The day has come, UEFA has published the list of referees who will attend the European championship in Germany later on this year.
UEFA.com article can be found here.
The day has come, UEFA has published the list of referees who will attend the European championship in Germany later on this year.
Kruzliak the big surprise?
ReplyDeleteFor me, the biggest (and only real) surprise is the nomination of Daniel Siebert: If one thinks that Germany has to be represented by a second referee, I would have expected Tobias Stieler instead.
DeleteNo Eskas, no Gözübüyük (both only as FO).
ReplyDeleteFor me the biggest surprise is Guida.
And Siebert!
DeleteThat’s a fair list. Meritocracy and form over politics 👍🏼
ReplyDeleteI knew it would be Tello not Sampaio! Only real surprise is Siebert over Stieler, but I also expected Massa. Eskas unlucky
ReplyDeleteOne for Peter - spot the autocorrect in the official(!!) list by UEFA :P.
ReplyDeleteYou can see a clear strategy, as in 2021, of focusing on the club competitions knockout stage matches to determine the final list. Rejected evidently were Peljto in Leipzig-R.Madrid, Jovanović in PSV-Dortmund, Gozubuyuk in Marseille-Villarreal, and from an advantageous position Sánchez Martínez 'blew it' with the subpar performances in the playoff and then London. Meanwhile Meler and, apparently, Kruzliak managed to convince and 'squeezed' into the list. Siebert is obviously a 'political vote' but I must say his performances in both Split and (especially) Brugge were the best level shown by him since 2021 in my eyes, though he struggled at the weekend(?) in Germany. It seems Stieler pays and pays for the 'Atalanta Bergamo affair' and I'm sorry for him, though one can hardly say he spent the last years in UEFA fulfilling top appmnts on the road to this EURO. Massa's refereeing of R.Madrid-Leipzig was too shaky and I agree, he isn't a name for the EURO. Guida benefits from the focus on Italian domestic football, but even viewing his Madrid QF critically, one must admit he showed considerable soft skills which are above a number of the other selected referees imo. Eskas is the only Paris'24 ref not on the field, and again I agree, he is the weakest of three and good performances in 'the kids tournaments' aren't necessarily enough to attend the EURO.
TL;DR - well done UEFA! Good choices, in my book.
The 'nightmare' scenario was an automatic second name for Velasco, an automatic second name for Kuipers, but in the end SM/SG never deserved it and this should (must!) be praised.
Delete100% agree. Fair play by UEFA
Deletefull agreed
Delete+1
DeleteDoes anyone see through the color logic in the pdf file? Same countries have the same color. But why is Portugal the only country shown in green and Slovenia the only country shown in white, while other colours are used by up to five countries?
ReplyDeleteMy first thought as well
DeleteNational team colors.
Delete@DrMr: I also thought of something similar, but ended up with the national flags, where blue wouldn't have made sense for Italy. ;-)
DeleteBut Germany plays in White, Spain and Portugal in Red and the Netherlands not in the same colour as Sweden...
Delete@Philipp: In most cases, the colors echo those of the national flags in some form. In the case of Italy, however, this logic also fails. If you go by the jerseys, Portugal should actually be rather red than green. So it remains mystical ...
DeleteGuida, Kružliak, Siebert before Peljto...ok lol
ReplyDeleteWell, congrats to officials that are selected. Only unexpected name for me is Gil Manzano! Little regret becouse of Jovanović,but he should focus on Euro 2028 and World Cup 2026. I see him there. Also,all other names full merit! Congrats Uefa!
ReplyDeleteI am very happy for Halil Umut Meler. After unfortunate thing happened in Turkey, he was totally demoralized in Turkish league but he had two very good EL knock out games recently. I see him as a candidate for ECL semi final game and R16 game at EURO 2024. Good luck to all referees...
ReplyDeleteBefore a longer analysis, some key points that must be immediately highlighted are the following:
ReplyDelete1) Guida instead of Massa
2) Siebert as second German
3) Gozubuyuk only fourth official
4) Women's time seems to be over...
More to follow :)
Really surprised how good is this list compared to how bad it could have been.
ReplyDeleteSanchez Martinez and Gozubuyuk have put themselves out of the list all alone. Sad for them but performance principle is above all and one has to say it is quite fair. Gil Manzano has more potential even if recent times were not good (and he probably is happy to be from Spain)
I am more disappointed for Massa. I prefer Guida and am happy for him despite his really recent promotion (but to be fair, Siebert and Ekberg were Cat 1 four years ago), but Massa seems sacrificed here after being quite saved for Euro despite suboptimal games and struggling in domestic competitions. Bad end of a quite bad story. Hope he'll go to Southern Hemisphere but not sure
Also, Tello, this time we have got a really big name, I was hoping for Claus or Sampaio (more Claus I must admit), but curious to see what will happen.
So, let's start with Guida instead of Massa.
ReplyDeleteOne could say what a surprise, but looking at the appointments, something was already clear. Nevertheless, I waa absolutely sure that it was impossible to see Massa out from this tournament. After having worked as fourth official at EURO 2020 (21) and having followed a certain path, with also important observers in key games, it was definitely hard to believe he would have been left out. But this has happened, I think first of all a question of performances this season, nevertheless, from the human point of view, that's a tremendous shock for Massa and I'm curious to see how he will react. The situation of Guida is very particular, he sufferend many injures in the years, impeding him to be considered for something bigger, now, thank also to the level of performances, the dream has come true for him. I must agree with Mikael that if we take it and we compare his level with other selected referees, there is a huge gap, but at the same time he has certain skills that never belonged to Massa. The latter is surely more accurate under the technical point of view. Now we will see what about Massa and his future...
Second key choice: Siebert as second German. That's only politics, sorry if I say that, but we all can agree that when the German started to have controversial performances, committee left him without any doubt. Now he is again here just because Germany must have a second representative at the tournament. More signals were clear about Stieler, but evident that this wasn't the case. Again, Mikael says very correct things when he underlines that now the level of performances of Siebert are better than the known past.. and so let's hope he will keepo this standard. Of course nothing against the referee, I wish always the best, but it was impossible to thinkhe would have been selected.
Third comment is about Gozubuyuk: at the end committee was not convinced about him as second Dutch, but at least he will manage it as fourth official. Better than nothing and I fully agree with this choice, the difference with Makkelie, but also with other selected referees from other countries, is evident. He can be absolutely proud of having been called to a big tournament. In future, he could get more, being a bit younger than the countryman.
