The last time that happened was back at 2010 with Webb. So if Eriksson gets the final it will be a first with Collina in charge. Cakir will most definitely have a CL. He was very good at R16 EL Seville - Betis and could have an EL (even though only Juve-Lyon has the 2 biggest names).
Not good news for Barca with Webb in charge. Atletico's are a very aggressive and physical side that play on the edge of being dirty. They are an exact image of their manager Simeone. I suspect Simeone will brief them on Webb's lenient man management style. I'm curious how the game will play out.
Of course it could be the first -- Collina hasn't been in charge for that long. Although I agree that Kuipers is more likely at this point, but I don't think the reasoning is because Eriksson has a quarterfinal here. If Cakir does get a CL, he will be the first in quite a while to get a semi/final without having R16/quarter (which would be really weird, since if Collina plans to give him a semi/final, why not at least give him a R16 match?) But maybe he has a shot for the EL final.
Europa: Benfica - AZ: KRALOVEC (CZE) Juventus - Lyon: UNDIANO MALLENCO (ESP) Valencia - Basel: KASSAI (HUN) Sevilla - Porto: ROCCHI (ITA)
Chelsea - PSG. That whistle blew 20 seconds early (with PSG having the ball, after a corner was cleared by Chelsea, in Chelsea's attacking third) even with some notable slowness in getting the ball into play by Chelsea in ET.
And I don't think there was any added time in the first half, even though we had a sub, injury, and lengthy set ups for free kicks. Did anyone else think the time to book and restart was lengthy in spots? I thought it was unfair that the referee had the bloodied PSG player leave on the corner even though the cut and the blood had appeared over a minute before. (I know they have to leave.). Someone of the crew maybe should have noticed? And we got a yellow for the u14b's statue play! I loved that!
Some reports on Twitter and other blogs seem to indicate there was something amiss with the FS1 clock. It's being said he blew for full-time at 94:11 and not 93:40--not sure how that happened. Of course, given the notable slowness you noted, even that might be a bit generous. That said, it was another great performance from a top referee.
Yes. Totally agree. Very smooth. Never flustered. Although how they let Mourinho go to the corner flag to impart instructions after the goal is beyond me.
Portuguese crew I believe! But I agree the referee did very well. Early and consistent YCs helped also. PH
I don't think Eriksson's consistency in the first half today places him on the same level as Proenca and Skomina yesterday, or Mazic and Kuipers that we've seen before. His foul selection is errratic. Both sides get advantage and disadvantage, but it is not a top-class refereeing performance. Will be very surprised if he's selected for the final ahead of the guys above (minus Proenca, who's had it before.)
Anybody able to get a GIF/video of the yellow/red decision? I think it was Evra's tackle on Robben, I remember thinking it could have been a red at the time but a yellow was given, never got to see a replay. Anyway, I agree his foul selection was somewhat erratic, nothing majorly wrong, but I hope Mazic gets the final, his QF game was one of the best reffed games I've seen in a while.
One thing I've noticed about Eriksson is that he doesn't seem to have the rapport with the players that past Swedish referees always seemed to have. Frojfeldt and Frisk seemed to genuinely love being on the field and got along well with the players. Eriksson seems to be lecturing more than conversing when he's engaging players. I think Eriksson is a good referee and tonight he had an acceptable, if not great, performance. I think the Evra tackle was yellow (not DOGSO) but at the same time, Eriksson had a bad miss when Evra got tackled in the first half pretty recklessly and he gave no foul and the first caution against Vidic seemed particularly soft. So I can see where arguments about erratic foul selection come in. I've been sold on Kuipers now for about a year. I think he's consistently the best in the world and if the UCL Final is to be given on merit this year, I hope it goes to him. Mazic really impressed me in the one game I saw of him recently, and I'm sure there's another game for him in the final 10 matches (possibly the EL Final?).
My prediction is the semifinals will go to Rizzoli, Mazic, Skomina, and Kassai, and the final to Kuipers.
I think I'm willing to agree with 3.5 out of 5. Rizzoli is a lock, with no Italian referees, him not doing a QF, and him being a returning UCL Final referee. Kuipers is a lock for a game, even if it's not the final. And I think Kassai is close to a lock. Mazic constitutes the ".5" in my equation. He definitely gets a game, but if it's the EL Final then he won't be on a UCL semi. If he's slotted for the EL, I think you either see Moen or Cakir in this spot. Skomina is the only one I disagree with. If a QF referee is going to be repeated, based on performance I think it will be Proenca--also because multiple Portuguese teams are left in the EL, so it's hard to slot him there. Also, the draw still matters; it's rare for a referee to see the same team twice in the knockout stage (unless the second game is the final), so who plays whom can still affect things. For example, if Atletico does not draw Chelsea, then Webb really has no shot at a game (as he can't do Chelsea and he almost certainly won't do Atletico in back-to-back rounds).
