Saturday 22 August 2020

In Focus: Danny Makkelie's performance in Sevilla - Inter

A closer look at the UEFA Europa League Final 2020 Sevilla FC - Internazionale Milano refereed by Danny Makkelie (VAR: Jochem Kamphuis).



Chefren will take a closer look at Makkelie's overall performance and approach, but the analysis starts with me (Mikael) dissecting the most widely controversial decision of the match - the early penalty given and the ensuing disciplinary sanction.

3' - Penalty to Inter, Yellow Card given to Sevilla no.20







There is a lot to unpack from this scene, which is best served by a series of questions and answers.


The penalty was correct?

Yes. Diego Carlos first holds Lukaku outside the penalty area, before tripping him inside the penalty area. A clear penalty - Makkelie gets a good insight angle from the dynamic counter attack, and orders the correct restart.



Was Diego Carlos' foul an attempt to play the ball?

Surely not. Outside the penalty area he holds Lukaku, and inside the penalty area, he did not make any attempt to play the ball, he tries to stop the Inter attacker by stamping on him.

So that leaves us with two raw judgements to determine if a Yellow Card or a Red Card is the correct sanction - reckless vs. Serious Foul Play and SPA vs. DOGSO.



Reckless or Serious Foul Play?

In my opinion quite a strong case be made that this deliberate foul was a case of Serious Foul Play. For instance, you can see that Carlos pierces Lukaku's sock with his studs (1:00 in the clip).

Looking at the replays, you can see the only intense contact is with Lukaku's ankle, in that case UEFA's solution nowadays is clear - reckless only.



SPA or DOGSO?

The most contentious of all judgements Makkelie had to make here.

The holding offence is made when Lukaku is heading directly towards the goal, at pace, in control of the ball, and ahead of all the defenders who could possibly intervene. Carlos holds him and successfully keeps Lukaku in his grasp otherwise the attacker would have ran past the Sevilla player towards goal.

Carlos eventually succeeds in his attempt to deny Lukaku a chance at goal by stamping on his ankle in the penalty area.

For me on a theoretical level that constitutes the denial of a clear goal-scoring opportunity and a Red Card should therefore follow.

However, as Lukaku has to change his running pattern having been held and slightly run wide, that opens to window to argue (I would not personally) that this is not a DOGSO situation, or at any rate make it look less like a DOGSO foul.

In a final, in the third minute - UEFA want something more like DOGSO+ for a referee to issue a Red Card. You can agree or disagree about the merits of that, but that is the reality at a UEFA level nowadays. 




Approach (by Chefren)


Without doubt, Danny Makkelie had to face one of the hardest UEFA Final matches in recent times. Even from the very start, the referee from the Netherlands had to face a highly challenging game; the players played free from the constraint of nerves - evident not only in the amount of goals, but also in the haphazard way of playing that really tested the refereeing team.

The Dutchman's tactic was to operate a lenient disciplinary control, deciding to be not strict with cards, having a certain tolerance; the results of this choice were mostly visible in second half, when the game calmed a bit down and didn't escalate too much (which was eminently possible). So I think that in terms of approach we can say that it is true that referee could have shown more cards, but at the same time, in the overall perception, he still had success in keeping everything under control. 

A very important moment of the game was surely the YC given to Inter's coach Conte - well deserved. In this way referee tried to calm down the benches, this worked, I think, because after that, their conduct was more respectful.

Makkelie coped with what was happening around him, he was able to stay focused on the game and didn't lose the overview - we can guess that he was aware that a different approach could have led to a very high number of sanctions. Personally, I don't like the argument that a final must be treated in a different way than other games, but in this choice by Makkelie I don't see a very different approach, from all the other games he handled - maybe just a small step below in terms of a certain allowance, but absolutely nothing that blatant.   

