To complete the referee appointments for 2024-25 UEFA Champions League KO Play Offs, here the second set of second legs, to be played on 19/02/2025.
18:45 CET - Dortmund (BVB Stadion)
BORUSSIA DORTMUND (GER) - SPORTING CP (POR)
Referee: Davide Massa ITA
Assistant Referee 1: Ciro Carbone ITA
Assistant Referee 2: Stefano Alassio ITA
Fourth Official: Simone Sozza ITA
Video Assistant Referee: Aleandro Di Paolo ITA
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Daniele Chiffi ITA
UEFA Referee Observer: Howard Webb ENG
UEFA Delegate: Stéphanie Ford BEL
21:00 CET - Paris (Parc des Princes)
PARIS SAINT GERMAIN (FRA) - STADE BRESTOIS 29 (FRA)
Referee: Michael Oliver ENG
Assistant Referee 1: Stuart Burt ENG
Assistant Referee 2: James Mainwaring ENG
Fourth Official: Andrew Madley ENG
Video Assistant Referee: Michael Salisbury ENG
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Peter Bankes ENG
UEFA Referee Observer: Kyros Vassaras GRE
UEFA Delegate: Virgar Hvidbro FRO
PARIS SAINT GERMAIN (FRA) - STADE BRESTOIS 29 (FRA)
Referee: Michael Oliver ENG
Assistant Referee 1: Stuart Burt ENG
Assistant Referee 2: James Mainwaring ENG
Fourth Official: Andrew Madley ENG
Video Assistant Referee: Michael Salisbury ENG
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Peter Bankes ENG
UEFA Referee Observer: Kyros Vassaras GRE
UEFA Delegate: Virgar Hvidbro FRO
21:00 CET - Madrid (Estadio Santiago Bernabéu)
REAL MADRID CF (ESP) - MANCHESTER CITY FC (ENG)
Referee: Istvan Kovacs ROU
Assistant Referee 1: Mihai Marica ROU
Assistant Referee 2: Ferencz Tunyogi ROU
Fourth Official: Horațiu Feșnic ROU
Video Assistant Referee: Dennis Johan Higler NED
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Tomasz Kwiatkowski POL
UEFA Referee Observer: Nicola Rizzoli ITA
UEFA Delegate: Charles Schaack LUX
REAL MADRID CF (ESP) - MANCHESTER CITY FC (ENG)
Referee: Istvan Kovacs ROU
Assistant Referee 1: Mihai Marica ROU
Assistant Referee 2: Ferencz Tunyogi ROU
Fourth Official: Horațiu Feșnic ROU
Video Assistant Referee: Dennis Johan Higler NED
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Tomasz Kwiatkowski POL
UEFA Referee Observer: Nicola Rizzoli ITA
UEFA Delegate: Charles Schaack LUX
21:00 CET - Eindhoven (PSV Stadion)
PSV (NED) - JUVENTUS (ITA)
Referee: Slavko Vinčić SVN
Assistant Referee 1: Tomaž Klančnik SVN
Assistant Referee 2: Andraž Kovačič SVN
Fourth Official: David Šmajc SVN
Video Assistant Referee: Alen Borošak SVN
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Bastian Dankert GER
UEFA Referee Observer: Stefan Meßner AUT
UEFA Delegate: Iain Blair SCO
PSV (NED) - JUVENTUS (ITA)
Referee: Slavko Vinčić SVN
Assistant Referee 1: Tomaž Klančnik SVN
Assistant Referee 2: Andraž Kovačič SVN
Fourth Official: David Šmajc SVN
Video Assistant Referee: Alen Borošak SVN
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Bastian Dankert GER
UEFA Referee Observer: Stefan Meßner AUT
UEFA Delegate: Iain Blair SCO
It seems as committee has clear ideas about the penalty in Bruges. All Méler fault. I agree, impossible for VAR to intervene, can be a careless arm. Now Vincic expected for Juventus.
ReplyDeleteWhy does it seem like that?
