The following referees have been appointed to handle the first legs of 2023/24 UEFA Europa League Semifinals.
Thursday 2 May 2024
21:00 CET - Marseille (Orange Vélodrome)
Olympique de Marseille (FRA) - Atalanta BC (ITA)
Referee: Daniel Siebert GER
Assistant Referee 1: Jan Seidel GER
Assistant Referee 2: Rafael Foltyn GER
Fourth Official: Sven Jablonski GER
Video Assistant Referee: Marco Fritz GER
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Christian Dingert GER
UEFA Referee Observer: Stefan Johannesson SWE
UEFA Delegate: Alexander Miescher AUT
21:00 CET - Rome (Stadio Olimpico)
AS Roma (ITA) - Bayer 04 Leverkusen (GER)
Referee: François Letexier FRA
Assistant Referee 1: Cyril Mugnier FRAAssistant Referee 2: Mehdi Rahmouni FRA
Fourth Official: Rade Obrenovič SVN
Video Assistant Referee: Jérôme Brisard FRAAssistant Video Assistant Referee: Willy Delajod FRA
UEFA Referee Observer: Stefan Meßner AUT
UEFA Delegate: João Morais POR
Well, about Siebert one could say he should start to get again important appointments to justify the EURO call, and here we have a EL semifinal for him, also a very challenging one in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteIn Rome, Letexier confirmed as it was reported. Second game with the Italian team, always very difficult to officiate.
For second legs, both Makkelie and Vincic together in the two semifinals?
@chefren his third roma game this year after Sparta Praha - AS Roma and As Roma - BHA
Deleteit makes sense :)
ReplyDeleteLetexier confirmed as expected but with a non french official; that's wired especially because Bastien would have been perfectly fit this role as french and elite referee (at least on the paper), while Siebert has a compatriot non elite as IV.
ReplyDeleteAs said by Chefren Siebert is the most surprising assignment and it's clear to justify his appointment at Euro 2024; but if we look his international path in this season, its' unexpected to see him in a quoted EL semifinal. I guess that Nyberg and one between Vincic and Makkelie will be appointed in the return leg depending on who will officate the CL final
Benoit Bastien (Zakrani, Berthomieu - Dechepy) will handle the Saudi El Clásico Al-Hilal Riyadh vs Al-Ittihad Jiddah in the Saudi King's Cup semi-final today at 20:00 CET.
DeleteEuro referee is paired with a Euro support referee. I don't see anything abnormal here. RefCom used their chance to prep the referee teams, as it seems.
DeleteNo, Skystar. We are not surprised that Euro referee was paired with Euro support referee. This is normal. We are surprised that there are still non-Euro referees as fourth officials. Madley and Jablonski. Why where they selected and not referees that will be in Germany? This is odd.
DeleteSomething that is worth noting imo:
ReplyDeleteNo German crews in Conference League so far. Siebert is in Europa League. If we don’t see Zwayer next week, he’s probably locked for the Conference League final?
As Chefren stated, Vincic and Makkelie are the most obvious choices in Europa League-returns. Serbian observer in Leverkusen (Filipovic). Armenian observer in Bergamo (Nalbandyan), however the delegate in Bergamo is Dutch, so I assume we won’t see Makkelie there. On the other hand, Nalbandyan already observed Vincic this season in his Euro qualifier. Not impossible to meet the same observer again, or a delegate from the same country. But it is not common either.
However, I don’t see that many other options. Perhaps Nyberg? Still quite inexperienced with Italian teams; not sure Rosetti would risk it in a SF-return.
Kovacs is kept away from those teams, as UEL-final option.
Another name could be Soares Dias, given his experience. Not the best season for him though. Kruzliak is never used with Italian teams. Meler? I guess, he’s rather a name in Conference league. The pool of trusted names with Italian teams is still narrow.
Nyberg atuou em Sparta Praga x Milan nas oitavas de final da UEL e foi bastante desafiante neste jogo, com lances acirrados. Creio que dirigir o segundo jogo em Leverkusen elevará a experiência dele com equipes italianas
DeleteRemarkable that in 5 out of 6 games this week, the referee comes from a country with a team in the other SF.
ReplyDeleteWhy? Best clubs want best referees
DeleteTough game for Letexier, struggles to keep control.
ReplyDeleteInteresting tactics and game management by Letexier.
ReplyDeleteSome referees would be authoritative in a heated game like this. Marciniak would probably yell at players to manage them :D. Letexier chooses to let the game 'flow' as much as possible, when the temperature raised, to not give players the time for their frustrations. So far, so good.
