Tuesday 15 February 2022

Champions League 2021/22 - Referee Appointments - Round of 16 (First Leg, I)

UEFA has chosen these officials to referee Tuesday's Round of 16 clashes that will kick off 2021/22 Champions League KO Stage. 



15 February 2022

21:00 CET - Paris (Parc des Princes)
Paris Saint-Germain FC (FRA) - Real Madrid CF (ESP)
Referee: Daniele Orsato (ITA)
Assistant Referee 1: Ciro Carbone (ITA)
Assistant Referee 2: Alessandro Giallatini (ITA)
Fourth Official: Daniele Chiffi (ITA)
Video Assistant Referee: Marco Di Bello (ITA)
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Massimiliano Irrati (ITA) 
UEFA Referee Observer: Lucílio Cardoso Cortez Batista (POR)
UEFA Delegate: Angelo Chetcuti (MLT)
UEFA Referee Liaison Officer: Claude Cauvet (FRA) 

21:00 CET - Lisbon (Estádio José Alvalade)
Sporting Clube de Portugal (POR) - Manchester City FC (ENG)
Referee: Srdjan Jovanović (SRB)  
Assistant Referee 1: Uroš Stojković (SRB)  
Assistant Referee 2: Milan Mihajlović (SRB)
Fourth Official: Novak Simović (SRB) 
Video Assistant Referee: Marco Fritz (GER)
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Harm Osmers (GER) 
UEFA Referee Observer: Björn Kuipers (NED)
UEFA Delegate: Per Eliasson (SWE)
UEFA Referee Liaison Officer: António José Almeida Marçal (POR)

102 comments:

  1. I think Jovanović is in a good light at UEFA. After Chelsea-Juve now he has Kuipers as Observer. Let`s see how will he deal with this pressure, even if the game itself should not be too difficult.

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  2. Surprised by jovanovic maybe we have a surprise candidate for World Cup?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. He could easily take the Support Referee place. But to see him as main referee, I think is a little bit too much, there are many (better) candidates. But maybe in 2026, why not.

      Delete
  3. The appointment of Jovanović, neo Elite, with Kuipers as observer, is something that I really like. Committee is looking for new trusted names for very big assignments, among Elite referee, it is clear. As first analysis after knowing these appointments, I can say that they are more open to wider choices than the previous years. We will see how it will continue: for sure a good path if you ask me.
    In Paris Orsato, not difficult to guess that he had a CL game after the appointment in serie A for him and his assistant referees. However, we see Carbone and not Preti along with Giallatini. Absolutely deserved for Carbone who was excellent in Milan's derby with Guida (two correct crucial calls). Irrati back from UAE will work only as AVAR, leaving the scene to Di Bello.

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  4. I already expected Jovanovic to make his KO debut after a few high profile games last year. He had been tested and must be ready. This game or the Bayern game are IMO very suitable for a debut, as those games are “on paper” not expected to be very tight. Good choice.

    Orsato, also an expected appointment. In my predications, I decided to swap Makkelie with Orsato, because I expect that Makkelie and Turpin won’t be used in such high profile games (as we discussed in one of the previous topics). So that was actually a good last minute swap :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello,
      what you do mean by saying: some referees won't be used in such high profile games? What's the reason for not use those referees?

      Delete
    2. It can be a strategy by committee to keep them "clean" and away from difficult games, because in case of discussions these appointments could cost the finals to them.

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    3. Thank you, Chefren.

      Delete
  5. Replies
    1. Appointed by federation to welcome and take charge of officals' team (refs and observers). Most of time former refs themselves and observers in their countries.

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  6. Good to see Orsato again. I'm pretty sure he will have a good game.

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  7. Peljto is far away better than Jovanovic but ok.

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    Replies
    1. What is the meaning in writing that? Why you should mention Peljto and not another referee? I don't understand, it is like you wrote nothing.
      I could write:
      "Orsato is far away better than Jovanovic but ok."
      So, why comparing these referees?

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    2. Rivalry between Serbia and Bosnia :)

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    3. I know, I wrote that to give him a different point of view...

