Thursday, 26 September 2024

Europa League 2024/25 - Referee Appointments - Matchday 1 (II)

2024-25 UEFA Europa League, second set of MD1 appointments, games to be played on 26 September 2024.



Thursday 26 September 2024

18:45 CET - Istanbul (Ülker Stadyumu Fenerbahçe Şükrü Saracoğlu Spor Kompleksi)
FENERBAHÇE (TUR) - ROYALE UNION SAINT-GILLOISE (BEL)
Referee: Benoît Bastien FRA
Assistant Referee 1: Hicham Zakrani FRA
Assistant Referee 2: Aurélien Berthomieu FRA
Fourth Official: Mathieu Vernice FRA
Video Assistant Referee: Bastien Dechepy FRA
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Romain Lissorgue FRA
UEFA Referee Observer: Gediminas Mažeika LTU
UEFA Delegate: Josip Tomaško CRO

18:45 CET - Malmö (Eleda Stadion)
MALMÖ FF (SWE) - RANGERS FC (SCO)
Referee: Luís Miguel Branco Godinho POR
Assistant Referee 1: Rui Miguel Martins Teixeira POR
Assistant Referee 2: Pedro Miguel Almeida Mota POR
Fourth Official: André Filipe Domingues da Silva Narciso POR
Video Assistant Referee: Tiago Bruno Lopes Martins POR
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Jonas Hedegaard Hansen DEN
UEFA Referee Observer: Paweł Gil POL
UEFA Delegate: Pat Duffy IRL

21:00 CET - Rome (Stadio Olimpico)
AS ROMA (ITA) - ATHLETIC CLUB (ESP)
Referee: Georgi Kabakov BUL
Assistant Referee 1: Martin Margaritov BUL
Assistant Referee 2: Diyan Valkov BUL
Fourth Official: Radoslav Gidzhenov BUL
Video Assistant Referee: Dragomir Draganov BUL
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Momčilo Marković SRB
UEFA Referee Observer: Chaim Ya’akov ISR
UEFA Delegate: Jenni Kennedy ENG

21:00 CET - Amsterdam (Johan Cruijff ArenA)
AFC AJAX (NED) - BEŞİKTAŞ (TUR)
Referee: John Brooks ENG
Assistant Referee 1: Simon Bennett ENG
Assistant Referee 2: Daniel Robathan ENG
Fourth Official: Tim Robinson ENG
Video Assistant Referee: Stuart Attwell ENG
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Peter Bankes ENG
UEFA Referee Observer: Markus Strömbergsson SWE
UEFA Delegate: Irakli Nakaidze GEO

21:00 CET - Frankfurt am Main (Deutsche Bank Park)
EINTRACHT FRANKFURT (GER) - FC VIKTORIA PLZEŇ (CZE)
Referee: Mykola Balakin UKR
Assistant Referee 1: Oleksandr Berkut UKR
Assistant Referee 2: Viktor Matyash UKR
Fourth Official: Vitaliy Romanov UKR
Video Assistant Referee: Luca Pairetto ITA
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Ángelos Evangélou GRE
UEFA Referee Observer: Stefan Johannesson SWE
UEFA Delegate: Iveta Bankova-Stoyanova BUL

21:00 CET - London (Tottenham Hotspur Stadium)
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR FC (ENG) - QARABAĞ FK (AZE)
Referee: Willy Delajod FRA
Assistant Referee 1: Erwan Finjean FRA
Assistant Referee 2: Philippe Jeanne FRA
Fourth Official: Thomas Léonard FRA
Video Assistant Referee: Benoît Millot FRA
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Alan Kijas AUT
UEFA Referee Observer: Lucílio Cardoso Cortez Batista POR
UEFA Delegate: Knut Bjørn Nordheim NOR

21:00 CET - Braga (Estádio Municipal de Braga)
SC BRAGA (POR) - MK MAKKABI TEL AVIV (ISR)
Referee: Matej Jug SVN
Assistant Referee 1: Matej Žunič SVN
Assistant Referee 2: Manuel Vidali SVN
Fourth Official: Aleksandar Matkovič SVN
Video Assistant Referee: Nejc Kajtazovič SVN
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Asmir Sagrkovič SVN
UEFA Referee Observer: Augustus Viorel Constantin ROU
UEFA Delegate: Bart van Soest NED

