The Champions League is an expensive business.
The penalty shoot-out between Anderlecht and Partizan was valued at €15 million by commentators relishing the prospect of villains being forged at the dramatic conclusion of a riveting tie. Sadly, the spot kicks were conducted on a patch of earth with no more integrity than a cow pat. This set of strikes were more variable than usual as a result of the dreadful, soft condition of the Constant Vanden Stock turf.
However, the Anderlecht goalkeeper, Silvo Proto, did his best to redress the balance in the home side's favor by making two fine saves. What was not taken into account by the matchday officials was the fact that the Belgium international raced two yards off his line to make the saves each time. Quite how a referee and a designated official on the goal-line failed to spot or penalize the infringements is outrageous at this stage of a competition.
It was in keeping with the level of refereeing displayed by Craig Thomson and his team of assistants on the night. A perfectly legitimate goal by the precocious Romelu Lukaku had been chalked off when the momentum was with the Belgian team in the second half. To embellish a slipshod situation, the forward was booked for taking off his shirt in celebration before noticing the assistant referee's errant flag. And where was the fifth/sixth official? If he was not monitoring the action in the penalty box, then what on earth was he looking at? The mind boggles. Anderlecht could yet receive the €15m that this play-off was worth as the 17-year-old may now depart for a higher profile side still in the Champions League.
The standard of officiating in Tuesday night's Champions League play-offs was nothing short of scandalous. In a similar fashion to the day at the World Cup when Frank Lampard and Carlos Tevez found themselves at varying ends of the poor refereeing spectrum, the incompetence came thick and fast. Vital calls were blundered all over the continent; now eliminated teams need to countenance their absence from this season's edition, the financial implications of failure and the regret that, on occasion, circumstances beyond their control dictated their doom.
Hapoel Tel Aviv have just secured their first-ever passage to the Champions League group stage, and congratulations to them. Nonetheless, the wheels of progress were slicked by Peter Vink, the referee. Douglas da Silva, on the hour mark, clearly felled Gonzalo Zarate inside the Hapoel area only for play to be waved on. Bizarrely, the assistant referee signaled a corner, although the Brazilian defender did not touch the ball. Again, the role of the goal-line officials needs to be questioned. Had Douglas da Silva been dismissed and a penalty awarded to Salzburg, then the outcome could have been much different.
Sheriff of Moldova were clearly the underdogs against FC Basel but were managing to stay in the tie at home against the Swiss team. That was until, when 1-0 down on the night, captain Vazha Tarkhnishvili was dismissed for the most innocuous of fouls on the edge of his own area. His opponent did him no favors by drawing the official's attention to a non-existent facial injury.
It's not unreasonable to ask the six most important men in the stadium to keep track of the key events of a football match. By missing such vital, game-changing calls, the officials are seriously compromising the integrity of the competition. The play-offs are designed to weed out the weaker teams in the tournament and increase the standard of the group stages. Let's hope the UEFA panel of referees take note of that.
The penalty shoot-out between Anderlecht and Partizan was valued at €15 million by commentators relishing the prospect of villains being forged at the dramatic conclusion of a riveting tie. Sadly, the spot kicks were conducted on a patch of earth with no more integrity than a cow pat. This set of strikes were more variable than usual as a result of the dreadful, soft condition of the Constant Vanden Stock turf.
However, the Anderlecht goalkeeper, Silvo Proto, did his best to redress the balance in the home side's favor by making two fine saves. What was not taken into account by the matchday officials was the fact that the Belgium international raced two yards off his line to make the saves each time. Quite how a referee and a designated official on the goal-line failed to spot or penalize the infringements is outrageous at this stage of a competition.
It was in keeping with the level of refereeing displayed by Craig Thomson and his team of assistants on the night. A perfectly legitimate goal by the precocious Romelu Lukaku had been chalked off when the momentum was with the Belgian team in the second half. To embellish a slipshod situation, the forward was booked for taking off his shirt in celebration before noticing the assistant referee's errant flag. And where was the fifth/sixth official? If he was not monitoring the action in the penalty box, then what on earth was he looking at? The mind boggles. Anderlecht could yet receive the €15m that this play-off was worth as the 17-year-old may now depart for a higher profile side still in the Champions League.
The standard of officiating in Tuesday night's Champions League play-offs was nothing short of scandalous. In a similar fashion to the day at the World Cup when Frank Lampard and Carlos Tevez found themselves at varying ends of the poor refereeing spectrum, the incompetence came thick and fast. Vital calls were blundered all over the continent; now eliminated teams need to countenance their absence from this season's edition, the financial implications of failure and the regret that, on occasion, circumstances beyond their control dictated their doom.
Hapoel Tel Aviv have just secured their first-ever passage to the Champions League group stage, and congratulations to them. Nonetheless, the wheels of progress were slicked by Peter Vink, the referee. Douglas da Silva, on the hour mark, clearly felled Gonzalo Zarate inside the Hapoel area only for play to be waved on. Bizarrely, the assistant referee signaled a corner, although the Brazilian defender did not touch the ball. Again, the role of the goal-line officials needs to be questioned. Had Douglas da Silva been dismissed and a penalty awarded to Salzburg, then the outcome could have been much different.
Sheriff of Moldova were clearly the underdogs against FC Basel but were managing to stay in the tie at home against the Swiss team. That was until, when 1-0 down on the night, captain Vazha Tarkhnishvili was dismissed for the most innocuous of fouls on the edge of his own area. His opponent did him no favors by drawing the official's attention to a non-existent facial injury.
It's not unreasonable to ask the six most important men in the stadium to keep track of the key events of a football match. By missing such vital, game-changing calls, the officials are seriously compromising the integrity of the competition. The play-offs are designed to weed out the weaker teams in the tournament and increase the standard of the group stages. Let's hope the UEFA panel of referees take note of that.
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