| Germany | - | Netherlands |
 | - |  |
Germany - Netherlands, 3 - 0. Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany, 2011-11-15
According to World referee's dynamically generated ranking at the moment, Cüneyt Cakir is the best European referee in 2011 at position 7. While I have doubts that non-European referees are so much better as the list suggests, I am not sure if Cakir deserves the high praise he received over the last year to the full degree being the best referee on the continent. Don't get me wrong: I don't think that Cüneyt Cakir is not worth the Elite label, but especially on card management he seems to me a bit picky and didn't convince me on the second match I watched with him in charge (double standards for both teams). The game management was above average, he used the advantage well and his positioning was close to the action.
Villareal revisited...
As in the Villareal - Bayern Munich match, Cüneyt Cakir applied double standards in terms of card policy. He gave out two verbal warning against Sneijder (7'') and Haitinga (10'') before booking Sneijder after 20 minutes for a second late tackle in Midfield. There were at least two or three other cynical fouls by the Netherlands which could easily have been yellow by the rule book which Cakir let go unpunished (including a tripping without ball from behind). If he decides to be generous, it was a double standard to book Klose for the first foul (43'') in my opinion. The Germans committed four or five fouls in the first half compared to at least the triple number by the Dutch guests. For a man of his qualities and potential, this is a question of match appreciation in my mind and not a lack of ability. In the second half, the same applied to Mark van Bommel who fouled three times before Cakir decided to talk to him (63'', 65'' and 82'') where a yellow would have been the right choice.
For the rest... no doubts
The rest of his performance was very convincing: fluid match, high pace and good understanding of the development of the game. Advantage when necessary, a good body language and excellent communication with his assistants. Germany were far better than a sluggish Dutch side who seemed far off the fire of the 1970ies and 1980ies. The positioning of Cakir left nothing to be desired and he is one of the best international referees nevertheless.