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UEFA Champions League

K.O. Round, Round of 16

(ESP) Real Madrid FC 3:1 FC Schalke 04 (GER)

18/03/2013, 20:45 CET – Madrid, Estadio Santiago Bernabeu (Spain)

Goals: 1:0 (Ronaldo, 21’), 1:1 (Hoogland, 31’), 2:1 (Ronaldo, 73’), 3:1 (Morata, 75’)

Match Officials Name NAT Mark Mark* Difficulty

Referee Sergei Karasev RUS 7.9 8.4 Normal
Assistant Referee 1 Nikolai Golubev RUS 8.4 0.0 Normal
Assistant Referee 2 Anton Averianov RUS 8.4 0.0 Normal
Additional Assistant Referee 1 Maksim Layushkin RUS 8.4 0.0 Normal
Additional Assistant Referee 2 Vitali Meshkov RUS 8.2 0.0 Normal
Fourth Official Dmitri Mosyakin RUS 8.4 0.0 Normal
UEFA Referee Observer Vítor Melo Pereira POR
UEFA Delegate Dennis Cruise IRL
Blog Observer Edward GRE * mark without crucial mistake (7.8/7.9)

Evaluation Scale Level of Difficulty

9.0 – 10.0 Excellent. Normal: Normal match for the officials, few
8.5 – 8.9 Very good. Important decision(s) correctly taken. challenging situations

8.3 – 8.4 Really good. Expected level. Quite Challenging: Difficult match with
8.2 Satisfactory with small areas for improvement. some difficult decisions for the officials

8.0 – 8.1 Satisfactory with important areas for improvement. Very Challenging: Very difficult match with
7.9 One clear and important mistake, otherwise 8.3 or above. many difficult situations for the officials

7.8 One clear and important mistake, otherwise 8.0 – 8.2.

Below expectation, poor control, significant point(s) for Additional Time
7.5 – 7.7
improvement.
Disappointing. Below expectation with one clear and important Awarded Real
7.0 – 7.4 mistake or a performance with two or more clear and important First Half +2:00 +2:01
mistakes. Second Half +2:00 +2:23
6.0 – 6.9 Unacceptable.

Disciplinary Relevant Match Situations

07’ #24 RM pulls #25 SCH away from
Minute Player # Disciplinary Sanction and Misconduct Classification
the ball. The referee sees it but doesn’t
58’ #24 (RM) YC – Unsporting Behavior – Tactical Foul (Holding) react. SCH player is furious. Better
79’ #14 (SCH) YC – Unsporting Behavior - Tackle Management needed.
11’ Penalty appeal by RM. Ball goes to
#33 SCH. Referee is close and gives
nothing. Correct.
45’ Fell by #18 RM inside SCH penalty
area. Referee is close and waives play-
on. Correct.
53’ #04 SCH kicks #21 from behind
inside the penalty area without playing
the ball. Missed penalty.

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Description of the match:

Second Leg match of Round of 16 for UEFA Champions League between Real Madrid and Schalke. After the
tremendous win of Real at Schalke arena with 6-1, the second leg was more of a training session. The pitch and weather
conditions were excellent contributing to a very good match. 65.148 fans were present at Santiago Bernabeu to watch
this match.
Real Madrid was better from the start of the match and managed to score after only 21 minutes of playing time. 10
minutes later Schalke managed to equalize and with that score the teams went into half time. The second half started the
same way. Real had possession and chances to score. The second goal came at min. 73’ and after only 2 minutes Real
scored the final 3-1.
Russian Sergei Karasev (first Group official) was the appointed referee. It was a good test for him at this level. The match
was quite fair and without many fouls. He had some situations to evaluate but the match difficulty can still be described
as “Normal”.

REFEREE

1 Application and interpretation of the Laws of the Game / match control, tactical approach and management of
the game with the special situation(s) of the minute(s):

Comments:
The referee overall presented us a very good knowledge and application of what is and isn’t a foul. Even though he
wasn’t challenged a lot with hard duels and challenges, he managed to maintain a very good approach and keep a
consistent line at his foul detection. This resulted in only 15 awarded fouls (rather low number for a CL match). The
referee could easily punish infractions made by the home team and ignore the shouting and whistling of home fans. A
clear example of that happened at min. 19’ when #07 RM is being tackled by #19 SCH but the SCH player hits the ball
without fouling his opponent.
Moreover the referee had a very good application of the advantage rule (like in min. 07’, 39’, 54’, 83’). He wasn’t afraid to
bring back play when it was needed after a foul (as we can observe in min. 79’ when #14 SCH tackles and fouls on #11
RM in front of AR2 and outside the penalty area. The referee at first gives an advantage but after 2’’ brings back play for
a foul and cautions the SCH player. Well done.
The referee had to evaluate 1 crucial decision. At min. 53’ #21 RM while being inside the penalty area, gets the ball and
tries to shoot. #4 SCH tackles him for the ball but only hits his opponent’s foot from behind. Initially the referee thought
that the defender hit the ball but after the replay it is clear that the Madrid player hit the ball and his opponent just hit him
at his leg. A situation that was misevaluated by the referee. AAR2 could have helped him and advice him about which
player hit the ball, since he had an optimum view.
st
Moreover he had 2 other situations to judge but both were pretty obvious and without many complaints. The 1 one at
min. 11’ when after an air pass #33 SCH tried to control the ball inside the penalty area and managed it. RM attackers
appealed for a handball (which would result in a penalty-kick). Replay is clear that the defender played the ball without
using his hand.
Finally at min. 45’ #18 RM enters the penalty area and is marked by #04 SCH. His opponent while being in better position
and without fouling him wins the ball. The RM attacker fells and the crowd shouts for a penalty-kick. Replay is clear that
there wasn’t any infraction so the referee correctly waived play-on.

