First legs of 2022/23 UEFA Europa League Round of 16, referee assignments.
9 March 2023
18:45 CET - Berlin (Alten Försterei)Union Berlin (GER) - Union St. Gilloise (BEL)
Referee: Orel Grinfeld (ISR)
Assistant Referee 1: Roy Hassan (ISR)
Assistant Referee 2: Idan Yarkoni (ISR)
Fourth Official: Gal Leibovitz (ISR)
Video Assistant Referee: Roi Reinshreiber (ISR)
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: David Fuxman (ISR)
UEFA Referee Observer: Pascal Pierre Garibian (FRA)
UEFA Delegate: Scott Struthers (SCO)
Assistant Referee 1: Roy Hassan (ISR)
Assistant Referee 2: Idan Yarkoni (ISR)
Fourth Official: Gal Leibovitz (ISR)
Video Assistant Referee: Roi Reinshreiber (ISR)
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: David Fuxman (ISR)
UEFA Referee Observer: Pascal Pierre Garibian (FRA)
UEFA Delegate: Scott Struthers (SCO)
18:45 CET - Leverkusen (BayArena)
Bayer 04 Leverkusen (GER) - Ferencvárosi TC (HUN)
Bayer 04 Leverkusen (GER) - Ferencvárosi TC (HUN)
Referee: Davide Massa (ITA)
Assistant Referee 1: Filippo Meli (ITA)
Assistant Referee 2: Stefano Alassio (ITA)
Fourth Official: Daniele Chiffi (ITA)
Video Assistant Referee: Marco Di Bello (ITA)
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Fabio Maresca (ITA)
UEFA Referee Observer: William Young (SCO)
UEFA Delegate: Karl Espen Eriksen (NOR)
Assistant Referee 1: Filippo Meli (ITA)
Assistant Referee 2: Stefano Alassio (ITA)
Fourth Official: Daniele Chiffi (ITA)
Video Assistant Referee: Marco Di Bello (ITA)
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Fabio Maresca (ITA)
UEFA Referee Observer: William Young (SCO)
UEFA Delegate: Karl Espen Eriksen (NOR)
18:45 CET - Lisbon (Estádio José de Alvalade)
Sporting CP (POR) - Arsenal FC (ENG)
Sporting CP (POR) - Arsenal FC (ENG)
Referee: Tobias Stieler (GER)
Assistant Referee 1: Christian Gittelmann (GER)
Assistant Referee 2: Mark Borsch (GER)
Fourth Official: Robert Schröder (GER)
Video Assistant Referee: Bastian Dankert (GER)
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Sören Storks (GER)
UEFA Referee Observer: Carlos Velasco Carballo (ESP)
UEFA Delegate: Edgars Pukinsks (LVA)
Assistant Referee 1: Christian Gittelmann (GER)
Assistant Referee 2: Mark Borsch (GER)
Fourth Official: Robert Schröder (GER)
Video Assistant Referee: Bastian Dankert (GER)
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Sören Storks (GER)
UEFA Referee Observer: Carlos Velasco Carballo (ESP)
UEFA Delegate: Edgars Pukinsks (LVA)
18:45 CET - Rome (Stadio Olimpico)
AS Roma (ITA) - Real Sociedad (ESP)
AS Roma (ITA) - Real Sociedad (ESP)
Referee: Sandro Schärer (SUI)
Assistant Referee 1: Stéphane De Almeida (SUI)
Assistant Referee 2: Bekim Zogaj (SUI)
Fourth Official: Lukas Fähndrich (SUI)
Video Assistant Referee: Fedayi San (SUI)
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Lionel Tschudi (SUI)
UEFA Referee Observer: Jan W. Wegereef (NED)
UEFA Delegate: Jack Grundie (NIR)
Assistant Referee 1: Stéphane De Almeida (SUI)
Assistant Referee 2: Bekim Zogaj (SUI)
Fourth Official: Lukas Fähndrich (SUI)
Video Assistant Referee: Fedayi San (SUI)
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Lionel Tschudi (SUI)
UEFA Referee Observer: Jan W. Wegereef (NED)
UEFA Delegate: Jack Grundie (NIR)
21:00 CET - Seville (Estadio Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán)
Sevilla FC (ESP) - Fenerbahçe (TUR)
