Tuesday, 22 October 2024

Champions League 2024/25 - Referee Appointments - Matchday 3 (I)

2024-25 UEFA Champions League Matchday 3, first set of games, to be played on 22 October 2024. 


22 October 2024

18:45 CET - Milan (Stadio Giuseppe Meazza)
AC MILAN (ITA) - CLUB BRUGGE KV (BEL)
Referee: Felix Zwayer GER
Assistant Referee 1: Roberrt Kempter GER
Assistant Referee 2: Christian Dietz GER
Fourth Official: Florian Badstübner GER
Video Assistant Referee: Christian Dingert GER
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Sören Storks GER
UEFA Referee Observer: Terje Hauge NOR 
UEFA Delegate: Claude Runavot FRA

18:45 CET - Monaco (Stade Louis II) 
AS MONACO (FRA) - FK CRVENA ZVEZDA (SRB) 
Referee: Tobias Stieler GER
Assistant Referee 1: Christian Gittelmann GER
Assistant Referee 2: Mark Borsch GER
Fourth Official: Matthias Jöllenbeck GER
Video Assistant Referee: Benjamin Brand GER
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Johann Pfeifer GER
UEFA Referee Observer: Lucilio Batista POR
UEFA Delegate: Mike Foster ENG 

21:00 CET  - Paris (Parc des Princes) 
PARIS SAINT GERMAIN (FRA) - PSV (NED) 
Referee: Glenn Nyberg SWE
Assistant Referee 1: Mahbod Beigi SWE
Assistant Referee 2: Andreas Söderkvist SWE
Fourth Official: Kristoffer Karlsson SWE
Video Assistant Referee: Stuart Attwell ENG
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: David Coote ENG
UEFA Referee Observer: Lutz Michael Fröhlich GER
UEFA Delegate: Artur Azaryan ARM

21:00 CET - Turin (Juventus Stadium) 
JUVENTUS (ITA) - VFB STUTTGART (GER) 
Referee: Espen Eskås NOR
Assistant Referee 1: Jan Erik Engan NOR
Assistant Referee 2: Isaak Elias Bashevkin NOR
Fourth Official: Kristoffer Hagenes NOR
Video Assistant Referee: Dennis Johan Higler NED
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Rob Dieperink NED
UEFA Referee Observer: Howard Webb ENG
UEFA Delegate: Olzhas Abrayev KAZ

21:00 CET - London (Arsenal Stadium) 
ARSENAL FC (ENG) - SHAKHTAR DONETSK (UKR) 
Referee: Benoît Bastien FRA
Assistant Referee 1: Hicham Zakrani FRA
Assistant Referee 2: Aurélien Berthomieu FRA
Fourth Official: Thomas Leonard FRA
Video Assistant Referee: Benoît Millot FRA
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Willy Delajod FRA
UEFA Referee Observer: Thomas Einwaller AUT
UEFA Delegate: Stijn Hutsebaut BEL

21:00 CET - Birmingham (Villa Park)
ASTON VILLA FC (ENG) - BOLOGNA FC (ITA)
Referee: João Pinheiro POR
Assistant Referee 1: Bruno Jesus POR
Assistant Referee 2: Luciano Maia POR
Fourth Official: João Gonçalves POR
Video Assistant Referee: Tiago Martins POR
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Fedayi San SUI
UEFA Referee Observer: Stefan Meßner AUT
UEFA Delegate: Virgar Hvidbro FRO

21:00 CET - Girona (Estadi Montilivi)
GIRONA FC (ESP) - ŠK SLOVAN BRATISLAVA (SVK) 
Referee: Horațiu Feșnic ROU
Assistant Referee 1: Valentin Avram ROU
Assistant Referee 2: Alexandru Cerei ROU 
Fourth Official: Szabolcs Kovacs ROU
Video Assistant Referee: Cătălin Popa ROU
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Tomasz Kwiatkowski POL
UEFA Referee Observer: Björn Kuipers NED
UEFA Delegate: István Huszár HUN

