Saturday 5 May 2018

Who will officiate Champions League final? Analysis and prediction

Thank to the delay of the official announcement, we can make an analysis about the candidates for CL final. 

UEFA Elite referees:
Atkinson, Aytekin, Brych, Çakır, Collum, Eriksson, Fernández Borbalán, Hațegan, Karasev, Kassai, Královec, Kuipers, Makkelie, Marciniak, Mateu Lahoz, Mažić, Oliver, Orsato, Rocchi, Sidiropoulos, Skomina, Taylor, Turpin, Undiano Mallenco, Zwayer.

By analyzing the entire pool of UEFA Elite referees, we will try to guess and predict the choice by UEFA Referees Committee for CL final, to be played between Real Madrid and Liverpool.
As first step, we must rule out all the referees coming from the same countries of the contenders, in the case of Liverpool, we should rule out also Collum from Scotland, because UEFA doesn't appoint British referees to British teams in normal conditions. 
So, the first step leaves out: Atkinson, Collum, Fernández Borbalán, Mateu Lahoz, Oliver, Taylor, Undiano Mallenco.

The second important thing, and I strongly hope it will be respected this season as well, is to exclude the referees who already got the big call on previous seasons.
This means that the following names should be out: Brych, Çakır, Kassai, Kuipers.

As third step I would eliminate the referees who have joined the Elite status since a too short time, because such an appointment is surely something to be achieved in many years with a certain experience and having already officiated many top clashes at very high level.
So, names that we have to mention, but surely valid options for the future, are: Makkelie, Oliver, Taylor, Zwayer.

A further step, the most unpleasant to make, if you ask me, is about the referees who can't be guessed as CL final due to their recent performances / not best form: for sure Jonas Eriksson is the first name coming to my mind. He is in a very bad form by years, and, that's for sure a pity, he seems to have lost his motivations forever. In any case, he wont be an option for CL final.
Russian Sergey Karasev has shown to be in a not good period, by producing some weak performances at first in 2017 CL group stage, then also in this KO stage.

So, who remains?
We have: Aytekin, Hațegan, Královec, Marciniak, Mažić, Orsato, Rocchi, Sidiropoulos, Skomina, Turpin.  Coming to a further analysis of these names, we can exclude for sure referees who can't be considered as CL final officials due to the treatment received by committee: Aytekin, who had a chance one year ago to make an important step and failed it. Královec, who was in a very bad form until a few months ago and only in recent times he is recovering, by getting some interesting game, for sure a name for future, but as for now, still not possible to think to see him in CL final. Orsato has a quite good experience as UEFA Elite referee, but in my opinion it would be definitely too early, and, first of all, one should consider the name of his countryman Gianluca Rocchi, with more experience than him. For sure, a candidate for the future, despite he is already 43 years old. Sidiropoulos was never appointed for something really important in CL KO stage.

So, he have as remainig options: Hațegan, Marciniak, Mažić, Rocchi, Skomina, Turpin. 
The Romanian Elite referee has for sure many years ahead as Elite referee, and an appointment as CL final official would come definitely too early, but we must underline that he is surely reliable if we consider his age. He did a crucial mistake in WC play off, but apart from that, in the UEFA games officiated, he was mostly solid. So, for sure going on in this way he will keep a big chance for the future. 

Coming to Marciniak: before Tottenham - Juventus in this KO stage, he had continued his excellent development and confirmation as Elite referee. Then, this match was definitely a nightmare for the whole Polish crew and, honestly speaking, based on that, CL final would be not deserved. In addition, even in case of good performances so far, the natural end of this season for him, in my opinion, given also the "young" age, should have been  Europa League final. We can't burn the stages, referees must develop. Clément Turpin has had the best season as UEFA Elite referee so far, with a more than impressive develpment in all games, underlined by all our readers. We absolutely agree. Nevertheless, coming to a judgment, we should still undeline that it would be too early for the French. He has officiated this season and for the first time ever, an EL semifinal.  So, like many other names, he will have time.

Coming back to Hațegan, it is interesting to compare that, differently from Turpin, he made the step of EL semifinal already one year ago. So in a way, he could ba ahead, at least in terms of development as Elite referee.

Damir Skomina maybe deserves the longest analysis, but I wont be so long. I just don't understand why the Slovenian has not been appointed as CL final referee in the recent two seasons, giving for sure that now, after Roma - Liverpool, he wont be considered. For sure a pity because among all the Elite referees, he is the one with an impressive palmares, experience for about 10 years at high level in Champions League and excellent performances in the recent two seasons. So, if we reason as it was before Roma - Liverpool, we can't find for sure an argument. Why he was not taken into account, only committee knows that. Maybe they didn't expect that he could have made mistakes, but that would be, honestly speaking, naive.

Gianluca Rocchi was one of the best referees in these semifinals, by handling a good game. Taking into account his long experience as Elite, similar to Skomina, and the previous assignments, he  should and must be for sure a valid option for Kyiv. However, what talks against him is the fact that he has already got Super Cup this season, so in case he would officiate another final in the same season, but one must also underline that his performance in CL round of 16 has been not that good. In any case, for sure he stays as second option, in our opinion.

