World

Meet the referees taking charge of World Cup 2022

Published

2 years ago

November 11, 2022

Meet the referees taking charge of World Cup 2022

The position of a match official at a World Cup is commonly a thankless job.

Whereas gamers are heaped with reward after they do excellent work, referees are not often hailed for doing their job effectively. As a substitute, they’re routinely lambasted – by gamers, managers and followers over the slightest of errors.

The fact is that the high-stakes position requires a complete information of the sport’s guidelines, an elite health stage – usually requiring them to run greater than outfield gamers – and years of exhausting work.

For World Cup 2022, FIFA has launched an inventory of 36 referees, 69 assistant referees and 24 video match officers overseeing the video assistant referee (VAR) system.This would be the first World Cup with feminine match officers – referees Stéphanie Frappart (France), Salima Mukansanga (Rwanda) and Yoshimi Yamashita (Japan); assistant referees Neuza Again (Brazil), Karen Díaz Medina (Mexico) and Kathryn Nesbitt (US).

Japan’s first feminine skilled referee Yoshimi Yamashita will officiate at this 12 months’s World Cup [Philip FONG / AFP]

The 2022 World Cup in Qatar will even see the introduction of the brand new Synthetic Intelligence (AI)-based Semi-Automated Offside Expertise. The system at the moment being trialled within the UEFA Champions League group levels is designed to enhance the accuracy of offside choices. Cameras put in below the roof of the stadium monitor all 22 gamers recording information factors and calculating their precise place on the pitch.

Referees will even utilise goal-line expertise, launched throughout the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. The system makes use of 14 high-speed cameras to create a 3D picture animation that may notify the referee instantly if the ball has crossed the road.

Who will referee the 2022 World Cup?

AFC – Asian Soccer Confederation

Six referees
10 assistant referees
4 video match officers

Abdulrahman al-Jassim (Qatar) – The 35-year-old Qatari has been a FIFA referee since 2013 and has officiated a number of high-profile fixtures. He labored as a VAR official at Russia 2018. He has additionally refereed on the 2019 AFC Asian Cup and the 2019 FIFA Membership World Cup last between Liverpool and Clube de Regatas do Flamengo.

Chris Beath (Australia) – Like al-Jassim, Beath made a reputation for himself on the worldwide stage by refereeing on the 2019 AFC Asian Cup and the FIFA Membership World Cup.

Alireza Faghani (Iran) – Hailing from Kashmar in northeast Iran, Faghani performed soccer within the nation’s third tier earlier than finally shifting into refereeing. He refereed the 2014 AFC Champions League last, the 2018 World Cup and now plies his commerce in Australia’s A-League.

Alireza Faghani, one of many high referees on the planet, will change into a full-time referee for the 2019/20 @ALeague season! pic.twitter.com/pTpf9ZX8WH
— AFC (@theafcdotcom) September 20, 2019

Ma Ning (China) – Ma Ning is just the second Chinese language referee to take part within the World Cup.

Mohammed Abdulla Mohamed (UAE) – The Emirati has been a FIFA referee since 2010 and has refereed on the AFC Asian Cup.

Yoshimi Yamashita (Japan) – In April 2022, Yamashita turned the primary feminine official to supervise an AFC Champions League match wherein she issued three yellow playing cards to Melbourne Metropolis.

“I need it to be seen as completely regular for ladies to referee males’s video games, so what is going on in Qatar must proceed. I really feel a specific amount of stress to win everybody’s belief.”

CAF – Confederation of African soccer

Six referees
10 assistant referees
Two video match officers

Bakary Papa Gassama (Gambia) – This might be Gassama’s third World Cup look after Brazil 2018 and Russia 2018.

Mustapha Ghorbal (Algeria) – The 37-year-old Algerian has refereed a number of worldwide matches, together with the 2020 CAF Champions League last between Egyptian sides Zamalek and Al Ahly, wherein he issued two crimson playing cards and 5 yellow playing cards.

