Second set of referee appointments, Wednesday games of 2023-24 UEFA Champions League Matchday 2.
18:45 CET - Madrid (Estadio Metropolitano)
Club Atlético de Madrid (ESP) - Feyenoord (NED) | Group E
Referee: François Letexier (FRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Cyril Mugnier (FRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Mehdi Rahmouni (FRA)
Fourth Official: Jérémy Stinat (FRA)
Video Assistant Referee: Massimiliano Irrati (ITA)
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Jérôme Brisard (FRA)
UEFA Referee Observer: Hebert Fandel (GER)
UEFA Delegate: Kris Bellon (BEL)
18:45 CET - Deurne (Bosuil)
Royal Antwerp FC (BEL) - Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR) | Group H
Referee: Rade Obrenovič (SVN)
Assistant Referee 1: Jure Praprotnik (SVN)
Assistant Referee 2: Grega Kordež (SVN)
Fourth Official: Slavko Vinčić (SVN)
Video Assistant Referee:Nejc Kajtazović (SVN)
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Ivan Bebek (CRO)
UEFA Referee Observer: Milorad Mažić (SRB) Jan W. Wegereef (NED)
UEFA Delegate: Jan Willem Van Dop (NED)
21:00 CET - Glasgow (Celtic Park)
Celtic FC (SCO) - SS Lazio (ITA) | Group E
Referee: Donatas Rumšas (LTU)
Assistant Referee 1: Aleksandr Radius (LTU)
Assistant Referee 2: Dovydas Sužiedėlis (LTU)
Fourth Official: Robertas Valikonis (LTU)
Video Assistant Referee: Juan Martínez Munuera (ESP)
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Roi Reinshreiber (ISR)
UEFA Referee Observer: Peter Sippel (GER)
UEFA Delegate: Jacques Antenen (SUI)
21:00 CET - Dortmund (BVB Stadion)
Borussia Dortmund (GER) - AC Milan (ITA) | Group F
Referee: Szymon Marciniak (POL)
Assistant Referee 1: Paweł Sokolnicki (POL)
Assistant Referee 2: Tomasz Listkiewicz (POL)
Fourth Official: Tomasz Musiał (POL)
Video Assistant Referee: Tomasz Kwiatkowski (POL)
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Piotr Lasyk (POL)
UEFA Referee Observer: Terje Hauge (NOR)
UEFA Delegate: Dennis Cruise (IRL)
21:00 CET - Newcastle (St. James' Park)
Newcastle FC (ENG) - Paris Saint Germain FC (FRA) | Group F
Referee: István Kovács (ROU)
Assistant Referee 1: Vasile Florin Marinescu (ROU)
Assistant Referee 2: Ovidiu Artene (ROU)
Fourth Official: Marcel Birsan (ROU)
Video Assistant Referee: Marco Fritz (GER)
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Rob Dieperink (NED)
UEFA Referee Observer: Itchko Lozev (BUL)
UEFA Delegate: Peter Lundström (FIN)
21:00 CET - Leipzig (RB Arena)
RB Leipzig (GER) - Manchester City FC (ENG) | Group G
Referee: Artur Dias (POR)
Assistant Referee 1: Paulo Soares (POR)
Assistant Referee 2: Pedro Ribeiro (POR)
Fourth Official: Fábio Oliveira Melo (POR)
Video Assistant Referee: Tiago Martins (POR)
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Clay Ruperti (NED)
UEFA Referee Observer: Markus Strömbergsson (SWE)
UEFA Delegate: Angelo Chetcuti (MLT)
21:00 CET - Belgrade (Stadion Rajko Mitić)
FK Crvena Zvezda (SRB) - SC Young Boys (SUI) | Group G
Referee: William Collum (SCO)
Assistant Referee 1: Francis Connor (SCO)
Assistant Referee 2: David McGeachie (SCO)
Fourth Official: David Dickinson (SCO)
Video Assistant Referee: David Coote (ENG)
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Andrew Dallas (SCO)
UEFA Referee Observer: Karen Nalbandyan (ARM)
UEFA Delegate: Danijel Jošt (SVN)
21:00 CET - Porto (Estádio do Dragão)
FC Porto (POR) - FC Barcelona (ESP) | Group H
Referee: Anthony Taylor (ENG)
Assistant Referee 1: Gary Beswick (ENG)
Assistant Referee 2: Adam Nunn (ENG)
Fourth Official: Robert Jones (ENG)
Video Assistant Referee: Stuart Attwell (ENG)
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Bastian Dankert (GER)
UEFA Referee Observer: Alfredo Trentalange (ITA)
UEFA Delegate: Andrey Medintsev (BUL)
Is Peter Sippel considered as important observer? Iinm, this is not debut for Rumsas?
ReplyDeleteAnd still no debut Lambrechts, IMO it’s understandable, the complexity of the group and his background not support for him to get a debut.
It's the third CL GS match for Rumsas, he had Shakhtar - Sheriff in 21-22 season and Manchester City - Copenhagen in 22-23.