21:00 CET - Décines-Charpieu (Groupama Stadium)
OLYMPIQUE LYONNAIS (FRA) - OLYMBIAKÓS SFP (GRE)
Referee: Lawrence Visser BEL
Assistant Referee 1: Rien Vanyzere BEL
Assistant Referee 2: Thibaud Nijssen BEL
Fourth Official: Simon Bourdeaud’hui BEL
Video Assistant Referee: Bram Van Driessche BEL
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Daniele Chiffi ITA
UEFA Referee Observer: Stefan Meßner AUT
UEFA Delegate: Jonathan Leese ENG

21:00 CET - Bucharest (Arena Națională)
FC FCSB (ROU) - FC RFS (LVA)
Referee: Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea ESP
Assistant Referee 1: Iker de Francisco Grijalba ESP
Assistant Referee 2: Alfredo Rodríguez Moreno ESP
Fourth Official: Javier Alberola Rojas ESP
Video Assistant Referee: César Soto Grado ESP
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Valentín Pizarro Gómez ESP
UEFA Referee Observer: Thomas Einwaller AUT
UEFA Delegate: Artur Azaryan ARM

60 comments:


  1. Big game for Brooks straight after his promotion

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Could we see a very quick second promotion to elite to replace taylor

      Delete
  2. Again, another surprise with Kabakov getting an EL fixture after his CL appointment (same with Hernandez).
    I'm sure the REFCOM had other choices in the top end of CAT 1 to appoint who capable of handling the fixtures.
    Very strange IMO

    ReplyDelete
  3. Balakin with Italian and Greece assistances. Something new to my opinion

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's interesting the pairing but let' remember they are from Nyon. The day before Pairetto will be AVAR for Manchester - Twente, referee Sozza, while Evangelou main VAR for Sidiropoulos in Dynamo Kyiv - Lazio.
      Since Ukrainian VAR are not present, Balakin gets officials from other countries.

      Delete
  4. Where is Glova? Nations league no, Champions league no, Europa league no.

    ReplyDelete
  5. That advantage by itself was already worthy of a second appointment, it is possible Rosetti fell in love, assigning the Bulgarian to another game :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Appointments for EL MD1 matches were made (almost) at the same time as appointments for Champions league MD1.

      So, Kabakov was either replacement for CL or EL match. It is hard to believe that they appointed Kabakov as a replacement for EL match one week ago, just after his great advantage in the CL match.

      Delete
    2. If the appointments for the CL and EL were made simultaneously (which I believe), this can be seen as a sign of trust from Rosetti towards the experienced Bulgarian referee, or even something more...

      Delete
    3. In the case of the Spanish referees, we can dare to say it's likely there was a replacement, given that then Gil Manzano got injured. About Kabakov, it can be the same, maybe he replaced another referee, otherwise with so many referees to be appointed, it's hard to see that two have already got two after not even MD1. Let' see whether there will be other cases on next week.

      Delete
    4. Maybe there's a shortage of available Elite refs:

      -Marciniak, Gil Manzano & Jovanovic failed fitness tests
      -Soares Dias & Orsato retired (also Collum & Kulbakov)
      -Grinfeld, Sidiropoulos, Bastien & Hategan (!) are de facto demoted
      -Karasev absent from appointments due to Russia, and already turned 45.

      There are 32 refs on the Elite list for the 2nd part of this calendar year, but only ≈ 20 available.

      Delete
  6. Daniel Robathan has been getting some good appointments recently for someone who isn't actually a FIFA assistant yet...can only assume he will become one next year.