Sevilla FC (ESP) - Fenerbahçe (TUR)
Referee: François Letexier (FRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Cyril Mugnier (FRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Mehdi Rahmouni (FRA)
Fourth Official: Ruddy Buquet /(FRA)
Video Assistant Referee: Eric Wattellier (FRA)
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Pierre Gaillouste (FRA)
UEFA Referee Observer: Peter Sippel (GER)
UEFA Delegate: Christian Kofoed (DEN)
Assistant Referee 1: Cyril Mugnier (FRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Mehdi Rahmouni (FRA)
Fourth Official: Ruddy Buquet /(FRA)
Video Assistant Referee: Eric Wattellier (FRA)
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Pierre Gaillouste (FRA)
UEFA Referee Observer: Peter Sippel (GER)
UEFA Delegate: Christian Kofoed (DEN)
21:00 CET - Turin (Juventus Stadium)
Juventus (ITA) - SC Freiburg (GER)
Juventus (ITA) - SC Freiburg (GER)
Referee: Anastásios Sidirópoulos (GRE)
Assistant Referee 1: Polychronis Kostaras (GRE)
Assistant Referee 2: Lazaros Dimitriadis (GRE)
Fourth Official: Vassilis Fotias (GRE)
Video Assistant Referee: Tomasz Kwiatkowski (POL)
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Aggelos Evangelou (GRE)
UEFA Referee Observer: Haim Jakov (ISR)
UEFA Delegate: Michael O'Brien (ENG)
Assistant Referee 1: Polychronis Kostaras (GRE)
Assistant Referee 2: Lazaros Dimitriadis (GRE)
Fourth Official: Vassilis Fotias (GRE)
Video Assistant Referee: Tomasz Kwiatkowski (POL)
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Aggelos Evangelou (GRE)
UEFA Referee Observer: Haim Jakov (ISR)
UEFA Delegate: Michael O'Brien (ENG)
21:00 CET - Manchester (Old Trafford)
Manchester United FC (ENG) - Real Betis Balompié (ESP)
Manchester United FC (ENG) - Real Betis Balompié (ESP)
Referee: Daniel Siebert (GER)
Assistant Referee 1: Jan Seidel (GER)
Assistant Referee 2: Rafael Foltyn (GER)
Fourth Official: Daniel Schlager (GER)
Video Assistant Referee: Marco Fritz (GER)
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Benjamin Brand (GER)
UEFA Referee Observer: Gianluca Rocchi (ITA)
UEFA Delegate: Charles Schaak (LUX)
Assistant Referee 1: Jan Seidel (GER)
Assistant Referee 2: Rafael Foltyn (GER)
Fourth Official: Daniel Schlager (GER)
Video Assistant Referee: Marco Fritz (GER)
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Benjamin Brand (GER)
UEFA Referee Observer: Gianluca Rocchi (ITA)
UEFA Delegate: Charles Schaak (LUX)
21:00 CET - Warsaw (Municipal Stadium of Legia Warszawa)
Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR) - Feyenoord (NED)
Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR) - Feyenoord (NED)
Referee: Ivan Kružliak (SVK)
Assistant Referee 1: Branislav Hancko (SVK)
Assistant Referee 2: Jan Pozor (SVK)
Fourth Official: Peter Kralović (SVK)
Video Assistant Referee: Christian Dingert (GER)
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Harm Osmers (GER)
UEFA Referee Observer: Sokol Jareci (ALB)
UEFA Delegate: Michael Kirchner (GER)
Assistant Referee 1: Branislav Hancko (SVK)
Assistant Referee 2: Jan Pozor (SVK)
Fourth Official: Peter Kralović (SVK)
Video Assistant Referee: Christian Dingert (GER)
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Harm Osmers (GER)
UEFA Referee Observer: Sokol Jareci (ALB)
UEFA Delegate: Michael Kirchner (GER)
Looks like keeping the appointments confidential is now difficult.
