2025-26 UEFA Europa League, referee appointments for the first legs of semifinals, to be played on 30 April 2026.
Thursday 30 April 2026
21:00 CET - Nottingham (City Ground)
NOTTINGHAM FOREST FC (ENG) - ASTON VILLA FC (ENG)
Assistant Referee 1: Bruno Jesus POR
Assistant Referee 2: Luciano Maia POR
Fourth Official: Espen Eskås NOR
Video Assistant Referee: Tiago Martins POR
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: André Narciso POR
Assistant Referee 2: Luciano Maia POR
Fourth Official: Espen Eskås NOR
Video Assistant Referee: Tiago Martins POR
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: André Narciso POR
UEFA Referee Observer: Matteo Simone Trefoloni ITA
UEFA Delegate: Alexander Miescher SUI
21:00 CET - Braga (Estádio Municipal de Braga)
SC BRAGA (POR) - SC FREIBURG (GER)
Referee: Anthony Taylor ENG
Assistant Referee 1: Gary Beswick ENG
Assistant Referee 2: Adam Nunn ENG
Fourth Official: Christopher Kavanagh ENG
Video Assistant Referee: Michael Salisbury ENG
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Stuart Attwell ENG
Assistant Referee 2: Adam Nunn ENG
Fourth Official: Christopher Kavanagh ENG
Video Assistant Referee: Michael Salisbury ENG
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Stuart Attwell ENG
UEFA Referee Observer: Dejan Filipović SRB
UEFA Delegate: Kris Bellon BEL
Pinheiro and Taylor the referees for the first hand
ReplyDeleteUEFA Protecting Taylor for a potential UCL final ?
ReplyDeleteYou mean "protecting Oliver", right?
DeleteTaylor for the final that's interesting and why not, he has been brilliant this campaign even though reality gives him 20% of getting a final this season
DeleteTaylor's last CL KO game was two years ago!
DeleteIf he was anywhere near the final, there would be no consistency in UEFA's appointments (to put it mildly).
@philipp S obviously you can see that it’s maybe more protecting Oliver which I agree with but I can see them giving him this before a final, that’s probably not happening but I was just questioning about it as now UEFA is giving SF and final to a same ref.
DeleteTaylor had Freiburg just 12 days ago on the previous round.
ReplyDeleteIt would make more sense send another referee here.
Yes, that seems very unneccesary.
DeleteTaylor could have gotten the Vallecano game and there are plenty of alternatives for Braga-Freiburg.
and assistant Gary Beswick
Deleteand aVAR Stuart Attwell
surely a weird oversee
21:00 CET - Nottingham (City Ground)
ReplyDeleteNOTTINGHAM FOREST FC (ENG) - ASTON VILLA FC (ENG)
Referee: João Pinheiro POR
Assistant Referee 1: Bruno Jesus POR
Assistant Referee 2: Luciano Maia POR
Fourth Official: Espen Eskås NOR
Video Assistant Referee: Tiago Martins POR
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: André Narciso POR
UEFA Referee Observer: Matteo Simone Trefoloni ITA
UEFA Delegate: Alexander Miescher SUI
21:00 CET - Braga (Estádio Municipal de Braga)
SC BRAGA (POR) - SC FREIBURG (GER)
Referee: Anthony Taylor ENG
Assistant Referee 1: Gary Beswick ENG
Assistant Referee 2: Adam Nunn ENG
Fourth Official: Chris Kavanagh ENG
Video Assistant Referee: Michael Salisbury ENG
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Stuart Attwell ENG
UEFA Referee Observer: Dejan Filipović SRB
UEFA Delegate: Kris Bellon BEL
These appointments also eliminate Oliver in the UEL entirely this year unless a miracle happens and he gets the second leg of the premier league derby in Birmingham
ReplyDeleteBy the way, regarding Oliver he will also not get a UCL semi final second leg because he is to officiate a premier league game on Monday (Everton v Man City).
DeleteIt is now turning into a bad year for Oliver ( unlucky) everything going in the opposite direction for the English perhaps FIFA can save him
I wonder, whether a Conference League final (if possible) would be considered a success by him or not.
DeleteConference League match for Zwayer. Are they shielding him for a Champions League final between PSG and Arsenal?
ReplyDeleteNo chance, I think even Siebert is in a better position than him after this season
DeleteSiebert situation is really weird since the last World Cup don’t sure that he is over zwayer
DeleteIt isn't no chance...
