Sixth and last Matchday of 2023-24 UEFA Champions League group stage, first set of games to be played on Tuesday 12 December 2023.
18:45 CET - Lens (Stade Bollaert-Delelis)
RC Lens (FRA) - Sevilla FC (ESP) | Group B
Referee: Felix Zwayer GER
Assistant Referee 1: Stefan Lupp GER
Assistant Referee 2: Marco Achmüller GER
Fourth Official: Sven Jablonski GER
Video Assistant Referee: Bastian Dankert GER
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Sören Storks GER
UEFA Referee Observer: Gylfi Þór Orrason ISL
UEFA Delegate: Maria Mifsud MLT
18:45 CET - Eindhoven (PSV Stadion)
PSV Eindhoven (NED) - Arsenal FC (ENG) | Group B
Referee: Tobias Stieler GER
Assistant Referee 1: Christian Gittelmann GER
Assistant Referee 2: Mark Borsch GER
Fourth Official: Martin Petersen GER
Video Assistant Referee: Christian Dingert GER
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Tiago Martins POR
UEFA Referee Observer: Michael Tomas Ross NIR
UEFA Delegate: Aleksandra Pejkovska MKD
21:00 CET - Manchester (Old Trafford)
Manchester United FC (ENG) - FC Bayern München (GER) | Group A
Referee: Espen Eskås NOR
Assistant Referee 1: Jan Erik Engan NOR
Assistant Referee 2: Isaak Elias Bashevkin NOR
Fourth Official: Rohit Saggi NOR
Video Assistant Referee: Pol van Boekel NED
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Clay Ruperti NED
UEFA Referee Observer: Juan Antonio Fernández Marín ESP
UEFA Delegate: Vito Di Gioia ITA
21:00 CET - Copenhagen (Parken)
FC København (DEN) - Galatsaray (TUR) | Group A
Referee: Daniele Orsato ITA
Assistant Referee 1: Ciro Carbone ITA
Assistant Referee 2: Alessandro Giallatini ITA
Fourth Official: Michael Fabbri ITA
Video Assistant Referee: Massimiliano Irrati ITA
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Paolo Valeri ITA
UEFA Referee Observer: Michal Beneš CZE
UEFA Delegate: Arturs Gaidels LVA
21:00 CET - Naples (Stadio Diego Armando Maradona)
SSC Napoli (ITA) - SC Braga (POR) | Group C
Referee: Slavko Vinčić SVN
Assistant Referee 1: Tomaž Klančnik SVN
Assistant Referee 2: Andraž Kovačič SVN
Fourth Official: David Šmajc SVN
Video Assistant Referee: Nejc Kajtazovič SVN
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Rob Dieperink NED
UEFA Referee Observer: Cyril Zimmermann SUI
UEFA Delegate: Rotem Kamer ISR
21:00 CET - Berlin (Olympiastadion)
1.FC Union Berlin (GER) - Real Madrid CF (ESP) | Group C
Referee: Rade Obrenovič SVN
Assistant Referee 1: Jure Praprotink SVN
Assistant Referee 2: Grega Kordež SVN
Fourth Official: Mate Jugn SVN
Video Assistant Referee: Stuart Attwell ENG
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: David Coote ENG
UEFA Referee Observer: Laurent Duhamel FRA
UEFA Delegate: Jenni Kennedy ENG
21:00 CET - Milan (Stadio Giuseppe Meazza)
FC Internazionale (ITA) - Real Sociedad de Fútbol (ESP) | Group D
Referee: Sandro Schärer SUI
Assistant Referee 1: Bekim Zogaj SUI
Assistant Referee 2: Jonas Erni SUI
Fourth Official: Lionel Tschudi SUI
Video Assistant Referee: Fedayi San SUI
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Benoît Millot FRA
UEFA Referee Observer: Mehmet Murat Ilgaz TUR
UEFA Delegate: Philippe Prudhon FRA
21:00 CET - Salzburg (Stadion Salzburg)
FC Salzburg (AUT) - SL Benfica (POR) | Group D
Referee: Daniel Sebert 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: Dennis Johan Higler NED
UEFA Referee Observer: Emil Bozinovski MKD
UEFA Delegate: Styrbjörn Oskarsson FIN
The shock of the day is that Vincic is appointed for Napoli-Braga, which let the explosive Dortmund-PSG for ... Gil Manazano? :(( Please no.
