UEFA Futsal Euro 2014

Belgium, 28 January - 8 February 2014

Referees
1. Gerald Bauernfeind (AUT, 1981)
2. Marc Birkett (ENG, 1978)
3. Ondrej Cerny (CZE, 1979)
4. Kamil Cetin (TUR, 1984)
5. Balazs Farkas (HUN, 1975)
6. Eduardo Fernandes Coelho (POR, 1979)
7. Fernando Gutierrez Lumbreras (ESP, 1971)
8. Oleg Ivanov (UKR, 1972)
9. Pascal Lemal (BEL, 1972)
10. Alessandro Malfer (ITA, 1975)
11. Timo Onatsu (FIN, 1973)
12. Ivan Shabanov (RUS, 1978)
13. Borut Sivic (SVN, 1971)
14. Bogdan Sorescu (ROU, 1974, photo)
15. Sebastien Stawicki (POL, 1975)
16. Sasa Tomic (CRO, 1975)

FIFA Club World Cup Final 2013: Ricci (BRA)

21 December 2013

Final
Bayern Munchen – Raja Casablanca
Referee: Sandro Ricci (BRA, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Emerson De Carvalho (BRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Marcelo Van Gasse (BRA)
Fourth Official: Mark Geiger (USA)
Reserve AR: Mark Hurd (USA)


Match for Third Place
Atletico Mineiro – Guangzhou Evergrande
Referee: Alireza Faghani (IRN)
Assistant Referee 1: Hassan Kamranifar (IRN)
Assistant Referee 2: Reza Sokhandan (IRN)
Fourth Official: Neant Alioum (CMR)
Reserve AR: Peter Edibi (NGA)

UEFA Referees Categories 2014

Men

Elite
Martin Atkinson (ENG), Olegário Benquerenca (POR), Felix Brych (GER), Cüneyt Cakir (TUR), Mark Clattenburg (ENG), William Collum (SCO), Jonas Eriksson (SWE), David Fernández Borbalán (ESP), Viktor Kassai (HUN), Pavel Královec (CZE), Björn Kuipers (NED), Stéphane Lannoy (FRA), Milorad Mažić (SRB), Svein Oddvar Moen (NOR), Pedro Proenca (POR), Nicola Rizzoli (ITA), Gianluca Rocchi (ITA), Damir Skomina (SVN), Wolfgang Stark (GER), Paolo Tagliavento (ITA), Craig Thomson (SCO), Alberto Undiano (ESP), Carlos Velasco Carballo (ESP), Howard Webb (ENG).

First Category
Ievgenii Aranovskiy (UKR), Firat Aydinus (TUR), Deniz Aytekin (GER), Cristian Balaj (ROU), Luca Banti (ITA), Ivan Bebek (CRO), Vladislav Bezborodov (RUS), Kevin Blom (NED), Serhiy Boiko (UKR), Marcin Borski (POL), Ruddy Buquet (FRA), Tony Chapron (FRA), Carlos Clos Gómez (ESP), Sébastien Delferiere (BEL), Aleksei Eskov (RUS), Simon Evans (WAL), Antony Gautier (FRA), Mattias Gestranius (FIN), Pawel Gil (POL), Hüseyin Göcek (TUR), Duarte Gomes (POR), Manuel Gräfe (GER), Serge Gumienny (BEL), Tom Harald Hagen (NOR), Kenn Hansen (DEN), Martin Hansson (SWE), Ovidiu Hategan (ROU), Kristinn Jakobsson (ISL), Stefan Johannesson (SWE), Matej Jug (SVN), Hannes Kaasik (EST), Anastassios Kakos (GRE), Sergei Karasev (RUS), Michael Koukoulakis (GRE), Libor Kovarik (CZE), Ivan Kruzliak (SVK), Aleksei Kulbakov (BLR), Harald Lechner (AUT), Liran Liany (ISR), Robert Madden (SCO), Danny Makkelie (NED), Szymon Marciniak (POL), Andre Marriner (ENG), Antonio Mateu Lahoz (ESP), Gediminas Mazeika (LTU), Paolo Mazzoleni (ITA), Steven McLean (SCO), Bas Nijhuis (NED), Michael Oliver (ENG), Daniele Orsato (ITA), Halis Özkahya (TUR), Robert Schörgenhofer (AUT), Anastassios Sidiropoulos (GRE), Manuel De Sousa (POR), Aleksandar Stavrev (MKD), Marijo Strahonja (CRO), Martin Strömbergsson (SWE), Stephan Studer (SUI), Fernando Teixeira Vitienes (ESP), Leontios Trattou (CYP), Alexandru Tudor (ROU), Clément Turpin (FRA), István Vad (HUN), Pol van Boekel (NED), Slavko Vinčič (SVN), Alon Yefet (ISR), Bülent Yildirim (TUR), Miroslav Zelinka (CZE), Felix Zwayer (GER).