Victor Gomes (South Africa) – A troublesome-talking no-nonsense referee, Gomes has made headlines on multiple event. In 2018, he reportedly turned down a $30,000 bribe to repair a CAF Confederation Cup sport between Nigeria’s Plateau United and Algeria’s USM Alger. Within the 2021 AFCON last, Gomes sternly informed Egyptian celebrity Mohammed Salah to cease complaining earlier than sarcastically providing him his whistle.

Africa Cup of Nations - Final - Senegal v Egypt — Mohamed Salah reacts as referee Victor Gomes offers Senegal’s Saliou Ciss a penalty after Egypt’s Mohamed Abdel-Moneim fouled him throughout the AFCON Ultimate in Yaounde, Cameroon on February 6, 2022 [File: Thaier Al-Sudani/Reuters]

Salima Mukansanga (Rwanda) – Mukansanga is repeatedly making historical past. She is the primary lady from her native Rwanda to referee the FIFA Girls’s World Cup, the primary lady to ever officiate on the African Cup of Nations and now one of many first ladies to referee on the males’s World Cup.

Janny Sikazwe (Zambia) – Sikazwe boasts a formidable CV, having refereed the 2016 FIFA Membership World Cup last and the 2017 AFCON last and turning into the primary Zambian referee to officiate a World Cup in 2018.

Nonetheless, he’s maybe greatest remembered for incorrectly calling full-time within the eighty fifth and 89th minute in an AFCON conflict between Tunisia and Mali in January this 12 months. It later emerged that he had suffered warmth stroke and was later taken to hospital.

Maguette Ndiaye (Senegal) – The Senegalese referee officiated a number of matches on the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.

CONCACAF – Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Affiliation Soccer.

5 referees
12 assistant referees
Three video match officers

Ivan Barton (Salvador) – Iván Barton, aged 30, has officiated on the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup, overseeing the semi-final between Jamaica and the USA and the CONCACAF Nations League.

Ismail Elfath (United States) – Born in Morocco, Elfath got here to the US when he was 18 years of age after successful a visa lottery. He made his MLS refeering debut in 2011 and since then has change into one of many nation’s most revered officers, choosing up the MLS Referee of the 12 months award twice previously three years. He has officiated at a number of worldwide tournaments, together with the semi-final of the 2019 Membership World Cup.

Congratulations to Ismail Elfath, the 2022 MLS Referee of the 12 months! 👏 pic.twitter.com/AugFkcoJ0r
— Main League Soccer (@MLS) October 14, 2022

Mario Escobar (Guatemala) – The 36 12 months outdated has been a FIFA-listed referee since 2013 and officiated a number of CONCACAF tournaments.

Stated Martinez (Honduras) – At 31 years of age, Stated is one in every of three referees from Central America to officiate on the 2022 World Cup. Stated, who additionally has a level in Arithmetic, refereed the 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup last between the USA and Mexico, issuing three yellow playing cards in additional time.

César Ramos (Mexico) – The 38-year-old Mexican has been a FIFA-listed referee since 2014. He officiated three matches on the 2018 World Cup, together with a gaggle stage 1-1 draw between Brazil and Switzerland. Through the sport, the Brazil gamers expressed their displeasure with Ramos after he dismissed claims of fouls on two events and dominated out any VAR evaluation.

Switzerland vs Brazil — Brazil’s Neymar talks to referee César Ramos throughout a World Cup 2018 group stage conflict with Switzerland. Rostov Area, Russia [Marko Djurica/Reuters]

CONMEBOL – South American Soccer Confederation

Seven referees
15 assistant referees
4 video match officers

Raphael Claus (Brazil) – The skilled Brazilian most just lately refereed on the 2021 Copa América.

Andres Matias Matonte Cabrera (Uruguay) – The Uruguayan most just lately officiated on the Arab Cup in 2021. He oversaw Qatar’s 5-0 quarter-final win over UAE, wherein he issued two penalties inside eight minutes of one another.

Kevin Ortega (Peru) – At 30, the Peruvian referee is without doubt one of the youngest on the airplane to Qatar. He has officiated a number of high-pressure matches, together with a semi-final within the 2020 Summer season Olympics between Spain and Japan.

Fernando Rapallini (Argentina) – The Argentine boasts a wealth of expertise officiating within the Argentinian Primera División and worldwide tournaments. Rapallini made historical past in 2021 when he turned the primary South American referee to officiate at a European Championship.