ReplyDeleteWe see again the 2 referees from the same country working in the same group strategy. In my opinion it is a good time to aply it. Obrenovic should be fine in his game in Berlin as well as Stieler.
A poor gane in my opinion for Siebert, one would argue that Benfica is still in the fight for the Europa League spot. I think a better appointed received Scharer, with the teams aiming foor the first place in the group, which is really important; especially we mist consider that the Swiss referee made his return recently after quite some break. Eskas is back in UEFA competition after his WC experience with a good game for him. Standard appointment for Zwayer, I disagree with those who proposed him appointment in Newcastle-Milan despite Borussia qualified already, I do not think that this option would have been ok. And to end the analysis, the Com doesn't take any risk with the game in Copenhagen, sending one of their best referees there to avoid any controversy.
Except for Vinic use here and not tomorrow in this week key match, it is a good management by the Com in MD6 so far I would say
Interesting appointments, we can make an analysis name by name.
ReplyDeleteGroup B:
Reversed assignment from MD1, with Zwayer and Stieler again in the group. Further confirmations for us that choices were made before MD5 results, and after that, even with qualification already decided, they are not changed. On paper of course they sound as sub-standard choices, but we know how they were made.
Group C:
Vinčić in Naples definitely a surprise, but again for me a confirmation that we will not see Gil Manzano at least in Champions League in this group stage, while he could be rather assigned to a game in either EL or ECL without too many soptlights. That's how committee seems to work. About the Slovenian, to me the game is even below standard, but could have been maybe more important if also Union Berlin in contention for qualification. Still, I think some weak moments in his previous games are now visible by such treatment by committee, a CL game for him, bu not a very big one. Now the only name for Borussia Dortmund - PSG seems Dias and we have the Portuguese VAR as possible confirmation, working as AVAR in this set.
Group D
Here some choices that must be explained taken individually. Siebert in Champions League just to get an appointment, but the game is not important and the situation in this group was already clear,. so committee appointed him just to give him the opportunity of another CL match, very clear, but without real engagement (I want also to add that in his previous game in group B he hadn't been so bad like some were reporting on the blog, so I can understand this choice, but still no real trust in him by committee at moment). Then, about the Swiss in Milan, clearly committee wants to accelerate the process after the injury, no matter the performance, I think, they want to see a "sprint" by him, and chances for EURO 2024 seem to be still rather open, but other referees could have their say because they officiated more and more games. We will see how he will perform, at moment we can draw conclusion that committee just wants to give him all to see his full comeback after the long absence. Not important at all the game and the standings, in this case, of course, just a CL "training" for the Swiss.
Group A
Orsato was expected after his serie A game on Friday, fourth appointment for him in CL and I would have easily predict that. Again, this shows us that committee has not so many options for very big games, and the narrow pool of extremely trusted Elite is always the same, there weren't other new entries. That's maybe something to reflect about. Also, a referee treated in this way, let me repeat this again, must be on paper candidate nr. 1 for EURO Final, I think that based on his management you can understand why... but that's another topic. In the other game, big big assignment for Eskas, still, United could qualify by a win and a draw in the other game, but extremely difficut. This is the classic URFA CL top clash and a Category 1 gets it. We can be sure the Norwegian is about to be promoted. Last but not least, please note that for such rather "surprising" (if you want to use this word) appointments in big games, you have always teams form Germany and England, mostly, never done with Italian, Spanish and now I think we can also add French clubs... it's clear why. Such games are more football than other things and a referee who is at the beginning of a certain path can feel at ease to officiate it.
Forgot to comment about the other assignment in group C, but easy to say, further experience for the Slovenian after CL debut and the classic management by committee to assign two referees from same country to a group. The CL debut for Obrenovič had been very good, so I think hard to question about this choice.