So, at the end of this analysis you can draw the conclusion by yourself that our prediction is the following:


Real Madrid CF (ESP) - Liverpool FC (ENG)
Referee: Milorad Mažić (SRB)
Assistant Referee 1: Milovan Ristić (SRB)
Assistant Referee 2: Dalibor Đurđević (SRB)
Additional Assistant Referee 1: Nenad Đokić (SRB)
Additional Assistant Referee 2: Danilo Grujić (SRB)
Fourth Official: Clément Turpin (FRA)
Reserve Assistant Referee: Nemanja Petrović (SRB)

Mažić would get this appointment without having handled any single game in this KO stage of CL, maybe as strategy by committee, otherwise we can't find other reasons for suich management of the Serbian. At the same time, it is useful to remember that one year ago he was fourth official to Brych in occasion of the previous edition. This could ideally represent a signal of continuity in the committee's choices Turpin would be there as fourth official as reward for recent performances. 

123 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Very demanding, for sure too many variables, I can't promise anything. I will try to do that in case of further delay of the official announcement... Europa League is really something different and more complicated, in order to write an analysis about the prediction.

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    2. Just one small remark Chefren: Grujić is AAR1 and Đokić AAR2.
      If Marciniak won't be in Lyon, then he could be FO, and Turpin FO in EL final. But, we'll see...

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  2. Please don't ask me for writing the same analysis for EL final.
    It would be at least 10 times more difficult... :D

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    1. You were already asked :-)

      There are only 3 names: Rocchi, Marciniak and Cakir (if it's the truth that the Committee was satisfied with his performance, which should be... well, shoking!).

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    2. I still hope that PLC has common sense and he won't spit me in face (as a Juventus fan who was on the stadium at Tottenham- Juventus and Juventus- Real) ...

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    3. @petchovski You had Pl. Collina's photo as your dp for a long time... He can never spit you in face :D

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  3. Regrading the referee of EL final: I think that every Elite referee should be capable to whistle a game between Atletico and OM.
    With all my respect but these two teams are not (anymore) top teams in Europe. Probably Atletico belongs to top 10, but OM surely not (yes, they are in the final but Braga, Bilbao, Leipzig or Salzburg are not something special). I can't see fireworks in a game between these teams (knowing also the very close style of Simeone)
    Atletico- OM is special only because is a final, otherwise I think even Bezborodov, Banti, Grafe or Blom should be capable to whistle it.

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    1. Well, the thing is that it is THE FINAL! The pressure is much bigger, the stake is much bigger, the expectations is much bigger and every mistake is much bigger, because it may decide the winner of the whole competition!

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  4. Very interesting analysis, thanks :)

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  5. ad "Mažić would get this appointment without having handled any single game in this KO stage of CL":

    I wonder whether Milorad Mažić could have been foreseen for a CL Round of 16 second-leg match but being forced to leave it up to another team for certain reasons:

    (1) It is absolutely unusual that a referee - in that case Dr. Felix Brych - gets two matches in the same competition at that stage without replacing another official at short notice.

    (2) Damir Skomina handled an EL Round of 32 first-leg match as well as an EL quarterfinal second-leg match - just as Milorad Mažić. But contrary to the latter, he also handled a CL Round of 16 second-leg match.

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    1. Juventus v Tottenham 1st leg was for Kuipers but he got injured before a week and was replaced with Brych at a short notice... PSG v Real was Brych's game from very beginning!!

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    2. But in this case, one could also have replaced Brych at PSG - Real in order to avoid this "double-appointment".

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    3. That I don't know... Maybe that since Rocchi had a controversial performance in 1st leg, PLC stuck with his most trusted option as already planned!

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    4. On the other hand: Why didn't he appoint Mazic instead of Brych for Juventus v Tottenham?

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    5. Mazic was already appointed to Ludogorets v Milan in EL R32 so he wasn't available that week!!

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    6. Ups, you are right - I was focussed on the second-leg matches.

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    7. All the big names except Marciniak and Brych had appointments in that round already, I think!

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  6. Some newspapers said that Mazic will get UCL final and Marciniak UEL final..

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    1. Very interesting: According to the following source, he should have handled Real Madrid - Bayern München:

      http://footbar.info/glowne/3521,szymon-marciniak-poprowadzi-final-ligi-europy

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    2. They have based their article on Ray's tweet basically it seems :D I'm 1000% sure Marciniak would've never ever been appointed to Bayern Munich v Real Madrid in a million years after Tottenham v Juventus perfermonce... Marseille v Atletico even if it is a final will be more understandable... I think they have just assumed from Polish federation's info that it's Real v Bayern where actually the particular match was never known and Marciniak withdrew before the appointment was made!!

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    3. Yeah, I just shared Isaac Fouto tweet and all the media made a meal out of that... It's called 'journalism' nowadays...

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    4. They write their articles in such a way as if they know everything about how UEFA refereeing works... But we who actually keep a bit of info can only understand how stupid such journalism is... Unfortunately a normal fan won't have all the knowledge and would be misguided... Really appalling!!

