SportsTechnology, Diversity, Controversies Around Officiating Qatar 2022

Technology, Diversity, Controversies Around Officiating Qatar 2022

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Part of the football fervour and experiences that have seized the attention of sports fans across the globe, as beamed via transmission cables and internet servers from the several resplendent stadia in Qatar, are the debates over the correctness or the errors of refereeing decisions. As is often the case with matches where the stakes are high, players are prone to reacting strongly to referees and the stakes are never higher as they are at the World Cup. Qatar 2022 is no exception. Scarcely has any result gone without one side or the other dissatisfied with the officiating and unhesitating in outright criticism of the match officials for one call or the other.

THEWILL recalls that even after Argentine goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez displayed excellent reflexes in his penalty heroics in the match against the Dutch national team that effectively pushed Argentina to a semi-final, the keeper was in no celebratory mood. Instead, his vexatious consideration of the officiating of Spanish referee Mateu Lahoz was obvious in his post-match criticism of the decisions he felt went against his country versus the Netherlands, nearly costing it the result.

The annoyance of Martínez was reflected in the reaction of Argentine captain Lionel Messi, who was as scathing in his opinion of the referee as his compatriot, saying: “I don’t want to talk about the referee because they sanction you. But people saw what happened. We were afraid before the match because we knew how he was and I think FIFA has to review this. You can’t put a referee like him for these matches.”

Glo

Indeed, their reactions have not been the exception as the Qatar World Cup officiating standard has been a central talking point from the beginning. This was a subject that FIFA wanted to avoid from the start. Ahead of the competition, there was much talk about the technological innovations that have been included in the stadium and in the ball to see that referees get as much assistance as possible to make the right calls that are backed by precise monitoring and tracking. Some controversies aside, the technology has enabled referees to make calls based on hard evidence rather than perception as some of the action is fast-paced and often a referee cannot decipher it all with the naked eye alone. The most outstanding example was Kaoru Mitoma’s winning goal for Japan against Spain, which was allowed to stand despite it appearing that the ball had drifted out of play. It was not the case because cameras at the roof of the stadium identified the fact that the ball had not entirely crossed the line which, according to the rules, is the only time the ball is out of play. Technology ultimately counted by the finest of margins.

Yet, anyone following will agree that debatable decisions throughout the World Cup have played a part in some of the results. This is even more so when such results are part of the vital knockout games, where the narrowest of margins can be all that keeps a team in the competition or ensures that they exit in tears and anguish on live TV. In the lead-up to the competition, it was revealed that FIFA and its referee committee chairman Pierluigi Collina set very clear guidelines regarding in-game calls, from clamping down or grappling in the penalty box to warding against soft fouls for the referees, all 36 of them. They were to be assisted by 69 assistant referees and 24 video match officials overseeing the video assistant referee (VAR) system. While the novel approach might have helped the game progress better, not all adapted to the changes towards the Qatari competition.

As a result, the seemingly confused and erratic calls that some of the match officials have been a part of often is a result of an internal attempt and struggle to break away from their previous style and adjust to the different standards in Qatar, which can only result in stretches of inconsistency. As the footballers have attested to and as many fans have complained about, some almost identical incidents have not been called in the same way by the same referees in the same match over the last month, leaving many players, coaches, teams and fans angry and critical of the officiating. Some have gone as far as to construe that there is a FIFA agenda against certain teams, with one conspiracy going as far as insinuating that the world football body wanted the protesting German team out early and made sure it happened with the match officials as part of the plot. There is actually no truth in this.

In addition to the adaptation of the referees to the Qatar event, a second point of contention has been the technology employed. An instance of this was when Cameroon’s Vincent Aboubakar spectacularly lobbed the Serbian goalkeeper to score a goal that was initially disallowed for offside, as it seemed to most of those watching. But a video review overturned the initial call to correctly award the goal by the tightest of margins, but only after the initial joy had evaporated and the sense of the thrill of the celebration had died. This is an aspect of the game that is sacred, that the elation of a goal cannot be affected by technology without taking something away from football. It will be a sad day when goals are scored but all shouts of joys will have to wait pending a VAR review. The technology will have to be faster than that.

On the subject of dissatisfaction with refereeing decisions, a FIFA determination of the issues will have to be made. The complaints cannot be summarily dismissed especially when they are made official. For instance, Morocco’s football federation (FMRF) protested to FIFA about the refereeing during their World Cup semi-final defeat by defending champions France in Qatar. The FMRF is unhappy that Mexican referee Cesar Ramos failed to award a penalty in the first half to the North Africans when Theo Hernandez made contact with Sofiane Boufal in the area. Instead of awarding a spot-kick, which several neutrals felt was appropriate, Ramos instead booked winger Boufal for a foul. The Moroccans were also unhappy that the hauling down of substitute Selim Amallah as he awaited the delivery of a set-piece also failed to prompt another look from the VAR officials.

In addition to that, the very solemn and quiet Croatian midfielder Luka Modric was forced to speak up against the officiating as well and he did not hold back when expressing his ire at Italian referee Daniele Orsato. While Croatia lost to Argentina 3-0 in the World Cup semi-final, Modric pointed to a specific incident that changed the tenor of the match. The main cause of his ire was the penalty the referee awarded to the Albiceleste, which allowed Lionel Messi to score the game’s first goal. In the first half, Dominik Livakovic was found to have fouled Julian Alvarez in the box, but the Croatians disagreed. Modric said: “I never talk about referees, but today it’s impossible not to talk. He is one of the worst I know. Not only for today’s game. He has refereed me many times and I never have a good memory of him. He’s a disaster. It’s a key moment in the game, he doesn’t give us a corner and gives them a penalty, which I don’t think it was, because he shoots and collides with our goalkeeper. I can’t believe he gave that penalty. That changes the game.”