21:00 CET - Klagenfurt (Wörthersee Stadion)
SK STURM GRAZ (AUT) - SPORTING CP (POR) 
Referee: Giorgi Kruashvili GEO
Assistant Referee 1: Levan Varamishvili GEO
Assistant Referee 2: Zaza Pipia GEO
Fourth Official: Giorgi Avazashvili GEO
Video Assistant Referee: Aleandro Di Paolo ITA
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Luca Pairetto ITA
UEFA Referee Observer: Vladimir Šajn SVN
UEFA Delegate: Rainer Koch GER

21:00 CET - Madrid (Estadio Santiago Bernabéu) 
REAL MADRID CF (ESP) - BORUSSIA DORTMUND (GER)
Referee: István Kovács ROU
Assistant Referee 1: Mihai Marica ROU
Assistant Referee 2: George Florin Neacsu ROU
Fourth Official: Marcel Birsan ROU
Video Assistant Referee: Pol van Boekel NED
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Erwin Blank NED
UEFA Referee Observer: João Ferreira POR
UEFA Delegate: Paolo Rondelli SMR 

82 comments:

  1. Finally Kruashvili after his EURO u21 final. That final was quite unexpected and maybe too early, but he did seem to follow a path to some bigger appointment, so nice to see the Georgian in CL.

    ReplyDelete
  2. First comment must be indeed about Romanian FA, it's easy to say that there is a particular focus on them, thank to Vassaras, former UEFA committee member. Because one could have expected the same development from referees from other countries, to get their Champions League call, and there would be many options on paper. One now must think whether four referees in the major club tournament is maybe not too much for Romania, if compared to other European federations. But it's always the same speech, as long as you don't have somebody in direct relation with committee, it's hard to be considered. Fesnic at moment was totally unexpected, also because it's not clear how much Petrescu is very considered for handling top games. More generally, one could still explain that with the new format of CL and the neeed of new referees, but still, different choices were possible.
    While for Kruashvili this one was rather expected, after Under 21 tournament final and several Europa League group stage appearances. Nevertheless, one should wonder why this didn't happen before and the Georgian referee was not used again that much after having officiated that final (there can be different reasons for that, though).
    Kovacs recovers the lost assignment with a rather big game, Bastien rewarded after some good performances, but this can be also because Letexier is about to skip the next CL appearances (so, another slot for France). I think Bastien was expected in all cases, and I hope this was mostly for the first reason and not that much for the second.
    Zwayer with another low profile game for his standard, but very similar to previous one, in this case a bit different because the Italian team is coming from two lost games and they must win against Belgian side. But no sonorous or big games for the German at moment, at the end I give the explanation they prefer to treat him in this way after EURO semifinal, not as punishment, but maybe because they don't want to expose the German as for now.
    Eskas again with an Italian team, and you can see how much similar are the assignments that Rosetti reserves to Italian clubs, Zwayer and Eskas both there. One could start to say there is a pool inside the Elite referees getting the Italian affair :D A very different treatment from other teams, if you ask me.
    Pinheiro with another appearance and similar to Shakhtar - Atalanta, this one more sonorous for Aston Villa at home, but less for the visitors, Bologna, and you find the balance in the appointment in this way.
    Nyberg with a standard assignment, even if PSG win is fully expected, always delicate game, good game for Stieler in Monaco.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Didn't expect to see Pinhiero so soon tbh.
    Good to see the Georgian get an appointment, looks like he's getting a push.
    Does seem a bit overload of Romanian officials in Europe compared to many other countries however, good luck to Fesnic. I do worry for Hategan's status in the Elite category - but after his health issues I would imagine that UEFA will have to handle this very carefully!
    Expected Kovacs to return after his NL appointment with a decent match.
    Looking at the VAR's now for tomorrow's games - I'd expect to see an English team out with Taylor most likely (or even a debut such as Kavanagh).
    Absolutely positive there will be at least 1 Dutch team out (possibly 2 even).
    I wouldn't be surprised if there is a 3rd German match (debut appointment).
    There could well be another French team out however, I'm leaning more towards another official who's worked with Delajod as VAR - (Kabakov perhaps).
    Italian debut perhaps for Sozza?
    Kwiatolski could be paired with a few officials or cat 1 and the same could be said for San.
    Martins could act as AVAR anywhere really - but a Spaniard (Hernandez) with Del Grande & Martins would also make sense.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'd guess at the following:
      Atalanta v Celtic - Rumsas w San
      Brest v Leverkusen -Kabakov w Delajod
      Athletico v Lille - Taylor w Attwell
      Young Boys v Inter - Gozubuyuk w Van Boekel
      Barcelona v Bayern - Makkelie w Deiperink
      Salzburg v Dinamo - Sozza w Di Paolo
      Man City v Sparta - Steggerman w Dingbert
      Leipzig v Liverpool - Pejito w Kwiatolski
      Benfica v Feyenord - Hernandez w Del Grande