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    5. @RayHD be sure that for many aspects we are better than some journalists :)

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  7. I'm still shocked that so many people can even imagine that, after a disastrous Tottenham- Juventus, Marciniak can be rewarded with a final. More than that, Marciniak didn't deliver a good performance even in Liverpool- Spartak (the game previous Tottenham- Juventus). Practically, in his last two games in european competitions he made mistakes...

    PS Marciniak is a very good referee. He still have a lot of years in front of him and a lot of opportunities (probably he will participate in 3 world cups). But this year he can't be the referee of any final. I repeat, I hope that PLC won't spit me in face (as a Juve fan who was on Wembley at Tottenham- Juventus)...

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    1. I think, it would be quite strange, if a referee, who denies his SF appointment is rewarded with the final, therefore I also exclude Marciniak as a candidate.

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  8. Regarding EL

    Elite Referees
    Atkinson, Aytekin, Brych, Çakır, Collum, Eriksson, Fernández Borbalán, Hațegan, Karasev, Kassai, Královec, Kuipers, Makkelie, Marciniak, Mateu Lahoz, Mažić, Oliver, Orsato, Rocchi, Sidiropoulos, Skomina, Taylor, Turpin, Undiano Mallenco, Zwayer

    Due to nationality, we can exclude
    Fernández Borbalán, Mateu Lahoz, Turpin, Undiano Mallenco

    The newest elite referees are unlikely
    Oliver, Taylor

    The referees UEFA have not rated high this season, too
    Aytekin, Kassai, Sidiropoulos, Zwayer

    Due to poor performances, following refs should be out
    Çakır, Collum, Eriksson, Karasev, Marciniak

    Referees that already handled EL final
    Brych, Eriksson, Kuipers, Skomina

    So, the final should go to one of these referees and all the options seem to be real...
    Hațegan, Královec, Makkelie, Mažić, Orsato, Rocchi

    The Romanian has a really good season, he recovered well after the poor call in a WC play-off and Lazio-Salzburg was really good. Why not?

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    1. I’m not sure why you would nix Cakir—or even Marciniak.

      Heading into the WC, which assignment makes more sense? Cakir or Hategan? Marciniak or Královec?

      Collina is in charge of FIFA and UEFA. He has a lot of questions to answer if he gives his second biggest match in Europe to a man who isn’t once of his top 10 referees for the World Cup.

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    2. Fandel whistled EL final in 2006. He didn't participate in WC 2006.
      Rizzoli whistled EL final in 2010. He didn't participate in WC 2010.
      Terje Hauge whistled Champions League final in 2006. He didn't participate in WC 2006.

      My bet for EL final is Orsato (I want Hategan,of course, but I can't imagine PLC will choose him)

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    3. "Problem" with Orsato is that Rocchi should be ranked ahead of him, before giving a final to Orsato, in my opinion Collina should consider Rocchi, because he is very likely at his last chance... also in terms of Italian rankings, it would be more than weird to see Orsato with this final while Rocchi leaving without it...

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    4. I agree that Orsato is a "forced" option (because of the lack of other options).
      On the other hand Orsato will be the only top italian referee in next 6-7 years.The only chance for Italy to have a referee in CL final until (at least) 2025 is Orsato (probably in 2020). For this reason Orsato should have some palmares until 2020.

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    5. I was preety sure Rocchi will get EL final. He's 45 years old (probably his last season), he has a more than decent palmares in UEFA competition. More than that, I watched him many, many times in Serie A. he is a good referee.
      I can't understand why PLC didn't choose him for EL final. It seems that PLC "loves" very much other referee(s)...

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    6. But in 2006 and 2010, UEFA could send a message to FIFA and reward a referee who they felt deserved a spot.

      Collina runs big organizations now. How would it look if a referee Collina felt was not ready for the WC, like Hategan, was given a cup final? It would make no sense.

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    7. Indeed now given Collina role in both UEFA and FIFA, the appointment in a final of a referee not selected for WC, would be a nosense. You have a point there, usaref.

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    8. Probably the EL final was planned for a referee selected for WC (Marciniak, Rocchi, Mateu Lahoz, Turpin etc).

      But from various reasons (mistakes, nationality) all those referees became unavailable. Collina didn't anticipate that we will have a spring full of (big) mistakes. He has to find a solution in this special (and unwanted) situation. Only for this reason I think a name like Orsato (or even Hategan) must be taken in consideration.

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  9. Atlético-Olympique can be for Collum.

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    1. Collum is one referee good

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    2. I think certain people didn't watch the games but write here opinions. About Collum:

      - missed a red card in Shaktar- Roma. Maybe main fault was of his AR (because was just in front of him) but, anyway, remains a mistake.
      - despite this mistake UEFA committee rewarded him with a QF in CL. In Bayern- Sevilla he had a borderline situation in 2nd minute (DOGSO or not). Collum showed only a yellow card to Mercado. It seems that UEFA committee backed him once again and rewarded him with a SF in EL
      - but after OM- Salzburg the committee can't back him once again... It was a goal scored by hand (similar with the Barca's goal disallowed by Cakir in CL final 2015) and a penalty not awarded for Salzburg (in 2nd half).