DeleteIndeed, I think a CL debut for Lambrechts would be a bit early, IMO he needs to get a bit more of experience in EL (he will probably get a Thursday game)
CL GS debut for Obrenovič, second one this season after Jorgji.
@Belgian readers: was Erik Lambrechts injured? If so, he might have a Europa League assignment first. Even top referees don't return to the Champions league immediately after recovering.
DeleteUEFA are clearly working towards Lambrechts' UCL-debut though. Van Driessche already gets his VAR trainings in Nyon.
Erik Lambrechts had indeed suffered an injury. He was unavailable as a referee for 2 match days, but was active as a VAR at that time.
DeleteWhy hasnt one person commented on this? Clear forearm/punch to the face. Game changing decision and not even looked at .
Deletehttps://twitter.com/GetInvolvedRef/status/1709650264087527533?s=20
Rade Obrenovič WOW, this is crazy how politics chooses appointments and not ability..
ReplyDeleteI am a little bit surprised to see Collum again in UCL, didn't think it would happen.
ReplyDeleteKinda strange to see Vincic as 4th official again, he is one of the very few Top Elite that sometimes has this role.
Interesting that Irrati was preferred as VAR over Brisard in Letexier game, considering that both of them are VAR Tuesday.
Reinshreiber is appointed as VAR at Tuesday and as AVAR at at Wednesday
ReplyDeleteFirst particular thing to underline is that at moment Tomasz Kwiatkowski has two games as main VAR on both Tuesday and Wednesday. This never happened before in UEFA. Really strange: I think that Piotr Lasyk could have taken the duties for Salzburg game on Tuesday.. we will see.
ReplyDeleteTo add, Kwiatkowski, and you surely remember, was heavily criticized after Napoli - Milan, now he gets again Milan, no problem, but I think he wouldn't have been appointed for the other Italian team.
No Belgian debut so rather the Belgian VAR is there for an assignment in Europa League on Thursday, while expected debut for Obrenovic, we will see how he will perfom.
Collum back in Champions League after very long time, indeed the Armenian observer in Serbia was not a suitable name for a debut, I was about to write that because I was not sure and indeed we have the Scottish here.
Dias back directly in Champions after an injury, but on paper I think that he could even got more.
Excellent assignment for Rumsas in Glasgow and this was absolutely not expected, if you ask me. Game can turn into a very challenging one, but not a real top clash, so appointing Lithuanian is ok.
Regular assignments for Taylor, Marciniak, Letexier.
Not only Kwiatkowski. Also Irrati - Tuesday with Orsato, Wednesday with Letexier
DeleteYou are right, sorry I missed Irrati with the French team, so this seems to be a new trend by committee, it is OK to appoint a VAR for two games in a row in two consecutive games. They also take a risk in case of big mistake in the first game...
DeleteOT: After another long absence, Schärer came back to referee in domestic competition yesterday (Yverdon - St. Gallen)
ReplyDeleteCould we expect him to return to UEFA competitions this week in EL/Conference or at the very least in the EURO qualifiers?
I think rather in EURO Qualifiers, but still not sure.
DeleteSeems definitely too late for a Cup assignment on this week.
Is it possible we will see Peljto and his team moving forward?
ReplyDeleteWhat do you mean by moving forward?
DeleteFurther in the group stage, and in the next phase?
DeleteSorry probably didn’t phrase that right
Yes, that's sure! He will gets other appointments, I think the next one in Champions League (MD3 or 4).
DeleteI wonder why so many of you expect Lambrechts' UCL debut. Last season, he had two Europa League matches and one Conference League game, all of them in the group stage but no further assignment in the knockout phase.
ReplyDeleteHe is considered the Belgian #1 by many readers. And I don’t think the AVAR assignment of Van Driessche is completely random. It might be similar to Dieperink, who gained UCL experience as a AVAR during MD1, and starts working as a VAR in MD2.
DeleteAnd finally, Belgium has a strong head of referees (Fandel) now. I don’t think we won’t see a Belgian referee at all
He had his first UCL appointment, but because of injury, plans changed. My best guess is that Collum (surprise, not a "real" Elite since long anymore) is replacing him in Serbia and that Lambrechts will get his first UCL appointment in MD 5/6. In any case a bad sign for Visser, whose name does not exist anymore apparently. Has he become so bad all of a sudden ?
ReplyDeleteTo be honest I was never fully convinced by Visser. He looks like a good decision taker but poor guy has the charisma of a traffic light.
Delete@Quilava: According to the follwing source, he showed 101 (!) yellow cards in 2 (!) matches in the 2022/2023 Championship of Belgium's Eerste klasse A. Maybe Rosetti studied these statistics but follows the principle "Never show more than 50 yellow cards per game". ;-)
Deletehttps://www.worldfootball.net/referee_summary/lawrence-visser/1/1/
The Scottish referee MR Collum is a very experienced referee and deserves his appointment.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately some people don’t like his style and politics have not helped him .
