Polish referee Daniel Stefanski was the man in the middle for Aberdeen’s Europa Conference League group game against HJK Helsinki.
How did Stefanski and his officials get on in the match which finished in a 1-1 draw?
There weren’t that many big decisions in the match but the biggest call of the game came in the first half when Luis ‘Duk’ Lopes appeared to be elbowed in the face.
I think Georgios Kanellopoulos of HJK can consider himself very lucky as it is a clear elbow.
There is an argument that he raised his arm to protect himself from the oncoming Duk.
When considering elbows to the face, it is important to consider how it occurred. Was there a clear movement towards the player or was it accidental? The Helsinki player goes into the challenge to get the ball, raising his elbows to protect himself.
Duk comes into the challenge, and puts his foot in to try and win the ball. Both players are fully committed.
As soon as you raise your elbow, whether it’s for protection or intentional to hurt an opponent, the referee has a decision to make.
I can understand why the referee initially gave the foul to Helsinki, I can see the argument that Duk also fouls Kanellopoulos. However, that doesn’t mean VAR couldn’t have reviewed the elbow.
For me, he elbows him, whether or not it was intentional, he still puts the elbow out. I was very surprised that a VAR check was not used.
The angle I have seen clearly shows it was an elbow.
HJK Helsinki were lucky they didn’t face a VAR check for a red card. The referee should have been given the opportunity to view it again.
Was it a foul throw?
There was also some controversy in the build up to the opening goal of the match with big calls for a foul throw just before Helsinki took the lead.
The foul throw rule is one that is usually completely ignored in football.
Every single game I see at least one not being given, including for both teams from this game.
Whether or not it was a foul throw is hard to tell from the replays.
At the time I thought it was a foul throw but I also thought plenty of other throw-ins were also foul throws.
The referee overall was very inconsistent and poor. He was giving some very soft free kicks, making the game very stop-start.
The referee was also getting in the way a fair amount. On two occasions the ball struck the referee, including an excellent defensive header in the Helsinki box.
There were also some laughable free kicks given the wrong way, in particular with Duk. He was using his strength well and although he can sometimes go down too easily, there were some instances where he was being clearly fouled but the referee awarded the free kick to Helsinki.
At one point he awarded Aberdeen a corner before changing his mind about 30 to 45 seconds later. Of course this is allowed as a referee has every right to change his decision if play hasn’t restarted but it looks incredibly bad.
Take a second, communicate with your assistant and decide together on a decision.
Overall, the referee had a relatively poor game. There were some odd decisions and he never truly had complete control of the game.
Finlay Elder was a registered referee for six years and a category 5 official from 2019, with experience in the Highland League, Juniors and Club Academy.
Analysis: A bloody affair for Aberdeen on their return to European group stage action at Pittodrie
