(28) Portugal-Czech Rep
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Highlights
Report
Karel Poborsky scored his famous goal as the Czech Republic impressively (and ultimately deservedly) knocked out Portugal in an exciting game at Villa Park to complete the semifinal lineup at Euro'96. The Iberian team in the end ran out of ideas against an enterprising Czech side, though they did bow out in a more graceful manner than in their next two major tournaments. That was largely thanks to Hellmut Krug, the German referee who contravened the trend in the tournament's quarterfinals - his crew had a good match and in the case of Krug specifically, the strongest refereeing performance of the competition.
Though it should be said that the German official had to tie the largest card count of Euro'96 in order to it (9xYC, 1xSYC), there were three key strengths of Hellmut Krug's refereeing in this game:
1- He showed a great understanding of what the players were trying to achieve with their actions and used disciplinary sanctions accordingly. In the first minute of the game, when Suchoparek clattered into the back of (one of Portugal's most creative players) Joao Pinto, he immediately showed the Czech defender a yellow card (clip). Additionally at the end of the first half when Latal, having already a minute earlier quite deliberately trod on the foot of an opponent, went in studs up at chest height against Rui Costa, despite the actual nature of the contact being 'fleeting', Krug immediately showed the yellow card to the fullback (clip). The commentators on British television were very critical of the German referee's performance, stating that "it wasn't that sort of a game" but they had missed the nuance - only thanks to the excellent reading of the game as mentioned above did this match, where both teams were extremely tense and were in confrontation even before the start of the game, pass off without greater incident. Latal was ultimately sent off in the 82nd minute (clip), having already escaped in the 66th (clip). The second yellow card itself was crystal clear, and I think Krug was right in the earlier incident too - even if the foul was deliberate, it was careless in mode and there is enough doubt about likelihood of controlling the ball.
1- He showed a great understanding of what the players were trying to achieve with their actions and used disciplinary sanctions accordingly. In the first minute of the game, when Suchoparek clattered into the back of (one of Portugal's most creative players) Joao Pinto, he immediately showed the Czech defender a yellow card (clip). Additionally at the end of the first half when Latal, having already a minute earlier quite deliberately trod on the foot of an opponent, went in studs up at chest height against Rui Costa, despite the actual nature of the contact being 'fleeting', Krug immediately showed the yellow card to the fullback (clip). The commentators on British television were very critical of the German referee's performance, stating that "it wasn't that sort of a game" but they had missed the nuance - only thanks to the excellent reading of the game as mentioned above did this match, where both teams were extremely tense and were in confrontation even before the start of the game, pass off without greater incident. Latal was ultimately sent off in the 82nd minute (clip), having already escaped in the 66th (clip). The second yellow card itself was crystal clear, and I think Krug was right in the earlier incident too - even if the foul was deliberate, it was careless in mode and there is enough doubt about likelihood of controlling the ball.
2- From a technical perspective, Krug also did very well in another singular aspect: understanding which incidents were 'borderline-to-YC' (rather than just simply careless), and sending the signal that players were 'close' to tripping the line but hadn't. Particularly in the match's formative stages, this was very important for keeping the match under control. It is unfair to compare between games, but this specific element was sorely lacking in the day's earlier quarterfinal!
3- Krug was a tall man (6'4") and used his physical presence well in this match, in order to win the players' respect. For the sake of giving an example, at the end of the game, when a number freekick decisions within a few minutes were all given against hot-headed Joao Pinto, by showing a stern face the German referee avoided any dissent from him. I think in this regard it also helped the official from Germany that this was, to pardon the pun, a rather 'bohemian' quarterfinal mostly without big name players (excepted of course Figo, Costa et al) at that time, allowing Krug to stamp his authority on the match.
So, it is nice to be able to reflect on a positive job by the referees in a knockout stage match of Euro'96! No negative assessment for Krug at the time either and quite the contrary infact: despite the high number of cards, UEFA were explicitly very happy with the German's performance in this game. Indeed, if there was a referee who finished the tournament with more credit than Hellmut Krug, he numbered exactly one (and between them, they both would referee the next two Champions League finals).
Somewhat ironically therefore, the fourth major tournament match of Krug's career would prove his last. It was not, though, on account of his refereeing in this game: in the 'dark sky' of the quarterfinals of Euro'96, this match was a sole cause for satisfaction amongst the UEFA refereeing organisation.
Matchsheet
| Hellmut Krug - 8 Klaus Plettenberg - 7 Egbert Engler - 7 Hermann Albrecht (assessor: casarin) | Portugal 0-1 Czech Republic Sun 23June 630pm, Birmingham Quarterfinal |
Por  Hélder (11') - Challenge Sa Pinto (40') - Challenge Secretário (59') - SPA (Challenge) J. Pinto (+91') - LoR (Holding) | Cze Suchopárek (1') - Challenge Šmicer (23') - Tackle Látal (43') - Challenge Bejbl (55') - SPA (Challenge) Kuka (69') - Tackle Látal (82') - Tackle |
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