Hockey and motorbikes are among the hobbies enjoyed by FIFA U-20 World Cup referee Wolfgang Stark. Perhaps he should add card-dealing to that list.
The 37-year-old German official was ruthlessly efficient in his handling of Thursday's all South American semifinal between Argentina and Chile; too ruthless in the eyes of this observer.
Stark saw fit to brandish cards like confetti to confused players and bemused fans - eleven in all - including two reds to match the shirt colours of Gary Medel and his Chilean teammate Dagoberto Currimilla.
The Argentines also suffered at the hands of an over-zealous referee - captain Mathias Cahais was denied the chance to play in the final against the Czech Republic after earning a second yellow card in the knockout stages, as was Claudio Yacob for whom it was a bitter-sweet occasion.
Minutes after being booked, the midfielder went on to score the decisive second goal that essentially ensured Argentina a place in the weekend showpiece.
After the final whistle, Stark and his fellow German assistants were forced to run the gauntlet of angry fans when they sprinted for the safety of the player' tunnel as plastic water bottles and other objects rained down upon them from the main stand at BMO Field in Toronto
So where did it all go wrong for the ref?
For a start he certainly didn't help himself by reaching for his pocket so early in the game - a match where tension was as high as the stakes - a place in the final for the winner, in a game which was bound to ignite traditional South American rivalries.
Having set out his stall by cautioning Cahais and dismissing Medel inside the first 15 minutes, Stark made a rod for his own back. After that, every clumsy challenge was a borderline card, when surely a strong word with the offender would have sufficed.
Speaking of which, can somebody please explain to me why Stark, who speaks only German and English was put in charge of a match involving two Spanish speaking nations?
Surely it would have made sense to employ a referee who could at least communicate effectively with the players.
By my reckoning there were a number of candidates who would have been better suited - including officials from Spain, Mexico, El Salvador, Colombia, even Canada! Mauricio Navarro may reside in Vancouver, but his mother tongue is most definitely Spanish.
In a game of this intensity the referee had to be firm, but I believe he also needed to use diplomacy. If you treat players with respect they'll generally respond. Treat them like kids and they'll get up to naughty tricks.
I'm not suggesting for a moment that players on both sides were blameless, far from it. The diving, cheating, and back-chat the referee had to endure was shameful, and reminded me of one too many incidents at the 2006 World Cup in Germany.
But by the same token, not once did I see Stark talk to the players, or better yet bring the two captains together, instruct them to lead by example, and get the message through to their teammates loud and clear.
The outcome was inevitable. The match descended into farce and the chaotic scenes that followed later were all too predictable.
I hope, for his sake, Herr Stark's motorbike has a powerful engine.
Comments
Exactly - why was this ref put in charge of the match? The Spanish ref who oversaw the Mexico-Argentina match did an outstanding job. He understood the culture and knew what football meant to these nations from the Americas. Most importantly he did a responsible job. This ref should have been given the RED card at half time. Why did he, or any other FIFA official, not reflect on the 1st half? A CTV web poll yesterday placed the blame (75%) at the hands of the Chilean players v. the police. When will Canada learn what it means to be multicultural. We must look beyond our borders and truly understand the world rather than view it through our gloabl educated challenge media and warped view of it.
Your analysis is right on. Hopefully the ref is on his way home to Germany and we will not see him again in international comeptitions.
Posted by: C.B. MacDonald Ottawa | July 21, 2007 12:51 PM
Although I agree that a different ref could have been chose, so as to communicate better with the players, I believe that he was quite lenient with the Chileans in the 2nd half. In reality, the Chileans could have easily have had two more players sent off for their shameful display of unsportsmanlike conduct. Even one of the Chilean players almost scored on his own net in an attempt to drill the ball against an Argentinian player! Why didn't the Chil�ean coach replace this violent player with a substitute? This, conduct, I must add, was fuelled by the fans in the stands as well. In what other games did the ref and linesmen have to sprint off the field so as not to get pelted by projectiles coming from the stands? I, as an Argentine-Canadian, stand behind the Canadian police in their action to suppress the violence demonstrated by the Chilean delegation.
Posted by: Mauricio Pugliese Argentina | July 21, 2007 05:41 PM