The last matchday of 2025-26 UEFA Champions League league phase.
21:00 CET - Paris (Parc des Princes)
PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN (FRA) - NEWCASTLE UNITED FC (ENG)
Referee: Slavko Vinčić SVN
Assistant Referee 1: Tomaž Klančnik SVN
Assistant Referee 2: Andraž Kovačič SVN
Fourth Official: David Šmajc SVN
Video Assistant Referee: Christian Dingert GER
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Sascha Stegemann GER
UEFA Referee Observer: David Fernández Borbalán ESP
UEFA Delegate: Aleksandra Pejkovska MKD
21:00 CET - Manchester (Etihad Stadium)
MANCHESTER CITY FC (ENG) - GALATASARAY (TUR)
Referee: Alejandro José Hernández Hernández ESP
Assistant Referee 1: José Enrique Naranjo Pérez ESP
Assistant Referee 2: Diego Sánchez Rojo ESP
Fourth Official: José Luis Munuera Montero ESP
Video Assistant Referee: Carlos del Cerro Grande ESP
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Robert Schröder GER
UEFA Referee Observer: Thomas Einwaller AUT
UEFA Delegate: Romano Clavadetscher SUI
21:00 CET - Liverpool (Anfield Stadium)
LIVERPOOL FC (ENG) - QARABAĞ FK (AZE)
Referee: Ivan Kružliak SVK
Assistant Referee 1: Branislav Hancko SVK
Assistant Referee 2: Ján Pozor SVK
Fourth Official: Peter Kráľovič SVK
Video Assistant Referee: Pol van Boekel NED
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Jan Boterberg BEL
UEFA Referee Observer: Alain Hamer LUX
UEFA Delegate: Roxana Berceanu ROU
21:00 CET - Dortmund (Signal Iduna Park)
BORUSSIA DORTMUND (GER) - FC INTERNAZIONALE MILANO (ITA)
Referee: Istvan Kovacs ROU
Assistant Referee 1: Mihai Marius Marica ROU
Assistant Referee 2: Ferencz Tunyogi ROU
Fourth Official: Szabolcs Roland Kovacs ROU
Video Assistant Referee: Rob Dieperink NED
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Tomasz Kwiatkowski POL
UEFA Referee Observer: Leslie Irvine NIR
UEFA Delegate: Iain Blair SCO
21:00 CET - Barcelona (Spotify Camp Nou)
FC BARCELONA (ESP) - FC KØBENHAVN (DEN)
Referee: Benoît Bastien FRA
Assistant Referee 1: Hicham Zakrani FRA
Assistant Referee 2: Aurélien Berthomieu FRA
Fourth Official: Thomas Léonard FRA
Video Assistant Referee: Bram Van Driessche BEL
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Bert Put BEL
UEFA Referee Observer: Uno Tutk EST
UEFA Delegate: Michael O’Brien ENG
21:00 CET - London (Emirates Stadium)
ARSENAL FC (ENG) - QAİRAT FK (KAZ)
Referee: Urs Schnyder SUI
Assistant Referee 1: Marco Zürcher SUI
Assistant Referee 2: Benjamin Zürcher SUI
Fourth Official: Sven Wolfensberger SUI
Video Assistant Referee: Fedayi San SUI
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Piotr Lasyk POL
UEFA Referee Observer: Carlos Clos Gómez ESP
UEFA Delegate: Jeroen Roest NED
21:00 CET - Leverkusen (BayArena)
BAYER 04 LEVERKUSEN (GER) - VILLARREAL CF (ESP)
Referee: Espen Andreas Eskås NOR
Assistant Referee 1: Jan Erik Engan NOR
Assistant Referee 2: Isaak Elias Skjeseth Bashevkin NOR
Fourth Official: Sigurd Smehus Kringstad NOR
Video Assistant Referee: Michael Salisbury ENG
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Andrew Dallas SCO
UEFA Referee Observer: Kyros Vassaras GRE
UEFA Delegate: Giórgos Fandáros CYP
21:00 CET - Madrid (Estadio Riyadh Air Metropolitano)
CLUB ATLÉTICO DE MADRID (ESP) - FK BODØ/GLIMT (NOR)
Referee: Maurizio Mariani ITA
Assistant Referee 1: Daniele Bindoni ITA
Assistant Referee 2: Alberto Tegoni ITA
Fourth Official: Matteo Marchetti ITA
Video Assistant Referee: Michael Fabbri ITA
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Federico La Penna ITA
UEFA Referee Observer: Lutz Michael Fröhlich GER
UEFA Delegate: Manuel Huber SUI
21:00 CET - Lisbon (Estádio do SL Benfica)
SL BENFICA (POR) - REAL MADRID CF (ESP)
Referee: Davide Massa ITA
Assistant Referee 1: Filippo Meli ITA
Assistant Referee 2: Stefano Alassio ITA
Fourth Official: Luca Pairetto ITA
Video Assistant Referee: Marco Di Bello ITA
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Gianluca Aureliano ITA
UEFA Referee Observer: Petteri Kari FIN
UEFA Delegate: Vilmos Szabó HUN