      Maybe Collum deserved that semifinal. But a final is out of question imo.

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  10. Here it comes- Mazic -Kyiv, Marciniak - Lyon

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  11. Few words about Mazic:

    He is a FIFA referee since 2009, when he was 36 years old. These days (but also 10 years ago) football federations put very young referees on FIFA list. We have FIFA referees who are born after 1990 !
    I don't understand why Mazic "arrived" on FIFA list so late, when he was 36 years old. Today, to put a referee (from a relatively small country) on FIFA list at 36 years old it's a non-sense. He don't have the time to progress through the categories. Almost sure he won't reach Elite.

    But this was not the case of Mazic. He succeeded in some kind of "mission impossible". Keep in mind that, in 2009, he entered in 5th category of FIFA list (at that time there were 5 categories, including Elite Develpoment). He made an unbelievable progress through categories. After ONLY 4 years he became an Elite referee. After almost 5 years he was selected for World Cup 2014.

    Do you know other example ? I don't know (esspecially from a small country like Serbia which doesn't have a member in UEFA referee committee). This is perfect example of how good is Mazic. He made this unbelievable progress because he is (was) a great referee.

    In all these last 10 years I think Mazic was the most reliable referee in Europa (I hardly remember a mistake of Mazic). In 2013, 2014 and 2017 he whistled 4 games in CL groups stage. I can imagine a dialogue like this:
    "-Hello, Milorad !
    - Hello, Pierluigi !
    - I have a problem. Referee X in unavailable. Can you whistle a game next wednesday ?
    - Of course I can."

    So, I think Mazic fully deserved a CL final.

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    1. From my home country Austria for instance Günter Benkö (born in 1955, FIFA referee since 1993, World Cup 1998, EURO 2000, U21 Euro final 1996, Cup Winners' Cup final 1999, Super Cup final 2000).

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    2. Peter, that was prehistory ! In modern refereeing something like that would be impossible ...

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    3. Mazic was at the 2014 WC. And we remember his "achievements".

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    4. It tells a lot how reliable was Mazic during all these years if you have to go back in 2014 to find something against him. Anyway, excepting WC 2014, do you remember another poor performance of Mazic ?

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    5. Atletico Madrid v Real Madrid in UCL QF 2nd leg... Was it in 2015?? Was quite a disaster!!

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    6. Yes, it was. But you can count his mistakes with one hand

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    7. He's a very good official overall I always say... Don't think he's suitable for very challenging big games like the Atletico v Real game... But a generally steady and safe pair of hands for the rather easy big games on paper!!

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    8. Mazic was perfect in period 2009-2013. Otherwise it would have been impossible for a serbian referee to reach Elite category (and also a place in a WC 2014) in such a short period of time. It's impossible for a referee to have an entire international career without mistakes. But it's important to keep the number of mistakes as low as possible. And I think Mazic did it. His ratio mistakes/(important) games is very good, for this reason he was one of most reliable referees of last decade. When PLC had a problem (an unavailable referee), Mazic was alwayas there.

      From my post about Mazic one should see the essence, the main idea. Mazic proved that he is a very good referee, he has a nice career behind him. This is important, this is the idea of my post. If someone try hardly to find a mistake, a small detail against Mazic just to show us how smart he is, than means he's nothing else than a professional hater.

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    9. Overall currently Mazic is No. 5 in UEFA that's it... He has and will never earn the same level of trust that Cakir has... Mazic can get the UCL final but the entire KO stage proves that he is not too trusted and needs special protection in order to be appointed to a Final... Steady and safe pair of hands and nothing more than that with at least 4 UEFA referees quite ahead of him in the pecking order... And the biggest stage in any referee's career is the World Cup and once you serve up dross there, it basically shows the ability (or the lack of it) to perform in the biggest matches of one's career under the highest amount of pressure!!

      By the way Cakir was also inducted into FIFA list in 2006 at age 30 and made it through all those categories in 4 years to reach the Elite category in 2010 and likewise got an EL SF while at ED category or whatever... And that's not in the prehistoric times! Similarly Kuipers also joined FIFA list in 2006 at 33 years of age and joined Elite in 2009 getting promoted through all the categories... And these are two referees with the best palmares in Europe currently and some excellent performance in the World Cup tournament they took part in... And their count of being appointed to big important games is clearly much, much more than Mazic, who hasn't made it to KO stage of WC and has neither whistled a high pressure CL SF till date ... So if someone comes with some rather meaningless stats and all, the reply should be given accordingly!!

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    10. Soham

      Mazic has had excellent (8,5≤) performances in a number of matches: FEN-BEN, LYO-RSO, PSG-CGE, VAL-SEV, ROM-MNC, SCO-IRL, DNI-NAP, RLM-SEV, FEN-MNU, BES-LYO. And that's no exhaustive list. So he can perform in matches that present very challenging problems.

      His WC wasn't on a high level, but his first match was (too, apparently) controversial but good, and the second was indeed a poor performance. It was I think a bit early for him, but that doesn't make him a bad referee. Collina pushed him too much to write his name to Brazil IMO, and Busacca did him no favours.