    ReplyDelete
  7. CL Predictions for Next Week MD2 games

    Salzburg - Brest
    Andris Treimanis LVA

    Stuttgart - Sparta Praha
    Enea Jorgji ALB

    Inter - Crvena Zvezda
    Benoit Bastien FRA

    Borussia Dortmund - Celtic
    José Maria Sanchez Martinez ESP

    Barcelona - Young Boys
    Morten Krogh DEN

    Bayer Leverkusen - Milan
    Slavko Vincic SVN

    Arsenal - PSG
    Istvan Kovacs ROU

    PSV - Sporting
    Tobias Stieler GER

    Slovan Bratislava - Manchester City
    Radu Petrescu ROU

    Shakhtar - Atalanta
    Sandro Schärer SUI

    Girona - Feyenoord (observer not still appointed)
    Aliyar Aghayev AZE

    Liverpool - Bologna
    Felix Zwayer GER

    Leipzig - Juventus
    Donatas Rumsas LTU

    Benfica - Atletico Madrid
    Marco Guida ITA

    Dinamo Zagreb - Monaco (obs. committee member Kuipers)
    Maurizio Mariani ITA

    Lille - Real Madrid
    Serdar Gozubuyuk NED

    Aston Villa - Bayern Munchen
    François Letexier FRA

    Sturm Graz - Club Brugge
    Manfredas Lukjančukas LTU

    Quilava is absolutely right. If we rule out also the known names who failed the tests, it's extremely difficult if not impossible, to find all different names for Champions League games, and I'm sure we will see many surprises there. I must say, after having studied thrse predictions, that indeed it's possible some referees were already planned 20 days ago for two games.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tobias Stieler might still be injured after his NL match. He has not received any appointment as a referee since then. In the German refereeing blog, there are rumours or hints that we will see a debut in CL for a German referee. Most likely name would be Osmers.

      Delete
    2. https://buli-schiri.blogspot.com/?m=1

      Delete
    3. My predictions (VAR in brackets):
      Salzburg - Brest: Osmers (Storks)
      Stuttgart - Sparta Praha: Dabanovic (Kwiatkowski)
      Inter - Crvena Zvezda: Gözübüyük (Higler)
      Borussia Dortmund - Celtic: Lambrechts (Delajod)
      Barcelona - Young Boys: Jorgji (Pairetto)
      Bayer Leverkusen - Milan: Kovacs (van Boekel)
      Arsenal - PSG: Vincic (Kajtazovic)
      PSV - Sporting: Zwayer (Dankert)
      Slovan Bratislava - Manchester City: Aghayev (Ulusoy)
      Shakhtar - Atalanta: Pinheiro (Martins)
      Girona - Feyenoord: Petrescu (Popa)
      Liverpool - Bologna: Sanchez (Martinez)
      Leipzig - Juventus: Schärer (San)
      Benfica - Atletico Madrid: Letexier (Brisard)
      Dinamo Zagreb - Monaco: Mariani (Chiffi)
      Lille - Real Madrid: Taylor (Attwell)
      Aston Villa - Bayern Munchen: Guida (di Paolo)
      Sturm Graz - Club Brugge: Nobre (Dieperink)

      Delete
    4. I'll go for revised now:
      Salzburg - Brest: Tremainis (Bebek)
      Stuttgart - Sparta Praha: Aghayev (Ulusoy)
      Inter - Crvena Zvezda: Zwayer (Dingbert)
      Borussia Dortmund - Celtic: Visser (Brisard)
      Barcelona - Young Boys: Guida (Valeri)
      Bayer Leverkusen - Milan: Scharer (San)
      Arsenal - PSG: Vincic (Kajtazovic)
      PSV - Sporting: Osmers (Dankert)
      Slovan Bratislava - Manchester City: Balakin (Di Paolo)
      Shakhtar - Atalanta: Sanchez (Del Grande)
      Girona - Feyenoord: Pinhiero (Martins)
      Liverpool - Bologna: Gözübüyük (Van Boekel)
      Leipzig - Juventus: Letexier (Brisard)
      Benfica - Atletico Madrid: Kovacs (Deiperink)
      Dinamo Zagreb - Monaco: Dabanovic (Kwiatolski)
      Lille - Real Madrid: Taylor (Attwell)
      Aston Villa - Bayern Munchen: Bastien (Delajod)
      Sturm Graz - Club Brugge: Petrescu (Popa)