ReplyDeleteAIA anticipated Massa in Leverkusen and Guida / Fabbri working as VAR in Conference League, Sheriff - Nice. I think Kruashvili could be the referee there, if not Peljto again with the Italian. We will see tomorrow.
Already announced in Israel:
ReplyDeleteUnion Berlin (GER) - Union St. Gilloise (BEL)
Referee: Orel Grinfeld
AR1: Roi Hassan
AR2: Idan Yarkoni
4OF: Gal Leibovitz
VAR: Roi Reinshreiber
AVAR: David Fuxman
Of course, for Italian team a very special and safe choice: Sidiropoulos :D
ReplyDeleteMr Kuipers' friend should understand his role :P.
DeleteAnd already he had Juve vs. Nantes before being injured!
WC Final VAR for the Greek too.
Sidiropoulos wasn't appointed domestically for over a month - therefore a surprising appointment.
ReplyDeleteAnother suprise is no Spanish referee in all competitions this week (with 5 good candidates). So they might be very busy next week...
Decision time in Germany, isn't it? I guess UEFA are getting the jitters on Siebert, so a chance for Stieler seems to have presented itself for being brought back in from the post-Bergamo cold. Both will be observed by verrryyyy important assessors in Rosetti era, and I'm sure the importance of Thursday for their international careers isn't lost on either German Elite.
ReplyDeleteYes and an additional question is, whether Zwayer is currently above (CL next week?) or below the other two.
DeleteAlways changes in German referees' UEFA ranking, now it is indeed Stieler turn with Velasco Carballo. It can be that they have decided to leave Siebert as Low Elite, but it is definitely too early to say that. One thing is sure and I already said that on the blog in past: there isn't any country in UEFA like Germany getting such treatment of Elite referees.
DeleteThe weird thing is that they had Stieler for year, the quick promotion, then Atalanta - Real and all what happened after that... one must admit, for sure a big mess.
Zwayer in terms of trust by committee should be still ahead of both, he has shown very often disappointing performances, but he was never so bad at the level of Siebert...
And in 2 or 3 years the winner might be... Jablonski! He is already - with Aytekin - on top of German refs in Bundesliga and could climb in FIFA too, quickly...
DeleteIf this is all what UEFA plan for Siebert, Low Elite, then first of all, we can draw the conclusion that Rosetti' words were pretty much irrelevant behind Collina's opinions at WC. And I am thinking at choosing Kovacs instead of Siebert as Support Official (the former being superior in terms of European experinece (UCL SF, UECL final) and level of performances last season), obviously we can talk about the politics, Germany big federeation etc...; or about which English referee would achieve more (Oliver above Taylor, you know the story).
DeleteHowever, Rosetti's management of Siebert was a total mess, many mistaked made in a short time. He thought that he can create the new Brych in 1 and a half season (remember the sonorous appointments while in First Cat).
A few months ago we were discussing a race for Aytekin's Elite spot between Osmers and Stagemann, neither of them is ready. Personally, I would like to see more credit for Stieler.
Also full Elite in this round. So probably it will be the same in the second legs and therefore at least 24 out of the 28 (excl. Hategan and Karasev) available Elite referees working in the two weeks.
ReplyDeleteSidiropoulos is indeed very lucky in getting always good games, not CL but still good games in EL and ECL, despite of missing in all merits to be there. The fact that he gets WC Final VAR should show us the feeling by committee, but at the same time, they are forced to appoint him... these things will never change.
ReplyDeleteBut let me hope that at least once the Greek shows an excellent performance without any issue, would be definitely the time to see that...