DeleteAlso, I wanted to add, Orsato appointment should have been made, at this point, when he had still the previous game to officiate, so once again this shows the trust by committee in him. Enormous.
Sensible that Vinčić is not assigned to PSG, from a ‘neutrality’ perspective.
ReplyDeleteRemember that Čeferin was watching the game with the PSG-president? It is not a big secret that Čeferin and Vinčić are friends too. I trust the Slovenian and his integrity, however football watchers could presume that to be “suspicious”.
At the same time, I’m sensing that Vinčić is shielded a bit. In MD1 and MD3 he was assigned to big games (when the results were not yet decisive). On the other hand, in decisive rounds, he gets important games for qualification, but not toooo big on paper. Ukraine-North Macedonia and Napoli-Braga are examples of that strategy.
Maybe he could get something big in 2024?
In addition, Schärer‘s Euro spot should be safe? He was great before injury and his political background also helps :)
DeleteSoares Dias seems to be the name assigned to Dortmund-PSG (observer is from Holland). That would also explain his observation by Vassaras…
For Newcastle-Milan I have no clue. Perhaps one of the Dutch referees? Dieperink and Higler as AVAR could be an indication…
Big game for Eskas after the U17WC final. Bayern is already qualified, but very important for Manchester, so an Elite referee was expected. Probably shows, that Eskas has reached Elite level in UEFA's view and will be promoted soon.
ReplyDeleteOrsato a logical choice for the even more important other game in the group.
Zwayer with a normal appointment - direct duel for Europa League.
Stieler's game not relevant for anything, therefore rather disappointing assignment - a First Group referee was more expected there.
Vincic is a sensible choice for the important Napoli-Braga. And it's good to see that UEFA found alternatives for group F without repeating Vincic - unless it means, they repeat somebody else. Gözübüyük or Nyberg could be options for Dortmund now.
Obrenovic with a good game, given that Union still plays for EL.
Schärer with his CL comeback, and this duel for first place between qualified teams makes sense for that.
Siebert gets the duel for EL in this group, so basically same level as Zwayer's game - which is some progress for Siebert.
Pinheiro Madrid Lazio
ReplyDeleteOT: What do you think about this penalty area incident from Aston Villa vs. Arsenal yesterday in the Premier League?
ReplyDeletehttps://www.streambug.io/cv/46e108
To add, as Escosse reported yesterday, Gillett also rightly disallowed a late goal for handball.
First remark about referee's position: I think he should have run to penalty area, to make a better assessment, I'm not sure he excactly saw what happened and I don't understand why he didn't want to get closer.
DeleteThe defender kicks only attacker's leg without playing ball, so this basically should be a penalty, but I can understand why VAR didn't call. The reason should be that contact leg - leg was not full and there is also attacker's movement to consider, but still... defender very lucky to escape from a penalty call. In Italy I think this could have been called by VAR, but TBH not 100%sure.
Correct call no penalty for me and an excellent decision to spot handball by the attacker. VAR and referee missed yet another elbow to the head- seems to be a directive to allow this in the premier league for some reason.
DeleteVAR also missed red cards for bad tackles in Luton vs Man City vs Brentford vs Sheffield. Also, a clear red card for a stamp by Romero on the back of Callum Wilson's leg no where near the ball. The on pitch yellow shown by Chris Kavanagh stood.
It doesn't make sense to appoint Eskas and Scharer for such important matches. It is very interesting that especially Eskas was appointed for this vital match for MANU when there are so many unimportant matches. I don't know what light UEFA saw in him, these games are irretrievable.
ReplyDeleteNyberg for Dortmund-PSG and Makkelie for Newcastle-MIlan
ReplyDeleteO.T. I wonder when the FIFA Ref Com will confirm the international lists for 2024?
ReplyDeleteAnother interesting VAR clip from serie A game Lazio - Cagliari.
