2023/24 UEFA Europa League Group Stage Matchday 6, referee appointments.
Thursday 14 December 2023
Group E
18:45 CET - Brussels (Lotto Park)
Royale Union Saint-Gilloise (BEL) - Liverpool FC (ENG)
Referee: Orel Grinfeld ISR
Assistant Referee 1: Roi Hassan ISR
Assistant Referee 2: Idan Yarkoni ISR
Fourth Official: Gal Leibovitz ISR
Video Assistant Referee: Ziv Adler ISR
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Roi Reinshreiber ISR
UEFA Referee Observer: Kóstas Kapitanís CYP
UEFA Delegate: Patricia González García ESP
Group E
18:45 CET - Linz (Raiffeisen Arena)
LASK Linz (AUT) - Toulouse FC (FRA)
Referee: Fabio Maresca ITA
Assistant Referee 1: Giorgio Peretti ITA
Assistant Referee 2: Marco Bresmes ITA
Fourth Official: Matteo Marcenaro ITA
Video Assistant Referee: Daniele Chiffi ITA
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Gianluca Aureliano ITA
UEFA Referee Observer: Goran Mihaljević MNE
UEFA Delegate: Ivan Lekov BUL
Group F
18:45 CET - Rennes (Roazhon Park)
Stade Rennais FC (FRA) - Villarreal CF (ESP)
Referee: Atilla Karaoğlan TUR
Assistant Referee 1: Ceyhun Sesigüzel TUR
Assistant Referee 2: Cevdet Kömürcüoğlu TUR
Fourth Official: Çağdaş Altay TUR
Video Assistant Referee: Massimiliano Irrati ITA
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Paolo Valeri ITA
UEFA Referee Observer: Nicola Rizzoli ITA
UEFA Delegate: Jan Kořínek CZE
Group F
18:45 CET - Athens (Stádio Apóstolos Nikolaḯdis)
Panathinaïkós AO (GRE) - Maccabi Haifa FC (ISR)
Referee: Georgi Kabakov BUL
Assistant Referee 1: Martin Margaritov BUL
Assistant Referee 2: Diyan Valkov BUL
Fourth Official: Radoslav Gidzhenov BUL
Video Assistant Referee: Dragomir Draganov BUL
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Ivaylo Stoyanov BUL
UEFA Referee Observer: William Young SCO
UEFA Delegate: Tarik Shamel ENG
Group G
18:45 CET - Rome (Stadio Olimpico)
AS Roma (ITA) - FC Sheriff Tiraspol (MDA)
Referee: Jérôme Brisard FRA
Assistant Referee 1: Nicolas Danos FRA
Assistant Referee 2: Aurélien Drouet FRA
Fourth Official: Jérémy Stinat FRA
Video Assistant Referee: Benoît Millot FRA
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Rob Dieperink NED
UEFA Referee Observer: Karen Nalbandyan ARM
UEFA Delegate: Pat Duffy IRL
Group G
18:45 CET - Prague (Fortuna Arena)
SK Slavia Praha (CZE) - Servette FC (SUI)
Referee: Nicolas Walsh SCO
Assistant Referee 1: Graeme Stewart SCO
Assistant Referee 2: Calum Spence SCO
Fourth Official: Christopher Graham SCO
Video Assistant Referee: Christopher Kavanagh ENG
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Donald Robertson SCO
UEFA Referee Observer: Geórgios Bíkas GRE
UEFA Delegate: Boryana Stoycheva BUL
Group H
18:45 CET - Leverkusen (BayArena)
Bayer 04 Leverkusen (GER) - Molde FK (NOR)
Referee: Robert Jones ENG
Assistant Referee 1: Neil Davies ENG
Assistant Referee 2: James Mainwaring ENG
Fourth Official: Thomas Bramall ENG
Video Assistant Referee: David Coote ENG
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Dennis Johan Higler NED
UEFA Referee Observer: Björn Kuipers NED
UEFA Delegate: Diana Bulgaru MDA
Group H
18:45 CET - Baku (Tofiq Bəhramov adına Respublika Stadionu)
Qarabağ FK (AZE) - BK Häcken (SWE)
Referee: Juxhin Xhaja ALB
Assistant Referee 1: Dojando Myftari ALB
Assistant Referee 2: Rejdi Avdo ALB
Fourth Official: Olsion Yzeiraj ALB
Video Assistant Referee: Luca Pairetto ITA
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Valerio Marini ITA
UEFA Referee Observer: Alan Mario Sant MLT
UEFA Delegate: Vakhtang Bzikadze GEO
Grou A
21:00 CET - London (London Stadium)
West Ham United FC (ENG) - SC Freiburg (GER)
Referee: João Pedro da Silva Pinheiro POR
Assistant Referee 1: Bruno Miguel Alves de Jesus POR
Assistant Referee 2: Luciano António Gomes da Maia POR
