Match 11 - DEN : POR - THOMSON (SCO)

Wednesday, 13 June - Lviv - 12:00 EST
Denmark : Portugal
Referee: Craig THOMSON (SCO)
Assistant referee: Alasdair Ross (SCO) , Derek Rose (SCO)
Additional assistant referee: William Collum (SCO) , Euan Norris (SCO)
Fourth official: Viktor Shvetsov (UKR)
Reserve official: Oleksandr Voytyuk (UKR)
UEFA Delegate: Jozef Kliment (SVK)
UEFA Referee observer: Jaap Uilenberg (NED)

This thread is for all pre-, play-by-play, and post-match discussion of the referee and other officials on the match. Only news and analysis or other facts/information related to the referees and the officiating should be posted here. This is not a team or rivalry thread and will be heavily moderated to ensure it remains that way. Please read the stickied thread at the top of this forum if you have further questions. Thank you.

Thomson has risen to be Scotland's first truly top-level referee since Hugh Dallas and the first to attend a major tournament since Dallas in 2002. That being said, I think it's fair to say he probably came into this tournament ranked 12th out of the twelve referees. He's had a very difficult time since last November, first with the France-Bosnia playoff, then with a real controversy in the Twente v Schalke Europa League match (gave PK and red for a dive that was out of the area anyway) and recently made a mess of the Scottish Cup Final, once again giving a penalty for a foul that was clearly outside the area (don't for a second think that Ronaldo & co. won't have noticed this habit!). In between, however, he was still appointed to the EL semifinal, so UEFA has reinforced its confidence in him going into this tournament.

I've seen him be very good in years past, but I don't think it's harsh to say he's been having a bad run of things in the last six months. Hopefully he turns it around today. His bigger matches in recent competition:

UCL: Bayer Leverkusen v Barcelona (R16), CSKA v Inter, Shakhtar v Porto, Bayer Leverkusen v Valencia
EL: Atletico Madrid v Valencia (SF), Twente v Schalke (R16)
EURO 2012 Qualifiers: Israel v Greece, France v Bosnia, Italy v Serbia (abandoned), Armenia v Russia

I go "no" on the agricultural challenge... you give that and Ronaldo will be looking for them all day.

But "yes" on Agger's untidy tackle just after.

Now then, wasn't that a goal kick? Corner given and Portugal scores.

I think he's wrong.
I think it should have been a DOGSO.
That ball gets through and it is off to the races.

You can actually use the center circle as a frame of reference, since the defender at the bottom of the screen is parallel with the attacker (or thereabouts). It looks like they are about 16 or 17 yards apart. If anything, I think the camera angle makes them look closer than that.

I think there was a strong case for DOGSO. The doubt, for me, is whether or not the ball was going to hit the Dane in the back or touch him at all. The issue of him having clean control and being able to bear down on goal has some doubt. The counterbalancing thought is that it was a deliberate attempt to stop a breakaway by the defender--he knows what he's doing and why. It's close for me. I wouldn't have batted an eye if Thomson went red, but I also wouldn't categorize this as a miss.

Leaving aside the stipulation that we're not working strictly with the 4 Ds for this match, I actually think the distance issue is the smallest worry. We're past the center circle, so we're actually only about 40 yards out where the handling occurs. But the ball is traveling with pace and everyone is already sprinting. By the time the ball is even touched (unless it accidentally hits the Dane, as I suggested was possible), we're probably only 25-30 yards out. Distance, given the totality of events, is not a problem here.

As for the 4 Ds issue, I can go dig it up again, but UEFA has 6 criteria that essentially mirror the Laws and the 4 Ds, but they only need to "be considered." In the end, UEFA has its referees ask the very simple question of whether or not, after considering the criteria (and in spite of the possibility of some being doubtful) a goal or obvious goal-scoring opportunity was very likely. Quite simply, Thomson didn't think so here. And it's a reasonable decision. If anyone is searching for "truth" here, I don't think they are going to find it.