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UEFA offers a rare and accessible view of all areas of the world from the loneliest person on any day of the Champions League: the referee.
“Man in the Middle” is a new four-part series produced and broadcast by UEFA that gives us a behind-the-scenes look at match refereeing at the highest level.
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The first episode focuses on the 2018-19 Champions League campaign, the season in which VAR was used in competition for the first time, and how top referees like Damir Skomina, Bjorn Kuipers and Clement Turpin coped with it.
We watched the first episode and marveled at how close to the man in black (or bright yellow) the UEFA cameras have brought us. Here are the main takeaways:
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History was made in Amsterdam
🎬 Available NOW at https://t.co/ZBp654xr5Z: Episode One of !
⚽ Meet some of the #UCL referees and take a look at some of the biggest talking points that the introduction of VAR brought … pic.twitter.com/P1XYpROwxF
– UEFA (@UEFA) November 16, 2020
The main beneficiary of the first VAR intervention in the Champions League was Thibaut Courtois. It came after the Real Madrid goalkeeper made a colossal handling error that led Ajax to steal a goal in the first leg of the round of 16 in Amsterdam.
A timely offside review in preparation allowed Courtois to come off the hook, much to the relief of the Belgian shooting stopper. However, that relief was short-lived, as Ajax edged out the defending champions and advanced to the semi-finals.
Referees cannot have a moment of peace
With the round of 16 tie between Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester United tied on aggregate and with the return leg in Paris approaching extra time, a possible hand from Presnel Kimpembe offered the visitors the possibility of a time penalty. discount that would send them through.
Experienced referee Skomina was urged to review the dramatic incident on the pitch monitor, only to find himself harangued by agitated players and staff, all yelling at the referees and craning his neck to watch replays.
Marcos Rojo could be seen shouting from the bench as United coaches Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Mike Phelan nervously paced the technical areas, jamming the referee as he tried to make an extremely crucial decision while being watched live by millions of people on all the world.
After being besieged for what seemed like forever, Skomina quickly reached the end of her tether. “Please, I need to be alone,” was the plaintive plea from the Slovenian official. He duly ruled in United’s favor, and Marcus Rashford’s kick sent them to the quarterfinals.
A referee’s decision is not always final
Referee Kuipers was initially adamant in his decision not to award a penalty when the ball inadvertently struck Danny Rose’s hand just 11 minutes into the Spurs 2018-19 quarter-final first leg against Manchester City.
The Dutchman admitted that he instantly ruled out the possibility of a penalty and was reluctant to get the incident back under control, so confident was he that a corner kick was the right decision.
However, his VAR team did not let the matter rest and eventually convinced Kuipers to review the replays, only for the penalty to be given (and subsequently Sergio Agüero missed it).
Son Heung-Min went on to score the only goal of the match, and Kuipers can be seen after the final whistle thanking his team for convincing him to write another check.
GOATS do not receive any special treatment
🔜
⚽ Behind-the-scenes information on one of the toughest jobs in soccer. What does it take to be a #UCL referee?
📺 A new four-part https://t.co/GIcOPy5PcX series tracing the lives of top European officials, starting next week.
– UEFA.com (@UEFAcom) November 12, 2020
The first episode spends a lot of time covering Kuipers, and it’s no wonder. The Dutch official is not a man to be trifled with, he even gave Lionel Messi a reprimand during the first leg of Barcelona’s semi-final against Liverpool.
With Barça winning 3-0 at Camp Nou, Messi still tries to participate in a waste of time: not under the supervision of Kuipers.
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“Messi! Why? Come on! Show them some respect!” Kuipers yells, pointing to the ‘Respect’ logo on his sleeve. “Go! Every time you do it. Come on! Why are you doing it? Go now!”
Of course, Liverpool would continue to beat the odds by winning the second leg at Anfield 4-0 and reaching the final.
Even more impressive, Kuipers later reveals that he limped for 86 minutes of that match as he had a muscle injury.
Referees thrive under pressure on the greatest occasion
There is an old maxim in the refereeing world that you have to be prepared to make a decision from the first whistle, and Moussa Sissoko certainly put that to the test within seconds of the 2018-19 Champions League final.
The Tottenham midfielder handled a ball within his own penalty area less than a minute after kick-off, forcing referee Skomina and his team to conduct a VAR check before they felt comfortable.
After a “very high hand” was scored, Skomina signaled the point and awarded Liverpool the penalty with just 22 seconds left. Mohamed Salah saved it when the Reds won 2-0 in the Spanish capital.
The currency really is different in Europe
When it comes to the traditional toss of a coin before the toss to decide which team to start, the two captains are not asked to choose “heads or tails” but “yellow or blue”.
Suddenly, we question everything we previously believed to be true about the Champions League.
Source: espn.co.uk
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