Wilton Sampaio (Brazil) – The 40-year-old has been FIFA-listed since 2013 and most just lately officiated on the 2021 Copa América.

Facundo Tello (Argentina) – Tello made a reputation for himself in Argentina after being chosen to referee within the nation’s first division after solely 4 matches within the second tier. In 2021, he travelled to Qatar to officiate within the 2021 FIFA Arab World Cup.

Jesus Valenzuela (Venezuela) – The 38 12 months outdated was first listed as a FIFA referee in 2013. In July 2021, he officiated the notorious semi-final between Colombia and Argentina within the Copa América, wherein Valenzuela dished out 10 yellow playing cards.

There have been 20 (!!!) fouls referred to as within the first half of Argentina-Colombia 🤕 pic.twitter.com/GJEugKppV8
— Worldwide Champions Cup (@IntChampionsCup) July 7, 2021

OFC – Oceania Soccer Confederation

One referee
Two assistant referees

Matthew Conger (New Zealand) – Since Australia joined the AFC in 2006, Conger is the one referee representing the OFC on the 2022 World Cup. Initially from Texas, within the US, the part-time instructor refereed one group stage match within the 2018 World Cup.

UEFA – Union of European Soccer Associations

11 referees
20 assistant referees
11 video match officers

Istvan Kovacs (Romania) – The veteran goalkeeper is about to officiate at his first World Cup this 12 months, having impressed in latest matches, together with the Manchester Metropolis versus Actual Madrid thriller earlier this 12 months within the Champions League. Kovacs performed a wise benefit permitting Bernado Silva to rifle dwelling a shot after Toni Kroos fouled Oleksandr Zinchenko within the build-up.

Stephanie Frappart (France) – Frappart plies her commerce in France’s Ligue 1 however has notched a number of high-profile worldwide appearances just lately, together with the 2019 UEFA Tremendous Cup between Liverpool and Chelsea. In 2020, she turned the primary lady to referee a Champions League match. In 2022, she officiated the 2022 Coupe de France last between Good and Nantes.

👏 You simply like to see it
💪 Stephanie Frappart turns into the primary lady to referee a males’s @ChampionsLeague match
🛣 Approach to blaze a path, Stephanie pic.twitter.com/j20ywQi4Z1
— FIFA Girls’s World Cup (@FIFAWWC) December 2, 2020

Danny Makkelie (The Netherlands) – The skilled Dutch referee and part-time policeman has lengthy officiated high-profile matches, together with the 2018 Europa League last. The 4 matches he refereed throughout final 12 months’s European Championships made him a family title. Within the semi-final between Denmark and England at Wembley, Makkelie awarded a controversial penalty to England that allowed them to progress to the ultimate.

Szymon Marciniak (Poland) – The 41-year-old Polish referee comes with baggage of expertise, having notched up three video games on the 2016 European Championships and two on the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Antonio Mateu Lahoz(Spain) – The Spaniard is thought for his unorthodox chatty method to officiating however is extremely rated by UEFA, who entrusted him with officiating the 2021 Champions League last. Within the 2020 European Championships, Mateu oversaw a fractious 2-2 draw between France and Portugal within the group levels, wherein he awarded three penalties and 4 yellow playing cards.

Michael Oliver (England) – The English referee comes with loads of home expertise, officiating high-profile video games, such because the 2021 FA Cup last. Oliver has additionally change into a daily within the Champions League, the place he’s maybe greatest remembered for awarding a penalty to Actual Madrid that in the end led to their development on the expense of Juventus. The choice sparked the often calm and picked up Juventus captain Gianluigi Buffon to accuse Oliver of getting a “trash can” for a coronary heart.

Oliver and Buffon — Juventus’ Gianluigi Buffon and his teammates confront Michael Oliver within the Champions League Quarter Ultimate Second Leg between Actual Madrid and Juventus in Madrid, Spain. [Susana Vera/Reuters]

Daniele Orsato (Italy) – A mainstay of the Champions League, Orsato has refereed each 2020 Champions League last between Bayern Munich and PSG. He additionally labored as a VAR referee throughout the 2018 World Cup.

