The hero’s name is Juan Martinez Munuera
At the decisive qualifying matches Ukrainian national team – against Wales in June 2022 and against Italy in November 2023 – there is something in common. These are unassigned penalties against the opponents of the yellow-blues, as well as the same referee who was responsible for VAR — Spaniard Juan Martinez Munuera.
Let us remember that the match on June 5 last year in Cardiff determined the fate of a ticket to the World Cup. Then Alexander Petrakov’s team defeated Scotland (3:1) on the road in the playoff semi-finals, but lost minimally to Wales in the decisive match (0:1).
In the game, Ukraine was not inferior to the home team, and in the first half, with the score 0:0, they were claiming a penalty when Joe Allen hit Andrei Yarmolenko on the leg from behind in his own penalty area. The main referee of the meeting, Spaniard Antonio Mateu Lahoz, did not see the violation, and the video assistant, Juan Martinez Munuera, did not dissuade his colleague.
A similar story happened yesterday, November 20th. Let us remind you that Ukraine needed a victory over Italy to directly qualify for the 2024 European Championship, and in stoppage time for the second half, with the score 0:0, the nominal home team claimed a penalty. However, deja vu happened – chief referee Jesus Gil Manzano did not see Brian Cristante’s blow to Mikhail Mudrik’s leg, and the video assistant, Juan Martinez Munuera, did not dissuade his colleague.
In both cases, it was the opinion of the VAR referee, who had access to replays of the episode from different vantage points, that could have become decisive if Martinez Manuera had doubted the fairness of his colleague’s decision and invited him to the monitor.
Let us recall that in October, UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin said that Italy “must qualify for Euro 2024.”
The difference between the drama of last summer and recent history is that the failure with the Italian national team was not fatal for the blue-yellows. Rebrov’s team will be able to compete for access to Euro 2024 in the Nations League playoffs. Ukraine will be waiting for the “final four” of Division A or Division B – this will be decided by a draw.
If they get into the playoffs of Division B, the Ukrainian team’s opponents will be Bosnia and Herzegovina and Israel, as well as Finland or Iceland. If we get into the playoffs of Division A, our team will have to compete with Poland, Estonia, as well as Wales or Croatia.
Source: Sportarena
I’m Scott Moore, a professional writer and journalist based in the US. I’ve been writing for various publications for over 8 years now, and have been working as an author at athletistic for the past five years. My work has been featured by some of the leading sports websites and magazines across Europe.
