AFC Asian Cup 2019 – Group Stage (Matches 33-36)

17 January 2018

Oman – Turkmenistan
Referee: Nawaf Shukralla (BHR, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Yaser Tulefat (BHR)
Assistant Referee 2: Mohamed Salman (BHR)
Additional AR1: Cesar Ramos (MEX)
Additional AR2: Khamis Al-Kuwari (QAT)
Fourth Official: Miguel Hernandez (MEX)

Japan – Uzbekistan
Referee: Mohammed Abdulla (UAE)
Assistant Referee 1: Mohamed Al-Hammadi (UAE)
Assistant Referee 2: Hasan Al-Mahri (UAE)
Additional AR 1: Ammar Al-Jneibi (UAE)
Additional AR 2: Ali Al-Qaysi (IRQ)
Fourth Official: Huo Weiming (CHN)

Saudi Arabia – Qatar
Referee: Kim Dong-Jin (KOR)
Assistant Referee 1: Yoon Kwang-Yeol (KOR)
Assistant Referee 2: Park Sang-Jun (KOR)
Additional AR 1: Ko Hyung-Jin (KOR)
Additional AR 2: Fu Ming (CHN)
Fourth Official: Cao Yi (CHN)

Lebanon – Korea DPR
Referee: Christopher Beath (AUS)
Assistant Referee 1: Matthew Cream (AUS)
Assistant Referee 2: Anton Shchetinin (AUS)
Additional AR 1: Muhammad Bin Jahari (SIN)
Additional AR 2: Liu Kwok Man (HKG)
Fourth Official: Koh Min Kiat (SIN)

Concacaf Referees of the Year 2018: Ramos & Venegas

Mexico is enjoying a clean sweep in the Concacaf Referee of the Year Awards for 2018. Liga MX referee Cesar Ramos has been named Concacaf Men’s Referee of the Year, while, for the second straight year, Lucila Venegas of Liga MX Femenil has taken home Concacaf Women’s Referee of the Year honors.

In was in 2018 that Ramos earned the distinction of refereeing in a FIFA World Cup for the very first time. The Sinaloa native officiated three matches at Russia 2018: Brazil-Switzerland and Poland-Colombia in the group phase, plus Uruguay-Portugal in the Round of 16. Ramos was also in charge of the two biggest matches in Liga MX in 2018, officiating the second leg of the Liga MX Torneo Clausura Final between Toluca and Santos Laguna, won 3-2 on aggregate by Santos. Six months later in the second leg of the Final of the Liga MX Torneo Apertura, Ramos was the referee for Club America’s 2-0 victory over Cruz Azul.

It was also a busy 2018 for Venegas, who was appointed two matches at the 2018 Concacaf Women’s Championship, including the Final won 2-0 by the United States against Canada. The Jalisco native also worked two matches at the 2018 FFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup: Uruguay-Ghana and Germany-Cameroon. (Source: Concacaf)

Men
1. Cesar Ramos (MEX)
2. Mark Geiger (USA)
3. Joel Aguilar (SLV)

Women
1. Lucila Venegas (MEX)
2. Crystal Sobers (TRI)
3. Carol Anne Chenard (CAN)

AFC Asian Cup 2019 – Group Stage (Matches 29-32)

16 January 2019

Korea – China
Referee: Abdulrahman Al-Jassim (QAT, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Mohd Bin Muhamad (MAS)
Assistant Referee 2: Mohamad Bin Zainal (MAS)
Additional AR 1: Khamis Al-Marri (QAT)
Additional AR 2: Khamis Al-Kuwari (QAT)
Fourth Official: Saoud Al-Maqaleh (QAT)

Kyrgyzstan – Philippines
Referee: Turki Al-Khudhayr (KSA)
Assistant Referee 1: Mohammed Al-Abakry (KSA)
Assistant Referee 2: Koh Min Kiat (SIN)
Additional AR 1: Muhammad Bin Jahari (SIN)
Additional AR 2: Hettikamkanamge Perera (SRI)
Fourth Official: Deniye Hemathunga (SIN)

Iran – Irak
Referee: Ravshan Irmatov (UZB)
Assistant Referee 1: Abdukhamidullo Rasulov (UZB)
Assistant Referee 2: Jakhongir Saidov (UZB)
Additional AR 1: Valentin Kovalenko (UZB)
Additional AR 2: Ilgiz Tantashev (UZB)
Fourth Official: Sergei Grishchenko (KGZ)

Vietnam – Yemen
Referee: Ahmed Al-Kaf (OMA)
Assistant Referee 1: Abu Al-Amri (OMA)
Assistant Referee 2: Rashid Al-Ghaithi (OMA)
Additional AR 1: Jumpei Iida (JPN)
Additional AR 2: Hiroyuki Kimura (JPN)
Fourth Official: Hiroshi Yamauchi (JPN)

VARs selected for UEFA Champions League KO stage

According to El Espanol, UEFA has selected 24 Elite referees eligible to be appointed as VARs in the knock-out stage of the Champions League.