Minute Description of the situation

#21 RM while being inside the penalty area gets the ball and tries to shoot. #4 SCH tackles him for the ball but
53’
only hits his opponent’s foot from behind. Penalty for RM missed. Crucial Mistake.

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2 Disciplinary control, management of players and team officials with the special situation(s) of the minute(s):

Comments:
The referee chose a lenient style from the beginning since the match didn’t have any hard duels and challenges. This
worked quite well for his since he was able to maintain a consistent line until the end. He cautioned only 2 players and
st
both for quite obvious infractions. The 1 one happened at min. 57’ when at a counter-attack for SCH, #24 RM holds his
opponent in a quite intense, continuing and persistent way. The referee decided not to apply the advantage rule (even
though he could) since he felt that the defender’s action was provocative and could lead to a very difficult situation.
The second caution was administered at min. 79’ when #14 SCH tackles and fouls on #11 RM in front of AR2 and outside
the penalty area. The referee at first gives an advantage but after 2’’ brings back play for a foul and cautions the SCH
player. Well done.
He could however start the match with the same determination since he missed a quite similar situation with the one at
min. 57’. At min. 7’ and at the time SCH makes a counter-attack, #24 RM holds his opponent (#07 SCH) after the center
line and away from the ball. The referee sees the infraction and waives play-on. The SCH attacker is furious after the end
of the attack and protests hardly to the referee. Unfortunately the referee doesn’t react. He should have a very strict chat
with both players since you can’t be sure if the attacker will be able to restrain in such situations.
Moreover he needs to control better the set-pieces for pushing and pulling (like in min. 63’).
His overall control was in a very good level without any duels or conflicts except min. 22’ (#24 RM makes a studs-up
tackle to his opponent and the referee applies the advantage rule but he should have verbally warned the RM player).

Minute Description of the situation

3 Personality (Soft skills, character, individual style, self-presentation / appearance in the match):
The referee has a very good personality. He may appear firm and very authoritative but in fact he has a good interaction
with the players. He talks to them when needed and uses his body language and gestures to make his decisions clear
and maintain control. He has made a good preparation for this match and this was visible in the pitch.
He should, however, be a little more careful in some aspects that are described at section 2. Like situations that include
repeated holding or a better control in set-pieces.

4 Co-operation with assistant referees, additional assistant referees (where applicable) and fourth official:
Co-operation with the refereeing team was quite good. His AR’s signaled all the required offences and the referee
accepted all their signals. AR’s were not challenged with offside calls and both had a good performance. AAR1 wasn’t
involved since he didn’t need to evaluate any crucial calls.
But AAR2 could and should intervene at the 53’ situation. It was pretty clear that the referee made the decision on his
own showing that the defender played the ball. In fact AAR2 was better positioned to see that solely the attacker had hit
the ball and therefore the defender only hit his opponent leg. Here better communication needed. The referee should rely
on his AAR.

5 Physical Condition (Fitness, Stamina, Sprinting abilities): Very good.

Positioning and Movement:

+ Expected -

--- X --- Always close to the play, follows play at all times, and does not interfere with play
X --- --- Flexible diagonal movement pattern
--- X --- Able to anticipate the action
X --- --- Enters the penalty area when necessary
--- X --- Efficient positioning [at set pieces / dead ball (e.g. corner-kick, free-kick, goal-kick)]

Please describe any special situation(s) with indication of the minute(s) – mandatory if you tick “-“ (negative point) in one
of the above boxes:

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Minute Description of the situation

Excellent sprinting ability by the referee. RM makes a counter-attack with great speed and at the end #21 RM
27’
misses the target. The referee manages to be 3m from the action. Well done.
The referee has a very good physical condition and is able to present it in the pitch. His movement in most
parts is very good and even managed not to intervene with play despite Real’s playing strategy with small
passes. In order to achieve that he uses all the available field of play.
Full time
A minor aspect for improvement would be his backwards movement. He mostly turned his back after the
conclusion of each situation. More backwards movement needed in order to avoid potentially dangerous
situations.