21:00 CET - Frankfurt am Main (Deutsche Bank Park)
EINTRACHT FRANKFURT (GER) - TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR FC (ENG)
Referee: Jesús Gil Manzano ESP
Assistant Referee 1: Ángel Nevado Rodríguez ESP
Assistant Referee 2: Guadalupe Porras Ayuso ESP
Fourth Official: Francisco José Hernández Maeso ESP
Video Assistant Referee: Guillermo Cuadra Fernández ESP
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Valentín Pizarro Gómez ESP
UEFA Referee Observer: Alain Sars FRA
UEFA Delegate: Oljas Abraev KAZ
21:00 CET - Bruges (Jan Breydelstadion)
CLUB BRUGGE KV (BEL) - OLYMPIQUE DE MARSEILLE (FRA)
Referee: Marco Guida ITA
Assistant Referee 1: Giorgio Peretti ITA
Assistant Referee 2: Giuseppe Perrotti ITA
Fourth Official: Matteo Marcenaro ITA
Video Assistant Referee: Daniele Chiffi ITA
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Aleandro Di Paolo ITA
UEFA Referee Observer: Shmuel Shteif ISR
UEFA Delegate: Nils Øyvind Fisketjønn NOR
21:00 CET - Eindhoven (Philips Stadion)
PSV EINDHOVEN (NED) - FC BAYERN MÜNCHEN (GER)
Referee: João Pedro da Silva Pinheiro POR
Assistant Referee 1: Bruno Miguel Alves de Jesus POR
Assistant Referee 2: Luciano António Gomes Maia POR
Fourth Official: João António Ferreira Gonçalves POR
Video Assistant Referee: Tiago Bruno Lopes Martins POR
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Fábio Oliveira de Melo POR
UEFA Referee Observer: Markus Nobs SUI
UEFA Delegate: István Huszár HUN
21:00 CET - Amsterdam (Johan Cruijff ArenA)
AFC AJAX (NED) - OLYMBIAKÓS SFP (GRE)
Referee: François Letexier FRA
Assistant Referee 1: Cyril Mugnier FRA
Assistant Referee 2: Mehdi Rahmouni FRA
Fourth Official: Jérémie Pignard FRA
Video Assistant Referee: Jarred Gillett AUS/ENG
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Mathieu Vernice FRA
UEFA Referee Observer: Rune Pedersen NOR
UEFA Delegate: Adrian Ixari MDA
21:00 CET - Naples (Stadio Diego Armando Maradona)
SSC NAPOLI (ITA) - CHELSEA FC (ENG)
Referee: Clément Turpin FRA
Assistant Referee 1: Nicolas Danos FRA
Assistant Referee 2: Benjamin Pagès FRA
Fourth Official: Ruddy Buquet FRA
Video Assistant Referee: Jérôme Brisard FRA
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Bastien Dechepy FRA
UEFA Referee Observer: Karen Nalbandyan ARM
UEFA Delegate: Irakli Nakaidze GEO
21:00 CET - Monaco (Stade Louis II)
AS MONACO FC (FRA) - JUVENTUS (ITA)
Referee: José María Sánchez Martínez ESP
Assistant Referee 1: Raúl Cabañero Martínez ESP
Assistant Referee 2: Íñigo Prieto López de Cerain ESP
Fourth Official: Mateo Busquets Ferrer ESP
Video Assistant Referee: César Soto Grado ESP
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: André Filipe Domingues da Silva Narciso POR
UEFA Referee Observer: Costas Kapitanis CYP
UEFA Delegate: Ánna Kapásoglou GRE
21:00 CET - Brussels (Lotto Park)
ROYALE UNION SAINT-GILLOISE (BEL) - ATALANTA BC (ITA)
Referee: Michael Oliver ENG
Assistant Referee 1: Stuart Burt ENG
Assistant Referee 2: Ian Hussin ENG
Fourth Official: Andrew Madley ENG
Video Assistant Referee: Stuart Attwell ENG
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Darren England ENG
UEFA Referee Observer:Milorad Mažić SRB
UEFA Delegate: David Moran IRL
21:00 CET - Bilbao (Estadio de San Mamés)
ATHLETIC CLUB (ESP) - SPORTING CP (POR)
Referee: Felix Zwayer GER
Assistant Referee 1: Robert Kempter GER
Assistant Referee 2: Christian Dietz GER
Fourth Official: Florian Badstübner GER
Video Assistant Referee: Bastian Dankert GER
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Pascal Müller GER
UEFA Referee Observer: Stefano Podeschi SMR
UEFA Delegate: Maria Mifsud MLT
21:00 CET - Limassol (Alphamega Stadium)
PAFOS FC (CYP) - SK SLAVIA PRAHA (CZE)
Referee: Tobias Stieler GER
Assistant Referee 1: Lasse Koslowski GER
Assistant Referee 2: Mark Borsch GER
Fourth Official: Martin Petersen GER
Video Assistant Referee: Benjamin Brand GER
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Sören Storks GER
UEFA Referee Observer: Gediminas Mažeika LTU
UEFA Delegate: Angelo Chetcuti MLT
Where is Marciniak?
