Thursday 14 March 2019

Europa League 2018/19 - Round of 16 - Referee Appointments (II)

UEFA Referees Committee has chosen the following officials to handle the second leg games to be played for Round of 16 of 2018/19 Europa League.
14 March 2019, 18:55 CET - Kyiv (Natsionalnyy sportyvnyy kompleks "Olimpiys'kyy")
FC Dynamo Kyiv (UKR) - Chelsea FC (ENG)
Referee: Tobias Stieler (GER)
Assistant Referee 1: Mike Pickel (GER)
Assistant Referee 2: Christian Gittelmann (GER)
Fourth Official: Jan Seidel (GER)
Additional Assistant Referee 1: Marco Fritz (GER)
Additional Assistant Referee 2: Harm Osmers (GER)
UEFA Referee Observer: Alain Hamer (LUX)
UEFA Delegate: Alfred Ludwig (AUT)

14 March 2019, 18:55 CET - Salzburg (Red Bull Arena)
FC Red Bull Salzburg (AUT) - SSC Napoli (ITA)
Referee: Carlos del Cerro Grande (ESP)
Assistant Referee 1: Juan Carlos Yuste Jiménez (ESP)
Assistant Referee 2: Roberto Alonso Fernández (ESP)
Fourth Official: Diego Barbero Sevilla (ESP)
Additional Assistant Referee 1: Juan Martínez Munuera (ESP)
Additional Assistant Referee 2: Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea (ESP)
UEFA Referee Observer: Herbert Fandel (GER)
UEFA Delegate: Márton Esterházy (HUN)

14 March 2019, 18:55 CET - Krasnodar (Stadion "Krasnodar")
FC Krasnodar (RUS) - Valencia CF (ESP)
Referee: Anthony Taylor (ENG)
Assistant Referee 1: Gary Beswick (ENG)
Assistant Referee 2: Adam Nunn (ENG)
Fourth Official: Lee Betts (ENG)
Additional Assistant Referee 1: Stuart Attwell (ENG)
Additional Assistant Referee 2: Martin Atkinson (ENG)
UEFA Referee Observer: Robert Sedlacek (AUT)
UEFA Delegate: Tugomir Frajman (SVN)

14 March 2019, 21:00 CET - Milan (Stadio Giuseppe Meazza)
FC Internazionale Milano (ITA) - Eintracht Frankfurt (GER)
Referee: Ovidiu Alin Hațegan (ROU)
Assistant Referee 1: Octavian Șovre (ROU)
Assistant Referee 2: Sebastian Eugen Gheorghe (ROU)
Fourth Official: Radu Adrian Ștefan Ghinguleac (ROU)
Additional Assistant Referee 1: Radu Marian Petrescu (ROU)
Additional Assistant Referee 2: Sebastian Constantin Colțescu (ROU)
UEFA Referee Observer: Juan Antonio Fernández Marín (ESP)
UEFA Delegate: Dag Steinar Vestlund (NOR)

14 March 2019, 21:00 CET - Lisbon (Estádio do SL Benfica)
SL Benfica (POR) - GNK Dinamo (CRO)
Referee: Deniz Aytekin (GER)
Assistant Referee 1: Eduard Beitinger (GER)
Assistant Referee 2: Rafael Foltyn (GER)
Fourth Official: Markus Häcker (GER)
Additional Assistant Referee 1: Christian Dingert (GER)
Additional Assistant Referee 2: Benjamin Cortus (GER)
UEFA Referee Observer: Vladimir Antonov (MDA)
UEFA Delegate: Francesca Sanzone (ITA)

14 March 2019, 21:00 CET - Prague (Sinobo Stadium)
SK Slavia Praha (CZE) - Sevilla FC (ESP)
Referee: Aliaksiej Kuĺbakoŭ (BLR)
Assistant Referee 1: Dzmitryj Žuk (BLR)
Assistant Referee 2: Alieh Maslianka (BLR)
Fourth Official: Juryj Chomčanka (BLR)
Additional Assistant Referee 1: Dzianis Ščarbakoŭ (BLR)
Additional Assistant Referee 2: Dzmitryj Dzmitryjeŭ (BLR)
UEFA Referee Observer: Levan Paniashvili (GEO)
UEFA Delegate: Charles Schaack (LUX)

