Slavko Vinčić is about to officiate the most important game of his career so far. Let's follow and discuss his performance here.
1 June 2024, 21:00 CET - Wembley Stadium, London
Borussia Dortmund (GER) - Real Madrid CF (ESP)
Referee: Slavko Vinčić SVN
Assistant Referee 1: Tomaž Klančnik SVN
Assistant Referee 2: Andraž Kovačič SVN
Fourth Official: François Letexier FRA
Reserve Assistant Referee: Cyril Mugnier FRA
Video Assistant Referee: Nejc Kajtazović SVN
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Rade Obrenović SVN
Video Assistant Referee Support: Massimiliano Irrati ITA
UEFA Delegate: Lukasz Wachowski POL
UEFA Referee Observer: Roberto Rosetti ITA
ReplyDeleteVinčić would never be here if he was Croatian or Bulgarian. He is only here because he is Slovenian.
Thats right ... its all about policy
DeleteGood luck to Slavko Vincic and his team !
ReplyDeleteI get it’s the first(?) foul in a champions final, but 13’ is certainly SPA by Camavinga. 4 attackers on thre defenders entering the attacking third with acres of space. The bar for a yellow card has been set high early.
ReplyDelete*three
DeleteWell all three referees haven’t changed ‘plan’ for the finals and have maintained their usual approach, one must (at least) say that!
DeleteYes right Mikael. It looks the Classic Vincic so far. Not a different style for him in this final so far.
DeleteFirst YC very harsh
ReplyDeleteFoul detection to be improved. Not convinced yet. Now, correct first YC.
ReplyDeleteAgain: Dive and then YC for dissent. Vincic does not show his best performance.
DeleteI’m not convinced it was a dive, there was contact from behind from the first defender before the second one slid in without making contact.
DeleteI went back and watched it, it’s not a foul. Too much contact really to go with a yellow for simulation, but a throw in should have been the restart.
DeleteThis yellow is OK, but Borussia Dortmund keeper made it more mandatory for Vincic, exaggerating contact.
ReplyDeleteNevertheless, with the style used by the Slovenian, a game can easily present such momeents. I don't like how he stays on the pitch, to be honest.
Thats always his style... it looks convinced but for me it isnt
DeleteNot the most convincing minutes of Vincic
ReplyDeleteOk wow now that was bad, Ally McCoist not impressed either
DeleteLeipzig vs Man City scenario all over again. Vinicius JR should be sent off and the Dortmund player shouldn't be booked. Shocking dive
ReplyDeleteFoul detection for me is simply below expected level, it causes unclarity and irritations.
ReplyDeleteYellow card Schlotterbeck its disgraceful.
ReplyDeleteWhat a leadership of vincic!
Vinicius makes a dive.
A very poor performance ... but i say it several times this is his level. Not a cl final referee
You try to descredit a lot of decent referees....except..
DeleteTake a beer..is better for you instead of..what you are doing
So a very harsh YC for Vini Jr, followed by a blatant simulation and missed YC for him. But another sign that dissent won't be tolerated, consistent with the other finals
ReplyDeleteVincic is whistling himself into troubles.
ReplyDeleteGood about the cards for dissent, didn't expect them by Vincic, but definitely not good first half.
ReplyDeleteWell, one can agree that they were justified. But what makes it unfortunate is that they were a result of Vincic's foul detection which is clearly below par.
DeleteNot good first half by Vincic.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate Vincic’s intolerance of dissent in this first half.
ReplyDeleteThe only positive stuff from the 1H in my view.
DeleteFoul detection is very shaky, harsh YC for Vinicius and Schlotterbeck's came after a wrong FK for Real Madrid.
According to UEFA’s guidelines for Euro, sure. But the problem is he causes the irritations himself. And one can’t appreciate that IMHO.
DeleteAnd his poor performance apart from that isn't worth any comment for you?
DeleteThe Slovenian was in trouble in this first half, at first he tried to adapt and confirm his style, letting the game flow without being too much "worried", but this didn't help. Key moment the yellow card for the foul on keeper, after that he changed approach. He realized that game could have gone out of his control. I praise the cards for dissent, Rosetti words have been applied, but a not accurate officiating has been the reason for some minor mistakes. Still nothing very relevant, but I think referees experts can easily agree that this performance is below expected level so far. Nevertheless, this his style by a quite long time. When a game doesn't escalate, it's OK, but not the contrary. I think in second half he will be very careful. Should be more worried about what's happening on the pitch without always hiding himself. Also, a particular remark about his body language before the first card of the game, it looked like he wanted to do something different, maybe a warning, but then he changed idea (at least this was my feeling). Running close to player and then having a very severe facial expression.