ReplyDeleteI hope not injured .. Very weird not to see him
Delete( there is also a big game in Saudi in Thursday, could it be they are that powerful that they can get Marciniak?)
DeleteI mentionned that Ajax Olympiakos and Napoli Chelsea were the biggest two games and they are given logically to the two frenchmen Letexier and Turpin.Important game given to Massa as well.
ReplyDeleteI think PSG v Newcastle is up there as one of the biggest.
DeleteBrugge vs Marseille is certainly as big as Ajax vs Oly and its given to Italian
DeleteAppointments in a nutshell:
ReplyDeleteUEFA throws Storks under the bus after Inter–Liverpool, and Zwayer can carry on as if nothing happened, despite the many OFRs.
Vinčić gets his 6th appointment. Completely unnecessary, given that he also officiated last week.
I hope Marciniak is ok.
Exactly what we’ve been talking about for a long time - referees are not treated the same, you can clearly see the favorites based on their passports…
DeleteVery unfair for Storks to be honest
DeleteThe difference in the treatment of Zwayer and Storks is understandable to me. Storks made a mistake in recommending an OFR to Zwayer because it was never a clear and obvious mistake by Zwayer on the field. Zwayer is therefore in a dilemma in front of the screen. He has to take a decision in a 50/50, 40/60, 60/40 situation whether you like it. Giving the PK was supportable, depends on how you evaluate the situation, but the mistake here was made by Storks. This situation didn't require an OFR.
DeleteAnd Zwayer is the one that looked at VAR and made final decision in that match.
DeleteDo we know the communication between the two? Maybe Zwayer didn't see anything and wanted to see the situation after input from VAR. We don't know the details of their discussion in that moment. Storks is a great guy, very communicative also as a replay official. He was out with an injury for a long time so he gained lots of experience as VAR. I still believe that he's got a good future ahead of him. And beeing AVAR in an all-German crew is not my definition of being thrown under the bus...
Delete@Lucmas Storks is not included in the VAR list for the UEFA course in Cyprus where all “knock out phase” officials are expected.
DeleteThat selection actually makes sense to me as Bada and Dingert are more senior than Sören.
DeleteNow I can confirm that joao pinheiro, jose maria sanchez , will be in usa next summer for world cup
ReplyDeleteAnd sandro schärer, irfan peljto will be out for me
Also maurizio mariani will be in usa
DeleteRosetti, is that you on the blog?
DeleteWho ?
DeleteYou say you can confirm it, I didn’t know you were Rosetti?
DeleteYes i confirm according the logic and the reality that we see
DeleteMore interesting than the question of which UEFA referees will represented be at the World Cup, I find the question of what impact the AFCON has on the nomination of the CAF referees. For example, is Omar Artan's sponsor slip-up so serious that he can no longer be used at the World Cup at all or must be downgraded to a mere VAR?
Delete"be" and "represented" should swap places. ;-)
DeleteHe was wearing Adidas boots, which is WC sponsor, so I don't think it would be a problem.
DeleteIs Ruddy Buquet still in the FIFA list?
ReplyDeleteNo
DeleteHe left it after 2024 I think. Non FIFA officials can still be Fourth Officials like Hernandez Maeso is for Manzano's game.
DeleteNapoli - Chelsea and Ajax - Olympiacos have been assessed as the most crucial games. French referees at the very top, as we know.
ReplyDeleteI'm quite suprised by Barcelona - Copenhagen, indeed the third French Elite is there, the game is crucial for Danish team, but in reality they made this appointment rather based on Barcelona. That's interesting, because they do that when it's about teams for some countries (not that much importance to Danish side), while they wouldn't have done that in case of another team.
Some referees repeating after the previous matchday, but the most sonorous absence is surely Marciniak, if not injured it's indeed very strange, maybe for some reasons Europa League for him?
Unnecessary appointment for Vincic indeed in Paris, they could have assigned another referee, while we have the confirmation that Rosetti wants still to follow Schnyder, CL again before the Winter Course. This was rather hard to predict after Barcelona game, it seems they want to continue with him.
Zwayer gets a crucial game for Athletic, and this time with Dankert, it's easy to guess that committee was not satisfied with Storks, however, more than the video assistant referees, Zwayer didn't have a good league phase stage, differently from other referees, and I think he got this one in Bilbao because crucial for a team, but not really under the spotlights.
Guida with a crucial game in Bruges for home side, Massa with a classic CL game, but not extremely important for the current stage, Mariani with another game, Atlético Madrid at home.
Hi Chefren. Not really sure about this comment:
Delete<>
I would say that this is a crucial match for both teams. Only a win would prevent Benfica from being eliminated. A defeat for Real would probably mean that they miss out on the top 8 and have to go into the play-off round. Much to play for, could get tasty.