The state of Greek refereeing is generally tragic since every decision is analysed and even most foreign referees and Var that officiate every week the top games are ridiculed by the press and the team presidents and member of the board.
DeleteGreek refs are not bad but extremely scared. They are cursed and publicly humiliated every week, so yes they perform under extreme psychological pressure and thus they make mistakes.
But I don't think irony and ridicule through this blog is the right answer on a specific person
Has Marciniak had an appointment in a European competition since WC?
ReplyDeleteNo, but you can easily expect him in CL on next week.
DeleteMadrid vs Liverpool
DeleteWill be interesting...Only thing bad from a WC performance like his is that expectations are now super high
DeleteHe would be available for any match next week. The question is, whether he will be the "protected one" regarding the CL final or be used for one of the tighter pairings.
DeleteTaylor appointed for Sunday match - so either a CL Wednesday in Naples or Thursday match I would think. Interesting he's not been paired with regular AR Nunn in recent weeks
ReplyDeleteAdd to that, Oliver not appointed to a fixture in the latest set of appointments
DeleteInteresting remark (thanks to an anonymous blogger on the German referee blog "Bundesligaschiedsrichter): Despite having left the FIFA list, Mark Borsch gets a match as AR2 in EL. We have not found any reasons for this appointment yet. There are many German AR available and, as far as I remember, it is not so common to have a non-FIFA AR in an EL match even if the AR is experienced...
ReplyDeleteAlready happened in the previous round with Stieler and Borsch.
DeleteMaybe another example of "FIFA referee" vs "UEFA match official", where the two associations don't agree?
On the other hand, I assumed, it was a DFB decision to take Borsch off the list - and maybe also to appoint him along Stieler now?
KSA
ReplyDelete09/03 Al-Ittihad Jiddah - An-Nassr Riyadh
Antonio Miguel Mateu Lahoz - Pau Cebrián Devís, Roberto Díaz Pérez del Palomar ESP - Ra'id Az-Zahrani
[Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea ESP, Sa'ad As-Subai'ai]
UAE
10/03 Al-Wahda - Al-Ain
Istvan Kovacs - Vasile Florin Marinescu, Mihai Ovidiu Artene ROU - Sayif Al-Musa'abi
[Ovidiu Alin Hațegan ROU, Muhammad Al-Harmoudi]
João Pinheiro
ReplyDeleteBruno Jesus
Luciano Maia
Nomeados para o EURO Sub 21 na Roménia e Geórgia entre 21 Junho e 8 Julho
Goal by Arsenal in Lisbon: a very tricky situation. At first we have a clear disturbing action by Arsenal attacker on keeper, but he stopped it right in time to avoid offside call, then another possible foul in the middle of penalty area. Mass confrontation followed after goal scored and Stieler already in trouble. I agree with VAR to confirm goal, but more firmness by German referee on the pitch was expected.
ReplyDeleteIdk if he was feeling the pressure of Velasco in the stands but not a good 1H by Stieler, perhaps even "unmotivated" would be a fair way to sumise it. Never shown interest in extinguishing tension from the game early on (including after player-player conflicts), I agree the goal was rightly given, but then two verrry weak reactions against mobbing which challenged his authority later in the half. It seems that Stieler isn't really able to bring his big skill (winning players empathy) to the table in this match at all; he tries, but honestly, savours definitely low acceptance today.
DeleteVelasco would have been impressed by Turkey vs. Luxembourg earlier this season but I guess Tobias Stieler is losing(?) what seems like a big chance to win points in Nyon.
Goal: https://files.catbox.moe/7tm64m.mp4
DeleteMobbing 1: https://files.catbox.moe/p8i9zv.mp4
Mobbing 2: https://files.catbox.moe/ayesdq.mp4
No conflicts in the 2H. But still, not the best impression by Stieler. The most interesting situation was a potential foul not given before 2-2 goal, confirmed by VAR.
