Getting The Basics Right

Report

Referee Florian Meyer (Germany) had some personality and clearly enjoyed communicating with the players. This aided him in his control of the match, which was generally very good especially since some calls were incorrect. He also had a good whistle and good presence when he had to stop play.

1

The referee's fitness was excellent, however his anticipation was generally not very good. For instance, there were several occasions when he was caught behind the ball during quick attacks because he failed to anticipate quickly. Related to this was his positioning, which was just OK. There were several instances where the referee had an internal angle, which meant his AR and other players were behind his back while the play and ball was in front of him. On a few occasions, he was also in danger of being hit by the ball. The 4 YCs were all correct. However, he missed 1 or 2 other incidents that deserved cautions.

2

I admit I am not used to watching German referees in the Bundesliga, but from Florian Meyer's odd signals I guess some of the standard referee signals are not used in the Bundesliga. For example, when the ball went out for a goal kick the referee pointed towards the centre circle. He was inconsistent because at least once, when the ball went out for a goal kick the referee pointed to the goal area line (which is the standard signal). I assume the referee is used to using the 'centre circle" signal for goal kicks and forgot to use the "goal area line" signal for this UCL match. Perhaps someone can comment on the referee signals used in the Bundesliga?

3

There were some poor calls and poor examples of teamwork from the match officials. In the 3' Plze