Sorry, the comment I was referring to was "Massa with a classic CL game, but not extremey important for the current stage."
DeleteI'd also add that a Mourinho team in a must-win game where the opponent would probably be happy with a point has a lot of potential for being a tricky match for any refereee.
Referee Observers missing... Why?
ReplyDeleteIrfan peljto and sandro schärer missing important time in the season before two months about appointment of world cup
ReplyDeleteBy your logic, Nyberg, Taylor, Marciniak and Makkelie also won’t be going to the World Cup because they don’t have a UCL appointment THIS WEEK. Good to know.
DeleteWe all know, you are just making things up again to have an argument in favor of Pinheiro’s inclusion.
Probably true, but only 2 GS games is not really a recommendation for CL KO games (and therefore for the WC) for those two.
DeleteChefren, information from Spain indicates that Alberola Rojas will make his debut in the Europa League.
ReplyDeleteI predict Colombo will also make his debut.
Let's wait and see!
It should be quite sure, as both will attend the Winter Course to follow.. I have read that tomorrow we will discover three Spanish referees in EL. So maybe, Alberola, De Burgos and Martinez?
DeleteAbsolutely, Chefren.
DeleteThose three should be the ones appointed tomorrow.
Many Spanish nominations this week.
They use the same referees throughout the season, which is a bit boring.
ReplyDeleteEverybody, Ahmed has confirmed who he’s taking to America so it must be true. He must be In close contact with Rosetti? Can he confirm Massa, Guida and Mariani are coming too because after all that would be no surprise for most of us on this blog.
ReplyDeleteHe doesn’t care, as long as Pinheiro is going to the World Cup.
DeleteNothing to do with Rosetti it’s a World Cup so busacca and Collina make the call. Marcineck is collinas favourite referee, rosetti has consistently sidelined him, yet last World Cup collina had him front and centre.
DeleteMakkelie is prob «off duty» because 28th January is his birthday
ReplyDeleteHopefully Pierluigi Collina is not studying which World Cup candidates have birthdays between June 11 and July 19 and also putting them 'off duty'. From UEFA's perspective, Espen Eskas would then be affected ...
Delete@Peter ? Im not saying that someone took him off duty, Im saying that he deliberately never has games on this particular week because of his birthday.
DeleteIn any case, "never" doesn't seem correct to me: In the 2017-18 season, he even led FC Utrecht - Ajax EXACTLY on his birthday.
DeleteA word to the wise is enough, as they say in my country...
DeleteThe players of Al-Salmiya and Al-Kuwait can wish their referee 'Happy Birthday' then during their semifinal of the Kuwait Super Cup today, as Danny Makkelie is handling the game (Erwin Blank is the Var). Enea Jorgji with Lata as Var is doing the other semi.
DeleteThe referees themselves submit their availability from which uefa then pick matches. UEFA will not look at their birthday and say give him the match day off. Siebert was on uefa 2020 (21) when he was due to be a father. UEFA simply moved him closer to Germany so he could get home for the birth. It’s the referees who decide their own availability they just hope they get a game
ReplyDeletePK after OFR for handball by Vincic in PSG - Newcastle.
ReplyDeleteCorrect penalty given after OFR by Vincic/Dingert in 3'. Handball by NEW67 after pinballing off a PSG player, usually not given in the Prem but correct in Europe.
ReplyDeleteAwful start from Massa in terms of foul detection.
ReplyDeleteManzano disallowed Spurs goal for foul in the build up. (didn't blow straight away so VAR could check)
ReplyDeleteReally soft imo
DeleteReally excellent example of a delayed whistle. So often the whistle goes early there
DeleteCorrect PK after OFR for holding by Schnyder in Arsenal - Kairat.
ReplyDeleteYC given as there was no control of the ball but IMO quite debatable SPA vs DOGSO situation.
Wow.
ReplyDeleteIt seems like Massa entered the game at the Estádio da Luz with more than a thousand miles an hour left.
2 yellow cards in 10 minutes.
Now at first he missed a penalty and then gave another to Benfica. However there looked to be a missed foul on a Madrid player way back in the buildup. Massa has been poor so far. Now an OFR to cancel the second penalty about 40 seconds afyer the foul! Shocking!
ReplyDeleteMassa has lost the plot in lisbon already
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure if that penalty at Luz was correct.
ReplyDeleteWrong PK by Massa in Benfica - RM rescinded after OFR, there was an earlier PK shout by Benfica too but IMO there was nothing.
ReplyDeleteIntense start for the Ligurian.
Incorrect penalty to Benfica changed to a correct free kick to Real Madrid. Video link please?
ReplyDeletePenalty for Chelsea for handball inside the wall whistled by Turpin. Excellent decision IMO.
ReplyDeleteagree
DeleteAnd very interesting that Turpin did not follow the recent trend to forgive YCs in these scenarios.
DeleteCorrect PK, however the YC is wrong.
DeleteDeliberate handball + promising attack = YC. Correct decision.
