Archundia All Smiles as Switzerland Exits Without Ever Conceding a Goal

(written in the Albany, NY Airport while waiting for my flight to Atlanta after my travel itinerary the day before had been washed out by heavy weather along the East Coast)

Mexican referee Benito Archundia was the man in charge of Switzerland’s Round of 16 clash with debutants Ukraine in Cologne. And like Spain’s Medina-Cantelejo in the Italy-Australia match from earlier in the day, Archundia seemed to be on a mission to control the players without the use of his cards. It’s a method that fans and referees alike generally prefer, but not necessarily what FIFA’s Referees Committee has advocated throughout this tournament. The question is…would it work?

Many people believe that we’ve seen too many yellow and red cards at this year’s World Cup and I’m inclined to agree. I’ve always been taught that a referee should not let his cards be used to manage the players. And as we saw the other night, no matter how many cards Ivanov issued, the players would not respond.

Thus, Archundia resorted to a method that has probably always worked for him – engaging the players in dialogue and using positive body language (and a lot of smiles) to promote fair play amongst the participants. Perhaps FIFA will take a look at his performance in this match and use it as a model for how things should be dealt with in South Africa four years from now. Because this is how fans, players, AND referees prefer the game to be managed.

In any event, if you want to blame anyone for the record-breaking number of cards issued this year, blame FIFA. The referees have only been following their edicts.

Now, on to Switzerland – Ukraine:

To begin with, the Swiss would be without their stalwart central defender Phillippe Senderos who plies his trade for Arsenal. It had to make one wonder how the impregnable Swiss defense would hold up against Shevchenko and friends.

In only the 3rd minute of the match Archundia began what would be his 120-minute dialogue with the players when he had a few words with Kalinichenko after a foul. Five minutes later Sheva did a nice job to avoid contact with the Swiss keeper. It’s the kind of thing a referee likes to see.

A Ukrainian giveaway in the defense in the 13th would lead to a long-range effort that forced a corner kick. And then a few minutes later a Swiss player bowled over an opponent but only received a sideways glance from the ref.

The cardless trend would continue in the 20th when Djourou – another Swiss defender who plays for Arsenal – took down the swift striker Voronin. The ensuing free kick was headed down into the ground from close-range by Shevchenko, but the Swiss were saved by the crossbar after the ball bounded beyond the keeper. The play would end, however, with a foul against the Ukrainians.

Two minutes later Barnetta was clipped about twenty-eight yards from the Ukrainian goal…and still no cards. Frei’s nearly-perfect free kick slammed the crossbar about a foot to the right of the left goalpost and Barnetta’s rebounded shot was sent wide to the left. Both teams had dodged a bullet now in the past three minutes.

In the 25th Tymochuk was fouled from behind…no card. And while it certainly wasn’t terribly reckless, we most assuredly would have seen a caution by now for one of the fouls in this contest. A minute later it was Tymochuk’s turn to commit an offense from behind. And rather than report that again that there was no card, I’ll simply tell you that it wouldn’t be until the 59th minute that the only caution of the match would be issued.

After another Swiss foul in the 28th and a free kick was taken, Shelayev’s shot from eighteen was sent over the bar. In the 35th I was a little surprised that a late Ukrainian challenge didn’t result in a booking, but Archundia seemed to still have things well in control.

One of the ARs called a foul against the Swiss in the 36th and in the 39th I noted that Archundia was practically invisible as he continued to let ‘em play. And two minutes later commentator JP Dellacamera was complaining that he was worried things would get out of hand if the referee continued with his strategy after a Swiss player committed what seemed to be a bookable offense. But again, the players had not really shown that they were losing their cool and I think that no matter what the referee does people will always be critical. Archundia was sticking with his game plan and I commend him for having faith in his abilities and the players.

Moments later at the other end of the pitch a Ukrainian made a hard challenge to win the ball, but it was fair and neither the ref nor his AR made a call as play continued to flow in a rather entertaining fashion. Two minutes later one of the ARs set the ball and managed the wall for a Swiss free kick while Archundia awaited the free kick from the proper position near the top of the far side of the penalty area.

A Swiss foul in the back during stoppage time and then the half would end without a goal. I noted that perhaps the referee might need to issue an early card in the second half to assert his presence. But it would be almost a quarter-hour until that would occur in the 59th.

Leading up to that, Voronin’s header went wide from twelve in the 46th, Hakin Yakin committed a little trip from behind in the 49th, Archundia had sharp words for Barnetta in the 53rd after he committed a foul and then let the ref know what he thought of that decision, and Kalinichenko stuck a leg in where it didn’t belong in the 54th.

