The Third Team footballrefereeing.blogspot.

com

The 3rd Team Referee Observers Report

UEFA Under-19 European Championship
Group Stage, MD2 (NED) Netherlands 1:4 Portugal (POR)

23/07/2013, 15:30 CET Alytus (LTU) Goals scored: 0:1 Guedes 32, 0:2 L. Silva 77, 0:3 Horta 87, 0:4 Guedes 89, 1:4 Vloet 90+1 Match Officials Referee Assistant Referee 1 Assistant Referee 2 Fourth Official UEFA Referee Observer UEFA Delegate Blog Observer Name Michael Oliver Dermot Broughton Stelios Nikita Sergejus Slyva Kyros Vassaras Christian Teinturier Niclas E NAT ENG IRL CYP LTU GRE FRA GER Mark 8.4 8.3 8.3 8.0 Mark* 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 Difficulty Normal Normal Normal Normal

* mark without crucial mistake (7.8/7.9) Level of Difficulty

Normal: Normal match for the officials, few challenging situations Quite Challenging: Difficult match with some difficult decisions for the officials Very Challenging: Very difficult match with many difficult situations for the officials

Evaluation Scale (applicable for referee and assistant referees only)* 9.0 10.0 Excellent. 8.5 8.9 Very good. Important decision(s) correctly taken. 8.3 8.4 Good. Expected level. 8.2 Satisfactory with small areas for improvement. 8.0 8.1 Satisfactory with important areas for improvement. 7.9 One clear and important mistake, otherwise 8.3 or above. 7.8 One clear and important mistake, otherwise 8.0 8.2. Below expectation, poor control, significant point(s) for 7.5 7.7 improvement. Disappointing. Below expectation with one and clear important 7.0 7.4 mistake or a performance with two or more clear and important mistakes. 6.0 6.9 Unacceptable. Disciplinary Home Team Minute 35 Card YC Player Misconduct Classification 17 Unsporting behaviour (UB)

Additional Time
First half 1 Second half 3

*Expected level for fourth official: 8.0

Disciplinary Away Team Minute 34 42 54 Card YC YC YC Player Misconduct Classification 5 10 8 Unsporting behaviour (UB) Unsporting behaviour (UB) Unsporting behaviour (UB)

Description of the match: Second matchday at the finals of 2013 UEFA Under-19 European Championship staged in Lithuania. Netherlands and Portugal met each other in to fight for an optimum position in the standings of Group A prior to the last group stage matchday deciding on the teams that will qualify for the semifinals. Although Portugal gained advantage by a deserved goal in the first half rewarding the Iberian team for their offensive alignment, the Netherlands came back but found no way to score a goal in the early second half. The final result of 1:4 therefore is no real mirror of the match or relative strength of both sides. The match was characterized by a decent level of fairplay so that the match officials faced a difficulty that can be classified as normal.

 The Third Team footballrefereeing.blogspot.com

REFEREE 1
Application and interpretation of the Laws of the Game / match control, tactical approach and management of the game with the special situation(s) of the minute(s): Comments: The referee of the game, English Michael Oliver, showed a strong application and interpretation of the Laws of the Game. Foul detection and line of decision-taking were both good and fully met the requirements of the match. The referee whistled 24 fouls, a number that was enough for this match and represents the decent level of fairplay in the match. His awareness for rather technical Laws of the Game became visible when he insisted on the appropriate application of th Law 16 in the 14 minute. The referee chose a passive approach at the beginning of the match and offered the players some room to prosper play. When infringements occurred, he showed no hesitation to punish them with the suitable means (free kicks etc.). His tactical approach hence suited to the match and was well accepted by the players he had full control for 90 minutes. th The referee dealt with the advantage rule in a very good fashion. One must highlight an incident in the 24 minute where he detected an infringement, applied the advantage rule and whistled to award a free kick with some delay as soon as he had recognized there would not be a promising or profitable advantage. Additional time was by the way well chosen in both halves. Minute 14 24 Description of the situation Correctly advised the Dutch goalkeeper to repeat the goalkick, because a team-mate had touched the ball before it left the penalty area. He well insisted on Law 16 here. Correctly applied the advantage rule when POR #8 was fouled by NED #25 first waited for an advantage and when the ball reached an unprofitable position close to the corner flag, he awarded a free kick with some delay. Good management.

Disciplinary control, management of players and team officials (bench) with the special situation(s) of the minute(s): Comments: Based on a well-chosen tactical approach (see in 1), the referee had a clear line in terms of his disciplinary control. He did not tolerate tactical fouls and issued all four yellow cards for this reason. POR #5 had committed a tactical foul around the midfield circle and received a mandatory caution due to that. Same goes for NED #17 who stopped a counterattack in a too reckless manner. Also in minute 42, POR #10 was booked for the same offense. A rougher challenge happened in the th 54 minute when POR #8 tried to gain the ball with a (mistimed) sliding tackle from the front and solely hit the opponent. Reckless and dangerous foul. That was a very clear yellow card which was really necessary also as kind of signal that the referee does not accept such tackles. He undermined this call by a small verbal warning so that he seemed to be aware of the danger this tackle could have aroused. th The referee however missed a mandatory yellow card for delaying the re-start of play in the 77 minute: POR #18 kicked the ball away shortly but clearly after a whistle for a free kick. The scoring line was 0:2 so it was clear this was a method to waste some time. He did not even talk to the player and should show more alertness here in his coming matches. Minute 77 Description of the situation Kicking the ball away (POR #18) went unbooked. Mandatory yellow card missed for delaying the re-start of play. The referee should at least have warned the player verbally.