The most important thing is that he was not influenced by what players were trying to do, and this was clearly visible in the decisions he took. Having already talked about the main incident of the game, I can add that I fully agree with the second major decision - playing on following a possible penalty for handball, there wasn't the evidence, arm was close to body. VAR was right in supporting, what I liked were surely the gestures made by the Dutchman, arousing trust from the players. VAR couldn't deny this view, and I agree. This approach by Makkelie, regarding this situation, was similar to the Atlético Madrid - Juventus game in the group stages this season, and the handball that was not punishable. Brilliantly determined body language. A few minutes later there was another possible penalty for Inter, and also in this case, the referee was correct to play on. In case, even simulation would have been possible. 

You can already understand that, given the extremely difficult circumstances, ending first half without any single VAR intervention and with some good decisions in the key scenes, was a very positive base for the performance. 

In terms of foul detection (let's remember that the penalty given was correct), it was certainly a positive evening for Makkelie. However, talking about disciplinary control, the most significant mistake (in the meaning that there isn't any possible different read of that) is the missed YC in 48', beginning of second half, for a very clear holding. The rest of the cards were sound. 

In the last minutes of second half, after Sevilla scored the (winning) 3-2 goal, they tried to waste time. I think that the management by referee was absolutely okay in this case: he was aware, even before the start of additional time, he showed his clock to make clear that he would have recovered time. Adding six minutes was a strong signal. 


Conclusion (by Chefren)


What we can say is that Makkelie offered an at least expected level performance, in a very challenging context which nobody really expected. For sure there are some different points for improvement and the referee could have used a different (more rigorous) approach, with which there is no way of knowing what would have happened. The final analysis must be always made at final whistle. Second half gave some answers: Makkelie had successful evening. This was his first final and we can't compare him to other referees for style, but after having watched his performance we can say that this choice was fully justified. This assignment came at the right time for Danny Makkelie and he can be proud of his performance, which might well be a thesis to further achievements at the highest level.

Finally, as an admin team we would like to respond to what happened in the comments sanction during the Final. We would kindly ask our readers to remember that we are volunteers and we always try to offer the best quality service, and it is disappointing and quite demotivating to see comments that criticise our work. We try our best, especially Chefren who has led the blog since it's inception and deserves our gratitude for that! It is true that different readers have different ideologies for how they see refereeing - we would ask that you disagree agreeably, and just ignore comments that are purposefully antagonistic. 

Of course, as ever our thanks to the many respectful readers - contributors and silent readers alike. 

Have your say about Makkelie performance by voting the poll.

Your assessment about Makkelie performance in Europa League final Sevilla - Inter?
Excellent performance.
Very good performance. Important decisions correctly taken.
Good, expected level.
Satisfactory with small areas for improvement.
Satisfactory with important areas for improvement.
One clear and important mistake, otherwise expected level or above.
One clear and important mistake, otherwise satisfactory.
elow expectations, poor control, significant points for improvement.
Disappointing. Below expectation with one and clear important mistake or a performance with two or more clear and important mistakes.
Unacceptable performance.
Create Polls with PollMaker

27 comments:

  1. Somebody had asked a few days ago who was the referee in charge of Zamalek - Al Ahly today.
    Here the answer:
    https://www.kingfut.com/2020/08/20/croatian-referee-cairo-derby/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I want to thank Dr Emu a very powerful spell caster who help me to bring my husband back to me, few month ago i have a serious problem with my husband, to the extend that he left the house, and he started dating another woman and he stayed with the woman, i tried all i can to bring him back, but all my effort was useless until the day my friend came to my house and i told her every thing that had happened between me and my husband, then she told me of a powerful spell caster who help her when she was in the same problem I then contact Dr Emu and told him every thing and he told me not to worry my self again that my husband will come back to me after he has cast a spell on him, i thought it was a joke, after he had finish casting the spell, he told me that he had just finish casting the spell, to my greatest surprise within 48 hours, my husband really came back begging me to forgive him, if you need his help you can contact him with via email: Emutemple@gmail.com or add him up on his whatsapp +2347012841542 is willing to help any body that need his help. 

