Clean as a whistle

Referee and assistants

Mr. Dean had an evening he and we should cherish, No unnecessary whistle blows letting the game flow. There was either no impetuous use of the yellow card. When things turned ugly after Benfica scored their second goal, and there was a flare-up after a harsh foul by Stutgart`s Gebhart, Mr. Dean acted calmly, bringing an end to the incident by booking him and Benfica`s Martins who came on the scene and pushing aggressively the German culprit. As for sending off Kuzmanovic in the end of the seventh minute of added time to the second half (most of the additinal time attributed to the treament of the Stuttgart first choice goalie after he had been injured): This was a right decision as the Stuttgart player, probably out of frustration, deliberately kicked an opponent. The referee also got very good assistance from the two gentlemen, Michael Mullarkey (it seems parting with Mr. Webb has done him just good) and David Richardson.