      Delete
  8. https://ibb.co/tYk7bB6
    Here the confirmation about UEFA assessment, with the document and the official explanation, it's not from RAP, but in the internal system used to send referees feedbacks about particular and notable incidents.
    So, when about a shot on goal, arm must be veeery close (almost no space between) to body, differently fom other circumstances.
    However, it is admitted that the incident was not a 100% black or white one, if analyzed without the context.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Grecce Super League Matchday 6

    PAOK Saloniki - Aris Saloniki : Osmers - Schaal, Neitzel-Petersen - Poulikidis (GRE) (VAR : Winkmann AVAR : Buxbaum (GRE)

    AEK Athens - Panathinaikos Athens : Stegemann - Gittelmann, Günsch - Papadopoulos (GRE) (VAR : Hanslbauer AVAR : Fotopoulos (GRE)

    AntwortenLöschen

    ReplyDelete
  10. According to kicker (German Newspaper)

    Felix Zwayer will referee Bayern - Leverkusen on Saturday evening

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Source : https://www.kicker.de/premiere-in-muenchen-zwayer-pfeift-bayern-gegen-bayer-1054175/artikel

      Delete
    2. Zwayer - Kempter, Dietz - Petersen
      (VAR : Bastian Dankert AVAR : Thorben Siewer)

      Delete
  11. Mateo Busquets Ferrer (1993, non-FIFA, 2nd season in LaLiga) will referee the Madrid derby at the Metropolitano on Sunday night.

    Big test for the referee from the Balearic Islands.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. How do you explain this one?
      https://x.com/SC_ESPN/status/1838687761206808804
      Ok the referee, but in my opinion VAR shouldn't be allowed anymore to officiate games, TBH, that's something you can't believe, confirming this YC decision...

      Delete
    2. Nowadays there are many decisions that are unbelieveable... IMO Figueroa Vazquez shouldnt officiate in La Liga as VAR

      Delete
  12. Correct PK by Jug in Braga earlier, clear foul by GK.

    Also, good advantages by Kabakov and De Burgos Bengoetxea in Roma first goal and FCSB second goal respectively.

    It seems like not much stuff to report for now.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Following with good advantages leading to goal, now Brooks in Amsterdam.

      Delete
  13. Correct early RC for DOGSO by Delajod in London.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Not so much stuff to report from today games, indeed, but we must praise Bastien. A referee known for his style, he once again was not afraid of taking big decisions.

    73' DOGSO, foul outside, correct RC
    https://streambug.org/cv/128f07

    90' Penalty for reckless after having kicked ball, perfect positioning to spot it. These situations are always discussed but when so clear one should expect VAR call if not whistled. The French did very well.
    https://streambug.org/cv/d40478

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Two spot-on decisions. Glad for Bastien, he was rather unlucky in his earlier UEFA career.

      Delete
    2. Excellent Bastien. Well done!!

      Delete
  15. Wrong penalty by Delajod (again)
    I noticed AR2 standing by corner flag rather than on edge of box. Is this a new UEFA directive? Sorry if already mentioned

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Clearly the attacker put his foot out to ensure a contact, very wrong penalty to me! These kinds of situations should be overturned, it cannot be that whenever there is a contact, the penalty is supported.

      Delete
  16. Handball in Braga, defender trying a tackle touched clearly the ball by arm. Big question whether this was only support for the body or a punishable movement. Called to OFR by Kajtazovič, Jug whistled penalty.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Very wild end of the game for the Slovenian referee, as Israeli team lost the nerves after that penalty decision.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Observers for UEFA Nations League MD3

    A1
    CROSCO Alain Sars FRA
    POLPOR Luis Medina Cantalejo ESP
    POLCRO Sabri Çelik TUR
    SCOPOR Stefano Podeschi SMR

    A2
    ISRFRA Kenneth William Clark SCO
    ITABEL Michael Riley ENG
    ITAISR Rusmir Mrković BIH
    BELFRA Kjell Gunnar Alseth NOR

    A3
    HUNNED Chrístos Nikolaḯdis CYP
    BIHGER Ante Vučemilović CRO
    GERNED Juan Antonio Fernández Marín ESP
    BIHHUN Cyril Zimmermann SUI

    A4
    ESPDEN Nuno Alexandre Parreira de Castro POR
    SRBSUI Ruud Bossen NED
    ESPSRB Bertrand Layec FRA
    SUIDEN David Malcolm NIR

