2 ESPKOR Mikkelsen
One of the favourites to handle the final opened his tournament on the first day - Peter Mikkelsen starred at World Cup 1990 and his appointment to the second leg of the Argentina - Australia playoff demonstrated the trust FIFA had in this Danish man. Mikkelsen's Spain - Korea game was a relatively fair spirited one. The Dane refereed it well with his background-based style.
Danish referee's choice to open the cards for Luis Enrique's kick in his opponent's penalty area was quite interesting, given its intensity, quite a good call if you ask me. His reasonable manner aroused the trust and respect of the players, and with a generous use of advantage Mikkelsen could foster an environment where an exciting football match could be played.
Correct to eject Miguel Ángel Nadal for DOGSO, and he did very well to perceive that the offence took place outside the penalty area, Mikkelsen missed a deliberate stamp by José Luis Caminero in the first seconds of the second half for which he should have been dismissed [crucial mistake]. Maybe Mikkelsen wasn't fully switched on as he had kicked off the second half a matter of moments before. Not much controversy was generated by this decision.
Both Carl-Johan Christensen (44') and Roy Pearson (39') incorrectly raised their respective flags to indicate an offside. Christensen correctly signalled two offsides (23', 53') but missed a very clear foul in his vicinity (5').
| Peter Mikkelsen - 7,9(4) Carl-Johan Christensen - 8,2 Roy Pearson - 8,2 Philip Don DEN, DEN, ENG | Spain 2-2 Korea Republic Group Stage |
 Luis Enrique (24') - Tackle Caminero (71') - Delaying the Restart | Kim Joo-sung (37') - SPA (Holding) Choi Young-il (61') - Tackle |
 Nadal (26') - DOGSO (Tripping) |
Mikkelsen in my mind was either very poor or he lacked the courage to send off another Spanish player after the DOGSO call - Caminero's stamp was a clear VC that happened right underneath his eyes. A shame, because despite some mistakes, the rest looked sophisticated.
ReplyDeleteOr his self-preservation feeling kicked-in?
ReplyDeleteThat's an interesting point actually. It's important not to lose the foresight that the RC in the first half was not an expected call by any means. Mikkelsen knew he had a great chance for the final, and surely realised that two dismissals in his first game would surely impede his chances. He had a good view too...
DeleteBut we can only speculate.