ReplyDeleteYC for SPA changed in RC for DOGSO.
https://streamff.co/v/4KntF-gJIr
The referee takes his decision with YC and he explains to players that according to his opinion at the moment of the foul, the ball was closer to keeper than attacker, so difficult to think about the possession of it by attacker. VAR checked the incident and invited referee to OFR exactly because at the moment of the foul ball was closer to attacker, so without foul, player would have very likely gained it. This was the reason of this intervention, I posted it because if you look at the incident without further considerations, you could still say that maybe YC is not 100% wrong here (mostly due to the other defender). In this regard, at a certain point AR2 said indeed that there was another player ready to intervene, but then this criterion wasn't used in the decision making process.
So, the VAR intervention in this occasion was rather on the referee's assessment with a wrong detail (the position of the ball), than rather analyzing full incident without any additional remark. In such cases in my opinion it is unclear whether must act according exactly to protocol (so, if not 100% red card, still no 100%) or he has just to correct referee and then the outcome changes, but still in a different context. Hopefully I'm clear. Here maybe if referee was convinced of YC but without making a wrong assessment about the player who was closer to ball, maybe YC would have been kept, accepting the argument by AR2 (another defender with the chance to intervene).
These are nuances impossible to understand, watching a game, so one can say that some VAR interventions are based on specific issues and not on the mere fact that has happening.
AIA assessed the VAR intervention as 100% correct and they said it should have been given live (important mistake for referee).
Indirect free kick by Zwayer in penalty area for deliberate backpass to keeper saved by hand, to me not a very clear backpass, but supportable decision.
ReplyDelete"Supportable" is a good way to describe it. Execution of the kick was a bit tricky. Looked like some players jumped the line before the acutal kick but difficult to see.
DeleteI read in an article that Arda Kardesler (referee appointed for the Conference League on Thursday) spoke on behalf of the Turkish refereeing in relation to Meler's case and said that right now no Turkish referee is thinking about football, that everyone is with Meler and his family. Do you think that will affect the Turkish team on Thursday?
ReplyDeleteThe refereeing team, meanwhile, was blunt when analyzing what happened: “Right now we cannot think about football or refereeing. Our only thought is that Halil Umut Meler will soon recover his health and that of his family. After this happens, we will meet as referees and explain to them the decision we will make regarding us and our career,” commented Arda Kardesler, referee representative.
DeleteHere is what I read translated.
Does anyone have statistics of referees appointments in GS, now complete after MD6?
ReplyDeleteVery debatable penalty by Zwayer. Never a clear foul, but I think NO VAR stuff, unless UEFA wants to remove such penalties.
ReplyDeleteSeems like one debatable penalty was not enough for Zwayer... To me it was not enough in both cases, no VAR intervention is understandable, though. Also retake of Ramos' penalty correct. But can we discuss Ramos' action after the successful penalty? He clearly kicks the goalkeeper's hand with his cleats down. I think that's more than just yellow tbh...
DeleteIndirect free kick:
ReplyDeletehttps://streamin.me/v/c69acb7f/o
Penalty:
https://streamin.me/v/2f38a7da
IDFK correct for me, he was clearly trying to pass it back to keeper
DeletePenalty is rather wrong and should be VAR intervention for me. Attacker kicks the ground and no contact until he is almost on the floor?
For me both is correct, IDFK and first penalty, player was hit while moving quickly, also I see a natural fall. However, the second penalty given for holding was not enough. Attacker did not fall because of the defender‘s slight touch. Agree with VARs to remain silent.
DeleteIDFK supportable, can argue for both. I have no opinion here (do what is felt as expected/necessary for the game).
DeleteFirst PK correct for me, nothing more nothing less, a normal penalty. A clear trip and it can’t be counted as a collision (what is the attacker supposed to do to avoid that?), no need to overanalyze such a foul imo.
1) IDFK correct for me as well: although pressed by the attacker, the defender quite clearly passed the ball to his GK, trying to "mask" it as clearing the ball. I can be wrong, of course, but my decision would be exactly the same.
