Abdulrahman Al-Jassim brandishes a yellow, one of 6. The list includes (USA): Weston McKennie, Sergino Dest, Tim Ream, Kellyn Acosta (Wales): Chris Mepham, Gareth Bale
First, there was this protracted exchange involving Tyler Adams and Gareth Bale, as the two captains met face to face during the coin toss. An almost sort of religious fervour explaining maybe the finer points of the game. Maybe it was a one off. But that really set the tone as Abdulrahman Al-Jassim, the Qatari referee overseeing the USA vs Wales match, established his refereeing style.
A liberal use of hands and fingers to call upon, dismiss, cajole, admonish, and when speaking bordering on a “you should know better” delivered as if from an altar. Al-Jassim actually pushed Matt Turner back from the goal line and spoke to him sternly about keeping his feet on the line before Gareth Bale’s penalty.
Every tackle, every foul, every little niggling flare up had Al-Jassim jogging up to the scene of the crime, shove his hand up to quell the protestations of the offending party, a wagging finger to summon the criminal, and a talking to which did little to dispel the performative art aspect of his refereeing. He must have added 2-3 minutes to playing time with his earnestness and desire to capture the spotlight.
Al-Jassim is not exactly unfamiliar to US fans having officiated in the 2019 Gold Cup in their win against Panama. He’s also not unfamiliar to bookings having racked up 85 yellows in 19 matches for an impressive average of 5 a match. He went one better in this match. US fans are not very happy to say the least.