Daniel Siebert (Germany) – He officiated three matches on the 2020 European Championships and was the referee for the 2021 Arab Cup last between Tunisia and Algeria.

Arab Cup Final — Siebert in motion with the whistle on the 2021 Arab Cup [Showkat Shafi/Al Jazeera]

Anthony Taylor (England) – The 44-year-old referee has just lately been entrusted with fixtures such because the Nations League last between France and Spain. He refereed Denmark versus Finland match within the 2020 European Championships the place Christain Eriksen suffered a cardiac arrest on the pitch. Taylor was praised for recognizing the state of affairs rapidly and swiftly organising medical therapy.

Eriksen Denmark — Denmark’s gamers react as paramedics attend to Denmark’s midfielder Christian Eriksen after he collapsed on the pitch throughout the UEFA EURO 2020 Group B soccer match between Denmark and Finland on the Parken Stadium in Copenhagen [Friedemann Vogel / POOL / AFP]

Clement Turpin (France) – Turpin has officiated on the 2016 and 2020 European Championships and the 2018 World Cup. Within the 2021-22 season, he officiated 9 matches within the UEFA Champions League, together with the ultimate.

Slavko Vincic (Slovenia) – Vincic, a certified telecommunications engineer, was inspired to strive refereeing by his uncle when he was 20 years outdated. Eleven years later, he was listed as a FIFA referee. He officiated three matches within the 2020 European Championships. He was the referee for this 12 months’s Europa League last between Eintracht Frankfurt and Rangers.

In 2020 Vincic made headlines after being arrested in reference to a police probe right into a prostitution and medicines ring working in Bosnia and Herzegovina. He has been cleared of any wrongdoing.

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World

Reported sex assaults in the US military have dropped. That reverses what had been a growing problem

Published

2 hours ago

May 15, 2024

Press Room

Reported sex assaults in the US military have dropped. That reverses what had been a growing problem

WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of reported sexual assaults across the military decreased last year, and a confidential survey found a 19% drop in the number of service members who said they had experienced some type of unwanted sexual contact, according to new figures obtained by The Associated Press. Both are dramatic reversals of what has been a growing problem in recent years.

More than 29,000 active-duty service members said in the survey that they had unwanted sexual contact during the previous year, compared with nearly 36,000 in the 2021 survey, according to several defense officials. The decrease is the first in eight years.

At the same time, 8,515 sexual assaults were reported last year involving members of the U.S. military, a decrease from 8,942 in 2022. And officials said the U.S. military academies also saw fewer reported sexual assaults in the school year that ended last spring versus the previous year.

Senior defense officials said the assault numbers are still far too high and there is much more work to do, but they expressed cautious optimism that the military could be turning a corner, with help from an array of new programs and increased personnel. Sexual assault reports in the military have gone up for much of the last decade, except for a tiny decrease in 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the report has not been publicly released.

While it’s difficult to point to any one reason for the recent decreases, the Defense Department has been making a series of changes over the past year that officials say may be contributing to the shift. The services are using an infusion of more than $1 billion in the last two budgets to improve programs and hire up to 2,500 personnel as part of a new “prevention workforce” and place them at military installations around the world. So far, more than 1,000 have been hired.

The Pentagon releases a report every year on the number of sexual assaults reported by or about troops. But because sexual assault is a highly underreported crime, the department does a confidential survey every two years to get a clearer picture of the problem.

The data for the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30 also suggests that a greater percentage of service members came forward to report sexual assaults, which has been a key goal for the Defense Department. About 25% of those who said on the survey that they had faced unwanted sexual contact reported it last year, compared with 20% in 2021, according to defense officials and documents reviewed by the AP.

Defense officials have long argued that an increase in reported assaults is a positive trend because so many people are reluctant to report them, both in the military and in society as a whole. Greater reporting, they say, shows there is more confidence in the reporting system and greater comfort with the support for victims, and results in a growing number of offenders being held accountable.

But the Pentagon and the military services also have come under persistent criticism and pressure from members of Congress to reduce sexual assaults and harassment in the military. Service leaders and lawmakers have all argued that the sexual assaults and harassment contribute to the military’s struggles to meet recruiting goals.

