Tuesday, 18 April 2023

Champions League 2022/23 - Referee Appointments - Quarterfinals (Second Leg, I)

2022-23 UEFA Champions League Quarterfinals, second legs. The referees in charge of Tuesday's games. 



18 April 2023

21:00 CET - Naples (Stadio Diego Armando Maradona)
SSC Napoli (ITA) - AC Milan (ITA) 
Referee: Szymon Marciniak (POL)
Assistant Referee 1: Paweł Sokolnicki (POL)
Assistant Referee 2: Tomasz Listkiewicz (POL)
Fourth Official: Glenn Nyberg (SWE)
Video Assistant Referee: Tomasz Kwiatkowski (POL)
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Bartosz Frankowski (POL)
UEFA Referee Observer: Bernardino González Vázquez (ESP)
UEFA Delegate: Kris Bellon (BEL)

21:00 CET -  London (Stamford Bridge)
Chelsea FC (ENG)  - Real Madrid CF (ESP) 
Referee: Daniele Orsato (ITA)
Assistant Referee 1: Ciro Carbone (ITA)
Assistant Referee 2: Alessandro Giallatini (ITA)
Fourth Official: Maurizio Mariani (ITA)
Video Assistant Referee: Massimiliano Irrati (ITA)
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Paolo Valeri (ITA)
UEFA Referee Observer: Jon Skjervold (NOR)
UEFA Delegate: Jan Willem Van Dop (NED)

92 comments:

  1. No surprises, the absolutely expected appointments. A little bit particular choice Glenn Nyberg as 4th official in Naples. This confirms the trust UEFA have in him for future.

    The point of discussion should be: Is Marciniak the frontrunner for the UCL final? This is the absolutely hardest game he could get out of all 8. I don't think is the wisest choice by Rosetti, what happened with the shading? Or maybe the com has another favourite for the final, in order to keep Marciniak motivated. Once Marciniak referees the final, he will reach the maximum possible in his career. And going further wouldn't make much sense, better to retire in glory than have a Cakir-like end of career.

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    1. Marciniak says in many interviews that he wants to referee at the Olympics in Paris and he will also be a favorite for the finals there. I don't think he would end his career if he refereed the UCL final this year

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    2. Nyberg surely replaced Raczkowski?

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    3. Very likely. The incident in Greece is allegedly investigated by UEFA, they took it seriously. It's totally unclear whether someone from Raczkowski's team was drunk or the whole mess was created by club(s) or even Greek referee(s).

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    4. Musiał had some health / fitness problems therefore didn't handle any game for more than month after the winter break. He came back two weeks ago but refereed only third and second tier games (this week another second tier game for him), so surely not ready to be a reserve referee in a UCL quarter-final.

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    5. Euro Soccer Ref, is there any reason for which Stefanski is never seen in Marciniak's team?

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    6. I mean mostly as fourth official...

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    7. Not sure. He is not from the 'Marciniak's camp', I would say. With "Marciniak's camp" I mean the group of referees who have good relationship outside the field. It includes Marciniak, Kwiatkowski, Raczkowski, Jakubik, Musiał.

      Both Marciniak and Stefański are often paired together in Ekstraklasa as REF-VAR although Stefański made a huge mistake as VAR when Marciniak was the referee when the system was quite new in Poland - they checked the place of an offence and changed a free kick to penalty kick. But there was no contact... They avoided each other for some time (or maybe were not appointed together) but it seems the cold time is over. Today they were together in Raków - Widzew (Stefański was the referee, Marciniak was VAR).

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  2. That's is clear that semi finals inter / benfica vs milan/ napoli 1 st leg lahoz 2 nd leg turpin

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  3. Semi finals real / Chelsea vs man city/ Bayern Munich 1 st leg vincic 2 nd leg marciniak

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  4. Final:- the first condition if Chelsea and man city eliminated Taylor in the final / the second condition if Chelsea or man city in the final makkiele in the final

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    1. Agree, that's my idea too.

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    2. So other two remaining QF 2nd leg??
      Makkiele and Taylor( both will be tested for final also). Agree except vincic!