DeleteIn case of Mobbing 2, I would prefer YC for goalkeeper two, he is too blatant in making yellow card gestures. If I remember well, there was recommendations some years ago to punish such behaviour, but now, it's seems, nobody is care about it anymore.
DeleteTwo incidents from Sidiropoulos game.
ReplyDelete13' Whistled foul
https://streamff.co/v/1igtARH8gz
62' OFR for handball, disallowing a goal scored
https://streamja.com/NB572
Foul is clearly wrong (defenders stopped playing though, so not directly a prevented goal)
DeleteHandball is correct, because the only purpose for the hands there can be to block the ball, so it should be assessed as deliberate (although it doesn't make his body bigger).
No protests on the field, so probably hard to spot and therefore no big mistake by Sidiropoulos and good awareness by Kwiatkowski.
Good morning,
ReplyDeleteI start to worry about the future of this blog. I feel like the activity is lower than ever.
Compare it to last year. The posts in UCL had every time more than 100 comments, usually about 150. And even if let's say 50 (exagerate number) of them were unvaluable, still 100 were usefull. In UEL or UECL around 80 comments each. People were discussing interesting moments, now you have no one to discuss about a referee's performance at half time.
It was Liverpool-Real Madrid two weeks ago. Barely any comments. It was Chelsea-Dortmund a few days ago. Apart from the retaken penalty, very few comments about anhthing else. Orsato Wednesday, definitely not enough.
We see the analysis made of KMI made by Chefren, but during the games the blog is very silent. I am sure many people who would like to contribute are dicouraged by the aggressivity showed by some users. And yes, some of them are so, so aggressive in language. They write short comments to descibe a performance, like a disgrace, apalling, disgusting, horrible; many times without mentioning any incidents during the game. And those who make a summary of a game (at HT or FT) are sometimes unjustified accused to be unbiased or even offended.
I don't know what happened this year, and why people avoid to comment during the game but I am grieved about it.
+1
DeleteI can only speak for myself: the main reason is the number of games (you can't cover everything what I always try to do), demotivation caused by 'modern refereeing' and the way referees are 'managed' by RefCom.
DeleteIt seems for me that the only goal nowadays is to not make (big) players and (big) clubs(!) upset and avoid headlines. Somehow understandable given the amount of games but it makes detailed analyses quite pointless.
In addition, some strange personal choices, like untouchable Irrati after big mistakes as VAR, and pushing mediocre referees from big federations give a bad feeling that quality of performances is not sooo important.
And there was incredibly high activity during the World Cup. Maybe being back so fast to the usual is a little less motivating
DeleteI agree it was Bayern Munich vs PSG two days ago and there was a very questionable goal disallowed. Not even a single comment about it.
DeleteLOL, maybe bloggers are just getting older and wiser, starting to focus on families, jobs, other hobbies.
DeleteAEK - Olympiakos:
ReplyDeleteReferee: Maurizio Mariani
AR1: Daniele Bindoni
AR2: Alberto Tegoni
4th: Evangelos Manouchos
VAR: Eugenio Abbattista
AVAR: Konstantinos Psarris
Hi! One question: I've read that the contract with Macron run until 2022 (let's assume it is the end of the 2022/2023 season). Has it been renewed or are UEFA referees getting a new kit supplier for next season? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI guess it got renewed. I'm curious if UEFA referees will get new kits this summer, considering this is the 2nd consecutive season with the same collection or they will wait until EURO 2024 or sth like that.
Deletehttps://www.knvb.nl/nieuws/scheidsrechters/scheidsrechters/67453/danny-makkelie-hoofd-arbitrage-landelijke-competities
ReplyDeleteMakkelie gets new role. Seems like he quits the national police.
Another crazy Friday night game in LaLiga. Cádiz vs Getafe (crucial relegation game) had 3 PKs, 2 RCs and some serious incidents after final whistle. Referee was Hernández Hernández, VAR was Estrada Fernández.
