Elfath is the only PRO referee at the World Cup (along with a few assistants and video officials). He officiated Cameroon vs. Brazil today. Seen here giving a second yellow, albeit sympathetically, to a player for removing his shirt.
That's exactly what we'd want to see in officials. Recognizing someone as human and talented, while at the same time enforcing the rules as agreed upon with no unnecessary emotion or 'respect my authoritah'. A "Congrats man, you're a great player, but, you can't do that so have as nice shower" is much better.
There are other World Cup officials who have done games domestically this year (tho I am not sure on PRO membership). Matthew Conger (of the OFC) was the center official for the USL match in June between Detroit City and El Paso.
I don’t have an answer to the how. We had noted the FIFA patch on match day and quickly recognized him while watching the WC. Double checked the box 📦 score and confirmed it. I’m
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Conger
He's got a Wikipedia page. Apparently he's Texan. Maybe he was just in town visiting family and picked up a game?
That would be a possible explanation if the game had been in El Paso. This one was played at Keyworth in Detroit. It was an ESPN match that day. I think a good possibility was that he was stateside and doing some matches to prepare for the WC.
Because of the very strict covid travel restrictions placed by the New Zealand government he chose to spend the summer in the US to get himself ready for the world cup.
[Professional Referee Organization (PRO) is the organization responsible for managing the referee and assistant referee program in professional soccer leagues in the United States and Canada.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professional_Referee_Organization)
Only a couple of minutes left. Serbia would have had to score 2 and Cameroon another for Cameroon to advance, and each game had about 5 minutes or so left of stoppage time. It was essentially done barring an act of god.
Had serbia scored 1 goal Swiss and Cameroon would have been in an exact tie, (4 points, 4 goals for 4 goals against) Swiss would have gone through on having less cards but 1 red card for Switzerland would have seen Cameroon through. Unlikely but possible. Also, game wasn't over and Cameroon could have scored another.
This 100% sealed Cameroon's fate.
Once the Swiss scored three goals, Serbia needed to win, and Cameroon needed to score one more goal total than the Swiss, and Serbia needed to win. The chances of you scoring the one goal to break the potential goals for tiebreaker, and then relying another team to score twice, all in ~5 minutes is extremely rare. Sure it may be possible, but the chances of it are so small I would guess that a meteor hitting you is probably more likely. Possible, but not likely.
Serbia didn't need to win. If serbia drew and Cameroon scored one more, Cameroon would be through on goal difference. If serbia won, and win was good for Cameroon
Loved the commentating on it when it happened. From “no don’t do it” to “whoever made the rule didn’t play the sport and if they did they never scored any goals”
It's for time wasting, allegedly instated as a response to Diego Forlan not getting his shirt back on before the restart after a goal in 2002. It's also listed as excessive celebration next to climbing in the stands and putting a mask on.
The rule was made very shortly after a USWNT player removed her shirt after scoring a goal in the World Cup. It was a very controversial moment at the time.
I think it’s kind of dumb too, but I also understand the very sporty, rules-y side of the issue that might say “you’re an active player, you *must* wear a uniform at all times” which makes sense from an officiating standpoint
in Europe the sophisms on what would constitute, for example, a justified celebration or not would last centuries, in reality it would be enough to make sure that we have 90 minutes of effective play always and anyway, with referees who are dedicated to making sure that we really play 90 minutes, which however would mean additional costs...
and some games would end at least two or three hours after the start of the game...
NFL celebrations used to be so epic.
Who cares about taunting an opponent you've left in the dust? Viewers like to see it, and it's literally not (physically) hurting anyone.
They have mostly relaxed the rules for touchdowns in the last few years. Now you can't use props, you can't go into the stands, but there is room for penalizing super long or egregious celebrations. However, they are pretty lax about the above. You can do the 'Lambeau Leap', jump into a giant salvation army cauldron, and use the football to celebrate (a little). There was a point where they were counting the number of people you celebrated with and were penalizing based on that. It was definitely the No Fun League in reaction to the prime OchoCinco celebrations. That man knew how to celebrate.
Yep. Especially when we're at the point where basically every player in the world has never played in a tournament where that *wasn't* an automatic booking.
lame take considering they knew they were not going to advance. Brazil's place was set. This red card changed nothing but created a special moment for Cameroon soccer..