Delete2) Correct penalty for me as well: watching the replay from behind, there seems to be a tripping contact between the left feet of both players a split second before it seemed the attacker kicked the ground. It was probably the trip that caused him to lose balance. Also, the fall seems to be natural to me.
Both penalties in Lens were very soft, I don't like such penalties
ReplyDeleteSecond penalty whistled by Zwayer, another supportable call but rather soft, the German easy in whistling penalties today.
ReplyDeleteIrregular movement of keeper before shot was evident, I think that AR could have spotted it without VAR.
YC for Sergio Ramos after the goal scored because he kicked the ball to get it and allow a quick restart. Very dangerous action, also, he celebrated provoking the fans, let's say that YC in this case includes everything, difficult to think about two cards in a row, but to me, this would have been deserved.
He wanted to prevent delaying restart by GK so that's why he kicked the ball also.
DeleteYc justified.
Another penalty whistled,IMO 2 soft penalties...
ReplyDeleteChallenging 10 minutes are waiting Zwayer.
For me both penalties and indirect free kick were correct from Zwayer. Also, penalty is correctly retaken (AR2 had to see this without VAR, it was clear encroachment). About Sergio Ramos I don't know what to say: one of the dirtiest players of all time
ReplyDeleteI must say very challenging game for Zwayer in Lens with very agitated players.
ReplyDeleteGood advantage by Vincic before Napoli second goal.
ReplyDeletehttps://streamin.me/v/dfb3ea1f
DeleteAn easy game so far for the Slovenian.
Penaltu claim in Manchester by Bayern:
ReplyDeletehttps://dubz.co/v/tqaj7y
Correct to me to assess it as not enough for a step on foot, very marginal contact.
Yeah way too soft. Correct decision.
DeleteAgreed, contact with the tip of the shoe, nothing there for me as well.
DeleteCorrect PK for handball by Obrenovic in Berlin.
ReplyDeleteopinions on real goal?
ReplyDeletefor me thats more then the normal holding and offensive foul would have been the better decision. But right vor VAR to stay silent
Never a foul, if there's a holding offence it's mutual between goal scorer and Union defender.
DeleteSeems like Siebert has no connection with Fritz, technical issues. In first half he had to go to the back up monitor + headset to get confirmation that a goal was valid. He has to keep a look at his watch all the time. Definitely not the best circumstances if you have to be aware of both: handling the match and getting needed information by VAR.
ReplyDeleteGood and quick intervention by San. Penalty changed to IDFK + YC for diving.
ReplyDeleteOFR in Milan, penalty changed in simulation, very quick decision by VAR. No contact between the players, Schaerer was deceived by a movement made by Inter player who was about to touch attacker, but this didn't happen. I think hard to see live, but he could have detected the easyness in the fall.
ReplyDeleteGood quick decision- both from VAR and then Scharer once at the screen- rightly booked
DeleteExcellent and extremely quick VAR deicsion to overturn a penalty awarded by Scharer in Milan. Looked like a penalty in real time, but replay shows clear dive. Very quickly called for review- took one look changed his mind and rightly gave a yellow for the dive.
ReplyDeletePenalty cancelled after OFR by Schärer, correct YC for diving for RSO14
ReplyDeleteSYC for a late challenge with a stamp on foot for Daniele Orsato in CPHvsGAL
ReplyDeleteSurprisingly, very calm match in Copenhagen. Full control like always, good foul detection, correct cards, nothing to report more by Orsato. Good job in hot match (only on paper) :)
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't say good foul detection, for ex in the middle of the second half there was a shocking dive by Galatasaray player and Orsato awarded a free kick to Galatasaray. But yes, no major mistakes.
DeleteBoth halfs were played on the Copenhagen pitch. So Orsato didn't have to run so much. So he didn't lose too much energy and he managed the game very well.
DeleteAlso a very calm game in England. A very good Eskås, good technical abilities and great foul detection. Full control and good movement. No major situations to report and nothing lacking from the referee in this game for me, a very solid performance!
ReplyDeletePossible winter promotion for the Norwegian?
