FC Barcelona - Sevilla FC (La Liga): report on the performance of Juan Martínez Munuera

On Saturday night, two big teams faced each other off in the Spanish League. FC Barcelona hosted Sevilla FC at the Nou Camp, a game which has proven at many times to be a very hot clash which is difficult to referee (e.g. UEFA Super Cup 2015, Copa Del Rey Final 2016). On this occasion, the Spanish refereeing committee has appointed FIFA referee Juan Martínez Munuera to this clash. Another big game for him, having already refereed the "Derbi Madrileño" a few weeks ago.

One thing before we start our analysis: the game itself was not as demanding for the referee as one could have expected it to be, given the previous encounters between the two teams. Nevertheless, the refereeing crew started the game very well, with Barcelona's 1-0 goal being the result of a correct onside decision made by AR1 Roberto Alonso Fernández. Given the look of the referee, we can assume that there might have been a VAR check for a potential offside, but no intervention was needed as the assistant has made the right call. Good job in that situation!

The first half had no major challenging incidents for the referee, however we have to mention that two clear yellow cards have been missed by the referee.

==> In 41', the referee had the perfect opportunity to show the first caution of the game, by booking SEV#22 after a foul on BAR#9. This could (or even should) have been assessed as an SPA (stopping a promising attack offence), a YC could have been expected by the referee in that situation.

==> 30 seconds after this situation, while BAR#2 is running sideways to the goal, BAR#9 is the victim of a blatant holding by SEV#6 outside the penalty area. This incident was missed by the referee, as the situation occurs in his back and he was (understandably) following play. SEV#6 had to be yellow-carded here, but there is no way that the referee can see this. Furthermore, we must not forget that this situation is not relevant for the VAR: the situation itself was first of all not occurring inside the penalty area and secondly, it cannot be seen as a red card situation, since an obvious goal-scoring opportunity was not given at all.

In the second half, the referee faced his first (and perhaps only) really interesting moment in that game: SEV#16 is running sideways in the direction of the goal, and the ball hits the arm of BAR#38. Play-on says Martínez Munuera. At this moment, we know that the incident is checked by the VAR team. However, no review took place and the game resumed. Not to suggest a review (and therefore a potential penalty) is a correct decision: yes, there is handball, but not punishable in the sense that the ball goes to the arm and not in the other sense and furthermore the ball is unexpected (see how the arm literally flies away). You can't say about this handball that it is intentional, therefore it is not a punishable offence.

In 62', BAR#9 is running to the goal and is taken down by SEV#1 in the penalty area. No touch on the ball, Martínez Munuera did not hesitate for a moment and immediately pointed to the spot. A correct decision and here the first and only yellow card of the game was correctly issued for DOGSO inside the penalty area (with attempt to play the ball). Spot-on decision by the referee.

Overall, in a game that was not as demanding as one could have expected, Juan Martínez Munuera did again a solid job. Furthermore, in terms of self-presentation, he gave a very self-confident image of himself, which you could see in his player management. He was well respected during the entire game and was always in control. A lot of bigger games should come up for him, something that would definitely be deserved, in my opinion. 

Referees selected for the 2018 FIFA Club World Cup

It is now official. The following referees have been selected by the FIFA Referees Committee to take charge of the matches played during this year's FIFA Club World Cup in December.

AFC

Referee: Ryuji SATO (Japan)
Assistant Referee 1: Toru SAGARA (Japan)
Assistant Referee 2: Hiroshi YAMAUCHI (Japan)
Video Assistant Referee: Mohammed ABDULLA HASSAN (United Arab Emirates)









CAF
Referee: Mehdi ABID CHAREF (Algeria)
Assistant Referee 1: Abdelhak ETCHIALI (Algeria)
Assistant Referee 2: Anouar HMILA (Algeria)








CONCACAF
Referee: Jair MARRUFO (United States)
Assistant Referee 1: Frank ANDERSON (United States)
Assistant Referee 2: Corey ROCKWELL (United States)
Video Assistant Referee: Mark Geiger (United States)










CONMEBOL
Referee: Wilton SAMPAIO (Brazil)
Assistant Referee 1: Rodrigo CORREA (Brazil)
Assistant Referee 2: Bruno BOSCHILIA (Brazil)
Video Assistant Referee: Mauro VIGLIANO (Argentina)








