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RefCoach.org - UEFA Europa League Final: A great performance by Danny Makkelie and his team

  • Thread starter Alessandro Arbizzani
  • Start date
The Dutch Danny Makkelie took charge of the UEL final between Sevilla and Internazionale. The game had all the ingredients a final needs, with a very high-tempo first half and 4 goals scored within the first 35 minutes of the match.

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The Officials


Referee: Danny Makkelie, 🇳🇱
Assistants: Mario Diks, Hessel Steegstra 🇳🇱
Fourth official: Anastasios Sidiropolous 🇬🇷
VAR: Jochem Kamphuis 🇳🇱
VAR assistants: Kevin Blom 🇳🇱, Pawel Gil 🇵🇱
Offside VAR: Pawel Sokolnicki 🇵🇱


FIRST HALF


Not even the time to settle into the match that the official had their first big decision to make. In the 3rd minute, Lukaku took flight on a counter attack and was taken down but Diego Carlos in the Sevilla penalty area.

Makkelie was not too close to play due to the quick counter, however he was able to sprint quickly where the incident occurred to sell his decision very well. His Assistant may have helped him in this situation as he had the best view on the field, right in front of the incident.

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Correct decision to award a penalty kick, and as we can see from this frame, this was a clear DOGSO (Denying an Obvious Goal Scoring Opportunity). Lukaku is alone in front of Diego Carlos who is trying to challenge him. The Belgian striker is in full control of the ball and has only the opposing goalkeeper to beat.

The big question now is: was this a genuine attempt to challenge for the ball?

The following frame help us determining that. Diego Carlos originally lightly holds Lukaku outside the penalty area without impacting his ability to run, hence not committing an offence. It’s important to note that the defender lets Lukaku go and stops holding him once in the penalty area because, as per Law 12, any hold, push or pull are punishable by a straight red card.

However, once in the penalty area, the Sevilla defender hits the Belgian striker with his studs on the achilles heel, tripping him and causing the penalty kick. As we have seen many times in the European competitions, this kind of hustle and bustle is often considered as a challenge for the ball, despite defenders not having as many options to play the ball. In this situation Diego Carlos is challenging Lukaku for the ball, the latter has an advantage and get tripped. This means the DOGSO is a cautionable offence. Good decision by the referee.

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Law 12 - Cautionable Offences

There are different circumstances when a player must be cautioned for unsporting behaviour, including if a player denies an opponent an obvious goal-scoring opportunity by an offence which was an attempt to play the ball and the referee awards a penalty kick

After Sevilla equaliser in the eleventh minute, we skip ahead to the 16th minute when Internazionale’s players were up in arms for a handball in the penalty area by Diego Carlos (already cautioned for the first penalty).

This is a very simple episode, so let’s cut to the chase: this is never, ever a penalty.

Diego Carlos’ arm is in a natural position, very close to and behind his body, not making himself bigger. Very simple decision.

Makkelie’s position was spot on, with potentially one Sevilla player disturbing his line of vision. However, it didn’t seem to affect him as he waved off any claim from the Italian team right away, correctly judging the incident.

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VAR did check the incident, but within 30 seconds the check was over and Makkelie was able to continue the game. The game would have restarted quickly, if it wasn’t for the Internazionale coach protesting the decision. Conte, already publicly warned by Makkelie in the ninth minute, was then cautioned by the Dutch referee and rightly so. The Italian coach was yelling from the sideline, directly at the referee, in a way that cannot be accepted. In addition to that, the Inter coach was having an argument with Banega from Sevilla. It is not clear what was said, with the coach being the more out of line.

Good on Makkelie for cautioning him. This should be a great example for grassroots referees: you have the power to caution team officials, do it, do it early if needed, and you will be able to get a hold of the game from the beginning. As a matter of fact and with no surprise, after the caution, there was no more complaints from the Inter bench for the rest of the game. It’s that easy. Good job, once again, by the Official assisted by the Greek Sidiropolous in this incident.


In the 18’ minute was Sevilla to ask for a caution for Internazionale’s D’Ambrosio for a strike to Ocampos face. These kind of episodes where very common in this game on both ends. So I will analyse only this one, as it wasn’t the greatest display of sportsmanship from both teams. As you can see from this images yes, there is a foul, but no strike to the face. A simple free kick was correctly awarded by the referee, and nothing more. Makkelie was really good in correctly identifying these challenge throughout the whole game. As an advice to referees, do not let players’ reactions condition your decisions too much, especially on these type of challenges.