DeleteRumsas and Eskas are the only names that I see for promotion. The Elite list is already long enough, too long for my taste. Currently we have 31 names but in reality there are not more than 25.
DeleteFrom a pure refereeing standpoint, I definitely feel like he could get promoted. Today he was the ideal referee for me, I honestly couldn't find much that he could've done differently (nothing major atleast). Reality is there is also political play involved in terms of promotions, and I am not the person to have that sort of insight, but I wouldn't be surprised to see Eskås as Elite in the near future.
DeleteI agree with MX fully, a good performance by Eskås tonight, nothing major to report except a fine performance by the referee, optimal style for the game tonight. Regarding his possible promotion, I do hope it happens this winter, he seems to be ready, especially from a management standpoint; to quote Euro Soccer Referee's post from a few days ago: "His management skills are top elite already."
DeleteQuite positive day for Champions League officiating.
ReplyDeleteMostly no VAR interventions in the games and not many incidents to discuss about. Would have been good for the Swiss crew in Milan to avoid the OFR with the penalty decision to be changed, but still...
The rest all correct or at least supportable decisions.
Among the others, I'm glad that Eskas passed this big test without issues. Hopefully the same tomorrow for Nyberg, called to PSG game.
I think it was a very good day for the eight referees, congratulations and I hope tomorrow we don't have anything decisive either.
ReplyDeleteI watched a little bit of Eskas and a little bit of Orsato but not much to report indeed.
ReplyDeleteSiebert's game seemed to be tense. Benfica scored the goal that sent them in Europa League in added time. Sunday I said it is a poor appointment for Siebert but I somehow changed my opinion now. Sure, it could have been better but "poor" is a word too harsh.
Sidiropoulos and Kulbakov with 0 CL and EL games, possible relegation?
ReplyDeleteSome people argued that Vinčić would have a tough match. On beforehand, I saw it as a rather safe appointment. Napoli needed a draw and played at home. Braga is not the most difficult team to manage, unlike Porto, for example. The match was already decided within 30 minutes. I must say, Vinčić often had the 'luck' of a favorable 'scoreline', as a result, the games are not so tense. His UCL play-off Young Boys-Maccabi Haifa had all the ingredients to be difficult, but this match was also decided after 30 minutes. :)
ReplyDeleteI've been following appointments for many years now and noticed that some referees are 'sacrificed' more often than other referees. From the current generation: Marciniak, Taylor and Makkelie. Recently: Gil Manzano in Ukraine-Italy. In the past Çakır, Mateu Lahoz and Brych. Examples of sacrificial games:
- Brych: Belgium-Portugal (EURO 2020)
- Mateu Lahoz: Portugal-France (EURO 2020) and Argentina-Netherlands (WC 2022)
- Makkelie: Real Madrid-PSG (UCL 2022). I still wonder why Orsato didn't get the return.
- Taylor: Europa League final 2023
- Siebert: Manchester City - Atletico Madrid
- Marciniak's UEFA Champions league campaign 22/23. He was always assigned to the most difficult matches on paper.
I always have more sympathy for such referees. You could argue it's a compliment to be in the middle of the 'hottest fires'. However, in some matches you can predict in advance that a referee will be more or less "sacrificed", if the game has many ingredients to be very challenging. Examples: i) players with a certain reputation (troublemakers), ii) a hot-tempered coach, iii) the way of playing (eg. dark arts) or iv) the referee will generate a lot headlines in case of a controversial decisio, and finally v) if teams are of equivalent quality, hence the scoreline is expected to be tight.
A first leg and teams focused on playing fair and (beautiful) football are easier to referee. Right?
In my opinion, Vinčić is a good example of a referee that is kept away from the hottest fires. Sure, he gets good appointments and every now and then, a big clash, but never in a decisive round. In 2022, the Refcom applied the same pre-cautious appointment strategy to Turpin. Vassaras also carefully selects the games for Kovács. Last season, only first legs in UCL. In the decisive round, Porto-Shakthar could be challenging, but he won't generate many headlines in case of a mistake, compared to eg. Makkelie's game (Newcastle-Milan).