Second Category
Aliyar Aghayev (AZE), Marius Avram (ROU), Bastien Benoît (FRA), John Beaton (SCO), Alain Bieri (SUI), Tamás Bognar (HUN), Kevin Clancy (SCO), Mark Courtney (NIR), Antonio Damato (ITA), Bastian Dankert (GER), Carlos Del Cerro Grande (ESP), Oleksandr Derdo (UKR), Christian Dingert (GER), Neil Doyle (IRL), Oliver Drachta (AUT), Nerijus Dunauskas (LTU), René Eisner (AUT), Said Ennjimi (FRA), Javier Estrada Fernández (ESP), Mihaly Fabian (HUN), Fredy Fautrel (FRA), Marco Fritz (GER), Jesús Gil Manzano (ESP), Vlado Glodjovic (SRB), Serdar Gözübüyük (NED), Marco Guida (ITA), Eli Hacmon (ISR), Alexander Harkam (AUT), Alejandro Hernández Hernández (ESP), Arnold Hunter (NIR), Adrien Jaccottet (SUI), Ken Henry Johnsen (NOR), Georgi Kabakov (BUL), Jakob Kehlet (DEN), Sascha Kever (SUI), Stephan Klossner (SUI), István Kovacs (ROU), Artyom Kuchin (KAZ), Sergei Lapochkin (RUS), Maksim Layushkin (RUS), Michael Lerjeus (SWE), Richard Liesveld (NED), Davide Massa (ITA), Dimitar Meckarovski (MKD), Vitaly Meshkov (RUS), Hugo Miguel (POR), Benoît Millot (FRA), Antti Munukka (FIN), Aleksei Nikolaev (RUS), Marios Panayi (CYP), Radu Petrescu (ROU), Clayton Pisani (MLT), Lee Probert (ENG), Pawel Raczkowski (POL), Pavle Radovanovic (MNE), Nicolas Rainville (FRA), Artur Soares Dias (POR), Anar Salmanov (AZE), Eitan Shmuelevitz (ISR), Ilias Spathas (GRE), Daniel Stefanski (POL), Tobias Stieler (GER), Ivaylo Stoyanov (BUL), Padraigh Sutton (IRL), Anthony Taylor (ENG), Stanislav Todorov (BUL), Kristo Tohver (EST), Stavros Tritsonis (GRE), Richard Trutz (SVK), Siarhei Tsynkevich (BLR), Michael Tykgaard (DEN), Jan Valasek (SVK), Paolo Valeri (ITA), Ognjen Valjic (BIH), Ante Vucemilovic-Simunovic (CRO), Tobias Welz (GER), Carlos Xistra (POR).