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    3. The question is, whether one can afford not to appoint Taylor for MIL/NAP-INT, if Man City is in the other SF. Or in other words, whether one can find 4 good options for the SF, if one excludes Makkelie and Taylor.
      There would be Marciniak, Turpin, maybe Gil Manzano (but also only for MIL/NAP-INT) and...?
      With Kovacs and Vincic with some problems in their last CL game and no match available for Orsato and Oliver, if one doesn't repeat teams from the QF, it becomes difficult.

      For Wednesday, the most obvious names are Makkelie and Turpin, as there is no game for Taylor (unless by breaking an unwritten rule...). Other candidates would be Soares Dias (in Munich), Mateu (in Milan) or Vincic (in Milan), if UEFA wasn't too critical with his previous match.
      Using anyone of the last three would have the advantage to create an additional option for the SF in case of a great performance.

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    4. Indeed I predicted Vincic for Inter game, but I think I was wrong. I forgot about his previous very poor performance. So the names should be Makkelie and Turpin for Wednesday, but indeed there could be the problem you reported. With Taylor and Orsato very likely out from semifinals, where to find other names. Committee would be forced to appoint again the same names from quarterfinals...

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  5. Maybe there is something similar regarding Napoli - Milan and Real Madrid - Chelsea assignments, analyzing both first and second legs. This is more visible in Real - Chelsea, but I think that committee decided for very trusted Elite in second legs, leaving room for something different in first legs. Letexier - Orsato is indeed an interesting pairing, less regarding Kovacs - Marciniak because one could still say that the Romanian is a big, but surely not still belonging to the category of Marciniak and the others. The presence of Rosetti in Milan is another signal of that, a very important exam for both the Romanian and the French in first legs, and then very trusted options in second legs. The Italian derby was indeed something very big for the Romanian. Different management for Inter - Benfica I think, a more standard game.

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  6. Nyberg could indeed be the replacement of Raczkowski, because it is the only appointment in quarterfinals with a fourth official from another country.

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  7. I disagree with the comments of if marciniak refereed ucl final this year he will do everything in refereeing that's wrong next year Euro 2024 which he will motivate to referee the final he never refereed euro final and he can referee in wc 2026 he is now 42 years only

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  8. And why not Zwayer in Milan tomorrow?

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    1. He would get two games in a week, quite unlikely especially because appointments were made all together.

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  9. Ot:

    Just watching Brisard in Lille-Montpellier and I cant help but say that I feel no surprise that Neymar is getting injured so much while playing in that Ligue.

    What Brisard and these refs allow is beyond me,maybe Spain could give them Rojas since he reminds me of french refs with his style.

    Yes,they have authority but how lenient and what they dont book is beyond me,I mean player could get seriously injured and they still would not show YC.

    That's why they are nowhere in UEFA competitions with the exception of Turpin,but let's face it ,if the Finals were not in Paris last year,no way he is in charge .

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    1. Maybe it’s me, but I have the impression French referees have changed their approach after the appointment of Gautier as referee director in FFF. Before I was used to see many, many yellow and especially red cards. Lately French referees some to be much more hesitant when it comes to disciplinary management.

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    2. Maybe,but what needs to hapoen that they start booking players?

      Serious injury?
      Ending careers?

      I mean what they allow is so frustrating to watch sometimes.

      English league and refs are deemed as tough and no cards,yet still,they are nowhere close to Ligue 1 in terms of leniency.

      Serie A and La Liga are definitely the best leagues in terms of disciplinary control,while French is the worst out of big leagues.

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    3. The guidelines given to the French referees regarding disciplinary control is to card ULTRA CLEAR BOOKABLE OFFENSES ONLY, and manage the rest with personality and soft skills. This was done to drastically lower the numbers of cards, probably to avoid the early seasons controversies at all costs(?) .

      This reminds me of the WC2014 style honestly, a consistent and predictable line is no longer valued...

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    4. WC style,atleast they are following the trend... 😀

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  10. How did we end up in this situation again? Before the QF, we were planning 11-12 different names for QFs and SFs. Now we struggle to find the 4th name for SF and we are not very sure about the 3rd also (problably Gil Manzano will be "killed" in a Milan derby).

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    1. Bad management of uefa referees committee although i love Rossetti very much

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    2. Why not Vincic for a semifinal? He is from Slovenia of course. And what about rumours in the italian media which said that Kovacs will not be appointed in the last matches of the european competitions, because Rosseti wasn't satisfied by his performance. Still are 12 games in semifinals, and we could forget that also is Nations League finals.

