Wrong decisio, bad decision-making

Referee and four assistants

A couple of weeks ago, I read on this site that Mr Nijhuis was designated to replace the disappointing Mr Blom as Netherlands second CL referee. If this game ought to have been the decider upon this issue, then I'm quite certain the Dutch referee didn't pass the test. Things started to go wrong for Mr Nijhuis in the 37th minute. Defender Stafylidis, on the PAOK goal-line, saved twice in a row Tottenham's shots on goal, the second ons adjudged to be done by use of his right arm. It was clear from first glimpse that it was a clear body-save. The replays confirming this, even demonstrated how he takes his arm backwards, trying to hide it behind his body. But the referee, in a perfect position, decided otherwise, consequently sending-off the Greek player and awarding a penalty-kick to Tottenham (converted by Modric). The commentators on our tv channel wrongfully blamed the two officias on that side for not helping the referee out of the mess he heaped on himself. Honestly, ar Van de Ven and aar Wiedemeijer couldn't see clearly by which part of the body the save was made, as the right side of the player's body was on their blind sight, while the ref stood in the best position of them all. The second half was a totally differnt story in football terms. PAOK went under a barrage of Tottenham attacks. The scoreline didn't change for three reasons - PAOK did some good defensive work, Tottenham lacked the finishing touch, and a good refereeing decision made through an an awful decision-making process. Signs of a gathering storm for the ref were on the scene immediately after kick-off for the second half. Five (!) Tottenham players were offside due to PAOK well-acted tactics. One Tottenham player scored. There shouldn't have been any doubt about the illegality of the goal, but Mr Nijhuis seemed hesitant and uncertain before awarding the indirect free-kick (the referee should have known there was the clearest of offsides, and I'm sure the blame for the relatively late call, shouldn't be attached to ar Boonman). And then came the 77th minute. Again a save on the Greek goal-line, and again turmoil for the referee. As defender Contreras cleared the ball off his line, Tottenham's Defoe came in with a late tackle impeding Contreras just after he had kicked the ball. The clearence didn't go toofar, gathered by Spurs who attacked vehemntly, and after 2-3 movements scored what would have been an equaliser. Mr Nijhuis didn't react to Defoe's foul (he either couldn't clearly see it as Defoe's body probably blocked his sight from detecting the stretched legs which caught the defender's body, or he turned his eyes to the direction the ball went from the clearance) and play went on for some crucial moments before the whistle was blown just about the ball to reach an empty PAOK goal (the goalie was somewhere in the midst of the penalty-area) while Contreras is still stranded on the pitch close to one of the goal-posts. The free-kick was awarded for Defoe's foul "ages" after it had been commited with no advantage being used in between. The person who called the ref's attention to the incident wass aar Janssen, but what a way to do it. The aar obviously saw the foul when it happened, but one could well watch him afterwards, following keenly events on the pitch as if there was nothing to call (while Contreras was stranded on the ground). Only when the balled rolled from Defoe's shot towards the goal, one could see Mr Janssen talking on his audio-system and then the ref blowing his whistle and rushing to the goal-line. Mr Janssen was actually breaching the unwritten contract between a ref and his assistants by not calling in real time and then getting his senior partner into a mess. All in all, the ars were very good and had nothing to be ashamed of, most of Mr Nijhuis troubles were of his own making, and as for aar Janssen - he should carry a certain degree of shame for the "assistance" he gave on the night.