Brych Shows He Is Human

Track Record

Whenever I have seen Felix Brych referee he has been nothing short of outstanding. From accurate decisions to player empathy and from reading the match situation to being consistent, it was hard to imagine that Brych could ever have a bad game. Tonight should have been an easy match for a referee of his caliber, but he turned in a fairly awful performance.

Penalty Number One

This was one decision that Brych got spot on, perhaps with some assistance from the AAR. Costin deliberately handled the ball in the 64th minute, and Brych quite rightly awarded a penalty to Man Utd and cautioned Costin.

Penalty Number Two

In the 92nd minute Rooney tripped over Antil and went down in the penalty area. Brych, who was well positioned, pointed to the spot for the second time. However, I thought that Rooney tripped over Antil, rather than being tripped by him. After all, Antil did not stick his leg out to stop Rooney, and nor was he under any obligation to move out of Rooney's way in that situation. This should probably not have been a penalty.

Red Card Number One

Vidic was shown a straight red card in the 66th minute for serious foul play. While his tackle on Giurgiu was a fraction late and a touch high, it certainly was not committed with excessive force. Perhaps it was reckless, and so should have been a yellow card, but to dismiss a player for such a tackle is obviously incorrect.

Red Card Number Two

In the first half Brych showed no cards. Inexplicably after half time he completely changed his policy and began to dish out cards like confetti. With this policy it was inevitable that someone would pick up two yellows. Perendija was the man, and while he certainly deserved a yellow card in the 89th minute, his first caution was a little on the soft side.

Overall: Very Disappointing

Brych awarded 31 direct free kicks in this match. Very often these were for soft or even phantom fouls. And on at least 6 occasions he stopped play for a free kick when there was a good opportunity for an advantage. His policy on what constituded a foul and what constituted a yellow card offence was very inconsistent, and at times seemingly random. He also blew his whistle long and hard for every free kick, and even for offsides. This is poor refereeing; a long, hard whistle should only be used for serious infingements, while a short, sharp blast is sufficient for most stoppages. The two assistants were also too quick with the flags, both giving some offside decisions when the attcking player was onside. Overall, not a great night for Brych and team - I hope this is just a rare blip and that he is back to his usual brilliant form soon because Brych has the potential to be the best referee in the world.