ReplyDeleteIt would be nice if we could limit ourselve to commenting the performance instead of usual anti-Vincic campaign.
ReplyDeleteIt's (very!) good to see players being instantly cautioned for mobbing and dissent but at the same time you have to issue mandatory yellow cards like for the SPA offence in 13' - otherwise it looks comical...
Suboptimal foul detection: wrong FKs in favour of Real Madrid in 18', 33' (really bad one, stopping a dangerous attack) and maybe 40'.
The YC to Vinícius was showed due to exaggerated reaction of Borussia Dortmund's goalkeeper. But it's still OK though.
AR1 didn't signal two offsides - difficult situations but still.
+1.
Delete(but rather AR2 at Wembley ;) always unconvincing calls for years by Kovacic...)
Btw, when users will stop to criticize referees for applying very strict EURO24 guidelines regarding mobbing / dissent. The refs are forced to caution players for such behaviours since Rosetti's interview. The problem is as I said: you can't miss blatant cards for SPA or reckless because it gives a really bad impression.
DeleteI agree with you that there have been too many fouls erroneously whistled which have eroded his credibility. I’ll add 31’ to your list. In some cases, he has been slow to the whistle on these fouls, which compounded the problem by making him appear unsure of himself.
DeleteBut not a bad half so far, so what if he called a few wrong fouls. All 3 cautions have been good, and there is likely more important work to come in the second half.
Side note: do you mean AR2 instead of AR1? I noticed one wrong onside decision by AR2 on a good scoring chance, not sure what the other was.
contact to goalkeeper who possesion ball, always a yellow card.
DeleteIf there is an "anti-Vinčić campaign", he initiated it with his performance today.
DeleteNo conspiracy theories, please!
Fully agree with Euro Soccer Ref, especially with the second paragraph: spot on.
DeleteUnfortunately, foul detection is really subpar. Even after the whole 1H, I'm still struggling to correctly anticipate/assess what's going to be a foul and what's not. And it causes clear and noticeable irritation among the players. I think Chefren is right in his comment above: Vinčić will have to be very careful in the 2H in order to not "lose" this game, however it will lead to more discrepancy between his style in the beginning and now. And that's a problem, of course.
Yeah, AR2, sorry!
DeleteVincic will never make a match deciding howler, but at the same time will never be a top class referee. No YC for Camavinga, awful. And then goes around waving cards to players who are right. Not good enough
ReplyDeleteSo true!
Delete‘Never a match deciding howler’ -
DeleteTrue, but never appointed to the most risky games or highest profile games either. That is exactly how you avoid headlines as a referee. Yes, he made mistakes, but we don’t remember it, due to the nature/context of his games.
If Vincic was appointed to a return game in group of death, or a knock-out between Barca-PSG, Bayern vs Real, he would generate more headlines when his performance is below par, and in the end, being rejected for the final.
Maybe this dissent cards are already showing us what criterium will be at Euro.
ReplyDeleteNo talking and no gestures.
You make it sound as if that's a bad thing.
DeleteNo,you're completely wrong.
DeleteIm for that,players should get booked whenever they are protesting the way Dortmund players were.
That's why I praise Premiership refs,no disseents are allowed-bookings comes right away.
Foul detection much better in second half.
ReplyDeleteBetter second half by Vincic.
ReplyDeleteWell, there haven't been tricky situations for him so far.
DeleteSurprised no mention of the missed reckless YC in the 62nd minute.
ReplyDeleteStill i think Vincic is very lucky this is Real Madrid vs Borussia Dortmund, two mainly football focused teams, (especially the German side) If there was an Italian team involved this could turn ugly
ReplyDeleteAgree,we all remember that he had some problems when he handled Lazio-Atletico match.
DeleteExcellent Offside call by AR1
ReplyDeleteFirst crucial decision of the game, correct one, disallowed goal by AR1.
ReplyDeleteRemarkable though that Vincic first signals a goal, to disallow it only after 1-2 seconds.