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    4. Srdjan is worse in Serbia than Peljto in Bosnia. That's the point.

      Delete
  8. Ot:
    IMO, clear penalty not whistled in favour of Liverpool aroind 22nd minute, clearly Salah was tripped but no VAR intervention.

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    Replies
    1. Definitely a shout. I think Salah didn't go down directly and made one extra step, maybe that counted against him.

      Delete
  9. Germany

    Scene from yesterday's Bundesliga match SC Freiburg vs. FSV Mainz:
    https://www.veed.io/view/1e75d58a-55f4-4dc0-a65b-f67337df97d3
    Referee Deniz Aytekin allowed the goal, VAR Sascha Stegemann didn't intervene.
    However, the scorer was in an offside position, i. e. the goal shouldn't have been allowed.
    Still: https://ibb.co/xqSLcSJ
    In an interview after the match, Aytekin said:
    "The scene was checked detailedly and the offside position remained unnoticed. That's unpleasant but in the end human beings sit in front of the monitors with many different camera angles. Here, only the potential handling offence was checked. The offside infringement was overlooked. It's unpleasant, but the goal shouldn't have been allowed."

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    Replies
    1. Surprising that this comes from Stegemann, very often reported on this blog (if I remember correctly) as one of the best German VARs. But indeed mistakes can happen, when you give explanation this can surely help fans in understanding. The mistake is absolutely very serious. I wrote that in past on the blog: the work of VAR is very difficult especially when he is called for a kind of infringment and there can be another one "hidden" at first glance. I can remember the 2020 FIFA CWC final once again: VAR checked offside because AR had made a certain call, but they didn't see a handball...

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    2. Thats one of the reasons why I like Aytekin so much. After being wrong he clearly concerns that... And everyone is fine with it.

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    3. Aytekin has always been very approachable and open to discussions about match officiating in the Bundesliga, DFB Pokal on Sky Sports Germany plus kicker. It is very refreshing to see the honesty to help supporters understand. Stegemann is considered one of the best German VMO's and a little surprisingly he missed the offside during concurrent handball offenses. Like Chefren, happy to see people admit to their mistakes.

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    4. It is a bit strange to be honest: Internationally, Dingert and Stegemann are very appreciated VARs who work a lot in this role (or as AVAR). Nationally however, they both had a weak season as VARs, Dingert even very weak.

      Dingert was VAR in the heavily discussed opener Gladbach v. Bayern and then has not had any other match in first division yet. He had some games in second division as VAR (three in total) but there was a bad intervention in Bremen–Schalke (Matchday 14, I think we also discussed it here) and after that he has not been in charge of any other game as VAR domestically.
      Stegemann also had some controversial games as VAR that, however, have not been subject to prolonged criticism in German media (Mainz–Hertha, MD16). He has not always given the impression that he is a "safe appointment" as VAR. Yesterday's mistake somehow confirmed this impression.

      There seem to be some injuries around German referees (Stieler, Welz, Brand; Storks from the beginning of the season) so some referees will (again) work mainly as VAR. From my perspective, the VARs DFB very much rely on domestically, being strong VARs, are: Brand, Müller (2nd division referee who is injured for more than two seasons), Storks and Welz, maybe also Schröder. Then we can maybe add Guido Winkmann as a specialised VAR (19 matches in first division, 10 matches in second division).

      So, we have kind of a "gap" between national and international performances as VAR speaking about Stegemann and Dingert, not the case with Fritz and Dankert. Fritz and Dankert however are not so often used as VARs (3 and 4 matches in Bundesliga).

      Delete
  10. https://streamable.com/45gvqf
    Is the red card for this mistake justified? VAR did not intervene.

    Referee: Lawrence Visser (first category)
    VAR: Jasper Vergoote

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    Replies
    1. Hard to overturn IMO based on these two angles. Extended leg and studs up making contact over the opponent's ankle. Since the player is trying to kick the ball, the challenge is strong and with an important speed.

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    2. For me there is totally no intention to make a foul, or to injure the player, so far i can see in this unclear image, for me this is a legal balcontact, based on this images i would probably not even whistle, i think the referee must have had another view and saw something dangerous there!

