Manchester United vs. Ajax, Skomina is the CR. Just getting started, thought it deserved its own thread.
Maybe not! Watched most of it yesterday and Skomina, I felt, handled it very well overall. Only big incident was here, with the result being both Mata and #4 for Ajax being booked: https://streamable.com/klmq0 You could make an argument for Mata being sent off for the tackle, but not a strong one in this match. Also looks like #11 Ajax took a swing before #4 comes in with the two-handed shove, and that the second Man U player might have squared up with his head to butt #4, so a strict analysis would say there would need to be (a lot) more misconduct here. But in the 77th minute of a Final with no issues at all up to that point? I'm pretty sure UEFA will be happy with the way this was handled.
Agree that Mata probably deserved to be sent off in a "normal" match, but was never gonna get a red there in a Final. Most European countries have a referee pundit/analysis on their TV coverage for these games. Usually a former ex referee/administrator. A friend of mine in Europe texted me that on the channel he watched, the pundit said it's a red card and on the DVDs/courses UEFA referees receive that type of tackle UEFA wants a red card. He also said that since it's a Final, Skomina went with the lighter punishment. Nothing surprising at all. What's gonna be interesting is how these incidents will play out with VAR next season or season after on these Finals. I'm not a fan of the VAR idea, obviously, but I'm absolutely fascinated as to how the VAR will play out when it comes serious foul play tackles. Basically, Mata's tackle. Where is the line for how bad does a tackle have to be for VAR to intervene and overrule? I think that will cause the most problems and headaches amongst fans, players, coaches & referees. What is the definition of "clear and obvious" when it comes to serious foul play? How bad does a tackle have to be for the VAR to upgrade a yellow to red or nothing to red? For me, Mata's tackle falls under that category. For others, maybe not. Mata's tackle was under "yeah, that could be and maybe should be a red, but the game really doesn't need it right now" category. Is that acceptable for a VAR not to upgrade? Or does it have to be a De Jong style karate kick to the chest or a Schumacher on Battiston in 1984 where the guy has to be eating food with a straw? Do we need to see a broken leg for the VAR to intervene?
I think you're probably dead on here. Obviously, this is still evolving. But offside and mistaken identity are "easy" (or on the easier side), notwithstanding what we saw with the first annulled South Korean goal the other day. With penalties, it's tougher and more subjective but everything we're seeing and what I've read is that if the call is defensible in any way, it likely stands. So for penalties the real intrigue is when the VAR intervenes to suggest the award of a missed penalty and, slightly more controversially, if we see a simulation card overturned into a PK. But red cards are next level of subjectivity. Personally, I think you're going to see VAR used most often on questions of missed VC. SFP is trickier, both for the reasons you laid out and the issue of in-match consistency. Once you open the door to upgrading a yellow to a red for SFP, it's going to call into question a lot more tackles in that particular match. I'm not sure you'll need to see a broken leg to get a yellow upgraded to red, but it's going to have to be absolutely clear. This Mata tackle probably wouldn't get upgraded on the basis of the tackle being relatively low on the leg--if it was higher up the shin/calf, I could see most FIFA referees agreeing it's a "clear and obvious error."
For me, Mata's tackle was a good example of a standard yellow card in EPL that is more likely (almost surely?) a red elsewhere in Europe.
You wonder just how much input both the AR and AAR had on a play like that. They both seemed to have a pretty good view. For me, that type of tackle is a red card all day long. But, I'm not wearing a white badge and working a major continental cup final either.
Agree, that it won't be used as much as it will, inevitably, open the door to re-refereeing of the match. I think VAR has already started that...,but IFAB/FIFA want to prolong the inevitable as much as possible. For me the paradox of the VAR, especially when it comes to SFP, is that during courses, preseason camps, seminars and clinics Mata's tackle, or something similar, will be shown as something that should be a red card when they do their points of emphasis for the season on bad challenges. Yet when they go to the VAR training portion of the camp, the referees will be shown that same tackle or something similar and say that they shouldn't intervene. I get why FIFA have been emphasizing "clear and obvious" as they don't want to lead to re-refereeing of the game, but I just find that impossible.