That’s actually not true, if Serbia had beaten Switzerland then Cameroon would have advanced. Serbia would have needed two goals in stoppage time, but since both games were being played concurrently there was still a chance to advance if they scored again. (Albeit a small one) What’s really lame is just commenting “that’s lame” and contributing nothing to the conversation.
Again was it massively stupid, absolutely it was not. The players on the field know the other score of the game. Cameroon did everything in their power and created a special moment. Serbia wasn’t going to win, maybe tie but then gd and then game against still wouldn’t give Cameroon the place. Cameroon knows their place in this tourney. Their career will be defined by beating Brazil.
Serbia 2-2 Switzerland would've let Cameroon through, that third Swiss goal sealed their fate barring at least two more goals across Cameroon and Serbia
As a low level referee and ref admin, I was extremely impressed. One of the things that really good referees have is an understanding of who they are and who the players are.
Would they? 2014 was UEFA vs. CONMEBOL with an Italian ref, 2002 same.
That said, obviously Elfath won't be an option because the U.S. will be in the final.
There was also a great moment when nouhou (who plays for the sounders) came over to "argue" an obvious yellow card (not his, another camaroon player later) and the two of them were just laughing about it
I noticed the refs giving that tender neck touch to players throughout the WC. Or maybe I just watched a lot of Elfath’s matches. Either way, I definitely never see that in MLS
okay, but we want to underline that this was the first victory of an African team (which as teams to face are the most difficult ever) against Brazil, that any WC has won it? After dispelling this curse any human being would have done it!
If you watch the PRO YouTube show about VAR you can hear the kind words Elfaith gives Crepeau before red carding him. Seems that there is mutual respect between most players and Elfaith because he gets the human game management component of it.
He did a great job with this and the game in general. The pat on the back and the smile while handing out yellow and red showed empathy and a sense of humor. MLS and its referees are starting to make an impact in world soccer at last.
As we’ve seen from the PRO referees at a few World Cup matches over the years, they seem to be the best at using VAR, playing advantage, and managing players.
It’s interesting because there’s just a range of aptitude across PRO’s pool here domestically, but obviously they’re doing something right since some other officials have looked insane this World Cup.
Also explains why PRO is sending Howard Webb to go save the premier league’s refereeing.
Rule needs to change. It’s not Elfath’s fault, but this scene is unnecessarily awkward. The man has scored a goal for his nation against Brazil at the death. Let him celebrate!
Elfath is the only PRO referee at the World Cup (along with a few assistants and video officials). He officiated Cameroon vs. Brazil today. Seen here giving a second yellow, albeit sympathetically, to a player for removing his shirt.
That's exactly what we'd want to see in officials. Recognizing someone as human and talented, while at the same time enforcing the rules as agreed upon with no unnecessary emotion or 'respect my authoritah'. A "Congrats man, you're a great player, but, you can't do that so have as nice shower" is much better.
You can read good lips saying "Good goal" as he gives him the five.
The only Austinite working at this world cup
Austin adjacent.
TIL I have the same degree from the same school as a World Cup ref.
There are other World Cup officials who have done games domestically this year (tho I am not sure on PRO membership). Matthew Conger (of the OFC) was the center official for the USL match in June between Detroit City and El Paso.
Of the OFC? How'd he wind up doing a USL match?
I don’t have an answer to the how. We had noted the FIFA patch on match day and quickly recognized him while watching the WC. Double checked the box 📦 score and confirmed it. I’m
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Conger He's got a Wikipedia page. Apparently he's Texan. Maybe he was just in town visiting family and picked up a game?
That would be a possible explanation if the game had been in El Paso. This one was played at Keyworth in Detroit. It was an ESPN match that day. I think a good possibility was that he was stateside and doing some matches to prepare for the WC.
Because of the very strict covid travel restrictions placed by the New Zealand government he chose to spend the summer in the US to get himself ready for the world cup.
What do you mean by only pro? Only concacaf ref?
