Liverpool : Tottenham Madrid, Spain Referee: Damir SKOMINA (SVN) Assistant Referee 1: Jure PRAPROTNIK (SVN) Assistant Referee 2: Robert VUKAN (SVN) Fourth Official: Antonio MATEU LAHOZ (ESP) Video Assistant Referee: Danny MAKKELIE (NED) VAR Assistants: Pol VAN BOEKEL (NED), Felix ZWAYER (GER) Offside VAR: Mark BORSCH (GER) In the World Cup, the "VAR Assistants" were AVAR1 and AVAR3. The "Offside VAR" is a dedicated AR, which was AVAR2 at the World Cup. Sort of a bit weird that they didn't just take one of Makkelie's Dutch ARs to perform that role, but Borsch is highly respected and can't underestimate the politics involved.
Either way with his arm away from his body like that. He looks good calling that bc of the risk the defender took. Crappy call for those spuds supporters tho.
It's funny hearing the BT Sport ads from the commentary on TNT. I guess they didn't pick up the international feed.
The idiot TNT announcers didn’t even announce the correct commentators. I doubt they even know what feed they’re using. Such an amateur operation they run.
I know this isn't related to refereeing, but it really doesn't sit well with me that TNT is simply lifting the BT Sport feed for these broadcasts. At least Fox sent its own announcers to do play by play for the finals when they had it. The business/marketing part of me is very surprised that Skomina and crew are wearing yellow after Rocchi and crew wore yellow for the Europa League final. I figured that Macron would want to show off two separate colors of the new kits for the two European finals. I was guessing Skomina and crew would wear blue or black (if they wore black, then Lloris would have worn his bright orange keeper kit).
I figured since they announced the 2nd half commentators at the start of the match that they made a mistake with the feed.
Turner Sports has gone about as cheap as you can with their coverage. They only had the Europa League final on TNT. They have minimal studio coverage (the commercials dominate pregame and halftime). They somehow find a way to have two separate feeds in use for the final. I really wish NBC or ESPN would take this coverage over. My preference would be NBC, as their coverage of the Premier League is outstanding. However, ESPN would also do a good job. They could at least have CL games on their main channels, air one Europa game per matchday on ESPN2, and use ESPN+ for some of the other Europa League games and perhaps some of the lower-level CL games.
Wonder how many more "hard whistles" he'll give to hurry up on the Liverpool throws. We're up to two so far.
Usually matches that are this poor at least have the train wreck aspect of offering disciplinary problems to enjoy. Alas, no such luck.
Glad that that call is not going to end up deciding the game. It was a "by the book" but not the "spirit of the game" type call. Sissoko's arm was out to direct his fellow defenders, and it was ball to armpit, not arm/hand to ball. No intent whatsoever, not that that matters these days...
You don’t think that first goal decided this game? Not sure anyone scores if that doesn’t happen. I can’t buy the logic that the insurance goal means the penalty wasn’t determinative. As for the call itself, pro players understand the expectations. Maybe don’t stick your arm out at full extension, with a 90 degree angle, to direct your teammates while standing in your own penalty area? That’s been a penalty forever, not just in the last few years with the most recent interpretations.
Forgettable Final and if that penalty isn't called they could probably be playing until tomorrow without a goal scored. Could have given an early caution on that challenge on Kane early in the first half and there was a intentional/unintentional flailing arm on Robertson where he called the foul and didn't give a card. In MLS that same play is cautioned and VAR sends that down for review... Overall, with the way these games are refereed now, they are pretty hard to screw up. Keep the cards in the pocket early and let the players manage the games themeselves and get the penalty decisions right and you'll be fine.
I don’t buy that. We’ve seen enough games screwed up that we should appreciate an excellent performance when we see one.