Mejuto knows the rules

slap

Mejuto and his assistants missed a slap in the face by Aufhauser against Podolski. It was not a big punch, but Podolski decided to lay down: it should have been a red card. Looking at his palmarés, this is not a surprise. Mejuto González has a low average for red cards (0.05).

stupendous coaching

In the 40th minute there was another interesting moment. Both coaches were sent off after continuous complaining against the fourth official. Mejuto warned them once and sent them off the second time. Whatever the reason for their protests may have been, Mejuto's decision is according to UEFA's rules. Before this tournament started UEFA gave clear official referee instructions. These rules were presented to teams and players. Regulation #6: Coaches acting responsibly will be left to do their jobs in the technical area (only one person is authorized to give instructions at a time). However, if a coach openly criticizes the referee, action will be taken to curb his behaviour. If UEFA takes their own regulations seriously, there is no other result possible then banning and fining these coaches for their unsporting behavior.

Ballack the match

All three bookings for Austrian fouls were correct. Ballack started complaining in the 16th minute and will soon start missing matches because of his big mouth. At the other hand, Ballack is a great player with a superb left foot. He scored a great goal out of a free kick (but great captains don't complain this much). Both teams were not impressive. There were many chances, but not many goals. The team with the least bad forward line-up won.