Fourth Official: João António Ferreira Gonçalves POR
Video Assistant Referee: Tiago Bruno Lopes Martins POR
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Nejc Kajtazovič SVN
UEFA Referee Observer: Martin Hansson SWE
UEFA Delegate: Emmanuelle Puttaert BEL
Group A
21:00 CET - Piraeus (Stádio Geórgios Karaïskákis)
Olymbiakós SFP (GRE) - FK TSC Bačka Topola (SRB)
Referee: Morten Krogh Hansen DEN
Assistant Referee 1: Dennis René Wollenberg Rasmussen DEN
Assistant Referee 2: Steffen Beck Bramsen DEN
Fourth Official: Peter Kjærsgaard DEN
Video Assistant Referee: Maurizio Mariani ITA
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Daniele Doveri ITA
UEFA Referee Observer: Augustus Viorel Constantin ROU
UEFA Delegate: Michal Valtr CZE
Group B
21:00 CET - Amsterdam (Johan Cruijff ArenA)
AFC Ajax (NED) - AEK Athens FC (GRE)
Referee: Craig Pawson ENG
Assistant Referee 1: Simon Bennett ENG
Assistant Referee 2: Lee Betts ENG
Fourth Official: Darren England ENG
Video Assistant Referee: Fedayi San SUI
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Marco Fritz GER
UEFA Referee Observer: Antonio Damato ITA
UEFA Delegate: Per Svärd SWE
Group B
21:00 CET - Brighton (American Express Stadium)
Brighton & Hove Albion FC (ENG) - Olympique de Marseille (FRA)
Referee: José María Sánchez Martínez ESP
Assistant Referee 1: Raúl Cabañero Martínez ESP
Assistant Referee 2: Iñigo Prieto López de Ceraín ESP
Fourth Official: Alejandro Muñiz Ruiz ESP
Video Assistant Referee: Juan Martínez Munuera ESP
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Christian Dingert GER
UEFA Referee Observer: Markus Strömbergsson SWE
UEFA Delegate: MLT
Group C
21:00 CET - Seville (Estadio Benito Villamarín)
Real Betis Balompié (ESP) - Rangers FC (SCO)
Referee: Srđan Jovanović SRB
Assistant Referee 1: Uroš Stojković SRB
Assistant Referee 2: Milan Mihajlović SRB
Fourth Official: Novak Simović SRB
Video Assistant Referee: Pol van Boekel NED
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Clay Ruperti NED
UEFA Referee Observer: Uno Tutk EST
UEFA Delegate: René Siegrist SUI
Group C
21:00 CET - Limassol (Alphamega Stadium)
Áris Lemesoú (CYP) - AC Sparta Praha (CZE)
Referee: Harm Osmers GER
Assistant Referee 1: Eduard Beitinger GER
Assistant Referee 2: Dominik Schaal GER
Fourth Official: Tobias Reichel GER
Video Assistant Referee: Benjamin Brand GER
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Robert Schröder GER
UEFA Referee Observer: Michael Riley ENG
UEFA Delegate: Aliaksandr Aliejnik BLR
Group D
21:00 CET - Lisbon (Estádio José Alvalade)
Sporting CP (POR) - SK Sturm Graz (AUT)
Referee: William Collum SCO
Assistant Referee 1: Francis Connor SCO
Assistant Referee 2: David McGeachie SCO
Fourth Official: Kevin Clancy SCO
Video Assistant Referee: Stuart Attwell ENG
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Cătălin Sorin Popa ROU
UEFA Referee Observer: René Temmink NED
UEFA Delegate: Kari Haapiainen FIN
Group D
21:00 CET - Sosnowiec (ArcelorMittal Park)
RKS Raków Częstochowa (POL) - Atalanta BC (ITA)
Referee: Enea Jorgji ALB
Assistant Referee 1: Denis Rexha ALB
Assistant Referee 2: Ridiger Çokaj ALB
Fourth Official: Florian Lata ALB
Video Assistant Referee: Carlos del Cerro Grande ESP
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Guillermo Cuadra Fernández ESP
UEFA Referee Observer: Marián Ružbarský SVK
UEFA Delegate: Florin Prunea ROU
So after Sozza last round now we also have Rob Jones making an appearence in front of a committee member in his first year as FIFA referee. I must say that I'm not so impressed with the latter as others are, I think he's a good but nothing more referee with some good management skills but rather average foul detection. From the new FIFA referees from England this year, I actually prefer John Brooks.