      He wasn't a name for absolutely top clashes for a long time, IMO because it was perceived he couldn't gain full acceptance from 'big' (arrogant) players. Mazic was a very unimpressed referee, that was firm and not that interested to 'make friends' on the pitch. Atletico - Real he failed in for sure, but he has really positively developed since then, eg Juventus - Barcelona was very good, full acceptance.

      I think he realised (like Çakir) the style, or at least conjunction of his style that would get him a CL Final or so, after ATL-RLM. He was right :-).

      But @Soham I am worried you are behaving like an autocrat on this blog- it is okay to have a different opinion to your own! And if you disagree at least quantify why more than "serving up dross" or empty coloquialisms like this.

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    11. Argentina v Iran was filled with errors from Mazic which was far too many for a WC match plus missed penalty in Germany v Portugal whatever the score might have been... So serving up dross part in the WC in that particular occasion was rather a fact-based statement than my own opinion... Otherwise it's my opinion that there are overall 4 UEFA refs ahead of him... And Juventus v Barcelona in the group stage was one of the easiest games he handled, he might be handling more difficult games than that in Serbia in the Eternal derbies... His Confederations Cup Final was a very good performance no doubt... But he simply never got too many big games in his career that really mattered and all the challenging and tough games where he did well were mostly in the Europa League with all due respect to the competition... In Champions League (particularly knockouts) till date I haven't seen him tested a great deal in very challenging games, only once he was tested with a very big game in KO and we saw what happened... Plus if he gets the CL final this year, then also we are seeing how greatly trusted he is such that he couldn't be appointed at all in the entire CL KO stage and literally kept wrapped in a bubble wrap to "protect him for the finals"... I can't recall such a thing being needed to be done in recent years with any CL final referees then why this time?? And I'm only sharing my opinion so I don't know what's the problem there, simply not agreeing to a mass opinion on something shouldn't make me an autocrat... I just don't share the same opinion about Mazic in comparison to others but that doesn't mean I'm insisting anyone else to think the same!!

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    12. @soham

      You are young. When you are young it's normal to be naive, you think you know everything.
      Also you are from India, far away from Europe. You don't know very well the realities from Europe. You don't know some details, for example how important are some countries in european football.

      Cakir became FIFA referee in 2006. He became Elite in january 2011, after 5 years.
      Mazic became FIFA referee in 2009. He became Elite in july 2013, after 4,5 years.

      In Europe there were some fast-forward promotions during last 10 years: Mazic, Velasco Carballo, Kuipers, Cakir, Mateu Lahoz etc. Excepting Mazic, all these referees came from important countries in european football.

      Do you know who was Senes Erzik ? Vicepresident of UEFA since 1994, member in FIFA Council since 1995. Do you know that Uilenberg worked for turkish refereeing committee ? Can you imagine a country like Turkey without an Elite referee ?
      Do you know who was Angel Maria Villar ? First vicepresident of UEFA and FIFA for more than 20 years, president of refereeing committees in both places.
      Do you know who are the members of UEFA referee committee ? Have you ever heard about Vladimir Sajn ? Do you know that actual president of UEFA is slovenian ? How you explain that (now) a poor league like Scotland had two Elite referees in the same time ?

      These are "small" details that you probably don't know. In life, in every domain of activity, it's good to have someone to help you, to support you. On your own, only by your hard work and nothing else, it's always much more difficult. So, Mazic is the man who succeeded only by his own. That's the difference...

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    13. Again, my intervention is needed.
      Soham, I think that this time your answer is overall OK but there is a final statement I don't like.
      You wrote: " So if someone comes with some rather meaningless stats and all, the reply should be given accordingly!!"
      Well, it looks like, to be honest, a lack of respect for other people's opinion. You can use different words, I fully understand that you want just to report your opinion without convincing people for changing their ideas. However, you can do that in a more polite way, that's what I think.
      I'm sure you agree and I'm happy that you are now having good discussions with petschovschi, differently from the past days and weeks. We are all here to share a passion :)

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    14. OT
      Final round of voting for the host of EURO 2016: France 7 votes, Turkey- 6 votes. Platini was the president of UEFA, Senes Erzik was 1st vicepresident of UEFA. Both didn't vote because their countries were candidates.

      I wrote this info to understand how much influence has Turkey in european football. France won by a single vote (having Platini as president of UEFA).

      More than that: in recent years Turkey hosted the CL final (2007), EL final (2009), WC u20 (2013). A turkish referee whistled a SF in EURO 2012 and a the CL final (2015). I also remember the turkish bids for EURO 2012, EURO 2016 and EURO 2024...

