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Saturday, April 25, 2015

Europa League Quarterfinals Leg 2 Reports: CL Final candidates Çakir and Eriksson raise doubts

Napoli 2-2 Wolfsburg (6-3 aggregate)                           Referee: Cüneyt Çakir (Turkey)
Nothing to go in depth on.
Overview: In my opinion, Çakir himself had a good match, but his assistants foul detection was concerning, specifically by both AARs and the AR2. Usually this would not be a big deal, but there has been a general feeling for a while that Çakir was going to get the CL final. At this point, I can't be sure. In my opinion, Çakir is one of the best UEFA referees, but I can understand potentially not appointing him to the final because of his assistants' struggles. Many people have agreed with this logic and suggested Jonas Eriksson as a replacement for Çakir. Personally, I think that the overall performance by Çakir's crew outweighs the struggles in this one match. However, I would like to hear what you think, so please feel free to leave a comment with your opinion on the issue.

Zenit 2-2 Sevilla (3-4 aggregate)                                   Referee: Nicola Rizzoli (Italy)
Rizzoli, the World Cup Final referee in 2014, was decent in the match overall, but his penalty call was confusing for me.
5th Minute: Zenit's Luís Neto challenges Vitolo for the ball in the box, causing Vitolo to go to ground. Rizzoli calls a penalty, and though I can't find a good angle, I don't see much wrong with the challenge as it looks like Neto won the ball cleanly.
Overview: Rizzoli handled a very difficult match well in my opinion, but his only slip was sadly crucial in the match, given that without the penalty goal the game would have gone to extra time. Overall, a little below Rizzoli's usual high standard but still an acceptable performance.

Dnipro 1-0 Brugge (1-0 aggregate)                                Referee: Alberto Undiano Mallenco (Spain)
Nothing to go in depth on.
Overview: Very good match from Mallenco, who is often overlooked as a top referee because of other elite Spanish referees. Not much criticism for Mallenco's team either. Good job!

Fiorentina 2-0 Kiev (3-1 aggregate)                               Referee: Jonas Eriksson (Sweden)
Eriksson made a big mistake in this match, but otherwise controlled the match well.
40th Minute: Jermain Lens of Kiev goes down in the box but Eriksson calls a dive and gives Lens a second yellow. The problem is that when I look at the replay, there was clearly contact by the Fiorentina defender, perhaps enough to warrant a penalty kick. Whether it was a penalty or not, this was still a game changing mistake by Eriksson.
Overview: Besides the one mistake, Eriksson and his assistants had a pretty good match, with the AR1 making a fine onside call on Fiorentina's first goal. I do think this match works against the argument for Eriksson as the referee for the CL Final, since he struggled almost as much as Çakir's team. CL final aside, Eriksson's mistake was crucial, but he refereed well overall.

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