    B1
    UKRGEO Iain Robertson Brines SCO
    CZEALB Marco Borg MLT
    GEOALB Viktor Shvetsov UKR
    UKRCZE Christopher Lautier MLT

    B2
    FINIRL Sergejus Slyva LTU
    ENGGRE David Fernández Borbalán ESP
    FINENG Jørn West Larsen DEN
    GREIRL Bernardino González Vázquez ESP

    B3
    AUTKAZ Nenad Đokić SRB
    NORSVN Carlos Velasco Carballo ESP
    KAZSVN Karel Vidlák CZE
    AUTNOR Giorgi Vadachkoria GEO

    B4
    TURMNE Lutz Michael Fröhlich GER
    ISLWAL Antonio Damato ITA
    ISLTUR Milorad Mažić SRB
    WALMNE Kostadin Gerginov BUL

    C1
    ESTAZE Igor Șațchi MDA
    SVKSWE Asim Xudiyev AZE
    AZESVK Vadims Direktorenko LVA
    ESTSWE Mark Steven Whitby WAL

    C2
    LTUKOS Martin Atkinson ENG
    CYPROU Karen Nalbandyan ARM
    LTUROU Viktor Kassai HUN
    KOSCYP Mehmet Murat Ilgaz TUR

    C3
    BULLUX Manuel Díaz Vega ESP
    BLRNIR Pascal Garibian FRA
    NIRBUL Michal Beneš CZE
    BLRLUX Fredy Fautrel FRA

    C4
    LVAMKD Helmut Fleischer GER
    FROARM Laurent Duhamel FRA
    ARMMKD Gediminas Mažeika LTU
    FROLVA Volodymyr Petrov UKR

    D1
    GIBSMR
    LIEGIB Kristinn Jakobsson ISL

    D2
    MDAAND Hannes Kaasik EST
    MLTMDA Robert Schörgenhofer AUT

    ReplyDelete
  19. Tobias Stieler is appointed in Bundesliga (Kiel-Frankfurt) on Sunday, so he is not injured (anymore?)

    ReplyDelete
  20. I watch now the penalty whistled by Delajod to Qarabag and indeed a very particular incident.
    Video:
    https://streambug.org/cv/8fab08
    I think that rewatching it, the French referee wouldn't have whistled, but it should be correct by VAR to support this call.
    Attacker opens his leg maybe even deliberately in the path of defender and then you have this contact, but never caused by defender action.
    I think that from his position, Delajod just thought, and he couldn't do more, about a classic tripping by defender, missing the action by attacker before.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. But why shouldn't the VAR intervene then? If you even say, that the referee missed an important aspect and he probably would have changed his opinion in an OFR.
      Clear mistake in my opinion exactly due to the reason you wrote.

      Delete
    2. Agree with Philipp S, clear mistake

      Delete
    3. The problem is about how to consider VAR as tool, in my opinion when it was introduced, the concept of clear and obvious mistake had to be intended regarding the incident itself, so, even if a referee has a wrong perception, but the incident itself can be stil a very soft penalty, call to be supported. The interpretation of an important detail missed by referee on the pitch is surely something more, I see that this way of dealing with the VAR is very common in Germany, but less in Italy and maybe also in other countries, as long as a call can be supported in all cases, no need of an OFR. But for sure committee must draw a line here: according to their opinion, this shouldn't be a penalty, so if the French VAR didn't call Delajod they should think about a mistake... but we can't know.

      Delete
  21. Fabio Maresca was the referee in Kuwait Premier League a few hours ago.

    It was a match between the top 2 teams in the league.

    He sent off a player for 2 yellow cards in the 20th minute. It is a clear yellow but it seems like he forgot the player was already in the book.

    https://x.com/atv_mediaa/status/1839710008340029861?s=46

    His positioning prevented a player from getting to the ball, it was met with big frustration:

    https://x.com/atv_mediaa/status/1839714155881779414?s=46

    2nd sending off, also for two bookings, I assume it was for the reaction:

    https://x.com/atv_mediaa/status/1839731975063777393?s=46

    However, the biggest point was that a player almost left at half time to file a police report against Fabio Maresca, for telling him ‘I’ll kill you’!

