2024-25 UEFA Nations League, referee appointments for Quarterfinals (First Legs)
20:45 CET - Rotterdam (Stadion Feijenoord "De Kuip")
NETHERLANDS - SPAIN
Referee: Glenn Nyberg SWE
Assistant Referee 1: Mahbod Beigi SWE
Assistant Referee 2: Andreas Söderkvist SWE
Fourth Official: Adam Ladebäck SWE
Video Assistant Referee: Christian Dingert GER
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Johann Pfeifer GER
UEFA Referee Observer: Emil Božinovski MKD
UEFA Delegate:
20:45 CET - Split (Stadion Poljud)
CROATIA - FRANCE
Referee: Espen Andreas Eskås NOR
Assistant Referee 1: Jan Erik Engan NOR
Assistant Referee 2: Isaak Elias Skjeseth Bashevkin NOR
Fourth Official: Rohit Saggi NOR
Video Assistant Referee: Bastian Dankert GER
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Robert Schröder GER
UEFA Referee Observer: Leslie Irvine NIR
UEFA Delegate: Angelo Chetcuti MLT
CROATIA - FRANCE
Referee: Espen Andreas Eskås NOR
Assistant Referee 1: Jan Erik Engan NOR
Assistant Referee 2: Isaak Elias Skjeseth Bashevkin NOR
Fourth Official: Rohit Saggi NOR
Video Assistant Referee: Bastian Dankert GER
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Robert Schröder GER
UEFA Referee Observer: Leslie Irvine NIR
UEFA Delegate: Angelo Chetcuti MLT
20:45 CET - Copenhagen (Parken)
DENMARK - PORTUGAL
Referee: Irfan Peljto BIH
Assistant Referee 1: Senad Ibrišimbegović BIH
Assistant Referee 2: Davor Beljo BIH
Fourth Official: Miloš Gigovic BIH
Video Assistant Referee: Pol van Boekel NED
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Richard Martens NED
UEFA Referee Observer: Kóstas Kapitanís CYP
UEFA Delegate: Johny Vanspauwen BEL
DENMARK - PORTUGAL
Referee: Irfan Peljto BIH
Assistant Referee 1: Senad Ibrišimbegović BIH
Assistant Referee 2: Davor Beljo BIH
Fourth Official: Miloš Gigovic BIH
Video Assistant Referee: Pol van Boekel NED
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Richard Martens NED
UEFA Referee Observer: Kóstas Kapitanís CYP
UEFA Delegate: Johny Vanspauwen BEL
20:45 CET - Milan (Stadio Giuseppe Meazza)
ITALY - GERMANY
Referee: François Letexier FRA
Assistant Referee 1: Cyril Mugnier FRA
Assistant Referee 2: Mehdi Rahmouni FRA
Fourth Official: Romain Lissorgue FRA
Video Assistant Referee: Jérôme Brisard FRA
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Bastien Dechepy FRA
UEFA Referee Observer: Konrad Plautz AUT
UEFA Delegate: Eugène Westerink NED
ITALY - GERMANY
Referee: François Letexier FRA
Assistant Referee 1: Cyril Mugnier FRA
Assistant Referee 2: Mehdi Rahmouni FRA
Fourth Official: Romain Lissorgue FRA
Video Assistant Referee: Jérôme Brisard FRA
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Bastien Dechepy FRA
UEFA Referee Observer: Konrad Plautz AUT
UEFA Delegate: Eugène Westerink NED
Info
ReplyDeleteKonrad Plautz does not come from Germany 🇩🇪 but Austria 🇦🇹 😉
Right you are, RefSoccer3412, he is from the Tyrol. Never to be mixed up with Germany!
ReplyDelete;-)
seems that all VARs from Germany are given a lot of trust
ReplyDeleteFor this set of quarterfinals, we have the trusted VAR but assigned to an AVAR from their country (full nationality) and not working like European competitions for clubs (mixed).
DeleteThey should be from stadium, I think, as KNVB informed that in play off the Dutch VAR team for Gozubuyuk will be in Pristina.
