Fouls, tumult, injury time
“Zero tolerance”: This is what the referees’ European Championship line looks like
14.06.2024, 11:49 a.m.
The European Championship is starting and it may be a tournament with lots of cards: Due to the new interpretation of existing rules, overconfident players can quickly get into a lot of trouble. This is worrying the German captain.
Before the opening match, UEFA referee chief Roberto Rosetti once again presented the guidelines and technical aids for the European Football Championship. Fans can look forward to transparency, as the decisions of the video referee will be described in detail on the video screen in the stadium. “We want to give the spectators an explanation of what the referee has decided,” said Rosetti in the Munich Arena, where the German national team will play in the evening. (9 p.m./ZDF, MagentaTV and in the live ticker on ntv.de) starts the home tournament against Scotland.
There will be “zero tolerance” for serious fouls, the 56-year-old said, as they want to protect the image of the game and, above all, the players. Dortmund professionals Nico Schlotterbeck and Marcel Sabitzer already felt the stricter interpretation of player protests in the Champions League final, when they were shown yellow cards for relatively minor complaints about referee decisions.
“For the game and its image”
“These are top referees,” said Rosetti. “They don’t change their minds, they don’t feel any pressure – why go?” He himself has never reversed a decision in his three decades as a referee. “We don’t do this for the referees, but for the game and its image.”
National coach Julian Nagelsmann recently said that the referees’ new, tough crackdown on complaining was fundamentally correct. Nagelsmann was only concerned about the short-term implementation before the season’s highlight. Specifically: There could be a lot of yellow cards and thus suspensions during the tournament. At the European Championships, players are suspended for the next match after two to four yellow cards. “The coaches, the players, everyone has understood the message. Everyone is informed. We have to start with that, and we are starting with that now,” said Rosetti.
Only the captain as contact person
The only person who should be the contact person for the referees is the captain – and Rosetti demands that he treat them with respect. If the goalkeeper is the captain, a field player should be appointed to act as a substitute if the goalkeeper is too far away. Ilkay Gündogan is worried about the new guidelines: “I hope that they understand that we are human beings, that we have emotions,” said the captain of the German team. “Complaints are also part of the game, whether it is a player, a coach or a fan. We all love the game because it brings us emotions. As long as it is not disrespectful, I would prefer that not too many yellow cards are shown,” said Gündogan.
Rosetti presented further guidelines for the referees, such as how to decide in cases of handball, diving or using the arm against the opponent. There will be no endless stoppage times at the upcoming tournament, as was the case at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, when many games lasted more than 100 minutes, Rosetti promised: “The referees have been asked to speed up the game.” Eight or nine extra minutes could happen, but this should not become the norm – also in view of the already high net playing time in the top European competitions.