Feyenoord has to do without Guus Til in the first leg of the eighth finals in the Conference League. The midfielder has been banned for two games by UEFA after his red card against Slavia Prague. Til therefore misses the first game in the eighth finals, which will be played on March 10. The draw for the second round has yet to follow, as there will be an intermediate round first.
Til received a red card after more than half an hour of play when he hit the standing leg of Nicolae Stanciu with a rash tackle. The red card caused quite a stir, as referee Mattias Gestranius initially drew a yellow card. Barely a minute later, he turned it into a red card, allowing the midfielder to attack early. That decision was remarkable, as there was no VAR present at the game. Til missed the last group match against Maccabi Haifa (2-1) last Thursday.
A deserved red card for Guus Til? ??#veronicainside #uecl #slafey pic.twitter.com/ahfSZDLBaw
— Veronica Inside (@veronicainside) Nov 25, 2021
Arne Slot also found it hard to believe that the arbitrator on duty came back from his decision so quickly. “I have not yet seen the violation, but the referee gave a yellow and a minute later red, while no VAR was present,” Slot said at the time about the situation at the press conference. “Right or wrong, I can’t say yet, but this was really bizarre. I don’t think this has ever been seen before. I’ve never seen this before. The fourth official said during the match that the referee had decided it himself. “
Til seemed to get away with one game suspension, but saw the UEFA Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body add another game on Monday. Feyenoord does not yet know who will meet in those eighth finals, as an intermediate round is first played between the numbers two of the group stage and the numbers three of the Europa League. Feyenoord skips that round as group head. The draw for the eighth finals will take place on Friday 25 February. The matches will be played on March 10 and 17.