Raphael Claus had the least challenging debut among Brazilian World Cup referees and was practically a spectator of Spain’s 4-0 rout of Saudi Arabia in the 2nd round of Group H this Sunday, 21st, in Atlanta, in the United States.
Benefiting from the good behavior of the teams, who committed 12 fouls throughout the match, the São Paulo judge performed calmly, led the game without any difficulties and only handed out two yellow cards. It was only during second-half stoppage time that the refereeing team needed to make a more complex decision.
Claus and linesman Rodrigo Figueiredo initially confirmed Ferran Torres’ fifth goal, but VAR checked the player’s position and indicated the cancellation for offside. The decision took approximately three minutes, clashing with the speed of other VAR actions during the World Cup.
To compensate, the Brazilian let the ball roll for another 3 minutes after the end of the estimated stoppage time. The match ended without much emotion in the refereeing.
Claus was the third and last Brazilian to debut in the tournament. Before him, he played an important role in the opening of the World Cup, sending off three players. Afterwards, Santa Catarina’s Ramon Abatti Abel confidently refereed the draw between Belgium and Egypt, even though he did not survive a controversial move at the end of the match unscathed.
This is the second World Cup for the referee born in Santa Bárbara d’Oeste, in the interior of São Paulo. He was at the World Cup in Qatar in 2022, when he refereed two group stage matches.
Sampaio is already scheduled to referee Norway x Senegal on Monday the 22nd, while Abatti Abel will be in charge of Switzerland x Canada on Wednesday the 24th.