Deletehttps://www.dailymail.com/sport/football/article-15770311/UEFA-investigating-referee-sexual-assault-teenage-boy-officiating-match-UK.html
ReplyDeleteWow that’s a big scandal and horrific case.
DeleteWow ? A world cup referee ? Shocking ! A name ?
Deleteif its a referee its narrowed down to 2 names but we cant be sure its not an AR or VAR.
DeleteAgree only 2 names if it’s happened during the quarter finals but it can also be 4th official or AR, for VAR I don’t know if they are in truck or in VOR like in UCL games.
Deletewont be 4th official from past games as they wouldnt be going to world cup. are vars at stadiums for knockouts? ive seen pics of a couple full teams at stadiums but not sure is that the norm.
DeleteWho said it happened during quarter finals? Don’t start some random name dropping cause the Sun is not a reliable source , and it can damage referees. For what its worth many VARs have been at the stadium. Tbh i cant see a CL referee doing this , they are too famous. A drink on the terrace is already problematic
DeleteAgree. I hope it’s a real hoak.
DeleteUefa said: “Please be informed that we are aware of an ongoing police investigation involving a match official. We are monitoring the situation with great concern and will continue to follow developments closely. In the meantime, the official will not be considered for any Uefa competition matches.
DeleteApparently he is selected for the World Cup, don’t know for which role.
I think it's a hoax. Too many missing details in this story. It isn't indicated when this supposedly happened. People start speculating and make assumptions about the timeline , but why is this only being published on Monday 27 April ? And precisely at 9:00 PM, The Sun. I don't buy it. If a UEFA official had been arrested with a lot of fanfare , surely we should have read about this earlier
DeleteMore news here, statements from Police and UEFA :
Deletehttps://apnews.com/article/match-official-arrest-world-cup-fifa-uefa-680b3d7bafddefdc655ec363c03c1bf3
I think it is clear the story isn't a hoax - perhaps some of the exact details are not correct. But if they are, and the event happened in the last eighty days, then there are only three possible officials this could implicate - all of whom have been appointed in domestic competition since the last UEFA club comps matches took place on Thursday 16th April. Besides that we should wait (as UEFA/FIFA are), for the investigations to conclude.
DeleteThe article says the match official was not identified in reports, nor the game and competion. But at the end of article, it says London police and man in his 30s .. ://
DeleteMust be devastating to be arrested in front of uefa officials and delegates. Surely it can’t be any of the officials active in the semis
I am pleased to read that the accused individual continues to be appointed domestically. When such accusations occur, too often we see organizations “cover their own ass” and punish the accused party without any proof of wrongdoing. Until such proof is shown, this person should not be punished, their career must not be harmed and their reputation should not be tarnished, under any circumstances.
DeleteSo if you had been assaulted. And the turn on the TV to see the person who assaulted you being allowed to continue officiating and picking up a large fee you would be happy. Hotels have CCTV especially in lobbies and bars. The police would check the evidence of any allegation before moving to arrest. Even arresting on suspicion requires some proof.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteYes, Whistlersmum. Prior to formally proving guilt through due process in which the accused has an opportunity to defend themselves, the only action should be taken is that which is necessary to prevent danger towards others. "Seeing someone on TV" is not dangerous. The rights of the accused to maintain their innocence until proven guilty are more important than whatever harm (almost none) is caused by seeing somebody on TV.
DeleteU obviously have no knowledge of how such matters can affect the mental health of victims. Before or during investigation. It’s probably better for all concerned including the match officials and federation that he is not in the public eye. Hence why UEFA would not appoint him. Far to great a risk of reputational damage
DeleteYou obviously have no idea how false accusations can affect the mental health (plus the practical effects on career and reputation) of the victims of such accusations.
DeleteSo, UEFA is preserving Michael Oliver for the UCL final if Arsenal do not make it? Which creates the risk that he ends up with nothing; no semi final and no final.
ReplyDeleteTo me it is not surprising he is a candidate because he arguably deserved the final last season instead of Kovacs. But on the other hand, it is somewhat surprising since it means Oliver has to officiate Atletico’s hot potatoes in the final, while his style can be too “permissive” for teams like Atleti (see also his performance as 4O in a hot UEL final) - but no one can deny that the Englishman has been very strong for two seasons in a row and deserves a final for sure.