    After the game, the club through one of it’s members announced that he’s on his way to file a case against the Italian referee.

    https://x.com/adnan_abul84/status/1839739046941053107?s=46

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Definitely the last thing Rocchi was looking for, by sending Maresca to this game.
      Very poor start of the season for him, he had a rather negative performance in Milan - Torino, first appearance in serie A, then he was sent to a serie B game to recover, Sampdoria - Bari, and he had a nightmare performance. Here you can describe this one as maybe his worst performance as serie A and B referee, and it would be too long to explain in detail.
      Then, after that he was planned for a Greek league game, Aris - Olympiacos, on 21 September, as AIA site reported, but for unknown reasons he was replaced by Pairetto (maybe he was not available last week). And now, the trip in Kuwait (thanks for the information, BTW), with Gariglio, the VAR. Gariglio in a similar situation, a very poor start of the season with controversial decisions, last one in a serie B game when he didn't call referee to OFR for what appeared to be a punishable (active) offside of a player not playing ball but being in the middle. Before that, he had supported a veryu discussed no penalty call by Giua in Genoa - Roma. Also this one created a big astonishment among fans, for the Italian culture of "every contact = penalty", as you know.
      So Rocchi uses such games to allow a quick mental recover for the officials involved.
      Still about Maresca, again one must say that his career has been really incredible. Being on paper the possible best Italian refeee for many aspects, he has these moments in which he seems to be definitely another person. This cost him a lot, no progress in the career and at the end one must admit no more than Cat. 2 in UEFA unluckily for him, it was enough.... because he has too many black out in his career. If I look at these incidents you linked (thanks again) I can see again what I saw in his previous games I mentioned: very passive, almost lazy, no reactions, forgetting that a player was booked looks like he is definitely not calm for some reasons... really don't know why...
      BTW of course, last but not least, impossible to believe to player's words. For sure a language misunderstanding, or even a pure lie by the player.. I wouldn't be surprised.

      Delete
  22. The hot topic in this start of the serie A season seems to be the serious foul play. Rocchi has asked referees to show zero tolerance about it.
    After some missed red cards in the early matchdays (among them: two red cards in only one game! and even missed VAR interventions...) that cost a lot to some referees, now we are observing a trend in which, in my opinion, the referees have a mind always set on the red card, in case of borderline incidents. And of course, it goes without saying, fans are not accepting that, they don't like that.
    Here two examples, from Coppa Italia game Napoli - Palermo and then yesterday serie A game Milan - Lecce:
    https://streambug.org/cv/0a4883
    https://streambug.org/cv/708463
    Personally, I like both decisions, and of course correct by VAR to support. In the first case, enough to say that the studs are at opponent's head level, then in the second case you can read the challenge as excessive force (brutal tackle) even without reasoning about the specific point of contact, but both incidents in past would have been always treated as yellow cards. Also TV commentators, mostly not refereeing experts, can't understand and they say it's harsh. We will see how the trend will continue, but for sure with VAR, if you ask me, it's impossible to find consistency about serious foul plays. At least all the potential red cards must be supported, and I think you can easily find an argument for most of the incidents in which a referee shows a straight red card. But surely referees shouldn't start from an idea that they can miss a red card, otherwise they will "abuse" about it.. that's very clear, but at the same time not easy to apply.

    ReplyDelete
  23. After Maresca, another hot game was played in the Middle East yesterday.

    African Super Cup (at Riyadh)
    Al-Ahly Cairo vs. Zamalek Cairo

    Refs: Ibrahim Mutaz (lby), Attila Amsaeed (lby), Khalil Hassani (tun), Artan (som)
    Vars: Akhona Makalima (rsa), Abongile Tom (rsa), Zakaria Brinsi (mar)
    (caf assessor was wc2010 linesman ignacio candido from angola)

    The game was distinguished by an exciting second half and ensuant win on penalties for the underdog team Zamalek, but perhaps moreover by the same team's disgraceful conduct towards the Libyan referee after he gave an OFR-awarded penalty to Al-Ahly in the first half, which was a correct and more-or-less inarguable call.