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    3. Depends on the point of contact IMO. If it's on the foot or even on the front of the ankle, I think YC is better. If it's above the ankle then RC is fair.

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    4. Very dangerous challenge which IMO drew the correct response from Lawrence Visser. I know he missed a clear one at the U21 EURO (FRAISL game), but in general, detecting SFPs appears to be a real strength of his!

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  11. Maybe a Spanish user can told us if something special happened in Espanyol - Barcelona? 3 RCs and a last minute goal. It was a general fight or something? Alejandro Hernández Hernández was referee as I saw.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hernandez Hernandez correctly showed a double SYC (for Piqué and Ribaudo respectively) for a confrontation head to head, both being already booked previously. He then sent off an Espanyol's staff member for remonstration after the 2-2 goal has been scored.

      Delete
    2. Melamed (ESP 21) comitted a yellow card offense on Piqué (BAR 3) who was already booked; 10 seconds after the yellow, they clashed their heads and were both booked for the second time so they were sent off. Straight red were for Morlanes (ESP 8) (who had been subbed off due an injury) for something he said in the bench after the late equalizar by Barcelona.

      Video: https://streamff.com/v/27d1d9

      Delete
  12. 1.Slovenian League (Celje - Koper) - Referee was Rade Obrenovic [UEFA]

    Goal conceded.

    Is that correct, or is it offside?

    https://streamable.com/phhi7l



    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Surely that’s got to be offside for interfering with an opponent by obstructing the goalkeepers line of vision.

      It seems clear, and the additional movement from the striker to bend to prevent the ball from hitting him makes it even clearer!

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    2. From these images it’s not clear that the goalkeeper’s line of vision was obstructed at the moment the ball was shot on goal.

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    3. It has to be offside based on obstructing the view of the goalkeeper. More so with the non-active player having to bend over to to prevent being hit. This alone shows that the non-active player is obstructing view.

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    4. The beest replay to make an assessment about live of vision is missing there. Should be the one behind camera. I'm not 100% sure that keeper has his view obstructed at the moment of the shot, however about the movement he makes to allow the ball to pass, in my opinion this makes his position active and so punishable. More arguments in favor of annulling this goal, but a 100%, given the different interpretations of the rule is not possible. Would be 100% if keeper had his view obstructed at the exact moment of the shot, but as said it is not clear.

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    5. Agree with Chefren, it is not an offside offence for interfering with opponent by CLEARLY obstructing the opponent's line of vision, but rather for making an obvious action that impacts opponent's ability to play the ball (the attacker, standing close to the goalkeeper and GK area is making an obvious move once the ball is very close to him. Regardless of the fact that the attacker has no intention to play the ball, his move is the reason for which his offside position should be penalized)

      Delete
  13. An interesting situation with a comical own-goal disallowed by Ovidiu Hategan (FC Arges - CS Mioveni, Romanian Liga 1) :)

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Fx9_oe6HbQ

    I don't think I have ever seen this situation in professional football, apparently the reason why the goal didn't stand was that the ball was still bouncing when the goal-kick was executed.

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    Replies
    1. Yes bell in movement when keeper played it and I think, my perception, is that Hategan would have whistled in all cases, not only because a goal had been scored. Very particular, though.

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    2. I wanted initially also to share this moment but I changed my mind because the level of football in Romania is embarssing and I did not wanted to promote this.
      Good decision, nevertheless.

      Delete
  14. Anyone else thinks that Orsato has now reached the same level as the legend Pierluigi Collina?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No. Collina is unanimously considered the GOAT of referees. He is very respected by media and players as well like no one else. He is also the only referee who appeared on the cover of a video game. Nobody will reach ever (most probably) his level of popularity, sympathy and respect.
      After that comes Nicola Rizzoli, with a WC final. I like Orsato's style but let's not exagerate.

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    2. Collina and Rizzoli.

