Tuesday 8 May 2018

Björn Kuipers with his second EL final: another excellent achievement for the Dutch but a very poor signal for UEFA refereeing

Dutch Elite referee Björn Kuipers will officiate his second Europa League final, after the one in 2013. For sure, an excellent achievement for him, but at the same time there is for sure someting to be discussed about the rest... 



Differently from Champions League final, the appointment of UEFA Referees Committe for the last act of 2017-18 Europa League, has surprised us. Indeed, Kuipers will officiate his second final of this competition, after 5 years (the first one in 2013). The Dutch doesn't need a very detailed introduction: he is well known among the best and most reliable UEFA Elite officials of recent times. 

Taking a look at his palmares, we see that he has already handled: 2006 EURO U17 final, 2009 EURO U21 final, 2011 UEFA Super Cup, 2013 Europa League final, 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup final, 2014 UEFA Champions League final, 2017 FIFA U20  WC final. So, the second EL final assignment will be overall the 8th final in his career. Therefore, differently from Mažić, comparing the career of both referees, we can notice that for the Dutch this will be just another "normal" step, but he had already reached this achievement a few time ago. The interesting thing to note is that he can reach even more by being a candidate for WC final on next month. In that case, his palmares would become for sure incredible, and, honestly speaking, impossible to emulate for all the other Elite referees. 

What are the reasons of this choice by committee? We can try to answer in the next paragraphs. First thing to remember is that Kuipers had a quite significant injury immediately after the UEFA Winter Course at the end of January. For this reason, he was forced to skip games in domestic league for more than a month, being back only on March. This made impossible for committee to appoint him for any Champions League / Europa League game in the first part of KO stage. His absence lasted until 12 April 2018, in that occasion he was back in Europa League with a quarterfinal. Later on, he got a Champions League semifinal, the top clash involving Bayern and Real. This was of course a signal of big trust by committee, despite he was back from a period of inactivity. After this game, maybe he himself thought that his European season was over, but the appointment for EL final followed. One could easily guess that Kuipers was quite surprised as well, as it was never happened (at least in recent years, with Collina's management) to nominate the same referee for the same final. 

In our opinion, Kuipers was not a considered name for the final, this should be more than clear. Rather, Szymon Marciniak from Poland, who will be fourth official with the Dutch, is the first name coming in our mind as refeere maybe planned for EL final. Of course after the performance in London (Tottenham - Juventus) he ruled himself out. This was very likely the first bad signal for the committee, starting from that date, there were some troubles and maybe the lack of options increased. Other Elite referees did significant and / or crucial mistakes in their games. We can take Çakır as example. The Turkish for sure could have been more candidate than the Dutch for EL final, because he had never officiated it.

However, we must also report that many referees who could have handled this game were not in the condition to be appointed due to the nationalty of the teams involved: Turpin was for sure possible, but unluckily for him, Marseille qualified. Spanish referees were out as well, due to Atlético's presence. Of course, everything about this argument is not committee's fault, but for sure what we can say is that there was en evident lack of options. In a way you must always ensure to have an appropriate alternative when something unexpected happens. Maybe, this time, for Collina and the committee, too many unexpected facts have happened.

The last consideration is the following: this should stay  as "extra-ordinary" case. We must wish, for the good reputation and honor of UEFA Elite refereeing, that valid and multiple options for a final should always exist. Otherwise, if somebody talks about a technical failure, maybe he is not that wrong. This speech is of course merely against the lack of options, and not against the appointment of Kuipers, we hope that this very important point of our analysis is clear. 

The last referee handling twice or even thrice Europa League (former UEFA Cup) final had been Spanish Antonio López Nieto in 1995 (first leg), 1998 and 2000.

196 comments:

  1. Excellent analysis and fully agreed, Chefren... A brilliant appointment for Team Kuipers for sure just like Çakir getting two SFs in 2016... This type of appointments for sure show in what high regard referees like Kuipers and Çakir are held internationally... But the major question here is the current big hitters are always in the twilight of their careers and after a couple more seasons they will retire... What next?? Who will be the names to take UEFA refereeing forward once the current big names are not around?? How are their developments being carried about?? How can the next generation of referees reach the same high level if they don't get the appointments in EL finals etc early in their career like Rizzoli, Kuipers and Velasco Carballo did in their time?? These are some of the questions Committee has to answer!! Of course Kuipers is one of the best referees of our generation and he is always suitable for big games, at the same you would also want succession planning!! :)

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  2. One thing to note: In his CL final, there was also Atletico and they lost the match with 7 YCs and a penalty against them.
    ALthough it is only a small point, this makes it even more surprising for me, that Kuipers has been chosen this year.

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    1. The calls were all correct back then so no problem I think... Of course Atlético won't have issues too as in November Kuipers refereed Atlético v Roma and the Spanish side won comfortably :D

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    2. Only small dissent ;)
      https://co.besoccer.com/noticia/la-aficion-del-atletico-indignada-con-la-designacion-de-kuipers-424175
      And yes, Kuipers was very good in his CL final.

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    3. Simeone had to be sent to the stands if I remember correctly... Plus overall there were 12 YCs... Simeone mainly was dissenting about the 5 minutes added after 2nd half but that was a correct call as examined here : https://www.google.co.in/amp/s/playtheadvantage.com/2014/05/24/why-kuipers-added-five-minutes-to-the-champions-league-final/amp/

      About the dissent by Atletico fans, well it's a really sad scenario in the football world and referees just got to live with these... It's unfortunate but fans always keep blaming referees for everything... Even media isn't less, while reporting Mazic as CL final referee almost every article made it a point to mention his Atlético v Real controversies as well as his struggles at the World Cup and almost zero focus on the actual honour he has just received... Just unfortunate for the referees but it's becoming a part and parcel of the profession and a thick skin is a must!!

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    4. https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bwkc3sKcCNy9LV9BMWpaSWlVTmM/edit?usp=sharing

      :-)

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    5. I remember this observer report in the blog... Was so wonderfully analysed and written... Overall I would have awarded a 8.5 agreeing almost fully with the report :)

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  3. Good performance by Oliver in the crucial relegation match, Swansea - Southampton. As he shown frequently this season, rising tension was no problem for him.
    Good luck for the FA Cup Final!

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    1. Good to hear a positive feedback... Most probably he will have another PL match this weekend with Hussin and Betts in Premier League for the preparation of the FA Cup Final!!

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  4. Interesting situation in French Cup final.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQGO-5DM0zk
    Disallowed goal after VAR review: deliberate handball?

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    1. For me, correct decision. Yes, there was pulling from behind, but I think not enough for the penalty.

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    2. "There is pulling from behind, but not enough for a penalty."

      The ONLY reason the attacker handles the ball is because he's been held back by the defender. The defender grabs the attacker's right arm with BOTH of his hands, turning his body nearly 90 degrees. Upon releasing the attacker's arm, it strikes the ball.

      We're going to use VAR to disallow the goal and call a handball on the attack?! I'm baffled.

      Either let the goal stand because nothing is clear and obvious OR use VAR to call the penalty. Those are the only two justifiable decisions here. I simply cannot fathom that this goal was disallowed. All we've done is reward foul and cynical play.

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    3. I agree with usaref, the defender doesn't play the ball at all... There is handball, but he cannot really do anything else.