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  11. I think Marciniak will get the UCL final. He has the full confidence of UEFA. If he has a great game on Tuesday, he should have his ticket to the final.

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  12. Semi Champions League
    Real x City Kovacs
    City x Real Marciniak

    Milan x Inter Turpin
    Inter x Milan Taylor

    Final
    Makkelie

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  13. Excellent penalty decision by Marciniak, off-the-ball foul.

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    1. What?? Ball was already passed and then players collide. Was it reckless? I don't think so. So wrong penalty.

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    2. Bro, the foul is so clear, what do you mean. Penalty everyday

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    3. You must be joking...
      Milan player plays the ball and then is kicked by late Napoli player, stonewall penalty

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    4. Penalty for me as well, even two fouls in a single action. Correct decision IMO.

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  14. How was this not a penalty for Napoli in 36'? Clear tripping, defender didn't play the ball. Or did I miss something?

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    1. I think, the one replay showed, that he played the ball. However it looks like he makes contact with the opponent's foot first.
      So surely a debatable decision.

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  15. Challenging match for Marciniak so far. Penalty missed by Giroud should have been re-taken and missed penalty to Napoli at 38 min. Both times silent var...uhm

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    1. Oh, I saw it now. Napoli Nr. 5 enter the penalty area too quick. And that was the player that got the ball after the goalkeeper's save... So VAR should intervene and penalty should be re-taken.

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    2. Yes, good point. Actually a surprising miss, a Milan player even "notfied" the referee, so they must have been aware - and obviously a short check happened.

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    3. Unless the Napoli defender prevents a good chance with his touch after the save, I think I've learned that VAR should not intervene (there was a similiar situation in Chelsea vs. Dortmund a month ago)

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    4. OK, if that's the case, the VAR intervention in Dortmund must have been clearly wrong.
      Maybe UEFA communicated that internally and therefore no intervention today (where one can discuss, whether a "good chance" would have occurred).
      Then it's only inconsistent in the same KO stage.
      (And it obviously had no consequences for van Boekel...)

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    5. Van Boekel not being punished suggests VAR intervention in Dortmund has been correct.

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    6. I have a new theory what VAR didnt intervene (but the first one is plausible IMO): The defender encroached, but by the letter of the law maybe he didn't, because his foot was not yet on the ground on the moment of the kick. I think when considering encroachment, only the foot on the ground is considered - and not like for offside every part that can score a goal. I would like to be corrected if I'm wrong. :)

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    7. "For player encroachment in the box, it is now judged on any part of a player’s body that is on the ground when the kick is taken." Link here: https://www.premierleague.com/news/1297433

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    8. You're right.
      Source: IFAB official page.
      https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid02WmCf7UcSUnvs8RgtWiahssvZKfpQ4qk3dkZaHnhSdYoPoU32iD9NDcaSbHXAwDRxl&id=100029411596122

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  16. How is this not a penalty? Marciniak's hopes for the final gone now

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  17. A closer replay confirmed that Leao hit at first the opponent's foot and then the ball, for me penalty missed by Marciniak.

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  18. I agree that Leao took the opponent's foot first, but it was with about a nanosecond and the contact that really takes him down comes after the ball is played. For me play on is supportable, but I understand that many will have a different view

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    1. Yes, that is the one argument, which could make it not a "clear and obvious" situation.

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    2. And it is exactly the argument that makes me agree with Elliot here, although marginally. Definitely a debatable situation, it's difficult to argue against a penalty here, but it does seem like the decisive contact materialised a split second after the ball was played. However, I definitely need to see more replays to be sure.

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  19. Kwiatkowski probably sleeping. Clear penalty missed for Napoli

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  20. Regardless of how the second half will go, Marciniak won't be backed up by the Italian media. However, Rosetti needs and will use Marciniak for the end of the season no matter what.

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  21. Even with the debatable decision of the possible penalty for Napoli, still a very good performance by Marciniak if you ask me. Very alert in reading the game, correctty disallowed goal for a previoius handball and a very good foul detection. VAR made most of the mistakes today I would say.