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After this free kick was taken, another quick turnover for Internazionale takes us once more into Sevilla’s penalty area for yet another episode.

Martinez takes the ball into the opposing penalty area, attempts a dribbling and the ball is kicked away by a defender in front of him, and the he goes down asking for a penalty.

What happened here? Absolutely nothing. Martinez deliberately goes down in an attempt to win a penalty kick for his team.

The moment the ball is kicked away


The moment the ball is kicked away

The moment Martinez goes down


The moment Martinez goes down


Makkelie was in a great position to view exactly what was happening with no players in his way.

The Dutch decided to let play go and not award an Indirect Free Kick and yellow card for simulation. In this situation, personally I agree with the decision to let play go, even tho the IFK & YC would have been a correct decision.

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It would not surprise me if the referee opted to be smart in this situation, knowing that Martinez is prone to get cautioned for silly reasons during games. A yellow card in the 20th minute of the game could have led to a later (or not so late) second yellow and subsequent sending-off. This is a situation that can be ‘managed’, sparing a caution earlier for it to be used in a more important part of the match. Knowing players and their behaviour can definitely influence referees’ decision and approach towards incidents.


In the 41st minute Makkelies shows the second yellow card of the game, for a Reckless Challenge by Barella (Inter) on Banega (Sevilla).

Correct decision, perfect position to make a call: Kick foot-on-foot from behind with no chance to play the ball, medium speed, low force. Not only this was a reckless challenge, but was also a very needed caution to control the game. Score on 2-2, closing in the end of the first half, with players getting tired there had been a few careless challenges happening. Perfect timing for a caution.

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Bange later on collected himself a yellow card on yet another counter attack by Internazionale in the 44th minute. Caution for Stopping a Promising Attack almost automatic in this scenario as Gagliardini was carrying the ball forward and would have found himself in the opposition’s half with his teammates Martinez & Lukaku (out of the screen but already in the opposition half) facing only three defenders and the goalkeeper . Makkelie once gain spot on with his positioning and decision. No complains whatsoever, another correct decision to see the first half out.

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Second Half


The second half was a lot less high paced than the first, fewer episodes and of less relevance, but still some good educational episodes.

The first interesting episode happened in the 49th minute.

Barella recovers a ball on the halfway line, he’s about to start a counter attack and gets clearly pulled by his shirt by a Sevilla player. This was a promising attack as Inter could have started a quick counter attack with their main strikers facing 2 defenders and the goalkeeper.

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Not a major deal not awarding a yellow card here by Makkelie, however, it becomes important from an education point of view because a very similar episode happened later on in the game.

In the 73rd Gagliardini blatantly holds a Sevilla attacker who was starting a promising attack and gets correctly cautioned. The position on the Field Of Play was closer to the penalty area, but with way more defenders than attackers. Still warranted a yellow card for SPA, but very similar incidents.

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The main difference between the two episodes is the time. It’s an assumption, but this goes back to the aforementioned concept of ‘managing’ disciplinary sanctions. It is possible that the match officials deemed the first episode bordreline enough to be managed to spare an early yellow card that could have been used later in the game if needed, without producing red cards that could spoil the spectacle of a football match. Whether one agrees or not with this mentality, is a different story, but is something we’ve seen happening a lot more often in UEFA matches in the past few years.


In the 55th minute another yellow card was awarded to Internazionale’s Bastoni for a reckless challenge on Suso. Once again, nothing to argue on this episode. Correct decision: Bastoni tackles Suso from behind, no chance to play the ball, hits the opponent scraping his studs on Suso’s achilles acting with disregard to the danger to or consequences for an opponent.

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The last interesting episode, at least from a review point of view, happened in the 78th minute. Barella, already cautioned, wins a challenge with Jordan who accidentally kicks Barella’s extended leg. Makkelie, once again in a perfect position to judge the incident, awards a free kick to Sevilla. Live felt like Barella was guilty of a reckless tackle, which would have meant a second yellow card and a sending-off for the Internazionale player. However, seeing the replay, Barella anticipates his opponent and gets kicked. Not a major error, but luckily the referee, maybe helped by his assistant that was in a perfect position to view the incident, does not show the second yellow card which the Sevilla players were expecting.

