Anastásios Papapétrou, Portugal - Spain

One never forgot it was an U19 game, but this Duelo Ibérico presented a certain challenge to it's referee, fought with a certain tension although mostly this was emitted as enthusiasm. Good / satisfactory performance by Papapétrou that featured a missed penalty for handball, also presenting some areas for development.

=> Biggest strength for the Greek referee is how relaxed he is on the pitch. No problems in talking, communicating with the players that he did many times (13', 20', 36' eg.) and also coaches; certainly no hectical impression, and such an authority that is presented co-operatively and on a level with the players allowed him to easily direct this match.

=> We should start with an in-box situation at 31', regarding handball
Body surface is much enlarged into an unnatural position (no matter defender's back is turned or closer distance) - penalty to be given. Both Papapétrou and AR Dawid Igor Golis between them should have detected the offense - though communication is likely not optimal between these ad hoc teams. CRUCIAL MISTAKE.

=> Referee decided manage the game on the thesis of verbal warnings. I liked that he sensed the rising tension and gave a small warning at 13’, and in the end this approach saw the game pass without any bigger problems. He might have cautioned ESP No.22 for dissent at 20’, he kicked the ball away (firmly) more in frustration than anger, though it was not so far away from AR who just flagged a foul against him; I am satisfied by verbal warning. Optimal moment for the first card was missed at 36’ after a reckless scissors tackle, but freekick was only awarded after some delay anyway and I do not think that referee properly evaluated the tackle. YC for PI after clear foul in-front of the benches at 43’ gave referee good opportunity to give the card and calm the match down, for it was on edge. Only other YC was correctly issued at 73’ for a reckless studs tackle. None other clear ones were missed, though I would like at least a warning at +48’ after a SPA-esque foul.

=> Referee and fourth official Nikola Dabanović had some troubles with the technical areas in this match. First, Papapétrou ‘chatted’ with ESP coach after he protested a decision against his nation, and it was rather a chat than warning; it calmed him down apparently. After POR player was beaten in a fair physical duel that sent him careering into the advertising hoardings at 57’, there was some light conflicts between the benches thanks also to referee’s indecisiveness – throw-in, foul (after referee saw the injury?), then throw-in (on Dabanović's advice?) was signalised. In the end, thanks to a good work by Dabanović largely, it ended with POR and ESP coaches embracing each other – what was the most important ultimate optic.

=> We talked before about forgiving a YC to ESP No.22 for dissent, after that, he dissented twice more, the second time (45’) was quite clear, and I would have liked to see a caution for dissent by that point; otherwise such verbal warnings give the impression of ‘going through the motions’ rather than preventative refereeing.

=> Clearly Papapétrou knows the good moments in order to issue verbal warnings and has no troubles in talking to the players, his big area to further develop should be attempting to CONNECT with the players. Players were not really so interested in his warnings, often looking away or even not facing him – referee should show more determination in issuing these warnings, in order to maximise their effect. For the referee whose formula for success is detecting the moments for such warnings, this should be an imperative improvement.

=> A further specific point for improvement, when the ball is kicked high into the penalty area from far away, he should run in so order to get a good insight into the penalty area, rather than passively walking.

=> Correct dropped ball after the ball hit him at 63’

Ultimately, a satisfactory to good performance by Anastásios Papapétrou, but a match that also revealed some points for improvement, especially in CONNECTING with players (see Marciniak), to take him to a higher level.

LAW 5 - THE REFEREE BLOG REPORTER:
Mikael W.