14 March 2019, 21:00 CET - London (Emirates Stadium)
Arsenal FC (ENG) - Stade Rennais FC (FRA)
Referee: Andris Treimanis (LVA)
Assistant Referee 1: Haralds Gudermanis (LVA)
Assistant Referee 2: Aleksejs Spasjonņikovs (LVA)
Fourth Official: Raimonds Tatriks (LVA)
Additional Assistant Referee 1: Aleksandrs Golubevs (LVA)
Additional Assistant Referee 2: Edgars Maļcevs (LVA)
UEFA Referee Observer: Kóstas Kapitanís (CYP)
UEFA Delegate: Pavel Kolev (BUL)

14 March 2019, 21:00 CET - Vila-real (Estadio de la Cerámica)
Villarreal CF (ESP) - FC Zenit (RUS)
Referee: Artur Manuel Ribeiro Soares Dias (POR)
Assistant Referee 1: Rui Licínio Barbosa Tavares (POR)
Assistant Referee 2: Paulo Alexandre dos Santos Soares (POR)
Fourth Official: Bruno Miguel de Campos Rodrigues (POR)
Additional Assistant Referee 1: Tiago Bruno Lopes Martins (POR)
Additional Assistant Referee 2: João Pedro da Silva Pinheiro (POR)
UEFA Referee Observer: Leslie Irvine (NIR)
UEFA Delegate: Rotem Kamer (ISR)

143 comments:

  1. Treimanis… what a surprise in such a big game

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  2. Very good game for Treimanis, after first leg score (3-1 Rennes). This will be a very tough game.
    Second appointment in a week for Kulbakov after his good performance in Napoli - Salzburg, this already happened for other referees, maybe the Belarusan is ready for promotion, what do you think?
    As for the rest, interesting to see Taylor again after the RC he showed in Seville (in my opinion it wasn't a 100% clear mistake and maybe even the correct decision) and the possible penalty to Lazio (another difficult situation to read on the pitch). Basically, I would say that another appointment for him is deserved.
    Soares Dias with an interesting game in which Spanish side seems quite sure of qualification, but still something good for the Portuguese looking at the other matches.
    Hațegan and his assistant referee appointed for a very open game after first leg, and I appreciate that committee didn't punish the whole team for the crucial mistake, it was a very tight situation.
    Del Cerro Grande back after Schalke - City in a game in which qualification seems to have been already decided but still... the penalty for handball should have been accepted by committee.
    "Normal" games for Aytekin and Stieler.
    Zwayer still out after Atlético - Juventus, we will see whether he will appear, maybe in EL quarterfinals.

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    Replies
    1. Del Cerro Grande with a committee member. Maybe he ist still considered for a CL QF - would be too much in his first season IMO. Or maybe EL SF.
      A bit surprising, that Stieler was chosen over Siebert. It seemed to me, that Siebert had already taken the place as German number 4.

      Missing referees in the EL KO stage are Bastien, Ekberg, Gestranius and Jug, who all refereed CL GS and took part in the UEFA seminar.

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    2. So at least Hategan gets good EL matches while he can't officiate in CL.
      No Bastien in KO stage, i find it really hard to only punish him and not Kassai for example.

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    3. Raczkowski is also amongst the missing referees.

      @Kulbakov: IMO he is ready for promotion to Elite, but the double appointment in R16 seems however strange to me - maybe a replacement?

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    4. So Mazic is out; Undiano will leave in June, we don't know about Rocchi, while Kuipers should stay until Euro 2020.
      Any technical demotion in your mind ? Sidiropolus, Aytekin, Kassai ?
      I guess that Kulbakov and Treimanis will replace Mazic and Undiano

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    5. Too quick promotion for Treimanis for me...

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    6. Too early for Treimanis, I agree, even in case of good performances, he is still 33 years old and he has a long future.
      He can spend another year as Category 1 for developing before the big step.

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    7. Maybe they need 18 referees from different countries for EURO 2020. In this moment there are 26 referees in Elite from 17 countries (without Mazic there will be only 16 countries). As far as I remember there were 18 referess (from 17 countries) at EURO 2016 (Atkinson and Clattenburg were from same country). It's possible also that Germany, Holland (maybe England) will have 2 referees at EURO 2020 (but I highly disagree with that, I think 1 referee/country it's correct)

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    8. Maybe Kulbakou is a replacement for Orsato, since he had to replace Mazic.

