The referee who failed to see Luis Suárez bite an opponent has been picked to officiate Brazil’s World Cup semi-final against Germany.
Fifa says on its website that Marco Rodríguez of Mexico will referee the match in Belo Horizonte on Tuesday.
Rodríguez has handled two World Cup matches – Uruguay’s 1-0 win against Italy on 24 June and Belgium’s 2-1 defeat of Algeria. It is his third World Cup finals and the first time he has refereed a game in the knock-out stages. ...
See the whole story here, from The Guardian.
Kicking Back Comments: I'll say honestly, I think had a better tournament to date than Marco. While both are supremely qualified, I think the edge goes to Mark on this one.
Being a 4th official is no small matter to say the least, and being chosen is an honor ... one which he will do us proud with.
I was a bit jaw dropped and in head scratching mode seeing that decision made. The bite was a huge miss that you could argue would have easily changed the tide of the match. Reading up on stories from this and past WC's you have seen officals sent home for less. Would have loved to see Mark in the center for this, or possibly the final... he has had an incredible World Cup.
ReplyDeleteGoing back to the bite I saw a decent note pointed out (can't remember where) but it said Saurez has now been suspended 3 times, 30+ games in total, yet has never been shown red. Troubling stat for officials