DeleteOFR in PSG - Newcastle, penalty for handball:
ReplyDeletehttps://streamff.com/v/21467648
I have no way of seeing how this could be an unnatural position or deliberiate but UEFA have their own view of handball
DeleteBy the law, absolutely never handball. Bounced from teammate, deflected off attacker, then hit his arm. Didn’t even see the ball, no time to react. I don’t know… UEFA doesn’t listen to the IFAB.
DeleteWhere are the "bounce from teammate" and "time to react" in the IFAB ?
DeleteIt’s literally at UEFA RAP and footballrules.com… you think everything is in the laws of the game? Is it your first week being a referee?
DeleteNo need to react agressively, my question was naive. Furthermore, I ask for IFAB source and you give me UEFA source, as a demonstration that UEFA doesn’t follow IFAB… quite illogical.
DeleteFootballrules.com is from IFAB and UEFA themselves use the same criteria. I am not agressive. Your question came across as sarcastic.
DeleteNow Phantom yellow from Vincic
ReplyDeleteThis isnt the Massa that I know. Clearly something feels off...maybe the huge rainstorm in Lisbon today is unsettling him
ReplyDeletePSGNEW 01' Penalty for handball after OFR
ReplyDeletehttps://streamff.link/v/2ce22256
ARSQAI 03' Penalty for holding after OFR - SPA or DOGSO?
https://streambug.org/cv/e57700
Arsenal - Qairat: for me correct OFR, but it should have been whistled by referee, important mistake to miss it.
DeleteThen, one can agree with YC, RC wouldn't have been a clear and obvious mistake if given directly by referee. You can think attacker would reach ball, but it's not really sure for me.
OFR in Benfica - Real Madrid to revoke a penalty to Benfica:
ReplyDeletehttps://streambug.org/cv/4b5a01
No handball call from Letexier very big decision. But i expected a VAR intervention
ReplyDeleteExtremely unfortunate, but this should have been a very clear handball call.
DeleteDisagree, no handball for me. Natural position for kicking trying to kick the ball away.
DeleteOne can sincerely discuss whether or not this should be considered playing the ball to the own arm. The ball is hardly kicked, rather slightly touched while there’s a very clear movement of the arm towards the ball.
DeleteI would agree if it was a simple touch to the arm, but in this case, the player knocks the ball away. Clearly gaining a defensive advantage.
DeleteNo handball for me because no intention at all to touch it with hand. Bad technical gesture with foot and during the movement that unbalances his body, the ball strikes the arm, which is in a natural motion. Moreover, there is no opposing player in close proximity. So no VAR staff and supportable analysis by Letexier.
DeleteI can only remember the Baas handball whistled by Bastien. Deflection from the body with the arm in a natural position. These handball calls seem totally random nowadays.
DeleteExactly, the Bastien handball given is a specific example of what I described below. For Uefa standards I believe this should be considered a punishable handball.
DeleteA push on Otamendi.
ReplyDeleteMassa correctly awarded the penalty.
Good and easy call, Massa ends a crazy half on a positive.
Delete?????? First half was disaster and this penalty is far from good.
Delete45+2’: Super soft penalty given by Massa for holding.
ReplyDeleteTo be honest - very bad decision.
DeletePK given by Massa in Lisbon. Could be a bit soft, but definitely supportable as the holding exists, he was right in front of it.
ReplyDeleteForgot to mention: Possible missed 2YC? Tchouameni was already booked.
DeleteSupportable decision for me, even considering that UEFA is strict and we know, with holdings. The action of the defender could be negligible for some aspects, but it's a fact that attacker falls after that. Very big trouble for VAR if not whistled by referee, also there were because many situations inside the box but he spotted only that in the middle.
DeleteBut if penalty, where is the second YC ? Not very courageous not to follow the sanctioning logic through to its conclusion with a sending-off for a second caution…
DeleteMassa can thank God that this penalty at the end of the first half eased the uneven and very heated start.
ReplyDeleteMay they come back better in the second half.
Similar to Manzano Sanchez also disallowed a Goal for a foul in the build up in his game. Balogun pushing the defender before scoring
ReplyDeleteI agree with the call by Sanchez Martinez, correct to whistle foul.
DeleteClément Turpin is the right guy for this match. His presence, authority, and strength justify Rosett decision to appoint him. At halftime so far he managed the game very well, especially controlling the emotions in a tense stadium with two desperate teams. An excellent first half let’s see what the second half brings.
ReplyDeleteAJXOLY 45+1' PAI handball (and previous FK)
ReplyDeletehttps://streambug.org/cv/a2f56d
Never handball. Consequence of his body movement. Kicking ball, deflects of body. Easy call.
DeleteAgree. Explain it on other post.
DeletePenalty. Consequence of body movement argument usually doesn’t reach this far for Uefa (outstretched balancing arms while jumping for example are always considered punishable while just as natural for the body movement).