To follow, the Spanish situation is another argument deserving a certain analysis: no Sanchez Martinez, here the feeling is that this selection was really made until the very last day (yesterday...) because the Spanish got games that could have meant EURO call, unluckily for him, he failed. Terrible performance in Georgia - Luxembourg, to follow for other aspects, maybe even worse in the Europa League game, but committee tried to wait and see if the call was possible, that's what I can read between the lines. We will have only Gil Manzano and he will be appointed very carefully, I'm sure.
Good remark by Mikael again, despite of Kuipers and Velasco, respectively only one Dutch and Spanish referee will officiate games at EURO. Pure technical choices.
The rest looks to be quite normal, no need of long comments, glad for Kruzliak, I liked his "resurrection" after having been almost a "dead" Elite referee. Here committee worked very well and the Slovakian has deserved the call. Excellent achievement for Meler as well, he showed greatness and one can only congratulate him, almost faultless in all his recent UEFA games.
The fact that committee was also waiting for Schaerer was clear, they wanted absolutely him at EURO, despite the long absence for injury. Another great achievement, at a certain time, I think he was sure he couldn't have attended the tournament due to his long issues. But he is a referee with quality for sure.
DeleteNyberg is above Eskas at moment among the new Elite referees, and I can agree. Deserved selection for the Swedish as well.
The referee who arrives at this tournament without clear recent signals and rather for the overall experience is Soareas Dias, one can say for what he did in past, he still deserves that, but... he must do something to recover his form. Unless another very surprising assignment in CL semifinal with Rosetti, but I would never believe that, he must gain credit. Still not a very questionable choice, but the Portuguese should feel a bit that he owes committee.
As said, we don't have women this time, one could think Letexier replaced Frappart (and that would be very good thing..) but we have a fourth official from Ukraine and that's of course anoter politic choice.
Again, nothing against the country and the officials, but after all happened, it was expected to have representative from that country.
That's how it works today, but in this selection, overall, we saw by far less politic choices than other occasions, and that's very good.
The idea we can write "Letexier replaced Frappart" shows how warped our thinking has become on this topic.
DeleteThe simple truth is that Frappart had zero claim on merit to be at this tournament. She couldn't even get a single KO match in any of the male club competitions. It would have been a laughable appointment.
Maybe the fever on this has broken a little within UEFA (though not at WC26, I'm sure). We should celebrate that as a good thing and maybe recalibrate our expectations. Because if and when a woman makes it to EURO, she will have (at least plausibly) deserved it. And it will have come, one can now hope, after prior designations that warrant such an appointment.
Some thoughts:
ReplyDelete1) Very good to see there was no automatic second slot for Spain. The overall level of Spanish refereeing has drastically dropped last two seasons and here is the consequence. Gil Manzano worked hard for his no1 position and two bad performances plus one unlucky incident in domestic league shouldn't be enough to make him out. Is JMSM unlucky? Maybe a little bit given his recent appointments but he really doesn't have the top elite skills. I would read it more a punishment to Spanish refereeing than to JMSM personally.
2) Following this logic, two Italians on the list could look excessive. The level of Italian refereeing is also not as good as we used to it. Italian RefCom demand the same from their referees - to be in the shadow as much as possible, not giving them any room to improve their management skills. Guida can be very good on his good day and most likely impressed the committee during the group stage but his form is quite shaky and he was poor in his surprising UCL QF yet he is still selected...
3) ...over Peljto who was very good in his games and noted a similar not convincing UCL performance. I think no Bosnian is the biggest disappointment of this selection. He proved he has the quality to handle UCL games and is out only because of one 'not so good' performance? Too harsh!
4) It seems Kružliak, Meler and Siebert were kept in the shadow to save them (not allow them to destroy their chances). It's still OK as the first two had a very good group stage and Siebert proved well that he is able to handle difficult games in the past and now in the UECL QF. You just can't forget the referee who, as a newcomer, was practically the best performer at the last EURO, only because of your own mistake in making appointments (too big and too difficult game given too early) and three-four worse games resulted from your initial mistake. He gave signs he is more or less back on the right track and it's good to select him, imo.
5) Schärer is simply too good to be out. Remember that he was even slightly better than excellent Letexier, when he was out due to injury. I just hope he is fully back to his pre-injury days.
6) Let me say, it's very refreshing to see no female officials were given a 'wild card' only because they are women. None of them deserved to be appointed this time.
As far as women's quota in men's tournaments is concerned, I wonder why no female referee observers have been used in men's competitions so far. In my opinion, it should be much easier to close the gap between men and women here, because any physical differences do not play a role. Why, for example, shouldn't Dagmar Damková be able to judge a male team?
DeleteBecause no one cares, @Peter. Putting a woman on the field is a public relations move. That means the public can see it. No one sees who the referee assessor is and no one outside this board and a few select places even knows who it is.
DeleteI have no idea if Damkova is truly qualified to assess at this even or not. But even if she is, there's no political motivation or media relations benefit to pushing her.
IMO this is really almost the "perfect" list tbh, taking into account that a politics-free selection really is impossible nowadys - but: some referees with strong political backgrounds simply didn't show the performances necessary to attend Europe's most important tournament. Considering the influence of Velasco and Kuipers, I was almost certain that Gözübüyük and Sanchez Martinez would be selected but other referees from smaller countries were simply better in the past months.
ReplyDeleteSchärer, Kruzliak, Meler were convincing, it was obvious Italy would get two spots (and I agree with choosing Guida).
Also, I guess it was always clear that a second German beside Zwayer would be nominated for the tournament in their own country and UEFA never really wondered if one of the others should be called but rather which one - and Siebert is the better choice IMO as he has the abilities to be one of the best refs on this list, despite his rather weak Form after WC22. His EURO 2021 was exceptional!
I'm looking forward to a great EURO :)
I was surprised that Spanish and French referees who could serve as 4th referees were not on the list.
ReplyDeleteDo we have list of observers and coaches?
ReplyDeleteI read on the previous posts that Frank De Bleeckere is one of the obeservers, also we can expect committee members. Maybe someone can help us with the full list of observers.
DeleteAs in previous years, Werner Helsen will be in charge of the physical preparation of the referees with his team of the UEFA fitness coaches. Interetsting - one of the fitness coaches will be Ristic from Serbia. If I remember well, he was assistant referee on Euro 16 in France.
Has anyone EVER performed in two EUROs in such completely different roles?
DeleteAs a referee and as a fitness coach. Wow...
Hmm, I'll try to find that information. We have several examples of former referees subsequently appearing in the role of observers in EURO or WC, but I have not heard of anyone having such different roles.
DeleteMaybe @Mikael W or @Chefren can help us.
