2015 Copa America Semifinal Appointments

José Argote, appointed as the referee for Chile vs. Peru on June 29.

June 29: Chile vs. Peru

Referee: Jose Argote (Venezuela)

Assistant Referee: Jorge Urrego (Venezuela)

Assistant Referee: Byron Romero (Ecudaor)

Fourth Official: Jose Argote (Bolivia)

Fifth Official: Javier Bustillos (Bolivia)

June 30: Argentina vs. Paraguay 

Referee: Sandro Ricci (Brazil)

Assistant Referee: Emerson De Carvalho (Brazil)

Assistant Referee: Fabio Pereira (Brazil)

Fourth Official: Wilmar Roldan (Colombia)

Fifth Official: Christian De La Cruz (Colombia)

MLS Week 17 Reports: RSL bemoan calls by Gantar

Philadelphia 1-0 Seattle                               Referee: Edvin Jurisevic (United States)
Jurisevic had two big decisions within minutes of each other in an otherwise quiet match.
27th Minute: Maurice Edu thinks he has given Philly a 1-0 lead with a header, but Jurisevic calls the play back for a foul by Andrew Wenger on Seattle keeper Stephen Frei. Looking at the replay, Wenger clearly obstructs Frei from moving past his line, so I agree with Jurisevic's call.
30th Minute: Andrew Wenger takes a high boot to the face in the box from Seattle's Dylan Remick. Jurisevic points to the spot and shows Remick a yellow card. I agree with the penalty call, but I think Jurisevic should have sent Remick off for endangering the safety of an opponent.

New York Red Bulls 1-0 Real Salt Lake     Referee: David Gantar (Canada)
Gantar made two big calls in this match, but I think he unfortunately got them both wrong.
40th Minute: New York's Felipe is running to retrieve a long ball in the RSL half when he is hacked down by Javier Morales. Gantar appears to look over at AR Phil Breire before blowing the whistle for a foul and sending Morales off with a straight red card. For me, this was only a yellow since the distance from the goal and the two RSL defenders right behind Felipe keep it from being Denial of an Obvious Goal-Scoring Opportunity.
55th Minute: Salt Lake's Demar Phillips comes in a little late on Connor Lade, but Gantar inexplicably sends Phillips off. For me, this was at most a yellow card, but probably not even one. Huge mistake by Gantar.

Toronto 3-1 Montreal                                   Referee: Alan Kelly (Ireland)
Kelly had a very good match with just one play to look at.
81st Minute: Montreal's Bakary Soumare makes a sliding challenge on Sebastian Giovinco in the box. Soumare mostly gets Giovinco, and Kelly points to the spot. Good call by the veteran referee.

LA Galaxy 5-0 Portland                               Referee: Ted Unkel (United States)
Unkel had a very tough match, despite the 5-0 scoreline, with two big calls to make.
17th Minute: LA's Sebastian Lletjet is making a run into a crowded box when he goes down under pressure from behind by Maximiliano Urruti. Unkel calls a penalty, but I don't think that there was enough contact by Urruti to bring Lletjet down. No penalty in my book.
78th Minute: Liam Ridgewell of Portland kicks out at Alan Gordon and Gordan retaliates with a push. Unkel originally only sees the push and shows Gordon a yellow and doesn't discipline Ridgewell. However, after talking with AR Corey Rockwell, Unkel shows a red card to Ridgewell for the kick out. Good teamwork to make the right call.

Philadelphia 2-2 Montreal                           Referee: Sorin Stoica (Canada)
Stoica had a very strong performance during very rainy conditions in Philly, correctly showing two second yellows in the match.
67th Minute: Montreal's Patrice Bernier, already booked, slides in hard and upends Vincent Nogueira. Stoica shows Bernier a second yellow and I agree due to the fact Bernier's challenge was reckless and deserved a booking.
77th Minute: Philadelphia's Erik Ayuk Mbu is already booked when he slides in hard on Ignacio Piatti. Stoica shows Mbu a second yellow and I agree for the same reason as Bernier's earlier foul. Good calls by Stoica.

New England 1-2 Vancouver                       Referee: Allen Chapman (United States)
Tough game for Chapman, who once again found himself at the center of controversy for a PK call.
29th Minute: Cristian Techera of Vancouver is making a run on goal when he falls down in the box in front of Andrew Farrell. Chapman shockingly calls a penalty and sends Farrell off when if anything he should have called a dive on Techera. Big mistake by the fourth year MLS referee.

