38 ESPSUI van der Ende

 

Spain defeated Switzerland by three goals to nothing in an exciting match which hung in the balance for most part. It was a match which either nation could quite conceivably have won, and the 3-0 scoreline was not really indicative of play. In the end Spain were simply more clinical in their counter-attacking style, even if their opponents had more goal chances over the course of the afternoon.

Mario van der Ende was the man in charge; Dutchman aroused a lot of trust from FIFA, and after two good showings thus far (ITAIRL and USAROU), he offered the best piece of officiating so far. Referee van der Ende excellently synthesised verbal warnings as well as sanctions to offer perhaps the most sophisticated style of officiating so far.

Having borne potential cautions at 4' (SPA), 7' (angry warning after the whistle), 10' (advantage - player quietly warned later), van der Ende then 'exploded' with four cautions in around five minutes, which brilliantly kept the game calm - specially balancing at 24' was top class for me. He held his conviction to issue all of those in hope the players would get the message - and they did. Players followed and accepted his strong man style throughout. 

If you support him regarding: no foul before the opening goal (no replay), no Serious Foul Play at both 69' and 77' (69' especially looked like a very bad foul) and no penalty at +91' (yes the infringement punished was inside but for me it was a clear (indirect) freekick to Spain) - then definitely a very (very) good performance by van der Ende. 

One could certainly regret the rigidity of FIFA removing all the referees who's nation of origin reached the Quarterfinal, after the Round of Sixteen. Van der Ende certainly deserved another match after this really strong showing. 

Jan Dolstra correctly allowed Spain's opening goal to stand (non-active offside) amongst a performance that was very good if not for an important mistake at 43'. Sándor Márton was pretty quiet. 

Mario van der Ende - 8,6 Jan Dolstra - 8,3 Sándor Márton - 8,4 Arturo Angeles  NED, NED, HUN	Spain 3-0 Switzerland Round of Sixteen
Goikoetxea (18') - Tackle Ferrer (19') - Tackle Camarasa (23') - SPA (Holding) Otero (88') - Tackle	Hottiger (24') - Dissent Studer (69') - Tackle Subiat (77') - Tackle Pascolo (86') - SPA (Tripping)