      Treimanis: no promotion yet IMO. Kulbakou, Vincic and Kruzliak are clearly ahead. Give him some time, I'd say.

      2 referees from 1 country: why not? It's clear that Makkelie, Kuipers, Brych, Zwayer etc are ahead of Collum, Sidiropoulos, etcetera. Performance principle should count.

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    9. Spain, Germany, Italy, England can field 3-4 different national teams which are surely better than national team of Romania. But every nation is allowed to use only one team in EURO 2020 preliminaries and final tournament. Same should be for referees.
      This is different from Champions League.

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  3. What a punishment for Bastien !!! He is the only elite one (a part the injured Karasev) not appointed at all

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    Replies
    1. And my compatriot Sidiropoulos seems to be the odd-man out in the latest appointments. Is he finished?

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    2. He had one match on 32th round in EL; Rennes - Real Betis Balopmpie'. Yes is not so much.....

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    3. He had also Napoli - Zurich a week later and he did a quite blatant crucial mkistake.

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    4. Sidropoulos doesn't even have the trust of his own nations referee commission. The fact that Greece has to hire foreign referee's instead of assigning Tasos to those games speaks loudly. So why should the UEFA Ref Comm have any trust in him?

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  4. 2018/19 UEFA Youth League

    Round of 16
    12 March 2019, 17:00 - Décines-Charpieu (Groupama OL Training Center)
    Olympique Lyonnais (FRA) - AFC Ajax (NED)
    Referee: Anastásios Papapétrou (GRE)
    Assistant Referee 1: Iordánis Aptósoglou (GRE)
    Assistant Referee 2: Konstantínos Nikolaḯdis (GRE)
    Fourth Official: Florent Batta (FRA)
    UEFA Referee Observer: Bertrand Layec (FRA)
    UEFA Delegate: Neil Morrow (NIR)

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  5. After Atletico- Juventus there is no place for Zwayer in this round (CL or EL). I'm curios if we will see him again this season.

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  6. Interesting that Atkinson keeps appearing as a AAR. What did he stop for if he simply keeps being appointed as AAR?

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    Replies
    1. Being a FIFA referee requires a better physical condition than officiating in Premier League.

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  7. Dont have to be FIFA to be 2nd AAR. Makes sense to use his expetience

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  8. Any info Saudi Pro League Appointments?

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    Replies
    1. http://kronikasedziowska.blogspot.com/2019/01/current-domestic-competitions.html
      Here you will find always updated appointments for many domestic leagues.

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    2. Damir Skomina and Ravshan Ermatov with today's games.

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  9. Here the post about U20 selection, where you can continue to discuss:
    https://law5-theref.blogspot.com/2019/03/2019-fifa-u20-wc-list-of-selected.html

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  10. Minute 2' in my opinion del Cerro missed a very clear YC.
    Fourth official should have reported it.

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  11. Goal correctly disallowed by Taylor.

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  12. Taylor decides not to show a clear 2nd YC (RC) for Valencia.

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  13. Sorry for the offtopic but what an insane goal by Krasnodar. Last 5 minutes + injury time can be very challenging for Taylor.

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    Replies
    1. What do you mean by insane?
      BTW very decisive goal, scored in the 85' minute for Russian side.
      I hope that Taylor is making a good job there.

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    2. EXCELLENT EXCELLENT advantage by Taylor on Valencia's goal

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    3. Wow Valencia scored at 90+3 :O

      Good advantage by Taylor prior to the goal.

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  14. Del Cerro: expected level, in a normal difficulty game.
    I would give him a 8.3 for the missed YC at the beginning of the game, but nothing more than that.

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  15. Oh god. I think there's been a terrible and crucial mistake by Treimanis' AR2 in Arsenal goal. Aubameyang was nearly 1m offside, looks like a blackout.

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    Replies
    1. Looks like he might have focused on Kolasinac (#31) who was also in an offside position.

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    2. That's it. AR2 was focused on Kolasinac who was offside but decided not to play the ball, Aubameyang did it instead and AR missed his position, but he was also clearly offside.

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    3. Excellent explanation, indeed this was the reason, AR2 was missing in the "global view" of the situation and he was deceived by the player in clear offside position who made gestures to show that he was not interested in playing the ball.

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    4. So is it acceptable for a FIFA AR at this level because it's understandable?

