Referee Rating: Uruguay v. South Korea

Wolfgang Stark aus Deutschland is doing this game. He's a very good ref and has already done well this World Cup in the Argentina - Nigeria and England - Slovenia matches.

4' Easy call for the foul on Ji Sung. Stark is managing this kick well getting in early and setting the tone for future free kicks. What a shot! I'm very impressed. I think that would've been the first goal scored directly from a free kick in the tournament had it curved 18 inches less.

7' Easy call for the foul by Perez.

15' That ws a dumb block by Jae-Sung.

16' If Perez had gone straight for the ball without pushing off he probably still would have won the ball there.

20' Not sure why Stark gave the advantage signal there. My own frame by frame replay shows Suarez being hit by something before the ball gets to him. I don't know if it was a coin or what. It would have to have been a tremendous throw 2/3 of the way across the field to hit him in the back of his head as it did. I wonder what it was.

26' Easy call on foul by Perez. He was unlucky to get a boot to the knee on the follow-through, but really, he caused it.

27' Easy offside call. Whoops. Replay shows I and the near side assistant got that one wrong. If the line ESPN put up is accurate, the assistant is a couple yards out of position for that call.

29' Logano looked like he might have hit feet with the attacker, but it's one of those where tripping is a foul, but an accidental trip like that isn't always given. I'm on the fence about whether it should always be given. Technically it's a foul, but then holding and pushing are technically fouls, but a low to moderate amount is tolerated lest the game become completely non-contact.

32' I'll have to see a replay on that tackle outside Uruguay's box, but it looked like Stark got it right to call no foul. From my own replay it looked like Pereira just barged the attacker over. I think Stark missed that call. He probably thought the attacker went over easily.

33' Easy call for the trip on Jung Woo.

35' I'm not sure Jae Sung did anything there. I need a better replay than just playing the incident back via DVR.

37' Easy advantage, but I'm not sure that push was anything different from others that haven't been called.

38' Good yellow on Jung Woo. He had his studs up and on Cavani's ankle. Getting the slightest of touches on the ball does not take away the recklessness of the tackle.

39' That was a great tackle to take the ball from Ji Sung.

40' Unnecessary push by Pereira and a little bit of theatrics from Jae Sung.

44' Lugano fouled Ji Sung, handled the ball, and then played dangerously. Pretty esy call I'd say.

45' That definitely didn't hit Sung Yong's right arm, but I don't know what it did hit. Replay shows it hit his left elbow. Stark was well placed for that. For me, Sung Yong raises his arm knowing he probably can't get his head or body in front of the shot. I think Stark missed that one. That's a penalty and a one-on-one with the keeper that the refereeing team have denied so far.

First half rating: Slightly above average. 5.5/10. Stark controlled the game well and let it flow. His near side assistant missed a close, but clear onside run by being out of position. Stark himself missed a deliberate hand ball in the box that should have been a penalty for Uruguay. He hasn't painted himself in a corner with cards. I think he only issued one this half. Were it not for the missed penalty call and the wrong offside call, this would be a very good rating. I expected more for those big decisions though. They mean so much more in football as opposed to basketball or other higher scoring sports. I hope those missed calls don't influence the final result. Though since the USA could play the winner here, I *would* rather we play South Korea than Uruguay based on the performances so far.

53' Easy call for the foul on Sung Yong.

56' Easy call for the foul by Perez. The ESPN commentator (Robbie Mustoe) is right, by my count that is the fourth foul by Perez. I'm not sure Perez needs the yellow nor does the game, but four fouls at this level normally would net you a caution. I think Stark is fine not issuing a card, but for consistency across refereeing at the tournament you could argue for one.

64' That was a foul on Chu Young, but those types of off-the-ball fouls are rarely called in the box and I think the unsignalled advantage played by Stark is consistent with international refereeing standards. Whether it's right or not is another question. Perez is wasting time here and Stark does well to let him know he's watching that.

66' Not sure how that was a foul by Dong Gook. It looked like he was being held. The assistant was right there too.

67' Good non-call on Suarez' search for a free kick in a dangerous area. Lugano jumped into and over Ji Sung there. Easy call.

69' Not sure about a booking for Du Ri. Nevermind, replay shows his studs were up and he came in slightly late and high on Pereira's ankle.

70' Stark did well to catch Lugano's pushing before the kick. I'm pretty sure Sung Ryong didn't carry the ball over the line, but it was a dangerous step backwards. Good education from Derek Rae on the fact it is the position of the ball that matters. The position of the player is irrelevant unlike most other major American sports.

72' Looked close on the Suarez offside. Replay shows he was offside by about a half-yard (if the lines on the field are actually straight). The assistant is in line with Suarez and leaning to break down-field. It was tough since the ball was played from close to that far side and switching between the ball and offside is very difficult. I can only assume the sound of the ball being kicked was somewhat drowned out by the vuvuzelas. A tough call, but I think the far side assistant got it wrong.

74' Much easier onside call there on Suarez.

80' What a great shot by Suarez! Stark may have been saved with that strike.

82' Good non-call on the tackle by Perez.

83' Easily a yellow for a series of fouls by Yong Hyung on Perez.

87' Dong Gook was onside, good job by the near side assistant.

89' Dong Gook had a good hold of Lugano's shirt. Good decision. Definitely not a penalty.

90' Not sure why Stark didn't call the push on Forlan. He was right there. He seemed to play advantage, but gave no signal. I think he called hand ball there at the end though.

Ratings:
Second half: Above average. 6/10. A couple missed offside calls and fouls, but Stark got the big decisions right and exerted just the right amount of control to give us a good, flowing game.

Assistants: Average. 5/10. The near side assistant was out of position and called an offside that wasn't. The far side assistant was slightly out of position, but not by much though it was enough that he missed a tough, close, but clear offside call. There were also a few fouls missed or called what I think was the wrong way.

Big decisions: Average. 5/10. I think the hand ball in the first half clearly was a penalty. Stark did get it right for the foul on Lugano. At the very least it wasn't a penalty. His cards were correct.

Positioning/fitness: Great. 8/10. Stark was right where he needed to be all game. So it's odd that his decision making let him down some.

Game control: Great. 8/10. Stark let the game flow and kept the players under control and generally playing within the laws of the game and punished them when they didn't.

Overall: Average. 6/10. Stark picked it up in the second half and got the big decisions right then, but he had already missed a big one in the first half. If not for that blown call and a few wrong offside/onside decisions, this would have been a great game rating.