A proper referee

General

This performance was a bit at odds with others in this tournament in that Frank de Bleeckere will not give a penalty for the most trivial of shirt pulls, he will not give a free kick after a perfectly good tackle just because there was some contact with the man. This is the way that football should be refereed: it's a man's game - stop being soft, get up and get on with it.

Offside goal?

The USA will tell you that Clint Dempsey had a perfectly good first half goal incorrectly ruled out for offside. I will tell you that it was a truly brilliant call by Peter Hermans the assistant referee: any part of the body ahead of the second last defender counts as offside. On close examination of the footage Dempsey is leaning, in my view, just ahead of the defender and so was offside. However, it is so hard to tell, and so whether you agree with this decision or not, I do not believe there are any grounds for criticism of it.

Other decisions

Aside from that, de Bleeckere had very good foul detection and was quick to penalise excessive contact but was entirely willing to allow physical play. He used adavantage well a number of times. He awarded one throw in incorrectly to the USA and one goal kick incorrectly to Algeria, while his booking of Beasley for handball was a touch harsh. Yahia can have no complaints about receiving a second yellow card for dissent, and being deservedly sent off. It is good to see a referee being strong enough to book a player for dissent, as his reaction to a perfectly correct decison was unwarranted and ugly.

(Frank on this match

This was a fast paced match with some really good playing. Frank saw his assistant Hermans wave for off-side and canceled an American goal. He didn't know if his Assistant was right, but no one complained so the ref knew they had been right. (unlike a lot of American supporters who sent us angry e-mails). During the break Frank and his team got texted by friends at home who had seen the replays of the off-side situation, some congratulatory, others pitying them for their mistake. (A few months later Frank sees a computer simulation which proves Hermans was right).
The second half was even more difficult and faster still. After the match the Belgians realize they have never been this tired)