Turkish referee Cuneyt Cakir got all the major decisions right in England's World Cup qualifier against Ukraine on Tuesday night. Roy Hodgson's petulant rant at him at the end of the game does the England manager no favours and he has gone down a lot in my estimation.
Although the game was not particularly rough, Cakir was called on to make some major, match-changing decisions. Let's have a look at them.
Jermaine Defoe's disallowed goal... Cakir had blown his whistle before Defoe unleashed his shot. Defoe clearly used his arms to virtually hand off the Ukrainian defender and made contact with his face. A clear free kick to Ukraine.
Danny Welbeck's penalty shout... Welbeck has clearly spent the summer trying to refine his arts of diving. Going nowhere in particular in the penalty area, Welbeck took a tumble over a defender, trying to hook his foot around the Ukraine player to make it look as if he had been tripped. But Cakir was having none of it. Perfectly positioned five yards away, as he was for all the major calls, he ignored Welbeck. In fact he should have cautioned him for simulation.
The penalty...Easy one. A Ukrainian arm was raised and blocked the ball. A clear penalty.
Gerrard's two yellows...The captain could have been sent off for leading with the elbow that split open the cheek of a Ukraine player in the first half, but Cakir gave him the benefit of the doubt and showed him yellow. Gerrard then ploughed through the back of a rival near the end, an easy yellow card again. There's absolutely no reason for Hodgson to complain.
Cakir was one of the star referees of the European Championships, officiating at the semi final between Portugal and Spain.
At Wembley, he showed the cards that needed to be shown. He was not extravagant or showy and did not deserve the criticism he received from Hodgson, who I thought would not try the old trick of blaming the ref when his team plays badly.
I should have known better.
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