ReplyDeleteNo appointment at all for Gil Manzano after Ukraine - Italy.
ReplyDeleteVery big signal that for committee it was clear penalty.
So now after this mistake, one could even say what about his position in regard to EURO, if the mistake was likely decisive for the qualification of a team? Again, let me say, if it had been the contrary, can't imagine what would have happened. I want to show respect to Ukraine because at the end they were quite fair in accepting this decision. Italy would have "mobbed" UEFA every day!
But of course most important thing now for Rosetti & Co. is to wait and see whether Ukraine will qualify for the tournament. I think they are praying for that at moment... in case of Ukraine at EURO, Gil Manzano would be less in the spotlight, but still, very difficult, if you ask me, to see him in important games in EURO's KO stage (at least based on this assessment by committee, at moment).
In this set for EL MD6 it is nice to see Grinfeld and Jovanovic, finally some appointments for them. Atilla Karaoğlan continues his estraordinary journey, but now all my thoughts regarding Turkey are with Halil Umut Meler. Hopefully he will recover soon and he will be back in refereeing. Would be nice to organize something for him by his UEFA colleagues, maybe Rosetti is thinking about that.
I wish the same for Halil Umut Meler. After satisfactory U17 WC, Atilla Karaoğlan had a poor Istanbul derby (Beşiktaş-Fenerbahçe) on Saturday. I hope he improves and he will have a good game in France. Definitely he will be promoted to Cat 1 in the new year.
DeleteJorgji again with Rakow after that big mistake in Lisbon against Sporting due to VAR. Why?
ReplyDeleteYes I wanted to point out that as well, incredible assignment, of course no problem about referee, but with so many options, again with the same team in this group? One can't believe this management. Maybe they even forgot he had already officiated the Polish club.
DeleteThat's indeed very strange.
DeleteI could not believe they don't have an excel file with previous matches for all referees :) Send them my contact if needed I can provide it LOL
DeleteNo games on MD5/6 for Rumsas, Mariani and Petrescu among those, who had CL this season.
ReplyDeleteNo Manzano after the Italy vs Ukraine incident, but the VAR Munuera gets appointment. How can it be explained?
ReplyDeleteThat is strange indeed. If we suppose that UEFA considered it a clear penalty: who is at fault here? Gil Manzano can make a wrong assessment on the pitch, but then, can't we blame the VAR as well? Or can VAR hide himself behind the 'clear and obvious' criterium? I think tripping is a very objective criteria (just like a step on foot), but that aside.
DeleteI guess Gil Manzano is being 'punished' or 'protected' (whatever you want to call it) with a conference league assignment, because most of the attention in media was focused on him. But I don't like this policy. IMO they have to make decisions based on whether the call was right/wrong, not based on media attention. If a referee makes a good decision, they should support him. If the decision is wrong, better to not appoint him in the highest leagues, but the same should apply to the VAR. If they punish Gil Manzano, they should punish Munuera as well. They are a team.
Perfect explanation, with this management they don't even want to make clear whether penalty was correct or not, because otherwise VAR should have got same treatment as well, they do such appointments just because of media attention and nothing else, it is unclear howe they assess incident, and they always go on with this strategy.