Valentin Ivanov in '94 and 2006?
DeleteFor sth a bit more left-field: Howard Webb worked at EURO 1996 as a policeman, and then 2008+2012 as referee (and perhaps 2024 as an assessor! :)).
I'll risk the first round:
ReplyDeleteGER-SCO: Marciniak
HUN-SUI: Makkelie
ESP-CRO: Turpin
ITA-ALB: Meler
POL-NED: Schärer
FRA-AUT: Orsato
SVN-DEN: Tello
ENG-SRB: Manzano
ROM-UKR: Nyberg
BEL-SVK: Zwayer
TUR-GEO: Kovacs
POR-CZE: Oliver
Personally, I wouldn't appoint a Dutchman for a SUI game, followed by a Swiss for a NED game the following day.
DeleteThe Dutch would be very happy with Schärer though :)
Delete@ Luis1209 is already highlighting the importance of HUN-SUI. This could be a challenging one, based on the style of playing (remember Serbia-Switzerland?) and the 2nd game of the tournament. We can expect UEFA to set the tone early. Back in 2021, we saw Makkelie-Turpin-Taylor-Lahoz-Brych in that order. The 6th name was a less experienced one: Ekberg. Based on that logic, we can expect big names in HUN-SUI (law enforcer?) and in Group B as well. Turpin in Group B seems very likely, and they won’t underestimate ITA-ALB either.
The management of Orsato also will be interesting to follow.
To add sth from a slightly different angle, in the linesman's stakes: it seems that Finjean paid for his mistake in the Ukraine-Iceland playoff and Pagés comes back in, Sokolnicki being the loser of the three-way battle to accompany Marciniak is very surprising (he did the playoff in Tblisi but the two clubs knockout games were exactly T.Listkiewicz-Kupsik), to me he is one of the best in the world, and also in that class is Zeinstra, who did the last final even, he stays at home this time. Oliver-Burt-Cook is the regular crew this season; very unlucky for Bennett, outstanding in S.Arabia-Mexico, for what happened at the WC, also leading to him taking a step back internationally afterwards. Feel free to add a detail if I've missed anything! Finally, unlike the last EURO, there are no specialised AVARs nominated.
ReplyDeleteMikael, do you know what happened to mr. Bennett? I also have noticed he is nomore part of team Oliver. Do you know the reasons?
DeleteI came here to ask the same question. I’m pretty sure the last time Bennett and Oliver worked together was in Saudi in April last year. Maybe Bennett didn’t fancy that anymore?
DeleteAppreciate the questions but I worded my comment about this specific matter quite deliberately and it isn't appropriate to add any more, sorry.
Delete@Mikael
DeleteThe change in the composition of Szymon Marciniak's team does not result from the higher or lower form of this or that assistant referee, but rather from the desire to give another referee from Poland a chance to participate in a big tournament. Other head referees from the Ekstraklasa do not have high enough ratings in FIFA or UEFA, so they have no chance to participate in the World or European Championships, so the only possibility of such promotion for other Polish referees is related to possible cooperation with Marciniak. Out of several candidates from the list of Polish FIFA assistant referees, Marciniak chose Adam Kupsik.
The choice of Tomasz Listkiewicz and not Paweł Sokolnicki may be due to the fact that Listkiewicz is older. For him, Euro 2024 will probably be the last big tournament. The younger Sokolnicki still has a real chance to referee with Marciniak in the 2026 world championships in the USA, Mexico and Canada. Kupsik will probably also be the second assistant referee there.
So, in a sense, the Poznań player is the luckiest person in the history of Polish refereeing. He will go to the big tournament after just a season of intensive cooperation with the referee, having played just four matches in the Champions League group stage, three in the World Cup qualifiers and three in the European Championship qualifiers. Kupsik's greatest achievement so far was participation in the Club World Championships in Arabia, where in December 2023, together with Marciniak, he refereed the semi-final and final.
My way-too-early predictions for Matchday 1 (referee/VAR):
ReplyDeleteGER-SCO: Kovács/Popa
ESP-CRO: Taylor/Attwell
ITA-ALB: Makkelie/van Boekel
HUN-SUI: Gil Manzano/Martínez Munuera
SRB-ENG: Zwayer/Dingert
POL-NED: Vinčič/Kajtazovič
SVN-DEN: Kružliak/Frankowski
AUT-FRA: Oliver/Coote
BEL-SVK: Guida/Irrati
ROU-UKR: Letexier/Brisard
POR-CZE: Turpin/Delajod
TUR-GEO: Marciniak/Kwiatkowski
Well finally the day has arrived; what a long waiting :-)
ReplyDeleteSo, a part the fully expected Oliver, Taylor, Turpin, Letexier, Marciniak, Makkelie, Kovacs, Vincic, Zwayer, Nyberg and Orsato, the first discussion could be about Spain; despite what happened in the recent time Sanchez Martinez has not replaced Gil Manzano and this is misaligned respect to the latest appointments in CL. Gil Manzano still have same trust as before the infamous mistake during Italy-Ukraine but what is surprising to me is the exclusion of Sanchez martinez, who was highly considered and trusted in the last time. Probably the long preparation job has dominated the choice and Sanchez martinez is raised up too late. But the same strategy seems not applied to Italy, where Guida has wasted the long preparation job done with Massa overpassing him. I really never expect it.
I agree on the appointment of Kruzliak and Soares Dias reliable performances for them and good filler to reach 18 slots.
I'm surprised by Meler 'cause to me Eksas, Sanchez martinez but mainly Peljto are far better than the turkish.
I didn't expect also Sharer due to his long absence for injury and just to conclude the most amazing choice is Siebert, I guess that nobody in this would have bet on him.
I was expecting Stieler or Osmer as fourth official but even it's the host country, committee doesn't want more than 2 per country
All in all I think that the list is composed by a very competent, skill and high level pool of referee so on the paper I'm expecting high performance and the presence of Guida in spite of Massa, Siebert as well the absence of Peljto and Sanchez Martinez will not impact the quality and the level. Congratulation and good luck to all
UEFA chose a very fair squad of match officials for this Euro, this must be underlined.
ReplyDeleteOliver, Taylor, Letexier, Turpin, Orsato, Makkelie, Marciniak, Zwayer, Kovacs, Vincic and Nyberg: locked names, much deserved.
Soares Dias didn't suffered from no UCL KO games this season, and quite rightly so, he's clearly a good enough referee.
Really happy that committee kept believing in Schärer, the Swiss is truly excellent and managed to recover right in time.