Like others , he works hard in his refereeing and is totally dedicated .
Some people have their own little fan base and groups and think their referee is the only referee Uefa have .
If all referees were treated the same way MR Collum might get better games .
You are hos mentor?
DeleteNO
DeleteAfter, Var being introduced in Scotland last year, I definitely think uefa have been keen to get Scottish officials back In big games, I think refs like Beaton, Walsh and Robertson all will be interesting in the future
ReplyDeleteStandard appoitments for everyone,but I would single out 2.
ReplyDeleteKovacs
-his strict and updated criterium,we'll see if he has that style in big matches with big teams
-expecting tricky match for him
-every match in this group is like a final
-both these teams have their dose of players that regularly go into the book(Tonali,Guimaraes,Gordon,Ugarte,Danilo)and have players that are fast and problematic to guard(Mbappe,Guimaraes,Gordon,Muani,Dembele)
Collum
-will have tough crowd and hostile enviroment
-both teams are there,have equal quality and Red Star matches can be pressure for referee on their stadium
-1 of 2 key matches for 3rd place in this group if we look at this with realism
I don’t know how atmosphere in Belgrade especially Rajko Mitic now, I mean recently I rarely saw full house or hot atmosphere in Belgrade, it’s only very physical game left than the old Belgrade atmosphere in the past.
DeleteIt’s not like colum hasn’t handled hostile crowds before, Glasgow, Edinburgh derbies along with Aberdeen v Rangers, the crowd in this case is immaterial, he just has to show he can officiate at this level with var and no important mistakes
DeleteMr Collum is very experienced offical.
DeleteSome people here are hoping he falls before the game has even kicked off totally nonsense .
3 appointments for Tiago Martins this week. 1 VAR and 2 AVAR’s. Expecting him to work on the next CL final tbh.
ReplyDeleteSo far, we have Gil Manzano, Sanchez, Kovacs and Marciniak in Group F. All expected names.
ReplyDeleteIt will be difficult to assign referees for MD3-MD4 in this group, especially PSG vs Milan and Milan vs PSG.
The other game is less difficult as English/German clashes tend to be fair without too much pressure on the referee. I can see a lower ranked (non-WC) referee there.
One obvious name for PSG-Milan could be Vincic. I can’t think of any other names for the reversed game (MD4) though, other than repeat Gil Manzano (MD1) again
Makkelie Gozubuyuk Dias Vincic Nyberg Schärer and/or switch games referees from MD1 or MD2
DeleteYes indeed, Dias is a good name for PSG-Milan or the reversed game as well. Very experienced and handled a SF UCL recently.
Delete-Gozubuyuk is not good enough when players put pressure on him and tbf, he was never used in big games like that
-Peljto is in good form, he can be a surprise name, but tbf, he never refereed such high profile games in UCL before. I’m in for a surprise though;
-Nyberg has huge potential, but honestly I hope they don’t rush him like Siebert;
-Schärer just back from injury
Due to ukrainian complaint, Mazic removed from the Shakhtar game
ReplyDeleteYes, it's official, Jan Wegereef (NED) replaces Milorad Mazic for Antwerp- Shakhtar.
DeleteI somehow doubt Ukraine complaint had any connection with that, expecialy considering latest news that UEFA rejected Ukraine’s appeal on inclusion of Russia’s youth teams into competitions.
DeleteI can't believe that this can be the reason, would be too much if you ask me. I don't know which connection can have one team in deciding the nationality of a referee observer, something absolutely not related to their interestes. In case, the "victim" would be only the referee about his assessment, but of course one can't believe that.
DeleteHope the reason for replacement is different.
I don't think it's because of Mazic is from Serbia, but because he's the current chairman of Russian referees commitee, thus appointing the person holding that job to a match involving a Ukrainian team would be a bit politically untenable, even if I trust Mazic would have done his job being 100% professional.
DeleteShame for UEFA! And Ukraine should be suspended from all competitions.
ReplyDeleteThe video of Turpin OFR in Napoli - Real Madrid
ReplyDeletehttps://streamff.co/v/VXs6udBg9J
If you ask me, among other things, not the best body language by Turpin while waiting for VAR call, he gave the idea of being absolutely annoyed by that...
Yes, German magazine kicker wrote
Delete"Napoli were awarded a penalty they neither asked for nor understood
The controversial topic of handball penalties confuses fans and players alike on an almost weekly basis. In Naples, even referee Clement Turpin had astonishment written all over his face."
"Whether they were wearing a Napoli or a Real jersey, the players' faces were first puzzled. Turpin himself was no different, while he was asked several times what this was all about."
On the situation itself, I still think, it is at least supportable, because the raised arm can't really be justified by the sliding movement. It is probably there to protect against his opponent's body, but that's not really relevant.
The Law's wording is "a consequence of or justifiable by the player's body movement" - and exactly that is not fulfilled IMO.