But I dare say that this game is more challenging than his widely praised Real vs City.
Very impressed with Siebert so far, second half will be more challenging let’s see how he manages it
ReplyDeleteExcellent advantage by Letexier leading to 0-2. And wow, big big mass confrontation right after the goal. Curious to see the disciplinary action.
ReplyDeleteVery challenging match for Letexier. Difficult to prevent stuff like that, still he does not seem to be fully in control.
DeleteVery good advantage, indeed.
DeleteVery challenging game for Letexier, this is by far the most difficult and one could have expected that. The top clashes he officiated in CL were definitely easier to officiate, but he must get also such matches to be a complete Elite referee. It's hard to keep control with Roma players, now frustrated, they can't accept German team is so strong...
ReplyDeleteDidn’t expect the fair German team to be so frustrated after scoring.
ReplyDeleteTah kicking a Roma player in 1st half when he was already on a yellow…
Letexier lets see that he not the best of the best is as referee. It is not his evening.
ReplyDeleteA little bit nepotism always Letexier Guida.
We have Meler, Nyberg, Pejlto and kther referees to handle a match like this.
Though I agree that tonight’s appearance didn’t meet the level Letexier touched in his phenomenal Cl quarter final, I strongly disagree that nepotism has anything to do with this appointment. None of the names you mentioned performed well enough to deserve this EL semifinal more than Letexier.
DeleteSiebert had to be very concentrated all night but he succeeded! Just 1 caution with nothing mandatory missed. Any potential flashpoints were diffused as he was always right there - good job
ReplyDeleteVery good Siebert so far! Well done German crew
ReplyDeleteVery steady display from Siebert in Marseille. The game was intense from start to finish, with many duels to assess. The German succeeded by acutely patrolling every single incident, always jumping in whenever necessary. Good presence combined with firm warnings helped him, and it was visible that players - while focused on playing football - trusted him to lead the game. Much like TUNAUS at WC, Siebert has been pretty much faultless in foul recognition, in a match where technical accuracy was much needed.
ReplyDeleteAR2 correctly disallowed a goal for the home team in 64'. All in all, the german team has delivered what one could expect in a top European game. While it was likely his last appearance, Siebert passed the test tonight and can look forward to the EC.
Good to hear that Siebert is able to find his strengths again, thank you.
DeleteIndeed that's very good. He looks definitely a different referee now, hopefully this will continue, especially at EURO.
DeleteOverall okayish performance by Letexier in a very challenging match. As I said, it was hard to prevent everything, still you could see that it was a tough test for Letexier. In the end, noone will talk about him and it did not escalate too much. Good match to gain experience.
ReplyDeleteHaving seen the potential heat, especially with the Italians being frustrated, I expect a big name in second leg.
In Leverkusen, a big name in what I call a sacrificial game…
DeleteIt’s quite obvious who will officiate Leverkusen-Roma (unfortunately). :-/
Yep,we can expect very challenging game cause Roma will be in a deficit and we know how Roma plays when they are frustrated.
DeleteSo it wasn't just Mourinho,we can see their poor behaviour without him.
Also Lverkusen has many hotheads in their team so we can expect really challenging match.
I agree,some ref will be sacrificed like Lahoz and Siebert were in WC.
Interestingly,we had ITA vs GER teams that played each other in CL (Bayern vs Lazio) and that 1st match was also handled by Letexier,2nd by Vincic.
I doubt we will see Vincic cause he had this exact match last year.
I wont be surprised to see 2nd leg going to Makkelie,he's been known to be sacrificed and has had bad luck with tough games all these years.
Yes, very unfair if Makkelie. Again for one of the most challenging matches you can find in KO stage, more than CL.
DeleteBut... I think this one in Leverkusen could be less challenging for some aspects, than what Letexier had to do in Rome yesterday, because teams will start from the first leg score, and in particular Roma will be forced to play to score. I also think that the Italian team at home is definitely a more challenging duty than in a away game. All will depend on the progress of the game, if Roma scores immediately, then absolutely open.
Regarding the management of the Dutch, if appointed also for this one, one could say that it's a very rare case in which committee uses a referee for extremely risky tasks, without rewarding him in the immediate future... but I'm sure that time will be always a gentleman.
Leverkusen-Roma will be very difficult one. The only thing that can save the referee is an early goal by Roma. In all other cases, it will be a frustrating evening for the Italian side.
DeleteSurely, it won’t be Vincic. It would be his third game in Germany (in 2024) and for some reason he always will be protected, waiting for his final call. Same treatment as Turpin in 2022. I put my money on Makkelie in Leverkusen.