DeleteNevertheless, my opinion is still what you described with "VAR hide himself behind the 'clear and obvious' criterium". It seems Gil Manzano paid more, but if clear penalty foir them there should have been more logical consequences. That's what doesn't work here, glad that somebody noticed!
Hm, but no CL game for Martinez on MD5 and MD6 is already a clear consequence/punishment, I think. I mean, he was one of the top UEFA VARs with 12 CL games last season.
DeleteI don't think that an EL game with minor importance changes that a lot.
Exactly. They are one team, and they have one task.
DeleteUEFA makes decisions based on media attention, hence they create a weird HR-climate (perhaps without even realising it?)
Some examples:
- Referee A makes decisions in line with the LOTG and current UEFA guidelines. Club X disagrees with a decision. The president of this club X abuses the referee after the match. UEFA: appoints the referee in Conference League.
- Referee B makes decisions in line with LOTG and guidelines. The coach of the losing side (Italian club) threatens the referee in the media -> Mourinho style. UEFA: the referee won't get a next appointment soon and the referee can't officiate Italian teams for a while.
- Referee C did not whistle a clear penalty when >90% of the football watchers expected a penalty. His VAR does not make an intervention (Van Boekel style), hiding behind the clear & obvious criterium. UEFA: assigns referee C in Conference League and appoints VAR in Champions League again.
- Referee D whistled an extremely soft penalty, which was rather initiated by the attacker himself. VAR does not make an intervention - hiding behind the clear & obvious criterium. One club is not happy. UEFA: appoints the referee in Conference League and assigns VAR in Champions league again.
They are so inconsistent. A referee should be supported after good decisions, otherwise they give the club a "license" to ruin a referees' career. And some VAR's appear to be untouchable...
7,9s and simultaneous correct non-interventions exist(ed) in UEFA refereeing. I'm sure everybody remembers the famous such case at the last EURO.
DeleteTo be fair my opinion also is that Gil Manzano should have given the penalty but Martínez Munuera was correct, or at least justified, not to intervene.
The explanation that Gil Manzano is not there is in my opinion not that difficult.....Gil Manzano is the HEAD of his team, he is the one responsible for his team, not the VAR, so iff there are any faults made by team Gil Manzano, he is the one to blame, and in this case Gil Manzano shoud say to Martinez..... he you..... one more stupid mistake and you are not any more in my team, because your faults/mistakes give me less matches!
DeleteJones being observed by kuipers surely a very good sign for the English man
ReplyDeleteRebecca Welch to referee a Premier league game. Fulham vs Burnley
ReplyDeletewith Oliver's AR
DeleteOT: I was wondering since Monday what it has to do with Soares Dias quite particular appointments.
ReplyDelete3x big CL games, but rather football focussed teams, not so much hot clashes. And 2x EURO Qualifiers with Easter European Teams, but rather Matches not present in the media. Add to that him being observed by Dalls and Vassaras in CL without an explaining appointment following.
Could it be that Soares Dias is planned to attend Copa America? Most people on this blog are rather talking about a No.2 from a big federation (Sanchez Martinez, Letexier, Massa) but Soares Dias would probably fit the calibre for Copa America. Experienced Elite, safe within EURO ranks and with enough good matches in his CV, but also not that big that you dont wanna "sacrifice" him from the EURO. Plus his language would work well in the COPA.
Just me trying to make something of his very particular appointments.
Now that you mention it, yes, this seems very possible. If CONMEBOL will sent a top referee, it was a photo about Sampaio attending a preparatory course some time ago, it is fair to get in exchange a very good referee from UEFA. Sure, not Top 5 like Sampaio is for CONMEBOL but UCL semifinal is a strong argument.
DeleteCorrect PK + YC for Villarreal for a stamp by Karaoglan.
ReplyDeleteThen a wrong YC for goalscorer because he misunderstood the goal celebration he always does to the camera (for his daughters) as a provocation towards the home crowd 😅
And then OFR, a bit unclear for me...
DeleteThe penalty:
Deletehttps://streamin.me/v/b1e9c47b
Later on, I think that the OFR was for a possible RC for violent conduct during the mass confrontation, but it must be rewatched.