Reading Umut Meler's and Kruzliak's names is satisfying, as both are quite strong atm, the Slovak struggled in his UECL QF but nothing serious, and the Turkish overcame the vicious attack he suffered and delivered in his UEFA games, well done.
Gil Manzano is in, and I must agree: despite his problems in recent times, he had quite a remarkable development in recent times. A missed penalty or a additional time mismanagement doesn't make you a bad referee.
Guida is there as second Italian, winning the battle against Massa. The former UCL QF appointment and the latter having his hands full in Madrid-Leipzig were hints. I don't think his selection is that unwarranted to be honest (even if he's been shaky in Atletico-Dortmund, and being Italian helped :p), overall a capable referee who can bring solid soft skills on the table.
Siebert's selection indeed looks like a political choice, but A:Stieler could easily have been picked over him and being a decent choice, B: Siebert showed that he could be an excellent tournament referee (eg Euro21 and Arab Cup)
and C: a second German is better than either a second Spaniard (Sanchez Martinez can only blame himself) or Dutch (really, really mediocre Gozübüyük will deservedly only go as reserve)
Tello as CONMEBOL guest is a great addition, as a referee who had a successful WC, plus Rapallini was excellent at last Euro, his countryman most certainly follow the same path ;)
On the other referees that missed out, Jovanovic spoilt himself in PSV-Dortmund, Peljto can be a bit bitter that Leipzig-Madrid ruined his chances to attend as main referee tbh, and Eskas's being reserve is quite logical, no need to rush him. The list of support officials is very steady as well (besides Balakin political pick).
One last word: I feel very sorry for Hategan, a fantastic referee who will again miss a big tournament, and must ask himself what he has done to deserve this.
Quite remarkable that 5 out ouf 18 UEFA referees didn't work in the CL KO stage this season (and logically also vice versa, because UEFA used exactly 18 referees in the KO games).
ReplyDeleteOnly one referee who was among the reserve officials for EURO 2020 managed to become main referee at the next edition: Sandro Schaerer (SUI). The rest couldn't make it. Frappart, Massa, Jovanović, Kabakov and Frankowski. The closest to succeed were surely the Italian and the Serbian, but while the former was overtaken by a compatriot in the very last times, the latter didn't manage at all to convince for a year. What happened the months after Italy - England to Jovanović is still unknown. Committee had a big trust on him.
ReplyDeleteAbout Poland, Marciniak at that time was not in the best moment, including some health issues. Four (three) years later we can say how much strange was a big tournament like EURO without the Polish.
The French Letexier was Video Assistant Referee at EURO 2020. He turned into main referee for 2024 edition.
Video Assistant Referees:
no specialized assistant referees (AVAR) like 2020 edition, in the list for England Coote has replaced Kavanagh while Attwell has been confirmed, Brisard from France will attend his second EURO as VAR as well, confirmations for German pool with the three names who will be again there (Dankert, Dingert, Fritz), for Italy Irrati and Valeri were both at EURO 2020, while Di Bello has left (here you can easily explain the number of selected VAR by the call of another main referee, at that time it was only Orsato), total change in Poland with Gil out, at that time only VAR, and now Kwiatkowski and the mentioned Frankowski. Kwiatkowski, despite of his experience, is a relatively "young" name as very trusted VAR, he started his path with the new rise up of Marciniak after the poor times.
For Portugal, Tiago Martins replaces Silva Pinheiro.
The two Spanish Hernandez Hernandez and Martinez Munuera have been confirmed, while Sanchez Martinez, at that time third VAR from the country, didn't manage the step to turn into main referee.
One can observe that in current times the development of VAR from other countries has also reduced the number of VAR from big countries, because there are alternatives.
Netherlands: Dieperink is the new name, he replaces Blom. Van Boekel, the UEFA Dutch most experienced VAR, is confirmed.
Kajtazovic from Slovenia and Popa from Romania seem definitely to have joined the pool of very trusted VAR, and in this case, as said, during EURO 2020 we didn't have names at that level from those countries. Same can be said for San and Ulusoy. The call for the Swiss was quite expected, one couldn't have maybe said the same about the Turkish (difficult times for Turkish VARs in UEFA competitions in past, but now this seems rather over).
If this shows that Gil is number 1 in Spain,then Spain needs to upgrade in that department.
ReplyDeleteIm not saying he is bad,but he is not the top of Europe like his former Spanish colleagues were Medina,Velasco,Mejuto,Del Cero and Lahoz,especially the last one.
Looks like Lahoz set the bar so high that it will be difficult task for anyone in Spain to catch him.
How many of the VMOs will actually work as main VAR? Coote, Delajod, Dingert, Frankowski, Popa and Ulusoy all look like fill out names when you compare their appointments so far with the rest
ReplyDeleteAnd will Kruzliak, Nyberg, Kovacs etc all work with a fixed VAR or switch?
DeleteI think in general we can say that when it comes to referees who were not amongst the top10 those who were not appointed in CL KO stage had an advantage over those who were appointed. For example Gozubuyuk, Eskas and Peljto, they did not have the best of games, but they deserved more credit after being trusted referees before. On the other hand Meler, Siebert and Kruzliak were not trusted with these quite difficult CL KO stage matches but now suddenly they go to EURO. I simply think Peljto and Eskas deserved it more than Kruzliak or Meler, simply because over a longer period of time they are much better referees.
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to second referees from the same country for me Gozubuyuk deserved it more than Guida and maybe even than Siebert.
I think this shows once again poor management of the group of referees between 10 and 20. Happy that Sanchez isn't there though.
Have you watched Gozubuyuk in Porto-Arsenal or Marseille-Villarreal?
DeletePorto-Arsenal was a start-stop game where he whistled every contact (35 fouls IIRC). In Marseille-Villarreal he and his AR missed a crystal clear penalty (called for an OFR). Moreover, he whistled a penalty for a foul outside the box - VAR corrected, but Gozubuyuk forgot the VAR-signal, leaving millions of viewers confused.
I’ve read comments of Dutch people that Gozubuyuk is better than his compatriot, but I guess they just watched a few Eredivisie games in 2024…
The overall level of Dutch refereeing hasn’t been great this season. Makkelie needs more competition in domestic league to improve his performance level as well.
I actually watched both games, yes. And I will agree with you immediately that they weren't the best refereed matches of the season, even though there were no match-deciding errors. However, respectfully, I think you are missing my point.
DeleteMy point would be: while Gozubuyuk was tested on this level, Kruzliak and Meler were not. They were tested on a lower level and especially Kruzliak did not do very well. I've watched matches of both of them in recent years where they lost all control. Gozubuyuk on the other hand already did a UCL QF two years ago and has gained more experience since, while always showing decent performances.