Spain (4): Carlos Del Cerro Grande, Jesus Gil Manzano, Antonio Mateu Lahoz, Alberto Undiano Mallenco.
Germany (3): Deniz Aytekin, Felix Brych, Felix Zwayer
Italy (2): Daniele Orsato, Gianluca Rocchi
Netherlands (2): Björn Kuipers, Danny Makkelie
France (2): Benoît Bastien, Clement Turpin
England (1): Anthony Taylor
Portugal (1): Artur Soares Dias
Slovenia (1): Damir Skomina
Hungary (1): Viktor Kassai
Greece (1): Anastassios Sidiropoulos
Serbia (1): Milorad Mazic
Romania (1): Oliviu Hategan
Czech Republic (1): Pavel Kralovec
Poland (1): Szymon Marciniak
Scotland (1): William Collum
Russia (1): Sergei Karasev

Source: El Arbitraje

AFC Asian Cup 2019 – Group Stage (Matches 25-28)

14 January 2019
UAE – Thailand
Referee: Ryuji Sato (JPN, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Hiroshi Yamauchi (JPN)
Assistant Referee 2: Jun Mihara (JPN)
Additional AR 1: Jumpei Iida (JPN)
Additional AR 2: Hiroyuki Kimura (JPN)
Fourth Official: Mohd Bin Muhamad (MAS)

India – Bahrain
Referee: Ilgiz Tantashev (UZB)
Assistant Referee 1: Abdukhamidullo Rasulov (UZB)
Assistant Referee 2: Sergei Grishchenko (KGZ)
Additional AR 1: Ravshan Irmatov (UZB)
Additional AR 2: Valentin Kovalenko (UZB)
Fourth Official: Koh Min Kiat (SIN)

15 January 2019
Australia – Syria
Referee: Cesar Ramos (MEX)
Assistant Referee 1: Miguel Hernandez (MEX)
Assistant Referee 2: Alberto Morin (MEX)
Additional AR 1: Liu Kwok Man (HKG)
Additional AR 2: Khamis Al-Marri (QAT)
Fourth Official: Deniye Hemathunga (SRI)

Palestine – Jordan
Referee: Mohanad Sarray (IRQ)
Assistant Referee 1: Taleb Al-Marri (QAT)
Assistant Referee 2: Saoud Al-Maqaleh (QAT)
Additional AR 1: Ali Al-Qaysi (IRQ)
Additional AR 2: Khamis Al-Kuwari (QAT)
Fourth Official: Yoon Kwang-Yeol (KOR)

AFC Asian Cup 2019 – Group Stage (Matches 22-24)

13 January 2019

Korea DPR – Qatar
Referee: Hettikamkanamge Perera (SRI, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Deniye Hemathunga (SRI)
Assistant Referee 2: Jakhongir Saidov (UZB)
Additional AR 1: Valentin Kovalenko (UZB)
Additional AR 2: Ilgiz Tantashev (UZB)
Fourth Official: Matthew Cream (AUS)

Oman – Japan
Referee: Mohd Bin Yaacob (MAS)
Assistant Referee 1: Mohd Bin Muhamad (MAS)
Assistant Referee 2: Mohamad Bin Zainal (MAS)
Additional AR1: Peter Green (AUS)
Additional AR2: Ko Hyung-Jin (KOR)
Fourth Official: Anton Shchetinin (AUS)

Turkmenistan – Uzbekistan
Referee: Ammar Al-Jneibi (UAE)
Assistant Referee 1: Mohamed Al-Hammadi (UAE)
Assistant Referee 2: Hasan Al-Mahri (UAE)
Additional AR1: Mohammed Abdulla (UAE)
Additional AR2: Turki Al-Khudhayr (KSA)
Fourth Official: Mohammed Al-Abakri (KSA)

AFC Asian Cup 2019 – Group Stage (Matches 19-21)

12 January 2019

Vietnam – Iran
Referee: Muhammad Bin Jahari (SIN, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Koh Min Kiat (SIN)
Assistant Referee 2: Sergei Grishchenko (KGZ)
Additional AR1: Cesar Ramos (MEX)
Additional AR2: Hettikamkanamge Perera (SRI)
Fourth Official: Deniye Hemathunga (SRI)

Yemen – Iraq
Referee: Fu Ming (CHN)
Assistant Referee 1: Huo Weiming (CHN)
Assistant Referee 2: Cao Yi (CHN)
Additional AR1: Ma Ning (CHN)
Additional AR2: Liu Kwok Man (HKG)
Fourth Official: Mohamad Bin Zainal (MAS)

Lebanon – Saudi Arabia
Referee: Ali Al-Qaysi (IRQ)
Assistant Referee 1: Abu Al-Amri (OMA)
Assistant Referee 2: Rashid Al Ghaithi (OMA)
Additional AR1: Mohanad Sarray (IRQ)
Additional AR2: Mohd Bin Yaacob (MAS)
Fourth Official: Abdukhamidullo Rasulov (UZB)

UEFA Women's Futsal Euro 2019

Portugal, 15-17 February 2019

Referees
1. Raquel Gonzalez Ruano (ESP, 1976)
2. Chiara Perona (ITA, 1987, photo)
3. Irina Velikanova (RUS, 1980)
4. Fatma Tursun (TUR, 1988)
5. Gelareh Nazemi (IRN, 1984)
6. Zari Fathi (IRN, 1988)

Geiger named PRO Director of Senior Match Officials

The Professional Referee Organization is pleased to announce that Mark Geiger, one of the most heralded U.S. referees over the past two decades, has been appointed as Director of Senior Match Officials. He will oversee the work of officials operating at the Major League Soccer level with immediate effect.