ReplyDeleteOfficial match HL below, including:
PK + YC for Getafe after OFR (reckless kick) in 57'
PK + (2)YC for Cádiz (handball/SPA) in 80'
PK for Getafe after OFR in 90+10' (handball, impossible to see for the referee live)
https://youtu.be/Bv3IbBNgJZU
After PK gets scored at 90+17', RC for CAD20 for VC (1:30 of video below) and a mass confrontation between players from both teams (none of which has a fair-playing reputation within LaLiga tbh, rather the opposite), with local fans throwing objects to the FoP.
Link: https://streamin.me/v/b80a0ec0
Then, the match report (link: http://actas.rfef.es/actas/RFEF_CmpActa2?cod_primaria=1000144&CodActa=79093).
DeleteKick-off was at 21:00 local time, but the report wasn't finished and uploaded until 01:40 am (!). I'll translate some bits:
«SENDING OFFS
- Cadiz CF SAD:
+ In the 90th minute the player (20) Carcelén Valencia, Isaac was sent off for the following reason: Once the match was over and while we were still on the pitch, hitting an opponent on the head with his hand with the use of excessive force.
- Getafe CF SAD:
+ In minute 80 the player (6) De Sousa Coutinho Meneses Duarte, Domingos was sent off for the following reason: double yellow.
OTHER INCIDENTS
Other incidents: (Player: Jeremias Conan Ledesma ) When we were standing in the locker room tunnel without being able to access it, the local player Jeremias Conan Ledesma pushed a teammate who was glued to my back with the aim of making it to impact against my back, getting it»
«SENDING OFFS
- Cadiz CF SAD:
+ In the 90th minute, the home goalkeeper coach Bocardo Vidal, Manuel was sent off for the following reason: Once the match was over and all the players and refereeing crew were on the pitch, he ran towards me shouting loudly and repeatedly: "Esto es una vergüenza" («This is a disgrace/shame»). Once expelled, he had to be held by the home team delegate as he was coming towards me in an aggressive attitude. After this he put together his wrists making the gesture of being handcuffed.
[...]
C.- OTHER INCIDENTS
Other incidents: (Coach: Diego Ribera Ramirez) After we left the field of play and were standing on the access stairs due to the impossibility of reaching the referee's locker room due to the high number of people in front of us, home team technical staff member Diego Ribera Ramírez physically shoved both my AR2 and me.
[...]
Other incidents: (Coach: Manuel Bocardo Vidal) While standing in the changing room tunnel, the local goalkeeping coach Manuel Bocardo Vidal, who had previously been expelled, addressed the refereeing team in the following terms: "Hijos de puta!" («Sons of a b*tch!)»
«3.- CROWD
Throwing objects: In the 73rd minute of the game, a lighter was thrown from the stands without hitting anyone. Due to this incident, the protocol for the launching of objects is applied, having to wait for the corresponding announcement to be made through the public address system. In addition, coinciding with the end of the game, plastic bottles were thrown from the stands located behind the goal where the players of the visiting team were.»
«OTHER OBSERVATIONS OR EXTENSION TO THE PREVIOUS OBSERVATIONS
[...]
Other incidents: When we were in the changing room tunnel, a person identified as Juan Torres Ruiz held me by my arm strongly and persistently, having to make a sudden movement to free myself. Once all the events described in the previous sections had taken place, thanks to the help of the local team President D. Manuel Vizcaíno Fernández together with the home team delegate Salvador Chirino Rivera, who managed to get the team and coaching staff into their locker room, we were able to access ours.»
What a shoking beaviour of some people.
DeleteThank you so much for the summary.
Very surprising that this Happens to hernandez hernandez because He is one of the absolutely best in terms of match control in my opinion
What is the reason for the first penalty?
DeleteIn this slomo I can not See any contact
From another video, I can say, that there was contact. But indeed quite little, so there couldn't really have been significant impact on the opponent. Therefore a quite soft penalty IMO.