DeleteThe reserve AR Mugnier seems very active if compared to the fifth official work in other finals.
ReplyDeleteWell, IFAB changed the rules regarding reserve assistant referees ahead of the season to allow them to assist the referee like any other member of the team, so I think this was expected and also what they wanted
DeleteA good second half without issues raised the level of the performance, that would have been rather low, merely looking at first half. To me, still something missing for a full expected level, but I think Rosetti and committee will be content after the change of route in second half. One could still ask Vincic for a different approach to games, but that's him by years. Among other things, very important to have confirmation about application of Rosetti guidelines, that's refreshing. With better display in first half, would have been a very good performance, I think we can say that we are more or less close to an expected level. Nevertheless, no VAR intervention, calm context and no issues are enough arguments for modern acceptance.
ReplyDeleteSome thoughts:
ReplyDeleteDecent performance by Vinčič. The only minus points were missed YCs to Camavinga (13') and Adeyemi (62') plus three totally wrong FKs in the first half. Some minor penalty appeals correctly rejected. The rest was good but the game was not challenging, to be honest. 8.2/8.3 should be the mark. The Slovenian could be satisfied with how the game went.
Still strange to see so many negative comments comparing to Soares Dias who was much worse regarding technical accuracy (disciplinary!).
Given how it's received by commentators and fans, Rosetti's already made his referees the no.1 enemies at EURO with the anti-mobbing/dissent instruction. :)
I can basically agree with all your thoughts, including the key mistakes you mentioned. Vinčić definitely improved his performance in the 2H; however, he wasn't especially challenged, not in a real sense of the word.
DeleteComing to the comparison with Dias, I can agree with you about Dias's technical accuracy in the disciplinary area to have been lower (I think I mentioned 3 missing YCs I deemed as mistakes in the previous post, but there was a possibility for even more). However, what I find worse about Vinčić tonight is a certain "randomness" in foul detection in the 1H, with, IIRC, 3-4 wrong FKs and some missing ones, which overall gave an impression of insecurity (at least to me), also leading to some unnecessary frustration among the players and causing further problems for Vinčić himself (which he could/should have avoided). Somehow, I didn't perceive him as a leader on the FoP (in any sense of the word in regard to the leadership style), and that's something that was clearly missing in key moments: a sense of security and/or predictability in his decisions. That's one aspect where I find Dias's performance to have been of a higher standard, but maybe my perception is wrong.
On the other hand, the amount and strength of negative comments does seem to be a bit excessive, but it probably has something to do with aspects beyond his mere performance in this final. However, that topic is something of a minefield these days, so I'll avoid it, especially as I don't see Vinčić's appointment in a negative sense (at all).
To conclude, I think you used exactly the right word to describe Vinčić's performance tonight: decent. It's another similarity between him and Dias on Wednesday, IMO. However, one aspect I would like to praise is Vinčić's firm and correct application of the guidelines on dissent/mobbing given by Rosetti recently; here I agree with you 100%. Of course, implementing such guidelines needs to be accompanied by a sharper and consistent line in foul detection; otherwise it creates certain problems for the referee, and that's exactly what happened to Vinčić on a few occasions tonight.
62' wasn't a clear YC in my opinion. Yes, the point of contact is bad, but I think Adeyemi was going for the ball there, while Carvajal came late into the challenge and mainly caused the contact.
DeleteWithout rewatching it, I even have doubts, whether that was a foul by Adeyemi.
I agree with the rest though.
German commentators also got to the same conclusion, solid performance with some weaknesses.
And they even accepted the no YC for Camavinga.
One additional thing to mention is, that Kovacic probably missed two offsides for big Dortmund chances in the first half. One (the Füllkrug shot against the post) was quite clear, the other one very tight.
Well at the end no-one will talk about Vincic (which seems to be the only thing that the committee cares about) but he certainly didn't justify the appointment.
ReplyDeletePretty solid performance by Vincic. Few mistakes, but nothing that for comment. Uefa Referee Comitee can be satisfied how he done his job.
ReplyDeleteSo we can all agree that out of these 3 Euro Finals best performance was from Kovacs.
ReplyDeleteModern style of refereeing that is great to see,not afraid to make decisions even with this magnitude of a match.
Ref who also gave us best performance in the most challenging match of the season,Barca vs PSG.
