Germany CAN stop England after all! Gareth Southgate’s Three Lions handed German refereeing team for Euro 2020 quarter-final with Ukraine days after beating Joachim Low’s side at Wembley – and annoyed fans ask ‘is this some kind of JOKE?’
- England take on Ukraine in the quarter finals of Euro 2020 in Rome on Saturday
- Gareth Southgate’s side will have an eight-man team of refs, seven are German
- Only days ago the Three Lions eliminated Germany with a 2-0 win at Wembley
- Disgruntled fans asked if the refereeing appointments were ‘some kind of joke’
Just days after breaking German hearts at Wembley, it seems England will take on Germany once more at Euro 2020 – only this time it will be the refereeing team in their way.
Gareth Southgate’s side produced a stunning display to defeat Germany 2-0 at Wembley thanks to goals from Raheem Sterling and Harry Kane.
But eagle-eyed fans were quick to spot that of the eight-man refereeing team for the Three Lions’ Euro 2020 quarter-final against Ukraine, seven of them are German.
Felix Brych (middle) will lead a team of seven German referees for England’s quarter-final
It comes just days after the Three Lions eliminated Germany with a 2-0 victory at Wembley
Experienced official Felix Brych will be the matchday referee in Rome and he will be assisted by Stefan Lupp and Mark Borsch.
Marco Fritz is the installed Video Assistant Referee and his three Assistant VARs are Christian Dingert, Christian Gittelmann and Bastian Dankert.
Only one member of the officiating crew for Saturday night’s match does not hail from Germany.
Fourth official Carlos del Cerro Grande is Spanish.
Fans were quick to question why a German referee was appointed for England’s next match
Another asked if the seven officials all being German was ‘some kind of joke’ on England
An Inbetweeners meme became popular, suggesting it seemed ‘a bit dodgy’ for the game
One England fan urged caution and rotation for those a booking away from a suspension
The news of the refereeing appointments soon raised plenty of suspicion among England fans on social media.
‘A German ref, that’s a bit suspect is it not,’ one user wrote.
‘They’re going to bring it home, give them a German ref,’ another added.
‘Yeah I’m not sure how I feel about having German referee Felix Brych take hold of England vs Ukraine,’ one fan said.
‘Nice one UEFA, might be wise for Southgate to rest some of those yellow carded players…’
Memes soon became popular with one such image showing a scene from the Simpsons of Ralph on the bus laughing that he is ‘in danger’.
Brych is one of Europe’s finest officials and has taken charge of major finals in his career
But that did little to settle the concerns of England fans who felt his appointment was ‘suspect’
One fan suggested Brych stands in England’s way to ‘bring it home’ as supporters sing
A Simpsons meme suggested England are ‘in danger’ with the German refereeing team
In one mock-up England flags are placed on Ralph to portray England’s fate lies in the hands of the German refereeing team.
Doubts should be eased given Brych is one of Europe’s most respected officials and has taken charge of huge games previously.
At this tournament, Brych refereed Portugal’s last-16 defeat to Belgium and he’s already refereed Ukraine, officiating their 3-2 loss to Holland.
Brych’s CV includes taking charge of Champions League finals and he is widely considered Germany’s greatest referee in this moment.
His IQ is extremely high given he is a lawyer outside of football.