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  5. Not sure whether this has been posted here before, but these are Jonas Eriksson's very strong opinions on his team being left out of the world cup:

    "It is not Europe's 10 best refereeing teams that have been selected".

    "Disappointed, angry, sad, frustrated, irritated. It was a full range of emotions. Still, I have played football myself and not been picked in the team, that is something you have to accept. But you feel that the manager in that case should tell you what you have done wrong".

    "It's a question of age. If they were to select the 10 best refereeing teams in Europe, they would all be too old to referee the World Cup in Qatar in 2022. They apparently felt the need to think about the future, but they have never reasoned like that before. The abilities of the referees should be the primary criteria".

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    1. Big words... But mostly wrong. For me, Eriksson was among top 5 refs till EL final. After that final, he hasn't been among top 15 refs anymore.

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    2. The point Eriksson makes about age is absolute bonkers here... We have Kuipers, Rocchi and Mazic all going to the World Cup who are 45 years old... Eriksson is a year junior to them and so he needs to accept that he's not going to Russia just because he doesn't deserve to... Plain and simple!!

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    3. And why would somebody even think of using one World Cup as a way of mentoring young referees for the next World Cup... This suggestion by Eriksson absolutely falls flat on logic!!

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    4. In this way Soham, you just found the thought of Collina and Busacca without logic.
      If you read the interview, in that part Eriksson is saying that it was the justification that FIFA gave him, that they preferred younger referees, it is not Eriksson's thinking, but the answer that FIFA sent him when he questioned that why he was not selected.

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    5. http://refereeingworld.blogspot.co.uk/2018/04/eriksson-disappointed-angry-sad.html

      Full (translated) interview is above.

      IMO Eriksson didn't deserve to attend the WC, ever since he didn't get CL Final he seemed a different referee to me.

      We all know what happened in EL Final, then he made a decent EURO (I know he got SF but not performances on a really high level). Then he made a crucial mistake in every CL match he had in 2016/17, but I think sth more worrying happened- he started to lose his characteristic 'smile', and rather started to inflame matches than calm them down. The game that 'killed' him was I think Atletico - Leicester because he was really good like his old self, smiling, calm, managing the players excellently but another crucial mistake...

      At least Eriksson seems to have proved FIFA right this season, at least in London.

      But I agree, Carlos from Arbitro Internacional made the best point on this topic. To paraphrase- "If Eriksson, Kassai attend the WC they will do so not as the top referees in UEFA, more like choices no 7,8,9ish. They will referee clashes like Egypt - Saudi Arabia, and Panama - Tunisia. In this case, what is the point of sending referees like Eriksson and Kassai, instead of eg Turpin, who is on the up, has much more motivation, where it will be the proudest moment of his career yet compared to refeees who have surely past their zenith, and will be irritated at getting (relatively) quite bad matches"

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    6. @Joaquin : To be fair, I don't believe what Eriksson says... That's it!! I'm pretty sure he understands very well that he's not not among the top 15 UEFA refs anymore... This interview basically shows his anger on missing the call-up for WC!!

      @Mikael : Absolutely Correct IMO... Even Karasev's selection ahead of Eriksson is fair based on performance principle and justified too... If the matches in question are Panama v Tunisia and likewise there's no use appointing Eriksson and Turpin or Karasev can do a more than great job in such games and gain experience for something bigger!!

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    7. I wouldn't be sure that Karasev's selection is actually justified and deserved. Even his EL SF was far away from satisfactory.

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    8. Not justified in itself IMO as there were better names than him... But compared to Eriksson, it somewhat does make sense!!

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    9. Surely now Karasev is a better name than Eriksson, but le me add, I'm nore than disappointed by the Swedish, it seems as after the disappointment for having missed CL final, he has changed his character, I would even tend to believe that these interviews are not true, because a few time ago he looked to be a totally different person!

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    10. If you read between the lines, the ONLY thing Eriksson can be saying that makes any logical sense is that he thinks he's better than Marciniak and Turpin. At the time the selections were made, that might have been debatable.

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    11. Turpin basically got into the list with his performance in the playoffs at Peru and also because Hategan messed his chances up... Basically the planned one was Hategan for sure and at that time both Hategan and Marciniak were in much better form than Eriksson... Eriksson and Marciniak attended U20 WC in May 2017 where Eriksson was okayish with very ordinary performances and Marciniak had 2 excellent performances but struggled in the all-CONMEBOL SF match... Turpin and Hategan both attended U17 WC in October and I watched their games live too and both were very impressive and took their chances well... Marciniak and Turpin then had superb playoffs... During the selection these officials thus were clearly in a better officiating form and I firmly believe that Eriksson has only himself and his loss of motivation to blame which ultimately made him miss the World Cup!!

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    12. Soham, just a funny curiosity; are you based in India or in Europe? You seem able to answer at each time zone of the world: day, night, Central Europe Time, West coast day time, East cost day time, Asia day time, Europe night time. :-) :-) :-) Its' really hard for me to follow all your post :-)

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    13. I'm based in India :D

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    14. Do you ever sleep in India? In Europe we do ;)

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    15. Soham is young and enthusiastic on refereeing and doesn't need sleep 😉😃

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    16. Maybe in fact he is some kind of artificial intelligence, programmed to "entertain" on this blog :D

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    17. @Mikael: Well, I never dream of Skomina ;) Andreja, do you perhaps? :P

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    18. Yes you got it right... I am a robot, I don't need sleep, I dream of Kuipers and I'm here just to entertain...if that makes you happy ok :)

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    19. I cannot tell you how many times I am having a normal dream, and then Stéphane Lannoy comes out of nowhere :-D

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    20. @Sale no, I don't really dream about Skomina, but lately I dream a lot about football (&) refereeing it seems that I read this blog just a bit too much 🤔😃. Soham, you're OK sometimes you overreact and exaggerate but anyway I like reading your posts and with some of them I even agree 😉.

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    21. I just share my views... Nothing personal against any referee :)

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  6. Collina and prefers young referees?
    No. He prefers Brych, Çakir, Matéu..

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    1. If Collina didn't prefer young referees, Michael Oliver wouldn't have got Real Madrid v Juventus game... What more does he need to do??

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    2. To satisfy Alberto, he should probably get rid of Mateu Lahoz. That would solve all UEFA problems.

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    3. For me Matéu Lahoz is one referee
      capricious and very irregular.
      I prefer Gil Manzano.

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    4. Bad Oliver. Good Gil Manzano. Gil Manzano for WC final in Moscu!

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    5. 1. Undiano Mallenco
      .
      .
      .
      Mateu Lahoz
      .
      Gil Manzano.

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  7. Referees appointed to FIFA U20 Women's World Cup - France 2018

    http://resources.fifa.com/image/upload/list-of-match-officials-for-the-fifa-u-20-women-s-world-cup-france-2018.pdf?cloudid=uur4a18azwrduhk5tvp1


    And an interview with Stéphanie Frappart
    http://www.fifa.com/u20womensworldcup/news/y=2018/m=5/news=frappart-looking-forward-to-officiating-on-home-soil.html

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  8. An aspect which is lightly considered by the committee is a conflict of interest which should be avoided. First of al as a dutchmen im proud that Kuipers is assigned for his 2nd Europe League Final.

    When Marseille wins the trophy tonight they quality for the Champions League Group stage. Considering they fail to quality for CL through League 1. If this situation becomes reality than the next Country on the UEFA ranking gets a (extra) place directly for the EL Group stage of next year. This country will be the Netherlands.

