​Romanian referee Istvan Kovac was the center of attention in Thursday night’s UEFA Europa League round of 16 second leg between Real Sociedad and Roma, which ended 0-0.

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Istvan Kovac did not give “Roma” a penalty in the match of the 1/8 finals of the Europa League with “Real Sociedad”

Roma advanced to the quarter-finals of the UEFA Europa League on Thursday night by eliminating Real Sociedad 2-0 on aggregate.

In the return game in San Sebastian, Istvan Kovac was in the middle, but the referee from Carey made several mistakes that drew criticism from the Italian press.

Corriere dello Sport journalists gave Istvan Kovac five points, motivating it by the fact that he should have punched from 11 meters and fouled Paulo Dybala in the penalty area.

Moreover, the Italians say that center Carey hesitated too much during a duel between goalkeeper Rico (Real Sociedad) and Karsdorp (Roma), when the home goalkeeper hit a player of the team coached by Jose Mourinho.

Roberto Rosetti, praise to Istvan Kovac

The head of UEFA referees, Roberto Rosetti, also spoke about the activities of referees in Romania.

He is satisfied with the quality of arbitrations and emphasized that the results are more than obvious.

“I think the results are obvious, the Romanian referees are doing a good job. At the last EURO, there were two Romanian referees on the pitch, and it is no coincidence. It is simply the result of hard work.

Istvan (No. Kovacs) and Ovidiu (No. Hatcegan) deserved to be there, and they were there! We want quality, and at the moment Romanian refereeing offers us that quality.” – he said in an interview published on the website of the Romanian Football Federation.

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