So we can say that so far he has been the name that is standing out the most this season.
We'll see how ge does at Euro,but there has already been determined who will handle final match. 😉
Kovacs also made the biggest match error, by not awarding a penalty to Leverkusen. But I agree, he was the best game manager out there.
DeleteYes, Kovacs should get some good games at the EURO. E.g. NED-FRA could be an option for him, I think. Or even the opening game, if it's not Turpin.
Delete(But the remark about the missing penalty is also true...)
@Marko23,yes it was a penalty but if I remember correctly there was offside in that action so that was technically no mistake.
DeleteTBH I don't remember previous cases of UEFA official accounts on social media, making comments on referees' performances...
ReplyDeletehttps://twitter.com/UEFA/status/1797021261932937298
It adds to the feeling this appointment was not a regular one, doesn't it?
DeleteČeferin, is that you?
DeleteWe have seen better performances in Champions League finals.
I’m sorry to say it, but this comes across as a Vincic promotion campaign by UEFA.
https://x.com/uefa/status/1793408929990619207
Deletehttps://x.com/uefa/status/1796153233578111428
Well, Mikael, one could say as long as you write only "congratulations" for both Kovacs and Soares Dias, it's surely different than entering into details with Vincic, but indeed you are right. It's not the first time. I think this is a new trend included in the "Be a referee campaign" to give more focus (positive) focus on referees. Nevertheless, all three could have been treated in the same way, this didn't happen :)
DeleteAnd, no comments about Welch?
It's good to see that the political final appointment didn't harm the game and that Vincic did quite well. Still, it was very visible that he lacks leadership skills, but luckily for him Real won the game and Dortmund is a decent team.
ReplyDeleteThat is not, as someone put it, anti-Vincic, it's just what it is and we can't blame Vincic for being appointed. Happy for him that the job went well!
Are we sure, that the instructions regarding dissent were already in place yesterday?
ReplyDeleteI mean, the only evidence for that is the Schlotterbeck booking, right? The Sabitzer one would/should have been a YC even with the previous standards, I think.
And in the other finals, I don't remember any particular incidents supporting this assumption.
Furthermore Rosetti announced it for the EURO, so it would not be obvious that it is valid with immediate effect.
If it was already an instruction for Vincic, I hope, that the teams were informed about that.
Otherwise, it could simply have been a quite harsh YC for Schlotterbeck - or he said something unacceptable.
Anyway, the two dissent cautions certainly helped yesterday, there was nearly no dissent afterwards. And luckily, the two players didn't get in danger of a 2nd YC later on.
I'm sure that Rosetti guidelines were already in place. Vincic wouldn't have booked so early for this reason in a final!
DeleteI agree with Philipp, I hope that the teams were informed about the dissent guidelines.
DeleteI’m not against dissent YC’s, certainly not, but yesterday the YC to Schlotterbeck was a harsh and comical one, as the referee made a technical mistake himself - fooled by a Vincius dive - whereas he opted to not issue a clear YC for SPA to a Real player. I don’t understand why Dortmund players received YC’s more easily. Some Real players escaped from a clear and mandatory YC.
Moreover, by issuing that YC to Schlotterbeck, the Dortmund's centre-back had to play the entire second half with a handicap - the YC - which is also clearly in Real Madrid advantage.
Luckily for Vincic, Schlotterbeck didn’t make an offense worth a 2YC. I guess we can all imagine the protests and German headlines then.
I didnt like the management and choices of the referee, sorry.
If Real played against an Italian team, I’m not sure whether Vincic would have maintained control.
He was saved by the scoreline and helped by a fair German team.
@Phillip S
DeleteI also cant remember some years ago that someone got, but let's go back 10 years ago and observe:
14:Kuipers,there Ramos got YC for protesting that Garcia should have received RC,quite early in the match .