      There is one number one and Rizzoli is great Italy's number two, maybe best comparison is Jordan/Pippen. :)

      Delete
  15. Kuipers was excellent referee also and he could reach wc 2014 final unless Netherlands in semi finals

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  16. I watched the much-discussed Sporting vs. Porto match from last Friday night, handled by newly promoted UEFA 1st Cat, João Pinheiro [VAR: Godinho]. Here are the most significant moments clipped:

    1’ - management of the early minute(s)
    https://send.cm/d/8p66

    10’ - long silent check for a potential penalty to Porto
    https://send.cm/d/8p6F

    27’ - harsh caution to Sporting’s Coates
    https://send.cm/d/8p6E

    31’ - potential DOGSO foul incident; play on
    https://send.cm/d/8p67

    40’ - series of confrontations, management, sanctions
    https://send.cm/d/8p6D

    49’ - SYC after a holding foul by Coates; DOGSO?
    https://send.cm/d/8p6C

    78’ - challenge before Porto’s equalising goal
    https://send.cm/d/8p68

    82’ - tackle by Porto’s Vieira
    https://send.cm/d/8p6B

    87’ - gestures by Sporting’s Reis towards an opponent; sanction? [intervention?]
    https://send.cm/d/8p6A

    +97’ - very tense closing stages before huge confrontation(s) c.FT
    https://send.cm/d/8p69

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    Replies
    1. As I see it:

      1’ - Sometimes early cards can be a misfiring of precious munition for later on, but Pinheiro was spot on in booking(s) here, as he succeeded in securing the game and calming everyone down. In order to be PERFECT, a caution for a mobbing Sporting player would have been excellence, but by cautioning both the reckless charger and dissenting Porto staff member, he succeeded without doubt.

      10’ - In the three penalty appeals here (challenge then two potential handlings), I don’t really see anything close to illicit, so unless I missed sth, surprising that Luis Godinho took so long to clear this, unless it was used by the refs team as a tactical device to slow the match down.

      27’ - I think you can still make the case that Coates is fouling, not being fouled here, but a booking for him is too much IMO. Weird situation though and hard to perceive live on the FoP (I suspect many would have been fooled here, and this was a valuable time in the game too for the next card).

      31’ - Maybe even the defender’s arm across the attacker is actually decisive in him not reaching the ball(!), but especially given that the Sporting player can mostly carry on unhindered, better call is play on.

      40’ - Many incidents here!

      1) Replays support play on more than the live sequence does in this foul-after-the-shot scene;

      2) Pinheiro opts for verbal warnings not cards after this confrontation; wrong choice, didn’t calm anybody down, game still on edge;

      3) Excellent(!) reaction to Pepe’s striking offence, not VC but instant yellow card (no exc. force / brutality; chest not face), then very good reaction against players coming in, then also very good firm warning to the struck Reis (booking him for Simulation - Injury optimal, he was never hit even close to his face, but here would have just inflamed things more);

      4) Sensible reaction against a basically expedient corner tactic to order it retaken;

      5) Sporting player down with a head complaint; just seconds after he goes down, a simply expert call would be penalising a Porto attacker for a foot-up offence (supportable call, and irriates less than what was later a dropped ball);

      6) Very hectic dealing with a confrontation now, Pinheiro ushering Pepe away off the FoP, but it seems to basically work in avoiding any larger flair-up here;

      7) Still hectic and not good card showing procedure for the two confrontation cards; too often in such scenes referees surrender control of the player’s actions by this hectic card showing procedure (eg. Soares Dias in TURWAL; Barton in USAMEX; Rapallini’s five reds in Libertadores), look at Turpin in this stadium last December for an example of best practice and how to actually cool the match down as a referee in a hot moment!

      8) Pinheiro now sensibly tries to connect with both captains and tell them to calm their players; terrible unsporting attitude by them and all players in this scene, and you can’t really blame the ref for not really succeeding here;

      9) Caution to a Sporting staff member, off-camera but surely deserved helps the game calm a little bit;

      10) Play restarts without everyone really having calmed down, and HT comes at the right time for the officials.

      Delete
    2. 49’ - Clear DOGSO, should be a straight red, not a second yellow. However, in a Quiniou-in-1994’s-BRAUSA kind of way, I can understand why Pinheiro went for SYC here [and no intervention by Godinho]. To further underline the unsporting (no pun intended ;)) attitude of the players in this match, look how Coates decides to exit the FoP.