In the other semi-final between England and France, the English had bones to pick with the officials as well. Referee Wilton Sampaio failed to award a free-kick for a foul on Bukayo Saka in the build-up to Aurelien Tchouameni’s opener, whilst the Arsenal star was kicked and disrupted for the rest of the game without much punishment. England defender Harry Maguire was furious. Speaking after the game, the Manchester United defender said: “Big decisions went against us, a lot of decisions went against us, should I say. I think the referee’s decision-making throughout the game was really poor. We always stand here and as players we get criticised. So it would be nice to see if he comes out and says whether he’s had a good game or not. Because there were so many decisions in that first half where they made five, six early fouls. I think H [Harry Kane] was outside the box but it was a clear foul. He didn’t in the second half, Bukayo’s is a clear foul leading up to their first goal. Big moments, big decisions, you expect to get some right but unfortunately tonight we didn’t get any.”

Pepe was another player who voiced his criticism of the refereeing. He came out forcefully to state his belief that Portugal were hard done by due to an Argentinian referee taking charge of Portugal’s 1-0 loss to Morocco in the quarter-finals of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, especially given the rivalry between these two footballing South American teams and the possibility of them meeting if both advanced. The 39-year-old Brazil captain said in his post-match comments: “After what I saw today, they can now give the title to Argentina. It is inadmissible that an Argentine referee whistled at us today after what happened yesterday, with Messi complaining,” he continued, referring to the referee antics from Argentina’s quarter-final win against the Netherlands.

While FIFA has an obligation to respond to these complaints, there have nevertheless been positives for the technology and the officiating. It has resulted in the longest extra time added to matches ever in football history. While this has left some confused, and fuelled more conspiracy theories, it was FIFA’s answer to time wasting by some teams and time lost during medical interventions and goal celebrations. All these time-extending circumstances are added back to the football to make sure both sides play the entire 90 minutes and no time is lost. It has led to thrilling match endings as well because there have been some very late goals and fans have had more soccer to enjoy.

In truth, this World Cup has been a win in some refereeing areas, such as inclusivity, with it being the first with female match officials – referees Stéphanie Frappart (France), Salima Mukansanga (Rwanda) and Yoshimi Yamashita (Japan); assistant referees Neuza Back (Brazil), Karen Díaz Medina (Mexico) and Kathryn Nesbitt (US), all of whom hope in the aftermath of the World Cup that the focus remains on their job rather than their gender. There has also been positives for the technology even if it will do to outline a clear standard from here for the referees. Yet, the role of a match official at a World Cup can often feel like a thankless job. While players are heaped with praise when they do outstanding work, referees are rarely hailed for doing their job well. Instead, they are routinely lambasted – by players, managers and fans over the slightest of errors. Still, the reality is that their high-stakes role requires a comprehensive knowledge of the game’s rules, an elite fitness level – often requiring them to run more than outfield players – and years of hard work.

That is why FIFA rewards them for their work. FIFA makes an effort to select officials with the best reputation and expertise. The match referees nearly usually have a heavy workload during major competitions like the World Cups and continental championships. In addition to receiving a sizable salary for their crucial role as event officials, referees are also well-paid. Since the World Cup in Russia (2018), the World Cup management organisation has made arrangements for each match referee to receive a base salary of $70,000 for their participation in the FIFA World Cup. For the first time in the competition’s history, FIFA also decided that each assistant referee would get an initial payment of $25,000 for their involvement at the World Cup. A match official makes at least three times more money off of a World Cup event than they do officiating matches in the UEFA Champions League.

The match referee is paid $3,000 for the group stage and $10,000 for the playoffs or final. A match official typically oversees two games on average, and FIFA increases their contracted salary by the match fees they receive. A successful referee might get up to $300,000 during the competition if they officiated every game, including the final. The assistant referee is not left out. Offside, fouls committed near them or that are difficult for the match referee to notice are the key things that the two assistant referees on each side of the field assess. For their time and work, they are paid just slightly less than the referee: $2,500 for the group stage and $5,000 for the playoffs and final. The ideal scenario for the assistant referees would be a $150,000 tournament compensation.

There is also the fourth official and their roles are important too. The player or substitute’s gear is inspected by the fourth official, who also oversees the substitution process. They are responsible for overseeing ball replacement during the game. They receive the same compensation as the assistant referee ($2,500/$5,000 per match), and the tournament payment is anticipated to be $150,000 (officiating through the final game.) The addition of video assistant referees represents the biggest modification to football rules in recent years. The FIFA World Cup 2022 VAR officials will be paid $3,000 for each match, rising to $5,000 in later stages of the competition, with $175,000 being the optimum compensation for the entire tournament.

Such compensations give them the right to apply the rules and make the most crucial calls in these games and to be held responsible for debatable decisions and controversial calls by dissatisfied players and fans. FIFA has a lot to do to make these occasions few and far between for the sanctity of the game and the respectability of the officiating.

About the Author

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Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.

Jude Obafemi, THEWILLhttps://thewillnews.com
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.

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