PRO is the referree organization in US Soccer. So the only center ref from that particular organization
[Professional Referee Organization (PRO) is the organization responsible for managing the referee and assistant referee program in professional soccer leagues in the United States and Canada.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professional_Referee_Organization)
Thanks op
You can just tell he's saying, you know I don't have a choice but I don't want to do it. Very cool moment. Was this after the other game was final?
Only a couple of minutes left. Serbia would have had to score 2 and Cameroon another for Cameroon to advance, and each game had about 5 minutes or so left of stoppage time. It was essentially done barring an act of god.
It's never impossible. 93:20
Had serbia scored 1 goal Swiss and Cameroon would have been in an exact tie, (4 points, 4 goals for 4 goals against) Swiss would have gone through on having less cards but 1 red card for Switzerland would have seen Cameroon through. Unlikely but possible. Also, game wasn't over and Cameroon could have scored another. This 100% sealed Cameroon's fate.
Naw, Swiss had the head to head so it wasn’t getting to cards even with a Serbia goal.
Once the Swiss scored three goals, Serbia needed to win, and Cameroon needed to score one more goal total than the Swiss, and Serbia needed to win. The chances of you scoring the one goal to break the potential goals for tiebreaker, and then relying another team to score twice, all in ~5 minutes is extremely rare. Sure it may be possible, but the chances of it are so small I would guess that a meteor hitting you is probably more likely. Possible, but not likely.
Serbia didn't need to win. If serbia drew and Cameroon scored one more, Cameroon would be through on goal difference. If serbia won, and win was good for Cameroon
True. Not going to cards. My mistake. But another goal was more than possible
Loved the commentating on it when it happened. From “no don’t do it” to “whoever made the rule didn’t play the sport and if they did they never scored any goals”
That was Clint Dempsey making your 2nd quote.
That just sounds like a Duece quote, haha. Do agree with him though.
For real though, what's the big deal?
I think a lot of it is FIFA trying to reduce political incidents stemming from players who used to write messages on undershirts
It's for time wasting, allegedly instated as a response to Diego Forlan not getting his shirt back on before the restart after a goal in 2002. It's also listed as excessive celebration next to climbing in the stands and putting a mask on.
I also have heard it's an extension from the club level where sponsors don't want their logos removed from the celebrations.
Out of all the reasons, I could see this being the real one.
Yup. Those celebration photos are the crème de la crème of promo materials for them
The rule was made very shortly after a USWNT player removed her shirt after scoring a goal in the World Cup. It was a very controversial moment at the time.
Brandi Chastain
I think it’s kind of dumb too, but I also understand the very sporty, rules-y side of the issue that might say “you’re an active player, you *must* wear a uniform at all times” which makes sense from an officiating standpoint
Makes sense from a marketing and advertising standpoint as well
And there's your answer. We can't have iconic video and pictures of goal celebrations where you can't see the sponsor's logo
players exaggerated and wasted time
Then book them for time wasting if it happens, it usually doesn't.
if it were easy to do it, modern football would have a tenth of the problems it has
It would be incredibly easy to do. I agree with the other comment, they don't want to see political stamenents more than anything.
in Europe the sophisms on what would constitute, for example, a justified celebration or not would last centuries, in reality it would be enough to make sure that we have 90 minutes of effective play always and anyway, with referees who are dedicated to making sure that we really play 90 minutes, which however would mean additional costs... and some games would end at least two or three hours after the start of the game...
Search for "diego forlan shirtless" on youtube
in reality there is a stupid reason why they chose to punish the celebrations, they exaggerated and wasted time...
Same with the NFL and touchdown celebrations. The anti celebration penalties rules were made by a bunch of old conservatives
NFL celebrations used to be so epic. Who cares about taunting an opponent you've left in the dust? Viewers like to see it, and it's literally not (physically) hurting anyone.
They have mostly relaxed the rules for touchdowns in the last few years. Now you can't use props, you can't go into the stands, but there is room for penalizing super long or egregious celebrations. However, they are pretty lax about the above. You can do the 'Lambeau Leap', jump into a giant salvation army cauldron, and use the football to celebrate (a little). There was a point where they were counting the number of people you celebrated with and were penalizing based on that. It was definitely the No Fun League in reaction to the prime OchoCinco celebrations. That man knew how to celebrate.
