The most significant legacy from the World Cup concerns refereeing rules, leading to faster matches, fewer tricks and simulations, and greater control over potentially decisive mistakes. However, the problem was the excessive use of VAR, particularly in the latter stages of the tournament, with some "retroactive" decisions perhaps best to be avoided. Consequently, to highlight once again the referee's central role, UEFA has established new guidelines for the upcoming European club competitions.
Roberto Rosetti, UEFA's chief refereeing officer, outlined how these will be implemented across the Champions League, Europa League, Conference League, and all UEFA competitions, aiming also for greater uniformity with domestic leagues.
1 - Throw-ins and Goal Kicks: The new IFAB rule has been adopted. For throw-ins and goal kicks, a five-second countdown will commence from the moment the referee blows the whistle and signals. Any player exceeding this time limit will shift the throw-in to the opponents or concede a corner to the attacking side.
2 - Quick Substitutions: Another anti-time-wasting measure concerns substitutions. Players must exit the field within ten seconds from the moment in which their numbers are being displayed on the substitution board. Failure to comply will still result in the player being replaced, but their team will be forced to play with ten men for at least one minute, until the next stoppage in play allows the substitute to enter.
3 - Injuries: As Rosetti highlights, "far fewer players are seen collapsing on the pitch", ensuring the game maintains its rhythm. Should an injury necessitate medical attention or a stoppage in play, the injured player will remain off the field for one minute. Exceptions apply if the foul led to a yellow or red card, if a goalkeeper is involved, or if it's a collision between teammates.
4 - Covered Mouth: On this matter, UEFA has different opinions from FIFA. Covering mouth while speaking to an opponent will not result in an immediate red card. The referee will have discretion to assess the situation and, if warranted, issue a yellow card, not a sending off. Rosetti remarked: "Too often we have seen players demand opponents be sent off for a simple hand gesture".
5 - VAR and Second Yellow Card: VAR will now review second yellow cards, "also to prevent incidents like those involving Kalulu and Bastoni in Italian serie A last season". The Juventus player shouldn't have been booked, while Bastoni should have been. There will be no review for a first yellow card: It's part of football; a booking can be a mistake, and it would be dangerous to start reviewing everything.
6 Silent Check on Corners: The new rule is approved, but Rosetti clarifies it will only apply "in absolutely clear cases, involving the last touch, without reviewing previous phases of play, and without wasting time".
7 VAR and Dead Ball Situations: Previously, VAR could not intervene during dead-ball situations. However, the protocol has changed. For instance, if an attacking foul occurs before play restarts, video review is now permitted.
8 - Ball in the Penalty Area: To prevent past misunderstandings: if the ball in the penalty area has already been played and is in motion, a handball will result in a penalty. A player will be not allowed in any case to handle the ball a second time.
9 - Only the Captain: "No more mobbing of referees", stated Rosetti. Only the captain is permitted to speak with the referee. Any player who fails to respect this rule, or acts in a threatening or disrespectful manner, will be shown a card.
10 – VAR Method: VAR should correct clear and obvious mistakes or serious unspotted incidents that could affect the outcome of a match. Rosetti outlined the VAR process for referees: first, they assess the key frame, then the action in slow motion, and finally at real speed. The decision is derived from this mixed review.
11 – Clear Line: The true revolution lies in a new video library on the UEFA website dedicated to refereeing decisions. This resource will allow users to consult over 150 situations, providing a constant reference for when VAR should or should not be applied. Rosetti added, "This is for fans, journalists, and observers, so there are no more doubts".
12 - Offside: Already implemented in Italy, automatic offside is set to arrive in the Champions League. If an offside is clear, for example, by more than 30 centimetres, the assistant referee will receive an audio message, and the flag will be raised immediately, stopping play. Otherwise, the message will be delay, meaning play continues and the situation is reviewed afterwards.
