Serdar Gözübüyük

Italy - Spain (7.6)

First half:

Not the best disciplinary line plus ill-tempered Italian players plus poor management skills made the first half very difficult for the Dutchman. THE key was the missed YC for holding (60-40 SPA) in 13' that should have been used to balance the cards (1-1) after correct YC to Italian for studs contact after follow-through in 11'. That card for holding was really expected and by not showing it Gozubuyuk had to deal with protests and conflicts initiated by Kean (fouled in 13') and Barella. As he was not able to deal with them properly (no management skills), he totally lost respect and control. Another YC should've been issued in 28' for flying studs challenge but Gozubuyuk didn't want to make Italians more angry. Correct no 2nd YC in 43' for illegal use of arm. The contact was different to that in 25' for which another Italian was booked.

Thanks to ProShots

Second half:

- penalty and YC 7ESP for holding awarded after an on-field review (80')

- several missed cards: bad behaviour of 14ITA who deliberately landed onto an opponent's head (46') and committed a late kick (68'); off-the-ball holding by 7ITA (76'), SPA by 4ESP (90')

Overall: a bit unlucky that Italians reacted in such bad manner after not-shown YC in 13' but Gozubuyuk's fault that he was not able to manage the game properly using soft skills and not even trying to have a good rapport with players, his management skills were non-existent and he preferred to miss another cards instead of take the lead

France - Croatia (8.4)

Flawless performance in a not so challenging game that didn't demand management skills from the Dutchman. Several penalty appeals correctly rejected (5' slight holding but the fall was rather not caused by that; 64' undeliberate handball after deflection from an opponent's leg).