Clearly committee considers Italy - Germany as the biggest one and here Letexier once again for a top game.
ReplyDeleteTo follow, one could have guessed the "nature" of the rest of appointments, with Elite like Eskas and Nyberg.
On paper, Peljto could have been a candidate for something more, but he is still in development.
Waiting for second legs choices, let's remember that semifinals and the final will be on June.
As normally the "bigger" name gets the second leg, the options for GER-ITA are quite limited.
DeleteMarciniak might still be blocked for German teams after the Bayern incident last season?
Vincic had both teams in the group stage (and wasn't good in GER-NED), so not ideal.
Turpin normally not possible as second French.
So it should be Kovacs?
Possibly. Vincic is not impossible, he didn't end GER-NED with major controversy, but he also had the German derby recently. The Nations League appointments were made prior to R16. Would be a poor appointment strategy.
DeleteKovacs should be favorite, but wouldn't be surprised to see Oliver or Makkelie there.
DeleteRosetti would appoint Letexier for both legs if possible.
DeleteBut I think in Germany it will be Vincic...
I think 2nd legs could be something like this:
DeleteESP V NED: Kovacs or Turpin
FRA v CRO: Taylor
POR v DEN: Manzano
GER v ITA: Makkelie
Saving the SF's for Turpin (1st leg only) / Kovacs (whomever didn't referee the QF). Oliver, Marciniak & Vincic.
There aren't two legs in the SF. So only three more big games in the competition.
DeleteMy guess would be
ESP V NED: Marciniak
FRA v CRO: Oliver
POR v DEN: Gil Manzano
GER v ITA: Kovacs
Oh crikey - didn't realise
DeleteThen ok I'd go for:
ESP V NED: Kovacs
FRA v CRO: Taylor
POR v DEN: Gil Manzano
GER v ITA: Makkelie
SF's between Turpin (depends on France obviously), Marciniak & Vincic
I will eat my shoe when Letexier doesn’t get one of the UEFA finals this season :)
ReplyDeleteExcellent appointment again for Letexier.
ReplyDeleteAlso noticing that the committee is starting to give more and more interesting games to Peljto and especially to Eskas.
Surprised to see Nyberg here, I was starting to feel they forgot about him.
The appointments probably were made after the CL PO, so it's indeed a good sign for Nyberg, that Benfica-Monaco doesn't prevent him getting this big NL QF. Should mean, that he remains a candidate for a CL QF, I think.
DeleteAnd yes, also good achievement for Peljto and Eskas. I don't really expect a CL QF, but certainly a EL QF and/or SF.
I agree with you. I found it a bit strange that Nyberg was not appointed for the UCL and UEL home and away games last week. But it must be great for the Swede to referee the current Euro champions' game. If he does well in Rotterdam, it is very likely that he will be chosen for a big UCL quarter-final game.
Delete
ReplyDeleteChefren, Jovanovic passed the UEFA fitness test, can we expect him in UEFA competitions this spring?
Of course he can start again, but it's about the consideration now. Left the C preselection and got very few assignments in recent times, he should work hard for returning at the point where he was. We will see whether this will be possible, but surely we can say that he missed already opportunities.
DeleteHe hasn't participated in the UEFA winter course, right? So it seems impossible for him to get a game this spring except maybe a friendly international.
DeleteHe is not expected, my answer was rather on his chances to be appointed again in important games, but yes, surely in particular it's not for now. He should be out from Clubs competition, don't know if a WC qualifier is possible, maybe.
DeleteDid Ismail Elfath retire?