Things were still well in control, but finally in the 59th Archundia decided the time was right when Barnetta gave a little shove to an attacking Ukrainian as he drove towards the penalty area just beyond the arc. On the kick, a Swiss player in the wall had his hand in front of his face and that’s where the ball struck…ball-to-hand…no call.

In the 62nd a Ukrainian player was slightly injured when his challenge resulted in a Swiss player stepping on his leg, but the advantage was correctly played (not that it was necessarily a foul anyway).

One of the few bad decisions of the match came in the 67th when the AR should have waved a flag when Sheva brought the ball down with his upper arm. After he got away with cheating, the shot went wide. But two minutes later there was no missing Voronin’s deliberate attempt to bring down a ball with his arm as Archundia was directly in front of him.

In the 72nd it seemed like Frei had gotten bowled over, but no call was made. I’ll give Archundia the benefit of the doubt on this one as he had a good angle and the camera did not.

A minute later the Swiss won a free kick when one of its players had his legs swept out. This looked like a cautionable offense but Archundia seemed on a mission to set himself apart from Ivanov. Still, I liked his style as the game had a good flow and nobody seemed to be losing his cool.

In the 74th Magnin protested for a call for Switzerland that he didn’t deserve as Archundia continued to enjoy himself – smiling as he communicated with the players. Five minutes later Barnetta came in late on a challenge and was lucky not to get his second caution. Archundia chose to have a few words with him instead, probably reminding him that he’d already been booked. Usually that’s all it takes to get a player to operate within the rules.

In the 81st both teams committed a foul and in the 84th there was a fair challenge near the touchline. A minute later was what appeared to be a hold or perhaps an obstruction in the Swiss penalty area, but maybe Archundia felt that it was going both ways as Voronin was doing some grabbing as well. In any event, I think it was the right call because a penalty on this would’ve been a very tough sell since the contact was marginal at best.

Finally, in stoppage time a Swiss cross went across the mouth of goal and the return ball was eventually punched away from danger. At the conclusion of the full ninety minutes without goals, Archundia was still seen smiling as thirty minutes of overtime approached.

In the 95th Frei took exception to a foul committed against him, but the ref calmed his temper. A minute later it seemed like there might’ve been a handball in the Ukrainian penalty area, but it was a Swiss hand anyway and the ball was quickly cleared.

Back at the other end the Swiss were awarded a free kick, but couldn’t convert and in the 99th there was a good no-call as Sheva went down. The European Footballer of the Year seemed to understand as play continued.

Each team had a chance to score in the next two minutes and in the 103rd minute we’d see the FIRST offside call of the match. I thought that was pretty incredible.

A minute later Harkes (the former US player who does a pretty good job commentating) thought the referee was letting too much action go unpunished. But on replay it was pretty clear that neither of two Swiss challenges should’ve been considered fouls. Archundia was having a masterful performance as the final fifteen-minute overtime approached.

In the 106th, the AR called a foul on Sheva and then a minute later the referee did a good job playing an advantage and then calling the initial foul after it didn’t develop. A foul for each team in the 110th and 111th minutes and two minutes later Magnin remonstrated to the AR to show him the foul that he believed he’d missed. Archundia wouldn’t have any of this showmanship and blew his whistle to tell the Swiss player to get on with his throw-in.

In the 114th fouls went each way…Ukraine had a nice build-up, but Rebrov’s shot was blocked. At the other end Streller’s shot was well-defended.

In the 117th only the Swiss player was involved in the drop ball as Archundia instructed him to kick it into touch and return it to the Ukrainians. This is how things should’ve been handled the day before when Ivanov allowed Heitinga to display his lack of sportsmanship.

A minute later Streller clearly accepted the referee’s decision at the top of his opponents’ penalty area when he was called for a foul. And the final act of the game was another drop ball, this time Ukraine returning to the Swiss.

In the end, the Swiss were unable to convert any of their three penalty kicks as Ukraine made three out of four. Switzerland would be the first team ever to bow out of a World Cup without ever conceding a goal.

But besides the victorious Ukrainians, the real winners on this day were fans of the game of football thanks to the wonderfully proficient work by Benito Archundia. There is very little that anybody could complain about regarding his performance – perhaps the very best of the tournament so far. FIFA are lucky to have him and hopefully they’ll reward him AND us with another chance to see him in action as the World Cup winds down to its inevitable conclusion in Berlin on the 9th of July.

Until next time…

peace,
ac