    I am convinced that Every referee is straight and fair in approaching his/her match and Will not be influenced by these situations. But the media isn’t. So my opion is that commitee should have avoided this possible situation and should’ve waardes the match to somebody else of the Elite list.

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    1. Not sure what you're talking about exactly... As per the association ranking coefficients for 2018/19 season, France is 5th and Netherlands is 13th... Russia is 6th so shouldn't the extra spot go to them?? Netherlands is nowhere near France in the rankings there!!

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    2. It goes to the first country without a direct spot in the EL. this is NL.

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    3. "If the French team Marseille wins the Europa League then they would go into the Champions League and the next club in Ligue 1 qualifies for the Europa League."

      In case Marseille are champions in EL final then the next higher ranked team from France in Ligue 1 qualifies and not any Dutch team; Netherlands is quite far away from France in the rankings anyway... The official rule goes like this :

      "For associations where a Europa League place is reserved for either the League Cup or end-of-season European competition play-offs winners, they always qualify for the Europa League as the "lowest-placed" qualifier. If the League Cup winners have already qualified for European competitions through other methods, this reserved Europa League place is taken by the highest-placed team in the league which have not yet qualified for European competitions."

      I think this clearly indicates that Marseille's potential EL spot will be taken by the next higher ranked French team in Ligue 1, in case they win the EL!!

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    4. If OM will win Europa league AND will end Ligue 1 on 4th (or 5th) place than Feyenoord will enter directly in EL groups next season. Otherwise Feyenoord will have to play 2 preliminary rounds.

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    5. And the next higher ranked team from Ligue 1 will then enter the preliminary rounds??

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    6. If OM will end on 4th place (and will win EL) than 5th place in France will go directly in EL and 6th place will go in preliminary round. Practically the only change will be that Feyenoord will replace 4th place in France in next season of EL groups.

      Anyway, I'm sure that PLC didn't know this detail because it's an unacceptable situation. I remember that in 2013 Proenca whistled Greece- Romania (play-off for WC 2014). The coach of Greece, Fernando Santos, was portuguese. Greece scored a goal from offside and entire performance of Proenca was criticised in Romania. I remember very well because I was in the stadium at that game and I was very, very upset because of Proenca's "approach".
      These kind of situations MUST be avoided. In normal circumstances Kuipers should have been replaced.

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    7. I seem to recall a missed penalty for Romania at the second leg.

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    8. @anonymous PLC's golden boys are usually immune from such errors ;)

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    9. At least if we look further into the past, Dr Markus Merk's dental patient Otto Rehhagel from also Germany was Greece's manager at the EURO 2004 Final, which Merk refereed (very well).
      So I think this situation is I suppose not 100% ideal, but it is rather a nothing IMO (if a referee has a controversial performance there is always sth to blame in the media).

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    10. @anonymous

      Possible handball but I didn't watch until now a proper replay :) Anyway, Mazic got his WC ticket after that game, probably PLC backed him.

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    11. @Mikael W

      About Proenca's performance in Greece- Romania: I think I saw lot of football in my life to understand when a referee wants to give 5-10 % for a team (unfortunately it was even more than that, it was also a goal from offside).

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    12. The thing with Proença has nothing to do with his nationality, it's just that he's been quite out of form in that period. And in cases with nationality, if we are very strict on that: Brych couldn't referee Liverpool because Klopp is German or Mateu Lahoz couldn't referee City because Guardiola is Spanish, etc.
      And if media want something to blame on the referees, they will find something (even if it's a minor throw-in decision or the nationality of the referee)...

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    13. I don't think we can compare club competitions with national team competitions.
      The number of games in eurocups is much more higher than in qualifications for national teams. Champions League is a anual competition, a WC is only once in 4 years. A national team play only few important games in qualifications. There are only 8 games in (european) play-off in a period of 4 years.
      More than that when we talk about national team competitions we don't have 4 teams from England, 4 teams from Spain, 4 teams from Germany etc. it's much more easy to find neutral solutions.
      Probably you know that a referee from Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland (maybe even Ireland) won't whistle in a game of England. A referee from Germany won't whistle the national team of Austria. UEFA is very careful with these small details.
      We have "country protection" even in group stage of eurocups. Why ? Just because to avoid any potential conflict of interests.

      So, I think Proenca was an unfortunate (?) choice for Greece- Romania. It's not too difficult to choose a totally neutral solution when we talk about only 8 play-off games in a period of 4 years.

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  9. Some situations from Polish Ekstraklasa

    UB or VC? Looking at A15 from last RAP, it's a violent conduct, isn't it?
    https://streamable.com/lg97k

    SPA vs DOGSO?
    https://streamable.com/kp40y

    Penalty awarded after an on-field review
    https://streamable.com/wiyr3

    As always, I would really like to see such acts being punished with straight red card. Unbelievable that UEFA prefers only YC for that
    https://streamable.com/7xerb

    Reckless vs SFP? YC given, no VAR intervention...
    https://streamable.com/xxp36

    Two cases of kicking an opponent in the face/head. YC enough?
    https://streamable.com/tt003
    https://streamable.com/264i0

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    1. 1) Hands in the face, that's for me (personally) always a violent conduct, so I would go here with a RC.
      2) For me more SPA than DOGSO, there were still three defenders who could have intervened. And with three defenders in front of you, it's difficult to score, so YC.
      3) Stamps his foot on the opponent, clear penalty, correct intervention. And also good reaction by the referee to award a YC for dissent.
      4) I agree with you, such (frustration) acts could/should be deemed as violent conduct. I would also favour a RC here.
      5) Clear SFP: entire foot is on the leg, the player is applying enough force, this could easily endanger the safety of the opponent. RC! VAR had to intervene here!
      6) I would say here: YC at least!
      7) Same as for number 6.

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    2. 1) Violent conduct but most of the referees in this case would prefer YC. RC would be justified.
      2) SPA because defenders were too close to ball, I think player wouldn't have had the chance to control it or in any case he wouldn't have had the chance to shot on goal, for sure.
      3) Clear penalty, correct intervention by VAR.
      4) In this case, to be honest, the same UEFA would assess this action as SFP. Clear intention to hurt the opponent, no interest in playing the ball.
      5) Very borderline due to the hitting point, but the fact that excessive force was not used can justify "only" YC. Just "a few more" in terms of used force and VAR would have intervened.
      6 and 7) In both situations YC is enough, players are looking for the ball, contact with opponent's heads is not their exclusive fault.

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  10. Sorry to bother you but this part is just not clear to me :

    "If OM will end on 4th place (and will win EL) than 5th place in France will go directly in EL and 6th place will go in preliminary round. Practically the only change will be that Feyenoord will replace 4th place in France in next season of EL groups."

    I don't understand what you mean to say here. In the 1st line you write that the 5th ranked French team will replace OM in EL next year whereas in the 2nd line you're saying Feyenoord will replace them in case they win EL this year... Which one is accurate?? My question is why would Feyenoord replace a French side in group stage or whatever?? The rule always was that the next higher ranked team from the same association replaces another team and not a team from another country... Would be great if someone can clearly state the actual regulation or maybe share a relevant link to where it is discussed... Or any reliable source which says that Feyenoord might replace OM and all that?? Thanks!

