Miroslav Stupar: “The referee could have awarded a penalty for Mudryk”

Former FIFA referee Miroslav Stupar assessed the actions of Portuguese referee Joao Pinheiro in the Nations League match between the national teams of Albania and Ukraine:

“The referee fulfilled his duties, allowed the game to continue, and did not distribute yellow cards to control the flow of events. Although nothing scandalous happened in the first half, he could have awarded a penalty against the Albanians when Mykhailo Mudryk fell in their penalty area. There was quite a tough struggle between the Ukrainian and the defender, but at the last phase, the Albanian still held the opponent by the arm. However, the VAR referee decided not to draw Pinheiro's attention, believing that this episode did not warrant serious punishment. As they say in such cases, it’s up to the referee’s discretion.

As for the incident near the Ukrainian goal in the 74th minute, the hosts' player Uzuni outpaced Anatoliy Trubin, pushing the ball ahead, and the goalkeeper had no choice but to foul. The penalty was obvious. It’s good that it didn’t throw the guests off course, who secured a much-needed victory,” said Stupar.