Time will tell whether this is pure coincidence or whether the Refcom has underlying reasons. My perception is that Vinčić could be the main candidate for the 2024 Champions League final and Kovács for the 2024 Europa League final. Feel free to agree/disagree.
I understand what you want to say in general but I do not agree with some things. In my opinion the referees from the neutral countries, and here I include Slovenia(Vincic,Skomina), Romania(Hategan,Kovacs), Poland(Marciniak), Turkey(Cakir), Netherlands(Makkelie,Kuipers) etc. are naturally involved in more hotter game, or "are sacrificed" as you say. And they have to perform well in these games in order to reach the top.
DeletePersonally I would not say that Vincic is shaded from such games, he had difficult games in his career. You might have this sensation partly due to his last UCL season was poor because he destroyed his chances with that weak performance in Round of 16. You also gave an example of Kovacs, it is true that he was not appointed to second legs so far but this was rather because of his relative few experience compared to the others, in any case to say that Vassaras selected his games is ridiculous. I hope and predict this will change starting from this season KO because stage because I objectively see him in Top 6 referees in Europe right now.
Now, to analyze your examples one by one. Brych at Euro 2020 - Yes but No, difficult game but as we saw the performance did not matter as he was appointed again in the tournament, so we can't say that he was burned. Lahoz - I agree with "sacrifice" in Euro 2020 but I disagree with that in WC 2022. At his experience, being at his last tournament he should not have lost it under pressure no matter the circumstances, it is his fault. Makkelie in 2022 - yes, a swap with Orsato in the two legs was wiser but from what I recall Makkelie was in very good form there, better compared to the Italian, so I can understand somehow how the Com decided. Taylor in UEL final - totally disagree. A final is a final, is an hounour to officiate in one and you must be prepared for everything. To blame the Com they "sacrificed" a ref in a final is nonsense. Taylor was unlucky in the eventually turn of events but he also could have done more to prevent the dissents and the bench problems. Siebert in City-Atletico - totally agree, it was one if the worst, the least inspired appointments in the recent years. After that game, nothing was the same with the German referee. He showed poor form in the autumn before WC but was unjustified retained as main referee and received 2 games. Lastly, Marciniak indeed "carried" the last 2 UCL seasons -but he was amazing!-
Yes. My general idea is that some referees (mostly from Top-5 countries) appeared to be pre-elected for a final and are kept away from the most risky games.
DeleteBjörn Kuipers at last EURO was another example of that. The easiest road to the final I've ever seen. I thought it wasn't really fair towards Brych and Mateu Lahoz.
You can't say that about Marciniak last season. He had to work his ass off... This makes you wonder if he was their anticipated choice in advance. His R16 and QF returns were 'sacrificial', with some difficult KMI's to assess. But Taylor/Makkelie/Vincic were all not possible for the final due to several reasons. I was happy that (for once) meritocracy prevailed.
It will be interesting to monitor Orsato's appointments in upcoming months and at the EURO, because according to some here, he's already pre-elected for the EURO final. I think, Rosetti will be very careful with him and won't assign him to something like a PSG-City (return) or a PSG-Real Madrid (return), to give some examples.
Kovacs - Yes, perhaps we will see him more often in return games next year. That is also a condition to be eligible for a UEL/UCL final imo.
With the referees who are very strong candidates for a final obviously is a separate matter. Like Turpin UCL 2022, Kuipers Euro 2020 and even Marciniak WC if we remember he had only 1 group stage game and one KO game prior to the final. It is normal to protect them. With Marciniak UCL final last season it was not the case because i) he was in incredible good form and had an amazing reputation and ii) I think the initial plan was to appoint Makkelie but the Dutch made a serious mistake in UEL semifinal between Juventus and Sevilla if I remember it correctly. You see Vincic as main candidate for this season UCL .. what can I say, yes, it is more than possible. So keeping him a little bit away from the spotlights makes sense.
DeleteA penalty appeal from Inter - Real Sociedad, a few minutes before the OFR.