OFC
Referee: Matthew CONGER (New Zealand)
Assistant Referee 1: Tevita MAKASINI (Tonga)
Assistant Referee 2: Mark RULE (New Zealand)









UEFA
Referee: Gianluca ROCCHI (Italy)
Assistant Referee 1: Elenito DI LIBERATORE (Italy)
Assistant Referee 2: Mauro TONOLINI (Italy)
Video Assistant Referees: Danny MAKKELIE (Netherlands), Massimiliano IRRATI (Italy), Pawel GIL (Poland)

France - Germany (UEFA Nations League): report on the performance of Milorad Mažić

The fourth matchday of League A in the UEFA Nations League was completed yesterday by the clash of two big teams. Current World Champions from France faced their predecessors from Germany, who are currently going through a tough time and who are still without a victory in their group. Taking all this into context, UEFA Referees Committee have decided to appoint one of their most entrusted referees: Milorad Mažić from Serbia, who officiated the 2018 UEFA Champions League Final, was given this task.

The game itself was not very difficult to manage for the referee: players of both squads concentrated themselves to play football, committing only quite a few fouls. Milorad Mažić was in full control over the entire ninety minutes and one could see that is trusted a lot by the players he encounters on the pitch (also due to the fact that he is very close with the players, as you can see here with Giroud in 40'). 

However, Milorad Mažić had to make three crucial decisions, all of them occurring in the penalty area, with two of them being given.

==> The first situation came up in 13', when Germany were awarded a penalty for handball. Leroy Sané runs into the penalty area and shoots to his left, when the ball hits the arm of Presnel Kimpembe who attempts to make a sliding tackle. The ball hits the upper arm of the French defender, which is slightly detached from his body. However, we can question whether this is a deliberate handball, because the distance between the player and the ball is actually quite short. Had it hit the forearm of Kimpembe, which was high in the air and therefore would have clearly blocked the shot, I agree that in such a case a penalty has to be given. I'm doubtful though about this one, however, we must underline that it is not a clear and obvious mistake. Furthermore, we must also focus here on the teamwork between the referee and his additional assistant referee, who has very likely made the decision. Mažić shows him even a thumbs-up to thank him for the help, a gesture that I personally really appreciated. 

==> The second situation in the penalty area occurred in 26', as French attacker Kylian Mbappé sprints in the penalty area, but goes down after what looks like a holding by German defender Mats Hummels. The referee however decided not to award a penalty here and letting play continue, which was a correct decision for my taste. Yes, the arm of Hummels goes out, but this is not enough for Mbappé to go down like that, he falls too easily. 

===> The third and final penalty area that Milorad Mažić had to assess occurred in 79' and it is in my view the most interesting one. At first, it looks as if Blaise Matuidi is taken down by Mats Hummels inside the penalty area. The referee does not hesitate and awards a penalty to France, which seems at first a correct decision (DOGSO + attempt to play the ball). However, we are deceived by watching the replays: Hummels attempts to make a foul, but it is Matuidi who steps on the foot of his German opponent. I feel that the correct decision should have been free-kick for an offensive foul. But I must underline that this is something that is incredibly difficult (I dare even to say: impossible) to see that live, so the decision made by Mažić is absolutely understandable. Only the use of VAR (which does not exist in the Nations League) could probably have solved this situation. Nevertheless, if the referee says that this is a penalty, a yellow card should have been issued to Hummels, since it is DOGSO inside the penalty area with an attempt to play the ball. 

In terms of disciplinary action, Mažić issued only one yellow card in that game, which was a mandatory one for Matthias Ginter, stopping a promising attack. Other than the missing caution for Hummels (which has already been mentioned before), no problems at all for the Serbian official, who solved situations a lot with his (strong) personality. 

Finally, we should also talk about the fitness skills that were displayed by the referee in this match: we must not forget that Milorad Mažić is already 45 years old, but he still possesses excellent sprinting and running abilities, which allows him to be very close to play. This also allows him to flexibly adapt his diagonal movement on the pitch, he does not hesitate to extend it very widely on the pitch (notably when he's running around the penalty area). This is a very positive point that I would like to highlight.

Overall, in terms of control, Mažić had absolutely no issues on this evening, which is also due to his huge experience he already has in UEFA competitions. My feeling is as well, that there are enough reasons to back him in the three penalty area situations. Conclusively, the referee had a decent match in the Stade de France.