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    1. Completely agree with you regarding overall impression being very positive. A full control over the game and players ensured as well.

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    2. Agree, but unfortunately mistake in KMI

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    3. Agree with Chefren. I especially like the way he has refereed the first 20 minutes of the second half. After the headed end of first half, he uses good proactive leadership by taking some small free kicks to keep everything under control

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  22. 80': Penalty for Napoli: Is "supporting arm" no longer a thing?

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    1. NoPK is the better decision IMO. Maybe you could make the case, that the defender could have delayed his supporting arm. Not sure what other reason would be considered.

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  23. To me that is a supporting arm, many would argue for that not being a penalty

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  24. I think that the ball first touch the arm, after that the ground. Need to see a replay though. So it should be good decision, right?

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  25. To me, handballs are just a mess. Impossible to understand anything.

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  26. Did anyone else remembered Faghani's penalty in WC? Now I also think Marciniak will not get a further match in UCL this year. Too many crucial mistakes...

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    1. To be fair, you can’t compare ‘last ditch goalkeeper style block’ (which prevents attacker from getting an easy goal chance) with PORURU’s more ‘normal’ standing blocking action. After 38’, it was also quite a wise call. I would defend this decision. Obviously the laws would also support play on…

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    2. I agree with you in every single word, Mikael; however, coming to the final decision and taking everything into consideration, this was a supporting arm for me and play on would have been a better decision. At least for my taste.

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  27. It feels like a picture perfect match to the "no handball" examples given by IFAB in 2021. I guess it's just easier for match control to call those now.

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  28. Sorry but Maignan was timewasting when goal was scored,should have received yc,no matter if he was already booked.

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  29. It's a shame for Marciniak because I really liked his general performance, reading the game well, good foul detection etc. but I think the KMIs are too big to ignore here...

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  30. I think that the whistle should not have been blown at the 4' minute of extra time. He should have let play at least 20 seconds of Maignan's time wasting when Osimhen scored.

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  31. Difficult to explain that Marciniak had a quite good performance in an extremely challenging game, but there were definitely crucial mistakes impossible to ignore. What Mikael says about the "opportunity" to whistle the handball penalty in the end is a very strong argument, and I thought the same. That's not my way of thinking but in this case one can't definitely find other reasons!
    I think Marciniak decided to stay with that ball also due to previous possible penalty in first half. But the handballs issue is very big.
    I'm very curious about the next appointment for the Polish, I would say it will be possible to see him maybe with a different VAR after today?

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    1. He will get a Europa League second leg semifinal and that's it.

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  32. OT: Michael Oliver gave two penalties for Al-Hilal in the Saudi-Arabia top game today, which were both at least supportable IMO. One handball (arm quite near to the body, but slightly going out towards the ball) and one foul (tripping with not much, but probably sufficient contact). Then later he gave a handball penalty for Al-Nassr, which was then revoked after OFR, because it actually only hit the back of the defender.

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    1. Is it common for the English referees to do games in Saudi Arabia? Has Michael or Anthony done any before?

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  33. man city in the final?! Real Madrid will destroy them but me personally i think Milan vs Real Madrid in the final

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  34. In my opinion '36 had to be a PK and '80 was not.
    '80 had 'compensating the previous mistake' all over it. The game and scoreline could be very different if '36 was whistled.

    I think we will see Marciniak again in UCL, but with a different VAR. He is a great referee. Side note: Kwiatkowski and Marciniak are good friends off the pitch. There is always a risk that a friend will try to support as much as possible. This is what happened today imo. Marciniak has a very big personality (like Mateu). And it problably needs some guts to overturn the WC final referee. But sometimes, the footage is clear and can't be denied.

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  35. I have read many comments here that Taylor will get the Champions League final if Man City is knocked out. However, I see two complicating factors:
    - The VAR appointment. A Spanish or Italian VAR is not possible because of the teams (Real Madrid vs AC Milan/Inter). Brisard (FRA) had it last year. The German VAR Fritz has not been appointed since an error. And if you appoint Van Boekel (NED) or Kwiatkowski (POL), don't you thwart Marciniak or Makkelie for a possible final in 2024? I think so. Then you are left with Dankert (GER)? Not impossible, I assume.
    -In addition, Taylor would be in charge of two finals containing Real Madrid in just 4 months.