    Clips of the game's two big incidents are below:
    Pen after Ofr to Al-Ahly: www.streambug.io/cv/ab33ad
    No penalty to Zamalek: www.streambug.io/cv/5d9769

    The female VAR from South Africa -- as she did in both her AFCON games -- took much too long to recommend a review for the clear offence (foul: 33m5s; intv: 35m5s), but Makalima obviously reached the correct conclusion in the end. In the chaos, it was impossible to tell whether Zam no.24 was booked for dissent or for reckless play on the penalty: had Mutaz decided to send him off for SFP, it would have been a justified call (imo yc is still better). Of course, multiple Zamalek actors ought to have been dismissed for their totally unacceptable behaviour after the OFR. It would be interesting to hear views about the Zamalek appeal, my view is 'more foul than not but not sure about c/o error'.

    Ironically, other than these two incidents, the game wasn't especially challenging for Ibrahim Mutaz. As one could easily expect, he 'lost control' of the Zamalek players in the second half who repeatedly dissented and undermined the Libyan ref without being punished. In addition, there were a number of very dubious play on calls in the second half; in general, his performance wasn't really better than 'okay'. Overall, as a final comment, I think there are better referees in the new CAF generation than Mutaz.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much, very appreciated report!
      Well, maybe a normal difficulty game apart from the OFR, but when you have such incident like the OFR and all what happened later, it's absolutely challenging, even if this lasts only some minutes.
      Very disgraceful behavior by player indeed, after the OFR, unacceptable how referee was treated. One or more red card should have followed.
      Fourth official and assistant referee to be blamed here, too passive while referee was victim of the players.
      After a very clear call... and yes, I agree, too long time by South African VAR, once seen the step on foot from the frontal replay, she had all elements to call referee, and to me this should have been the key replay to show during OFR. Maybe the only doubt, I try to guess, for her, was that ball had been already kicked, but with a step on foot that's definitely not an argument and detecting the offense is made by far easier for both referee and VAR.
      About the penalty appeal, agree with you, to be confirmed if whistled by referee, but never a clear and obvious mistake for VAR.
      At least we can be absolutely content with African VAR, again a very good display in a crucial game (the too long time can be considered as "point for improvement").

      Delete
    2. What bothers me is that, nowadays, referees tend to rely too much in VAR.

      Delete
  24. https://streamin.me/v/54bf55a4
    Sadly a horrible 2nd YC decision from Jablonski in today's Bundesliga match Wolfsburg-Stuttgart.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. just to be clear, the player in white received the 2nd YC

      Delete
    2. https://streamin.one/v/3a3e001b
      Also a RC which was given on-field by Jablonski but turned into a YC after VAR, not sure if an intervention was really necessary there.

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    3. What a mistake with SYC!! Sadly, that decisions with SYC can't be overturned by VAR..

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    4. I think what would've been possible would be a (very stupid tbf) possible RC review for the green player.

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    5. Yes, wouldn't have been a 100% wrong VAR intervention, to call for the possible RC for Wolfsburg player, then revoking the wrong decision about the other player. I would have accepted this OFR...

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    6. It would've been clever probably but not sure it would've been accepted well within the DFB

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  25. Lens-Nice,
    63-66', ref: Letexier,

    Penalty appeal, OFR

    What do you think?

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    Replies
    1. Video:
      https://streambug.org/cv/1333fc
      A very particular incident, indeed.
      My opinion after having watched it without replay was that attacker used the situation to get a whistle by referee, falling mostly for his previous movement. The replay can then add that there was maybe a soft contact, but definitely not significant to consider it as main reson for the fall. I think this was rather a masked simulation, or the player would have fallen in all cases.
      I find understandable decision by Letexier to decide for play on after OFR, while for VAR it was hard to play on without inviting referee, for the classic reason that nowadays such situations are always seen as penalty by people.

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  26. Zwayer with a solid performance in the Bayern-Leverkusen match, no relevant mistakes and 5 YC, all correct. Captain dialogue rule needs to be improved, but overall good display, proving the "haters" of this appointment wrong.

    ReplyDelete

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