My point is: even though he might not have had his best season, he still has more experience than the other two on higher level and deserved more credit.
I get the point :) Although a first leg in Champions League isn’t always the most challenging. Gozubuyuk had two first legs and still didn’t look good. Apparently Kruzliak did well with his KMI’s and that made the difference
DeleteI am rather surprised all of you are praising the selection that much. The one very positive thing is that indeed the political aspect seems to be rather low. But the criteria for selection remain rather unclear and dont make a whole lot of sense.
ReplyDeleteOrsato, Marciniak, Makkelie, Vincic, Kovacs, Turpin, Letexier, Taylor, Zwayer were the completly locked names and dont require any explanation.
Oliver, Nyberg and Soares Dias could have been expected and make sense. The Portuguese suffering under the aspect of getting no CL game, but still a very solid referee with good UEFA experience.
Schärer was fully expected and I agree he has the talent to be a top-elite referee. But with all his absense time it is not quite easy to sell why he is appointed.
Where it gets critical is how inconsistent UEFA is about planned paths, performance principle, allowed errors and relevance of domestic appointments.
Meler and Peljto have been following a very similar path, the latter being preferred in CL but then dropped over a mediocre performance, the former being appointed without any real test.
Kruzliak selected without any CL knock-out game ever. That wouldnt be super strange, but UEFA had enough chances to pick him but didnt. However for EURO it is enough. Looks like he is in rather because others missplayed their cards.
Massa is dismissed after following a very concrete path for almost 3 years, without really doing anything horrible. Yes, he is not in great form, but he didnt really do anything shocking either. Guida on the other hand only came to closer focus because Mariani was rejected last season and because italian domestic performance seems to matter a lot. Actually his CL QF may be the 2nd worst knock-out performance this season but seems to be tolerated.
In Germany the other way around. Siebert who was once following a certain path is now brought back despite of nothing semi-big internationally and a poor domestic season. Stieler, very comparable to Guida with a great domestic season and better international appointments is not given a chance. I would actually prefer the "German way" but consistency?
Gil Manzano selected is the 3rd way of reacting to a path and mistakes. We dont need to start about the path he is following since 2019ish, but he actually messed it up the most out of all, even generating major negative headlines, both in Spain and UEFA. Yet he is backed. Sanchez Martinez out is understandable but looks bad on UEFA due to the huge appointments he got recently. (While several selected officials got significantly less).
Eskas not selected seems reasonable, but again where is the difference to Meler or Kruzliak? He even got more in the sense of a CL KO game.
Gozubuyuk, we could compare to Siebert when it comes to UEFA competitions. Both without big misses but with a mediocre general level, both No.2 in their Nation. One appointed, one not.
Now to VARs.
DeleteMartinez Munuera? Seriously? He has quite literally helped dig the hole for Sanchez Martinez and has been wrong 3+ times this season. To appoint him, when Spain even would have another more reasonable option in Del Cerro Grande is beyond me?
Does England really deserve 2 VARs? Performance principle rather indicates 0, allthough Attwell was a locked name.
Why is Germany allowed 3 VARs, when Italy, France even the Netherlands are limited on 2. Dingert is not unreasonable, but wouldnt have been a shock to miss out. Or if 2 Refs and 3 VARs are possible why not Di Paolo or Millot, and what actually happened to the latter after Qatar?
With Dutch VARs Dieperink was needed for Makkelie, but a generation swap from van Boekel to Higler was missed.
Why is Frankowski a VAR but Obrenovic a Support Official. Both have quite literally similar appointments in this season in both VAR and Main-Ref role.
Popa and Ulusoy with a very rapid selection that looks unjustified. My guess is they are needed for language reasons but that would be quite a shame.
Last minor remark (nitpicking I admit). Obrenovic with Praprotnik but Gozubuyuk with Balder. So for Slovenia, a super experienced AR is reasonable while for the Netherlands Zeeinstra was deemed unnecessary.
So to conclude it. Yes, the appointments could be worse (especially politically). But they harldy seem to have real criteria, but are rather a "gut decision"
Above all, I did not expect Gözübüyük in the role of the fourth official, in which I rather see promising talents, but less someone who is already contesting his 13th international season.
DeleteCompletely agree with you. Apart from the obvious names, the rest looked like they were random selections which has an appearance of a fair list. You can't explain the ligic behind certain choices. Whether they are on the basis of form or fame. Ypu could see confusion all over it and to be honest it doesn't surprise anyone when you see how shambolic the committee has been in recent times.
Delete@Stockholm, given what he's accomplished do you think Zeeinstra wants to go as a reserve? I tend to believe he might enjoy the summer off, honestly, if he's not going to be on field.
DeleteFor the rest of your post, I think you make some good points, though. That said, the 15-25 range of officials is always going to include some tough/weird subjective calls.
Stockholm, at first let me thank you and all the other readers for this excellent discussion about the topic. I'm proud we can share opinions in this way and the blog benefits from that.
DeleteI will not answer in detail to all your remarks, but what I want to say is mostly what Usaref wrote in the last sentence. It's simply impossible to look for full consistency and all similar choices, when it's about a referee selection, based on subjective criteria. The selected referees from a country can answer to different needs by committee than others.
And, about Meler and Kruzliak, they surely deserved a CL KO stage game, it's not their fault if they were not appointed.
One can maybe think that in some cases committee did this choice because they didn't want to spoil some referees, but let's also remember again that a EURO selection is something very complex and you can't have the answer for everything.
I agree, good arguments. Although it must be difficult to draw a line in a 'jury sport'. It’s subjective and there is big difference between matches in terms of difficulty. Eskas did have CL, however City-Copenhagen I guess isn’t rated very high. Although there is more at stake and more focus, Champions League games are not always more difficult than UEL.
DeleteSome referees have had no KMIs during the entire knockout phase, or had predominantly "fair" and football-focused players, or just first legs and can obviously benefit from that. Others the opposite and fail.
Peljto had a decent group stage, but didn't have top teams like e.g. Nyberg for example, always one level below. Peljto then was assigned to Leipzig-Real (poor management by the Refcom!) and that game turned out to be too big for him. Would Kruzliak have done better in his place? No idea! We will never know.
I try to point out the current maximum expectation at the tournament of each referee (in normal conditions, as we know him regarding the committee consideration), given that for some referees it is really very difficult because there is the basic reputation and then some events that have followed (Gil Manzano among others), in all cases if a real performance criterion will be applied, the following pattern will be absolutely meaningless. I decided to split the KO-stage goal in three parts: lower, middle, and upper (round of 16, Quarterfinals, Semifinals).
