Oh dear, there really could be trouble afoot in the Final of the Euro Conference between West Ham and Fiorentina.
It concerns the choice of a match referee who has a shocking record of handing out yellow and red cards
He is Spanish official Carlos del Cerro Grande who will take charge of the 2023 showpiece at the Eden Arena in Prague, Czechia on June 7.
CVlaret and Hugh Facebook follower David Pope reports that this season he has taken charge of a total of 26 matches across La Liga the Champions League and the Nations League, during which he has issued 100 yellow cards and 11 reds, at a rate of 3.85 and 0.42 per match respectively.
That’s an extraordinary number and it makes one wonder again just what Uefa is thinking about in appointing such a controversial figure for one of their most important competitions.
He has been an international referee since 2013, with his debut coming in an international match on 26 May 2013, between the under-19 teams of Scotland and Georgia.
On 15 June 2021, he refereed in a major international finals match for the first time when he officiated the group match of Euro 2020 between France and Germany. He faced criticism for not calling a foul against Germany in their penalty area.
Hugh. Can you do an article on Fan Zones for the Europa Conference Final. Given we only have an allocation of 5,000 tickets, there’s a possible 57,000 fans looking for somewhere to watch the final with other fans and some atmosphere. Is the club going to open the London Stadium? Or will there be a Fan Zone outside the stadium? with only 2 weeks to go, I haven’t seen any announcements on any proposed events.