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  16. In Milan, correctly disallowed goal by AR2 Gheorghe.

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  17. Sorry for Aytekin, but this is not elite level refereeing.
    IMO, he missed penalty in 21' for Dinamo.
    In 45' YC for Petkovic (Dinamo) for diving, really stupid mistake by German.

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    Replies
    1. I fear he's on risk of a demotion. Maybe in 2 years we can see a "swap" of categories between him and Siebert as in 2017 with Makkelie-Nijhuis.

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    2. Aytekin is so strange. Each weekend in Germany he referees perfectly and rarely makes mistakes, he is even a quite „popular“ referee so to say. But every time he gets matches in Europe he constantely fails. I feel so sorry for him but I think demotion would be a logical decision

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    3. We can mark his 1st half performance as 7.8
      Hope it won't be less than that after match.

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    4. 21st minute is not so clear IMO. I am not even sure if VAR would intervene in this situation in simillar situation in CL. If someone could provide us a video maybe ;)

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  18. Match becoming difficult for Treimanis. Not much player acceptence and alot of fouls towards the end of the half.

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  19. Match becoming difficult for Treimanis. Not much player acceptence and alot of fouls towards the end of the half.

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  20. Second PK whistled by Kulbakov. First one was crystal clear but he pointed out the spot after AAR advice, quite delayed decision. This one was softer but still supportable for me (missed YC).

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  21. Strong performance in a normal game from
    Hategan. Bad luck for him that he can‘t handle UCL because he has no VAR experience. Otherwise he would be a candidat for CL Quaterfinal at leasr IMO. Maybe he can get a semifinal or even the Final in EL. What do you think?

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    Replies
    1. There is VAR in EL final, so impossible...

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    2. Why is VAR experience so important? They all passed trainings for that. I don't know whether there is VAR in Slovenia (Skomina). If Mazic didn't leave UEFA, he would be on the pitch in CL clashes, and there is no VAR in Serbia.

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    3. You‘re right I forgot about that. He had a Semifinal last year if I remember correctly (Manchester-Celta Vigo) so another SF is still possible I think but no progress for the Romanian even if he developed well the last year

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    4. But they used VAR at the world cup unlike other referees without VAR in their domestic league.

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    5. Such a shame that he cannot officiate CL KO matches this season, this was another excellent performance by the Romanian. To be honest, he's clearly arrived at the top of refereeing and I would even dare to say that he's currently among the top five in Elite, considering performances. I was also impressed with his personality, he's much more confident and is not afraid to express strong verbal warnings when needed!

      Also - not to forget - good job by both assistant referees tonight.

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  22. ET in Prague.

    Kulbakov with 2 PK calls described above. As usually, lenient disciplinary approach and trying to stay in the background as much as he can.

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  23. Very good/excellent performance from Hategan. He is CL referee level. One mistake in important match cost him a lot, and that is not fair. For example, Cakir and Skomina (not to talk about Marciniak) made much more crucial mistakes than Hategan, and they are well ahead of him in UEFA. I would like to see him in CL 1/4 clash at least. He deserves it.

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    Replies
    1. Clearly he's been "penalized" for his lack of VAR experience, Teo.

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  24. Good performance by Stieler and company, 2 offside goals, easy, otherwise no issues in periods I had seen

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  25. How was Treimanis in 2nd half?

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    Replies
    1. Better. Players settled down and he had more control. I think players were trying their best to get opponents sent off but when they saw Treimanis wasnt being fooled they stoped alot of their play acting from the first half. Overall, besides the clearly offside goal I think Treimanis made the best out of a difficult situation where player intentions were not so good.

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    2. I was live on the stadium tonight, once I've checked some situations you can expect a detailed report likely in the morning, if anyone is interested :-)

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    3. Disagree. Lot of authority problem. Lack of management. Lacazette had to be send off (54´) with delayed foul on Bensebaini. YC needed so RC forgotten. And no comments about AR’s decisions who killed the match: after Barcelona yesterday, poor european referees performances against french teams. A pity.

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    4. Sorry but no way was Lacazettes a sending off

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    5. I also mentioned the offside goal if you read clearly

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    6. He missed also Iwobi's deliberate kick to Traore's leg in last moments of the match.

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  26. Aytekin, Elite Cat tonight said you good bye.