The ruling, clearly, is that there is no point giving a semifinal 'unsonorous' (said with full respect for both teams of course!) as Braga-Freiburg to one of the big CL final candidates. I would agree with that. Remember that Makkelie's appointment to Atletico-Arsenal is one surely orientated in necessity, rather than a completely free choice. The other possible game for Taylor, Rayo-Strasbourg, seemed better to me than repeating Freiburg, but okay. Martins should have been rejected after the missed red card in Alsace (his assessment must have been that this action was 'a very reckless tactical foul' and not 'violent'; I disagree) but otherwise the choice of Pinheiro is a good one. Eskas won't referee a semifinal, it seems; this could be read in one of two ways.
ReplyDeleteTalking about VAR appointments: Michael Salisbury is working on Taylor's game, he of West Ham vs. Everton controversy. Salisbury was one of VARs at the Limassol course and had that incident occurred in UEFA comps, I hope he would have intervened! Kwiatkowski for Rumsas (in the last round, the Lithuanian had Dieperink) suggests that Marciniak won't referee in the semifinals?
DeleteI agree on Eskas. His situation in UEFA really is hard to read. If he is considered for the ECL final, he should have gotten at least a EL QF, better a EL (or CL) SF in my opinion. Now, his appointments in the KO stage are rather thin. But it still could happen.
DeleteKwiatkowski could be an indicator - on the other hand, Marciniak regularly worked with other VARs in this season.
I would have expected Gillett with Taylor, especially as Oliver can't appear in the SFs.
Undeserved for Pinheiro, after the missed red card.
ReplyDeletePortuguese VAR has been appointed again, despite of that.
Argument? Situation was fully irrelevant for the final score of previous game, the mistake was in favor of the team that was eliminated, so no issues...
It's clear that committee had big plans for Pinheiro, if they are managing such assignments despite Juventus - Galatasaray and the other previous game, try to guess if he had had a clear path... even a CL semifinal would have been possible.
While for Taylor situation seems to be always the same, they have just to appoint him in mostly Europa and Conference League games but without any interest. Just surviving for officiating at WC, nothing else. The fact that he got again same team tells us committee doesn't / can't appoint him in a different way, given the past.
Fully agree; totally undeserved appointment, especially if compared with other elite referees; this is nothing new. Pinheiro is a lucky guy or protected by the divinities. Each referee during his match is judged by the observer and, like everywhere (school, job, etc), the judgment is a little bit personal. So if appointments are (ALSO) based on the grade given by the observer, an half grade could count very much
Deletehttps://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2026/04/28/uefa-referee-arrested-suspicion-sexually-assaulting-boy/
ReplyDeleteA world cup referee? In the mid 30's? There are not many options... But all in all shocking news and i hope the boy is fine.
DeleteA World Cup referee in the mid 30s who officiated in the UK probably in the last weeks. You are right, there aren’t many options.
DeleteBut we must also emphasize that it‘s not clear that these allegations are true.
DeleteMid-30s, police in London, WC official and sometime in 2026. That leaves few options, if true. It could be an AR or even an AVAR. I think if it was a centre referee (CR) it would perhaps surface more quickly on the socials, etc. The UEFA observer and delegation must have been aware that this happened, so you’re inclined to look at officials who were not appointed to the 1/2 finals.
DeleteIt’s inappropriate behavior if true, but we must be careful, this report could also be slightly exaggerated.
Gentlemen, please remember that this reporting has come from The Sun, a horribly salacious and inaccurate publication. Any and all facts reported must be assumed to be false until proven otherwise. And even if the details of the accusation are confirmed, one must remember that a mere accusation does not mean the accused has done anything wrong at all.
DeleteYes, completely agree. My initial thought was that it could be an angry fan, or perhaps even someone deliberately trying to discredit another person.
Delete@DayStare9 The AP is now reporting it and both UEFA and FIFA have confirmed that the arrest did in fact happen https://apnews.com/article/match-official-arrest-world-cup-fifa-uefa-680b3d7bafddefdc655ec363c03c1bf3
DeleteDong Fangyu and Xie Lijun will officiate in the UEFA Women's Under-17 Championship. Asker Nadjafaliev and Ruslan Serazitdinov will officiate in the UEFA European Under-17 Championship.
ReplyDeletehttps://m.dongqiudi.com/article/5812937.html
Thanks for the update. Not reported on officials channels (UEFA, AFC).
DeleteHi all,
ReplyDeleteI’ve been thinking about something for a while now. What exactly is the role of the “spectacle” and entertainment value when we evaluate referees?
Let me give you an example.