ReplyDeleteI think he can't do that for a federation when still an active referee, according to FIFA regulations.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_w-42VqElc
I don't think that PRO would have let him do this without him consulting them first. There must have been some dialog behind the scenes, otherwise I would consider this very surprising. This blog has discussed who would be next in line from the USA if indeed Elfath did retire. The only ones that I think would be able to fill his role as #1 are Tori Penso or Armando Villarreal, but Villarreal primarily acting as VAR for big tournaments and Penso only beginning to officiate men's matches in the past two or three years. Other names could include Dickerson or Freeman, but both are fairly new FIFA referees and would be filling very big shoes in Elfath's absence in such short time. One must remember that Elfath was #2 for a long time while Geiger was #1 and attending world cups. And with the USA as the host country, this adds an extra layer of complexity. Interested to see how this plays out
DeletePenalty given by Eskas in CRO-FRA. Was very close distance. I think everyone would be happy with no penalty decision here. What do you think?
ReplyDeleteClear penalty by Eskas IMO. The hand is clearly an extension of the body, distance is not relevant anymore in the LotG.
ReplyDeleteI agree, I always read about the distance, but with open arm is not a criterion anymore (to find consistency, otherwise one could explain rather all no penalty decisions...).
ReplyDeleteVery clear penalty for handball whistled directly by Peljto as well.
ReplyDeleteVery clear indeed, but Imo a Yc should have been awarded as well as it was a deliberate handball stopping a shot on goal.
DeleteYeah, very clear penalty, however, I think it should've been a YC for SPA as well since the handball was deliberate and it was a shot on goal. Easy to get confused though when IFAB tries to fix problems that doesn't exist with their never ending law changes...
DeleteI got confused as well, I thought NO CARD was a correct decision here given the updated guidelines but forgetting about the "deliberate" nature. I think one can forgive indeed the referees about that, too many changes in rather not immediate situations to think about on the pitch (here focus was on giving very clear penalty).
DeletePK, no card
DeleteRC for SFP given by Nyberg: https://streamff.com/v/82d72a82
ReplyDeleteMissing in this clip but much pressure from the Spain side after this foul what affected Nyberg imo
Deletecorrect decision. too bad he missed a RC in H1 for an identical foul. then only YC was shown, probably because he applied advantage first.
DeleteVery fair RC applied by Nyberg in Rotterdam. Hato arrives late and hits Le Normand's ankle with excessive force.
ReplyDeleteYellow will be enough. Even no Borderline for me yellow
ReplyDeleteOne should also consider how Spanish player enters quickly in the challenge, the opponent can't expect that. For me, this is a very clear YC, important mistake if missed, but rather no RC. You support RC but not a decision that would see all people agree on that. Point of contact also seems rather on the foot than ankle, but again, see how it happens, you can't say this was acting in disregard of opponent's safety by Dutch.
ReplyDeleteOne replay angle showed pretty clearly that the contact was studs to ankle, I think red card is the preferred decision for me; VAR may support the on-field decision if YC given though.
DeleteI am glad someone has this opinion. For me dark yellow but surely not red. Still not easy for VAR to intervene.
ReplyDeleteMeant to @Robo
DeleteI like the red card by Nyberg personally, I think there is a fair bit of force in the tackle by Hato. Yellow card wouldn't have been questioned by VAR though, rightfully so, it is very much a judgement call. Another thing I also want to point out: people often talk about how slow-motion replays sometimes make stuff look worse than it actually is, and that is probably true, but so is the opposite, it can also lead to the interpretation that a player was more in control than they actually were, I think this is the case here.
ReplyDeleteExactly what I was thinking about the replay here. Though I think it does show the lack of control in this tackle, and no doubt it's late + bad contact. Judgement call indeed but ultimately also think RC is the best call.
DeleteI agree with you on this, Elliot. Talking only about the point of contact to determine the color of the card may not be enough. The Dutch player, even though he did not hit the Spanish opponent above the ankle, from the angle of the replay we can see the intensity of the impact to seriously injure Le Normand, including his foot. The explanations about YC are completely understandable, but the risk of serious injury to the Spanish player must also be taken into account.
Delete@MQ Wasn't just talking about this situation specifically, but I think in general people when people see situations in slow-motion and say "He didn't really connect" or "The point of contact was low" could miss the fact that if the tackle was made just a fraction of a second later or a millimeter higher up, you have a serious injury. Those small differences is very hard to control
DeleteYeah but it's exactly UEFA's approach. Many times brutal challenges are assessed as not enough for a red card just because the point of contact was too low or it was high but 'only' scratching.
