SLOVENIA found a way around the new Uefa rule regarding players surrounding the referee during their 1-1 draw with England.
Both teams progressed to the knockout stage of Euro 2024 despite putting on a dire display in Cologne.
And viewers noticed something during the game that hasn’t been the norm at this tournament.
Uefa announced a rule change designed to stop players surrounding a referee following a controversial decision.
The rule states that the captain is the only player from each team who is allowed to discuss a decision made by the referee.
If a player is not a captain and approaches the official to dispute a decision – they will be immediately booked.
However goalkeeper Jan Oblak is the Slovenia captain, which meant they could nominate another outfield player to speak with the referee instead.
With Oblak often far away from incidents on the pitch, Slovenia gave centre-back Jaka Bijol the responsibility of engaging with the referee.
It is understood that if situations arise near the penalty area, then goalkeeping captains are permitted to speak to match officials.
It was the third time we have seen this at Euro 2024 – with Italy also adopting the same approach as Gianluigi Donnarumma wears the armband.
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Denmark have also benefited from this rule change with goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel nominating midfielder Pierre Emile Hojbjerg.
Udinese defender Bijol had a strong match against the Three Lions, but was booked for fouling Kane in the second half.
Meanwhile England star Phil Foden was booked for dissent after approaching the referee in the 79th minute.
Speaking ahead of the tournament, Uefa’s chief refereeing officer Roberto Rosetti explained the rule change.
Rosetti said: “We shared the idea with the coaches and spoke about this topic inside our board, with top players, former players and coaches.
“Together we agreed about this situation and then went to the teams.
“We are doing this not for the referees or the referees, but for football, the image of the game and the next generation.”
