THE EURO DIARY

Taylor made

THERE has been a marked difference in the application of VAR than we are used to seeing on a weekly basis in the Premier League.

Action-replay decisions have been a beneficial aid to officials throughout the tournament and the controversy has been minimal. The biggest blooper came in Czech Republic’s 1-1 draw with Croatia when Patrik Schick was awarded a penalty after Dejan Lovren caught him in the face with his arm. It seemed to be more of a natural coming together and not something VAR should have retrospectively advised a referral on.

Spain’s missed penalty in their 1-1 draw with Poland was another that raised eyebrows but Jakub Moder stood on Gerard Moreno’s foot and as such it was a penalty by the letter of the law.

A notable dynamic has been the performances of Anthony Taylor, the Premier League’s representative at the finals, who is often a target for derision. Taylor dealt superbly with VAR in Germany’s 4-2 win over Portugal and his quick-thinking in last week’s Denmark-Finland game was commended for the role it played in saving Christian Eriksen’s life.

It has brought praise from Keith Hackett, the former head of referees in England, who said: “[Taylor] has delivered two very good performances in the Euros. He looks relaxed, calm and in complete control of his own emotions. Anthony: return to the Premier League next season and do the same. Don’t be deflected by the PGMOL [Professional Game Match Officials Limited] management.”

Last week, Hackett made a radical suggestion that if referees in England could not reach the standards seen at Euro 2020 then the Premier League should consider appointing from Europe.

“Uefa has shown clear leadership with the referees, who know what is expected of them when it comes

to using video technology in this tournament.”

Sour taste

INTERESTING to witness Cristiano Ronaldo’s concern for his health and wellbeing by removing the two bottles of CocaCola set in front of him at a press conference last week followed by a request for some water. In a move reminiscent of Elon Musk’s trashing of Bitcoin on Twitter last month, Ronaldo’s fit of pique wiped $4 billion off the value of the drinks’ giants business in the aftermath and earned a warning from UEFA that teams could be fined if they did not respect contractual obligations to sponsors.

Interesting to note Ronaldo’s endorsements, too. Fast-food chain KFC – hardly a beacon for healthy eating – once paid him $2.25 million to promote the brand in the Middle East while slimming brand Herbalife, which has handed the Portugal forward $12.5m in sponsorship deals up to 2021, has been linked to liver damage in a number of patients who used the company’s products in

Israel, Spain, Switzerland, Iceland, Argentina, and the

United States.