DeletePredictions for next week (VAR in brackets)
ReplyDeleteManCity - Leipzig: del Cerro Grande (Martinez)
Porto - Inter: Taylor (Attwell)
Real - Liverpool: Zwayer (Dankert)
Napoli - Frankfurt: Marciniak (Kwiatkowski)
Fenerbahce - Sevilla: Kovacs (Irrati)
Freiburg - Juventus: Gözübüyük (Higler)
Betis - ManUnited: Soares Dias (Martins)
Feyenoord - Donetsk: Mateu (de Burgos)
Saint-Gilloise - U.Berlin: Bastien (Delajod)
Ferencvaros - Leverkusen: Vincic (van Boekel)
Arsenal - Sporting: Gil Manzano (Hernandez)
Sociedad - Roma: Jovanovic (Fritz)
Basaksehir - Gent: Peljto (Manschot)
Sivasspor - Fiorentina: Ekberg (Kavanagh)
Djurgardens - Lech: Pinheiro (Godinho)
Bratislava - Basel: Mariani (di Bello)
West Ham - Larnaca: Petrescu (Dingert)
Alkmaar - Lazio: Kulbakov (San)
Nice - Sheriff: Sanchez (Valeri)
Villareal - Anderlecht: Kruashvili (Guida)
Slavko Vinčić had a domestic game yesterday (Friday), hence we can expect him on Tuesday.
DeleteAnthony Taylor has a PL game on Sunday afternoon, hence he's not available on Tuesday. NAP-FRA or a game on Thursday.
Marciniak but also his international-team members have all games today.
DeleteFor CL-IMO 2 top elite who still remain for Knock out Taylor & Marciniak. Rest 2 Grande rather than Mateu and Stieler for his good performance in EL.
DeleteFor EL- most of the CL first leg referees -Oliver, Kovacs, Jovanovic, Dias & Manzano. Rest 3- Zawyer, Mateu for their performance in ECL and one of Kulbakov/Pinheiro/Ekberg
Chefren, any information about Andrea Colombo? He has only 12 top flight games and he is assigned to Napoli - Atalanta today. I watched him once and he left a positive impression.
ReplyDeleteHow about other young Italian prospects, who are the runner ups after Sozza's Fifa list promotion? Could Italy possibly be shifting towards the English trend in the recent years to promote upcoming referees as internationals shortly after top flight promotion (see Brooks, Bankes, Coote, England, Gillett, Madley) to gain more experience in UEFA as soon as possible.
After Orsato there is going to be a big gap: can Massa/Mariani reach the highest top, Sozza needs time, Guida with injuries, Maresca and Di Bello can they achieve more than just Europa League level & Chiffi, Fabbri and Pairetto I don't see their prospects too high in Europe tbh.
Btw, Sozza has APOEL vs Omonia Nicosia this afternoon in Cyprus.
DeleteAlso, keeping up with foreign appointments, Matej Jug is today in Saudi Arabia for crucial relegation game Al-Adalh vs Al-Raed (VAR Nejc Kajtažovič)
DeleteAnd as previously reported, tomorrow Mariani has AEK vs Olympiacos.
Andrea Colombo (1990) looks to be indeed a very promising referee. Being at his second serie A and B season, he immediately got important reputation by Rocchi. One year ago his debut in serie B was Parma - Benvento, surely not a game that you can give to a referee promoted in serie B. This was already the first signal that committee had him in mind for a certain development. Then I must say in this one year and half he has been quite regular with only a few poor games. For a certain time he has been appointed together with Marcenaro in quite similar games, but in recent months he has absolutely taken the leadership among the two.
DeleteIf you ask me to describe him, I would answer he has a very particular style, distant from the players and quite strict, but not to the excess. He has still some skills to develop but basically I would bet on him. Let's see how he will officiate Napoli - Atalanta today, a very big test and you can easily understand why he got this game, thank to Napoli first place. Game is important only for Atalanta. In the previous matchday, Napoli - Lazio was an identical tie and we had Pairetto, the chance was used for a low international referee in our panel.