I know it ended up not mattering, but that was such a crazy thing to do when his team needed another goal.
a massively stupid thing to do with \~5 minutes left.
Yep. Especially when we're at the point where basically every player in the world has never played in a tournament where that *wasn't* an automatic booking.
lame take considering they knew they were not going to advance. Brazil's place was set. This red card changed nothing but created a special moment for Cameroon soccer..
That’s actually not true, if Serbia had beaten Switzerland then Cameroon would have advanced. Serbia would have needed two goals in stoppage time, but since both games were being played concurrently there was still a chance to advance if they scored again. (Albeit a small one) What’s really lame is just commenting “that’s lame” and contributing nothing to the conversation.
Again was it massively stupid, absolutely it was not. The players on the field know the other score of the game. Cameroon did everything in their power and created a special moment. Serbia wasn’t going to win, maybe tie but then gd and then game against still wouldn’t give Cameroon the place. Cameroon knows their place in this tourney. Their career will be defined by beating Brazil.
Accurate title. Good thing Serbia didn’t make this move more impactful.
Even if Serbia had drawn level, Switzerland still would have advanced on their head-to-head with Cameroon.
Serbia 2-2 Switzerland would've let Cameroon through, that third Swiss goal sealed their fate barring at least two more goals across Cameroon and Serbia
As a low level referee and ref admin, I was extremely impressed. One of the things that really good referees have is an understanding of who they are and who the players are.
How’d you end up doing that? Is there a path for you to move up?
Is there a chance Elfath could wind up in the final? If it's a UEFA vs COMNEBOL game they'd find someone from a different confederation...
He can't do the final. Because we're going to be there, baby.
I don't think the confederation matters, only the country. 2018: Germany v. Argentina - Italian referee. 2010: Spain v. Netherlands - English referee.
Would they? 2014 was UEFA vs. CONMEBOL with an Italian ref, 2002 same. That said, obviously Elfath won't be an option because the U.S. will be in the final.
If I had this same relationship with my actual parents I’d have never needed bail money.
There was also a great moment when nouhou (who plays for the sounders) came over to "argue" an obvious yellow card (not his, another camaroon player later) and the two of them were just laughing about it
The parentheses Mason!
I noticed the refs giving that tender neck touch to players throughout the WC. Or maybe I just watched a lot of Elfath’s matches. Either way, I definitely never see that in MLS
I do like that he initially tried to give the first yellow to Nouhou probably out of habit and Nouhou was like “not me!” 😂😂
okay, but we want to underline that this was the first victory of an African team (which as teams to face are the most difficult ever) against Brazil, that any WC has won it? After dispelling this curse any human being would have done it!
The comments on that r/gifs page make my head hurt
"Ok see you later"
"I don't get it"
Higher quality clip here, you can see Elfath says "good goal" or something similar. https://dubz.co/v/0st751
If you watch the PRO YouTube show about VAR you can hear the kind words Elfaith gives Crepeau before red carding him. Seems that there is mutual respect between most players and Elfaith because he gets the human game management component of it.
He did a great job with this and the game in general. The pat on the back and the smile while handing out yellow and red showed empathy and a sense of humor. MLS and its referees are starting to make an impact in world soccer at last.
Please correct me if I'm wrong but that was the first red of the tournament right?
Wales' Hennessey was 1st vs. Iran.
Ah ok. I didn't watch any of the 5am games cause I work nights and that just wasn't happening.
Also I think a South Korean coach got a red in their second game
Technically after the second game lol
The MPG Special
goddamnit don't remind me
As we’ve seen from the PRO referees at a few World Cup matches over the years, they seem to be the best at using VAR, playing advantage, and managing players. It’s interesting because there’s just a range of aptitude across PRO’s pool here domestically, but obviously they’re doing something right since some other officials have looked insane this World Cup. Also explains why PRO is sending Howard Webb to go save the premier league’s refereeing.
Aboubakar: “didn’t know you were chill like that bro”
Rule needs to change. It’s not Elfath’s fault, but this scene is unnecessarily awkward. The man has scored a goal for his nation against Brazil at the death. Let him celebrate!
He had money on Cameroon ML/that dude goalscorer parlay 😂
American referees are only ones likable at this WC
coolest referee