      Delete
  4. Apart from 2 VAR/AVAR appointments, no other Italian on this set which is weird

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  5. Don’t you expect Marciniak and Gil Manzano tomorrow?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Gil Manzano has a game tomorrow, and was injured for several weeks. It's highly unlikely he will appear in CL on Wednesday imo.

      Delete
  6. Totally understandable appointments, but for example, I expected Nyberg to be appointed for Real vs BVB or even Barcelona vs Bayern, given that he has yet to referee important games involving the big Spanish teams.

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  7. https://www.knvb.nl/nieuws/scheidsrechters/aanstellingen/69761/higler-en-van-boekel-actief-als-var-champions-league
    Interesting to read that KNVB reports Van Boekel appointed for Real Madrid - Borussia Dortmund with Kajtazović as AVAR, while the official UEFA appointment says van Boekel - Blank.
    The one reported by Dutch federation could be the original assignment, unless a mistake by who wrote the news, so very likely there was a change / replacement (maybe after the Nations League game?).
    More interesting for me to see whether, after the very well known facts of the Nations League game, especially the possible RC, the Slovenian will appear regularly in this set as main VAR.
    Also, important to pointo ut that Jérôme Brisard, after that controversial no penalty call in Juventus game on previous MD, was not appointed as main VAR again so far.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kajtazovic was suspended by the Slovenian FA after awarding a ghost goal in friendly U19 match Slovenia - Austria and not changing his decision even after the imput of the AR. He was removed from all appointments domestically and obviously also internationally.

      Delete
    2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnEzn11U2uk

      Kindly please watch from 45:00 on, first what penalty was awarded for Austria and then what goal from a penalty kick was awarded.

      Delete
  8. Chefren,Who do you guess will be appointed for Galatasaray-Elfsborg match?The match referee observer is İtchko Lozev.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I really don't know, there are too many options.

      Delete
  9. U17 Qualifiers - Round 1

    Group 1
    Date and Location: 24-30 October 2024 in Malta
    Teams: ENG, LVA, MLT, SWE
    Referees:
    ALB Florian Lata and Gerald Cenolli
    BUL Georgi Ginchev and Georgi Doynov
    MNE Miloš Savović and Nikola Vujović
    [MLT Ezekiel Barbara and Kurt Saliba]

    Group 8
    Date and Location: 29 October - 4 November 2024 in Northern Ireland
    Teams: IRL, LTU, NIR, SCO
    Referees:
    AUT Stefan Ebner and Mattias Hartl
    FIN Peiman Simani and Christian De Casseres
    FRO Heini Ziskason Viðoy and Jørleif Djurhuus
    [NIR Shane McGonigle and Shane Christopher Geary]

    Group 9
    Date and Location: 5-11 November 2024 in San Marino
    Teams: ITA, NOR, SMR, WAL
    Referees:
    CZE Ladislav Szikszay and Michal Volf
    MKD Jovan Kačevski and Branko Putilin
    UKR Dmytro Panchyshyn and Valentyn Kutsev
    [SMR Francesco Mineo and Laura Cordani]

    Group 10
    Date and Location: 23-29 October 2024 in Moldova
    Teams: ISR, MDA, MNE, SUI
    Referees:
    AZE Kamal Umudlu and Vüsal Məmmədov
    FRO Jóhan Hendrik Ellefsen and Jógvan Breckman
    SWE Joakim Östling and Max Robin Wilde
    [MDA Igor Boșca and Ghenadie Lisița]