13 - Philosophy: "VAR is not a second refereeing system", Rosetti explained. 'We are putting the referees at the centre; I appreciate the work Orsato and Messina are doing in Italy. Good referees must make decisions, even unpopular ones".
Uniformity, almost all the new guidelines are similar to the premier league.
ReplyDeleteAnd so far so good by the PL officials
In general, it seems like an initiative that clarifies important aspects of the regulation's implementation.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I disagree with something: why intervene on the second yellow card? What is the difference between the second card and the first one? It feels like we are now creating three types of cards: a yellow card, an 'important' yellow card, and a red card. What if the first yellow card is completely wrong and the second one is correct? This would still make the red card wrong anyway.
I can accept that but what about missed obvious 2YCs?
DeleteKovac was in Saudi league tonight and he gave a PK after a handball by a player on a GK situation, quite funny that this happened to him after barcelona game last season.
ReplyDeletevideo ?
Deletehttps://streama.in/1uGH3eyaItFy8xF/watch
DeleteHe didn’t seen so enthusiastic about calling it. He ignored it when Barcelona played agains Atlético Madrid. They should change the law. It should say that the ball is in play when it has left the goal area.
DeleteDisagree with you @VG, this has been clarified for this season and now every referee will call it, the players need to understand it, when the ball is in play you can't touch it with your hand, quite clear imo. .
DeleteDoesn’t matter. No referee wants to call it and nobody wants these penalties.
Delete@Mikael W, I was reading through some older posts on this blog and noticed you've written quite a few reports on referees' performances (in 2018 or 2019). They sound really interesting! It looks like they were originally linked to kronikasedziowska.blogspot.com, which unfortunately seems to be offline now. Is there any chance those reports are still available to read somewhere else? Thanks so much in advance!
ReplyDeleteSo, I essentially agree on almost all points.
ReplyDeleteGood job on distancing from FIFA on other topics, but as for covering the mouth with the hand, in my view, the referee will have to be very smart and try to understand that it's not an insult, otherwise, the red card is fully justified. More generally, a player has no need to cover their mouth when speaking, because everything should be done out in the open. I can admit that maybe in some circumstances going straight to red is excessive, but it's a habit that needs to be stopped. Even though I have noticed it’s not done by everyone and there is a specific context to this behavior, anyway, anyone who watched the matches definitely got the point.
The issue will definitely be this second yellow card. Everyone will see that in the case of a completely wrong first yellow, where VAR can't intervene, and a correct second yellow, nothing can be done, so the sending-off will stand. However, there is no real difference between that and a scenario with a correct first yellow and a wrong second yellow. So here, the sequence of the cards will act as the determining factor for whether VAR can step in or not, and that is completely unfair. Now, the ratio seems to be that a second yellow leads directly to a red, so that's the immediate trigger for the dismissal, even though, obviously, the first yellow is just as much an integral part of the process, it just happens first.
So here, it is all about luck, and if we stick to the original principles of VAR, this is a completely wrong introduction. It introduces a element of chance, regardless of anything else, where within the exact same scenario, one correct yellow and one wrong yellow, VAR can intervene sometimes, but not others.
However, this is the result of wanting to keep using VAR by getting more and more involved in refereeing decisions. Rosetti sets the boundary when he says that single yellow cards can't be contested, but in my opinion, they should have stayed firmer.
I’m against this intervention on the second yellow card because it gets into a situation that isn't completely independent.
Under the previous protocol, you knew it was strictly for direct red cards; there could still be major mistakes with yellow cards, but at least the fact that they weren't touched at all had its own logical principle. Now, on the other hand, the application of VAR is becoming increasingly gray.
As for the rest, I would say everything was standard, great job by Kovacs on calling that penalty yesterday in those situations where players ignore the rules.
It’s time we show them the rules! Sit them in front of a screen and tell them: "You are not leaving this room until you stop looking surprised on the pitch when a decision like this is made."
Honestly, these are the things I jwill never understand. They act like they came from another planet, but anyway, that’s another argument and better to stop here.