Salt Lake 2-2 Columbus                              Referee: Ismail Elfath (United States)
Elfath had a very good match with one key decision to make.
77th Minute: RSL rookie Jordan Allen slides in on Tony Tchani with his studs up, catching Tchani's foot. Elfath shows Allen a straight red and I agree on the grounds that a studs up challenge like Allen's seriously endangers an opponent and is by definition a red. Good call by Elfath.

Columbus 2-1 New England                        Referee: Fotis Bazakos (United States)
Orlando 2-0 Colorado                                  Referee: Silviu Petrescu (Canada)
Chicago 0-1 DC United                               Referee: Jorge Gonzalez (United States)
Dallas 2-0 Houston                                      Referee: Chris Penso (United States)
Toronto 0-0 DC United                                Referee: Armando Villarreal (United States)
Kansas City 2-0 Colorado                            Referee: Baldomero Toledo (United States)
Salt Lake 3-1 Los Angeles                           Referee: Jose Carlos Rivero (United States)
NYCFC 1-3 New York Red Bulls                Referee: Mark Geiger (United States)
Portland 4-1 Seattle                                      Referee: Jair Marrufo (United States)
These nine referees had very good matches with no controversy. Nice work by them and their crews.

Thanks for reading!

Copa America Knockout Stage Reports

Quarterfinals
Chile 1-0 Uruguay                         Referee: Sandro Ricci (Brazil)
Ricci had two big calls to make in this match, but one decision would unfortunately be a huge error.
63rd Minute: Uruguay star Edinson Cavani and Gonzalo Jara get into a confrontation after Jara appears to poke a finger on Cavani's rear end. When Cavani responds with a swatting gesture in the direction of Jara's face, Ricci gives him a second yellow. Given the circumstances I think Ricci should have at least warned the two and probably given Jara a yellow. Crucial mistake by Ricci that could be costly in his bid to referee the final.
88th Minute: Uruguay's Jorge Fucile, already booked, makes a hard slide into Alexis Sanchez. Easy call for Ricci, who correctly shows Fucile a second yellow.
UPDATE: Jara has been banned for three matches by CONMEBOL.

Ricci shows Cavani the red card.

Bolivia 1-3 Peru                             Referee: Wilmar Roldan (Colombia)
Just one call to look at in a good performance from Roldan and his crew.
83rd Minute: Bolivian Striker Damian Lizio gets hacked down in the box by Luis Advincula. Pretty simple penalty decision for Roldan, who correctly points to the penalty spot.

Argentina 0(5)-0(4) Colombia       Referee: Roberto Garcia (Mexico)
Overall, Garcia had a good match, but he did appear to make one early mistake.
20th Minute: Both Sergio Aguero and Lionel Messi appear to be tripped up by Colombia in a dangerous 5 second for Colombia. For me both appeals appeared to be legitimate, but Garcia just awards Argentina a corner kick.

Brazil 1(3)-1(4) Paraguay               Referee: Andres Cunha (Uruguay)
In a relatively calm match, Cunha had just one key situation to deal with.
70th Minute: Thiago Silva tries to deflect a cross in the box with his head but ends up knocking the ball down with his hand. Cunha makes the easy decision of awarding Paraguay a penalty. Good positioning to see the foul from Cunha.

Semifinals
Chile 2-1 Peru                                 Referee: Jose Argote (Venezuela)
Argote and his team had a very busy match with two important calls to make.
20th Minute: Peru's Carlos Zambrano slams his studs into Charles Aranguiz's back as he follows through on a clearance. Argote sends Zambrano off with a straight red and I agree since I think how high Zambrano's leg was shows that he had intent to kick Aranguiz. Good call by Argote.
49th Minute: Eduardo Vargas appears to put to Chile up 2-0 but his goal is called back for offsides. However, replays show that Vargas was in fact just barely in line with a Chilean defender. The margin was slight, but still a big mistake by the AR.

Argentina 6-1 Paraguay                  Referee: Sandro Ricci (Brazil)
Ricci had a much quieter match in the semifinal then his quarterfinal fixture. Nothing to go in depth on from this one.

Third Place Match
Peru 2-0 Paraguay                           Referee: Raul Orosco (Bolivia)
Orosco didn't see any controversy in his final match of the tournament. Good work by him and his crew.

