The Conference final between Fiorentina and Olympiacos was the first career final for Artur Soares Dias, the referee chosen for Poland-Holland, a deserved award for someone like him who has struggled for decades to reach these goals. Having become international in 2010, at the age of thirty, Soares Dias is a son of art: his father Manuel, who passed away in 2009, was also a race director. Previously the most important match of his career was last year’s Champions League semi-final between Real Madrid and Manchester City. A match in which he showed empathy and didn’t make mistakes on important decisions, even though he overlooked some behavior that was over the top from a disciplinary point of view. Soares Dias was chosen as VAR at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, while he took charge of two matches in the Euro 2020 group stage but let’s see how he fared yesterday in Hamburg.
Soares Dias’ history with Poland and Holland
The Portuguese referee had already managed the Tulips three times with a record of two wins and a draw, only one crossing with the Poles with the match ending in a draw
The referee only cautioned one player
Assisted by assistants Paulo Soares and Pedro Ribeiro with the Bosnian Peljto IV man and Martins al Var, the referee only warned the Dutchman Veerman.
Poland-Holland, the slow-motion cases
These are the dubious episodes. The referee lets a lot run wild in a match that wasn’t bad but still intense in which there was no shortage of foul play and nervousness. In the 15th minute yellow for Reijnders but he wasn’t the author of the goal foul on Szymanski! The Dutch player, after receiving the card, points it out to the referee who then warns Veerman, the real perpetrator of the foul. A mistake that could have been costly because at Euro2024 the second yellow card in the tournament already leads to disqualification. The three goals in Poland-Holland were regular.