Later in that match Simeone was sent off and Varane got YC for kicking the ball in his direction
15:pretty straight forward game,Cakir issued 3 cards if I'm not wrong for late fouls
16:Clattenburg issued 2 YC's for dissent,1 for Navas protesting the penalt, call and 1 for Gabi,for his blatant protests when requesting that Ramos should see RC
17:Brych with unusual performance where we saw something similar to Kovacs;YC was YC that's why we saw 8 or 9 YC's with that controversial 2nd YC to Cuadrado for Ramos incident
18:Only 1 YC for Mane foul,Mazic
19:Skomina,no YC's at all,leniency at and his style at it's finest
20:Orsato with 8 YC's..Plenty of these were fouls on Neymar and PSG's retaliation and fights to protect him
21:Lahoz,very easy match for him,3 cards for fouls
22:Turpin,only 1 YC for foul
23:Marciniak,5 cards, 2 for fouls,3 for consequences of timewasting..Haaland got into little pushing and shoving cause Haaland was timewasting ,both he and Onana were booked.And Ederson also.
So yeah,it's not a trend to book for dissent in a Final but we have some examples from each in this years finals;
Kovacs booking Wirtz for agresively wanting YC.
Dias booking Jovetic for demanding VAR and penalty.
And yesterday we had 2 DOR players.
So yes,maybe guidelines were in function already.
To be honest, I have the impression that hardly any EURO referee is in top form at the moment. If it's purely about performance, we could see a policy like three years ago, when only a few referees were in constant use in the final phase. Even with François Letexier, who I think is highly rated, the question is whether he can make the big breakthrough (quarter-finals and beyond) given the presence of fellow countryman Clément Turpin and the French national team. Strictly speaking, however, the referees in the 2021 knockout phase were not necessarily the best in the tournament either.
ReplyDeleteI am less pessimistic there.
DeleteWe had good / very good performances in 3 CL SFs. And even Marciniak was alright besides one situation. Then Makkelie was strong in his EL SF. And the CL QF performances also were mostly good.
So at the very least, we have Kovacs, Makkelie, Orsato, Turpin in quite good form.
But also Marciniak, Taylor, Vincic and Zwayer seem ready for at least a QF at the EURO, I think.
Plus, other referees have enough (at least domestic) experience to be considered for the last games, if they perform well at the tournament, e.g. Gil Manzano, Oliver and Soares Dias.
So finding 7 different referees for the last 7 games is a realistic possibility in my opinion.
For Letexier, I indeed don't expect too much at the tournament, if Turpin doesn't fail. He can gain some experience and also has the Olympic tournament to follow.
Israeli referee Roi Reinshreiber (UEFA Cat. 1) retired.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion he was under a certain focus by committee for a while, but he didn't manage to make a further step. Could have achieved more in his career but basically I think he can be satisfied.
Hugh Dallas shared some insights:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.aol.com/dallas-expects-scottish-refs-change-162535146.html
Meanwhile, Dallas expects officials at Euro 2024 to clamp down on being crowded by complaining players.
"Any player approaching a referee outside the captain will be yellow carded," Dallas said.
"If there are four of them, four will be yellow carded. Uefa are really going to be strong regarding this during the championships.
"They want to change the mentality of players, this running to protest and putting referees under pressure.
"The referees in the early rounds, matchday one probably, they've been told, 'be strong'.
"If the goalkeeper is the captain, there'll be another player nominated to approach the referee and have an explanation and I think that's a good move."
As former committee member, he basically confirmed what Rosetti said about the new trend at EURO. My opinion is that this will happen for sure in the early game, but I'm "afraid" about the reactions by people, we have already some clues here on the blog. It seems that it's hard to accept such strictness and the cards given for dissents are always seen as very soft and easy. Therefore, I just hope that not only players will change mentality, but also people watching games.
DeleteBy the way, I rewatched the incident in 40th minute, where Schlotterbeck got booked. If Rosetti wants them to be so strict on unsportsmanlike behaviour, why wasn't that a second yellow to Vinicius for diving?
ReplyDeleteBecause 1) diving was not detected, 2) diving is not a part of the newest instruction, only mobbing and dissent
DeleteI know, so let me rephrase my question. Had it been detected (as it should have been since it was so obvious), you think it could have been a second yellow? Some Dutch journalists thought so and I tend to think they have a at least a bit of a point, since it is such unsportive behaviour
Delete@Marko23 Being a referee is about taking mostly expected decisions. You can never expect a second yellow for a diving offence in the middle of the field, never.
DeleteLast match in Italian serie A for Orsato today in Atalanta-Fiorentina before retirement. He left the pitch with a standing ovation from players and fans, which is very unusual. Well deserved, he has really been the top so far for years in Serie A
ReplyDelete