England maybe in more trouble than previously thought if Fabio Capello is worried about referee Carlos Simon. The Brazilian is set to officiate the England vs USA match on June 12th and his ‘error prone’ ways have not inspired confidence.
The build up orchestrated by the English media against Simon is based on the fact that he was suspended last season by the CBF for incompetence and suspected bribery.
” A crook, a scoundrel, and a shameless bastard”, which is not the title of a Peter Greenaway movie but how Simon is actually described by the president of Palmeiras whose club was at the receiving end of a bad refereeing decision which cost them the title.
He also sent off Diego Tardelli for diving in a match against Cruzeiro. The Flamengo striker thought he was brought down by Leo Fortunato and deserved a penalty.
Simon defended his decision saying that in the 46th minute, “Tardelli entered the penalty area, stepped on the ball, and fell. The defender Fortunato initially tried a tackle but did not make any contact with the ball or the player but then collided with the player and fell.”
He was supported by other refereeing officials who saw it the same way. Simon also said that he had officiated in the 2006 Brazil Cup final which was won by Flamengo over Vasco and there were no complaints when he was selected for officiating the match against Cruzeiro.
The loss sent Flamengo into a paroxysm of rage which resulted in the club sending a DVD compilation of his errors to FIFA officials with a letter imploring them to drop Simon. The English dailies have latched onto what appears to be a personal feud between a club and an official to game the USA match. They must have also seen that he can be arm twisted.
Simon attracted controversy in the 2006 World Cup when he sent of Teddy Lucic in a match against Germany with a smile on his face. To give this context, he was surrounded by Germans brandishing imaginary cards after the Swedish defender tugged briefly at Miroslav Klose’s shirt. He gave in to an otherwise innocuous foul.
Simon is the most decorated Brazilian referee. He has 25 years of refereeing experience and this is his third and final World Cup before he turns 45 in September. He is also the president of the Rio Grande do Sul Association of Arbitrators.
It is clear that Simon has made a number of errors. No referee has a spotless record in a quarter century of officiating. Even Howard Webb who very well might be the only thing English in the World Cup finals has had some real meltdowns including a clearly missed handball against Maicon in the recent Champions League final which should have been a penalty for Bayern.
This is clearly an attempt to distract from what is happening to a wounded England squad which should have come into the World Cup bristling with self confidence. Instead it is dealing with a defensive conundrum at the center and at right back. They have lost their captain. Actually make that two. One was stripped for his off field proclivities and Rio Ferdinand was ruled out through injury. Their shambolic first half against Mexico probably gave Capello nightmares and then an own goal double saved them against Japan.
Fabio Capello might be projecting his sense of unease onto the referee. It is the oldest trick in the book. The media goes along, digging into his record. Voila! You have a referee problem.