ReplyDeleteOliver UPPER KO STAGE (Semifinal?)
Taylor FINAL
Letexier MIDDLE KO STAGE (Quarterfinal?)
Turpin FINAL
Siebert LOWER KO STAGE (Round of 16?)
Zwayer UPPER KO STAGE (Semifinal?)
Guida GROUP STAGE
Orsato FINAL
Makkelie FINAL
Marciniak FINAL
Soares Dias LOWER KO STAGE (Round of 16?)
Kovacs UPPER KO STAGE (Semifinal?)
Kruzliak GROUP STAGE
Vincic MIDDLE KO STAGE (Quarterfinal?)
Gil Manzano LOWER KO STAGE (Round of 16?)
Nyberg LOWER KO STAGE (Round of 16?)
Schaerer MIDDLE KO STAGE (Quarterfinal?)
Meler LOWER KO STAGE (Round of 16?)
Tello LOWER KO STAGE (Round of 16?)
Of course, all starts from personal opinion. I would be interested in your thoughts about that.
If one was to apply the different "categorys" you used I would mostly agree. Maybe Zwayer and Oliver not beyond middle ko-stage but the rest I agree.
DeleteHowever I think UEFA has different ideas. As Siebert in 2021 highlighted every referee who is given the chance of 2 GS matches has a chance for a Round of 16 game. Kruzliak, Meler, Siebert look like the 3 names UEFA potentially only wants to appoint to a single game without caring about the performance.
On the other hand I think the pool for quarter-finals and beyond is quite limited. I dont believe a Nyberg/Schärer kind of referee would get a quarter-final even with 3 faultless performances. Id say that its rather between Orsato, Marciniak, Turpin, Makkelie, Vincic, Kovacs, Taylor and Zwayer. The first 3 being Final candidates.
Given his long injury break, I think a quarter-final appearance, regardless of his performances, would be "too much" for Schärer compared to Letexier and Vincic.
DeleteWell, globally I agree with you Chefren but I don't see a difference between Vincic and Kovacs; in my opinion they are globally rate at the same level and can reach the same goal; They are fully capable for a semifinal but since, as perfectly wrote, there are 5 candidates for final, two of them will get semifinals.
DeleteA little bit overrated to me Meler and Sharer, I guess they cannot overpass Group stage like as Kruzliak
Ot
ReplyDeleteAlhilal al ain semi final afc cl 2leg
In the first min var intervention for possible pelanty
https://streambug.org/cv/01f051
Pelanty canceled after OFR by Ahmed al Ali
Deletehttps://streambug.org/cv/c9d8b6
There is many incident missed by the ref fouls or YC for rakless change or given after long delay ( clear after help from the var crew also from KUWAIT) I WATCHED some al Ali game earlier in after cl I don't know how he is 26 wc candidate
The same could be said about most of AFC WC26 candidates (Ma Ning and Tantashev come to my mind, they wouldn't be able to reach UEFA First Category, tbh). Extremely weak level of refereeing in AFC last years, unfortunately...
DeleteLaughable to even see Al Ali in this game after the performance in IRNQAT semi-final earlier this year
DeleteAl kaf and mkhadmeh don't have any backup so it's very hard to see them in 26
DeleteYeah, surely a different style shown by Fallahi at the Asian Cup. Unfortunately, some wrong disciplinary choices in his only game but definitely the one who can reach something on FIFA level. I still wonder how such weak referee like Ma Ning is pushed so much - is it only due to his 'neutral background' (not from West Zone, JPN and KOR?).
DeleteTo be honest, Al-Kaf, Makhadmah, Muhammad Abdullah Hassan Muhammad (very sad he will miss the WC26), Umar Al-Ali and Faghani (in general: Arab and Persian referees) are far above the rest. It's unbelievable how bad is the refereeing level in CAFF and EAFF...
ReplyDeleteOT
https://twitter.com/KramponSport/status/1782667304867680323?t=lOmbRLnCaOuNQFSQEAL5AA&s=19
Meler is apparently set to manage Fiorentina against Club Brugge in the ECL semi-final
Observer: Deaconu ROU. Suits with the choice of the Turkish.
DeleteWell deserved assignment.
Still open, who goes to Copa America. I think, the last time it was announced together with the EURO referees.
ReplyDeleteOne could argue, that Pinheiro would have been an obvious choice as EURO support official otherwise, so he might be the one.
On the other hand, it would be strange, if CONMEBOL sends a WC QF referee and doesn't even get an Elite referee in return.
Therefore Massa or Sanchez would be more logical - the latter could also be a political choice to justify only one Spanish referee at the EURO.
Actually, due to Euro referees, I almost sure they will be massa and sanchez martinez
DeleteWhy would CONMEBOL (and CONCACAF) give two spots to Europe? The tournament is much smaller and there's a tradition of having one referee from every South American country (at least). Then you need 4-6 CONCACAF referees, too. Two UEFA seems like too many.
DeleteEarly MD1 predictions (Ref - 4O - VARs)
ReplyDeleteGER-SCO: Kovacs - Meler - Kwiatkowski, Popa, Frankowski
HUN-SUI: Gil Manzano - Peljto - Hernandez, Martinez, Ulusoy
ITA-ALB: Vincic - Soares Dias - Kajtazovic, Martins, San
ESP-CRO: Makkelie - Schärer - Dieperink, van Boekel, Attwell
POL-NED: Zwayer - Obrenovic - Dankert, Dingert, Fritz
SVN-DEN: Guida - Orsato - Valeri, Irrati, Popa
SRB-ENG: Marciniak - Balakin - Kwiatkowski, Frankowski, Hernandez
ROU-UKR: Tello - Peljto - Martinez, van Boekel, Brisard
BEL-SVK: Siebert - Rumsas - Fritz, Dankert, Dingert
AUT-FRA: Taylor - Eskas - Attwell, Coote, Irrati
TÜR-GEO: Letexier - Kovacs - Brisard, Dieperink, Frankowski
POR-CZE: Turpin - Gözübüyük - Delajod, Attwell, Coote
I tried some UEL preditions but get stuck on Leverkusen-Roma. Who can referee that game? It was the perfect game for a French; Marseille is a thorn in the side. I can only think of Vincic or Makkelie, unless Kovacs is not going to referee the UEL final. He could be a 3rd. Sacrifice Manzano? Schärer in form can referee that game perfectly tbh. But who else?