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Nothing worth noticing happened after this. Overall a good performance by the whole refereeing team, who managed to stay on top of a very intense first half without becoming the center of attention and facilitating a really enjoyable final. Well done to Danny Makkelie and his team!

Continue reading...
 
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I'm not wild about this referee, but he had a decent game despite failing to caution for cheating. The teams (especially Inter) were clearly trying to intimidate the officials, but I thought they coped OK with the pressure. Strictly speaking, it was a DOGSO-RC and PK, but easier said than done and I doubt the ref would be marked down. Good game overall, best team won and nobody will remember the MO's 👍

Bit galling to see De Jong score twice in a Euro Cup final, given that he was pants when failing to score in 11 starts for Newcastle :rolleyes:
 
I very much enjoyed this read.
The incident for the penalty to me is a RC but for the rake down the leg and achilles. Regardless of DOGSO.
Also agree he should have YC for the blatant dive.
Him and his team done well
 
The PK/DOGSO is an interesting question which has divided officials, whether at a grassroots level or those I've spoken to at an elite level (several of whom hold FIFA badges and are well-versed in the UEFA approach to this). I really don't think there's a case of SFP - achilles or not, if you're calling that SFP I can see many, many games finishing with fewer than 22. If that's a red for SFP then on the same logic Bastoni goes in the 55th and no-one wants to see that as a red.
Thus, it's a question of DOGSO. To Carlos' credit, he stops the pull before getting into the area and Lukaku keeps going which rules out any question of a red (or even a foul) for that. It certainly satisfies all of the criteria for being a DOGSO situation:
•Direction
•Distance to Goal
•Number/Position of Defenders
•Control/Likelihood of Gaining Control by Attacking Player

The only consideration, then, is whether or not its a genuine attempt for the ball. As the OP says, there is a European precedent for viewing it as an attempt for the ball rather than a trip (even if from behind). I think in the UK, though, the expected call is very much a red card. Incidentally, I don't think it would be a clear and obvious error either way and thus I think the VAR was right to stick with yellow. I think they'd have stuck with red too, backing the on-field team. I think UEFA would support a yellow. I think PGMOL/SFA/FAW would all ask for a red.
 
The PK/DOGSO is an interesting question which has divided officials, whether at a grassroots level or those I've spoken to at an elite level (several of whom hold FIFA badges and are well-versed in the UEFA approach to this). I really don't think there's a case of SFP - achilles or not, if you're calling that SFP I can see many, many games finishing with fewer than 22. f Gaining Control by Attacking Player

I have only seen the incident once in fairness but in my refereeing class, they were very clear with, any drag down the achilles is a red.
 
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The PK/DOGSO is an interesting question which has divided officials, whether at a grassroots level or those I've spoken to at an elite level (several of whom hold FIFA badges and are well-versed in the UEFA approach to this). I really don't think there's a case of SFP - achilles or not, if you're calling that SFP I can see many, many games finishing with fewer than 22. If that's a red for SFP then on the same logic Bastoni goes in the 55th and no-one wants to see that as a red.
Thus, it's a question of DOGSO. To Carlos' credit, he stops the pull before getting into the area and Lukaku keeps going which rules out any question of a red (or even a foul) for that. It certainly satisfies all of the criteria for being a DOGSO situation:
•Direction
•Distance to Goal
•Number/Position of Defenders
•Control/Likelihood of Gaining Control by Attacking Player

The only consideration, then, is whether or not its a genuine attempt for the ball. As the OP says, there is a European precedent for viewing it as an attempt for the ball rather than a trip (even if from behind). I think in the UK, though, the expected call is very much a red card. Incidentally, I don't think it would be a clear and obvious error either way and thus I think the VAR was right to stick with yellow. I think they'd have stuck with red too, backing the on-field team. I think UEFA would support a yellow. I think PGMOL/SFA/FAW would all ask for a red.
Great post. Agree with everything except for " The only consideration, then, is whether or not its a genuine attempt for the ball." I have said this before. The word genuine was once in some guidline or circular but it is long gone. Using it in this context puts greater stress on what goes on in the defender's head. The wording used in law is "... was an attempt to play the ball" which is more about the norm in challenging for the ball rather than defender's thought process.

This incident is a perfect example of it. Was it a genuine attempt at the ball? He knew he had very little chance of getting the ball so the answer is no IMO. Was it a 'normal' attempt at playing the ball? Yes.
 
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