Championship: IONESCU Floarea Cristina ROM Referee MIRT Irina ROM Assistant Ref. NADOLSKA Katarzyna POL Assistant Ref. Consolation: OGSTON Tammy AUS Referee KEEN Airlie AUS Assistant Ref. LELEU Jacqueline AUS Assistant Ref. Ogston did: Sweden vs. North Korea Brazil vs. South Korea South Korea vs. Norway Ionescu did: France vs. Brazil Didn't see this posted yet or if anybody knew. I just was curious and looked it up today. Ionescu must have impressed somebody in her one game to get the championship... Comments?
Having been at the USA/CAN game today I would say the referees did a good job, no real contoversy, let them play a little bit and stepped in when she had to. I gave the crew a standing ovation when they left the pitch, so did most people down near the tunnel.
She was very close to losing control of the game after the US 2nd goal. Canada stepped up the agressive nature of the game and it was clear that Hooper was doing a bit of headhunting. Ogston (sp?), let repeated fouling by two players in particular go until she chose to caution Hooper and Lang late in the game. But, she has always called the game in a similar style, choosing to promote a physical battle versus a clean skill game. Much like how Australia has had to play in the past to have any success on the womens International level. In watching every game, live or on tape the referees were poor for the most part. I don't understand FIFA's insistence on female referees when it is so obvious too few FIFA female referees could even referee a youth game in the states. The game moved to fast for most and the offsides calls were an absolute joke in many games. The best referees that wish to do womens soccer should be brought in, not just the female referees, although they should be given a priority.
TV reply clearly showed she missed a lot of clear physical fouls -- shoving in the back, elbowing on the side and to the gut, etc. She let Hoopper run around acting like a hockey hack. Maybe this is to be expected in a women's game. However, if it were a men's game, it would probably degenerate into a free-for-all.
Maybe I missed some of the elbows and such from my seat, I was sitting in the corner and had a difficult view of the far side. It shouldn't be expected in a womens or mens game to let players hack away. I thought she could have brought out the cards earlier, especially considering Hooper did stop once she received her card.