Indeed, like M wrote, some referees are always sacrificed, while others have a very “careful” path to the final. The latter, you see with French and Italian referees in particular, but also Vincic now. They won’t get anything that is too difficult for them. Look at Letexier’s rise. He’s very good(!), but over the last 3 years, they had a clear and cautious development plan with him. I guess Rosetti, Sajn(?) and the French FA are probably heavily involved when the appointments are made. I think, some FA’s see it as a compliment when referees are appointed to sensitive or challenging games. Without thinking about the possible consequences.
Siebert and Makkelie were always sacrificed. The Spanish as well, or pushed too much (Manzano). Marciniak always had to work his ass off. I don’t think its fair, really…
Another “protected” name is Kovacs btw. Last month, he refereed his first return game in the Champions League since 2021(!). That is Vassaras’ work.
DeleteI was thinking about the above discussion and I was wondering what do you mean "protected". If protected means that you have identified a pool of referees eligible for a final match (for example CL) and you don't appoint them in the semifinal matches and maybe use them in quarter final out the spot (for example Europe League or Conference League), that's real natural, safe and intelligent to me. In 2019 Skomina was appointed in the return leg of CL and unfortunately the match went wrong so that he was stop stepped off from the final match. It's a strategic vision but each manager in every job or environment has to apply. It's really a non sense, to me, risking a potential candidate just because you have less trust on the remaining referees. Why are 32 elites and trust in only on 5/6 ? An injury could also occur. If committee insists to use one or two potential candidates in the semifinal matches or put them under the lightest spot in the quarterfinal, it's really un-strategic to me and too much risky: in case of controversy or injury they loose the candidate.
DeleteDifferent the case if one referees is "protected" forever, I mean he is never appointed in the hottest matches just to keep him "immaculate" respect to potential controversy. It's like to always give a student the easiest test, saying that he is "the top one". During their path, especially at certain level, referees must be tested on hot and tough matches; but since every year the CL final official is a new one who never did it, I agree on the fact that he (or they) could be choose at the beginning of the KO stage, preserving them for the final stage. A runner who has to perform in NY marathon, never will do all the marathon before
I went to see if Vincic is really so protected and Makkelie is so sacrified.
ReplyDeleteThese are the matches Vincic had in UEFA club competition matches in season 23/24:
Lazio - Atletico Madrid
PSG - Milan
Napoli - Braga
Bayern - Lazio
Dortmund - Atletico Madrid
Makkelie had:
Inter - Benfica
Napoli - Union Berlin
Young Boys - Red Star
Newcastle - Milan
Barcelona - Napoli
Bayern - Arsenal
I don't see such a big difference, if I'm honest. But that's just my opinion. They both had mostly Italian teams involved.
The difference is the treatment in the final rounds, where the result is crucial/decisive. Vincic is assigned to big games in early rounds, but never in the decisive round.
DeleteMD6 Vincic was assigned to Napoli-Braga. Away from the spotlight; one-sided game. In EURO qualifiers, he did Ukraine vs North Macedonia. In R16, Bayern vs Lazio. The Italian side has had a poor record in away games the entire season. They gave up before trying. His QF Dortmund-Atletico was the lowest profile game of the entire set. Again, away from the spotlight.
MD6 Makkelie was assigned to Newcastle-Milan, a decisive game in group of death, and a quite sensitive one after Marciniak whistled that ridiculous handball penalty. Barcelona-Napoli, this was a tight game and with full focus by Italian and Spanish press. His QF was less risky, I must admit. However, I’m not just talking about current season. The Real vs PSG game was most exemplary. They could have used Orsato there (he already did a CL final), but for some reason they sacrificed Makkelie there and his final chances were burned.
My opinion about the final referees:
ReplyDeleteFinal Europa league its Kovacs.
Final Conference league its Zwayer
Final CL its Makkelie
Chefren, do you have any information about the CORE for other countries this year, where they have not participated yet?
ReplyDeleteThank you
No, I'm sorry.
DeleteThe JFA has its own interpretation of the rules starting this season: Even if the penalty decision is canceled in a penalty or corner situation, the play is restarted with a dropped ball.
ReplyDeleteAnd today the situation occurred for the first time. The referee, clearly aware of coner's option, restarted with a dropped ball. Of course, the team that couldn't even get coner was furious.
https://youtu.be/ct6R15EIrOk?t=474
I don't think there is any basis in LotG that something like this is possible, and I have no idea if there is any benefit to this. I hope they admit their mistake and get back to normal next season.