Talent and tactics

Wobbly Michel

Michel looked a bit wobbly. Mind you, that doesn't mean he was a bad ref tonight, just that I've seen him perform more solidly. He denied the Russians a clear penalty - when Heitinga fouled Zhirkov in the box - and went as far as sending Kolodin off and then reversing his decision after a talk with his assistant. This because the ball had supposedly crossed the line before Kolodin fouled Sneijder and thus Sneijder had not been through on goal. Replays showed the ball had remained in play. But also that Kolodin didn't touch Scheijder.
You could argue this case both ways:
Michel is a weak ref who doesn't know what to do
Michel is a great ref who knows when to listen to his assistants and who is able to see his own mistakes.
But did he reverse his decision because the ball was out or because it wasn't a foul?