DeleteAnd deflecting from body (not even in the Laws, but ok) isn’t appropriate here because it’s not the deflection which causes the contact to the arm. It’s the arm very clearly moving towards the ball.
Deflection off body is literally in UEFA RAP and written by the IFAB at footballrules.com. Laws of the game doesn’t even Cover 70% of the actual laws. That’s 100 % natural position.
DeleteIt’s not a position, it’s a movement. And a very, very clear one I might add :)
DeleteAnd now you bring up Rap, in Uefa Rap you see many (many) arm positions which should be considered natural but still are deemed punishable.
Try kicking a ball and see how your motion is with the arm for the whole moment. Blatantly natural arm motion. If you think that’s deliberate then you don’t understand football. It’s not even remotely close. Don’t watch in slow motion.
DeleteARSENAL FC (ENG) - QAİRAT FK (KAZ)
ReplyDeleteIt’s clear that Urs Schnyder has talent. However, at the moment, his body language and decision-making suggest low confidence. He appears hesitant and under pressure, as if he’s afraid of making a mistake rather than enjoying the game. This match feels like a crucial second and possibly final chance for him in the Champions League this season.
https://streamff.com/v/fb8ae76d
ReplyDeleteBenfica - Real Madrid, penalty by Massa in the end of first half.
Possible YC, would have been the second for the player involved.
The referee assessed that it was not possible at all for attacker to reach ball and he just punished the action by defender.
Clear 2YC... Massa lacked the courage. Only Rossetti would appoint him as an elite referee.
DeleteWatched some sequences of Bilbao - Sporting in half time, looked like a good performance so far by Zwayer in a intense match. Good to award Bilbao-goal after light holding in 28‘ and possible SFP in 39‘ as important events. So far no OFR for Zwayer…
ReplyDeleteMassa's performance improved over time, the OFR surely woke him up. Also, its turning out to be an excelent game, to remember. Lets wait and see the second half...
ReplyDeleteI called it...Game to remember forever...well done Massa and team in a classic game
DeleteDOGSO RC given by Stieler in Pafos - Slavia.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.reddit.com/r/soccer/comments/1qpocd4/pafos_21_slavia_prague_jan_bo%C5%99il_red_card_59/
Now Letexier misses a handball penalty (65.), must be an Ofr
ReplyDeleteOfr Letexier and penalty given
ReplyDeleteThe penalty call by Turpin in first half.
ReplyDeletehttps://streambug.org/cv/486d06
He was very focused on a possible handball on the wall after many warnings he gave to players before the execution.
Decision aside, the yellow card is completely wrong. SPA and not deliberate. There is no yellow to give.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteDisgraceful penalty for Barcelona, there was no touch at all clear dive by Lewandowski. I can understand Bastien mustake but what was VAR doing there? Unbelievable...
ReplyDeleteThe Belgian Var needs investigated. That is unbelievable frankly.
DeleteSo far Massa has been excellent in this second half, however one knows that with Benfica leading and with Madrid having a chance to come back, a lot is at stake in terms of what could happen if things don’t go mourinhos way.
ReplyDeletePenalty in Barcelona, I think VAR confirmed only because no contrary evidence.
ReplyDeletehttps://streamin.me/v/602b7fef
To me in all cases, a very soft call by the French referee.
I agree, the criticism above seems very harsh for a situation in which there is no clear evidence of no contact. And if contact, even minimal, it could result in Lewandowski semi missing the ball. Soft penalty, definitely! But without clear evidence hands of Var are tight I think.
DeleteI still don't understand those penalties where the striker hits the defender, the striker acts as if he's been shot, the referees keep calling it and VAR doesn't intervene. Modern football, I guess.
DeleteIt’s blatantly clear that it is contact, anyone saying no can’t see well. Clearly grips his shooting leg. People should discuss more if it’s a foul or normal football contact.
DeleteVG, you are a voice of reason! Clear penalty to Barcelona for intervening unfairly against a shooting player trying to kick the ball, clear no handball in Amsterdam for having already kicked the ball and then made a comprehensible arm movement for that action (neither are controversial decisions).
DeleteAgain OFR for Zwayer unfortunately. Wrong penalty in cooperation with AR1, ball clearly played first. Around minute 80
ReplyDeleteWhoa, as of now both Benfica and RM need a goal to reach their respective goals (top 24 and top 8)
ReplyDeleteOverall, it wasn't a perfect final night of Champions League league phase for Rosetti's referees, with several OFRs. Many situations need a review, but given the number of matches, it was hard to believe about a calm outcome. I'll try to add more videos from tomorrow onwards.
ReplyDeleteMassa well done, excellent second half and both sending offs absolutely correct.
ReplyDeleteFree kick 4-2 given by Massa to be checked. Not really much happened there… But wow, what an ending.
ReplyDeleteThks to Massa for Benfica. Completely phantom foul prior to 4/2 and..qualification for portuguese club with that. What a poor performance by italian ref.
ReplyDeleteHis first half was very poor, however the second half was well managed, maybe you could argue it was soft foul, if even a foul? However I would just say an ok performance.