Very easy game in Leverkusen. Jones with a good style, always close to the plays and has very good field presence. I would like to see him in a more challenging game and if he performs well, he is a name to consider for the future.
ReplyDeleteQarabağ FK (AZE) - BK Häcken (SWE), straight RC after OFR for SFP.
ReplyDeleteCorrect call by VAR.
https://streamin.me/v/27184764
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DeleteIncredible end in Rennes. Disallowed goal (I didn't understand whether it was from field referees or VAR) for a double touch following a free kick kicked on the post. The same player then returned in possession of the ball. VAR showed that goal had been disallowed for offside in the information, indeed there isn't any particular specification about that, of course the Italian commentator, and I would say many also from other countries :D, didn't understand the reason, looking for the punished offside, without finding it.
ReplyDeleteQuite chaotic game for the Turkish today, I would say.
EXCELLENT call by Irrati to disallow the last-minute equalizer for Rennes because the player who kicked the free kick touched again the ball after this went on the crossbar, without any further touch by other players. Spot-on by the Italian Crew. Not the highest degree of concentration by Karaoglan.
ReplyDeleteSurely on field team have to see that?
DeleteIt was var for sure. On field decision was goal. The confusion came from the var graphic saying offside. Probably a combination of the person running the graphics seeing the ref give an IDFK and no one ever expecting that a double touch graphic would be needed.
DeleteIs VAR even allowed to intervene on double touches from a free kick?
DeleteProbably yes since a goal was scored because of it @David.
DeleteI am confident that Atilla Karaoglan will make his CL debut next year.
ReplyDeleteWith the background he has and the situation with Meler, I won't be surprised.
DeleteJose Sanchez style is frustrating. Today he seems indecisive and doesn’t let the game flow
ReplyDeleteMaybe I'm tired and I'm not seeing well, but I see Jovanovic overweight?
ReplyDeleteYou are not seeing well :D
DeleteI think it's just that the uniform is a little tight :) Don't listen to me
DeleteRangers player claiming he was poked in the eye. Would need to see it again but one angle looked quite bad for the Betis player
ReplyDeleteSlightly unusual situation in Seville. Goal disallowed for offside. Was onside but still disallowed for handball. Jovanovic did the VAR signal which confused some when signalling the handball
ReplyDeleteIncorrect restart now by Jovanovic. Betis had possession when play was stopped but he dropped it to Rangers at the restart
ReplyDeleteMinute to minute report with Ecosse :D
DeleteNo crucial mistake but Sanchez not good tonight. Summed up by decision in 90+3, not clear which team’s free kick it was at all
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteI saw a very fussy referee (especially at the end). I'm talking about the very soft fouls, insisting upon free kicks being taken from the EXACT spot. Little/no communication with players. A very 'get in there and get out' job, one that must frustrate players.
He won't be talked about in terms of the result, and as you say no crucial mistakes so overall the performance was fine, but he's not someone I can imagine handling the top UEFA games.
We can say that Sanchez had Treimanis' like night.
ReplyDeleteForgive everything, be lenient and last 15 minutes change criterium and punish everything.
To be honest, I didn't like Jovanovic/Van Boekel's management at all.
ReplyDeleteSanctions announced by TFF:
ReplyDeleteFaruk Koca: lifetime ban
Ankaragucu: 5 home games without any fans
Ankaragucu: £54,000 fine
The Turkish's Justice decision on Halil Umut Meler vs Faruk Koca case obviously will take time.
What about other people kicking Meler when he was on the ground?
DeleteI have no idea. Do we even know who are they? I read that they were arrested at the same time with Faruk Koca but were their names released to the public? Help from Turkish users required here.
DeleteThey were arrested. Their names are released in public. And they are also banned lifetime from football.
DeleteThe differences in level between top Elites on Tue-Wed and the refs on Thursday are quite large, from what I've seen.
ReplyDeleteOff topic: on Monday, it's draw time. I was thinking what (on paper) would be the most difficult match to referee. My vote goes to Atletico-PSG. If those teams meet, I'm not sure who should blow the whistle :)
A Real-PSG in the rematch would also be quite delicate.
DeleteMoreover, the Spanish referees are very unlucky with 4 teams in the competition, all group winners, with opportunities to face a weaker opponent.