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UEFA Champions League 2013/14

Play-Offs, 1st Leg

(FRA) Olympique Lyon 0:2 Real Sociedad (ESP)

20/08/2013, 20:45 CET – Stade de Gerland, Lyon (France)

Goals scored: 0:1 Griezmann (Real, 17‘), 0:2 Seferovic (Real, 50‘)

Match Officials Name NAT Mark Mark* Difficulty

Referee Milorad Mažić SRB 8.8 0.0 Quite Challenging
Assistant Referee 1 Milovan Ristić SRB 8.7 0.0 Quite Challenging
Assistant Referee 2 Dalibor Djurdjević SRB 8.5 0.0 Normal
Additional Assistant Referee 1 Danilo Grujić SRB 8.1 0.0 Normal
Additional Assistant Referee 2 Miodrag Gogić SRB 8.1 0.0 Normal
Fourth Official Milan Minić SRB 8.0 0.0 Normal
UEFA Referee Observer Konrad Plautz AUT
UEFA Delegate Roland Tis BEL
Blog Observer Philipp S GER * mark without crucial mistake (7.8/7.9)

Evaluation Scale Level of Difficulty

9.0 – 10.0 Excellent. Normal: Normal match for the officials, few
8.5 – 8.9 Very good. Important decision(s) correctly taken. challenging situations

8.3 – 8.4 Good. Expected level. Quite Challenging: Difficult match with some
8.2 Satisfactory with small areas for improvement. difficult decisions for the officials

8.0 – 8.1 Satisfactory with important areas for improvement. Very Challenging: Very difficult match with
7.9 One clear and important mistake, otherwise 8.3 or above. many difficult situations for the officials

7.8 One clear and important mistake, otherwise 8.0 – 8.2.

7.5 – 7.7 Below expectation, poor control, significant point(s) for
improvement.
Disappointing. Below expectation with one and clear important
7.0 – 7.4 mistake or a performance with two or more clear and important
mistakes.
6.0 – 6.9 Unacceptable.

Additional time:
First Half: 1 Second Half: 3

Disciplinary Home Team Disciplinary Away Team

Minute Card Player Misconduct Classification Minute Card Player Misconduct Classification
37 YC 5 Unsporting behaviour (UB) 7 YC 6 Unsporting behaviour (UB)
43 YC 13 Unsporting behaviour (UB) 70 YC 17 Unsporting behaviour (UB)
75 2nd YC 5 Unsporting behaviour (UB) 80 YC 10 Unsporting behaviour (UB)
86 YC 19 Unsporting behaviour (UB)
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Description of the match:

Play-off match for the Champions League group stage between the third place team from France versus the fourth place
team from Spain. For Sociedad it was the first international match for 9 years, when they were eliminated by Lyon. In the
Stade de Gerland the French crowd could create a noisy atmosphere, which often reacted heavily on the action on the
field, especially on the referee’s decisions. During the match, Lyon was the more active team, but Sociedad could create
the more dangerous situations and scored by two beautiful goals.
For Elite referee Milorad Mazic this match meant the beginning of a season, which he wants to end in a World Cup
participation. Although being the least experienced candidate, after his performances in the lasts season, his chances are
not too bad. This match turned out to be a good test for him and a chance to prove his abilities. From the beginning on, it
was intense and fast, and the players did not avoid hard tacklings. So, the match was quite challenging for the referee.

REFEREE

1 Application and interpretation of the Laws of the Game / match control, tactical approach and management of the
game with the special situation(s) of the minute(s):

Comments:
The referee showed a good foul detection and made no obvious mistakes in applying the Laws. He was rather strict,
compared to other referees on this level, but for this match it probably was adequate because of the intensity.
Furthermore, he was also able to recognize, when the strikers went down too easily and only were looking for the free kick.
He managed to get the big decision of the match (see below) right and showed not too be influenced by the home crowd.

Minute Description of the situation

No penalty for Lyon, correct decision: Although there is some contact with the arm, the striker falls down too
32
easy, even a YC for diving was possible
nd
2 YC for Bisevac, free kick but no penalty for Sociedad: Vela is brought down by Bisevac entering the box.
Was it a foul? Not necessary, but according to Mazic’s line a correct decision. Was it a YC? A foul in this
75 position is nearly always worth a booking. Was it not a penalty? The first and deciding touch happened outside
the box. The tackling continued inside the penalty area, but if we only look at that part, it was a fair tackling,
mainly touching the ball. So, overall a difficult situation correctly solved.

2 Disciplinary control, management of players and team officials (bench) with the special situation(s) of the
minute(s):

Comments:
His disciplinary control was very good in this match. He distinguished the quality of fouls and was always right in his
decisions, when to issue a caution and when to warn verbally. Especially in the first half, he often used the latter to calm
down certain players, and therefore could avoid too many early bookings.
Most of the yellow cards were given for reckless or tactical fouls, only Prieto’s one (80’) was for a dive.
The match was under decent control, however there often were protests and a few small riots after some of his decisions.
He dealt well with them, sometimes explaining his decisions and always making clear that he is the man who decides.

