50 ARGMEX Busacca

Argentina beat Mexico 2-1 after extra time courtesy of one of the goals of the tournaments scored by Maxi Rodríguez. It was probably deserved after 120 competitive, but fair minutes of this Latin American derby.

The refereeing team led by Massimo Busacca could affort to have a rather lowkey presence for most of the game. It was very clear that Busacca himself was eager to let the game flow. He used the advantage rule whenever possible, was hesitant to open his cards at first and tried to solve much with a few smiles and bits of communication. His soft skills and player communication grew more distant in the second half and at times he seemed distant or even angry. It felt a bit inconsistent on the whole, but since he had zero troubles at all, we needn’t put too much weight on that.

Busacca gave as many yellow cards in the final ten minutes as he did in the 110 minutes prior and it is his first disciplinary measure that was a crucial mistakte that influenced the game. Just as added time of the first half had begun, Argentinian defender Gabriel Heinze made a bad touch after receiving the ball from his goalkeeper. Fonseca claimed it and moved past Heinze who floored the Mexican attacker with a reckless tackle. Fonseca would have been through on goal and the Mexican players were clamouring for a red card. Busacca immediately went for a yellow card, pointing out that another Argentine defender was present. While that is correct, the player in question was on the other side of the pitch and would have had no option to interfere with Fonseca’s attempt to score.

Busacca took the easy choice here and avoided a sending off agains the favourite team. His reasoning was faulty and grasping at straws at best. The tackle was a clear case of DOGSO and should have resulted in an expulsion for Heinze with a straight red card.

Two more scenes need a closer look. In the 71^st minute, Heinze was again involved, apparently catching Borgetti with a flailing arm and hitting his face while going for the ball. Busacca did not whistle anything. The only replay shows the scene from behind and is not fully conclusive, but it seems very likely that the arm use was at least reckless if not fully intentional (VC).

In the 113^th minute, Busacca did not see – the replays are clear – a clash between Roberto Ayala and Rafael Márquez during a Mexican free kick. Márquez seems intent on blocking the Argentine defender instead of going for the header, resulting in a collision that leaves both players on the ground. A missed penalty or a defensive free kick? There are certainly arguments for either of these choices.

AR1 Franceso Buragina had a good match, especially in the first half where he made two excellent onside/offside decisions (23’, 25’). His colleague AR2 Matthias Arnet was less accomplished. After giving a clearly wrong offside (78', albeit in a confusing scene), he made a crucial mistake just before the first ninety minutes ended, again making a wrong offside decision that prevented Argentina from scoring a late winner (90+2').

Massimo Busacca and his team weren’t appointed again and based on the overall performance, it was fully justified.

Massimo Busacca - 7,3 Francesco Buragina - 8,5 Matthias Arnet - 7,9 (8,3) Khalil Al-Ghamdi Fathi Arabati SUI - KSA, JOR	Argentina 2-1 Mexico (Argentina win after extra-time) Round of 16
Heinze (45+1') - SPA (Tackle) Sorín (112') - SPA (Tackle)	Márquez (70') - Reckless play Castro (82') - Delaying the Restart Torrado (118') - SPA (Holding) Fonseca (119') - Dissent