On Tuesday we had PSG vs Bayern. Both teams played really attractive, attacking football. Lots of goals, good sportsmanship, almost no diving, very few fouls. It was a proper football feast.
During the game there were two questionable penalties. The first one for Bayern was debatable on replay but no VAR stuff. The second one for PSG (the handball) was also questionable – It is a normal body movement. A lot of people on social media were already comparing it to the Cucurella handball that wasn’t punished.
Still, after the match, Schärer gets loads of compliments. A big reason seemed to be that “the game was so good”. It feels like UEFA and the RefCom can easily boost a referee’s reputation by giving him a nice, open, sporting match between two attacking teams.
Then on Wednesday we had a completely different kind of game. Two teams playing very defensive, low-tempo, boring football. Not enjoyable to watch at all – and that wasn’t the referee’s fault. Because neither team could score from open play, all the attention went to the referee decisions in the box.
Penalty 1: clear penalty.
Penalty 2: correct VAR intervention (and honestly much clearer handball than Schärer’s).
Penalty 3: better not to whistle it, but I can totally understand why Makkelie called it from his angle and saw a step on foot. Five centimetres more to the right and it would have been.
Having two OFRs doesn’t look great for the optics, of course. But does that make Makkelie a bad referee? Of course not. The calls were understandable from his position.
But this is what I’m wondering: what is the real role of the spectacle itself?
It seems like when the game is a proper football party, we’re much quicker to forgive the referee for small mistakes or a soft penalty. Think about Spain vs Netherlands in the Nations League. Turpin gave two really cheap penalties – in my opinion neither was a clear penalty – but afterwards almost nobody talked about it because the match itself was so entertaining.
So my question is: how much does the entertainment value of the game influence how people judge the referee’s performance?
Nonsense.
DeleteWell we have balance,but also we have team influence on refs.
DeleteWhenever you have Real or Barcawho are famous for their spectacular matches, you will also have refereeing controversies after the match always and that ref has no business in being in later parts of CL(Kovacs this year,Kassai 2017,Oliver 2018,Aytekin 2017 and so on..)
Of course you have some very rare examples with these teams like Kovacs when he handled City-Real in 2022 and game ended 4-3 if I'm not mistaken.
But you had last year spectacle with Inter and Barca when after the match Marciniak was the one to blame.
Speaking of Marciniak,we saw his performance in entertaining WC Final.
Many talked about Final,but he was still talking point with some.
So to answer your question, I think that very rarely we have entertaining matches that will hide referees and their mistakes.
Al-Nassr vs. Al-Ahli Jeddah yesterday
ReplyDelete(Ref: Lambrechts; Var: Van Driessche)
Two fouls in additional time at the end of the game which I would use as classroom examples of the 'tackle as an attack' concept and RC to be given:
https://streambug.org/cv/f15192
https://streambug.org/cv/f898cf
Two penalty area incidents from the first half:
https://streambug.org/cv/6d47fa
https://streambug.org/cv/4cb827
Very difficult game for the Belgian referee!
Overall, his performance was okay(-ish).
The major, glaring area of development for Lambrechts is finding a strategy to react against the mobbing and undermining behaviours which his games seem to always be beget by.
DeleteEspecially second incident in added time should have been straight red card, because the intent of the player is clear, despite all the rest. I always wonder whether referees are aware before about the difficulty when they go to officiate such games. Once they are there, they can't "escape".
DeleteIt's interesting to see the Belgian, a referee rather used in a very protective way by UEFA, in such context and it's nice to read that overall he did well. I would say, if you officiate this kind of games and you make it in a way or another, then you can only smile when you have "normal" assignments because you are prepared to everything.
About the penalty incidents, a correct call by AR and fully accidental touch in the second clip.
For me, huge mistake committed by Taylor in Freiburg goal. There is a faul that stops a DOGSO and he gives an advantage that finishs in goal. In theory he can’t do that unless it’s clear and obvious that a goal will be scored… the fault is in the midfielder
ReplyDelete*midfield
DeleteNo one will speak about it cuz it finished in goal but for me, as a referee, this doesnt go accordingly the rules
There is a certain contradiction in your statement...
DeleteThere is no contradiction.
DeleteAs a referee, it’s a mistake because by the book he has to stop the game and sent the Braa player off
As a football fan, nobody will question it
I meant, that you said, it's a DOGSO, but not clear and obvious that a goal will be scored.
DeleteBut on the second read, I understand the difference , my bad.