2015 Copa América Quarterfinal Appointments

Roberto Garcia, who will referee Argentina vs. Colombia on June 26

June 24: Chile vs. Uruguay
Referee: Sandro Ricci (Brazil)
Assistant Referee: Emerson de Carvalho (Brazil)
Assistant Referee: Fabio Pereira (Brazil)
Fourth Official: Carlos Vera (Ecuador)
Fifth Official: Byron Romero (Ecuador)

June 25: Bolivia vs. Peru
Referee: Wilmar Roldán (Colombia)
Assistant Referee: Alexander Guzmán (Colombia)
Assistant Referee: Cristian De La Cruz (Colombia)
Fourth Official: Enrique Cáceras (Paraguay)
Fifth Official: Christian Lescano (Ecuador)

June 26: Argentina vs. Colombia
Referee: Roberto García (Mexico)
Assistant Referee: José Luis Camargo (Mexico)
Assistant Referee: Marvin Torrentera (Mexico)
Fourth Official: Raúl Orosco (Bolivia)
Fifth Official: Juan P. Montaño (Bolivia)

June 27: Brazil vs. Paraguay
Referee: Andrés Cunha (Uruguay)
Assistant Referee: Mauricio Espinosa (Uruguay)
Assistant Referee: Carlos Pastorino (Uruguay)
Fourth Official: José Argote (Venezuela)
Fifth Official: Jorge Urrgeo (Venezuela)

MLS Week 16 Reports: Jorge Gonzalez busy in New York-Vancouver

New York Red Bulls 1-2 Vancouver      Referee: Jorge Gonzalez (United States)
Gonzalez had three key calls to make in this match, and I agree with all three of his decisions.
4th Minute: NY's Sal Zizzo makes a run towards goal into a crowded box when Steven Beitashour slides into him. Gonzalez points to the spot, and I agree due to the fact that though Beitashour got the ball, he went through Zizzo to do so.
11th Minute: New York's Sacha Kljestan gets tangled up with Kendell Watson in the box, eventually throwing an elbow at the Vancouver defender. After the elbow, Kljestan started kicking behind with studs showing at Watson. Gonzalez comes over and correctly sends Kljestan off. No room for Kljestan's actions in a football match.
64th Minute: Gonzalez whistles for a penalty after a New York cross sails through the box. At first, I thought there was no contact, but a second looked showed that Beitashour had been pulling Anatole Bertrand Abang's shirt back as Abang went up for the ball. Great penalty spot by Gonzalez, but for the second time in the game, the Red Bulls failed to capitalize.

Gonzalez shows a yellow card to Gershon Koffie

Toronto 0-2 NYCFC                               Referee: Allen Chapman (United States)
Chapman had one important call to make in this match, but I think he unfortunately got it wrong.

8th Minute: Benoit Cheyrou of Toronto controls the ball in the box, but it takes a bad bounce of his leg onto his outstretched arm. Chapman calls a penalty, but I would argue that this was a ball to hand and not a handball because Cheyrou's arm was in a natural position.

Portland 2-0 Houston                              Referee: Baldomero Toledo (United States)
Toledo had a very tough match with two key decisions to make.
15th Minute: Raul Rodriguez thinks he has put Houston up 1-0, but Toledo calls a foul off the ball on Ricardo Clark. Houston are outraged when they see that there wasn't any major contact by Clark, but Toledo had whistled Clark for obstructing the trailing defender. MLS rules state that an attacker can't intentionally block a defender's path without going for the ball, and since Clark was doing this, Toledo got this call right.
59th Minute: Toledo points to the spot after seeing a hold by Houston's David Horst on Norberto Paparatto. Paparatto goes down easily, but it certainly was still a hold. Good call by Toledo.

DC United 2-1 New England                  Referee: Ismail Elfath (United States)
Elfath had a pretty easy match, with just one big call to make.
80th Minute: Miguel Aguilar of DC gets slid into on the left edge of the box by Steve Neumann, resulting in a penalty call from Elfath. No question on whether it was a foul for me, but I'm not 100% sure that the foul was in the box. I don't have a convincing angle, but I think Neumann's contact was inside the box. Good call by Elfath.