The new role will see the two-time MLS Referee of the Year Geiger retire from refereeing to join PRO’s management team after an illustrious 21-year career that saw him officiate at two FIFA World Cups, three Concacaf Gold Cups and the Olympic Games. As Director of Senior Match Officials, Geiger will lead a team of staff who are responsible for the coaching education and continual improvement of on-field and video match officials who work in MLS. “Having worked games in MLS for 15 years and internationally for 11, I felt it was time for me both personally and professionally to hang up my whistle and boots and start this new chapter,” the New Jersey native said. “I am extremely excited to join a team that is so dedicated and committed to improving the standards of refereeing in North America. I hope that my experiences will help our referees excel and take their individual games to the next level.” Geiger first took charge of an MLS game back in May 2004 when Columbus Crew SC hosted San Jose Earthquakes, and he went on to referee 186 regular season games in MLS, plus showpiece games including the MLS Cup between LA Galaxy and New England Revolution in 2014. That same year he was named as both the Concacaf Referee of the Year and MLS Referee of the Year (for the second time) after appearing at his first World Cup in Brazil, where he became the first American to referee a knockout stage match, as well as being the fourth official for the World Cup semi-final between Brazil and Germany. At last year’s World Cup, he refereed a further three games and had an additional eight assignments as Video Assistant Referee (VAR) or Assistant Video Assistant Referee (AVAR). His final assignment as a center official was an MLS Western Conference Championship Second Leg and he signed off last month as an AVAR at the 2018 FIFA Club World Cup Final in Abu Dhabi.

PRO General Manager Howard Webb added: “I’m delighted to have somebody of Mark’s caliber joining the PRO management team after he decided to call time on a truly wonderful active career. Mark is a man of huge integrity and has enormous pride in the work he does. These are qualities which make him ideal for a senior role in PRO. He has been a trailblazer for American officiating on the international stage and his achievements have helped to raise the credibility of our program globally. The experience and knowledge he has acquired in reaching such a high level will be extremely valuable as we look to continually raise the standard of our officials”.

Source: PRO

AFC Asian Cup 2019 – Group Stage (Matches 13-18)

10 January 2019
Bahrain – Thailand
Referee: Christopher Beath (AUS, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Matthew Cream (AUS)
Assistant Referee 2: Anton Shchetinin (AUS)
Additional AR 1: Peter Green (AUS)
Additional AR 2: Ryuji Sato (JPN)
Fourth Official: Sergei Grishchenko (KGZ)

Jordan – Syria
Referee: Kim Dong-Jin (KOR)
Assistant Referee 1: Yoon Kwang-Yeol (KOR)
Assistant Referee 2: Park Sang-Jun (KOR)
Additional AR 1: Nawaf Shukralla (BHR)
Additional AR 2: Ko Hyung-Jin (KOR)
Fourth Official: Yaser Tulefat (BHR)

India – UAE
Referee: Cesar Ramos (MEX)
Assistant Referee 1: Miguel Hernandez (MEX)
Assistant Referee 2: Alberto Morín (MEX)
Additional AR 1: Jumpei Iida (JPN)
Additional AR 2: Hiroyuki Kimura (JPN)
Fourth Official: Rashid Al Ghaithi (OMA)

11 January 2019
Palestine – Australia
Referee: Valentin Kovalenko (UZB)
Assistant Referee 1: Abdukhamidullo Rasulov (UZB)
Assistant Referee 2: Jakhongir Saidov (UZB)
Additional AR 1: Ravshan Irmatov (UZB)
Additional AR 2: Ilgiz Tantashev (UZB)
Fourth Official: Mohamed Salman (BHR)

Philippines – China
Referee: Hiroyuki Kimura (JPN)
Assistant Referee 1: Hiroshi Yamauchi (JPN)
Assistant Referee 2: Jun Mihara (JPN)
Additional AR 1: Ryuji Sato (JPN)
Additional AR 2: Jumpei Iida (JPN)
Fourth Official: Mohamed Al-Hammadi (UAE)

Kyrgyzstan – Korea
Referee: Khamis Al-Marri (QAT)
Assistant Referee 1: Taleb Al-Marri (QAT)
Assistant Referee 2: Saoud Al-Maqaleh (QAT)
Additional AR 1: Abdulrahman Al-Jassim (QAT)
Additional AR 2: Khamis Al-Kuwari (QAT)

Fourth Official: Abu Al-Amri (OMA)