13. France-Switzerland 0:0

Match 13
Group G
June 13, 2006
Stuttgart

Referee: Valentin Ivanov (RUS)
Assistant Referee 1: Nikolay Golubev (RUS)
Assistant Referee 2: Evgueni Volnin (RUS)
Fourth Official: Kevin Stott (USA)
Fifth Official: Gregory Barkey (USA)

Official Match Report: html/pdf

Ivanov’s position was generally too far from the action, though he seemed perfectly located when he decided not to call a penalty in 38’. In our opinion, this was the most serious refereeing error of the tournament to date, even worse than awarding the goal to Japan against Australia, because it affected not only the score (which can affect advancement from group play, but only if the tie-breaker of goal differential is necessary), but also affected the outcome of the match (points are of primary importance in advancement from group play).

There were, in our opinion, at least two other missed calls as well: a Swiss push/trip (the blocking kind) of Henry (FRA 12) in 10’ and a potential French trip in 40’. Also, we thought that Makekele (FRA 6) should probably have been cautioned for a dive (unsporting simulation) in 92’. In 55’ Ivanov should have just called the Swiss foul rather than give some kind of “play on” gestures when there was no obvious advantage to France.

We were also perplexed by the decision to not stop play for Henry’s injury in 41’, presumably on the rationale he happened to already be off the field following his attack when he felt pain. There was no obvious advantage to be removed from the Swiss and they kicked the ball around the half-way line for a while until the realized the referee did not intend to stop play.

We also found the 8 cautions issued in this match to be excessive. During the periods around 68’ and again from around 80’ to the end of the match, it seemed that every player on the field was angry with Ivanov's decisions; the high number of cautions issued may have contributed to the anger. It was impossible to tell from the television coverage why Zidane (FRA 10) was cautioned in 72' just before taking a direct kick outside the area, but it could have been very serious. Dissent? Delaying the restart? Neither seems likely, since he was presumably happy with the call and did not seem to us to take an excessive time in setting up for the kick. Cautions should be reserved for truly deserving situations; for example:

Abidal’s (FRA 3) caution for dissent/delay of restart in 65’, when he kicked the ball into the stands upon hearing the whistle for his foul was consistent with new FIFA guidelines for the tournament, and similar to several cautions issued in previous matches. Another deserved caution was to Cabanas (SUI 7) for his late challenge on Sagnol (FRA 19) in 72’.

Finally, mention must be made of the caution to Alexander Frei (SUI 9) for deliberate handling in a goal-scoring attempt in 93’. Good position, good eye, correct decision. Perhaps there will be no “hands of God” at work in Germany, just the occasional hand of a defender.

-Orion & Zazu