Match #26 Italy : Wales Sunday, 20 June 2021 18:00 local time (12:00 EDT) Rome Referee: Ovidiu Haţegan (ROU) AR1: Radu Ghinguleac (ROU) AR2: Sebastian Gheorghe (ROU) Fourth Official: Orel Grinfeeld (ISR) Video Assistant Referee: Pawel Gil (POL) AVAR 1: François Letexier (FRA) AVAR 2: Benjamin Pages (FRA) AVAR 3: Pol van Boekel (NED)
52' ITA free kick, the deep wall breaks and ITA players allowed to take position well within 1yd of WAL wall. e2a: nowhere near as consequential as the RC, but I feel like this is a change I've yet to see meaningfully enforced
Red card. Studs up into the ankle above the foot into the bottom of the shin and a locked leg. I don't think VAR can overturn that at all. Unfortunately, the player stretched his leg out like this. 1st RC of the tournament kind of comes with a whimper.
And a 55' SFP for Wales... waiting to see replay. Oof, that's right on the border of yellow and red. I think either is okay. But it's not a clear error to give it. I mean, it's a lot of force. As I type that, Clattenburg talks. And for the first time I completely agree with him.
Full studs above the foot which is unlike the others I've see where it was only the front part of the foot that got stepped on. It was a careless challenge and worthy of sending off.
I hadn't really thought about the second part. But as to the "deep wall," Hategan would have been telling them that if they were still standing there deliberately when the free kick was struck, it would have been an automatic offside decision.
I agree with both of these statements (aside from the fact that "careless" means no card, so have to be careful on that language!). And that's why I'm totally fine with the red card. I think in almost any match I do, that's a red card. But we're kidding ourselves if we don't think that's very close to the border in a tournament like this. And that's what Clattenburg was saying. That exact same tackle is NOT getting a red card from Kuipers in the Final of this tournament, to use a hypothetical that could become reality.
Sorry, and thanks for the correction. My wording was imprecise. To me it was 'excessive force' when I saw it in real time. Replay confirmed it for me; but I'm glad I'm not a CR.
There is a question of overall context here, too. If Italian players aren't baying for the red card and you truly think it's borderline, with maybe a strong lean toward red... don't you go yellow in a tournament like this where both teams are going through? Particularly when VAR can then tell you if yellow is a clear and obvious error? I'm a little schizophrenic here. I personally like the red card in a vacuum. But in the reality these referees live in within UEFA and with the tool of VAR, my gut is starting to say to me that UEFA would prefer yellow there. Just imagine if that was Bale instead of Ampadu and try to imagine if Hategan would get another match.
Yup. Preventive management of offside and inventive management of encroachment (I guess it's encroachment).
Intra-Tournament consistency is important. This foul was a bit more than the other foot atop foot fouls that we've seen, but it seemed to me one that all 22 players would have accepted a caution. So, going YC here does little harm in the event that it's bad enough because VAR is there. However, I don't know enough about the UEFA assessment grading scheme to know how much of a hit the referee takes if they deem he got the call wrong on the field with VAR having to come in to help, which would obviously be something a referee at this level would be concerned with.
I think my "Good RC!" post is that I like that decision in a vacuum and I'm thinking less about the politics. I like referees who make the hard decisions and don't chicken out. But that doesn't mean this won't be controversial or seen as incorrect. But to your point about being schizo, I would say that's less abut you and more about UEFA's instruction and the fact that we generally agree this decision looks different in the final, which isn't about you but about the way expectations change, constantly putting referees in difficult positions.
I don't think Hategan would take any hit if he only went yellow there. That said, theorizing he could have gone yellow is working under the presumption he had any doubt. If he had no doubts, then there's only one choice for him. Looking back though, did everyone else notice he deliberately looked at the fallen Italian before going to the pocket? I wonder how much his perception of a possible serious injury affected his decision.
I'm not sure whether VAR would have intervened had it been a YC. As I watch mainly Dutch league matches, VAR would have requested a review had it been a YC and I think the call would have been changed to Red. There were four instances this year when that happened and they were of a magnitude of this particular challenge.
Right. I just don't know how the grading system and what they're being told impacts his decision. I would think, given everything I've seen in UEFA, that if you can give a YC they would rather have that... I think you're right about the injury thing.