ReplyDeleteFurthermore, I was reading comments on socials regarding the EURO nominations and noticed that Taylor does not have a good reputation in Germany at all (among both Bayern and BVB fans). Then, I wonder how sure are we that Taylor will referee the CL final - after not his greatest season?
That is no problem if the final is between Real Madrid and PSG. I don't if UEFA cares about the fans to be honest, more about clubs and media.
DeleteFor Roma-Leverkusen a French for the first game and then Manzano/Soares Dias/Oliver/Kovacs or eveb a top Elite, depends who is planned for finals. Personally I would love to see Schärer there, but i maybe comes too early. Otherwise he has to be ready for EUROs so should also be able to handle such a match.
Schärer and Nyberg would be my choice for the two legs of Roma-Leverkusen.
DeleteTurpin and Letexier had Roma recently so rather unlikely, I think.
Last season this SF was done by Vincic and Oliver, so I would exclude them.
Regarding Taylor: I am wondering, what that is based on.
The last Bayern game was in Barcelona in 2022 without problems. Before that, the loss in Villareal, but also with a good referee performance.
And for Dortmund, he had a debatable RC in Paris, but that is over 4 years ago...
https://rmcsport.bfmtv.com/football/ligue-des-champions/info-rmc-sport-francois-letexier-et-clement-turpin-arbitres-des-demi-finales-de-coupe-d-europe_AV-202404240404.html?at_emplacement=message&at_brand=RMC_Sport&at_compte=&at_plateforme=flying&at_campaign=Fan_pages&at_medium=Community_Management
ReplyDeleteBayern - Real Madrid : Clement Turpin (FRA)
AS Roma - Leverkusen : Francois Letexier (FRA)
According to RMCSport
Then unclear what Rosetti should observe with Turpin :)
DeleteBTW if true, too many leaks from UEFA in recent times, all Polish appointments revealed, then Meler and now the French... committee shouldn't be happy about that.
Turpin might be observed regarding the EURO opening game.
DeleteGood point… Germany vs Scotland is the perfect game for a French. Marciniak feels a bit wasted there (he is more useful in Group B and F). I don’t see why Marciniak should get the opening game as compensation when Turpin has been unlucky with a strong French National Team.
DeleteOr the Euro final match; Turpin is valid candidate if Orsato will not grant it
DeleteBut if true I'm a little bit disappointed by Letexier. This appointment could means that he is out of final matches and the French deserves very much Conference League final match, despite he already did supercup last august
DeleteAfter the EL semifinal (indeed a first leg), he could get Conference League final, in case (at moment only competition already without French teams), but maybe the argument would be too many appointments in KO stage and at this point one could have already expected him directly in a final. Nevertheless, we will see...
Delete"Makkelie, Vincic, Marciniak, Orsato UCL semi-finalist 100% confirmed" wrote someone.
DeleteFirst ref announced: Turpin. OK!
It's not official, though. One must always wait for UEFA before saying that!
DeleteBig leaks here but what a year this has been for Letexier ... Definitely starting to be considered among the very very best and it's fully deserved for him.
DeleteI have seen many of them live this year in Atalanta EL matches. Last two performances by Meler and Letexier were really oustanding, we also had Siebert and Schäerer at top16 with solid performances.
ReplyDeleteOverall I agree with all selections. No doubt that Guida is far better than Massa overall and he could get more matches than expected at Euro
Oliver and Taylor. The worst referees in the Premier League.
ReplyDeleteWell, if they are really the worst, UEFA should be more than worried about the future... at moment it's the contrary, they are the best and that's clear!
DeleteOT: what do we think about la penna in Atalanta vs Fiorentina right now?
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion He shows very good skills in handling players and they respect him. All big decisions correctly taken (1 time he needed var for that but I think nearly nobody saw the foul before the disallowed second goal from Atalanta) in First half there was No clear line and a lot of clear little mistakes but I think they were allein front of the eyes of his first ar, so maybe more his mistakes. What do you think chefren? Is la penna back in italys Elite?
I didn't watch the game, but I can see from the discussions that it has been a very challenging one for La Penna. Indeed, at moment he is the best among the NO FIFA referees in serie A panel, and Rocchi has a full trust on him. He is appointed like an internatonal referee, some years ago he was about to get the badge but then an unpleasant story happened.
DeleteThis season he has been excellent and he deserved the call for this Coppa Italia semifinal. It seems he wasn't really accurate in the game, that's strange for him. Correct VAR intervention for disallowing 2-0 in first half, but also a possible penalty to Fiorentina for an alleged step on foot by Atalanta keeper (I haven't still watched this situation). Absolutely correct straight red card for DOGSO, in second half, mandatory (VAR intervention if not given). Can't say more for now, maybe I will watch some moments of the game and I will say more.
It was indeed a difficult game but I had the Feeling that He was in full control and very well accepted by the players. About the possible Penalty: very Strange Situation. If you go 100%by book probabaly it should have been a Penalty but it would be totally against the Spirit of the Game
DeleteBut it is right that He was not that accurate. Never a clear line in foul detection (but as I already mentioned he did not get any help by his ARs, especially AR1)
DeleteWatching a lot Serie A tand La Penna this year has been very very solid and one of the best in Italy .... Probably just behind Guida, Orsato and Maresca ... I think he deserves to be promoted and start refereeing in Europe for sure.
DeleteIt looks like the lack of Paweł Sokolnicki in Team Marciniak is something different to what Szymon said.
ReplyDeleteSokolnicki released a statement today:
https://przegladsportowy.onet.pl/pilka-nozna/euro-2024/sokolnicki-ujawnia-nam-wiedzial-wczesniej-to-jego-odsunal-marciniak/k81kt41
"First of all, I want to congratulate Szymon and his team on their nomination to EURO24. Poles will be a nation represented by two teams, it's a huge privilege and honor.
On the matter itself, the answer is simple. The last year's UCL Final was my last big game as a part of the team and I was fully aware of it. Another games with Szymon result only from my obligations to my employer, the Polish FA.
I achieved a huge success under Szymon Marciniak's leadership, there is nothing more beautiful for the referee than refereeing the World Cup final and experiencing everything related to this. I thank Szymon very much for it. In addition, five finals - including two in a row as AVAR in Cologne and Baku - is another great chapter in my career.
I have a wonderful family, wife and two children. We're one collective in health, and that's the most important thing. Other things are just addition, believe me. It's time for new challenges."
According to the article, "Sokolnicki doesn't have a plan to end his career. Contrary to press speculations, it's unlikely he will be back to Team Marciniak after the EURO24 but he will remain active in Ekstraklasa and international competitions"...