DeleteNo. I have seen replays. Definitively nothing but ball taken and dive by portuguese player. At 6mn30 with 5 mn of extra-time. Why to continue here ? Poor end management.
DeleteEverything does not need to be 100% perfect. The free kick was fine. we see that situation many times in a match and no one complains. Just because it led to a goal doesn’t suddenly make it wrong.
DeleteIt was a supportable decision and good for game management, unless you guys are emotionally attached to the team that conceded. You won’t have problem
Benfica go through after Massa sends off 2 madrid players and invents a freekick in the 7th minute of injury time. Massa a disgrace
ReplyDeleteThe red cards are not the ref's fault...
DeleteToday I saw a different Davide Massa than the one I've seen lately, especially in Serie A. It was an impressive performance, right up until the debatable free kick at the end of the match. To me, it seemed like the old Massa, the one from a few years ago.
ReplyDeleteWhat looked like a very good performance turned into a very negative one for Zwayer in Bilbao towards the end.
ReplyDeleteBesides the wrong penalty (probably advised by AR1) and therefore 6th OFR in UCL for Zwayer this season he missed (at least) two 2nd YCs IMO.
In 88‘ very clear 2nd YC missed to SPO#2,
and 90+5’ 2nd YC missed to ATH#4.
However, very challenging and intense game. 9 correct YCs issued.
Felix's bad luck streak continues in the Champions League 😔
DeleteWhat do you think about the RC by Tobias Stieler?
ReplyDeleteGood call IMO
DeleteI was more focused on Turpin tonight even it's hard to focus for 90' with all the matches but for me he and his team once more showed why they are the best. All decisions always accepted by the players, fantastic communication with players, great foul detection and always know the level of intensity the game need, i can still say a lot of good things but the fact that there is no more OFR for a few games now is really good for him, he's maybe back to his best form imo.
ReplyDeletePinherio 2CT to the end for PSV was 100%+ DOGSO red.
ReplyDeleteThe OFR in Zwayer game:
ReplyDeletehttps://streambug.org/cv/f44aaa
The German referee didn't manage to have best view on the incident, the problem was that he had an Athletic player in front a few seconds before the call, so in my opinion he couldn't see properly.
Even if broadcaster showed immediately AR1, I'm not sure there was cooperation, because the whistle by referee was rather quick, not immediate, but quick. Howver for sure AR1 with a maybe better view, even if more distant, should have helped. If he did that, he helped in a wrong way the referee. Then the most unpleasant OFR, because very obvious and surely at this level, unless very complicated challenges to read on the field by referees, shouldn't happen at all...
It will be interesting to observe the path of Zwayer, now to follow, for sure he didn't have the best group stage, to say it kindly, nothing against him of course. But in my opinion, in past, he had turned definitely into a better referee, if compared to the very old Zwayer one, but now,, definitely some issues for him... he should try to recover before World Cup, being the German sure of this convocation, he must do everything to be back at a certain form.
It's also true most of the game he had, were challenging with many incidents, not the same for other referees, but some mistakes were really evident, starting from the early missed red cards, and ending with this one happened yesterday.
I wouldn't be surprised to see him starting KO stage assignments with an Europa League game, but it's still early to think about that.
88', Advantage by Zwayer? Not clear, no reaction by German after this challenge.
Deletehttps://streambug.org/cv/49dcab
The player should have been booked after the advantage, very evident reckless challenge.
The defender clearly makes contact with the ball with his left foot, however the defender does contact the attacker with his trailing leg afterward. Why is this not a foul?
DeleteIt's good to see that a referee [Massa] is finally consistently punishing the constantly provocative Real Madrid players with yellow/red cards.
ReplyDeleteI agree. I don't understand why he and Mariani don't referee in the same way in Italy. Even the same fouls are judged differently by Italian referees in the Champions League/Europa League: in Italy, holding is never punished, even when it's blatantly obvious (e.g. Lazio-Fiorentina or Juventus-Napoli), whereas in Europe it's always called a foul. Anyway, after a bad start, Massa had a good game yesterday
DeleteIndeed yesterday Massa wasn't the referee we know in serie A.
DeleteHe fully changed his style, this can be because domestically they are always allowed to do whay they want, getting high marks, UEFA is something more serious.
It might be interesting to look at the number of OFRs per referee in the group stage. Now, most of the focus is on Zwayer, but Turpin also had a poor start, and I suspect Letexier and Vinčić each had at least two as well.
ReplyDeleteWhat is happening felix zwayer five games Every game intervention of video assistant while referees like joao pinheiro does not go for the screen at least in one game for five games the quality is made the difference I don't surprised if zwayer will not be in world cup after this poor performance
ReplyDeleteOkay Mr. Collina. Zwayer, even though there was an OFR, which happened, the games were so difficult that I doubt Pinheiro would have had the guts to manage a game like Felix did. Don't you ever compare Felix with Pinheiro please :)
DeleteImho Pinheiro missed a straight RC yesterday which wasn’t overturned by VAR. He issued a YC for SPA instead of DOGSO RC.
