UEFA EURO Analysis: Day Two (WALSUI, DENFIN, BELRUS)

A series of matches where the refereeing was quite rightly not our primary focus; as blog, a community, we pass on our prayers to Christian Eriksen. As for the officials - a very good start for UEFA! Wider synopsis in the post below. 

Let's work in chronological order. 

Clément Turpin's team in Wales vs. Switzerland

Big Decisions

In the above montage:

45' - Potential penalty to Switzerland (holding)
85' - Offside call by Nicolas Danos; goal given after VAR intervention

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The officials reached the correct outcome in the penalty box scene - besides the mutuality of the holding, though I think one could still defend a penalty given the excessiveness of the defender's action, Turpin was correct to give the go on here. 

Embolo could still get his pass away and no Switzerland players were instinctively terribly bothered by it - especially at the top level, not a penalty. 

The discussion about Danos' mistake was quite interesting - while the VAR images showed that this decision was closer than perhaps it looked, I would maintain that the French AR's mistake was a relatively poor one at this top level. 

No crossover scene, rather predictable that the attacker would get the ball - at the EURO, an assistant should get this decision right in real time. It is all hypothetical of course, but the French team's chances to go anywhere in the tournament would have been over if VAR was not in operation!

Summary

Turpin refereed the game fine. The only clear mistake in the second half was the missed caution for an achilles stamp at 79'; both yellow cards after the break were very well seen. In a more difficult game, I'm sure the French ref would approach it with a more 'involved' way of officiating. Good performance. 

You could argue that Danos' delayed flag at 88' was irregular, but given that a shot eventually went in shortly after that attack, it was according to common-sense. He was correct to flag at +92', Cyril Gringore was very quiet. 


 

Anthony Taylor's team in Denmark - Finland

Before mentioning anything else - the English referee's quick reaction in the incident before halftime was more important than any other decision he will take as a referee, and was perhaps decisive in the more positive news we are hearing from now. His assured, calm demeanour during the troubling minutes showed impressive composure and leadership. 

Big Decisions

In the clip:

23' - Potential DOGSO scene to Denmark no.4

73' - Penalty given to Denmark (tripping)

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Taylor got both calls spot on in my estimation. While he was correct to give the go on in the first incident (still fair play in fighting for the ball the defender), the Englishman was also right to give a penalty in the second. 

I follow the PGMOL doctrine that if an attacker can go on after a (small) trip, holding and chooses to go down voluntarily, then play on is the correct call. That is not the case here - having the full knee-pointed contact come down on your foot would have been very painful. I strongly disagree with calling this "soft"; the final replay is clear. We shouldn't complicate refereeing where there is no need!

The English referee took a moment to perceive what happened - his insight angle was quite good, and being slightly further away then he'd have liked - and he came to right conclusion. Correct decision.

Summary

For the rest, I thought Taylor was (very) good! He had all the incidents in his view, control, and used his cards very well - cautions at 4', 51' were technically correct and tactically well-timed. I think you can defend yellow cards not being issued in all the other relevant situations (1', 2', 10', 13', 27', 28', +46', 61', 90'). A strong second appoint should follow for this English trio. 

Antonio Mateu Lahoz's team in Belgium - Russia

Big Decisions

Above:

10' - Onside call by Pau Cebrián Devis
31' - Tackle incident involving Russia no.8
40' - Potential penalty to Belgium (tripping)

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If I may, I will 'rip off' our user's Alex F's analysis of the situation, because he hit the nail on the head:

The ball came from a fair distance (~20m) at a not high pace. This gave the player time and options, it was not an unexpected ball.

The player had control of his body when he stepped to the ball to play it. This was a conscious action (as opposed to an instinctive reaction).

The player made contact with the ball. The result of the action does not matter.

The sum of these considerations scream "deliberate play". 

-> One debate whether the offside rule from twenty years ago is more 'fair', but in the more contemporary interpretation (which leads to more goals being scored), this is quite clearly in my eyes well-seen by Cebrián and Mateu Lahoz together. 

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Replays at 31' are not very good, but in any case I am really missing much which looks like Serious Foul Play in this situation. A rather irrelevant incident in the bigger picture. 

40' is quite interesting - I share the view of one of our anonymous commenters that Meunier was quite craftily looking for the seemingly-accidental contact on his part. Running into defenders, trying to win a penalty was his best bet at this moment. Mateu, and the Iberian VMO team, perceived this quite perfectly I think. 

Summary

Rather easy game for the Champions League final referee - Mateu Lahoz played some nice advantages (+46', 53', 58', 82'), didn't give 'cheap' cautions for small tactical fouls (22', 33') and jumped in with appropriate verbal warnings on a couple of occasions. The latter of the two, 83', was a borderline incident, however I thought the Spaniard solved it quite well. 

His management skills, particularly visible in this encounter during the last embers of the game, are really quite something. A sonorous second appointment should be a given for the in-form Antonio Mateu Lahoz. 

Balance

In short - a good day for the officials! Only Nicolas Danos' mistake in the last five minutes of the Wales - Switzerland game gives us a real negative point to discuss. UEFA's choice to appoint three 'big guns' for these Saturday matches, so far, looks a perfect allocation of resources. 

Roberto Rosetti and his team ought to be really chuffed with the start the twenty-fifth team have made to EURO 2020. 

Refereeing highlights:
Wales - Switzerland
Denmark - Finland
Belgium - Russia