      78’ - 100% fair header; to disallow this goal would be a tragedy!

      82’ - For me, an excessive force tackle by Vieira and he should be ejected with a red card. However, in Pinheiro’s position, a caution only is sensible.

      87’ - Interesting theoretical question, especially about intervention, with this scene. Personally, I think it is better to turn a blind eye, and accept all player-player interactions without cards, short of sth like racism or blatantly ultra-offensive remarks / gestures. It doesn’t sit well with me that an opponent can say “c**t” or whatever, and then only the gesturing player will ever be sanctioned. Okay, you can say that the verbalist player is clever and the gesturing one an idiot, but I’d still stick to mostly giving the players a carte blanche in THIS regard. Also - do you think Godinho and team saw it at all?

      +97’ - Verrrryyy well-managed by Pinheiro to get to the final whistle without it kicking off. The whole injury scene was extremely delicate, and to get through it, show a (justified) red card to a Sporting staff member ‘quietly’, and get play restarted without any fighting was a miracle. I also like play on in the overhead kick scene - rarely for a ball at such a height, this time I think the Sporting player was quite justified in his actions, and Pepe was simply late. No IFK, and even if there is contact, a penalty would be quite unsatisfactory for me anyway.

      I’ll leave you to pick the bones out of the huge brawl after the final whistle :).


      Overall:

      I think Pinheiro comes out of this clash pretty well. He ascertained my previous impression that he will be UEFA Elite in the future - despite being very lanky, unlike say Aytekin/KM Nielsen, he is an excellent mover around the pitch - and his grasp of tactical approach, soft skills and so on is simply very good.

      In the first half, he used a mixture of cards, warnings and gestures really well in order to keep a tense atmosphere under control. He started panicking from 40’, but did enough to see the game to HT.

      The 2H was mostly quite calm after Coates’ ejection, the only real issue he had was Sporting’s DtR tactics, but he dealt with them quite fine. The game became tense after Porto’s equaliser, and while Pinheiro rode his luck a little bit, he should be praised for adept management of postponing what was an inevitable explosion until after the final whistle.

      Delete
    3. Is it just me for whom the audio isn't working on the send.cm clips? If not, you can download the clips (with audio :D) through this link:

      https://fromsmash.com/sportingportopinheiro

      Delete
  17. One referee told me he didn't want to know anything about the teams he was refereeing so as not to bias him. I would at least want to know what type of match to expect and how the previous match betwen the two teams went, if they played recently. What are elite referees trained to look at coming into matches like tonight? PSG's home crowd was insanely energetic when they played Man City, and I think we could assume the same tonight. Ramos will be missing, but do you think Orsato is preparing for a very physical match? If yes, how might he choose to manage it? Read the atmosphere early on and adjust accordingly by calling a tight match if warranted? I'm reminded of the perhaps surprisngly intense (for it not being an established tournament) Nations League Italy-Spain semi-final that seemed to overwhelm Karasev a bit.

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  18. Regular goal in Lisbon, VAR should overrule the wrong flag by AR1.

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  19. The game's difficulty increased suprinsingly after 35'. The YC for Veratti I think is wrong. Need one more replay, anyway.

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  20. Intense minutes for Orsato now.
    First, booking for Casemiro well derserved (maybe even a RC possible)
    Only seconds later he missed a (for me) crystal clear YC against Asensio. He decides not to book a Real player again but gives equality with a (in comparison) rather harsh YC against Verrati.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, I would like to see replays for both YC. I would like to see severity of contact in YC for Asensio, as PSG player seemed to fall in a a very exaggerated manner after contact.

      Delete
    2. In the replay, I saw that Asensio actually tried not to hurt his opponent. So it is understandable why Orsato chosed not to show another YC.

      Delete
  21. Absolutely no game in Lisbon, for second leg we could even see a Cat. 1, I think. Good choice by committee to appoint a new Elite referee.
    A pity that first goal was a mistake by AR1.