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    1. In normal circumstances 4th and 5th places in France will go directly in EL groups. 6th place will play 3 preliminary rounds in next season of EL.

      If OM will win Europa League AND will finish on 4th (or 5th, it doesn't matter) place in domestic league than a direct place for Europa League groups will be eliberated (because OM will play in Champions league next season). That direct place in EL groups will be taken by Feyenoord because NED is the first country in UEFA ranking without a team directly qualified for EL groups.
      In this case France will have 4 teams in Champions League (OM, PSG and 2nd place directly in CL groups, 3rd place will play 2 preliminary rounds) and only 2 teams in EL (5th place goes directly in groups, 6th place will play 3 preliminary rounds)

      @Soham, I already told you that european football is very complicated :) :) :)

      https://kassiesa.home.xs4all.nl/bert/uefa/AccessList2018.html

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    2. If Atletico Madrid will win Europa League than Plzen (or Slavia Praga) will play directly in Champions League groups (because CZE is the first country in UEFA ranking without a team in CL groups)

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    3. Indeed very complicated, particularly these administrative things but for some odd reason I just love it :D The regulation now clear to me as well and this is what I found in UEFA manual (along with other really helpful explanatory charts and tables) explaining the thing :

      "Changes will be made to the access list above, if any of the teams that qualify for the Europa League via their domestic competitions also qualify for the Champions League as the Champions League or Europa League title holders, or if there are fewer teams transferred from the Champions League due to changes in the Champions League access list. In any case where a spot in the Europa League is vacated, cup winners of the highest-ranked associations in earlier rounds will be promoted accordingly."

      So basically for Feyenoord to directly qualify to the group stage, Marseille needs to win EL and finish 4th or 5th in Ligue 1 (with two games remaining)... That's just too many variables and way too far off to be even considered while referee appointments are made... I'm sure that most (or even all) Elite referees won't even know about this yet and for sure they won't care about it to be honest... Media will always dig up things as they please so yes for them this might be an interesting thing... Hopefully the referee's performance won't leave any room for negative media discussions on the EL final night :)

      But either way, a great spot by Fidje...and petchovski on this ;)

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  11. Question for Chefren : Was there any controversial disallowed goal by VAR yesterday for Atalanta in Serie A?? Seing a lot of comments on social media about wrongly disallowed goal by VAR!!

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    1. Yesterday there was Coppa Italia final Juventus - Milan, Atalanta played in serie A on last Sunday (Lazio - Atalanta, referee Banti) without any disallowed goal. I think you got some wrong info.

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    2. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    3. I think you mean Atlanta in MLS. It was Geiger with his full WC crew:

      https://twitter.com/FSKansasCity/status/994364619786342400

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    4. Indeed @usaref... I saw Atlanta and considered it to be Atalanta, should've been more attentive there... This was the tweet I saw I am sure!!

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    5. @usaref What is the big controversy with this call?? Looks offside to me!

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    6. There is an offside position but was the defender's action a deflection or a deliberate play? In case of deliberate play the goal should stand.

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    7. Howard Webb's explanation:
      https://www.ajc.com/sports/webb-opinion-the-disallowed-atlanta-united-goal/x1JNS4ITRXl1jeY6A9pyCN/

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  12. OT :

    Greek Cup final

    AEK - PAOK, OAKA Stadium, Athens
    12.05.2018 19:30 CET

    Referee - David Fernández Borbalán (ESP)
    Assistant Referee 1 - Raúl Cabañero Martínez (ESP)
    Assistant Referee 2 - José Manuel Matías Caballero (ESP)
    Additional Assistant Referee 1 - Jesús Gil Manzano (ESP)
    Additional Assistant Referee 2 - Carlos del Cerro Grande (ESP)
    4th Official - Tasos Sidiropoulos (GRE)
    Referee Observer – Nikos Iosifoglu (GRE)

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    1. Is there a special relation between Greek and Spanish refereeing? Otherwise, I can't explain this choice.

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    2. I'm surprised too with such a choice... Nevertheless a good farewell gift for Borbalan :)

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  13. Hi, I follow the blog for a very long time but I have never made a comment about anything. So I decided to inform you about a rare topic from my country Greece. The Greek FA and the referee commitee decided the cup final between AEK Athens and PAOK Thessaloniki to be refereed by a foreing referee. Last time that happened so was i think in about 1957.So the referees are:

    Referee - David Fernández Borbalán (ESP)
    Assistant Referee 1 - Raúl Cabañero Martínez (ESP)
    Assistant Referee 2 - José Manuel Matías Caballero (ESP)
    Additional Assistant Referee 1 - Jesús Gil Manzano (ESP)
    Additional Assistant Referee 2 - Carlos del Cerro Grande (ESP)
    4th Official - Tasos Sidiropoulos (GRE)
    Referee Observer – Nikos Iosifoglu (GRE)

    Interesting choice, cause both cup finalists vetoed almost every greek fifa referee either for geographical criteria or previous "bad" refereeing that harmed their team.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for the explanation of the choice.
      Well, simply said: as long as teams will influence refereeing decisions and they will ask for a certain referee or even a foreign referee, it will be impossible for the domestic association to improve the quality of refereeing. I'm really sorry for Greece, because one could still say they are a quite important federation with a certain refereeing tradition (Vassaras...). But this can't work.

      Delete
    2. Why not Tasos Sidiropoulos? 🤔 @xristos

      Delete
    3. As you may know, the football climate is very tense in Greece because the domestic championship was decided in courts ( president of PAOK invaded the pitch with a gun in the game against AEK, the cup finalist). PAOK players, officials, fans are very angry with the way the lost the Championship so they see the Cup as a revenge.

      * out of topic interesting fact: Bjorn Kuipers these days is at Rhode, Greece, the place where his best buddy Tasos Sidiropoulos lives and works to spent some mini vacation before the Europa League final.

      Delete
    4. Sidiropoulos refereed the Cup final back at 2016 and I think that the referee commitee the last 6 years tries not to pick the same referee for the cup final. Also, Sidiropoulos was vetoed from AEK because in the domestic league whistled for a late controvesial penalty in favor of PAOK in a match against Asteras Tripolis to win the game 3 months ago I think.

      Delete
    5. Interesting fact.

      The referee observer was never FIFA according to my record. I believe that he was a SL AR and nothing more.

      Very weird.

      Delete
    6. yes, iosifoglou was not a fifa assistant referee but now is a member of the greek referee commitee and also is responsible for the preparation of the greek assistant referees.

      Delete
    7. Björn always received calls for EL finals when at vacation :D In 2013 he was at the beach when Collina called and this time he's at Rhodes at the time of the call-up :D :D

      By the way, who is the gentleman who shared the photo? @xristos

      Delete
    8. He is the president in the local football union, where Rhodes belongs to. Greece has 53 local football unions divided geographically.

      Delete
    9. Great to know so many things about Greek refereeing... Thank you xristos :)

      Delete
    10. you 're welcome. Feel free to ask.

      Delete
  14. http://prntscr.com/jg1ssj Sidiropoulos and Kuipers yesterday at Rhodes. In a previous interview, Kuipers described Sidiropoulos as one of the fittest referees in the Elite Group. I feel sad as fellow referee and Greek that Tasos is not trusted from PLC that much to whistle important matches in Europe after that Arsenal- Bayern Munchen match last year.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. PLC doesn't trust anyone. Not even the CL final ref.