And yes, I also would like to see less handball penalties in general and especially in situations, where it is clearly not deliberate.
What happened if Turpin reject VAR intervention? IMO comparing to Turpin body language if Mateu Lahoz on there, he would be “easily” or the probability for rejection more higher than Turpin. If Turpin reject the intervention, I think we would agree or support on field decision and deemed VAR intervention as wrong. It’s very logic especially when your team is losing and you appeal every incident happened in penalty box. But come on even Osimhen did not realize that was punishable handball happened, so why VAR must intervene, just in case if someone comparing to another Brisard intervention for Turpin in Atletico vs Leverkusen, IMO handball incident also happened with no reaction but that was surely we would ask for VAR intervention if VAR not intervene at that time.
DeleteCorrect first YC of the game by Obrenovic: 12', a reckless challenge.
ReplyDeleteHorrible decision by Letexier to allow the 1-1 for me. The defender acted because attacker was offside, so for me definately punishable.
ReplyDeleteIn what way? Being in an offside position is not an offside offence, this was clearly a goal and a correct decision from Letexier.
DeleteI agree with anonymous 19:01, imo clear mistake by Letexier to allow the goal.
DeleteAccording to the newest interpretation of the offside rule, the defender did not play the ball deliberately, no control of the situation, so offside. Very bad intervention from Irrati (again and again). Top officials do not understand the laws of the game and the newest interpretations.
DeleteThis would be correct if the ball reached the player in the offside position. Since the ball reached Morata who was not in an offside position, it does not matter if he played it with control or deliberately. Why would the referee or VAR consider the defender in control if there is no offside interpretation to begin with? You are misunderstanding the rule here anonymous 19:04 x2
DeleteThe handball rules and “intentional play” are just ridiculous. I hate IFAB and FIFA!
DeleteImo a very bad decision by AR2 to deem the situation as offside, the player in the "offside" position obviously did not commit an offside offence. Glad VAR worked correctly here to count the goal but a weird call from the assistant referee...
ReplyDeleteYou are clueless. The defender only tried to play the ball to stop the offside player getting the ball. Offside was the first offence. Shambles from the french officials
DeleteAnd the laws are very easy to understand, being in an offside position is not an offside offence. This was the correct decision and you're the one being clueless here :)
DeleteI prefer to go harsh on this, anyone offside near a defender who messes up any short of tackle or clearance should be pinned
DeleteAm I missing something or we have just witnessed another monumental VAR mistake?! How on earth someone can decide that the defender of Feyenoord was in full control of the ball?
ReplyDeleteBecause the ball reached a player who was not in an offside position. No offside offence has occured because the ACTUAL player in the offside position did NOT commit any offside offence (being in an offside position is NOT an offside offence).
Deleteit is, when play is interfered. that's for sure the case here.
Delete@ Anonimous 19:07: absolute nonsense. Does not exist such wording. Please, don't just try camouflage such a bonker. It is so plain that many referees dont possess even basic football understanding.
Delete@anonymous 19:11 okay so using the actual wordings then, did the player in the offside position commit any of these offences in your opinion?:
Deleteinterfering with play by playing or touching a ball passed or touched by a team-mate or
interfering with an opponent by:
preventing an opponent from playing or being able to play the ball by clearly obstructing the opponent’s line of vision or
challenging an opponent for the ball or
clearly attempting to play a ball which is close when this action impacts on an opponent or
making an obvious action which clearly impacts on the ability of an opponent to play the ball
gaining an advantage by playing the ball or interfering with an opponent when it has:
rebounded or been deflected off the goalpost, crossbar, match official or an opponent
been deliberately saved by any opponent
If so, please explain :)
@Anonimous 19:14 Thank you for the reasonable conversation. "clearly attempting to play a ball which is close when this action impacts on an opponent or" - this is what happened here IMO. The attacker is making a run behind the defender to try to get in a goalscoring position, the defender comletely aware of the presence of an attacker behind him, tries everything possible to reach the ball but cannot control it, i.e. we have: "clearly attempting to play a ball which is close when this action impacts on an opponent or"
Delete@anonymous 19:21 I understand that it could be interpreted in this way, but this exact law requires the attacker to clearly attempt to play the ball. Running to try and get the ball without running towards the opponent and affecting his ability to play the ball can not be deemed to "clearly attempt to play the ball". I agree that in an optimal world, this may have been deemed as offside BUT the laws are not meant to be interpreted in the way you're explaining it and if it was, we'd have a lot of situations of trying to figure out the intentions of the attacker which a referee cannot do for every single situation, we're not mind readers :p
DeleteDeliberate play by the defender is completely irrelevant here as the attacker in an offside position never becomes active.
ReplyDeleteEspecially, he is not challenging his opponent for the ball.
So in my opinion a quite clear onside situation (and therefore a strange call by the AR).
But apparently difficult to understand for some commenters and commentators...
But if so, what was the reason Letexier was called to the screen?