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  22. I must say that Orsato didn't leave a positive impression in 1H.
    He was absolutely unchallenged in the first 35 minutes, the game was very clean (only 3-4 fouls).

    Then the first borderline challenge occured from Casemiro. While he IMO quite correclty carded him (I can imagine some refs in Elite go with verbal warning, although I think YC is better), he didn't booked Asensio for a similar YC-deserving foul, then wrongly cautioned Verratti in my eyes, at least it was very soft (tactical choice to balance cards ?)

    He must be careful in 2H because he got the proof that this game can heat up anytime, his disciplinary choices rather inflamed the match, I believe.

    ReplyDelete
  23. I would really like to see a penalty (and red card) given for such desperate pushing like in 18'. The attacking player is clearly impeded by such an unfair action and his shot suffers in quality.

    Orsato, as we know, adapted a very high threshold for a free kick being given and it's OK, especially in such a game, but you need to be consistent. In 24' a very soft free kick for a foul 'in attack' was given and subsequent kicking the ball away as a dissent not punished.

    The game has become more intense after this incident. The yellow card to Casemiro could have been a straight red as well. But supporting the referee's decision is fully according to UEFA's line (I think the behaviour would be assessed as '8' in RAP).

    The yellow card to Verratti was clearly wrong, I think we can all agree with that.

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  24. Second VAR intervention in Lisbon, this time to disallow a goal scored by City, mistake by AR2, missed offside. Kuipers will have to say something only to assistant referees after this game...

    ReplyDelete
  25. Another questionable YC by Orsato, Mendy clearly got the ball.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If you look closely, Mendy then stamps his opponent's ankle.
      I think YC is the correct choice.

      Delete
    2. YC correct for me, despite playing the ball.

      Delete
  26. Penalty is expected but he clearly fell before contact...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Exactly what I was thinking! You have to give penalty here but strikers tend to fall before there’s a contact quite often.

      Delete
  27. Come on, all the yellows cards in the second half an the penalty were very clear.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's clear when a player falls before contact? Okay... The contact was clear, but the fall happened before it.

      Delete
    2. I undertsand your point of view but its impossible not to whistle penalty in this action i thought.

      Delete
  28. Orsato is IMO showing why I consider him overrated. Not really bad, but for my surely not Elite Elite either for my taste.....

    ReplyDelete
  29. Did Verrati get kicked in the foot after he played the ball? He was lying on the ground, the defender kicked his foot instead of the ball? Around 65' Minute.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. TV replays didn't showed any evidence of contact in the situation you mentioned, maybe a slight touch in the movement but nothing conclusive nor evident.

      Delete
    2. I thought there was a very good replay (slow motion with visible contact). I will link it if I finde it.

      Delete
  30. 73' free kick to Neymar at top of RM penalty box, but RM player appeared to get the ball first.

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  31. Orsato is not running anything, always bothering the players.

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  32. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    Replies
    1. It was not a difficult game because he made it not difficult by timely cautioning the players and preventing any escalation. I am shocked that football people cannot understand how simple it is.

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    2. I’m shocked that some readers seem to think it’s easy to manage a top flight game like this in the first place (and only by waiving a couple of cards).

      Delete
    3. Rude comment. What did I said? It was not a bad performance - so a good enough one. But if you see this as a world class performance I disagree. There were several mistakes, the most important the wrong YC to Veratti. Anyway, Rosetti can be satisfied with Orsato after the game. I regret I deleted my comment, I thought I said something wrong but I realise now that it was nothing more than a pertinent opinion.
      And please, stop the Anonymous posts. Make an account, it is so simple.

      Delete
  33. Reading the comments now, I am really glad that (most) of you are not international referees. I must say that we have witnessed an absolute masterclass by Orsato. We all agree that PSG is maybe the most difficult team to manage in Europe and still Orsato didn't have any problems and was largely accepted and respected by the players, the fens at the stadium and actually all the football people around the world. I definately cannot say the same about any referee who has refereed a game of PSG in the phase of the direct eliminations. I clearly remember the strugles of the so much loved by the majority of you Kuipers and Makkelie who usually had nightmares when managing such teams. For me now it is more than obvious that a lot of the people who are writing here have their own agenda - to support certain referees at any cost and not to acknowledge others. On a more technical note: today we have seen how much easier is for the referees when they are using their cards according to the Laws of the Game and not follow stupid and suspicious orders.

