Not up to it

Mr. Nijhuis

I'm sorry, but Bas Nijhuis lacks in every parameter which can produce a good referee, not withstanding an excellent one. His style is not engaging - his hand gestures are too sharp and strict. When he shows the yellow card, he lifts one arm while the finger of the other hand points at the culprit. Not very pleasant. His foul detection is not convincing, thus players do not really know what to expect when they go into a tackle. Heaped on this is the "yellow cards policy". In the first half the card was brandished five times - the first two for no reasonable cause. This probably sufficed as there were no bookings in the second half. Thus Valencia (ManU) got away with a deliberate kick at an opponent (55' - a foul was given). There was no application of the advantage rule. worst examples: 31', 79', 81'. He was also hesitant in calling some fouls, relying on his assistants (11', 55' are good examples of the latter). All in all - far from a convincing performance.