DeleteChief, and what will be the committee's next steps regarding Meler? Does this include van Boekel in the process?
DeleteOliver in Paris, Vinci for PSV Juve, logic choice in Madrid with Kovacs, unexpected Massa in Dortmund
ReplyDelete5th game with a German team for Massa this season - in spite of the bad performance in NED-GER.
ReplyDeletekNVB had reported van Borkel and Dieperink as VAR for Kovacs. News immediately deleted... My previous comment was basse on that. Once again thank to KNVB we know everything..
ReplyDeleteGalatasaray - Fenerbahce: Istvan Kovacs (VAR: Pol van Boekel)
ReplyDeleteSure?
ReplyDeleteTFF made an announcement to the press today. They will think about foreign referee if only both teams apply to TFF. It is said that Fenerbahçe will apply but Galatasaray will not.
ReplyDeleteMost probably Karaoglan or Meler will get the derby.
If Karaoglan gets the match,then for sure in build up we will see plenty talk from Fener side against him.
DeleteThere was already press conference where Mourinho was openly talking against him,saying that he was on a break when he did not call ref to check clear penalty im favour of Fener.Also in that match(Trabzonspor) 2 penalties were decided against Fener.
Galata will also say something cause he whistled doubtful penalty for Fener in their 1st derby this season.
So I wont be surprised if we see someone like Marciniak, Vincic,Kovacs or some other elite refs.
Roma VS Porto: Letexier?
ReplyDeleteI think Turpin
DeleteWhy? The appointment was made before Turpin’s game in Manchester
DeleteToday I also learned that not even the federation sites can be considered official source in publishing the appointments. From now on it will be better to wait for the UEFA website in all cases. :)
ReplyDeleteKovacs finds again this game after having officiated it back in 2022.
At that time he was starting with the "very top", but he was already there. I rememebr an excellent, as always, comment by Mikael, about that path, at that time. The games he had officiated before and than that one. Hope he will be strict with benches if needed, as we know him also for that. Clear argument behind Rizzoli, preparation to WC 2026, he Romanian has still to make his "debut" in the very big competition, after having worked as reserve referee in 2022.
About the rest, a rather normal game for Massa, considering the name and the score of first leg (but still, we know, appointments made before), a rather sub-standard, but I think in this choice committee has added an assessment about the very poor game involving Atlético he handled, and they want to be rather careful now, or at least a bit hiding from the spotlights the referee.
Very long injury for Guida and this new couple of assistant referee, Carbone (former with Orsato and often with Guida) and Alassio (always with Massa) seems to be start of a possible new fixed trio. It seems as Meli (the other with Massa in past) was out for a while from serie A, maybe an injury. It's interesting to point out that despite of a not excellent level, let's say, of Italian top referees, there were still two appearances in CL KO play off. One could have guessed just one referee, and maybe this would have been definitely enough for the current standard.
Then, Vincic: here you find logic with Marciniak, identical choices for Milan and Juventus, this gives us further confirmations that appointments were made before, and not only, that they were more worried about these two clashes (I agree, very open Italian - Dutch ties) but definitely less about Atalanta. But they didn't change referee for Atalanta, confirming Zwayer.
Just wanted also to add that at moment for some reasons, Schaerer seems a bit out from the favor of committee, you can describe him as referee in a similar position to Nyberg, and they had some issues in Group Stage, but while the Swedish is now a bit back on his road, the Swiss seems to have lost some credit, you could have expected him in a game. Let's see whether he will appear or not in EL or even ECL. I also think that sometims the work of San was not assessed as the best by committee, but yes, for that they have solution, by easily sending a German VAR, or maybe another from another nation.
For Oliver it's difficult to say whether this is a good or a rather "not good" one, could have got more, but yes, Ialian teams at moment clearly avoided after the focus on Rosetti and PSG always delicate. But clearly after first leg, committee would have made different choice.
Also, another replacement: Šmajc took the role of fourth official in Eindhoven, Matoša was originally appointed.