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    Replies
    1. Please elaborate on the ‘nightmares’ of Kuipers and especially Makkelie while managing such teams? And concrete substantiation would be nice for the sake of your message. Otherwise the ‘agenda’ you mentioned is actually yours…
      Apart from that I think Orsato did well today, the Verratti YC being a mistake of course.

      Delete
  34. IMO very well Orsato tonight.

    ReplyDelete
  35. Orsato started the second half sensibly. Quiet but visible warning after (reckless?) tackle in 47' - advantage played and then YC to Éder Militão for careless-reckless challenge in 51'.

    57' - Correct and well spotted YC to Mendy for reckless-SFP follow-through step on ankle.

    61' - Supportable/correct PK for tripping/kicking although the attacking player seems to fall even before the blatant contact.

    62' - Correct YC to Danilo Pereira for reckless SPA challenge.

    64' - Supportable no sanction after late kick close to benches and good, respectful warning for mobbing to RMA's coach.

    65' - Strong penalty appeal by PSG - Verratti clearly and strongly kicked in the leg after playing the ball. For me, it's a missed intervention -> penalty to be issued, no card needed because the contact was somehow unevitable (referees are instructed to lower the sanction from SFP to reckless and from reckless to careless in such cases).

    74', 81' - Doubtful FKs awarded, not in line with overall leniency.

    83' - Conflict between players and mass confrontation ended with YCs to Kimpembe and Rodrygo. No good replays.

    90' - Supportable YC to Leandro Paredes (no good replay).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. In general, a good, expected level performance with full control in a game involving many potential trouble-makers. Everybody accepted (or feared ;)) Orsato and he had no issues with any of the players.

      His general use of high threshold for a FK being given and ability to play an advantage in not so obvious situations made the game very fluent and players were accepting such style of refereeing as well. Point for consideration is to be consistent with the adapted line (24', 74', 81').

      Orsato found himself in the way of players/passes on several occasions (most visibly in 74') but that was not a big issue in this particular game. We have to add though that the game was very one-sided so the Italian was less challenged by sprints and changing direction of movements than expected.

      The only situation I have problem with is the lack of penalty for a (imo, blatant) foul on Verratti in 65'. I can't find any argument for no intervention as this is a clear foul everywhere outside the penalty area.

      Delete
    2. Orsato is a true leader on the field and players respect him. Communication and body language are effective.

      Delete
    3. I agree with you on the penalty at 65'! VAR should intervene.

      Delete
  36. All video clips from PSGRMA can be find here:
    https://we.tl/t-MD0VMFwsBR

    The biggest incidents:

    18' - PAI: DOGSO-pushing
    https://streamable.com/j6sy4z

    37' - YC after grabbing an opponent by throat
    https://streamable.com/q9xo0d

    57' - Reckless-SFP follow-through step on ankle
    https://streamable.com/d993vt

    60' - PK after tripping
    https://streamable.com/2uefrw

    65' - PAI: kicking
    https://streamable.com/8gqkv7

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Streamable clips didn't work for me, as is often the case, but the WeTransfer ones did. For the 65' possible PK, I feel that the PK wasn't called because the PSG player was playing the ball while laying down. Law 12 states "PLAYING IN A DANGEROUS MANNER

      Playing in a dangerous manner is any action that, while trying to play the ball, threatens injury to someone (including the player themself) and includes preventing a nearby opponent from playing the ball for fear of injury." So the PSG player was, one could argue, threatening injury to himself by playing the ball while laying down on the ground.

      Delete
    2. Interesting point about 65', I didn't think about it that way. Could be an explenation why VAR didnt intervene. But I dont agree with it.

      Delete
  37. Orsato was decent. Well respected, full control and I liked the higher line of physical play he tried to apply.

    Who do you guys expect for the 2nd leg?