ReplyDeleteLive:
https://streamff.co/v/fdeg29Gjwe
Replay:
https://streamff.co/v/2nD0j3S5mj
All seems OK, until the replay that shows us Inter player holding attacker with both arms One should wonder whether this was enough for OFR or not. Schärer position looked to be not the best for making an assessment, with so many duels to assess, very likely he totally missed that. For me strong arguments for penalty, but a very difficult and "hidden" one to be spotted. Also, in case of whistle, one could have said with so many contacts in the box why exactly punishing this one?
And here the OFR: https://streamable.com/iipp0k
DeleteExtremely quick change of decision, due to the evidence. Spot for the VAR.
Swiss referee deceived by Çalhanoğlu leg, I think, he is about to hit defender, but at the end this doesn't happen.
Nevertheless, you have still elements to think about a simulation, live, if you ask me.
Well, I was at the stadium yesterday night. I was sit right alligned with the penalty box lign in front of AR1. I had the visual of the contact free and I initially thought about a play-on, because in my mind a contact, even if minimal, occured. Schaerer whistled the penalty not immediately, so he was not sure and maybe asked for a feedback to Zogaj. Inter dissent let him immediately understand what had effectively passed, seen his reaction and his management of the OFR (really fast, correctly). In general, I can say that until that moment he delivered a masterclass performance in an easy-going match, but he was always there with his body presence. He let the game flow, not whistling some 50/50 contacts or contrasts. Even people around me started saying things like "he is not whistling these things tonight, it's clear now, for us and for them!". So also the crowd understood his technical line, which he stuck until the end. Very good job by ARs, especially AR2 Erni. Good management of players. A thing that I would have loved would have been at least a warning to Inzaghi, who started literally running on the lateral line for almost an half and arrived near the corner flag!!! Tschudi was looking and I saw him with his hand on the headset, son the situation was closely monitored.
DeleteNot a good match, 0-0, almost no big occasions, not complicated, but a good display but Schaerer: athletically, after the injury, he is back on track totally! He entered the pitch to warm up at 20:20 and lasted until 20:45, with exercices of stretching and running not usually seen (not common exercices, I'd say). He can be a very safe pair of hands in next months, and why not, Euro can be within his reach. I think Ilgaz and the committee were satisfied. I was too.
Best regards
Some notes for Forlan who was asking for statistical data:
ReplyDelete- ONLY GROUP STAGE:
- 4 Matches: NYBERG, MAKKELIE, ORSATO, KOVACS
- 3 Matches: SOARES DIAS, SANCHEZ MARTINEZ, LETEXIER, TURPIN
TAYLOR, GOZUBUYUK, STIELER, ZWAYER, MASSA, PELJTO, MARCINIAK, VINCIC, MELER, KRUZLIAK, GUIDA (1st class)
- 2 Matches: GIL MANZANO, BASTIEN, OLIVER, SIEBERT, (Elite), PETRESCU, EKSAS, RUMSAS, FRANKOWSKI, OBRENOVIC (1st class)
- 1 Match: HERNANDEZ HERNANDEZ, COLLUM, SHARER, JOVANOVIC, GRINFEELD (Elite), JORGI, PINHEIRO, KABAKOV, NOBRE, MARIANI, LAMBRECHTS, , KROG, FRAPPART, BALAKIN, TREIMANIS, AGHAYEV, LUKJANCUKAS (1st class)
- Elite w/out matches: HATEGAN, SIDIROPOLOUS, KULBAKOV, KARASEV
- 27 different Elite have been appointed; 18 different 1st class
- On 96 matches, 70 have been officiated by Elite and 26 by 1st class
- On 96 matches, 95 officiated by male ref, 1 by female ref
- 27 different European (Israel included) countries have been involved
- Guida is the most appointed 1st class
- New Elite Nyberg and Peljto got more marches than consolidated ones
- Including Play Off too, Orsato and Kovacs have 5 appearances, wile Turpin, Taylor, Vinci, Marciniak, Sanchez Martinez, Peljto, massa, Zwayer and Letexier raise up to 4 matches.