      Delete
    2. I also rate Tasos Sidiropoulos very highly... Not sure why he didn't get more appointments in this KO stage... Hopefully he can get some good games in the next season!! :)

      Delete
    3. Picture removed :) Good to see good relationship between referees so they can improve even more..

      Delete
    4. Picture is still there, this is the link:
      https://prnt.sc/jg1ssj

      Delete
  15. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Is Rocchi on vacation before World Cup??

      Delete
    2. No, I guess he is planned for Lazio - Inter on last matchday (20/05), this game will very likely decided the team qualifying for Champions League.

      Delete
    3. This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
  16. Friendly
    2.6. Sweden-Denmark: Tobias Stieler, Mike Pickel, Jan Seidel, Christian Dingert (all GER)
    A well rested referee...

    ReplyDelete
  17. Ardan Turan got 16 matchs ban for pushing referee in Turkey.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Who was the unlucky referee in question?? :(

      Delete
    2. AR - Ali Saygın Ögel
      https://twitter.com/TurkSporTV/status/992479234311499776

      Delete
  18. OT

    As David Fernández Borbalán is about to retire, I was wondering if anyone knew the best match that he refereed (especially in Spain).

    I remember some well handled Classicos, but is there any game where he showed a particularly outstanding performance?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If I'm not wrong, Borussia Dortmund - Olympique Marseille CL Group Stage in 2013 was a 8.6, according to our observation, but I don't remember it exactly. However, for sure at that time he was in his best period. I don't know about the domestic games.

      Delete
  19. I was dissapointed by the appointment of Kuipers for Europa League final (but not because Kuipers is not a very good referee). This appointment is a proof of Collina's failure or inability to "produce" new names on the scene of european refereeing. Keep in mind that one of Collina's duties is to "bring to surface" a new set of referees.

    Kuipers should be a safe choice for the final. But one should say that even his team was not faultless during this ko stage. One of his ARs missed a clear offside prior to 5th goal of OM in the QF against Leipzig. Also his approach in Bayern- Real was not on my taste. He was too lenient, I already agreed with Chefren that he didn't book CR7 in two clear situations (and there were also 2 discutable Carvajal/Lewandowski duels but let's back him for those situations ...).
    It was revealed yesterday that we have a potential conflict of interests because of this appointment. On the pitch we will have the game Atletico- OM whistled by a dutch referee. But outside the stadium there will be a "game" Plzen- Feyenoord, both with their own interests regarding the outcome of this final. As it was explained it's about a (direct) berth in CL groups, respectively EL groups, which means millions euros in both cases. Kuipers will be the referee also for this "game" Plzen- Feyenoord.

    Honestly, I don't understand why Rocchi was not appointed for this final. Maybe he payed for a not very impressive performance in Real- PSG. But, as I already said, even Kuipers wasn't faultless. So, I understand that (for some reason) PLC didn't pick Rocchi for the final. But why he choosed the safe option of Kuipers, why he didn't propose us something new ? Like Orsato, like Hategan, like Kralovec, names with some years of Elite experience. You should have some courage to do that, you should have "balls" to do that :)

    I saw the name of Marciniak as 4th referee. A deception for me. Not exactly a spit in face for me (as a Juventus fan) but not far away. It seems that PLC "loves" a lot Marciniak. Very probable also Boniek (member of UEFA Executive Committee) is a big "sponsor" of Marciniak...
    As a kind of OT I want to remember that also Poland is an important country in Europe in terms of population and surface (on 6th place in EU). It's a country with a great history, respected by everyone for their admirable attitude during WW2. Keep in mind that Donald Tusk, a polish, is the president of European Council and will understand also the political importance of Poland.
    All this nice background of Poland was transfered in football-related aspects. Poland hosted very important football tournaments in last decade (EURO 2012, EURO u21 2017) and will host WC u20 2019 ! So, having all these things in mind, a fast-forward promotion for a polish referee is not so strange anymore (like the one of Cakir during 2006-2011 when Senes Erzik was 1st vicepresident of UEFA and member in FIFA Council). But, I say it once again, Marciniak is a very good referee.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Feyenoord scenario will come into play only if Marseille finishes fourth in their league... They might finish 3rd or 2nd as well and that makes it an event with way too many variables involved... Uilenberg has also confirmed today it is of nothing importance to the Committee and they are not even keen to discuss it!!

      Delete
    2. Marciniak's appointment, while not deserved, is an understandable appointment... He's clearly going to be UEFA's brightest prospects internationally in the coming years so this learning experience will definitely be a good one for him!!

      Delete
    3. Very nice words regarding Poland. Thank you, petschovschi! A pity we are so politically divided nowadays (PiS vs PO and Nowoczesna).

      The truth is that Zbigniew Boniek has a huge impact on everything related to Polish football. He's a member of UEFA Executive Committee and surely lobby for big tournaments being played in Poland, maybe also for Marciniak. And it seems he's really effective... Boniek has an Italian style of being. He likes irony, provocations and all of that. The biggest media won't write anything bad regarding Polish FA and Boniek (we can suspect why - too much to loose). However, Polish football revived under his leadership. The question - isn't it only the question of good PR and having connections? Sadly, that's how (not only) football works.

      Delete
  20. Cüneyt Çakir is in charge of the Turkish Cup Final that is currently underway 😎

    ReplyDelete
  21. Football League Playoffs
    Referee Appointments (if anyone is interested)

    Thursday 10th May 2018

    League One Play-Off Semi-Final 1st Leg
    Charlton Athletic v Shrewsbury Town
    SIMON HOOPER
    Akil Howson and Nick Hopton
    Fourth Official: Andy Davies

    Friday 11th May 2018

    Championship Play-Off Semi-Final 1st Leg
    Derby County v Fulham
    ROGER EAST
    Constantine Hatzidakis and Adrian Holmes
    Fourth Official: Kevin Friend

    Saturday 12th May 2018

    Championship Play-Off Semi-Final 1st Leg
    Middlesbrough v Aston Villa
    ROBERT MADLEY
    Peter Kirkup and Harry Lennard
    Fourth Official: Martin Atkinson

    League One Play-Off Semi-Final 1st Leg
    Scunthorpe United v Rotherham United
    TIM ROBINSON
    Nick Greenhalgh and James Mainwaring
    Fourth Official: Peter Bankes

    League Two Play-Off Semi-Final 1st Leg
    Coventry City v Notts County
    GAVIN WARD
    Steven Rushton and Matthew Jones
    Fourth Official: Andy Haines

    League Two Play-Off Semi-Final 1st Leg
    Lincoln City v Exeter City
    BEN TONER
    Sam Lewis and Duncan Street
    Fourth Official: Darren Handley

    Sunday 13th May 2018

    League One Play-Off Semi-Final 2nd Leg
    Shrewsbury Town v Charlton Athletic
    JEREMY SIMPSON
    Shaun Hudson and Michael George
    Fourth Official: Andrew Madley

    Monday 14th May 2018

    Sky Bet Championship Play-Off Semi-Final 2nd Leg
    Fulham v Derby County
    CHRISTOPHER KAVANAGH
    Dan Cook and Marc Perry
    Fourth Official: Stuart Attwell

    Tuesday 15th May 2018

    Championship Play-Off Semi-Final 2nd Leg
    Aston Villa v Middlesbrough
    MICHAEL DEAN
    Simon Long and Mark Scholes
    Fourth Official: Paul Tierney

