Before we go any further, let’s just say that there’s a tiny danger this video will make you want to referee football matches…
It’s flamboyant yellow card action from the 2. Bundesliga at the weekend. Mainz and Saint Pauli are upstaged by the man in black.
Thomas Metzen flashed two cards simultaneously in a display of showmanship that’s definitely not UEFA-approved. The double-booking is about as cool as refereeing ever gets. Until you think about it for a bit. Refs don’t normally carry two yellow cards, so Metzen deliberately took a spare onto the pitch just on the off-chance that he’d get to book two players at once. And that, dear reader, makes him a very sad man.
It’s been a year since Scott Carson’s howler against Croatia. The England keeper spilled a long-range Niko Kranjčar shot to gift the Croats the opening goal in a 3-2 defeat. England failed to qualify for Euro 2008 as a result.
Just as Carson’s gaffe was fading from the national consciousness, he blundered again last night. A mix-up with skipper John Terry handed Germany an equaliser and reminded everyone that he’s not a safe pair of hands.
It was Patrick Helmes who took advantage of the English indecision, although ultimately to no avail. Terry sealed a 2-1 win six minutes from full-time. Both second-half goals are in the embedded video. The highlights of the first half are here.
The third place play-off against Germany saw Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo raise his game to new heights. His take off, the limp lifeless form of his body and the seemingly neverending flight are all magnificent, of course, but exactly what we’ve come to expect of the Manchester United winger. It’s the rotation towards the referee and the television cameras that’s truly exceptional.