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    15. @Chefren Agreed with you as I almost always do... Probably I took the professional hater comment to myself and got a bit excited so that last line came... Now all okay on the topic :)

      @Petchovski Whatever might be the small details, the fast forward promotions are all very deserved and each one of them has backed it up with stellar careers... Mazic enjoyed immense backing from Collina himself even when he could have lost it, everybody knows he was Collina's golden boy and that's why he made the World Cup in 2014 too when it was definitely too early for him.. He went ahead on his talent for sure and received the deserved backing and so did the other names you mentioned... The good talent was spotted and rightly promoted to the level they deserved so the backing is justified be it for Mazic, Cakir, Velasco Carballo, Kuipers or Mateu Lahoz... They all got what they deserved and nobody can claim any of the name were promoted undeservedly or solely because of help from Committee members... The Scottish representatives were/are more than solid referees so I can understand their presence too :)

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    16. To add, Turkey is in contention to host the 2020 UEFA Champions League final along with Portugal... In addition, they are hosting the 2019 UEFA Super Cup as well... I think Cakir will referee the 2019 Super Cup :)

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    17. @soham

      You know everything, you're always right, you feel the necessity to answer to everyone, you must have the final word in every matter. But you will destroy this blog ...

      Cakir, Velaso, Kuipers, Skomina etc are good referees. But there are many referees from various countries who could have become great referees but they didn't have the support the others referees had.
      It's muck more easy to referee a game when you don't have pressure, when you know you have someone to support you, when you know that nothing really bad will happen if you make a mistake... On the other hand, when you are under pressure, when you know that every minor mistake could destroy your career, than it's much more difficult to deliver a good performance...

      All these things being said I think it's time for me to retire for a while...

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    18. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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    19. Stop it Soham please.

      Mazic can handle any match. Even Mazic him self said that he learn alot on his own mistake and grow up. In the past 2 years he was more than excellent in every single match he got. This year he could get any KO game but Collina is the only one to be asked why he didnt gave him any game..

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    20. @Jovan Exactly! I agree with every single word!

      @Petschovski the last sentence of your first paragraph rather resonates with me...

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    21. @Soham I removed your last comment because it was unacceptable. You can't write something like that, it is stalking against people.
      There is for sure no need to answer always and to every post, if you have something useful to say, you can do that, but of course that should be related to discussion, not for other reasons. I strongly hope you wont write again what you wrote.
      As next step, I will work to have a strict policy and I will delete more frequently comments if not directly related to refereeing.
      Thank you. It is always more and more difficult to manage this blog. I'm really sorry for the other readers.

      Delete
    22. Ok ok I do understand... No problems, I won't write something like it as it's unacceptable here :)

      Delete
    23. @Jovan I just disagree with you and I don't rate Mazic as highly as you do, just my view... Shouldn't be any problem as far as I suppose! You need to ask the Committee why Mazic never gets anything really big, but definitely there are reasons... That said, after a very good career overall, Mazic definitely deserves a final this year and among all the options in the running for the finals, I would choose Mazic any day to whistle Real Madrid v Liverpool so I hope he gets it! ;)

      Delete
  12. Bobby Madden missed a RC today in Hearts - Celtic

    https://twitter.com/Liam_O_Hare/status/993090711930265600

    Did anyone see the match in full?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, apart from the first 15 minutes (thought it started at 12:30!). Some incidents from memory (I'm a Celtic fan):

      Hearts first goal was disallowed, not sure that was correct.

      Celtic first goal possible offside, difficult to tell if it was just the arm offside or not.

      Naismith made two RC challenges - first on Brown, then later in the first half on Forrest

      Adoa takes out a Celtic player - surely would've been a YC if not already on one

      Delete
  13. For me clearly deserved Mazic in Kiev. And for EL I would consider the appointment of Orsato as sort of an compensation not being sent to WC. But Marciniak and Rocchi more likely for sure.
    I feel really sorry that all the comments about Aytekin are so negative even here just after one very challenging and controversial game last season. In Germany he is clearly ahead of Zwayer and for me one of the most promising upcoming refs in Europe!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I really like Aytekin but last year the game at Camp Nou didn't work out well for him and he was torn into pieces by all sections of media... Probably that will become his last big chance to progress as an Elite referee?? I would hope not but this season really implied that he has rather gone out of Committee's radar for something big! :(

      Delete
  14. FC Barcelona - Real Madrid CF

    Referee: Alejandro Hernández Hernández (Las Palmas)
    Asst. Referee 1: Teodora Sobrino Magán (Castellano-Manchego)
    Asst. Referee 2: José Enrique Naranjo Pérez (Las Palmas)
    Fourth Official: Ricardo Escudero Marín (Castellano-Manchego)
    RFEF CTA Observer: Manuel Mejuto Gonzalez

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hot end of the first half. With 3 YC and 1 straight red

      Delete
    2. Missed at least YC for Bale but correct RC for Roberto. All other cards were okay.

      And yes, I watched from 20' :)

      Delete
  15. Tough Clásico for Hernández Hernández.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Bad refering could lead to extremly nervous situations.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sorry, but he made few mistakes and he couldn’t handle few situations that brings to nervousness

      Delete
    2. Missed RC for Bale, I just watched the replay. But I don't think it's bad refereeing, it's one bad decision :)

      Delete
    3. Agreed. My words were not clever chosen, but I would like to add that at such intense game referee with only one big mistake unfortunately could bring game to disaster.