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    Replies
    1. I disagree, I dont see a reason to demote Aytekin. 21st minute is doubtful, but not clear, red card absolutely clear. Nothing else was doubtful IMO.

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  27. I dont comment red card, it s clear 21st minute is not dobutful, that was PK. But look at his poor game managment and game control. I really think, in full of respect for Aytekin, that he deserve demotion IMO

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  28. OT: Another Spanish club involved in an incredible finale (but, this time they lost).

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    Replies
    1. What a match... and how badly does Sevilla defend.

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  29. In my opinion the penalty appeal by Dinamo Zagreb in Aytekin game (21') is not a clear situation. VAR wouldn't have intervened. In addition, Aytekin with a good positioning and a clear view on the incident.

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  30. About the appointment of EL final referee: as we discussed, basically it should be a names among the 12 who officiated in CL Round of 16.
    In case of Hategan, UEFA should make an exception. However, I wouldn't esclude this chance, maybe UEFA considers Europa League differently than Champions League and in this competition a referee without VAR experience could be allowed to handle the final. However, this speech can be related only to Hategan, for sure all the other options have already appeared in CL ko stage.

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    Replies
    1. I see Orsato or Turpin for EL Final

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    2. Before Orsato, there is Rocchi. If an Italian appointment for a final will be made, it is impossible to think that Orsato is ahead of Rocchi.

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    3. It would be trully amazing if Rocchi could end his FIFA career with an UCL or EL final.

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    4. Will EL final be with VAR? If not, I see Anthony Taylor with good outsider chances too

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    5. Yes VAR in EL final. Referees like Oliver, Taylor and Hategan should be out for that reason, but, as I wrote, I think we can't be 100% sure about that. Possible that committee could make an exception, treating EL differently from CL.

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  31. CL quarter finals predictions:

    Ajax - Juventus Lahoz
    Liverpool - Porto Makellie
    Totenham - Man City Skomina
    Barcelona - Man Utd Kuipers

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    Replies
    1. Mine are
      Ajax - Juventus: Cakir / Mateu
      Liverpool - Porto: Zwayer / Turpin
      Totenham - Man City: Orsato / Skomina
      Barcelona - Man Utd: Kuipers / Rocchi

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    2. Philip, do you expect Makkelie for a semi?

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    3. The main reason is, that I didn't find a suitable game for him in the QF, because he had Porto and Tottenham in the previous round and I wanted bigger names for Barca-ManU.
      But yes, a SF is quite possible for him (if there is a suitable match).

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    4. Realistically Makkelie is among top3-4 in Europe at the moment, so he actually is a big name.

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  32. Mine are first and second legs
    Ajax Juve Lahoz Turpin
    Liverpool Porto Makallie Marciniak
    Tottenham City Cakir Rocchi
    Man U Barca Brych Kuipers

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  33. After thye draw, what seems almost 100% sure to me is Mateu for Ajax - Juventus.
    My predictions:
    Ajax - Juventus Mateu / Turpin
    Liverpool - Porto Makkelie / Skomina
    Tottenham - Manchester City Rocchi / Brych
    Manchester United - Barcelona Kuipers / Orsato

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  34. My predictións:

    Ajax-Juventus: Cakir (Marciniak) / Mateu Lahoz (Del Cerro)
    Liverpool-Porto: Zwayer (Dankert) / Skomina (Makkelie)
    Tottenham-ManCity: Makkelie (van Boekel) / Orsato (Irrati)
    ManUtd-Barcelona: Rocchi (Irrati) / Brych (Dankert)

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  35. Big games in Europa League as well.
    Menwnhile, UEFA has not released statements about VAR incidents in this week. That's not a good signal for Polish crew.

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    Replies
    1. Could be that UEFA and Rossetti are finding it near impossible to defend the indefensible, excuse the inexcusable and/or to explain the unexplainable.

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  36. My Predictions:

    Ajax-Juventus Mateu Lahoz / Marciniak
    Liverpool Porto Makkelie / Turpin
    Tottenham/Man City Zwayer / Kuipers
    Barcelona/Man Utd Rocchi / Brych

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Reward Marciniak with another UCL KO match after his ghost penalty call? That sends a great message. Where's the accountability?