Alarmed members of Congress have enacted a number of changes, including a new prosecution system that uses independent lawyers. Lawmakers argued that some commanders failed to take victims’ complaints seriously or tried to protect those in their units who faced accusations, making victims reluctant to come forward.

The services have long worked to develop programs to prevent sexual assaults, encourage reporting and bolster confidence in the system. The Army, for example, has a new training program for soldiers when they report to their first duty station that shows service members acting out dangerous situations and teaches troops how to respond.

The number of reported sexual assaults decreased across all the military services, which is a marked improvement over the 2022 fiscal year, when the number of sexual assaults in the Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps all shot up significantly. A 9% drop in Army reports in 2022 offset the increases in the other branches so that there was an uptick of about 1% for the whole military. The Army is the largest military service.

According to officials, the number of sexual assault reported in the Army decreased from 3,718 in 2022 to 3,507 last year, while the Navy went from 2,052 to 1,942 and the Air Force from 1,928 to 1,838. The Marine Corps had the smallest decline, going from 1,244 to 1,228.

Included in the 8,515 total were 541 service members who reported an assault that occurred before they entered the military and 612 civilians who said they were assaulted by a member of the military.

At the military academies, the number of assaults dipped from 155 in 2022 to 124 in the 2023 school year. Service commanders are still working, however, to address what was a dramatic spike in 2022.

The latest survey also showed that nearly a quarter of all active-duty women said they’d faced sexual harassment, a decrease from the 28.6% in 2021.

One troubling area continues to be female service members’ satisfaction with the help they get when they make a complaint and their overall trust in the system and their leaders.

While a large percentage of victims seek out sexual assault response staff, fewer than 70% are happy with the services they get. And that hasn’t changed much over the past several years. Roughly the same percentage says they trust the military to respect and protect them and their privacy.

Officials said the hiring of more permanent, full-time workers will help improve that process.

World

Guatemalan court orders release of journalist jailed for nearly 2 years on money laundering charges

Published

3 hours ago

May 15, 2024

Press Room

Guatemalan court orders release of journalist jailed for nearly 2 years on money laundering charges

A Guatemalan court ordered the release Wednesday of journalist José Rubén Zamora, jailed for nearly two years on money laundering charges.

Zamora, the 67-year-old founder of El Periodico newspaper, was sentenced to six years in prison last June for alleged money laundering. But that conviction and sentence were overturned by another court and a new trial ordered.

PROSECUTORS IN GUATEMALA ASK COURT TO LIFT PRESIDENT-ELECT’S IMMUNITY; OAS CITES ‘COUP ATTEMPT’

For nearly two years, he has been kept in jail.

But on Wednesday, a judge ruled that there was no longer justification to keep him in jail, noting that he was not considered a flight risk or a threat to the investigation. Zamora will spend the rest of his time before a new trial on a conditional release.

He was ordered to post a bond of nearly $4,800.

Guatemalan journalist Jose Ruben Zamora, founder of El Periodico newspaper, arrives to court in handcuffs for a hearing in Guatemala City, Wednesday, May 15, 2024. Zamora has been jailed for almost two years and seeks his release. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

“During my entire life I have been the victim of attacks, abductions, aggressions for the work that I do,” Zamora said during Wednesday’s hearing.

Cristina Gómez, his defense attorney, said that his detention was arbitrary.

Guatemala’s former human rights ombudsman Jorge Duque agreed to guarantee Zamora’s appearance at future hearings. “It is the least I can do,” Duque said. “I know him and I know that he will continue facing the process against him.”

Press freedom groups had decried his prosecution as politically motivated.

El Periodico published numerous investigations critical of former President Alejandro Giammattei.

The charges stemmed from Zamora, 66, asking a friend to deposit a $38,000 donation to keep the newspaper going rather than depositing it himself. Zamora has said he did so because the donor did not want to be identified supporting an outlet in the sights of Giammattei.

The foundation of Nobel Prize winning writer Gabriel García Márquez awarded its excellence in journalism prize to Zamora on Tuesday.