Third Category
Anatoliy Abdula (UKR), Alexandr Aliyev (KAZ), Sascha Amhof (SUI), Sándor Andó-Szabó (HUN), Dennis Antamo (FIN), Aleksandrs Anufrijevs (LVA), Petr Ardeleanu (CZE), Thorvaldur Arnason (ISL), Suren Baliyan (ARM), Sven Bindels (LUX), Marco Borg (MLT, D), Alexandre Boucaut (BEL), Johnny Casanova (SMR), Sebastian Coltescu (ROU), Raymond Crangle (NIR), Nikola Dabanovic (MNE), Sergiu Derenov (MDA), Vasilis Dimitriou (CYP), Vadims Direktorenko (LVA), Svein-Erik Edvartsen (NOR), Jérome Efong Nzolo (BEL), Andreas Ekberg (SWE), Bartosz Frankowski (POL), Aleksander Gauzer (KAZ), Athanassios Giachos (GRE), Orel Grinfeld (ISR), Danilo Grujic (SRB), Tornike Gvantseladze (GEO), Dag Vidar Hafsas (NOR), Markus Hameter (AUT), Nikolaj Hänni (SUI), Tore Hansen (NOR), Rahim Hasanov (AZE), Thoroddur Hjaltalin (ISL), Zaven Hovhannisyan (ARM), Sergei Ivanov (RUS), Dejan Jakimovski (MKD), Edin Jakupovic (BIH), Jari Järvinen (FIN), Lorenc Jemini (ALB), Michael Johansen (DEN), Gunnar Jónsson (ISL), Enea Jorgji (ALB), Bosko Jovanetic (SRB), Fran Jovic (CRO), Mete Kalkavan (TUR), Jovan Kaludjerovic (MNE), Laurent Kopriwa (LUX), Yaroslav Kozyk (UKR), Peter Kralovic (SVK), Tvetan Krastev (BUL), Mads Kristoffersen (DEN), Erik Lambrechts (BEL), Jonathan Lardot (BEL), Jens Maae (DEN), Bryn David Markham-Jones (WAL), Paul McLaughlin (IRL), Yuriy Mozharovskyy (UKR), Dumitru Muntean (MDA), Tomasz Musial (POL), Ádám Németh (HUN), Ville Nevalainen (FIN), Christos Nicolaides (CYP), Bojan Pandzic (SWE), Andreas Pappas (GRE), Bardhyl Pashaj (ALB), Tihomir Pejin (CRO), Elmir Pilav (BIH), Nikola Popov (BUL), Anders Poulsen (DEN), Radek Prihoda (CZE), Zbynek Proske (CZE), Petur Reinert (FAR), Roi Reinshreiber (ISR), Chris Reisch (LUX), Paul Robertson (SCO), Robert Rogers (IRL), Eiko Saar (EST), Alan Sant (MLT), Joao Santos Capela (POR), Marco Santos Ferreira (POR), Manuel Schüttengruber (AUT), Dzianis Shcharbakou (BLR), Lasha Silagava (GEO), Bariş Şimşek (TUR), Sergejus Slyva (LTU), Mervyn Smyth (NIR), Alexandru Tean (MDA), Andris Treimanis (LVA), Siarhei Tsynkevich (BLR), Michael Tykgaard (DEN), George Vadachkoria (GEO), Bart Vertenten (BEL), Mikhail Vilkov (RUS), Ignasi Villamayor (AND), Anatoliy Vishnichenko (UKR), Vladimir Vnuk (SVK), Domagoj Vuckov (CRO), Milenko Vukadinovic (SRB), Mark Whitby (WAL), Nikolai Yordanov (BUL), Mitja Zganec (SVN), Anatolii Zhabchenko (UKR).

Women

Elite
Adamkova Jana Czech Republic Elite
Albon Teodora Romania Elite
Baitinger Christine Germany Elite
Dorcioman Cristina Romania Elite
Gaál Gyöngyi Krisztina Hungary Elite
Heikkinen Kirsi Finland Elite
Hussein Riem Germany Elite
Kulcsar Katalin Hungary Elite
Larsson Pernilla Sweden Elite
Mitsi Efthalia Greece Elite
Monzul Kateryna Ukraine Elite
Olander Maaren Estonia Elite
Palmqvist Jenny Sweden Elite
Pirie Morag Scotland Elite
Spinelli Silvia Tea Italy Elite
Staubli Esther Switzerland Elite
Steinhaus Bibiana Germany Elite
Vitulano Carina Susana Italy Elite