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  37. EL predictions
    Napoli-Arsenal: Makkelie / Brych
    Villareal-Valencia: Sidiropoulos / Marciniak
    Benfica-Frankfurt: Kralovec / Undiano
    Prague-Chelsea: Gil Manzano / Kassai

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    Replies
    1. I can't see Sidiropoulos for Villareal - Valencia. Too much for him.

      Delete
    2. Sidiropoulos isn't trusted by his fellow Greeks for any major matches among the Greek giants Olympiakos, Panthinaikos, AEK, PAOK, ect.....
      So what reason does the UEFA Ref Comm have to trust him? Furthermore, other referee's have performed better and are way more deserving.

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    3. Reward Marciniak for his "controversy free" night in Barcelona?

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    4. My idea was, that every Elite referee should get at least EL R16. Therefore I chose referees, who were not appointed in the previous round, including Sidiropoulos. Without VAR restriction, I would also have guessed him in CL R16 after a solid group stage. But it's possible that his mistake in R32 will prevent a QF appointment.

      Marciniak would probably have been appointed to a CL QF or more without the mistake in Barcelona. So I would not see an EL QF (and then nothing more) as reward at all.

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    5. Assigning Marciniak to another match (even EL), after the night he had in Barcelona. Is indeed a reward. It sends a very poor message and shows zero accountability by the UEFA Ref Comm.

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  38. Since everyone's playing the game, I'm having a go as well:

    CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
    Ajax - Juventus: Antonio Mateu Lahoz (ESP) / Clément Turpin (FRA)
    Liverpool - Porto: Danny Makkelie (NED) / Carlos Del Cerro (ESP)
    Tottenham - City: Gianluca Rocchi (ITA) / Cüneyt Çakir (TUR)
    United - Barcelona: Felix Brych (GER) / Björn Kuipers (NED)

    EUROPA LEAGUE
    Napoli - Arsenal: Ovidiu Hategan (ROU) / Pavel Královec (CZE)
    Villarreal - Valencia: Daniele Orsato (ITA) / Michael Oliver (ENG)
    Benfica - Frankfurt: Anthony Taylor (ENG) / Damir Skomina (SVN)
    Chelsea - Slavia: Felix Zwayer (GER) / Artur Soares Dias (POR)

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    Replies
    1. I agree with you almost exactly stake.

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    2. Do you think Artur Soares Dias (POR) will be in Slavia Prague - Chelsea?
      This is because the winner of this match will play with the winner of the match between Benfica and Frankfurt

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    3. He can have the first leg match.

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    4. As much as I’d like to see Taylor again, he already had Frankfurt in Donetsk recently, so I don’t anticipate him again in an Eintracht match before semifinal. In which case, I’d also love Hategan again after a brilliant performance yesterday, praised by both teams and independent observers.

      Delete
  39. CL Predictions:

    Ajax - Juventus Çakir / Mateu Lahoz
    Liverpool - Porto Makkelie / Turpin
    Tottenham - Man City Orsato / Kuipers
    Man United - Barcelona Brych / Rocchi

    EL Predictions:


    Arsenal - Napoli Hategan / Skomina
    Villarreal - Valencia Zwayer / Taylor
    Benfica - Frankfurt Oliver / Kralovec
    Slavia Praha - Chelsea Soares Dias / Del Cerro Grande

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Villarreal - Valencia Zwayer / Oliver
      Benfica - Frankfurt Taylor / Kralovec

      Delete
  40. Poll for the best officiating CL Round of 16 Week IV.
    End: Sunday 17/03 8:30 CET.

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  41. CL Predictions:

    Ajax : Juventus - Turpin, Cakir
    Liverpool : Porto - Marciniak, Brych
    Spurs : City - Orsato, Mateu Lahoz
    United : Barcelona - Kuipers, Rocchi

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    Replies
    1. Lahoz on City match? Hard to believe after last year QF

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  42. VAR to be used in the women world cup FIFA confirmed today

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  43. Highlights of the FC Krasnodar - Valencia CF game, handled by Anthony Taylor

    https://ok.ru/video/1073753229859

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  44. As promised, some words on Andris Treimanis. I only watched from the stands, so if I missed sth, feel free to comment below!