Very true on both Evra decisions. Watching live, I thought there was a covering defender on the red card shout. The miss on the tackle in the first half was something that a top flight ref shouldn't miss. And the Vidic card wasn't really up to a yellow at that point in the match. But, we have gone a whole bunch of games now in this competition without having a referee be the focal point of a post game press conference. Maybe it's because Sir Alex retired?
Now that the semifinal draws are out, let me make my predictions: Atletico - Chelsea: Skomina Real - Bayern: Mazic Bayern - Real: Rizzoli Chelsea - Atletico: Kassai UCL Final: Kuipers Europa Final: Webb I can definitely see Moen getting one of the first leg semis instead, but he could as well get a EL semi. Cakir I would hope not to see. He'll almost surely not do Chelsea, and as a Bayern fan I don't want to see him after what happened in the Man United - Real last year.
I'll say... Atletico - Chelsea: Kassai Real - Bayern: Cakir Bayern - Real: Proenca Chelsea - Atletico: Rizzoli UCL Final: Kuipers I think this is possible. But there really are so many options. Could be Mazic. Could also be Brych. There are other names, even, like Moen or Cakir. The EL Final appointment is hard to pin down. Even in recent years, there's no pattern. It's been the best referee not on the UCL Final (Kuipers), a veteran referee who has otherwise missed out on a final (Stark), and an up-and-coming referee on the European stage (Velasco Carballo) all in the last 3 years. It's noteworthy that a UCL Final referee has not then had the EL/UEFA Cup Final since Collina got it in 2004, so not sure that bodes well for Webb. I'll stick with Mazic as my prediction there, but I have very little confidence in the guess.
Atletico - Chelsea: Eriksson (SWE) Wow. UEFA really loves him. A good match here could help his chances at the World Cup too, one would imagine.
If I were Eriksson, I might be able to convince myself that I didn't want this match. He's currently strongly favored by UEFA and well-liked in FIFA. He's poised for a big World Cup. But now he has this one final hurdle, that involves another English team (after his last two matches), the British press, and Jose Mourinho... all after yesterday's match in the EPL. From a refereeing standpoint--aside from the honor of having a UCL semi, of course--there's so much risk and really very little potential for reward. If he's flawless, it just reinforces his standing with FIFA and probably leaves him exactly where he already is right now. But if there is controversy, he could become toxic for the World Cup.
I don't know though, a middle on a UEFA CL semi-final is one of the highest honors a referee could achieve. It's pretty much eclipsed only by a CL Final or a WC final/SF/maybe QF. There's certainly risk, but I think you're underrating the reward and prestige a bit.
Sure, but I think he's got CL semifinals (and maybe a Final) in his future. And he's just had a QF, which isn't too much of a step down--all the knockout games are big. You only get one World Cup (well, Eriksson likely only gets one World Cup). And this game is going to define how he's perceived going into that World Cup. All I'm saying is that it scares the crap out of me from a refereeing standpoint. His stock really can't go up right now. But it can plummet if Tuesday goes the wrong way. I also said I might be able to convince myself I wouldn't want the game. The other side of me, of course, loves a challenge. But given the risk-reward for this particular game, I might prefer waiting for that challenge in, oh, say, the Netherlands v Spain rematch...
You can say that about any UCL semifinal/knockout match and to any referee. You have a bad game/big mistake and your career can, potentially, be over. When you do that type of game there really is only a downside and not an upside, but those guys relish matches like that I bet. Look at Ovrebo after his infamous Barca vs. Chelsea game in '09. I don't think he ever did another CL game ever again. His career was finished. Look at Cakir, he has disappeared from the CL this season after the Nani red card even though most on this board agree that it wasn't a wrong decision. I bet the Atletico vs. Chelsea tie will be extremely difficult to referee.
Real Madrid - Bayern: Howard Webb (ENG) That's a surprise. We all expected Mazic when we read the name of Collina as an observer and Webb pops-up.
So, both Eriksson and Webb have R16, QF, and SF. I didn't see that coming. UEFA doesn't seem to want to spread the wealth around, even though there are quite a few other referees who could do these two matches. My guess for the remaining matches Bayern - Real: Rizzoli Chelsea - Atletico: Kassai Final: Kuipers