DeleteVery tiring to go on a referee blog and not know the rules and then make comments as if they have all the answers, this should be a very easy decision for the AR.
Delete@anonymous 19:10 Because the onfield decision was offside and a clear and obvious mistake according to the laws of the game?
Deletein other situations when the mistakes involves offside, there is no OFR, just a decision by VAR. Why not in this case? That's my question.
Delete@anonymous 19:16 ah, since this is not a simple "is the player offside or not" kind of black and white situation, the referee has to decide since this is technically an assessment question. He has to be the one to take the final decision.
DeleteReading all those anonymous comments about offside I want to shoot myself. How on the earth this is offside, which leagues are you refereeing and hoe many times have you read Laws of the game?
DeleteFrom Atlético - Feyenoord, 1-1 goal:
ReplyDeletehttps://dubz.co/c/23afb6
Absolutely no awareness by defender of the player behind him, and apart from that there isn't any influence. Clearly regular goal by Atlético Madrid, correct decision by French official.
Defender took a risk by making that action, he wasn't influenced by any circumstance, he just wanted to stop ball.
Correct and every anonymous who thinks they know the rules here are out of their depth. Thank you Chefren.
DeleteFully agree, the attacker in offside position never becomes active and, as Chefren stated, we cannot judge his position as influencing the defender. I have to say I'm not really sure why there was such a long discussion about this situation, it seems to be pretty straightforward.
DeleteFor every anonymous who does not understand the offside rules, "forcing" a player to make a play (in this scenario, forcing the defender to make the slide tackle) is not an offside offence. He is not challenging for the ball but simply existing in an offside position. The ball afterwards reached Morata who was not in an offside position and therefore no offside offence has occured. It would have been different if the ball reached the player in the offside position after the tackle (would have been offside) or if Morata was in an offside position (which he wasn't). The defender making a tackle out of control does not matter since no offside situation has occured therefore a goal is the correct decision and a rather bad decision from AR2 to raise the flag.
ReplyDeleteI can hardly believe there is dispute with regard to Letexier’s final decision to allow Atleti’s goal… IMO a very clear correct decision. The attacker in offside position was not in line of vision of any defender, did not challenge for the ball, did not make any action nor tried to play the ball. None of the criteria for interfering with an opponent was met, so the only correct decision was to allow the goal.
ReplyDeleteA textbook example of how to interpret the offside law, there should be no discussion here but rather unity on how to decide this. A very easy decision and therefore a weird/wrong decision by AR2.
DeleteApparantly a wrong decision by AR2. However also a mistake by Irrati to call Letexier for OFR. The decision is factual so should have been taken without OFR....
DeleteIs the decision really factual tho? The original call was obviously not because AR2 thought Morata was in an offside position (I hope lol) but because he thought that the player in the offside position somehow committed an offside offence, thus making it an assessment situation and not a factual one.
DeleteRegular performance by Obrenovic, correct cards when needed for reckless challenge, not a real difficulty in this first half.
ReplyDeleteI have to say I really like Letexier’s performance so far! Totally unimpressed by the atmosphere taking the right decisions and being able to connect with the players in the right moments. A pleasure to watch!
ReplyDeleteBack to yesterday, the possible RC for SFP in Jovanovic game:
ReplyDeletehttps://streamff.co/v/g_pIrQaGIP
I tought Bebek should have called him,for way less we saw RC in the past .
DeleteBorderline, never clear RC.
DeletePoint of contact - knee, intensity - moderate, type of contact - not direct, rather scratching, IMO no RC
DeleteI have a question about the 1-1. The defender looks to the offside attacker just before he plays the ball . Isn’t he influenced by the attacker?
ReplyDeleteFurther: an excellent Letexier.
Discussed thoroughly above, to answer it shortly: no he can not be deemed influenced by the attacker. The attacker simply existed on the pitch which is not an offside offence making it a bad AR decision and a correct VAR & Letexier decision.
DeleteExcept if you stand in front of the goalkeeper offside and exist on the pitch whist in the keepers eyeline, then it can be offside. Makes complete sense
ReplyDeleteObviously, you're correct there ;)
DeleteGreat perf from Letexier so far.
ReplyDeleteLetexier is a no nonsense young and very good referee!!! It’s like the games and KMI just plays into his hands perfectly… apart from the U-20 World Cup I haven’t seen him have a poor game, he rarely smiles tho and as a very young referee with a baby face I think it’s a style he adopted to get acceptance from players and it works most times.
ReplyDeleteThe particular thing is that indeed all his poor performances of recent times were shown at U20 World Cup... but in UEFA, always very strong, maybe unless Super Cup in which he had a weird disciplinary approach for his standard. I started to think he did that because it was a final.. so he didn't want to book players.
DeleteAll 5 bookings so far were correct.
ReplyDeletePossible foul by attacker before the 2-3 in Antwerp.
ReplyDeleteBut maybe, also possible penalty?