YC is ok. Bashing XXL.
DeleteSounds like a perfect use of advantage
ReplyDeleteThe question is he can’t give an advantage in that situation. If the Braga meros going and for instante makes a tackle and a void a goal he would have to restart the game with an indirect free kick. Who would understand that?
DeleteI've not seen it so don't know how long between there was between foul and goal being scored
Delete*not meros but yes meros and for instante not instante
Delete50 meters
DeleteA good start by Team Portugal, allowing a typical English game to breathe
ReplyDeleteOne missed foul. Went over the ball from a sliding tackle. Not until replay seen did anyone complain though
ReplyDeleteThat's red at 31'. All day. Lunge. Over the ball. Straight leg. Studs flush. Above ankle. Plenty of force. What is missing?
ReplyDeleteA lack of screaming? No jumping up and down by benches?
ReplyDeleteIn seriousness, as stated above no one thought it was a foul until replay, to the produce a red would have been an over reaction (hence VAR kept out)
FK and YC would have been fine
Yet we use VAR to adjudicate the minutae of handball penalty decisions and overturn the Eze penalty yesterday.
DeleteI am not sure if you're defending this or just stating facts as you see them, so this is not an attack on you. But this stuff shouldn't fly with anyone. That's a season-ending injury waiting to happen for Watkins; he's lucky he seems to skate by (though, notably, he got his revenge at 45'--*he* knew what had happened the whole time). We have it on video, clear as day. And we get no involvement because there was no reaction? It's a joke.
I don't disagree with you that in many other circumstances its a RC and this is the realisation that VAR does not put all wrongs right. In the game it would have been out of place (that said VAR has now intervened with handball)
DeleteHow's that a penalty in Braga?
ReplyDeletePenalty call correct! But only, if we see five more penalties in second half.
ReplyDeleteLike yesterday evening. Too many soft penalties.
DeleteExtremely Soft PK after VAR call in Braga, Taylor, positioned perfectly before without whistling the IMO more or less normal holding. If PK whistled, VAR should support that anyway, BUT Taylor did not whistle, having the perfect view on the situation. So his on-field-decision cannot be completely wrong, so the intervention must be wrong. This is just one more example for the absurd and inconsistent development of the interpretation of the VAR-protocol. There NEEDS a clearing process before the worldcup, urgently!
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, too much under the eyes of Taylor to say that he didn't see it There is something not wrong, but surely hard to understand, about the protocol, in this case. Another VAR for this argument wouldn't have called the referee. One must praise the punishment of the holdings, but there are very unclear points.
DeleteOn the penalty... is it a footballing action? No, it is a push/hold, nowhere near the ball. It isn't immediately where the ball is dropping, but only just behind it. I'm not surprised Salisbury felt it a clear penalty, but maybe comes under the too soft for Uefa. Personally, happy to see it given, I don't know what the defender is trying to do, other than foul
ReplyDeleteCorrect handball after VAR check in Nottingham. AR2 wrongly thought ball was out for goal kick before handball.
ReplyDeleteLikely to be a penalty in Nottingham. How AR gives goal kick from 3 yards off the goal line?
ReplyDeleteOFR in Nottingham for handball clear penalty no question, good work by the VAR
ReplyDelete67' Even in England that one's a handball! As soon as confirmed in play, clear penalty
ReplyDeleteAR guessing it's out as never in a position to judge
ReplyDeletePinheiro has been good, judged his involvement well. Ar2 will lose marks for poor decision prior to penalty
ReplyDelete2nd leg will be a good chance to test a newer Elite
Great perfomance for joao pinheiro the next game may be bayern vs psg or may be a final
ReplyDeleteYou don‘t believe that self.
Delete😂
DeleteI would not exclude the conference league final as I think Pinheiro is promising and has a good season. But Bayern-PSG is one or two steps too high yet. A SF return game should be handled by a top elite and normally one with final experience. I expect Marciniak or Kovacs there. Lets see...
DeleteMarciniak not possible as he is refereeing on the 4th of May Radom vs Lechia in Ekstraklasa
DeleteIs there a clip of the situation in Braga soft holing?
ReplyDeleteBraga - Freiburg
ReplyDelete16' advantage after DOGSO
https://streamff.link/v/b08cfd70
44' penalty for holding awarded after OFR
https://streamff.link/v/bb1e804f
In my opinion DOGSO can be discussed due to the position where foul occurred, not sure the English would have issued RC if he had stopped the game at that moment, but advantage is perfect management and very elegant to see after the goal scored.
