18 MEXIRL Röthlisberger

 

Mexico defeated the Republic of Ireland by two goals to one in a game played under sweltering Floridian heat in Orlando. It was Kurt Röthlisberger from Switzerland who had the task of keeping everyone in check on an afternoon that reached forty-three degrees celsius. Röthlisberger had already achieved a lot with his interesting manner on the pitch - World Cup quarterfinal in 1990, handling the first ever Champions League final - and was seen to have a very real shout of handling the final in Pasadena. 

Swiss referee indeed did keep everything in check with his peculiar style - extremely low body tension in his gestures and really not a natural authority, but still managing to lead the game effectively. Some analysis then:

=>  Röthlisberger used his cards strictly to act against players delaying the restart (26', 57') and he punished the two hardest foul tackles in the game with cautions (+46', 70'). 70' certainly has Serious Foul Play in sight, but I think the referee got it just right with a booking only.

=> Swiss man's approach saw him living dangerously in the first half-an-hour. Having committed two tactical-but-not-fully-SPA fouls (2', 10'), Roy Keane ought to have been cautioned for his third foul at 27'. Tactical Mexico fouls at 15' and 22' also could have resulted in a caution (22' even could be Lack of Respect), but Röthlisberger kept his cards close to his chest. 

=> Referee was also gambling with his control a couple of times - no real reaction to Keane's attempted strike at 63' (red card?) and he was fortunate that his Polish linesman, the 1990 final's Michał Listkiewicz, intervened at 70' while the Swiss referee isolated the offending player. 

=> Röthlisberger missed a totally deliberate handling at 38' as Ireland tried to score, which if detected would have resulted in a caution. He also almost definitely missed a penalty for Ireland at 23' for a charging foul which was just inside the penalty area; nobody payed much attention though!

=> Fourth official Renato Marsiglia really should have reported John Aldridge's foul mouthed rant towards him and a FIFA technical official to the referee. One can understand Aldridge's frustration at the mix up which saw him have to wait to be substituted on, but even if one could condone calling the FIFA official a "dickhead", and telling him to "f*ck off", it was certainly not acceptable to call Marsiglia a "fucking cheat". If Aldridge had have been dismissed as technically he should have, it would certainly have given viewers around the world a unique insight into how to swear your way through the English alphabet. 

Aforementioned Listkiewicz and Brazilian Paulo Alves had quiet games in their roles as linesmen. Both correctly indicated an offside (15', 48' respectively). 

Kurt Röthlisberger - 8,3 Michał Listkiewicz - 8,4  Paulo Alves - 8,4 Renato Marsiglia SUI, POL, BRA	Mexico 2-1 Republic of Ireland Group Stage
del Olmo (+46') - Tackle Campos (57') - Delaying the Restart	Irwin (26') - Delaying the Restart Phelan (70') - Tackle