Deletehttps://streamin.me/v/08d92034
More challenging second half for Obrenovic, 2-3 goal by Ukrainian team under focus. There was a possible penalty before, I didn't notice a possible advantage gesture, then Shakhtar scored and all was solved. VAR also checked whether ball was out just before the goal.
ReplyDeleteIn one of the replays it seemed more like a foul of the attacker
DeleteHandball penalty whistled by Obrenovic in the very last minute of the game, clear situation. Important for the Slovenian referee to be ready to make such call, crucial for the outcome of the game.
ReplyDeleteYes, good call.
DeleteBut nearly a minute between the ball put on the penalty spot and the whistle for execution is way too long, I think.
It's fine, if the referee makes clear once, that the defenders have to stay outside the penalty area, but that should be it.
The defenders become too much power to delay the execution and therefore to unsettle the taker, if the referee is so pedantic.
The very same happened before the missed Galatasaray penalty yesterday...
Very good performance by Obrenovic in Antwerpen!
ReplyDeleteVery good Letexier in Madrid tonight. Impressive!
ReplyDeleteWhat a performances by Letexier and Obrenovic. I expect at least one more CL game for Slovenian in this year. As Chefren said, very important for him to make such calls,and to be brave!
ReplyDeleteMaybe the best CL debut performance by a referee since Schärer in Barcelona - Ferencváros in 20/21?
ReplyDeleteForgot to mention that my only complain, even if a bit 'superficial', is basically Philipp's: A bit too pedantic on encroachment warnings before the execution of the PK, might have had an effect on Alderweireld losing focus and missing it.
Delete1) No offside is (obviously) the correct decision in the Atlético 1-1 incident, the attacker (obviously) hasn’t committed an offence.
ReplyDelete2) Before the huge tinkering of Law12 in the early noughties, this would have been offside. That would be my preferred decision, actually - but I don’t write the laws.
3) Nice to read that Letexier did well overall. His performance was VERY good in MKDITA qualifier. The Frenchman continues to underline he is a name for hot games!
I meant to write early 2010s, but what mistakenly said too is also true :)
DeleteI prefer a very strict approach to offside interference. Anywhere near a defender and you are offside
DeleteWhat is a hand ball, nowadays. yesterday in Sevilla, defender slid, got the ball, and inadvertently deflect to his hands near his face..VAR says p.k....
ReplyDeleteTaylor missed a pk in Taremi. Around 20' minutes.
ReplyDeletePunishable PK+DOGSO in 19’ of POR-BAR for me, too much shirt and upper leg with no winning of ball.
ReplyDeleteFor me it's much more the contact with the leg that makes this a penalty. A shirt pull in itself is not necessarily a foul as it has to impede the opponent's movement, therefore it should only be a YC as Koundé tried to reach for the ball in that instance. A missed penalty and intervention nonetheless by Taylor and Attwell respectively
DeleteAfter more consideration I think your view is a more reasonable one. PK+YC acceptable decision. Hard for Taylor to detect, but VAR must intervene.
Delete2-0 by Newcastle, AR had flagged offside but it was wrong decision, then ball in the net but the goal was allowed only after VAR intervention. Long check but in this case one can fully understand why VAR needed a long time.
ReplyDeleteBetter said, the ball crossed the line being apparentely saved by the goalkeeper then GLT announced the referee it was goal and AR flagged offside aprox the same time. In fact it was not offiside, as VAR showed and the goal was awarded.
DeleteVery long VAR check in NEW-PAR with many incidents to check: handball, offside, foul? Newcastle attacker did play the ball with his hand, however, was it really punishable? For me not punishable. Still, no consistency in the interpretation.
ReplyDeleteI had missed the previous handball..
DeleteVideo:
https://imgur.com/a/cFaVed6
Must agree with you, here an Italian VAR (take as example Irrati yesterday) would have called it 100%!
Definitely no consistency if another VAR makes a different assessment.
Coming from the English or maybe more the Northern European school when it comes to handballs, this should not be a punishable handball. I don't think the arm is in an unatural position for the movement Lascelles is making. Also probably why a German VAR did not intervene for this, contrary to maybe an Italian or Spanish VAR
DeleteNot punishable for me as well: ball played by head to his own hand; arm in a natural position, at least for me; no hand to ball movement. This seemed to be completely accidental. I definitely wouldn't like this to be called. However, you are absolutely right about consistency, handball has probably become the biggest issue nowadays.
DeleteI don't like Newcastle but clearly a regular goal. Its never a punishable handball.
DeleteAlso want to add VAR probably just needed one check to ensure the ball hadn't gone dead.
Short video of the mentioned situation from Porto - Barcelona:
ReplyDeletehttps://streamff.com/v/ufU3GdGZVI
Holding shirt (maybe soft) and failed attempt with leg to play ball.
Strong arguments for whistling, indeed, but still not a clear and obvious one.
Strong arguments for penalty indeed, but because of the contact with the upper leg primarily, at least for me. I can agree with you regarding possible VAR intervention, but it's definitely more penalty than not IMO.