Minute Description of the situation

nd
75’ 2 YC for Bisevac after a tactical foul, correct decision.
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3 Physical Condition:

Good

Positioning and Movement:

+ Expected -

X --- --- Always close to the play, follows play at all times, and does not interfere with play
X --- --- Flexible diagonal system
--- X --- Able to anticipate the action
--- X --- Enters the penalty area when necessary
--- X --- Efficient positioning at set pieces / dead ball (e.g. corner-kick, free-kick, goal-kick)

Please describe any special situation(s) with indication of the minute(s) – mandatory if you tick “-“ (negative point) in one of
the above boxes:
Minute Description of the situation
His positioning was nearly exemplary, he was always close enough to take the correct decisions, but never
full time
interfered with the match.
He is aware of a conflict between some players in his back, while the game happened already in the other half,
82
by finding a good compromise in his position and turning his head between the two places to watch.

4 Co-operation with assistant referees, additional assistant referees (where applicable) and fourth official:

All his assistants showed a good awareness and seemed to give advice to the referee about any action happening in their
respective areas. The AARs probably helped him at the no penalty situations and the ARs were faultless, also in difficult
situations

5 Personality:

He is a rather strict and pedantic referee, which was good in this match. His behavior showed big self-confidence, he was
quick in his decisions and sold them very convincing. However he seems to seek attention sometimes and was not
invisible at all in this match. Although well used, his verbal warnings and explanations may be a bit too long and his big
gestures are sometimes exaggerated.

6 General comments, advice on performance and personality:

Overall a very good performance, an application for challenging matches in the further competition. His decisions and his
card management were on a very high level, his general player management was also good, but sometimes too extensive.

7 Points discussed in the report:

Positive points: 1) Very good disciplinary actions, bookings spot on, good use of verbal warnings
2) Good foul detection, nearly no mistakes
3) Correct assessment of the difficult situation in 75’
4) Great positioning
5) Confident and determined
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Points for improvement: 1) Should try to stay more in the background, if possible
His style was a bit too pedantic, OK for this match, but in general he should
2)
become more lenient.
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ASSISTANT REFEREE 1

8 Assistant referee’s performance (please mention some important decisions with reference to the minute):

Positioning and Movement:

+ Expected -

X --- --- Correct offside decisions and good application of the “wait and see” technique
--- X --- Good positioning and movement
--- X --- Adequate alertness and good co-operation with the referee
--- X --- Reaction to incidents within his vicinity
--- X --- Efficient control at set pieces / dead ball (e.g. corner-kick, free-kick, goal-kick)

Comments:
A challenging match for him, with some difficult offside decisions, which he solved well.
Please describe any special situation(s) with indication of the minute(s) – mandatory if you tick “-“ (negative point) in one of
the above boxes:
Minute Description of the situation

5 Good and close offside decision

49 Difficult correct onside decision before the 0-2

80 Difficult Correct onside decision

ASSISTANT REFEREE 2

9 Assistant referee’s performance (please mention some important decisions with reference to the minute):

Positioning and Movement:

+ Expected -

--- X --- Correct offside decisions and good application of the “wait and see” technique
--- X --- Good positioning and movement
--- X --- Adequate alertness and good co-operation with the referee
--- X --- Reaction to incidents within his vicinity
--- X --- Efficient control at set pieces / dead ball (e.g. corner-kick, free-kick, goal-kick)

Comments:
Not as many situations as AR1 but also faultless and with one big call.
Please describe any special situation(s) with indication of the minute(s) – mandatory if you tick “-“ (negative point) in one of
the above boxes:
Minute Description of the situation

17 Difficult correct onside decision before the 0-1

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ADDITIONAL ASSISTANT REFEREE 1

10 Additional Assistant referee’s performance (please mention some important decisions with reference to the
minute):

Positioning and Movement:

+ Expected -

--- X --- Good positioning and movement

--- X --- Adequate alertness and good co-operation with the referee
--- X --- Reaction to incidents within his vicinity
--- X --- Efficient control at set pieces / dead ball (e.g. corner-kick, free-kick, goal-kick)

Comments:
He showed awareness and told the referee about incidents in his area, e.g. at corner kicks.
Please describe any special situation(s) with indication of the minute(s) – mandatory if you tick “-“ (negative point) in one of
the above boxes:
Minute Description of the situation

32 No penalty for Lyon, he probably gave advice here

ADDITIONAL ASSISTANT REFEREE 2

11 Additional Assistant referee’s performance (please mention some important decisions with reference to the
minute):

Positioning and Movement:

+ Expected -

--- X --- Good positioning and movement

--- X --- Adequate alertness and good co-operation with the referee
--- X --- Reaction to incidents within his vicinity
--- X --- Efficient control at set pieces / dead ball (e.g. corner-kick, free-kick, goal-kick)

Comments:
He showed awareness and told the referee about incidents in his area, e.g. at corner kicks.
Please describe any special situation(s) with indication of the minute(s) – mandatory if you tick “-“ (negative point) in one of
the above boxes:
Minute Description of the situation

80 YC for a dive, he probably gave advice here.

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FOURTH OFFICIAL

12 Comment on the fourth official:

No special events for him. In spite of the intense match the benches seemed to be quite calm, at least there were was no
intervention of the FO visible.