    Group 11
    Date and Location: 29 October - 4 November 2024 in Cyprus
    Teams: CYP, FRA, GIB, SVK
    Referees:
    DEN Mikkel Hedberg Redder and Deniz Yurdakul
    HUN Mihály Káprály and Gergő Vígh-Tarsonyi
    SRB Pavle Ilić and Uroš Radovanović
    [CYP Andónis Konstandinídis and Geórgios Kondemeniótis]

    Group 12
    Date and Location: 30 October - 5 November 2024 in Iceland
    Teams: ESP, EST, ISL, MKD
    Referees:
    AND Antoine Paul Chiaramonti and Andreu Vilanova Simarro
    FIN Mohammed Al-Emara and Turkka Joonas Valjakka
    UKR Dmytro Kubryak and Oleksandr Korniyko
    [ISL Jóhann Ingi Jónsson and Guðmundur Ingi Bjarnason]

    Group 13
    Date and Location: 1-7 November 2024 in Serbia
    Teams: BUL, SRB, TUR
    Referees:
    MKD Igor Stojčevski and Kushtrim Lika
    NED Marc Nagtegaal and Murat Kücükerbir
    SVN Martin Matoša and Aleksandar Kasapovič

    ReplyDelete
  10. Massa having an awful game Roma-Inter. I have to say Guida is much better imo

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. A matchday full of discussions and mistakes by referees in serie A. At moment, fans have definitely lost the trust in Rocchi. Not good times for the head of Italian referees. More than in this game, there were plenty of controversial calls by VAR in other games, especially yesterday. But if we stay as this one between Roma and Inter with Massa, a possible RC for DOGSO is heavily discussed. Massa made play on gestures, VAR Di Bello didn't intervene. For most of people, foul and clear RC to be issued.
      Nowe Inter scored and now the game is on the right way for avoiding big criticisms, but still, not a perfect display by Massa.

      Delete
    2. Both Massa and Guida are not elite referees.
      Italian has to build op and that takes time.

      The referees at this moment are poor, but Rosetti will select the italians for European matches.

      Delete
    3. Problem with refs from Italy is that some refs in the past were best of the best and they were there for a long time.

      Collina in early 00's,Rizzoli another decade with Rochhi and Orsato.

      Now I dont see that number one that can be top in Europe like these 4 were.

      Mariani,Guida,Massa,Maresca,Di Bello,Sozza,these are top refs from Italy right now.

      Can you imagine that one of them will ever handle some big Final?

      I can't.

      Delete
    4. You are totally right but Rosetti will give them a ecl final at least .... you van see how many italians are refereeing in europe, more then any other country.

      Delete
  11. Kovacs for Real Madrid vs Dortmund???!!! Recipe for disaster

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    Replies
    1. After a EURO that was far below Kovacs' expectations, I wouldn't name him for a big game at this point, but maybe I'd think about him in the following rounds. As I said in another comment, Nyberg, for example, hasn't been tested in important matches involving big Spanish teams yet. He could be named for the Real Madrid game tomorrow or Barcelona on Wednesday without any problem.

      Delete
  12. Some info about Hațegan:
    - He retired from refereeing and informed Vassaras about his decision one month ago. He has not refereed any match in Romanian Superliga this season.
    - The reason seems to be that he received poor markings from Observers in the last UEFA matches (his last two matches were Shamrock Rovers vs Celje and Belarus vs Bulgaria in Nations League), and was about to be demoted from Elite group. So he preferred to retire.
    - He is still active however as a VAR - yesterday he was VAR at the derby between Dinamo and FC Steaua Bucharest;
    - He also entered politics, joining the biggest party in Romania, PSD, and is on the list of candidates to be elected for a seat in the Parliament, elections which will take place on 1st of December. Chances are very high that he'll get the seat in Parliament, meaning most likely Hațegan will end his VAR career as well, and possibly become a referree observer.