DeleteJumpping to play the ball resulted in falling on the ground. I dont see any penalty offence here. Holding ... almost nothing. I agree he is not playing the ball but the contact made with attacker is not the reason he is falling down. Attacker trying to win a penalty. Play on is the best decision.
DeleteFor me clear pk and a big mistake by the refereeing team.
Delete@GRef it is not only about falling, it is about clear preventing the player to get the ball with a strong tackle.
It seems from the video that Taylors view was covered, but VAR was able tocheck it clearly.
That's exactly the reason for me to deem this a penalty, Forlan. Contact on the upper leg, made by a tackle from Kounde, clearly prevented the attacker from getting this ball, which IMO he would have done without the tackle.
DeleteWas this not violent conduct in the end before HT @Newcastle vs PSG
ReplyDeleteI am wondering the same, could not really see it too well but it definitely looked like he "slapped" him of some sort?
Delete45'
Delete+ 7
Yellow card
Bruno Guimarães (Newcastle) is shown a yellow card.
I still have to review more angles, but I had a very strong feeling it really was a slap, and an intentional one as well. If so, a violent conduct missed by everyone (it happened out of Kovacs's view).
DeleteReally felt the same, watched some replays as well and it really looks like he looks at the opponent, closes his fist and decides to swing. Regardless of him striking the opponent cleanly, this feels like a VC, but no reactions or protests from any players, could this be the reason for VAR not intervening?
DeleteLooked like a Red to me, I was semi watching in a pub and saw the replay (at distance)
DeleteAfter carefully rewatching the incident again, it's an intentional and pretty strong slap for me, therefore VC and RC. However, it managed to go under the radar for virtually everyone on the field, none of the players protested too much, not even the one who got slapped. Everyone seemed to have been focused on the ball, including Kovacs, who probably decided for a foul and YC upon advice by a teammate. Now, why VAR decided to stay silent is a mystery to me, but I strongly feel it was a mistake.
Deletehttps://twitter.com/GetInvolvedRef/status/1709650264087527533
ReplyDeleteCeltic v Lazio midway through the first half, missed arm across the face by the referee - at least a yellow card surely...
Still, you don't have the 100% it was deliberate, but I agree missed YC, must be assessed as reckless at least without doubts.
DeleteClear reckless for me.
DeleteI have a really strong gut feeling this was deliberate, also with more than enough force. Personally, it's a RC for me, but I can understand your argument about not being 100% sure about the intention. Still, if nothing was given, then it's certainly a mistake by the referee.
DeleteImo a RC, too. Deliberate, he knew what he was doing.
DeleteDifficult to assess when slowed down, a YC atleast but not more for me personally.
DeleteCorrect intervention by Coote in Belgrade, handball by the defender and penalty to Young Boys. It was very clear on replay but maybe a bit hard to spot live from Collum's position
ReplyDeleteAnd Mr Collum had an excellent game .
DeleteThis showed he deserved to be there .
Overall excellent performance from him and his team .
This might just silence some of his critics tonight .
Penalty given by Taylor for handball. Looks spot on
ReplyDeleteOverturned due to a handball by Porto. Nonsensical decision for me
Delete+1
Deletehttps://streamin.me/v/3cdcf74e
DeleteTo me, clear handball before!
Imo it's above the t shirt line, certainly not sufficient to say it's clearly above it. But of course it's a game of opinions
DeleteI agree with Ecosse. For me is no clear handball because the s-shirt line. Wrong intervention by Attwell
DeletePhantom hand detected by Atwell. Bad call…
DeleteIt's the right hand that makes contact with the ball
DeleteNever in the LAw of the game i had seen a text about T-shirt line. Simply because this doesnt exist. Correct decision by VAR as this is HANDBALL.
DeleteNot sure it hits a punishable part of the arm, if it does its a clear handball. Clear penalty if not. Tough call but for me not handball. Wrong intervention for me, from Attwell again
DeleteThere is a clear movement of the player intending to play the ball with his arm, penalty imo.
DeleteIn Celtic - Lazio, VAR disallowed 2-1 by Celtic due to an offside: difficult to spot by AR because ONSIDE on original pass and then difficult to detect the touch by teammate, more replays were needed.
ReplyDeleteIn Porto, correct VAR intervention, first handball by attacker, before handball by defender. Taylor had missed the first one and he had whistled penalty.
Not conviced by Attwell's intervention, the pictures shown doesn't clearly show that it did indeed hit the hand and not the shoulder. I know the line is not at the t-shirt, which some seems to think even though the rule book doesn't name that that at all, but it's still looks above what I see as handball
DeleteNvm, saw a still picture of the incident now, and I think handball is the correct decision here. Good work by Attwell
DeleteSo much work for almost all VAR teams. Wow!
ReplyDeleteMarciniak the only one who doesn't follow new guidelines. Big protests from Milan bench after penalty appeal in 91' but Marciniak did nothing.