      Delete
  2. Thank you for your fantastic work, Chefren and Mikael. I like this blog a lot.

    ReplyDelete
  3. When will Nations League referees be announced?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It should be three days before the respective games, as it was for the previous edition.

      Delete
    2. who is the Orsato's referee observer

      Delete
    3. That’ll be Vlado Sajn

      Delete
    4. Predictions for NL MD1
      ITA-BIH: Soares Dias (POR) NED-POL: Hategan (ROU)
      ISL-ENG: Turpin (FRA) DEN-BEL: Aytekin (GER)
      POR-CRO: Karasev (RUS) SWE-FRA: Skomina (SVN)
      GER-ESP: Kuipers (NED) UKR-SUI: Sidiropoulos (GRE)

      NOR-AUT: Verissimo (POR) ROU-NIR: Ekberg (SWE)
      SCO-ISR: Mariani (ITA) SVK-CZE: Gil (POL)
      RUS-SRB: Lechner (AUT) TUR-HUN: Stieler (GER)
      BUL-IRL: Frankowski (POL) FIN-WAL: Hernandez (ESP)

      AZE-LUX: Karlsson (SWE) CYP-MNE: Siebert (GER)
      MKD-ARM: Massa (ITA) EST-GEO: Jorgji (ALB)
      MDA-KOS: Jaccottet (SUI) SVN-GRE: Bognar (HUN)
      BLR-ALB: Palabiyik (TUR) LTU-KAZ: Gözübüyük (NED)

      FAR-MLT: Walsh (SCO) LAT-AND: Kalkavan (TUR)
      GIB-SMR: Kominis (GRE)

      Delete
    5. Philipp S made a good prediction for NL MD1 but there I to many matches and names for me to predict :)
      I would go with Pihilipp S's prediction with some corrections:
      ITA-BIH; ISL-ENG, UKR-SUI - I think either new elite (Kovacs, Grinfield, Vinčić) or someone experienced from first category (Stieler, Siebert, Buquet, Bebek, Treimanis, Raczkowski, Massa, Guida, Ekberg).
      DEN-BEL - Denmark played Round of 16 at last World Cup, Belgium is Number 1 on FIFA list therefore I would go with "more safe hands" than Aytekin - e.g. Turpin, Makkelie, Marciniak maybe
      POR-CRO - I am not objective here since I am from Croatia and I would like to see top elite referee but I think Karasev is ok there, he showed some good performances in recent time.

      Delete
    6. I feel Aytekin is more than safe enough. I do feel, with Croatie as WC-finalist, and Portugal as winner of NL, that match needs a name like Makkelie.
      For Belgium-Denmark a name like Kovacs is fine by me.
      I hope that ESP-GER goes to a younger referee, like Oliver or Sidiropoulos.

      Delete
    7. Thanks for the feedback.
      ITA-BIH could indeed go to someone less experienced.
      In group A2, it would maybe be better to swap Aytekin and Turpin. I somehow remembered Iceland's EURO better than Denmark's WC and therefore considered ISL-ENG the bigger game -but that probably was wrong.
      UKR-SUI is an open match and on paper deciding for the relegation in that group, therefore I would stick with an experienced referee there.
      POR-CRO is certainly a rather big match for Karasev, but I felt, it would be good test for his readiness for top matches.
      In general, the Nations League can be a good opportunity to appoint referees above their current level to let them make the next step, because the competition is - at least IMO - less important than CL, EL and EURO/WC qualifiers.
      On the other hand, it also can provide international match fitness to the top referees before CL MD1.

      Delete
    8. I agree with the statement that Nations League is good opportunity to appoint referees above their current level. I remember in last edition Croatia-Spain was officiated by Kulbakov who was still first category at that moment, I was very very surprised.
      That is why I also hope young referees will get top clashes to get some experience and I agree with your idea of Karasev for Portugal-Croatia but considering what RikB said that that Portugal is winner of Nations League and Croatia World Cup finalist I think we will see Orsato, Lahoz, Brchy appointed there.
      In MD2 there is another interesting match for me, Croatia-France (last World cup finalists). I would go with Kuipers or Makkelie there but we will see....