    Sources:
    https://golazo.ro/ovidiu-hategan-arbitraj-var-central-kyros-vassaras-110052

    https://www.prosport.ro/diverse/anuntul-momentului-despre-ovidiu-hategan-a-decis-sa-intre-in-politica-si-va-candida-pe-lista-unui-partid-important-la-alegerile-parlamentare-20008114

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for the information, one should wish good luck to Hategan for the future, after all he achieved in refereeing.
      In a way, it's absolutely unfair to see how he has left the role as main international referee (still a VAR for now), however I think that returning back after all he suffered was already something extraordinarty for him, and maybe he will not care that musch about that.
      But, if committee had planned to demote him from Elite at the next update, I repeat again that there must be other referees as well. The technically poor times for Hategan were only the recent ones, but there are other elements who kept the Elite status for years and years, without doing anything to show they deserved it. One can welcome the change of ideas by committee in this regard, but I think this can also lead to many controversial situations. If they need a referee from a certain country and they can't demote him, how to do? And if other referees don't show enough skills once promoted to Elite, should they be demoted? Nevertheless, we will see on December, this will be extremely interesting.
      Personally, I have always criticized a person leaving a role to avoid a verdict, and I have also seen this in some Italian referees of Serie A and B, who resigned a few months earlier, knowing that at the end of the season they would have gone home, just to avoid to appear in the list of dismissed officials. But the case of Hategan seems different to me, and I'm not saying that I blame him entirely, after what happened, he is free to make his personal choice.
      Finally, one can maybe link this news to the Champions League debut of Fesnic, as there will be a referee out from Romania in the Elite panel.

      Delete
    2. Hategan had only 6 games since he returned about an year ago, only 3 in club competitions:

      FC Lugano - Club Brugge 1:3 UECL GS October 2023
      Spain - Georgia 3:1 Qualifiers for Euro November 2023
      Ludogorets - Nordsjaelland 1:0 UECL GS December 2023
      Hungary - Kosovo 2:0 Friendly March 2024
      Shamrock Rovers - NK Celje 3:1 UEL Qualifiers 3rd round August 2024
      Belarus - Bulgaria 0:0 Nations League League C September 2024

      Were his performances really so bad? Personally, I haven't see any of these games but domestically last season he did generally good I'd say. I think he would have deserved more chances too show if he can reach again his old level and then take a decision.

      Delete
  13. In 36' a possible red card in Zwayer gam, a bit above the step on foot, difficult situation for VAR because YC was issued and one could say not really 100% wrong, neverteless UEFA would like red card.

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    Replies
    1. No card was issued onfield. Was given as FK only on field the wrong way around aswell

      Delete
  14. A very correct and clear penalty whistled by Stieler in Monaco.

    ReplyDelete
  15. At the end OFR was made, but I don't understand what happened with Zwayer, very long time before and after OFR, he didn't show immediately red card, talked before to players, looked like there was something not working.
    I praise the VAR intervention.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My first impression was that Zwayer had whistled foul for Brugge. BTW, too scenic management of something that looked quite obvious

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    2. I agree that it was a bit too much by Zwayer overall, however, I have to admit that it was quite clever to show a sign like "bent leg", making it clear for commentators who potentially think YC was enough.

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    3. The big mistake was to assign the foul against Milan, he had completely lost the focus on the contact

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    4. YC would have been enough, it was completely unintentional in a close situation, just a misstep. They have gone way too far with the RC lately, even issuing RC now to players who were first at the ball in POL-CRO and in Montpellier-Marseille in the French league. It is getting ridiculous that every accidental collision is a RC. Let the players challenge for the ball.

      Delete
  16. Very clear OFR for red card to brugge no.15 Initially given a free kick against Milan player

    Unsure why it took so long clear SFP buckling of the ankle

    ReplyDelete
  17. hahahahahaha how is it possible that this isn't PK for Red Star in Monaco? VAR didn't react and this is just unbelievable!!! Such a clear penalty in 44 min.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And instead 1-2, we have 2-1 at halftime. Stieler is incredible: added time was 4 minutes, but it ended after 5.30, and he let Monaco free kick that he gave at 5 min after 45! Red Star fans know this German ref very well, and you can imagine why!

