Frank de Bleeckere was the referee in the Arsenal v. Dortmund Champions League last week, and his positioning in that match was much better than in the England/Spain match. He stayed behind the play, and did not interfere with the attacking options as was the case previously. It is not clear why he changed his positioning and movement for the better, but it was welcome.
Perhaps someone else (the assessor) also pointed out the problem to him, or perhaps he reads this blog? Probably not the latter, because he still used the "palm-down" signals. Although we won't be seeing Mr. de Bleeckere in international games any more (he goes off the FIFA list this year), we hope that younger officials do not emulate him and that this does not become a trend. Not only is it not the approved technique, it also looks highly provocative and could be offensive to many spectators and viewers.
Especially when you consider that FIFA would not allow the poppy on the uniforms of the England team as it may offend the Germans. That just is plain stupid.
Posted by: OMG not again | November 30, 2011 at 07:38 AM