Champions League 2021/22 - Referee Appointments - Matchday 2 (wednesday)
29 September 2021
21:00 CET - Lisbon (Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica)
SL Benfica (POR) - FC Barcelona (ESP) | Group E
Referee: Daniele Orsato (ITA)
Assistant Referee 1: Alessandro Giallatini (ITA)
Assistant Referee 2: Ciro Carbone (ITA)
Fourth Official: Daniele Doveri (ITA)
Video Assistant Referee: Massimiliano Irrati (ITA)
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Christopher Kavanagh (ENG)
UEFA Referee Observer: Mehmet Murat Ilgaz (TUR)
I only just realised that Chris Kavanagh is VAR on the Crystal Palace vs BHA game. Then presumably has to travel back to Manchester for a flight for this game, and will then presumably be out in the PL this weekend too.
Surely UEFA and the PGMOL talk to one another about appointments, right?
Or fly straight from Heathrow to Switzerland?
I'm told their flight is from Manchester at silly O'Clock tomorrow am. UEFA will have booked it from his 'home' airport about 10 days ago, which the PGMOL would have known. The flight is around 6am - they have to be there for around midday. Time he leaves Stockley Park it will be about 11pm, what is it - 4 hours to Manchester? He might be lucky enough to get a whole 2 hours nap at the airport before having to book in and board the plane. A couple more hours on the flight, if lucky & he's the sort who can sleep on a plane. Very healthy - not!! If he has games Tues & Weds, which seems to be the new way of doing it, he'll fly back Friday & probably be out twice over the weekend in some capacity.
What's it going to take for the PGMOL to start using some common sense? One of them collapsing from exhaustion or worse?
Our Federation might not get much right but our FIFA referees get offered the weekend before a midweek Europe game off and they don't get a game for a minimum 24 hours after return. If they return on Friday they won't be on a Saturday game in any capacity, they'll be on one of the Sunday games or a game in the NBII on Sunday. They'll also be spoken to before being appointed and if travel back was on the Friday they will again offered the weekend off. Ok we have less games but then our pool of referees is also smaller. The Federation will use NBII referees as 4O & VAR if needs be on the Saturday rather than one of the referees who have been out midweek. It might happen on a rare occasion, if there are no other options - positive covid tests/injury/3+ teams out abroad etc but then it would be a Budapest based game and the Federation will put them in the hotel in Vecsés, literally a 2 min drive from the airport for the Fri & Sat night.