      Delete
    2. Fully supportable to no VAR intervention. The contact on the player is minimal and does not require him to theatrically fall to the ground. As always it is a minimum of 4 added minutes which included a goal that was scored and an obligatory VAR check

      Delete
    3. never a penalty from a good referee

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    4. Come on lets be objective, there was very little contact, clear simulation. For sure he fell not because of contact) Though I've seen such penalties given I agree with the ref

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    5. I can't believe what I am reading! In Red Star PK area this would be 1000% penalty! Real Madrid got tens of PKs for much less contacts. So, continue to be blind.

      Delete
    6. Absolutely minimal contact, how about you at least pretend to be a tiny bit objective here? Never a clear and obvious mistake. The tiny contact just means there's correctly no YC and IFK for simulation, however we can't call this a foul, let alone a clear and obvious one.

      Delete
  18. Very precise work by VAR Brand, handball was not visible even in replays, only after we saw the intervention it became clear.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. +1, Brand is imo by far the best VAR in Bundesliga for 2 years now, since he had to focus on VAR duties after a serious injury.

      Delete
  19. UCL LP MD3
    Girona(ESP)-Slovan Bratislava(SVK)
    R: H.Fesnic(ROU) VAR: C.Popa(ROU)

    5' Good managment, Correct public warning for kick to face (Gir21)
    9' Correct addvantage given to Gir after Slo11 challenge, potentialy warning, but not in broadcast
    15' First YC given to Slo10, late push/charge to Gir player, very stupid foul, correct YC IMO
    20' Very strong public warning to Slo10 for dissent, allready on YC
    30' Handball of Slo11 missed live, VAR intervention if goal scored
    45' Correct YC given to Gir16 for SPA
    45+1' Missed pull from Gir3 on Slo10, referee blown half time

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  20. Not very convincing Nyberg at all. Very lenient line of fouls with some clear offences forgotten. Some problems to contain player management…so-so first half for swedish ref.

    ReplyDelete
  21. White handkerchiefs at the ready in Madrid, but certainly not for the officials, who had a quiet first half in the sonorous game Real-Dortmund. No cautions shown yet by Kovacs, the closest we came to a yellow being given was a Mendy step-on-foot foul at 27' (agree with the ref, more of a careless/late toe trod), where the Romanian issued a formal verbal warning.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Rookie linesman Neacsu, who also made two errors in the later stages of Croatia-Scotland (there was another mistake he made not written about here), just made a poor mistake to flag which was corrected by VAR for a Real equaliser.

      Delete
    2. Very poor mistake, to be honest the level of some assistant referees is not for Champions League, but making a consideration, I would say that UEFA committee with VAR definitely doesn't care anymore about that (see also the mistakes by Bosnian assistant referee, appointed again).
      Before the introduction of VAR, an assistant referee had surely a big challenge in case he wanted to be frequently appointed in this competition. Also, the requests that heads of refereeing made to assistant referees about cooperating with referees reporting fouls, have definitely decreased the level of interest about "normal and expected" offside calls.

      Delete
    3. My feeling is that referees are more relaxed about who they put in their crews since widespread VAR and the positions of variables 'best possible decisions' vs. 'i enjoy spending time with him in a 3day trip' has shifted. It's hard to comment on specific cases though and also true that UEFA's attitude is surely more relaxed than before.

      Delete
  22. Very quiet first halves in almost all games.
    So far most interesting incidents in the 18:45 games.

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  23. Control by arm before goal scored by Stuttgart, VAR overruled the goal allowed by Norwegian crew.

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  24. Mistake by AR2 in Madrid. Think he made a mistake in the Croatia/Scotland game also recently.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. was just going to comment to ask if it is the same AR2 as that would be concerning as it is another KMI error

      Delete
  25. An OFR should follow in Turin, clear penalty to be whistled to Stuttgart, missed by Eskas.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Second YC for the player in this case should be for reckless.
      Very good decision, we never see the reckless fouls punished inside the box. Only attention is always to SPA or DOSGO.

      Delete
    2. Indeed, fully correct decision. A bit surprising that it took so long for Higler to intervene.

      Delete
  26. Wrong penalty Ekberg. VAR intervene

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  27. *Nyberg. Good VAR intervention Attwell

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    Replies
    1. Disagree. First contact on PSG player clearly on knee. Never an obvious and clear mistake. VAR not have to intervene here with disfully analysis only focused on ball and foot intervention….