First Category
Andersson Linn Sweden Women First
Azzopardi Esther Malta Women First
Babadac Floarea Cristina Romania Women First
Braz Bastos Sandra Portugal Women First
Chuda Petra Slovakia Women First
Daly Rhona Republic of Ireland Women First
Fearn Amy England Women First
Frappart Stéphanie France Women First
Karagiorgi Sofia Cyprus Women First
Kovacova Zuzana Slovakia Women First
Lampadariou Eleni Greece Women First
Martinez Martinez Elia Maria Spain Women First
Mularczyk Monika Poland Women First
Persson Sara Sweden Women First
Pustovoytova Anastasia Russia Women First
Radzik-Johan Karolina Poland Women First
Sluyts Sharon Belgium Women First
Zadinova Olga Czech Republic Women First
Zinck Severine France Women First

Second Category
Asulin Lilach Israel Women Second
Bonnin Sabine France Women Second
Brady Paula Republic of Ireland Women Second
Budimir Vesna Croatia Women Second
De Jong Sjoukje Netherlands Women Second
Ghisletta Simona Switzerland Women Second
Gökcek Dilan Deniz Turkey Women Second
Grigoryan Knarik Armenia Women Second
Guillemin Florence France Women Second
Kurtes Marija Germany Women Second
Kuzmanovic Gordana Serbia Women Second
Lehtovaara Lina Finland Women Second
Martens Leen Belgium Women Second
Medvedeva Yuliya Kazakhstan Women Second
Minic Ana Serbia Women Second
Sinabova Aneliya Bulgaria Women Second
Soro Marte Norway Women Second
Strpkova Zuzana Slovakia Women Second
Tosun Ayer Hilal Tuba Turkey Women Second
Urban Eszter Hungary Women Second
Zora Kateryna Ukraine Women Second

Third Category
Antoniou Eleni Greece Women Third
Baier Julia-Stefanie Austria Women Third
Bollenberger Barbara Austria Women Third
Bujor Cristina Romania Women Third
Ceban Svetlana Moldova Women Third
Cesen Aleksandra Slovenia Women Third
Clark Lorraine Scotland Women Third
Derouaux Virginie Belgium Women Third
Echeva Galiya Bulgaria Women Third
Fernandes Morais Tania Luxembourg Women Third
Frías Acedo Marta Spain Women Third
Garoffolo Valentina Italy Women Third
Garratt Sarah England Women Third
Gavrilova Irina Kazakhstan Women Third
Gil Gozalo Beatriz Spain Women Third
Goryacheva Kseniya Russia Women Third
Grundbacher Désirée Switzerland Women Third
Gurbanova Sabayel Azerbaijan Women Third
Gurdon Basimamovic Mihaela Croatia Women Third
Husballe Kristina Denmark Women Third
Kocbay Dilek Turkey Women Third
Kralovec-Kramlova Eliska Czech Republic Women Third
Kulmala Ifeoma Finland Women Third
Larsen Monica Norway Women Third
Lavrenovaite Justina Lithuania Women Third
Lukic Biljana Serbia Women Third
Lutfaliyeva Farida Azerbaijan Women Third
Martincic Ivana Croatia Women Third
Milkova Dimitrina Bulgaria Women Third
Nervik Henrikke Norway Women Third
Nurmustafina Elvira Kazakhstan Women Third
Otte Lois Belgium Women Third
Peeters Vivian Netherlands Women Third
Petrosyan Ruzanna Armenia Women Third
Pirriatore Graziella Italy Women Third
Plaskocinska Agnieszka Poland Women Third
Projkovska Ivana FYR Macedonia Women Third
Raudzina Viola Latvia Women Third
Rosa Domingos Silvia Portugal Women Third
Stepanyan Nelli Armenia Women Third
Subotic Tanja Slovenia Women Third
Svendsen Marianne Denmark Women Third
Telbukh Liudmyla Ukraine Women Third
Tereshchenko Irina Russia Women Third
Turovskaya Irina Belarus Women Third
Velevackoska Irena FYR Macedonia Women Third
Vlaic Ivana Bosnia-Herzegovina Women Third
Zajac Justyna Poland Women Third

Futsal

Elite
Bauernfeind Gerald Austria
Birkett Marc England
Cerny Ondrej Czech Republic
Farkas Balazs Hungary
Fernandes Coelho Eduardo Jose Portugal
Gutierrez Lumbreras Fernando Spain
Ivanov Oleg Ukraine
Lemal Pascal Belgium
Malfer Alessandro Italy
Onatsu Timo Finland
Shabanov Ivan Russia
Sivic Borut Slovenia
Sorescu Bogdan Romania
Stawicki Sebastian Poland
Tomic Sasa Croatia