    For these reasons I assume it was already decided that Taylor will do the full Italian semi-final and that the final will be a coin flip between Marciniak and Makkelie.

    And finally, the question is how Kwiatkowski is judged after last night and whether Makkelie's absence has consequences for his chances, or not.

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    1. And another complication: Can one really afford to keep two final candidates out of the semifinals to wait for the results?

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  36. Marciniak not showing a yellow card to Maignan and whistling at exactly the 4th mins of stoppage time despite the time wasting was weak in my opinion

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    1. I was also thinking about a (2nd) YC for Maignan. But after a goal, the defending team gets the ball, so actually the attackers have no right to try to grab it.
      Therefore I don't think, goalkeepers should be punished in such situations. I mean, they didn't even give him the chance to play it to the centre spot.

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    2. Yep,but he is still holding the ball,2 of them are in field,therefore the game cant start and Maignan should have been booked,no matter if that's his 2nd YC.

      We know what ref would do that... 😉Hint;he is from town which club went twice to CL Finals,right now they are struggling ...

      Szymon saved himself with that no call.

      But 4 minutes of stoppage,goal is scored,there is delay,Milan made some fouls and you whistle last time at 3:59?!?!?!?!??!?!?

      Come on now,that was very weak from him...

      If english refs do anything better than anyone that is for sure time management and adding time..

      He can learn from PL refs abou that cause this stuff yesterday was very weak as you already said...

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  37. For now, let's make the predictions considering Inter and Man City going through. Let's expect Makkelie or Marciniak for the final, I'd predict the former. The other one will have the Semifinal Real-City. And here the Com will have a diffcult choice to make. I guess one of Vincic and Kovacs will get another chance. Both have an advantage and a disadvantage to be picked. Kovacs - people will remember the very good performance from last year rather than the recent game in Milano; Vincic - the poor performance involved Man City but it was a couple of weeks ago. Who do you think had a worse display between the two? Taylor and Turpin sure names for Milan-Inter.

    I simply don't see another options. Orsato I guess is out unfortunately, because there will surely be an Italian team in final and, furthermore, he would repeat Real. I don't consider that Dias, Zwayer, Lahoz can make a point of discussion.

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    1. Kovacs should be ahead of Vincic for sure. His fitness level is great and both teams will remember his exceptional performance from last season. The clubs are powerful and would be more than happy with Kovacs.

      One other consideration, the difference in style and management between a Real-City and a full Italian tie can be huge. We can expect the Real-City game to be very dynamic and fast. Remember the distance that Kovacs covered last season? :) For this reason, I wouldn't be surprised if Turpin is repeated with Man City again in the semi. UEFA used to appoint him to dynamic and high paced games (more focused on playing football), whereas e.g. Marciniak always has the volcano games.

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    2. @matei: I agree, that this is the most likely scenario right now (assuming Makkelie recovers in time).
      For Kovacs, also Liverpool-Real is to be considered. This could be an argument against (he already had Real) or for (he managed well another big England-Spain clash) him.
      But in the end, it probably mostly depends on Rosetti's evaluation of Milan-Napoli.
      If it was too bad, the alternative should be found among the EL QF referees.

      In general, Gil Manzano is also a SF candidate, but obviously only for NAP-INT, where I agree that Taylor and Turpin should be more obvious - unless they perform badly this week.

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    3. I actually think Vincic is ahead of Kovacs based on his experience. If we look at the referees for Argentina from WC: Vincic, Orsato, Makkelie, Marciniak - the strongest personalities from UEFA besides Taylor who couldn't referee Argentina. So I think Vincic is a possible candidate for Italian derby, too.

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  38. Vincic final? Please no...
    He is a decent referee, but his shortcomings are clear as soon as he's in the middle of top matches, such as Inter-Barcelona.

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  39. Real Madrid vs winner ( city vs Bayern ) 1 st leg : vincic , 2 nd leg : marciniak & ac milan vs winner ( inter vs benfica) 1 st leg : lahoz , 2 nd leg : turpin , final Taylor ( if city eliminated) or makkiele ( if city in the final)

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    1. Lahoz won't get a UCL SF because he hasn't done any knockout match and RMA is in the other SF, we know how RMA influences...

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