Damir Skomina, Controversial Referee Who Will Lead the 2018-19 Champions League Final

DBasia.news –  Damir Skomina will lead the 2018-19 Champions League final which will take place at Wanda Metropolitano between Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur.

For the 42-year-old Slovenian referee, this is the first time he has led the Champions League final. Previously, the biggest match ever led by Skomina was the 2017 Europa League final between Ajax Amsterdam against Manchester United. In addition, he also led the European Super Cup match between Chelsea and Atletico Madrid in 2012.

Interestingly, Skomina has a track record that can be said to be close to controversy. Among trainers, Skomina often gets harsh criticism.

For example, when Jose Mourinho was made furious when Skomina led the Chelsea match against Dynamo Kiev in the Europa League in October 2015.

What still hasn’t disappeared is that Skomina is the referee who led Paris Saint-Germain’s match against Manchester United. The second leg match top 16 was thick with controversy.

Skomina pointed to the white spot in the final minute for Manchester United, who was executed by Marcus Rashford. The goal that made the Red Devils dramatically qualify for the quarter-finals. After the match, PSG star, Neymar, made a strong condemnation to the referee. Because of the harshness, Neymar has been sanctioned by UEFA and cannot play in three Champions League matches next season.

For Liverpool itself, Skomina had a bad record. As from the five Liverpool matches led by Damir Skomina, four of them ended in a defeat.

However, Skomina actually provided benefits for Liverpool last season. In the second semi-final match at AS Roma headquarters, Liverpool are said to have benefited from the referee.

Citing Alessandro Vocalelli, editor of Corriere dello Sport, Skomina should have given at least two penalties for Roma and a red card for Liverpool players. Roma did win 4-2 in that match, but they failed to advance to the final as they lost 2-5 in the first match. “A match that was almost perfect was damaged by the referee,” wrote the Guardian quoted Vocalelli.

AS Roma President, James Pallotta, also said that Skomina’s performance was a joke. Skomina also made Pallotta ask UEFA to immediately use the Video Assistant Referee (VAR), which last season had not been used in the Champions League.

This season, Skomina once led Liverpool in the Champions League. When Liverpool won 1-0 over Napoli at Anfield Stadium.

What about Tottenham Hotspur? Not different from Liverpool, Skomina is bad news for Spurs.

When playing the match which was commissioned by Skomina, Tottenham never won. Spurs recorded two draws and lost once.

One interesting fact about Skomina is that, throughout his career, he has given 32 penalties in total, with details, 19 for the home team and 13 for the visitors.