13 NGABUL Badilla
Nigeria's comprehensive three-nil defeat of Bulgaria constituted a serene debut for the West African nation on the world stage. The match was equally serene for the debutant referee Rodrigo Badilla Sequeira from Costa Rica. He did a good job in a low-key encounter.
Badilla's style was quite intense, but not demonstrative, as say Alberto Tejada; the Costa Rican was far from the star of the show. Some points for consideration about his performance:
=> The most controversial event of the evening was a disallowed goal for Bulgaria. Badilla correctly awarded an indirect freekick (impeding without contact) which was brilliantly directly scored, and play was correctly restarted with a goalkick.
=> The most controversial event of the evening was a disallowed goal for Bulgaria. Badilla correctly awarded an indirect freekick (impeding without contact) which was brilliantly directly scored, and play was correctly restarted with a goalkick.
=> Bulgaria appealed for a penalty twice: first at 36' and then in rather amusing choreography at 51'.
36' - Nigeria defender reads the flight of the long ball better than the attacker, who if anything impedes the defender; no problem with a play on call.
51' - Handling that seems rather accidental to me, despite well-rehearsed Bulgaria appeals. With the then-dogmatic positioning of referees at corners, there was actually no chance for the referee to properly assess the situation.
=> Both cards issued for reckless tackles were correct. The first one was well-timed, the second close to SFP - a caution being the best outcome for a ball-orientated challenge that was just very reckless. Though at 73' linesmen Eugene Brazzale seemed to lead Badilla to the conclusion more than should have been necessary for a borderline red card.
=> Possible cards for tactical fouls at 18', 60', 89'? Badilla was consistent in his lenient approach to potential SPA offences.
=> Missed foul at 65' was a simply awful decision.
Both Australian linesmen made significant mistakes in tight situations which not affect the destination of the three points. Despite playing a nice onside for the opening goal, Eugene Brazzale incorrectly disallowed another Nigeria score at 29' (crucial mistake). Gordon Dunster denied Nigeria a very promising attack with his wrong flag at 72'.
| Rodrigo Badilla - 8,4 Gordon Dunster - 8,1 Eugene Brazzale - 7,9(4) Ali Bujsaim CRC, AUS, AUS | Nigeria 3-0 Bulgaria Group Stage |
 Amunike (73') - Tackle | Lečkov (54') - Tackle |
Expected more from the two specialized ARs from Australia. I thought they were both selected because they were both good, but so far...
ReplyDeleteLooked like a fun game overall and Badilla like a decent ref. The cancelled goal was fully correct, most other calls are supportable. However, the complete lack of SPA prevention in four major scenes (18', 34', 60', 89') left much to be desired, as did the missed foul in 65'. Still, not a bad impression.
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