      Delete
    9. Yes, but also CRO-FRA could be used as a challenge for someone. I was thinking of Gil Manzano for that game - he is on the WC pre-list and UEFA gave him CL R16, but he still needs to prove himself in top games.

      Delete
    10. I think is impossible for moment that Hategan and Kovacs to referee in Netherlands and Belgium. Because of travel restriction due to Covid 19. Hategan maybe in Portugal vs Croația and Kovacs in Bulgaria.

      Delete
    11. Travel restrictions are indeed a good point and might give some challenges to the UEFA adminstration - in finding solutions for the travels and in finding eligible referees for matches in critical reasons.

      Delete
  4. How many leagues stopped use VAR due to pandemic?

    ReplyDelete
  5. OT: Two excellent SFP calls by Clément Turpin yesterday without the need for VAR intervention.

    34' Rennes no.2 sent off
    https://streamable.com/cd5ql5

    43' Lille no.28 sent off
    https://streamable.com/388swe

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Indeed, excellent calls. Superb referee Turpin

      Delete
    2. The First Red Card ist clear, i agreed. But IMO the second is not a red Card. In German TV they meant that it is not even a foul. That's Very Strange, i agree. But what are the arguments for Red Card?

      Delete
    3. Scissor tackle.

      Delete
    4. UEFA are very clear about tackles like 43' - Red Card.

      Delete
    5. Both decisions are correct IMO, excellent calls by Turpin...

      Delete
  6. To give more visibility to a post from a previous discussion, thank to Unknown:

    Highlights

    Nicolas Laforge in Legia Warszawa (POL) v Linfield FC (NIR)
    https://ok.ru/video/2237145746028

    ReplyDelete
  7. Overall performance of Makkelie more than good in a very difficult match both technically and behaviorally. In my opinion didactically at minute 2.30 (penalty kick aworded to Inter for foul on Lukaku) it is DOGSO who deserves a red card for a non-genuine foul: there is no attempt to play the ball by the number 20 Sevilla, but in this context the decision to give the yellow is a positive management: following the spirit of the game, an even more evident DOGSO is needed. Makkelie certainly wasn't helped by the players and the Inter coach in the first 20 minutes, which were really very difficult. He gradually recovered and ended the race with good sensations. He is a referee with ample room for improvement by gaining experience in such contexts.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Moritz - you summed up UEFA's view better than I could!

      Indeed, as I said in the post, it's not a 'DOGSO+' which is needed nowadays, especially in a big final. But it remains a DOGSO in my view.

      Delete
    2. Well, it can be a clear goal scoring opportunity, because the attacker most likely could shoot from a good angle (~45°) in an arbitrary distance to the goal inside the penalty area before the other defenders could reach him. Probably he even had time to cut inside and shoot with his left leg from approx. the penalty spot. It's important, that the attacker had full control of the ball here.
      I agree about the rest though, that it has to be very clear in a final and probably many referees wouldn't have shown the RC here on UEFA level.

      Delete
  8. I was diagnosed of herpes virus, I have tried all possible means to get cure but all my effort proved abortive, until a friend of mine introduced me to a herbal doctor called Chief Dr Lucky, who prepare herbal medicine to cure all kind of diseases including herpes virus (Herpes), when i contacted this herbal doctor via his email, he sent me herpes virus herbal medicine via courier service, when i received the herbal medicine he gave me step by step instructions on how to apply it, when i applied it as instructed i was totally cured from the virus within 3 weeks of usage. Contact this great herbal doctor today to get your cure. 

    Visit website : https://chiefdrluckyherbaltherapy.wordpress.com/
    What's App number : +2348132777335 
    Via Email : chiefdrlucky@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for writing a comment on our blog!