16 TUNKSA Shield

Very enjoyable piece of football from Tunisia and Saudi Arabia, who both really ought to win this opening match - the exciting two-all draw impeded both nations chances to advance quite significantly. In charge was Mark Shield from Australia, handling his second World Cup finals match after the Tunisia - Belgium game four years earlier. Shield's performance here was something of a mixed bag but with a positive resonance on the whole.

On a basic level, Shield refereed the game well, no doubt. In his performance there were some areas for improvement, some areas for consideration and positives in addition to the Key Match Incidents:

To improve: Under the tightest technical analysis, necessary at a World Cup, there were unfortunately some deficiencies in his performance, for instance the identification of some tripping / stamping offences and a lack of security in decision-making, eg. that he reversed the direction of the freekick which resulted in the opening goal from a defensive to attacking one (correctly, but not the most polished impression).

To consider: There could also be further areas for consideration as well in positioning and manner. Positionally, Shield was very central and perhaps could have benefitted from getting wider on some occasions, for instance a missed careless stamping offence in the opening ten minutes. Shield's manner was quite distant from the players and this worked well in some periods of the game - especially for the most part of the first half, Shield could have benefitted from presenting more of a relaxed, human face to the players - it would be another weapon in the arsenal for him to use as a referee.

Positives: The most difficult ten minutes of the game were the ten before halftime, and Shield refereed them well. He sensed that he needed to increase his presence in terms of gestures (nature of the caution for not respecting the distance) and tactical approach (verbal warning for an off-the-ball foul in front of the technical areas), he navigated that period really well. Foul detection was on the whole good and all of the sanctions he issued were correct.

Key Match Incidents: Decisions to not award a penalty in the opening minutes (tripping), allow the opening goal (potential offside - teamwork needed) and not to issue a second caution towards the end of the second half (neither really SPA nor reckless) were at least supportable, if not totally correct.

On the whole, quite a quiet afternoon for assistant referees Nathan Gibson and Ben Wilson, who were good. OFC trio deserve a further appointment.

Mark Shield - 8,2 Nathan Gibson - 8,4 Ben Wilson - 8,4 Carlos Chandía Cristiano Julio AUS – CHI	Tunisia 2-2 Saudi Arabia Group Stage
Haggui (35.) - SPA (Holding) Bouazizi (36.) - Not respecting 9.15m Chedli (65.) - Delaying the Restart Chikhaoui (79.) - Tackle