    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well, Makkelie and Taylor are the obvious candidates, I think.
      I rather expect Taylor in Madrid, because there are other matches, where Makkelie is available and Taylor isn't (+ Makkelie might be protected as speculated before).

      Delete
    2. I see Siebert for the second leg.

      Delete
    3. No way will it go siebert! Taylor makkelie or soar dias my guess!

      Delete
  38. My opinions about Orsato performance key incidents (thank Euro Soccer Referee for the clips):

    18' In my opinion as overall perception not enough for a penalty and a whistle would have been quite surprising, but analyzing the situation in particular, I indeed think that the defender was very clever here in impeding the opponent without being too much noticed by referee. Still not a crucial mistake, though.

    37' Very close to RC, here in my opinion for a 100% red card you must have the proof that in addition to gesture, player used a certain force while touching the throat, difficult to say, but basically VAR wouldn't have intervened in case of RC and maybe committee would have liked it because the gesture must be strongly condemned.

    57' Here Orsato looked very annoyed, this is sometimes his attitude that I don't like, he seems to be bored to referee, he would like to see players immediately accepting his decisions, this is not always possible, YC can be OK, there aren't criteria for VAR to say it was 100% RC for SFP, but this chice wouldn't have been, in case, corrected. The intensity of the touch with studs up is not significant and most of the contact is something similar to a step on foot. Also, in any case a very hard RC to spot live, if one wants too give it.

    60' Clear contact with opponent, no ball, but attacker already falling, this reminds a penalty whistled in 2021 AFCON, I don't remember the game, also in that case player was already falling but then contact happened. Penalty in such situation must be the choice, because explaining a simulation would be impossible to players. Also, impossible to detect if you ask me. The touch seems to be indeed without any influence for attacker, but we must start to think that already hitting an opponent in some circumstances is already enough for detecting a penalty. Risky action by defender.

    65' Here, I must admit, looking for arguments in supporting no foul, I'm in trouble. There isn't any rule that states a player lying on ground is in a particular situation while trying to play ball, so given that the action on ball by attacker is fair and then after that he is clearly hit by opponent, a penalty should be whistled in my opinion. Also, I see that this situation is objective, no room for discussion, intensity, so a VAR intervention could have been expected. I think Di Bello did a mistake there and I also think Irrati, who was AVAR, would have intervened. Orsato missed it due to Verratti's particular position, that's surely the reason, but for me penalty.

    The YC to Verratti in first half a mistake for me as well, in addition some wrong free kicks and positioning problems. My mark for this performance in UEFA scale would be 7.9 (8.3). Basically good, but clearly point for improvement, difficult game, but he could have done better.

    ReplyDelete
  39. Considering how much UEFA detests soft penalties, I would be very surprised if the slight contact on Verratti's sole was deemed punishable. Overall a good performance by Orsato, despite the usual physical problems: nobody will talk about him after the match, Rosetti can be satisfied.

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  40. Always stupid rumors from the side that didn't accept the defeeat, not even worthy of being linked, sorry. Be sure that Orsato is not a referee you can influence. His reaction, if what is reported is true (but mostly, everything is invented), can be something like a big smile right in front of them.

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  41. If it happened in front of the UEFA people, as mentioned in the article, that should have consequences.

    By the way, anyone noticed that Ancelotti approached Orsato during the game and again at the end, on the field, right after the final whistle?

    ReplyDelete
  42. Ancelotti has known Orsato for years, as they are both Italian. A few years ago, when he was Napoli coach, Ancelotti said to Rizzoli during a meeting between him, journalists and coaches: "In my opinion it's the referee who has to decide the matches. I will tell you more, I know for sure that Rocchi and Orsato referee matches. Other referees with less experience are more conditioned by Var". Orsato is a hard-headed mountain man, with thirty years of experience and who has also been protected by the police because of numerous death threats against him and his family in 2018: I don't think he is so easily influenced...

    ReplyDelete
  43. Refereeing clips from Sporting CP - Manchester City handled by Srđan Jovanović

    https://we.tl/t-Y42hWr9U2m

    ReplyDelete

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