    Wednesday 16th May 2018

    League One Play-Off Semi-Final 2nd Leg
    Rotherham United v Scunthorpe United
    SCOTT DUNCAN
    Robert Merchant and Mark Dwyer
    Fourth Official: Keith Stroud

    Thursday 17th May 2018

    League Two Play-Off Semi-Final 2nd Leg
    Exeter City v Lincoln City
    DARREN ENGLAND
    Wayne Grunnill and Gareth Mellor
    Fourth Official: Mark Heywood

    Friday 18th May 2018

    League Two Play-Off Semi-Final 2nd Leg
    Notts County v Coventry City
    DARREN DRYSDALE
    Graham Kane and Ronald Ganfield
    Fourth Official: Ross Joyce

    English refereeing has it's own 'corrective index', I'll try to explain it->

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Referees are evaluated against a different scale to UEFA, a rough converter I made:
      http://imgbox.com/Zf659w1k

      => Referees are put in a "merit table", this is created by a combination of
      - Observer Marks
      - Club Marks (!)
      - A score for your administration and punctuality et al.

      Observer Marks are constructed differently to UEFA system. You are evaluated in seven different facets, with some (application of LOTG) having a higher waiting than others (advantage).
      Referees are evaluated out of five for each of these facets:

      1 Application of LOTG X 5
      2 Match Control X 5
      3 Positioning & Work Rate X 2
      4 Alertness, Awareness X 2
      5 Communication X 2
      6 Team work X 2
      7 Advantage X 2

      In my opinion this means that a lot of English referees have the same proscribed style, as we can observe in PL, because this style gives referees the marks they need to ascend up.

      For grassroots, club marks are invaluable for evaluating how good a referee is. However, when every game is watched by an observer, I don't really understand the necessity for it. I know of FL referees whose seasons have been ruined by stupid club marks eg 6/100 (that's roughly equivalent to a 4,0 on the UEFA scale... exactly). So if you p*ss off the clubs (by giving correct RCs eg), then expect your mark to decrease. A very stupid system in my opinion, that creates such problems like we see in PL.

      And I don't know how your administration is factored in, but that's fine IMO.

      The actual ranking is known to very few people, you know your place but nobody else's. This is a positive I think, to not make the list public, otherwise eg Webb would have attended WC 2014 near the bottom of the table. It is not automatic as a promotion like eg Spain, you can still finish top of your list and not be summoned for a promotion interview.

      So if you are wondering why referees have such a particular style in England, I think this is the best way to explain it.

      Delete
    2. Thanks for this piece of info, Mikael! I agree that at such high level there shouldn't be club marks. It well explains why the referees are so lenient in England.

      I have just watched Simon Hooper in Charlton Athletic v Shrewsbury Town. A very lenient approach, missed 4 cards that would have been shown ON THE CONTINENT. The handling in the 34th minute was a punishable one ON THE CONTINENT (enough time to avoid a contact). But overall he controlled the game well, was calm and consistent throughout...

      Delete
    3. How old is gavin ward he looks talent

      Delete
    4. @Hussein I always saw him as a good referee, he was excellent when I saw him in an FA Cup 2nd Rnd match about three years ago.
      But it seems he is stuck at L1/L2 level, I don't know if he applied for promotion, but I think considering his age it is unlikely he'll go any further.
      A shame IMO, he had the talent to at least be a Championship referee, but I think FA will focus on names like Toner, R. Jones, Brooks for the future now.

      Delete
    5. @mikael i think the fa should bring some young referees for PL and championship instead of old referees and how old is toner and R.jones abd brooks

      Delete
  22. IMO, two most important matches in Germany this weekend goes to Manuel Gräfe and Bibiana Steinhaus. Gräfe in Hoffeinheim-Borussia Dortmund, important match for Champions League spot, looser could potentialy lose the spot. I expected Gräfe, he is ususally trusted by German's ref committee in important matches. Steinhaus is appointed in Nürnberg-Fortuna Düsseldorf. Both teams are qualified to Bundesliga, but they both have 60 points and the winner of the match will be the winner of Bundesliga 2.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I disagree about the importance of Steinhaus' match, because the championship in 2.Bundesliga is not such a big thing in Germany. Bigger matches are those against relegation in 2. and those battling for EL spots. And most important IMO the matches in the Bundesliga relegation battle, which are refereed by Brych, Schmidt and Dankert.

      Delete
    2. I agree. Do you know why Mark Borsch is appointed in Berlin and not in Hamburg? Seems weird

      Delete
    3. Borsch is from Mönchengladbach, so he can't handle Borussia M'gladbach :)

      Delete
    4. Mark Borsch is from Mönchengladbach, so he is not allowed to work as an assistant in this game.

      Delete
  23. OT:

    Disciplinary proceedings have been opened following the UEFA Champions League quarter-final second leg match between Real Madrid CF and Juventus (1-3) played on 11 April in Spain.

    Charges against Juventus:

    - Gianluigi Buffon - direct red card - Art. 15 of the UEFA Disciplinary Regulations (DR)
    - Gianluigi Buffon – general principles of conduct - Art 11 (2) (b) DR

    This case will be dealt with by the UEFA Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body on 31 May.

    ReplyDelete
  24. DFB Pokal Final | 19.05.2018 20:00 CET

    FC Bayern München - Eintracht Frankfurt

    Referee: Felix Zwayer
    Assistant Referee 1: Thorsten Schiffner
    Assistant Referee 2: Markus Häcker
    Fourth Official: Patrick Ittrich
    VAR: Bastian Dankert
    VAR-A: René Rohde

    Does anybody know why Markus Häcker is appointed as AR2 instead of Zwayers regular AR2 Marco Achmüller?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Marco Achmüller is from Bavaria which means that he is not allowed to get matches with Bavarian teams involved.

      Delete
    2. Makes sense ;) Thought he is from Berlin. I mixed something up there, thanks.

      Delete
    3. Felix Zwayer is from Berlin ;-)

      Delete
  25. UEFA wanted Mazic to be replaced for the game on sunday so he can rest for CL final.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Can you ensure that this is a reliable info?

      Delete
    2. Some good informed sites was talking about it, so ye, he got replaced and wont appear in JSL anymore so he can rest/prepare for CL.

      Delete
  26. Two handling incidents from Charlton Athletic FC v Shrewsbury Town FC refereed by Simon Hooper

    https://streamable.com/o841k

    https://streamable.com/wdoy4

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. First clip, for me rather no even in UEFA, in England that would be a clear case of "ball to hand".

      Second clip is interesting IMO. It reminds me on the penalty Lannoy gave in BEN-FEN, it is clearly a very unnatural movement of the hand which impacts his opponents chances to play the ball, but it is not actually targeted to handling the ball. I think more arguments for penalty, but I doubt the FL observer in the stands thought so, or at least that it was a black-white mistake.
      I would be interested as to how PGMOL (Elite refereeing organisation in England, funded by FA, PL and EFL) solve this scene, but I suspect knowing my country, they really dislike penalties awarded for such types of situation, and would rather see a play on.

      Do you agree?

      Delete
    2. Sure. The second scene is more penalty in UEFA (long distance, expected ball, etc.) but was it really deliberate? The player wanted to play the ball with his head and therefore such position was even quite natural. I'm sure in England Hooper will be praised for the 'play-on' call.