First Category
Abrayev Olzhas Kazakhstan
Bylois Gerd Belgium
Cachia Franco Malta
Cetin Kamil Turkey
Costa Bogalho Nuno Miguel Portugal
Drebuzhan Sergey Ukraine
Eichler Swen Germany
Galante Angelo Italy
Gherman Gabriel Constantin Romania
Henych Karel Czech Republic
Janosevic Danijel Croatia
Kolev Borislav Bulgaria
Konstantinides Antonis Cyprus
Kovacs Gabor Hungary
Nikolic Dejan Slovenia
Pelissier Cédric France
Pena Diaz Francisco Miguel Spain
Pesko Lukas Slovakia
Zahović Admir Slovenia

Second Category
Akimtsev Ilya Russia
Barton Josip FYR Macedonia
Benazzi Abdallah Netherlands
Bohbot Moshe Israel
Boskovic Veljko Montenegro
Darahan Vyacheslav Ukraine
Deraeve Stéphane Belgium
Enchev Trayan Bulgaria
Frak Tomasz Poland
Gal Marian Slovakia
Gelonese Fabio Italy
Golubevs Aleksandrs Latvia
Gracia Marin Roberto Spain
Hora Hennadii Ukraine
Jelic Nikola Croatia
Kadykov Vladimir Russia
Kinov Kalin Bulgaria
Kresta Jan Czech Republic
Lehtinen Toni Finland
Lenting Rob Netherlands
Mantev Petar FYR Macedonia
Nicolaou Costas Cyprus
Nilholt Fredric Sweden
Nonikashvili Arsen Georgia
Radovic Damir Serbia
Rakutski Vitali Belarus
Samadli Elchin Azerbaijan
Sartain Gavin England
Sliva Aleksandras Lithuania
Soykan Ozan Turkey
Stamoulis Epaminondas Greece
Subocz Jacky France
Topic Andrej Croatia
Vasic Sreten Serbia
Waroux Cédric Belgium
Zelentsov Grigoriy Russia
Zogaj Bekim Switzerland

Third Category
Berger Guy Israel
Bohun Mario Slovakia
Bugenko Viktor Moldova
Burtescu Septimiu Romania
Christodoulis Vasileios Greece
Christofides Michael Cyprus
Christou Christos Cyprus
Ciuplea Vasilica Valentin Wales
Cordero Gallardo Juan Jose Spain
Curta Ovidiu Romania
Darandik Danijel Germany
Dzeikala Maksim Belarus
Eidhammer Torbjorn Norway
El Jilali Ibrahim Netherlands
Hakrama Kreshnik Albania
Huseynli Khalil Azerbaijan
Jaruchiewicz Damian Poland
Kečo Tarik Bosnia-Herzegovina
Khukhilava Shota Georgia
Kivliss Kaspars Moldova
Kosmukhambetov Talgat Kazakhstan
Koutsogiannos Konstantinos Greece
Kuusk Ainar Estonia
Linhart Karel Czech Republic
Manzione Nicola Maria Italy
Mladenovki Marjan FYR Macedonia
Namazov Ramil Azerbaijan
Niemelä Olli Finland
Nurullayev Yusif Azerbaijan
Oliveira Castilho Miguel Duarte Portugal
Paitreault Christophe France
Paradzik Goran Bosnia-Herzegovina
Pinto Guerreiro Ruben Portugal
Porkert Patrik Austria
Radulovic Vladan Serbia
Rogers Simon Republic of Ireland
Roure Ramirez Gerard Andorra
Skakic Dragan Bosnia-Herzegovina
Todorovič Simon Slovenia
Valikonis Robertas Lithuania
Vigfusson Andri Iceland
Weijers Barry Antonius Netherlands

UEFA Referees – Promotions and Demotions 2013/2014

Promoted from Elite Development to Elite: David Fernandez Borbalan (ESP, photo).

