Slovenia produced a strong defensive display to frustrate a lacklustre England in a frustrating 0-0 draw in Cologne and qualify for the knockout stages of Euro 2024
Slovenia were able to get around a new rule during their dull stalemate against England on Tuesday night.
Both teams progressed to the knockout stages of Euro 2024 despite putting on a dismal display in Cologne. Knowing a point would be enough for third place in Group C, Slovenia sat deep and frustrated England, who could not produce the quality to break them down.
Their best chance came late on when Harry Kane set up Cole Palmer in space, but the Chelsea star’s weak effort was easily saved by Jan Oblak in goal. Oblak is the Slovenia captain, but his position between the posts has created a problem for his side.
Before the tournament, UEFA released new rules which it hoped would help cut down on dissent towards referees. It was decided that to minimise back-chat, only the captain from each side would be allowed to speak to the referee about his decisions.
With Oblak often far away from incidents on the pitch, Slovenia had to nominate one outfield player as their go-between with the referee. Before Euro 2024 began, Slovenia manager Matjaž Kek chose centre-back Jaka Bijol to take on the responsibility.
“Jaka Bijol will communicate with the referees,” Kek said. “If we haven’t had issues with referees due to our behaviour on the field so far, I believe it will be the same in Germany. At the same time, we’re talking about football, emotions – anyone can get carried away, even me. But this is Euro 2024, where only the best in Europe will remain in the game.”
Udinese defender Bijol had a strong match against England, but was booked for fouling Kane in the second half. He celebrated wildly after the full-time whistle was blown, having secured a third successive draw to qualify for the last-16.
Slovenia are not the only side to face the issue of nominating an outfield player: with Kaspar Schmeichel wearing the armband, Denmark did the same with Pierre Emile Hojberg, while Italy’s captain is goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Speaking ahead of the tournament, UEFA’s chief refereeing officer Roberto Rosetti explained the rule change: “We shared the idea with the EURO 2024 coaches and spoke about this topic inside our UEFA Football Board, with top players, former players and coaches.
“And, all together, we agreed about this situation and then went to the teams. They are happy about this. We are doing this not for the referees or the UEFA Referees Committee, but for football, the image of the game and the next generation.
“These sessions [with the teams] were very productive. All the players interacted in a very good way – they wanted to know how we wanted to apply this open dialogue with the captains and they were absolutely satisfied about this. I am sure it will be a fantastic example for the next era of football.”
Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.