Physical Condition: Very good Positioning and Movement:

+ Expected -

X ---

--X

-----

Always close to the play, follows play at all times, and does not interfere with play Flexible diagonal system

 The Third Team footballrefereeing.blogspot.com

-------

X X X

-------

Able to anticipate the action Enters the penalty area when necessary Efficient positioning at set pieces / dead ball (e.g. corner-kick, free-kick, goal-kick)

Please describe any special situation(s) with indication of the minute(s) mandatory if you tick - (negative point) in one of the above boxes: Minute Description of the situation The referee showed a very good level of fitness displayed in various quick counterattacks. The match was not that demanding under the physical aspect though, but he really made the impression he can easily deal with Full time more challenging matches in future. He had a very good positioning on the basis of a good and anticipative footwork. Co-operation with assistant referees, additional assistant referees (where applicable) and fourth official: The referee relied on his assistant referees in some moments and situations that occurred in their immediate area of vicinity. However, the match did not reveal remarkable incidents that could have demanded some obvious teamwork. It seemed all right.

Personality: In this particular match, the referee did not have to apply very much personality as the number of verbal warnings was quite low. He presented himself as focused official who does not smile that much (also becoming visible at the coin-toss or shake-hands after the national anthems). He could be a bit more relaxed here on the other hand, this might have also supported him in keeping the match control high.

General comments, advice on performance and personality: He was not so much challenged so that real points for improvement were not visible, some minor things should be improved though. One of them is the way how he issues cards. It is unnecessary to first write the offenders down in the book and to then raise the card aloft. More swiftly showing the card may avoid protests or conflicts e.g. with players who demand a yellow card to the opponent. Overall a really good and promising performance in this sonorous but in the end totally fair match. He may have a lot of hopes to handle a third match at this tournament.

Points discussed in the report:

Positive points:

1) 2) 3) 4)

Application (Law 16) and interpretation (foul criteria) of the Laws of the Game. Consistency in punishing tactical fouls with necessary cautions. Advantage rule. Positioning play.

Points for improvement:

1) 2) 3)

Awareness for mandatory cautions due to delaying the re-start of play. The way how he issues yellow cards can be improved (see 6). He might deploy a slightly more friendly and relaxed body language and player management.

 The Third Team footballrefereeing.blogspot.com

ASSISTANT REFEREE 1 8
Assistant referees performance (please mention some important decisions with reference to the minute): Positioning and Movement:
+ Expected -

-----------

X X X X X

-----------

Correct offside decisions and good application of the wait and see technique Good positioning and movement Adequate alertness and good co-operation with the referee Reaction to incidents within his vicinity Efficient control at set pieces / dead ball (e.g. corner-kick, free-kick, goal-kick)

Comments: The first assistant referee, Irish Dermot Broughton, made a mentally alert impression as long as he was captured by the TV cameras. A lack of replays in minute 89, but an onside call made preceding the 0:4 goal in this minute was the only remarkable call I can report. Good performance in an easy match for him. Please describe any special situation(s) with indication of the minute(s) mandatory if you tick - (negative point) in one of the above boxes: Minute Description of the situation .

ASSISTANT REFEREE 2 9
Assistant referees performance (please mention some important decisions with reference to the minute): Positioning and Movement:
+ Expected -

-----------

X X X --X

------X ---

Correct offside decisions and good application of the wait and see technique Good positioning and movement Adequate alertness and good co-operation with the referee Reaction to incidents within his vicinity Efficient control at set pieces / dead ball (e.g. corner-kick, free-kick, goal-kick)

Comments: Overall Stelios Nikita had a more challenging match than his team-mate on the other sideline. Good onside decisions facilitating two goal attempts by the Portuguese team in minutes 25 and 30. Some confusion in minute 56 (see below), a point to improve became visible here. Apart from that correct throw-in decisions and everything on expected level. Please describe any special situation(s) with indication of the minute(s) mandatory if you tick - (negative point) in one of the above boxes: Minute 56 Description of the situation Acceptable to abstain from a free kick following an intense duel close to the sideline and to allow play to go on, since the Portuguese defender touched and played the ball first with his sliding tackle. However, then the AR should have signalized a corner kick goal kick was the wrong decision.

 The Third Team footballrefereeing.blogspot.com

FOURTH OFFICIAL 10
Comment on the fourth official: Sergejus Slyva from the hosting nation Lithuania was appointed as fourth official in this match he dealt with all technical procedures in the appropriate way.