6 General comments, advice on performance and personality:

Overall his performance can be characterized as very good despite the fact that the match wasn’t that challenging. The
referee was able to maintain full control; he had a very good foul detection and an almost excellent applying of the
advantage rule.
However he should consider the points listed for improvement and especially the decision making in penalty area
situations. He missed a penalty at 53’ which may not be that big mistake in such a match but it can be a pretty big
mistake in a different match.

7 Points discussed in the report:

Positive points: 1) Foul detection

2) Advantage rule.
3) Match control
4) Personality.

Points for improvement: 1) More backwards movement needed.

Better management of the players at infractions that happening away from the
2)
ball. (min. 7’)
3) Holding/pushing in set pieces. More awareness needed.
4) Better communication could be achieved with AAR2.
5) Better evaluation of penalty area infractions. Min. 53’ a missed penalty.

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ASSISTANT REFEREE 1

8 Assistant referee’s performance (please mention some important decisions with reference to the minute):

+ Expected -

--- X --- Correct offside decisions and good application of the “wait and see” technique
--- X --- Good positioning and movement
--- X --- Adequate alertness and good co-operation with the referee
--- X --- Reaction to incidents within his vicinity
--- X --- Efficient control at set pieces / dead ball (e.g. corner-kick, free-kick, goal-kick)

Comments:
AR1 wasn’t much challenged. He had 2 offside calls (43’ #07 RM, 83’ #10 SCH) and both were correct. Moreover he had
a couple of good onside calls (min. 21’ #11 RM before the goal and min. 35’ #21 RM resulting with an effort on goal). He
provided assistance to the referee when needed and he appeared to have a good communication with him.
Good positioning and movement and he correctly signaled all goal-kicks, corner-kicks and throw-ins. Expected level
performance.
Please describe any special situation(s) with indication of the minute(s) – mandatory if you tick “-“ (negative point) in one
of the above boxes:
Minute Description of the situation

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ASSISTANT REFEREE 2

9 Assistant referee’s performance (please mention some important decisions with reference to the minute):

+ Expected -

--- X --- Correct offside decisions and good application of the “wait and see” technique
--- X --- Good positioning and movement
--- X --- Adequate alertness and good co-operation with the referee
--- X --- Reaction to incidents within his vicinity
--- X --- Efficient control at set pieces / dead ball (e.g. corner-kick, free-kick, goal-kick)

Comments:
AR2 wasn’t also challenged. He had 2 offside calls (67’ #11 RM and 88’ #05 RM) and both were correct. He succeeded
in correctly identifying a tight onside in 45’ leading to a dangerous SCH goal attempt. He provided assistance to the
referee when needed and he appeared to have a good communication with him.
Good positioning and movement and he correctly signaled all goal-kicks, corner-kicks and throw-ins. Expected level
performance.
Please describe any special situation(s) with indication of the minute(s) – mandatory if you tick “-“ (negative point) in one
of the above boxes:
Minute Description of the situation

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ADDITIONAL ASSISTANT REFEREE 1

10 Additional Assistant referee’s performance (please mention important decisions with reference to the min.):

+ Expected -

--- X --- Good positioning and movement

--- X --- Adequate alertness and good co-operation with the referee
--- X --- Reaction to incidents within his vicinity
--- X --- Efficient control at set pieces / dead ball (e.g. corner-kick, free-kick, goal-kick)

Comments
Expected level. Good positioning and movement but not involvement at the match.
Please describe any special situation(s) with indication of the minute(s) – mandatory if you tick “-“ (negative point) in one
of the above boxes:
Minute Description of the situation

ADDITIONAL ASSISTANT REFEREE 2

11 Additional Assistant referee’s performance (please mention important decisions with reference to the min.):

+ Expected -

--- X --- Good positioning and movement

--- --- X Adequate alertness and good co-operation with the referee
--- X --- Reaction to incidents within his vicinity
--- X --- Efficient control at set pieces / dead ball (e.g. corner-kick, free-kick, goal-kick)

Comments
He could and should advise the referee at the 53’ situation. He was was better positioned to see that solely the attacker
had hit the ball and therefore the defender only hit his opponent leg. Here better communication needed.
Good positioning and movement.
Please describe any special situation(s) with indication of the minute(s) – mandatory if you tick “-“ (negative point) in one
of the above boxes:
Minute Description of the situation

53’ He should have helped the referee with missed penalty situation.

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FOURTH OFFICIAL

12 Comment on the fourth official (technical duties, co-operation with the referee when needed, dealing with team
officials…):

The fourth official fulfilled his duties well during the match. He executed substitutions quickly, appeared attentive and
carefully followed the game ready to assist the referee.

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