    Big test for the Latvian.
    Players were not always fully focused on playing football, and it was a tough game to find a rhythm for officiating. The most important scene of the match was where he and Haralds Gudermanis AR1 correctly assessed the tackle by Lacazette at 61' as careless (real nightmare situation, late careless tackle right in front of Stade Rennais bench and technical staff and players were demanding he was sent off), and apparently the caution for dissent to Grenier was the 'key' to calming this match, as it's dynamic changed after that. Well done, I appreciated that he just took his decisions as he saw and not for balancing throughout the match. Besides, I was satisfied by his disciplinary control featuring eight yellow cards, although it would have helped to open the cards on the Monreal tackle at 18'. I also saw a quite nervous referee whom the players didn't fully trust (especially for Italian readers, think Rosario Abisso) eg. late whistles, quite unpredictable foul line, not so assured dealings with players (PERFECT moment to slow the game down by isolating Monreal at 18' and warning him, but he rushed and allowed many Arsenal players there too). Eventually around 40', Treimanis realised that players were offering him little acceptance so he tried to avoid interactions with them as much as possible, running into positions after fouls etc. -> maybe better to have started like this, with some self-awareness? Very busy game for Aleksejs Spasjonņikovs AR2, I cannot really comment on his performance having not seen replays of situations, but of course really important mistake at 2-0 which was perfectly explained by Quilava and usaref above.

    So in general, the Latvian team's performance was okay (besides 2-0 missed offside), but Treimanis missed the chance to show sth more. 8,2 would be my mark.
    Honestly, I think this game was a bit too early for him, and there are better referees in 1st Cat. who should be ahead of him on the road to Elite.

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  45. Can we have a separate page for UCL and EL predictions?

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  46. Yes it’s called guesstheref.com and there is a link in the upper right side of the page. If you would like, I can post everyone’s predictions for the UCL and UEL as you submit them and then run the scoring after.

    ReplyDelete
  47. OT: VAR will be used in Woman World Cup in France this summer. Will be interesting to see who will bi appointed as VARs. I think male VARs will be appointed, probably experienced like Irrati, Makkelie, Valeri, Gil,...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You can even see Tiago Martins and Christopher Beath in the video published by FIFA

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2VfYpckKVE

      Delete
    2. I think, I also spotted Bastian Dankert at 0:26 (he was also missing in Bundesliga around that time).

      Delete
  48. https://www.foxsports.com.au/video/football/a-league/refs-view-with-var!722281

    amazing footage and audio of a VAR decision in Australian League. It's nice these communications to be published to the fans to understand the referees and VAR's thinking process behind a decision.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Absolutely, always nice to see/hear such material.
      I am not a fan of making OFRs just to sell a decision, but that might be a matter of taste (and maybe instructions).

      Delete
    2. I'm glad the video isn't geo-blocked so people outside Australia can see it. There is supposed to be an even bigger feature on referee communication coming soon.

      Delete
    3. You see, it doesn't hurt at all to simply go a take a look. Even if the situation is confirmed by those in front of the monitors. The players interact with the referee's on the pitch, not with those in front of the monitors. So "selling the call" is absolutely genius! Had the referee not gone a taken a look and only went based off of what VAR told him. The players could have possibly dissented. And who would bear the brunt of the dissent? Not the ones behind the monitors.

      Delete
  49. Highlights of the SK Slavia Praha - Sevilla FC game, handled by Aliaksiej Kuĺbakoŭ

    https://ok.ru/video/1074657888803

    ReplyDelete
  50. Undiano with (IMO) 2 soft if not wrong PK calls for handling in Huesca-Alavés, the 1st one after VAR review suggested by González Fuertes.

    ReplyDelete
  51. So I have to say I don't understand why in the FA Cup VAR is only used in 2 out of 4 games in the quarter finals. I'd rather not use it at all than the way it is now.

    Swansea - Manchester City:
    1. Wrong PK - City equalises
    2. 3-2 winning goal was offside

    For me, it's just unfair that VAR is only used in some games in a competition where every team should be treated the same.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree with you, I already pointed out that in past. It is a nosense. If the reason is that VAR can't work in some stadiums, then better not to use it at all.

      Delete
    2. I disagree.
      Situation 1: There is a crucial mistake not corrected in the match without VAR and a crucial mistake corrected in the match with VAR.
      Situation 2: Both crucial mistakes are not corrected, because there is no VAR in both matches.
      For me, situation 1 always is preferable - and also fairer: Situation 1 is unfair for one team, while situation 2 is unfair for two teams.