      Delete
  17. Bale without YC. Huge mistake.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You mean red because that’s a red. A yellow is not a choice there. The game should have been given to Lahoz. His character is needed.

      Delete
    2. Lahoz has a match on Wednesday.

      Delete
    3. Doesn’t matter I am saying he should have reffed this one and in that case they would have planned his schedule.

      Delete
    4. He also refereed both Real Madrid and Barcelona within a month before this match. She he was out in any case.

      Delete
    5. I agree with @victor it is unbelievable that since Fernandez, Undiano, Gil and Mateu got their last Classico, Hernández has got three (of the last six).

      Delete
    6. Dani, that's not true. Last time Mateu Lahoz had Madrid or Barcelona was on March 1st. He was, however, appointed for Sevilla - Real Madrid one week before El Clásico appointment was made public. However, I highly doubt that Hernández Hernández was not already planned for it. The reasons of why the fact Mikael has posted holds is a mistery to me. I don't think Hernández Hernández has performed that better compared to other FIFA referees to deserve such a high number of El Clásico appointments. And tonight it should mean a long rest of this match for him.

      Delete
    7. Well I don’t think that Hernandez Hernandez deserved this appointment at all especially given the last two clasicos that he refereed, but here we are. BTW I don’t that Mateu would’ve made much of a difference considering his performance in laliga this year.

      Delete
    8. I think the Committee must have thought this as an apparent "dead rubber" and thought it to be a good occasion for Hernandez Hernandez to gain more experience... The move backfired and Hernandez Hernandez struggled too much in a very challenging game... Surely he will now be "rested" for the rest of the season!!

      Delete
    9. I wouldn't have appointed Mateu either (it was not a decisive match and I think it is better not to put him under the spotlight in Spain before the WC). But neither Hernández Hernández. My name would have been Juan Martínez Munuera, as he is the only elegible FIFA referee who has not handled one and his performances have not been worse than, for instance, Hernández Hernández's.

      Delete
    10. I agree but very few names were available for this match: Mallenco, Sanchez Martinez (refereed the 1st one) and Martinez Munuera.

      Delete
  18. In the last minutes of first half there were only fouls.
    Impossible to keep the control for every referee?
    Hernández Hernández was in trouble.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Excatly. It's impossible for every referee

      Delete
    2. It is also very hard to miss such YC and not to predict that RC will happen sfter that in such game. For me also Messi was close to aRC.

      Delete
  19. RC for Sergi Roberto for (apparent) violent conduct.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Bale's foul...
    https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DciZwx_XcAAfLBq.jpg

    ReplyDelete
  21. Yep, missed RC for Bale. Anyway, terrible and shameful behaviour of the players. Of both teams.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Missed YC for rakitic for a stomp on Marcelo in the beginning of the first half? The foul by umtiti could’ve also been a YC.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Insane Classico this... And to think there was nothing much riding on this match 😮 A much tougher 2nd half awaits Hernandez Hernandez 😓

    ReplyDelete
  24. What is everyone's opinion on the RC to Sergi Roberto??

    ReplyDelete
  25. Unfortunately new mistake. Before goal foul by Suarez.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Clear foul before 2-1 by Barça.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Clear foul by Suarez on Varane missed by officials in the build-up to 2–1 of Barca!!

    ReplyDelete
  28. Missed penalty in 75’?

    ReplyDelete
  29. Missed penalty....many mistakes.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes a penalty missed... A foul by Jordi Alba on Marcelo

      Delete
  30. https://www.facebook.com/ScarsoNueve/videos/1034004360087519/
    This is for sure something epic :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I saw that but apparently that’s where the line was.

      Delete
    2. In case anyone is interested, Bobby Madley refereed this match...

      Btw Chefren what is epic about the video? I can't spot :/

      Delete
    3. Now I understand, they considered the shadow as the line :D Epic really :D

      Delete
    4. The line was at the edge of the shadow though.

      Delete
    5. https://twitter.com/stupot1994/status/993115275582169089?s=21

      https://twitter.com/futwatch/status/993123670364250112?s=21

      Nothing epic about this.

      Delete
    6. Indeed it's all good... The advertisement signboards fooled us all :D

      Delete
  31. Fair play is far away today from el classico:(

    ReplyDelete
  32. Marking by UEFA scale, would this performance by Alejandro Jose Hernandez Hernandez be around 6.9 considering he had 3 crucial mistakes and plenty of other errors too??