      Delete
  28. Correct intervene of Attwell .. no penalty in extra time for psg!
    Correct tackle on the Ball.

    ReplyDelete
  29. With the second VAR intervention, it turns into a rather negative display by the Norwegian referee in Turin. While you can say that first incident was very hard to spot, as for almost all handballs, I think the penalty should have been detected, with a frontal view in the middle of penalty area for Eskas, following a free kick. The referee was corrected in both the crucial incidents of the game.

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  30. In my opinion, Attwell's intervention is debatable. Yes, the ball was played but also with a clear contact, produced by the defender's knee. I prefer play on here but it is not (fully) wrong to say the defender risked too much...

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  31. In my opinion a very strange VAR intervention against Nyberg in stoppage time. Tackle clearly hits the back of the knee of the defender before tackling the ball. Strange intervention as well as pressure on referees to follow VAR blindly.

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    Replies
    1. Completely agree Robin. Amateur analysis by Attwell. Disaster.

      Delete
  32. Kovacs clips

    Verbal warning -- https://www.streambug.io/cv/e1225c
    Linesman error -- https://www.streambug.io/cv/e1225c
    Penalty appeal -- https://www.streambug.io/cv/8aac50
    Reckless fouls -- https://www.streambug.io/cv/ed937f

    Only booking of the game was for 'Vini jr' removing his shirt in celebration after the fourth goal. Hint of a rebrand by Kovacs or too hard to read much into this (big but) more-or-less easy game?

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    Replies
    1. Bonus, tongue in cheek comment: pretty funny this rather unneccessary graphic replaying from many minutes prior a Bellingham shot which hit the crossbar and bounced down exactly square on the goalline when you remember who was supposed to be AVAR-ing this game.

      https://imgur.com/a/2zMZhK5

      (and yet still closer to being a valid goal.......)

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    2. I just hope he was a bit more respectful towards his observer :)

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    3. There is a mistake in the second link, this happens very often with streambug when you don't refresh the page before uploading next file :)
      Into your question, I think that after EURO and the famous performance, the Romanian referee was very careful, knowing that this was the first "big game", watched by many people, so for sure he didn't want to have same issues, but still, you don't see such big missed yellow cards and the nature of the game suggests us that we must wait before saying more. You can think the classic Kovacs would have started with the booking in the verbal warning incident, but game had a certain progress after that, very fair. Penalty appeal: OK decision for me.

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    4. Thanks for the hint; correct link for the second clip:
      https://www.streambug.io/cv/420729

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  33. Regarding the penalty removed in PSG - PSV, one gets the idea of ​​a fair action on the ball, but due to the type of challenge, which also causes a consequence on the opponent, it is not a 100% clean situation. Here the discussion must be open, but when about penalty area incidents it's always difficult. One can understand the arguments of the English VAR (easier decision), but with a more detailed analysis one could have said not 100%clear an obvious mistake.

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  34. I think we shall at least underline that Attwell’s intervention is a brave one, because the decision happens to be against PSG.

    In earlier rounds, we have seen VARs removing soft PKs, it seems UEFA lowered the bar and wants the PK to be very clear.

    At first, it looked a clear contact in the back of the knee (camera position - sideline) of PSG player, but this seems an illusion; the camera footage behind the goal proves there is no contact at all.

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  35. Two incidents from other games.

    Arsenal - Shakhtar, Bastien with an OFR for handball penalty.
    https://streambug.org/cv/ea2eb0
    I think the touch was covered to referee's view by Arsenal player, but also not expected by the French in that situation (always hard to expect an handball). 100& clear one, a handball that must find all people to agree.

    Girona - Slovan Bratislava, penalty whistled for handball
    https://streambug.org/cv/15d63c
    In this case in my opinion a very good call, rather open arm, but differently from the previous one, here I can think some people could disagree, so one could say at least supportable call. The positioning by referee, looking in the middle of penalty area, helped to spot. Also, good to wait for the end of attack before calling, delayed whistle. Should be a positive assessment about this incident.

