With a place in the World Cup qualifying play-off final at stake, discipline may prove to be key for both Scotland and Ukraine as they face each other in their crucial semi-final clash at Hampden Park on Wednesday evening.
The winner of the fixture will go on to play Wales in Cardiff on Sunday, June 5, for a spot at the World Cup in Qatar later this year.
Both teams have had fairly strong disciplinary records so far in this qualifying campaign, with Scotland picking up 16 yellow cards, an average of 1.6 per match, and Ukraine collecting 11 for an average of 1.4 per match. However, the visitors also have one red card to their name with Everton’s Vitaliy Mykolenko being sent off against Finland last year.
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The man who both teams will be trying to get on the right side of is referee Danny Makkelie, who will be assisted by an all-Dutch officiating team of Hessel Steegstra, Jan de Vries, Serdar Gözübüyük and Pol van Boekel. But who is he and what can Scotland and Ukraine expect when he takes charge on Wednesday? Here’s everything you need to know:
Who is referee Danny Makkelie?
Born on the Dutch Caribbean island of Curacao in 1983 as the son of Dutch Royal Marine, Makkelie returned to the Netherlands as a child and took up refereeing from a young age. He took charge of football and basketball sessions aged just 10, before refereeing adult games as a teenager.
He was then invited by the Dutch FA to become part of their refereeing set-up, and has been a FIFA-listed referee since 2011. However, despite making it as a referee, Makkelie kept his job as a part-time police inspector in the Dutch National Police Force, going part-time to allow him to also referee Champions League games.
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What important matches has he overseen?
A year after becoming a FIFA-listed official, Makkelie took charge of the final of the U19 European Championship in Estonia, his first major final. He was an additional assistant referee in the 2018 Europa League Final between Atletico Madrid and Marseille and two years later was the man in the middle for the 2020 final as Sevilla defeated Inter Milan.
The year 2020 was a busy one, as he also took charge of the FIFA Club World Cup semi-final between Brazil’s Palmeiras and Mexico’s UANL in Qatar, before joining the officiating line-up for the European Championship. At the tournament, he took charge of two group-stage matches, and two England knockout games in the round of 16 and semi-final.
Makkelie has also played a part in number of high-profile fixtures as a video assistant referee. He worked in this role at the 2016 FIFA Club World Cup final – one of the first tournaments to use the technology – the 2017 U20 World Cup final and the 2019 Women’s World Cup. He also made history when he was named video assistant referee for both the 2018 World Cup final and 2019 Champions League final, the first finals of their kind to use VAR.
What happened at the Euros?
Despite having a relatively controversy-free tournament before the knockout stages, Makkelie was criticised for a huge decision he made in England’s semi-final against Denmark. The game had gone to extra-time after a cagey first 90 minutes, and there were just moments left of the first period when Raheem Sterling raced into Denmark’s penalty area and was sent tumbling to the ground under a challenge by Joakim Maehle.
Makkelie had a great view of the incident and immediately pointed to the spot. Harry Kane’s initial spot-kick was saved by Kasper Schmeichel, but he followed in the rebound to make it 2-1 and send England to the Euro 2020 final.
While it was a clumsy challenge by Maehle, many thought Makkelie made the wrong decision with some claiming that Sterling dived in order to win the penalty. Denmark manager Kasper Hjulmand said following the game that he was “very disappointed” with the decision, adding that it “should not have been a penalty,” while Danish goalkeeping legend Peter Schmeichel said the referee had made “a really big mistake” that would be “debated for a long, long time”.
The Danes were not alone in their criticism of the penalty call, with some commentators branding the decision a “joke” and former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger also claiming England should not have been awarded the spot-kick. However, Makkelie’s decision was backed by Roberto Rosetti, the chairman of the UEFA referees’ committee, who pointed out that the match VAR officials told the referee the penalty was “correct”.
Has he taken charge of Scotland or Ukraine before?
It will be unknown territory for both Scotland and Ukraine on Wednesday night as Makkelie has never taken charge of a game involving either side. However, he may be known to some Scotland fans having refereed Rangers’ Europa League group-stage game against Sparta Prague earlier this season.
Rangers won that game 2-0 thanks to a double from Alfredo Morelos. It was also a quiet night for Makkelie too, as he handed out just three cards all game, with two of these going to the Scottish side.