    ReplyDelete
  33. Thanks to Refereeblogspot.com come national cup final appointments

    Wales : 2018 FAW Welsh Cup Final 6 May 2017 at Latham Park, Newtown

    Connah’s Quay Nomads FC vs. Aberystwyth Town FC 4-1

    Referee: Iwan Griffith (Wales)
    Assistant Referee: Gareth Wyn Jones Assistant Referee: Lewis Edwards 4th Official: Rob Jenkins Reserve Assistant Referee : Aaron Jones

    Malta : 2018 Maltese FA Trophy Final 5 May 2018 at Ta' Qali National Stadium, Ta' Qali

    Valetta FC vs Birkirkara FC (2-1)

    Referee: Alan Mario Sant (Malta)
    Assistant Referee: Duncan Sultana Assistant Referee: Thomas Debono
    Additional assistant referee: Malcolm Spiteri Additional assistant referee: Matthew De Gabriele
    4th Official: William Debattista

    Northern Ireland : 2018 Irish Cup Final 5 May 2018 at National Football Stadium, Windsor Park, Belfast

    Coleraine FC vs Cliftonville FC (3-1)

    Referee : Arnold Hunter (Northern Ireland)
    Assistant Referee : Stephen Donaldson Assistant Referee : Georgios Argyropoulos
    4th Official : Ian McNabb
    Reserve Assistant Referee: Ken Ross

    Bosnia : 2018 Bosnia and Herzegovina Football Cup Final 1st leg: 2 May 2018 at Stadion Grbavica, Sarajevo

    FK Željezničar Sarajevo vs. FK Krupa 2-0

    Referee: Dragan Petrović (BIH)
    Assistant Referee: Damir Lazić Assistant Referee: Sreten Udovičić
    Additional assistant referee: Vladimir Bjelica Additional assistant referee: Miloš Gigović
    4th Official: Zoran Grbić

    Poland : 2018 “Puchar Polski” Final 2 May 2018 at PGE Narodowy, Warsaw

    Legia Warsaw vs. Arka Gdynia 2-1

    Referee : Piotr Lasyk (Poland)
    Assistant Referee: Dawid Golis Assistant Referee: Bartłomiej Lekki
    4th Official : Mariusz Złotek

    Slovakia : 2018 Slovak Cup Final 1 May 2018 at Štadión Antona Malatinského, Trnava

    ŠK Slovan Bratislava vs. MFK Ružomberok 3-1

    Referee: Patrik Hrcka (Slovakia)
    Assistant Referee: Dušan Hrčka Assistant Referee: Gabriel Ádám
    Additional assistant referee: Pavol Chmura Additional assistant referee: Dušan Sedlak
    4th Official: Miroslav Benko

    Algeria : 2018 Algerian Cup Final 1 May 2018 at Stade du 5 Juillet, Algiers (Algeria)

    USM Bel-Abbes vs JS Kabylie 2-1

    Referee: Mehdi Abid-Charef (Algeria)
    Assistant Referee: Abdelhak Etchiali Assistant Referee: Nabil Bounoua
    4th Official: Mohamed Saidi

    Lebanon: 2018 FA Cup Final 29 April 2018 at Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium, Beirut (Lebanon)

    Al-Ahed FC vs. Al-Nejmeh SC (0-0 shootout: 4-1)

    Referee: Dimitris Masias (Cyprus)
    Assistant Referee: Aris Christou (Cyprus) Assistant Referee: Marios Kalogirou (Cyprus)
    4th Official: Hadi Salameh (Lebanon)

    San Marino : 2018 Coppa Titano Final 25 April 2018 at San Marino Stadium , Serravalle

    SP La Fiorita vs. SP Tre Penne 3-2 (aet)

    Referee: Gianluca Ceccarelli (San Marino)
    Assistant Referee: Salvatore Tuttifrutti Assistant Referee: Gianmarco Ercolani
    Additional assistant referee: Antonio Ucini Additional assistant referee: Emiliano Albani
    4th Official: Andrea Guidi

    Netherlands: 2018 “KNVB Cup” Final 22 April 2018 at Stadion Feijenoord (Rotterdam)

    Feyenoord vs AZ Alkmaar (3-0)

    Referee: Björn Kuipers (Netherlands)
    Assistant Referee: Sander Van Roekel Assistant Referee: Erwin Zeinstra
    4th Official: Pol van Boekel

    Iceland: 2018 Super Cup 19 April 2018 at Valsvöllur, Reykjavík (Iceland)

    Valur Reykjavik vs. IBV Vestmannaeyjar (2-1)

    Referee: Thóroddur Hjaltalín (Iceland)
    Assistant Referee: Frosti Vidar Gunnarsson Assistant Referee: Edvard Edvardsson

    France : 2018 Coupe de la Ligue Final 31 March 2018 at Stade Matmut-Atlantique, Bordeaux (France)

    Paris Saint Germain vs. AS Monaco (3-0)

    Referee: Clément Turpin (France)
    Assistant Referee : Cyril Gringore Assistant Referee : Nicolas Danos
    4th Official: Mikaël Lesage

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Austrian Cup-Final
      09/05/2018
      Klagenfurt, Wörthersee-Stadium

      SK Sturm Graz - FC Red Bull Salzburg

      Ref: Harald Lechner
      AR1: Andreas Heidenreich
      AR2: Maximilian Kolbitsch
      4O: Gerhard Grobelnik
      Observer: Robert Sedlacek

      Delete
  34. Uefa announced it. Mazic for CL (Turpin), Kuipers (Marciniak) for EL and Adamkova for woman CL. This is Kuipers second EL final

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I realy did not expect anyone to get his second final. I am fery surprised with Kuipers's appointment.

      Delete
    2. I would assume you are surprised but then extremely happy too?

      Delete

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