      It is similar to some people saying, VAR should not be used at all, because it can't eliminate all crucial mistakes and it would be unfair, if only a (big) part of mistake is corrected, but some remain.

      Delete
    3. And a "real-life" example: Are speed controls unfair, because they are only on some streets and only catch/punish a part of the speeders?

      Delete
    4. In my opinion it is a different speech when you are talking about the same competition. Imagine a world cup in which some matches are with VAR other matches without it. This would be unfair because not all the teams are on the same level and they don't have the same chances due to technology. Of course in an overall context, I agree that we can't compare games with VAR and games without it, we will have always matches played without VAR. But... in the same competition, in the same round, this sounds as definitely unfair in my opinion.
      The exmaple about real life can be that all the teams participating in a competition are cars on the same road at the same time. You can't control only some of them.

      Delete
    5. Chefren and I typically disagree on most things. However, we're on the same page on this matter. FIFA and IFAB long resisted the introduction of any technology because it was something that couldn't be implemented at the lowest most basic levels of the sport. And the idea of The Laws of the Game is that they are the same and equal for all. From the most technologically advanced stadium to the poorest dirt field.
      With that said. It is unacceptable for such a rich and advanced Football Association like England to not be able to implement technology equally.

      Delete
  52. For me the FA are the problem.. a referee makes mistake on sunday and was rewarded with a cup final it just sends the message that you can make mistakes all you want next week you get another match.. appalling

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good to see that the MLS isn't the only league where this happens. But then again, the Ref Comm for MLS (PRO) is run by a Brit (Peter Walton). So not surprisingly he brought with him those bad habits that PGMOL has.

      Delete
    2. Walton is no running PRO. Was replaced by Webb over a year ago, and "worked as a consultant" last season.

      Delete
  53. Absolutely bizarre situation in the English League 1 game between Oxford and Bradford Refereed by Andy Davies (SG2) that it needs to be seen to be believed. Bradford have a penalty appeal in 90 +3 which goes out for a goal kick, Oxford in 90+4 take the goal kick quickly and go up the other end and score to make it 1-0. Davies then goes to speak to AR2 and looks like he is ruling out the goal and awarding Bradford a penalty. He then goes to AR1 and decides to give the goal which leads to a 1-0 win to Oxford. With both teams fighting relegation this is really unacceptable and Davies has some explaining to do.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. https://www.skysports.com/watch/video/sports/football/11667839/oxford-1-0-bradford
      Incident starts at 1:12

      Delete
    2. IMO correct decision at the end but the whole situaton is a complete mess.

      Unacceptable from AR1 to call the referee for a PK when the ball had been out of play (because of the goal-kick) between the potential PK situation and Oxford goal.

      Delete
    3. Reading more into it I think that AR2 was actually telling Davies that the goal kick was illegal but then going to AR1 and then giving the goal is what makes it more confusing.
      This is another video of the situation which shows Davies go over and tell the keeper something.
      https://twitter.com/i/status/1107023481990844417

      Delete
  54. http://proreferees.com/2019/03/16/the-definitive-angle-mls-week-2/
    Great initiative by the MLS, reviewing the transcripts of VAR reviews and explaining them.

    ReplyDelete
  55. A full 72 hours (3 days), and we have yet to hear anything from Rossetti and/or UEFA Ref Comm in regards to the Marciniak incident. Unlike previous incidents, where they were quick to put out a statement to clear up any and all confusion.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I know that you are interested only in commenting when there are mistakes, but at least you should know that it is Rosetti and not Rossetti.
      Having said that, clearly the worst signal for the Polish crew, we had always explanations for all the previous weeks, even in matches in which this was not needed. Now, nothing.
      Under a certain point of view, of course this is better than having a statement for defending a clearly wrong decision... I prefer a "silent admission".

      Delete
    2. Admission to what? That VAR system failed as some have suggested? Or the individuals behind the screens were incompetent in that moment? So which one is it? I for one, would like to know. Even if they just said that the VAR system, did not fail. That in itself would say a lot.

      Delete
  56. Poll for the best officiating in CL Round of 16 - Week IV.
    Kuipers JUV - ATL 67 votes 52%
    Orsato BMU - LIV 55 votes 42%
    Turpin MCI - SCH 6 votes 5%
    Marciniak BAR - LYO 2 votes 2%

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Marciniak got votes from himself and his VAR lol :D

      Delete
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