Colorado 1-1 FC Dallas                          Referee: Armando Villarreal (United States)
Seattle 0-2 San Jose                                Referee: Juan Guzman (United States)
Montreal 2-0 Orlando                             Referee: Edvin Jurisevic (United States)
Los Angeles 5-1 Philadelphia                 Referee: Kevin Stott (United States)
Real Salt Lake 2-1 Kansas City              Referee: Drew Fischer (Canada)
Good games for these four with little controversy to speak of. Nice work by them and their crews.

Thanks for reading!

Euro 2016 Qualifiers Matchday 6 Reports Day 2

Ireland 1-1 Scotland                          Referee: Nicola Rizzoli (Italy)
None of Rizzoli's calls drew my attention, but one insides decision had me scratching my head.
39th Minute: Jonathan Walters puts the Irish up after tapping in a deflection off the Scottish goalkeeper. Though the Scots protest that Walters was offside on the tap-in, AR Gianluca Cariolato keeps his flag down. For me, it's pretty clear that Walters was offside. Critical mistake by the AR, though the effect was softened a bit by the fact that Scotland salvaged a point.

Gibraltar 0-7 Germany                     Referee: Clayton Pisani (Malta)
Pisani and his crew were the first six person Maltese crew to referee a UEFA game ever, and though it was not a high level match, the crew had a very nice game.
9th Minute: Gibraltar's Jake Gosling slides in on Jonas Hector in the box and only manages to get the man. This was an easy call for Pisani, who correctly points to the spot.

Armenia 2-3 Portugal                       Referee: Serge Gumienny (Belgium)
Gumienny had two important calls to make in this crucial match for both teams, and he got both right.
28th Minute: Gumienny calls a penaltyPortugal's Joao Moutinho gets tripped up by Henrik Mkhitaryan at the top of the box. This is a very interesting call for me, since Moutinho oversells Mkhitaryan's contact, which clearly was there. For me, there still was enough contact to warrant a penalty call, so I agree with Gumienny's call.
61st Minute: Portugal Midfielder Tiago, playing with a yellow, misses on a high challenge against Artur Sarkisov. Tiago only clips Sarkisov, but the placement of his boot was certainly enough to warrant a yellow.

Denmark 2-0 Serbia                         Referee: Bjorn Kuipers (Netherlands)
Kuipers had one tough decision to make in first UEFA fixture since his tough night at Stamford Bridge.

33rd Minute: Serbia's Matija Nastasic appears to get the ball with one leg and the ankle of Pierre Hoiberg the other when he goes in on a challenge in the box. Kuipers calls a penalty, and I agree, since even though Nastasic got the ball, he still went through Hoiberg in the process.

Faroe Islands 2-1 Greece                 Referee: Tom Harold Hagen (Norway)
Hagen and his crew had a decent match. Nothing to go in depth on here.

Northern Ireland 0-0 Romania         Referee: Carlos Velasco Carballo (Spain)
Carballo had a very good match with no controversy. Good work by him and his crew.

Finland 0-1 Hungary                        Referee: Matej Jug (Slovenia)
Decent match from Jug with little controversy. Nothing to go in depth on.

Poland 4-0 Georgia                          Referee: Aleksei Kulbakov (Belarus)
Kulbakov and his team had a good game with no controversy. Nice work by the Belarus sextet.

NOTE: Ireland-Scotland report by Neil Tyler. Northern Ireland-Romania report by Will Cole. Rest of reports by Harrison Johnson.

Copa America Group Stage Reports

Chile 2-0 Ecuador              Referee: Nestor Pitana (Argentina)
Pitana had a very difficult match, but I think that he was strong overall in the match.
65th Minute: Chile's Artur Vidal is making a run at the top of the box when he is pulled back by Miller Bolanos with a tug on the shoulder. Though many thought there wasn't enough contact to warrant a penalty, I think Pitana was 100% right. I do think that there wasn't that much contact, but it still was a clear foul. Good call by Pitana.
93rd Minute: Chilean Matias Fernandez, already booked in the match goes in hard on Juan Carlos Paredes. I agree with Pitana's decision, since it was certainly a rough enough challenge to warrant a yellow.

Ecuador players protest Pitana's penalty call against Miller Bolanos

Mexico 0-0 Bolivia            Referee: Enrique Caceras (Paraguay)
Caceras only faced one touch call in the match, when Javier Aquino of Mexico went down in the box under a challenge from a Bolivia defender. Caceras didn't call a penalty and I agree due to the fact that there was hardly any contact. Overall, a strong match from the Paraguayan mach.