DeleteNothing very interesting from Letexier game... it wasn't a very challenging game, I would call it rather normal difficulty with a few key moments, but the referee performance was OK, to an expected level.
ReplyDeleteMaybe second leg will be different, but the score already suggests that it will be very difficult for Italy to do something.
My prediction is Vincic for the game in Dortmund.
UEFA AND INTERNATIONAL REFEREEING, A VERY IMPORTANT MEETING IN HUNGARY.
ReplyDeleteThe “Referee Symposium” held this year by UEFA in Hungary, in addition to some analysis and commentary of technical incidents, dealt with several issues for the future of refereeing world, among them the recruitment, already at the center of the operational strategies UEFA, for the search, retention and motivation of young referees.
An intense daily programme characterized the Hungarian event, directed by Roberto Rosetti (Chief Refereeing Officer: UEFA). Among the many topics addressed there were the perspectives of refereeing in the era of technology and communication, the battle against violence against referees, thank to the use of a body cam, the evolution of the women's movement in international refereeing and referee communication strategies in the relationship with the mass media.
Many heads of refereeing from European domestic associations met each other, among them: Paolo Valeri (Greek Project Leader), Domenico Messina (Cyprus Chief Refereeing Officer), Cristiano Ascari (San Marino Refereeing President), Sascha Kever (Switzerland Refereeing President) and Luciano Gonçalves (Portuguese Referees President).
There was also a UEFA refereeing instructors devlopment course.
NEDESP
ReplyDelete60' https://streambug.org/cv/1707ef
81' https://streambug.org/cv/56f355
Do you also have the missed? penalty in minute 69?
DeleteI am convinced that if the Netherlands had reacted in the same way as Spain, Huijsen would also have received a red card from Nyberg
69' https://streambug.org/cv/657925
DeleteIn the VAR era a big risk. There was a VAR check what ende with thumbs up from Nyberg..
Delete60' if we compare this tackle to the red card issued by Nyberg later, we should say that in this circumstance, the Spanish player acted in a definitely more dangerous way than the Dutch. You have this challenge with rather high intensity and this could have been easily a red card as well, but yes, once again, YC is OK and supportable by VAR, and also good advantage by referee. The problem in such games is that, when you have maybe similar high intensity challenges from both teams and the referee tries to keep a certain aproach, then deciding for a red card like he did in the last minute, can look not really consistent with what happened before (maybe this was what you, Hans, were saying yesterday). In all cases, the Swedish referee can't be blamed, as long as you don't have very clear and obvious mistakes.
DeleteAnd yes. to follow in the other incident we can also see the mobbing by Spanish players that shouldn't happen. The live perception is in my opinion about a very brutal foul, the replay shows it was a serious challenge, but not the worst we ever saw.
Penalty appeal: if seen by referee, should have been whistled, but one must agree that it wasn't VAR stuff, far from the ball, not in the focus of the play, calling it would have been rather wrong decision by VAR. For referee, impossible to see, so you have to accept, but yes, there are always very similar actions during corner kicks and so on...
IMO
Delete61' RC for the character of the challenge (intensity, high leg) but we know that UEFA don't like red cards for challenges against a leg that is lifted up, so YC issued by Nyberg is 100% correct with UEFA instructions
69' Off-the-ball incident and therefore never VAR intervention
81' I don't understand how this RC could be questioned, to be honest. Strong studs contact with standing leg, clearly above the foot, big danger for the player's safety - VAR intervention required in case of no red card, imo.
The RC-decision is supportable, however I agree with others that Spanish player is overreacting and this could’ve been a factor in Nyberg’s decision - too much pressure and surrounding the ref by the Spanish side.
DeleteFurthermore, we’ve seen worse offences this season being punished with a YC (for example in Vincic games).