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    1. 'A handball that all must agree'. Even a chunk of the English tv media on that game who supported Arsenal did not think it was a handball (even if a clear penalty by Uefa standards, a 1000% penalty by southern European standards). I think that shows the gulf between English and everywhere elses expectations on handball!
      (Sidenote, the first penalty for handball in the PL this season was given in Fulham Villa 24', and even that was very contoversial given close proximity. All other of the top 5 leagues have had 6+ penalties for handball by this stage, the UCL even more)

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  36. An OFR in Kruashvili game for removing a penalty.
    https://streambug.org/cv/166254
    Here I can guess what Italian VAR Di Paolo said to the Georgian referee, it was attacker to kick defender, since the latter arrived to play ball before. This situation leading to OFR has happened many times in serie A recently. Also, one can't know whether without VAR advice, Kruashvili would have switched to free kick for defender. Maybe not an easy situation to read live, but a clear mistake at the end.

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  37. I would like to emphasize that after the penalty was awarded, Nyberg spoke to the PSV captain who indicated that the ball had been touched by the defender. As I saw and interpreted it, Nyberg denied that. I think we should include this in the VAR assessment

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    1. Crystal penalty with serious VAR analysis…https://x.com/thuchelinho/status/1848835466931409250?s=46&t=Ok5OCp_U1mZPFDKlm4EOGQ

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    2. @ Referee analyst: slowmotion are making it look worse, as always :D

      You should assess this incident with the camera footage from behind the goal. At first I also thought that PK was a supportable call until I saw the footage from behind the goal (on full speed) and changed my mind. This is actually a great defending action and we should appreciate that, 100% on the ball (I don’t think he could hit the ball any harder :D) and the contact with the player is minimum.

      I don’t understand why we focus too much on a slight contact — consider the full context and its a “normal football action”. Nyberg wouldn’t punish it in the midfield either, be sure about that.

      To add, Nyberg couldn’t see that the ball was played so it’s actually a logical OFR by his VAR to let him review the incident.

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    3. Sorry but this contact - from behind - intervened and changed attacker behavior to kick the ball and was clearly before good foot intervention. So clear penalty…

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  38. I don't imagine Rosetti and the committee will be happy with the performances last night - far too many OFR required for the 'top' referees in Europe in the top competition.

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  39. https://streambug.org/cv/71aa7a

    French commenters are right about the Attwell intervention!!
    This was a clear foul and a big mistake by the officials.

    Asensio cleverly gets goalside of the defender who then (recklessly!) takes him down. The only reason that the Spaniard can't control the ball is because the defender disturbs his standing leg - ie, the only reason that the defender can play the ball at all is because he has made contact with the attacker. Having already touched him once, the lunging Boscagli then makes another contact with Asensio on his standing leg.

    Unfortunately, even if Nyberg's FoP decision was clearly a decision taken by intuition and not perception, the English VAR provoked him to change a correct call.

    Correct outcome: Penalty + YC (reckless tackle).

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    1. Dear Mikael,
      This is a subjective call IMO. You can’t use such strong wordings about KMI’s when they are subjective. It really depends on your “referee philosophy” and preferences. I guess you are the “strictly to the book” referee and focus on the contact. You choose to protect the PSG-player. I’ve played as a defender myself and do enjoy such perfect-timed tackles. I assess it as a perfect tackle on the ball. Yes, a slight contact appears but this is the result of a normal football action. If we punish this, we should punish all tackles from behind imo. But I respect you and your opinion, let’s respect other opinions when things are not crystal clear. I don’t expect the refcom to be unanimous here either.

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    2. What? With respect, it is s**t defending and the opposite of a perfectly timed tackle (if you did play as a defender, you would know you'd been done by the attacker). Because the defender has bundled the ball behind in the end, you are looking for reasons to defend the call and resort to stuff like "you choose to protect the PSG player", which is a completely false dichotomy for this incident.

      Dutch Common Sense Brigade are not going to consider this a foul (team involved + type of incident), I can understand why someone (Attwell) thinks it it isn't a foul having looked at the incident hurredly, but unfortunately it is infact a clear foul. I think we should leave it at that.

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