Re-categorized from Elite Development to First Category: Firat Aydinus (TUR), Deniz Aytekin (TUR), Ivan Bebek (CRO), Antony Gautier (FRA), Manuel Gräfe (GER), Tom Harald Hagen (NOR), Ovidiu Hategan (ROU), Matej Jug (SVN), Sergei Karasev (RUS), Bas Nijhuis (NED), Daniele Orsato (ITA), Aleksandar Stavrev (MKD), Marijo Strahonja (CRO), István Vad (HUN).

Promoted from Second Category to First Category: Ievgenii Aranovskiy (UKR), Ruddy Buquet (FRA), Sébastien Delferiere (BEL), Aleksei Eskov (RUS), Mattias Gestranius (FIN), Kenn Hansen (DEN), Harald Lechner (AUT), Paolo Mazzoleni (ITA), Steven McLean (SCO), Halis Özkahya (TUR), Martin Strömbergsson (SWE), Slavko Vinčič (SVN), Miroslav Zelinka (CZE).
Demoted from First Category to Second Category: Antonio Damato (ITA), Fredy Fautrel (FRA), Sascha Kever (SUI), Aleksei Nikolaev (RUS), Stanislav Todorov (BUL).

Promoted from Third Category to Second Category: Aliyar Aghayev (AZE), Alexander Harkam (AUT), Adrien Jaccottet (SUI), Georgi Kabakov (BUL), Sergei Lapochkin (RUS), Hugo Miguel (POR), Radu Petrescu (ROU), Clayton Pisani (MLT), Pawel Raczkowski (POL), Daniel Stefanski (POL), Siarhei Tsynkevich (BLR), Michael Tykgaard (DEN).

Demoted from Second Category to Third Category: Sándor Andó-Szabó (HUN), Nikolai Yordanov (BUL).

New FIFA referees promoted directly to Second Category: Benoit Bastien (FRA), Bastian Dankert (GER), Jesús Gil Manzano (ESP), Marco Guida (ITA), Alejandro Hernández Hernández (ESP), Davide Massa (ITA), Benoît Millot (FRA), Tobias Stieler (GER).

FIFA Club World Cup 2013 – Match for Fifth Place

18 December 2013

Al Ahly – CF Monterrey
Referee: Mark Geiger (USA, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Mark Hurd (USA)
Assistant Referee 2: Joe Fletcher (CAN)
Fourth Official: Sandro Ricci (BRA)
Reserve AR: Emerson De Carvalho (BRA)

FIFA Club World Cup 2013 – Semi-finals

17 December 2013
Guangzhou Evergrande – Bayern Munchen
Referee: Bakary Gassama (GAM, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Angesom Ogbamariam (ERI)
Assistant Referee 2: Evarist Menkouande (CMR)
Fourth Official: Neant Alioum (CMR)
Reserve AR: Peter Edibi (NGA)

18 December 2013
Raja Casablanca – Atletico Mineiro
Referee: Carlos Velasco Carballo (ESP)
Assistant Referee 1: Roberto Alonso Fernandez (ESP)
Assistant Referee 2: Juan Yuste Jimenez (ESP)
Fourth Official: Alireza Faghani (IRN)
Reserve AR: Hassan Kamranifar (IRN)

CONCACAF Referee of the Year 2013: Rodriguez (MEX)

The CONCACAF Awards are designed to honor the year’s outstanding performers and achievements in confederation-sanctioned competitions involving national teams at all levels and age categories, including FIFA World Cup qualifying for both genders. Performances also eligible for recognition included those achieved in professional club football leagues within the CONCACAF Member Associations, as well as the CONCACAF Champions League. The votes of three important stake-holding segments within the Confederation were counted in compiling the results. Member Associations’ national team coaches/captains, accredited media and fans each accounted for one third of the final vote. A semi-final list of 10 nominees in each category was determined by a vote of Technical Directors from each of CONCACAF’s 41 Member Associations and the CONCACAF Technical Study Group, which analyzes tactics and rates performances at all official CONCACAF tournaments. All winners will be honored during individual ceremonies within the near future.