Uruguay 1-0 Jamaica         Referee: Jose Argote (Venezuela)
Argote and his Venezuelan assistants had a strong match with no controversy. Nothing to go in depth on from this one.

Paraguay 2-2 Argentina      Referee: Wilmar Roldan (Colombia)
Roldan had to make one tough penalty call in the match, but I think he unfortunately got it wrong.
35th Minute: Argentina Forward Angel di Maria goes down in the box under a standing challenge from Miguel Samudio. Roldan calls a penalty in favor of Argentina, but I'm not convinced that there was enough contact to bring di Maria. You could argue either way, but for me this just wasn't a penalty.

Colombia 0-1 Venezuela    Referee: Andres Cunha (Uruguay)
Cunha and his team had a very good match with little controversy. Nice work by those officials!

Brazil 2-1 Peru                   Referee: Roberto Garcia (Mexico)
Little controversy for Garcia and his crew in a very good match for them that was capped off with a fine onside call on Brazil's late winner.

Ecuador 2-3 Bolivia           Referee: Joel Aguilar (El Salvador)
I'm very sorry about this, but I can't find any match highlights for this game, and therefore can't give you my take on the calls. I apologize for the inconvenience.

Chile 3-3 Mexico               Referee: Victor Hugo Carrillo (Peru)
Carrillo and his team had two important decisions to make in this match, and I think they got one right.
55th Minute: Arturo Vidal makes a run in the box and goes down under a challenge from Gerardo Flores. At first it looks like a dive from Vidal, but upon a second look, it turns out Vidal was stepped on by Flores. Carrillo sees this and correctly points to the spot. Nice call by the Peruvian referee.
64th Minute: Chile think they have taken a 4-2 lead on a rocket from outside the box, but the AR flags Vidal, who supplied the pass to the shooter, despite the fact that replays showed he was onside. Huge mistake by the AR, who had already made one mistake that thwarted Chile of a chance.

Argentina 1-0 Uruguay      Referee: Sandro Ricci (Brazil)
A pretty good match from Ricci, who hardly saw any controversy. Nice work by him and his crew.

Paraguay 1-0 Jamaica         Referee: Carlos Vera (Ecuador)
Nothing to look at in a good match from Vera and his crew. Nice work by those officials!

Brazil 0-1 Colombia           Referee: Enrique Osses (Chile)
Osses didn't face anything major during the match, but had a lot to deal with after the final whistle.
Post-Match: Neymar appears to want to settle a beef with a Colombian defender and starts a heated argument that culminates in Neymar being restrained by teammates after he attempted to head butt the defender. Carlos Bacca of Colombia takes exception to Neymar's antics and shoves him to the ground. Osses shows both players red cards, and for me it's a no-brainer. No room for that in a major tournament.

Peru 1-0 Venezuela             Referee: Raul Orosco (Bolivia)
Orosco had one key call to make in this very important match.
29th Minute: Venezuelan Defender Fernando Amorebieta appears to stomp on the knee of José Pablo Guerrero. Orosco sees this and correctly sends Amorebieta off for violent conduct.

Chile 5-0 Bolivia                Referee: Andres Cunha (Uruguay)
Cunha and crew had an excellent performance in this critical Group A match with very little controversy. Nothing to look at here.

Mexico 1-2 Ecuador           Referee: Jose Argote (Venezuela)
Argote, a rising CONMEBOL referee, had one important call to make in this match.
63rd Minute: Ecuador Defender Gabriel Achilier climbs over the back of Hugo Ayala in an attempt to win the ball in his own area. This is about as clear as a penalty can be and Argote wastes no time in pointing to the spot.

Uruguay 1-1 Paraguay       Referee: Roberto Garcia (Mexico)
Little controversy for Garcia in this match with nothing to go in depth on. Nice work by the referee and his Mexican assistants.

Argentina 1-0 Jamaica        Referee: Julio Bascuñán (Chile)
Bascuñán had a good match with no controversy. Nice work by the Chilean referee and his crew.

Peru 0-0 Colombia              Referee: Nestor Pitana (Argentina)
Very strong match from Pitana with nothing to go in depth on. Good work by the Argentinean ref and his crew.

Brazil 2-1 Venezuela           Referee: Enrique Caceras (Paraguay)
No controversy in a good match for Caceras and his crew. Nothing to look at here either.

Thanks for reading!