DeleteThe holding penalty: very strict approach by UEFA regarding this kind of infringment, as we know, even if evident in some domestic league this is very often played on, without being assessed as clear penalty. Even more when it is not an isolate action before a corner. It's interesting to see that this happened exactly in front of the refere, who didn't decide to punish it. Doesn't give a positive picture overall, another VAR maybe would have stayed silent. One can fully agree with the penalty call but in this case the consistency must be discussed, there are clear arguments against calling the English referee to the screen and it would be better to take these decisions on the pitch.
DeleteAlso in 89' another holding by the same defender with at least the same intensity didn't lead to a VAR intervention.
Delete89' PAI holding
Deletehttps://streamff.link/v/ef54fe18
Hi Chefren ! About the DOGSO incident…
DeleteThe fact that leaves me to say it is a mistake is that after the goal Taylor shows the Braga player a yellow card. So, he assessed it as a DOGSO. Therefore, in my opinion, he couldn’t have played an advantage here because he took the risk of that Braga player interfere in the game again and then nobody would understand the restart of the game
But it's not listed as a clear technical error in the laws, the referee takes responsibility for making that decision. The goal scored afterward certainly made things clear for Taylor, and anyway, reading between the lines, this is what UEFA wants. Years of teaching the "delayed whistle", that is, showing an advantage only when you are sure, waiting for something to happen, can lead to a scenario like this.
DeleteWhat Taylor would have done without the goal scored afterward is not clear. I know, it's an unpleasant argument, but that's how it is today for me, referees urged to take "convenient" decisions, based on the moment of the game.
Leave the DOGSO scenario. Even YC at the first interruption for reckless foul seems correct to me.
DeleteNottingham Forest - Aston Villa
ReplyDelete31' potential SFP
https://streamff.link/v/823dc164
67' penalty for handball awarded after OFR
https://streambug.org/cv/bcd5ea
About the possible SFP, one must admit that live it was very hard to detect the severity of the offense.
DeleteOnly the replay shows us that he had a very dark yellow card and in my opinion better to be assessed as red. Direct takel with studs on the opponent, with a certain force (maybe not 100% excessive, but it is more high than low). The fact that the incident happened in this way (unnoticed by all pitch officials and only with a focus on it after with a replay) played a role about VAR intervention. Can be assessed as evident miss by referee, and we can say another VAR would have intervened.
In such situations, I will never stop to say, having VAR is similar to a field officiating, nothing change, if the VAR has a certain opinion on the incident and this then turns to be a wrong one. I said very often that in my opinion the Portuguese has a too relaxed approach, but this isn't the case, it's clear he couldn't catch this one, and no blame. Problem and discussion is about VAR here.
Penalty for handball: very hard to detect. When it happened, Pinheiro was running and following the action but he couldn't see it. Then, AR reported goal kick so the focus on the possible handball was impossible to happen. Close to the goal line. AR with definitely more chances. In the end very correct intervention, if we talk about the evidence of the infingment, then we have to say big miss by officials, but how it happened made it not easy. Nevertheless, for sure Pinheiro didn't see it, othwerwise without OFR, having the confirmation by VAR that ball was in play, he could have just switched to penalty (and this would have been a masterpiece of refereeing, but rather extremely hard to happen).
I fully agree with usaref on 31', clear SFP: studs on ankle of the standing leg, no sign of withdrawing from making this tackle
DeleteThe handball should be detected and then, as Chefren says, only VAR intervention would've been needed.
VAR was different but let’s not forget Pinheiro evaluated as a SFP Kelly’s landing on Yilmaz in JUV-GAL. Yesterday the tackle was undoubtedly worthy of a RC.
DeleteKawhi, then we should also add Strasbourg - Mainz, same VAR, Martins, in which a red card was missed for a very evident violent conduct (off the ball incident). It seems that the Portuguese VAR is very reluctant in intervening.
DeleteSuper clear red card in minute 31 for Nottingham player Anderson. Tiago Martins is great VAR referee and with many big games behind him. But here super strange action from both him and Pinheiro.
ReplyDeleteThis is so early in the game and decision that can decide if team play in final or not.
About Pinheiro, in my opinion nothing strange, it was wrong perception, he thought about a fair tackle (not even whistled foul). For sure if he had seen, he would have shown a card.
DeleteI don,t think it is a red card because before the tackle the player touch the ball
Delete