(16) Croatia-Denmark

 

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Marc Batta was the first referee to represent France at a major tournament after the great Vautrot (last season 90/91) and Quiniou (last 94/95) generation had passed, but Batta was a very skilled official in his own right; a 'referee's referee', able to stamp his authority on games despite his slight and somewhat ancién figure on the field of play. He started in Euro 1996 on the key game of Group D, upstarts Croatia against fading champions Denmark, and did a good job. I think the Frenchman was one of the best referees at the tournament, and consequently well-deserving of his next assignment. Some timestamps:

Firsthalf: Three YCs to Croatia - Stanic for reckless, Prosinecki kicking the ball away, Vlaovic diving.

Secondhalf: Three big calls - no penalty to Croatia which (perhaps surprisingly) the replay does back up; penalty given then to the Croats perhaps after linesman(?) input and finally not-given second yellow card to Stanic, which I would support but where UEFA contravened their Switzerland-Netherlands ruling.

I don't know how well the phrase 'referee's referee' translates for non-native speakers, but from a 'nerd-like' perspective, how Batta a) used the whistle and b) used his physical presence despite a modest build, were really quite masterful indeed. Without being overly cynical, regarding Stanic's non-expulsion, there is something that should be outlined with regards how the tournament was organised; each group was based at a duo of locations, and had a duo of committee members 'controlling' them. For this group, it was Soriano Aladren and Vautrot. Additionally, because of how the matches were scheduled, there was only one match per group per day (hopefully this makes sense!). So, one can easily guess that both assessors sat together at each match but one formally took the reigns at each venue. I'm glad that Batta didn't face the same fate as Uzunov, as I'd argue there are still reasons to deem Stanic's foul as careless for this era (not least because of the 'minimalist' card approach in this game): but that^ backdrop should be noted too.

If there was a reason not to appoint the French crew further in Euro'96, it came from the linesmen. Far-side official Jacques Mas, if you excuse the pun, left one expecting more from his decisions - the still makes it look like a much easier call than it was in reality. Denmark goalkeeper Schmeichel was out and I don't think anybody at the time clocked it either (committee included!) - but an earlier mistake in a much more normal situation is enough to demerit Mas' calls. More on that would follow. Denmark very nearly equalised too from an offside missed by the other linesman, Pierre Ufrasi, but he gave a generally more convincing impression.

Matchsheet

Marc Batta - 7 Pierre Ufrasi - 6 Jacques Mas - 5 Alain Sars (assessor: soriano)	Croatia 3-0 Denmark Sun 16June 730pm, Sheffield Group Stage
Cro  Stanić (20') - Challenge  Prosinečki (23') - DtR (kicking ball away)  Vlaović (39') - Simulation	Den