I am not into Polish refereeing at all, but does this sound plausible or did something happen that we missed?
DeleteIt would make sense if he quit international refereeing "for his family" but remaining in all duties but actively chosing to simply get worse games looks like a "story". If we see him as Frankowski´s new AR1 next year, I said nothing and he is the most selfless AR ever :)
Maybe it's just me but between the lines I understood it as maybe not everything was perfect between him and Szymon/Tomasz.
DeleteEspecially the phrase "Another games with Szymon result only from my obligations to my employer, the Polish FA." is thought-provoking. Does it mean that if it was Sokolnicki's or Marciniak's choice, they wouldn't be in one team anymore?
Perhaps Sanchez Martinez has been booked for Copa America 2024, as happened with Gil Manzano in Copa America 2021
ReplyDeleteHere's how I would like to see appointments for next week, considering we can only use EURO referees.
ReplyDeleteUCL
Real - Bayern Turpin / Marciniak
Dortmund - PSG Oliver / Orsato
Final: Makkelie or Taylor
UEL
Atalanta - Marseille Schärer / Nyberg
Leverkusen - Roma Makkelie / Vincic
Final: Kovacs or Zwayer
UECL
Fiorentina - Club Brugge Meler / Soares Dias
Olympiakos - Aston Villa Siebert / Gil Manzano
Final: Letexier
Letexier already appointed for Leverkusen / Roma 1st leg
DeleteMy predictions are quite similar.
DeleteI do have some doubts about Oliver in Dortmund-PSG. Suppose that Taylor is assigned to the Champions League final, with Attwell as VAR. In that case it’s not sensible to assign an English crew to the semi-finals.
The alternative is: Oliver in Dortmund with a different VAR and without Taylor. One other option is Nyberg - He had Dortmund-PSG in MD6 and did very well.
Personally, I would appoint Oliver to Marseille-Atalanta (1st leg) with Attwell as VAR and Taylor 4O.
I'm guessing Vincic and Makkelie in the UEL returns. Probably Makkelie with Roma as the game in Bergamo has a Dutch delegate.
And I would predict Zwayer in the Conference League final instead of Letexier
DeleteThe thing is if I was commitee member I would like to keep my options open for the finals. I think if PSG doesn't qualify, it should definitely be Makkelies final (and imo also if PSG does qualify but that's highly unlikely) and if Leverkusen doesn't qualify for UEL final I would put Zwayer there ahead of Kovacs.
DeleteSo maybe, if indeed Letexier is already appointed to Leverkusen-Roma which is not yet confirmed, this would be my final list:
UCL
Real - Bayern Turpin / Marciniak
Dortmund - PSG Oliver / Orsato
Final without PSG: Makkelie
Final with PSG: Taylor
UEL
Atalanta - Marseille Makkelie / Nyberg
Leverkusen - Roma Letexier / Vincic
Final with Leverkusen: Kovacs
Final without Leverkusen: Zwayer
UECL
Fiorentina - Club Brugge Meler / Soares Dias
Olympiakos - Aston Villa Siebert / Gil Manzano
Final: Letexier
Why oh why is Makkelie not able to handle a PSG game. Enough time has passed. Clubs should not dictate to the ref com who is suitable for their games. On this topic Taylor should be able to referee an Italian club outside of Roma.
Delete@Fraha:
DeleteImagine Kovacs gets the UEL final…:
- A good/brave decision in favor of PSG: final
- A correct decision not in favor of PSG: no final
There is no way Refcom can explain such “policy.”
I couldn't agree with you more. I would have loved to predict Taylor only in a 2nd leg Atalanta-Marseille (Nyberg in the first) and Makkelie in UCL final. But I'm afraid if PSG gets there, committee won't do it.
DeleteThe problem is, there's no policy, only power, politics and money.
Off topic:
ReplyDeleteSweden announced to continue their championships without VAR.
What would that mean for Swedish referees in international tournaments, UCL, UEL etc?
Any suggestions in this forum?
Surely not a good news for Swedish referees in terms of international experience, but I think UEFA committee will not care about that, regarding the current top officials Nyberg and Olofsson, because it has been (according to what I can read) a decision voted by most of the clubs. So, not refused directly by refereeing's department and I think that's what matters, they can do nothing against that.
DeleteKovacs in the UEL-final could be problematic for several reasons:
ReplyDelete-"Rewarding" Kovacs after taking a brave decision in favor of PSG sends a very wrong message to other referees. Remember that Manzano whistled a wrong penalty to PSG in groupstage. What was his very first game? PSG again.
-Kovacs was dreadful in his last Leverkusen game (vs Porto). IIRC, he made 3 mistakes and the German team wasn’t happy at all.
-In addition, Leverkusen in the final means that Kovacs cannot work with his dedicated VAR Marco Fritz. Who is the alternative? Probably an Italian, however this is not possible if Atalanta is in the final.
-What if Roma manages to reach the final? That club has won the Conference League final with Kovacs in the middle. As Roma-opponent, I wouldn't like that statistic.
-Suppose the final is a full Italian one, Roma vs Atalanta. Kovacs wasn’t good at all in his full Italian QF last season. Perhaps there should be a top Elite in the middle after what happened to Taylor last year.
Anthony Taylor having a poor game in West Ham vs Liverpool.
ReplyDeleteMissed a mandatory YC for Paqueta in the first half. could even have been a red card on another day.
Gave West Ham a goal kick even though it was quite clearly played last by Coufal.
Then Areola catches the ball, no free kick is given. Areola rolls the ball out so Cody Gakpo goes to kick it in the back of the net. Taylor for some reason stops this and calls the physio on even though the player didn't indicate an injury? Why did Taylor blow? He can't have been giving a free kick as he allowed Areola to pick the ball up and kick it from his hands.
He was playing advantage, so why not let Gakpo score then give the free kick and say there was no advantage. Blowing the whistle before Gakpo gets to it made no sense in that scenario. Areola hadn't made any indication of being injured either.
DeleteI must be seeing another match....
DeleteYes you must,cause if you think he did good than I dont know what to say.
DeleteYC missed clear,I thought that was RC cause for even less RC's were shown.
Then whole game he was being lenient, not punished foulson Kudus mostly.
And about this situation with Areola I wont even comment it;everything was said.
He wasn't playing advantage, as play restarted with a drop ball, unless you keepers can now pick up freekicks?
DeleteTaylor made a huge error there. He tried to cover it up by calling on the medics to come and treat a phantom injury on the goalkeeper
Delete