World

‘Monstrous crime’: World reacts to attack on Slovakia’s prime minister

Published

4 hours ago

May 15, 2024

Press Room

‘Monstrous crime’: World reacts to attack on Slovakia’s prime minister

World leaders have condemned an attack on Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who is in a “life-threatening condition” after being shot.

The prime minister was shot “multiple times” on Wednesday in an “assassination attempt”, a statement on his official social media page said.

The 59-year-old leader was shot in the abdomen in the central town of Handlova. Police sealed off the scene, and a suspect has been detained, according to local media reports.

Here are some of the global reactions:

United States President Joe Biden

Biden condemned the shooting as a “horrific act of violence”, adding that he and first lady Jill Biden “are praying for a swift recovery, and our thoughts are with his family and the people of Slovakia”.

Russian President Vladimir Putin

Putin said the attack was a “monstrous crime”.

“There can be no justification for this monstrous crime. I know Robert Fico as a courageous and strong-minded man. I very much hope that these qualities will help him to survive this difficult situation,” Putin said.

The Russian leader wished Fico “a speedy and full recovery”.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres

Guterres decried the “shocking attack carried out today against the prime minister of Slovakia”, his office said.

Guterres’s “thoughts are with the prime minister and his loved ones at this difficult moment”, his spokesman Farhan Haq said.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen

“I strongly condemn the vile attack on Prime Minister Robert Fico. Such acts of violence have no place in our society and undermine democracy, our most precious common good. My thoughts are with PM Fico, his family,” von der Leyen said.

French President Emmanuel Macron

Macron said on social media that he was “shocked” by the attack.

“Shocked by the shooting of Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico. I strongly condemn this attack,” he said. “My thoughts and solidarity are with him, his family and the people of Slovakia.”

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz

Scholz decried the “cowardly” attack and denounced “violence” in European politics.

“I am deeply shocked by the news of the cowardly attack on Slovakian Prime Minister Fico,” Scholz said.

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg

Stoltenberg said his thoughts were with Fico and the people of Slovakia.

“I wish him strength for a speedy recovery. My thoughts are with Robert Fico, his loved ones and the people of Slovakia,” he said.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni

Meloni decried the attack and “all forms of violence” on “democracy and freedom”.

“I learned with deep shock the news of the cowardly attack,” Meloni said in a statement. She also stressed her government’s “strongest condemnation of all forms of violence and attacks on the cardinal principles of democracy and freedom”.

Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs

The ministry said in a statement that it “condemns the assassination attempt against the prime minister of the Slovak Republic” and “wishes [him] good health and a speedy recovery”.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban

Orban decried the “heinous” attack against Fico.

“I was deeply shocked by the heinous attack against my friend, Prime Minister Robert Fico. We pray for his health and quick recovery! God bless him and his country!” Orban said.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic

Vucic said Fico was a “great friend” and he would pray for his health.

“I am shocked by the attempted assassination of Robert Fico, a great friend to me and to Serbia. Dear friend, I pray for you and for your health,” Vucic said.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez

Sanchez said he was “horrified” by the attack and “nothing can every justify violence”.

“Horrified and outraged at the attack on the Slovak Prime Minister. Spain stands with Robert Fico, his family and the Slovak people at this extremely difficult time. Nothing can ever justify violence,” he wrote on social media.

Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer

Nehammer said he was shocked at the attack and warned “hatred and violence must not take hold in our democracies”.

“The attempt on the life of my Slovak colleague Robert Fico shocks me deeply. Just a few days ago we spoke on the phone and talked intensively about security issues. I wish him a speedy and complete recovery! Hatred and violence must not take hold in our democracies and must be fought with all determination!” Nehammer said on social media.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy

Zelenskyy condemned the attack and warned that violence should not become normalised.

“We strongly condemn this act of violence against our neighbouring partner state’s head of government. Every effort should be made to ensure that violence does not become the norm in any country, form or sphere,” he said.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan

Erdogan “strongly” condemned “the heinous assassination attempt”.

“I extend my get-well wishes to the people and government of Slovakia on behalf of my country and nation,” Erdogan said and wished him a speedy recovery.