20,000 fans who braved the bad weather to support them, although the rain stopped just before the start of the match.

"I told the players before the start they could not afford losing the hearts of the fans," he said.

"And the players did not let me down and did not let the fans down. I know many of them are not South China fans but just came here to support Hong Kong football. And their presence means Hong Kong football still has a future."

First Round of Europa League Matches: Five or Six Match Officials?

Despite the negativity from Everton manager David Moyes, it will take more than one match or one round of Europa League matches to assess the benefits, if any, of UEFA’s experiment with goal-line referees.

[Extra AR on the goal line in a Europa League match on 17 September 2009]

Even the naming and numbering of this experiment has yet to stabilize or reach some consensus. For instance, UEFA and various media organizations are currently using terms like “extra assistant referees”, “goal-line referees”, “extra officials” and “five match officials”. And we all know that there are six match officials in the experiment.

So, let’s Wait-and-See!


Reference
Moyes critical of extra officials (BBC Sport)
Goalline referees to make debut in Europa League matches tomorrow
More Details About Europa League's Additional Referees Experiment
New Europa League will Trial "Five" Match Officials
Two extra pairs of eyes for referee teams
UEFA President hails UEFA Europa League

Referee Busacca Banned for Three Matches

Referees make mistakes but even news that Massimo Busacca, Switzerland’s top referee, gave the “middle finger” gesture to fans came as a complete surprise.

Subsequently, the Swiss Football Association (SFA) has banned Busacca for 3 matches for his unsporting gesture at fans during a first-round Swiss Cup match between FC Baden and Young Boys on Saturday 19 September 2009.

There is no excuse for such behaviour, particularly for match officials. But at the same time, we should also acknowledge that 'to err is human'. Busacca has said he regretted his unsporting gesture and accepts his punishment.

[Note: The BBC story’s photo caption: “Mr Busacca is more used to giving red cards than receiving them” is wrong. He did not receive a red card, only a three-match suspension.]

Massimo Busacca officiated the 2009 Champions League final between Barcelona and Manchester United in Rome and, as Switzerland’s best referee, is set to referee World Cup matches in South Africa in 2010.