      Very good, I would say faultless, East yesterday! However, the AR2 Holmes made two basic mistakes signalling phantom offsides. That should never happen at such level.

      Delete
    3. Indeed, I listened to Hooper's match on the radio and they praised his performance, as well as his general performances in FL.
      On the first day of the 2014/15, they tested him in a PL game, Norwich - Crystal Palace, and he made two crucial mistakes and it basically went really wrong. That was the end of his chances to be a PL referee, but he remains one of the best in FL. I wonder whether he would have been too passive for PL in any case, but maybe it could have been different but for that game in East Anglia.

      Nice to read re East, he is much criticised on "RateTheRef" (as I'm sure you see), but I still always thought of him as a decent referee besides last season, at the ripened age of fifty-three (!).

      You'll do well to watch all four matches today :-D

      Delete
    4. Even for me 1st situation is, indeed, no penalty. 2nd situation is 100% penalty.

      I think defenders are too much "protected" when we talk about handballs. My philosophy about handballs is: when a player makes a deliberate movement in order to block a shot (or cross) I rate his entire body movement as deliberate (including all parts of his body: head, chest, legs AND hands). I consider we can't "crop" the hands from the deliberate movement of his entire body. You can't pretend that only the movement of head, feets or chest is deliberate, but the movement of hands is not...
      I was preety happy to see Rizzoli has same point of view (few weeks ago on Sky Italia).

      Delete
  27. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. As long as you don't provide a source for your post, I can't allow it. I'm sorry. It would be more than a serious question.

      Delete
    2. It indeed seems like him some serious issues going on in Saudi Arabia :

      http://www.arabnews.com/node/1301236/sport

      Delete
    3. Until now, I've found out nothing but some tweets. Let's see.

      Delete
    4. Clattenburg appointed instead of Al-Mirdasi, by the way.

      Delete
    5. Well this would be shocking, a referee going to WC making such thing... I think we must wait before any statement because the news only reports about his replacement and investigation, but not the reasons. So, we can't accept speculations here and I invite all the readers to be wise in their statements. We have just to wait now.

      Delete
  28. Three situations from yesterdays Ligue 1 game between EA Guingamp and Olympique de Marseille, refereed by Amaury Delerue (UEFA 2nd group).

    Penalty for handball
    https://streamable.com/p137e

    Penalty appeal
    https://streamable.com/8059a

    Red card for DOGSO inside the penalty area
    https://streamable.com/twxk4

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. 1) Short distance but I have a strong feeling the defender deliberately handled the ball.

      2) No penalty, defender plays the ball as first.

      3) For me only a YC as I deem the GK's intervention as a genuine attempt to play the ball.

      Delete
    2. I agree with each single world :)

      Delete
    3. 1: No way, he closes his arm to avoid the ball but it accidentally still hits it.

      2: No penalty.

      Delete
    4. 1) Definitely not a penalty. Touch was not deliberate.
      2) No Penalty.
      3) RC was at referee's discretion, he thought that player had deliberately stopped the opponent without any intent to play the ball.
      One can find a similar situation here:
      https://streamable.com/2x2jo

      Delete
    5. 1) Penalty. Short distance but not an unexpected situation. The players should be able to "read", to anticipate what will occurs in certain situations. This situation was not difficult to "read" for Ocampos. Those unexpected situations when you play the ball in a clearly undeliberate way are not so frequent. This is not the case.

      2) For me it's not clear what happened in this situation even after I rewatched few times. But I can say for sure that defender doesn't play the ball in a clear way. For me there is a big difference between "play the ball" and "touch the ball".
      When you only touch the ball (without removing the ball from the forward's control) area it's foul. You can say that you played the ball only when you clearly removed the ball from opponent's control area. With other words: you play the ball only when the forward is unable anymore to continue his action because the ball is far from him.

      3) Red card

      Delete
  29. Incredible scenes from Hamburg, Brych and the other officials in danger. History has been written with Hamburger relegation...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brych managed with his experience a more than hot situation. Match had to be resumed because several minutes were still to be played. He waited for a long time and then, once resumed, just a few seconds, and he whistled the end. So, no troubles at all pro forma, game was correctly finished.

      Delete
    2. Memories of THAT playoff handled (excellently) by Wolfgang Stark.

      Delete
  30. https://twitter.com/twitter/statuses/995304853118246912

    Playoff for Football League Two, after less than a minute... however clear a RC:SFP it was, respect for referee Neil Hair, that took some balls (specially as this game will decide also whether he will be a FL referee next season).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Potential missed handball at minute 2:50 of this video (same game)

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9AYiPUyOmo

      Delete
  31. Premier League referees Mike Jones and Neil Swarbrick to retire this weekend
    Wwhich two will replace them ??

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. David Coote, Simon Hooper, Rob Jones, Andy Madley, Tim Robinson have been invited to the assessment day for potential promotion to Select Group 1 panel according to Dean Mohareb on Twitter.

      Delete
    2. Andy madley and david coote are the chosen two i think

      Delete
    3. Is it confirmed that Neil Swarbrick is retiring??

      Delete
    4. https://www.premierleague.com/news/686452

      Delete
    5. I wish both of them well for the future :)

      Delete
  32. yesterday, took place the greek cup final between AEK and PAOK. David Fernández Borbalán (ESP) was in charge in a match with 3 red cards and a penalty incident. I ll link the video and timestamp of each incident.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZe0PFKmdAE

    5.30 of the video - Penalty incident
    12.08 Red Card for SFP and Red Card ( second YC) for dissent
    15.56 Red Card ( Second YC) it's not clear why, but i read in reports that Varela was in a fight between the 2 coaches after PAOK scored the 2nd goal.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Very clear penalty but I'm not sure about the SFP.

      Delete
    2. He showed the RC probably because it seemed like a scissoring tackle

      Delete
    3. Yeah, I agree. Scissoring tackle. Correct RC for me, but I have some doubts about the following 2nd YC, IMO only Vieirinha should have received a YC.

      Delete
    4. Watched the full match, overall a decent performance by Fernandez Borbalan IMO.
      Not a very modern optic as usual, but I liked his roadblock firm approach, the early card for SPA was a good message.
      Good teamwork to solve the hectical scenes at the end.
      Acceptable RC for the scissor tackle but IMO a maybe even worse tackle at 40' which he didn't even whistle as a foul (at least YC here).
      The way he solved some incidents was a bit unsatisfactory, most critically the second YC for the AEK player where he essentially did nothing.
      But overall his firm distance was exactly the right approach for this kind of match, and in the bigger picture this match passed without problems.

      I can't imagine that when he started refereeing at such a young age in Andalusia, he thought his (pen)ultimate match would be the Greek Cup Final :-D.

      Delete
    5. "Not a very modern optic" = Overrated, overused, useless, unnecessary terminology.

      Delete
    6. I was waiting for this comment ;-)
      By modern I mean as a proactive manager on the pitch: Turpin is a very modern referee, also Brych, Marciniak et al.
      With all the respect to the great career of the Spanish, he lacked the soft skills, prevention to be a real top referee.

