This Is Not the UPL: How Shakhtar Were “Whistled Out” by Atalanta

Shakhtar did not exactly deserve to reach the Champions League playoffs, but the refereeing was a disaster.

On Wednesday evening, Shakhtar in Kharkiv suffered a heavy defeat to Atalanta in the final group stage match and missed the chance to advance to the Champions League playoffs. Six points in the group and a goal difference of 8-13 hardly suggest the result was undeserved, but it must also be acknowledged that the referees (including the video assistants) “sank” José Castro’s team in the match against Atalanta. Here are four clear examples.

Viktor Kovalenko’s disallowed goal

As early as the 15th minute, Shakhtar managed to put the ball into Atalanta’s net, when after an attack down the right flank, Kovalenko successfully played in a finish inside the opposing penalty area. Nevertheless, since there were no other possible rule violations, and the assistant referee did not raise his flag, the decision was made to review the incident with VAR for an offside against Tete. Ultimately, he was ruled offside.

An arm offside and a shoulder offside — that is one thing. But here one also needs to pay attention to where the ball is. And it was clearly not in contact with Tayson’s foot. Therefore, at the very least, it is debatable. 

The importance of this possible goal is hard to overstate: at 0:0 early in a home match, in which, as became known later, Shakhtar would have been happy even with a draw.

Luis Muriel’s foul

In the 55th minute, Atalanta striker Muriel, having lost his race with Dodo on the flank, slid in from behind and brought down his opponent. That Muriel could now receive a yellow card was also said by the Italian commentators working on Sky Sport Uno.

There was no attempt to play the ball, Dodo was entering the opposing penalty area and could well have escalated the situation. It seemed the most obvious caution there could be, yet none followed. The score still suited the referee.

Timothy Castagne’s goal

In the middle of the second half, when Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini had practically gone all-in by taking off one of his defenders, Atalanta managed to go ahead. And here too, VAR was called in to review the incident.

The incident is disputed, once again milliseconds and the lines drawn for us play the decisive role. Only with the difference that in this case the video assistants interpret the contested situation in favor of the attack. 

Dodo’s red card

After the match, Atalanta captain and former Metalist player Alejandro Gómez admitted that his team “became noticeably easier after Dodo’s dismissal.” For Shakhtar, the dismissal was a shock. Believing it was possible to come back from 0:1 at home — that is one thing. Doing so while a man down with 25 minutes to go — is quite another.

And although Dodo himself says “there was no dismissal” since he merely “touched the opponent’s shoulder,” in fact this was a deliberate swing toward the face, and such an action is always punished with a yellow card. Yes, provocations like this are often used by, ahem, especially gifted players, but the rule about not falling for such provocations is surely repeated to footballers before every appearance on the pitch.

On the other hand, Dodo did not actually hit his opponent in the face, and the referee, who had earlier forgiven a far more obvious foul by Muriel, could well have let the teams finish the match with equal numbers. 

Vasily Obaraz