Strange performance by the Turkish referee. First a wrongly conceded goal by Slavia, in the second half a compensation on the other side

The course of Thursday’s match between Feyenoord and Slavia was significantly affected by two decisions of the head referee. First, Halil Umut Meler conceded a goal by Peter Olayinka, who was offside, then he did not take a penalty after a tackle on Tomáš Holeš.

The head referee looked convincing and calm in the opening minutes. He didn’t let himself be swayed by the players’ reactions to his decisions, didn’t whistle minor fouls, and only gave a yellow card to Gernot Trauner for stopping a fast break.

In the 41st minute, a lot changed. Peter Olayinka headed the ball into the net twice, but the goal should not have stood due to an offside by Yira Sor. Despite the protests of the home players and coaches, the referees could do nothing about the situation, VAR is not available in the Conference Europa League.

The conceded goal was the turning point of the match. Feyenoord felt aggrieved, they asked for two penalty kicks to be whistled before half-time, but the Turkish referee remained calm in both cases, instead awarding one yellow card for protesting.

In the second half, the referee’s biggest mistake occurred in the Feyenoord penalty area. One of the home team’s defending players stepped on Tomas Holes’ foot, but Umut Meler did not blow the whistle.

It was not the only situation judged in Rotterdam’s favour. It was clear that the referee was trying to make up for his mistake in the first half. Controversial moments Umut Meler refereed after the change of sides for Feyenoord, but in the overall context Slavia cannot complain.

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