      Delete
  33. UEFA UNDER-17 CHAMPIONSHIP - QUARTERFINALS

    13 May 2018

    15:00 CET - Rotherham (AESSEAL New York Stadium)
    ITALY - SWEDEN
    Referee: Dennis Higler (NED)
    Assistant Referee 1: Dan Petur Pauli Højgaard (FRO)
    Assistant Referee 2: Péter Kóbor (HUN)
    Fourth Official: Horațiu Mircea Feșnic (ROU)
    UEFA Referee Observer: Marc Batta (FRA)
    UEFA Delegate: Rudolf Zavrl (SVN)

    19:00 CET - Burton upon Trent (Pirelli Stadium)
    NORWAY - ENGLAND
    Referee: Juri Frischer (EST)
    Assistant Referee 1: Robert Steinacher (AUT)
    Assistant Referee 2: Georgi Doynov (BUL)
    Fourth Official: Tihomir Pejin (CRO)
    UEFA Referee Observer: Kyros Vassaras (GRE)
    UEFA Delegate: Ludovico Micallef (MLT)

    14 May 2018

    14:00 CET - Walsall (Banks's Stadium)
    BELGIUM - SPAIN
    Referee: Robert Harvey (IRL)
    Assistant Referee 1: Vlad Lifciu (MDA)
    Assistant Referee 2: Rza Məmmədov (AZE)
    Fourth Official: Halil Umut Meler (TUR)
    UEFA Referee Observer: Vlado Svilokos (CRO)
    UEFA Delegate: Ludovico Micallef (MLT)

    20:00 CET - Chesterfield (Proact Stadium)
    NETHERLANDS - REPUBLIC OF IRELAND
    Referee: Zbyněk Proske (CZE)
    Assistant Referee 1: Vytis Snarskis (LTU)
    Assistant Referee 2: Volodymyr Vysotskyy (UKR)
    Fourth Official: Vilhjálmur Alvar Þórarinsson (ISL)
    UEFA Referee Observer: Sokol Jareci (ALB)
    UEFA Delegate: Rudolf Zavrl (SVN)

    Last season, the final appointment went to Jens Grabski Maae (Denmark) who served as fourth official in one of the quarterfinals. If that is the case this season, we can start predicting the final referee, choosing between Feșnic (ROU), Meler (TUR), Pejin (CRO) and Þórarinsson (ISL).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think Meler is the favourite... Otherwise Higler... Fesnic and Pejin for the SFs I would say!!

      Delete
    2. NORWAY - ENGLAND

      Penalty incident
      07' https://streamable.com/bt7ur

      Yellow cards:
      46' https://streamable.com/x9n8p
      56' https://streamable.com/n7qua
      71' https://streamable.com/ltxuz
      80' https://streamable.com/7bbfs

      Teamwork
      18' https://streamable.com/wk811
      42' https://streamable.com/i9yhb

      Other incidents:
      59' https://streamable.com/s63nu

      Delete
    3. How did Higler perform?

      Delete
    4. I didn't watch the game yet. I try to report on that as well.

      Delete
  34. OT:
    Next week in Italy we have a deciding match for CL,between Lazio and Inter.
    My guess is that Rocchi will be in charge of that match,as best Italian referee he should get that and especially with Orsato's latest match against Inter.

    ReplyDelete
  35. Very controversial episode from Ukrainian premier league:
    Shakhtar won match 1-0 thanks to penalty-kick and it allowed them to become champions
    What can You say about it? Does such arm position allow not to fix offside?

    https://prnt.sc/jhesbw

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M22Fvley_4M

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. TV Broadcaster need some LOTG lessons.

      Offside for me.

      Delete
    2. Tight offside. Arm doesn't count. The player is ahead in my opinion. Maybe not easy for AR, but still crucial...

      Delete
  36. Spotted on Zagłębie Lubin-Jagiellonia Białystok, via @BorkowskiPiotr on Twitter. XD

    https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DdGFwHQWAAE0-Gy.jpg:large

    Anybody has the full sequence?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hah, it's Jarosław Przybył, I will try to get it. Tomasz Kwiatkowski and Przybył are great actors on the pitch :)

      Delete
    2. And the full sequence :)

      https://streamable.com/lorr3

      Delete
  37. Paolo Tagliavento with his "final whistle" this evening...
    https://ibb.co/kHMwMJ

    ReplyDelete
  38. Did anyone see Guida's match, it looked very intensive?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
  39. Phantom penalty in the Serbian Super Liga game between FK Spartak-Ždrepčeva krv Subotica and FK Radnički Niš. The referee is Srđan Obradović, assistant referee #1 is Vladimir Jovanović.

    https://youtu.be/cxjsjE_mY40

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No explanation, but why no AR intervention?
      It would be nice to know more...

      Delete
    2. @Chefren Is there VAR in Serbia? :o

      Delete
    3. @Soham - Nope. Clubs was against VAR. Also RC for Radnicki is ridiculous..

      @Chefren - If you see reaction of Radnicki players with everything that happen on the pitch you'll see that Srdjan helped Spartak.

      My question would be if UEFA told Mazic to rest, why not Srdjan Jovanovic then? Grujic cant take charge coz he is from the same city as Radnicki.

      Delete
    4. @Jovan, it was Srđan Obradović, not Srđan Jovanović :)

      Delete
    5. @RayHD Can you read what i wrote?

      Delete
    6. VAR can solve these problems so at least we won't have such things at World Cup at least!!

      Delete
    7. @Soham Of course it would fix but in any other league you wont see this phantom penalty. Not the first time we see phantom penalty..

      Delete
    8. A case of a not so good referee getting it wrong under pressure, is it??

      Delete
    9. I dont think he had any pressure. In my opinion he should be removed from the list for what he did last season but he got only removed from Elite list.

      Delete
    10. In case, the very appointment of the concerned referee to such an important match becomes questionable!!

      Delete
  40. Opinons...................


    http://www.espn.com/soccer/toronto-fc/story/3496960/michael-bradley-mls-should-use-discretion-after-sebastian-giovinco-red-card

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I’m glad Bradley conceded it’s supposed to be a red card.

      Geiger had no choice. With VR in place, that has to be given. Kevin Stott has a similar situation two weeks ago when he had to give two red cards to the same team using VR. The VARs and referees are doing the right thing.

      The question becomes if this is something the sport wants. Bradley raises an interesting point. Sometimes, in the heat of the moment or in a heated match, referees manage rather than just reflexively hand out reds. Or maybe, like in this situation, the referee doesn’t see the hand contact to the face. Do fans want every situation like this to always result in a red card? I don’t think the answer to that question is “yes.” In that regard, Bradley has a point. But he also admits this is a red which means he’s admitting Geiger did the right thing.

      It will be very interesting to see what happens in Russia. Imagine Messi being sent off for this via VAR n a WC semifinal?

      Delete
    2. I don't think it is a clear RC due to the "unless the force used was negligible" phrase in the LotG. Maybe it is a thing of instructions to the referees, but at least in Germany I would not have expected a RC here.

      Delete
    3. No red card for me as well... I particularly believe that starting to send off players for any nominal incidents isn't a great option and I would rather manager this situation than flashing a red card!!

      Delete
  41. Hi Chefren,

    do you think that Damato and Tagliavento has already spent their final whistle with respectively Coppa Itlia cup Final match and Roma-Juventus yesterday match ? no more appointments ?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi F.
      Yes, I think so. Their carees are now over. With the new committee of Rizzoli, something has changed. No more derogations for referees, a clear intent to have always new and young alternatives. Also, experienced assistant referees who in past had always derogations, wont get anything more.

      Delete