ReplyDeleteOff-topic: One interesting thing that there were so many times menitoned on the blog that Obrenovic was back in Monaco in round 7th. But actually when Vincic was in charge of that game Matej Jug was the 4th official. Weird that there is a change in Vincic's original appointment againt.
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ReplyDeleteBoth Meler and Van Boekel are out of European competitions imo for this season.
ReplyDeleteYou often speak about Italian press but last week penalty has been named "the worst PK ever awarded" by The Athletic and a very dangerous PK for football ("Que un contacto así acabe en penalti es muy peligroso para el fútbol") by Mateu Lahoz.
Again if there were no chanche for a overrule with an OFR in that case, we really do not need VAR in football.
Btw good luck to Zwayer and his team!
Well said by Mateu Lahoz. And although I agree, it is not easy to find a solution, to “rewrite” the protocol.
DeleteWhat is supposed to be the threshold for a VAR intervention? Something like: "Well, just use your football brain and common sense" isn’t going to work in real time. Moreover, they should keep the threshold for VAR-intervention as low as they can. Too much VAR interventions don’t help to develop a great generation of new referees; VAR rather makes referees lazy.
Having said that, the protocol should not mainly focus on the question: is there a contact (Y/N). To define “a clear and obvious mistake”, they shall take other circumstances into account, and not just the contact. For example, in BRU-ATA:
1) The theatrical act by the attacker;
2) Intensity of a contact;
3) And the penalty being a crucial and potential match deciding incident (in stoppage time).
Add these circumstances to the blender and you have a controversial incident, that should always require a VAR intervention. i) For the future of football and ii) to save a talented official from a controversial (and potentially) a season-ending incident.
I don’t understand how it is possible to enforce such a strict punishment against the referee while also saying that he penalty was not a clear and obvious error…
DeleteDingert not working on Wednesday makes his AVAR appointment on Tuesday (not with Dankert) even stranger. Couldn't they have used Salisbury as AVAR in Milan-Feyenoord?
ReplyDeleteNormally, those mixed country VAR pairs mean, that the AVAR works as VAR the day before or after.
We can't know. They make so many changes.
DeleteOriginal VAR assignment for Real - City was Van Boekel - Dieperink. Then, Van Boekel replaced, but also Dieperink, with the Polish VAR as AVAR.
I think it is more about Borosak learning from Dankert, to be the save VAR for Vincic the committee needs.
DeleteDingert probably simply an experienced AVAR available who I suppose will be VAR in EL or ECL.
Nejc Kajtazović (SVN) was Vinčić's VAR in the CL final 2024 and EURO 2024 semi final . Afterwards, he made (some) crucial mistake(s) in the beginning of this season. Why is Kajtazović (SVN) still completely out of the picture?
DeleteSensible appointment for Oliver, a CL knockout game on paper, but (barring a repeat of PSG’s 2017) a match that will remain out of the spotlight, a welcome gift to Oliver after recent weeks.
ReplyDeleteI’m really interested to see how the committee ranks Kovacs’s work over the past year. This feels like a HUGE game for him, either it could confirm him in the top top echelon (World Cup lock, CL Final candidates) with a good performance, or with a very bad performance it could be extremely damaging to his reputation, especially if UEFA also took a poor view on other matches like Barca-PSG or Turkey-Czechia.
I was honestly a bit surprised to read the name Kovács in Madrid, even more when I read the names of the heavy artillery (Marciniak and Vincic) appointed to Dutch/Italian clashes. Not sure these pairings are justified and sensible. I don’t see the Dutch teams going through.
DeleteAs you also indicate: Kovács can only win or lose. There is not much in between. Normally, they do not send the #1 candidate for a Champions League final to such a big clash. That said, I think Kovács will do very well. Real Madrid should get the job done at home.
I could understand if Uefa saw his performance in CZE-TUR,too many bookings,lost control and so on.
DeleteMaybe even Bayern-Psg,lost control and other reasons.
But for Barca - Psg come on now..
He did everything by the book and that was one of the finest performances last season.
I agree M, that’s why I used the word IF.
Delete