ReplyDeleteVery good competition for Marciniak
DeleteThere was no penalty kick
DeleteVery challenging games! Overall good performances by almost all refs tonight
ReplyDeleteBut not by ARs. A few wrongly disallowed goals for non existing offside tonight.
DeleteMarciniaks foul detection level in that game was embarrassing. Basically any physical contact was a foul. May aswell say its a non contact sport
ReplyDeleteVery good competition for Marciniak
DeleteAre appointments for MD3 and MD4 made together?
ReplyDeleteThe final score in Newcastle is simply incredibile.
ReplyDeleteWe all remember PSG and all the issues that many referees had with them, now it seems the French team must be definitely worried about other matters.
Marciniak is great as always
ReplyDeleteOverall good evening for the referees with no major controversies (only Taylor, Letexier & Collum called to OFRs, and it not for the referee's 'fault' in the Frenchman's case), but as someone mentioned above, not for the ARs. From what I can recall:
ReplyDelete1) Wrongly disallowed goal in ATMFEY by AR2 (Letexier correctly called for OFR to assess non-intervention by Atlético player)
2) Wrongly disallowed goal in CZVYBS by AR1 (though there was a very good offside decision later)
3) Wrongly conceded goal in CELLAZ (slight touch by Celtic attacker made the goalscoring teammate offside)
4) Wrongly disallowed goal in NEWPSG
The possible penalty at the end of Borussia Dortmund - Milan:
ReplyDeletehttps://streamja.com/LJA5v
I must say, excellent decision by Marciniak because live it looked like very clear penalty, but replay showed it was definitely not enough to whistle (at least for me). Also, convincing management of the players afterwards.
Why don't you write something about the behavior of the Milan bench and Marciniak ignoring it?
DeleteNo penalty, perfect call.
DeleteI guess, Marciniak is not one of the UEFA-puppets that follows the new guidelines blindly. He does whatever works for him and his management. I wish, more referees would do that. Strong personality’s dare to stick with their own style and will be respected. And tbh, after his 2 finals last season, he has nothing to win or lose…
DeleteI guess, Marciniak is not a team player. All elite referees take responsibility to show stricter approach to dissent to hopefully protect the image of a referee and help the younger referees from getting abused by coaches. But hey, then comes the Pole who doesn't care about that and "does whatever works for him and his management."
DeleteDid you wrote the same opinion when FIFA/UEFA released their pro-leniency “guidelines” in 2014? ;)
DeleteLess cards, less fouls, etc. which didn’t work for many referees that do not have a strong personality.
What I’m trying to state is that guidelines regarding card management are ‘just’ guidelines, and they vary, depending on the wind conditions in Nyon :)
Sure, guidelines are important for uniformity, however there must be some room for referees to ‘stick to what works for them’ in some occasions.
I’m welcoming the new guidelines regarding dissents, but IMO a referee doesn’t need to show such cards if the authority is strong and foul detection is flawless. Some referees (e.g. Vincic) showed YC’s for dissents after making a wrong estimation theirselves. Talking about a bad image!
There are yellow card averages in the UCL group stage for the past 6 seasons:
ReplyDelete2018/19 - 4.26
2019/20 - 4.06
2020/21 - 4.09
2021/22 - 4.20
2022/23 - 4.11
2023/24 - 5.31(!!!)
Do you think it's just a cause of the small sample size and it will eventually level down, or is it a new trend caused by referees getting instructions to be much stricker than in previous seasons?
Possible violent conduct at the end of first half in Newcastle:
ReplyDeletehttps://streamja.com/vdr1N
I'd rather see red than yellow here if I'm honest
DeleteGood case to gauge PSG's influence. If it is as big as with Makkelie and Real Madrid, we will not see Kovacs in bigger matches for a while
Yes, we will see if conspiracy theorists on this blog were right.
DeleteFrom this angle, it really looks like a red card. It is difficult to be 100% certain but VAR must have seen something that we couldn't to not intervene for this type of offence.
Delete@ Hans, we cannot compare both cases. In Kovacs’ game, Newcastle is already 2-0 upfront and besides, it’s the groupstage. PSG still have good chances to qualify for the knock-outs. And even if PSG ends 3rd or 4th in group, it is not ‘just’ because of Kovacs’ decision in this game.
DeleteBtw I think, we can all 100% agree that Makkelie deserved more support after his masterclass in Madrid to put it mildly. UEFA did not hesitate to take immediate action to support Massa after a dreadful game in Greece… Oh well, he’s Italian. I forgot about that.
Another example where politics played a big role is the treatment of Cakir. Those aren’t conspiracy theories btw. It was obvious that the non-Pk call (Slovenia) has hurt him and his chances, even after strong EURO 2020 performances, thanks to the political influence of Ceferin. I thought @Mikael wrote an interesting blog about that.
As I said yesterday, a VC RC for me. And I'm more and more convinced after every review I make.
DeleteVC - RC
Delete