DeleteWell,after GS is done,I will try start the prediction with three candidates for UCL Final this year. All of us in front of season, spoke about Zwayer. In my view after 5 games with so much OFR s, i think he knock out himself. I will go with three candidates. First and big one is definetely Letexier. Consistent performances,good physical shape, good decision making. The same is for Oliver,who is my second candidate. The third one, I will go with Makkelie, who is back on track for that, and In case English French final he can be one for consideration.
ReplyDeleteRegarding the number of OFRs for French referees in CL GS :
ReplyDelete- Bastien had 1 OFR in 3 games (AJXGAL MD4)
- Letexier had 2 OFRs in 5 games (ATMINT MD5 and AJXOLY MD8)
- Turpin had 2 OFRs in 4 games (GALLIV MD2 and RMAMCI MD6).
I'm new at this comments section. What does OFR stands for in referees lanuage?
DeleteOn-Field Review.
Deletethank you sir
DeleteGerman Referees, CL GS OFRs:
DeleteStieler: 0 OFR, 2 games
Jablonski: 0 OFR, 4 games
Siebert: 1 OFR (no overturn), 5 games
Zwayer: 6 OFR, 5 games
Szymon Marciniak without Champions League and Ekstraklasa game this week. Maybe it's because something with his health. Hope not and we will see big guy soon back on a pitch.
ReplyDeleteminor surgical procedure with leg
DeletePSV - Bayern: SPA or DOGSO?
ReplyDeletehttps://streambug.org/cv/85fa19
Pinheiro assessed as SPA.
Minimal contact but once he made the call it is certainly more DOGSO than SPA. Met all the requirements for DOGSO IMO. Interesting to see what the observer and the committee think.
DeleteAbdiazaz,your views please?
DeleteYes I think it was direct red but it was the last minutes for the game and the video assistant referee is confirmed for the decision of the referee so it has not any impact but what i want to say until he has five consecutive games in the champion if other referee made like this i don't know so his performance is very and I am not surprised if he referee other important matches as well as he go world cup
DeleteOn the UCL final referee candidates:
ReplyDelete• Oliver should have had the final last year imo, but it still feels like the Juve game is haunting him. Four English teams qualified directly this season, with Newcastle as the 5th via playoffs. That doesn’t help his case.
• Letexier looks like the strongest candidate imo, despite his young age. His situation is unique after already getting a EURO final. UEFA could keep him motivated by giving him a Europa League final first—if it features two big, tough teams. But… really? PSG could block him, so you need a referee alternative who is “allowed” to officiate PSG.
• Zwayer was, for me, the clear frontrunner at the start of the season. It almost looks like he knows it himself, and it’s paralysing him—judging by recent form. Bayern are doing very well this season though. The question is whether Zwayer has knocked-out himself. An Europa League R32 assignment wouldn’t be misplaced and fair. Maybe that’s exactly what he needs to reset and then take off again in R16?
• Makkelie as an outsider? Who knows. Dutch clubs are out. He refereed five matches, many key decisions solved on the pitch, still a very respected authority. Rosetti trusted him with three Italian teams, and as an outsider, he probably carries less pressure than e.g. Zwayer. Still, I guess Letexier, Oliver and Zwayer are higher on the internal lists.
For Europa League / Conference League:
Nyberg and Eskas are being closely monitored. And I suspect Rosetti may want to “compensate” one of the Italians (Guida or Massa) with a smaller final after missing out on the World Cup?
I am desperate to see Massa again, I was quick to judge in his poor first half yesterday however he was flawless in the second half.
DeleteFully aligned to your prediction analysis @anonymous 15:15. I guess that 1 Italian will be surely compensated of being excluded by WC
DeleteAll VAR overturns and technical decisions can be found here:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/news/029d-1ebd52c0e86d-cc44b76e6bc1-1000--uefa-champions-league-var-technical-explanations/
really thorough explanations 🤣
DeleteThey better hire you next season :)
DeleteAs expected: a lot of emphasis here is placed on Zwayer and the fact that he had 5 OFRs in 5 matches. And yes, that makes him an outlier. However, he is not even leading the table—Schnyder had no fewer than 6 overturns (three of them in a single match). Vincic (!!) also had 5 VAR overturns — this includes missed offsides.
ReplyDeleteObrenovic had 4 OFRs.
Mariani, Nyberg, Taylor, and Turpin each had 3. The latter also had issues during the WC quali but fortunately he managed to break the negative spiral.
These figures concern overturns only; we obviously do not know whether UEFA agreed with all of them. There is also a distinction between overturns where the CR had a clear view (arguably culpable) and cases where that was absolutely not the case. With good teamwork, however…
And then there are situations where the VAR did nothing at all (e.g. Peljto — Real vs Marseille), or as we saw yesterday with, for example, Pinheiro’s VAR.
Does anyone have any ideas who will lead the playoffs?
ReplyDelete