After Sozza nomination surely the first name is Ayroldi, but I must say, differently from the previous committee, I have a feeling that Rocchi doesn't like too much him, too strange assignments, a few weeks ago he officiated a totally meaningless game, Empoli - Napoli (same speech as before, Empoli without goals). Then he was sent to serie B. He rarely officiates big matches in recent times. He is considered a big talent but at moment Rocchi doesn't go ahead in this regard.
After him at moment it is difficult to indicate other names for the FIFA list, rumors in past about Marinelli were maybe wrong, but he still didn't fully convince (BTW yesterday another very particular performance by him in Spezia - Inter).
One must mention Marcenaro, at least on paper, but at moment a very disappointing season.
About your question to promote referees in FIFA list without a real experience in serie A, this never happened and I think it will not happen soon (but I can be wrong about that).
After Orsato we have Massa, but the latter is very far away from the former. Then Mariani at moment seems to be third name, but in serie A he doesn't give this idea. Guida out for injury is another issue. Then coming to the rest of the names: surely Fabbri and Pairetto will not achieve anything, Di Bello was about to but I think something stopped him again. After an excellent season one year ago, now again very poor in many games. Chiffi is developing in a good way but as I wrote before, he has decided to use a certain style that can be valid only for officiating some games. A full development is rare but I think he could reach internationally a solid Category 1.
Who can reach Elite is Maresca at moment, being in an outstanding form, but already 42 years old. Age limits have been abolished nevertheless it would be particular to see him in a quick rise. He should start immediately with that.
Finally, I will spend two words on Marchetti and Massimi.
The former (1989) is liked by Rocchi and he attended CORE, but if you ask me, he never showed convincing performance in serie A. There are some referees liked by Rocchi but in reality absolutely never reaching a certain level (my opinion). Then Massimi (1988) was in origin another name for possible FIFA nomination, but here the disappointment has been huge. A poor game following another one...
This should be situation at moment. I could add other things, but if you want to know just ask for something particular.
Very interesting as always, thank you chefren.
DeleteI would bei interested to hear your opinion about davide ghersini also.
He really convinced me a lot Last weekend in His Atalanta game
Davide Ghersini... presented as big talent and very young referee 8 years ago but then his career was full of controversial games. The turning point in negative was serie B play off Frosinone - Carpi, a nightmare performance. At that time he qas still pushed by AIA, they hadn't realized that he was not good. Then after that, the descending path started. At moment he can ensure a good officiating in 3 or 4 games in a row, but then he is back in poor performance. The final verdict for me is that he is a good referee for Serie B and just a few appearances in serie A, as it is happening now. But about the last game you are right, he was very good in that one. The problem is the rest... I would also add when he officiates good games, he has some outstanding technical skills. But nothing follows.
DeleteVery interesting. What i liked about him that he had a good Feeling to decide what is a foul and what is just theatre by the players and he seemed to be very confident to me. Really a pity when He is not able to show such good skills constantly
DeleteSpeaking of Italian referees, there is a question that I have always had: why don't Italians wear their FIFA badge in national competitions?
Deleteas far as I understood, it was mandatory for all federations
I don't know, I also asked a former serie A referee for that, but the reason seems to be unknown.
DeleteUPDATE on previous message: Colombo in Napoli - Atalanta, unless a very clear missed advantage in 15' (correct YC for reckless challenge at the edge of penalty area, but he totally ignored how attack was developing), he was good. The difficulty of game was not so high, teams focused on football, but given the context and the referee appointed for that game, it results in a positive picture for him. He also made experience in a kind of big game (not a full one for the reasons I explained above). For sure a name to be followed for the future.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting. Law should be clear how Prithwish Ganguli Expalins it.
ReplyDelete