Referee of the Year 2013
 
1. Marco Rodriguez (MEX, photo)
2. Roberto Garcia (MEX)
3. Courtney Campbell (JAM)

In 2013, Rodriguez was entrusted with the responsibility of officiating many of CONCACAF’s biggest matches. He was in the middle for the memorable 2012-2013 CONCACAF Champions League final, second-leg encounter between Monterrey and Santos. Additionally, the 40-year-old refereed a pair of matches in each of the following competitions: FIFA U-17 World Cup, FIFA World Cup Qualifiers and CONCACAF Gold Cup.

Source: CONCACAF

FIFA Club World Cup 2013 – Quarter-finals

14 December 2013

Guangzhou Evergrande – Al Ahly SC
Referee: Sandro Ricci (BRA, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Emerson De Carvalho (BRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Marcelo Van Gasse (BRA)
Fourth Official: Neant Alioum (CMR)
Reserve AR: Peter Edibi (NGA)

Raja Casablanca – CF Monterrey
Referee: Alireza Faghani (IRN)
Assistant Referee 1: Hassan Kamranifar (IRN)
Assistant Referee 2: Reza Sokhandan (IRN)
Fourth Official: Neant Alioum (CMR)
Reserve AR: Peter Edibi (NGA)

UEFA Europa League – Group Stage (Matchday 6)

12 December 2013

Zulte Waregem - Rubin Kazan
Referee: Paolo Mazzoleni (ITA, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Riccardo Di Fiore (ITA)
Assistant Referee 2: Lorenzo Manganelli (ITA)
Additional AR 1: Mauro Bergonzi (ITA)
Additional AR 2: Andrea Gervasoni (ITA)
Fourth Official: Massimiliano Grilli (ITA)
Referee Observer: Johannes Reijgwart (NED)

Valencia - Kuban
Referee: Miroslav Zelinka (CZE)
Assistant Referee 1: Ondřej Pelikán (CZE)
Assistant Referee 2: Patrik Filipek (CZE)
Additional AR 1: Petr Ardeleanu (CZE)
Additional AR 2: Michal Paták (CZE)
Fourth Official: Krystof Mencl (CZE)
Referee Observer: Fritz Stuchlik (AUT)

St. Gallen - Swansea
Referee: Liran Liany (ISR)
Assistant Referee 1: Shabtai Nahmias (ISR)
Assistant Referee 2: David Biton (ISR)
Additional AR 1: Alon Yefet (ISR)
Additional AR 2: Daniel Natan (ISR)
Fourth Official: Oren Borneshtain (ISR)
Referee Observer: Roberto Rosetti (ITA)

Dinamo Zagreb - Ludogorets
Referee: Vladislav Bezborodov (RUS)
Assistant Referee 1: Nikolai Golubev (RUS)
Assistant Referee 2: Viacheslav Semenov (RUS)
Additional AR 1: Aleksei Eskov (RUS)
Additional AR 2: Mikhail Vilkov (RUS)
Fourth Official: Aleksei Lebedev (RUS)
Referee Observer: Markus Nobs (SUI)

PSV Eindhoven - Chornomorets Odesa
Referee: Carlos Clos Gómez (ESP)
Assistant Referee 1: Javier Aguilar Rodriguez (ESP)
Assistant Referee 2: Pau Cebrian Devis (ESP)
Additional AR 1: Antonio Mateu Lahoz (ESP)
Additional AR 2: Fernando Teixeira Vitienes (ESP)
Fourth Official: Roberto Díaz Pérez (ESP)
Referee Observer: Stephen Lodge (ENG)

Salzburg - Esbjerg
Referee: Bülent Yıldırım (TUR)
Assistant Referee 1: Serkan Gençerler (TUR)
Assistant Referee 2: Ekrem Kan (TUR)
Additional AR 1: Barış Şimşek (TUR)
Additional AR 2: Mustafa Coskun (TUR)
Fourth Official: Bahattin Duran (TUR)
Referee Observer: Haim Jakov (ISR)

Standard Liège - Elfsborg
Referee: Steven McLean (SCO)
Assistant Referee 1: Martin Cryans (SCO)
Assistant Referee 2: William Conquer (SCO)
Additional AR 1: Brian Colvin (SCO)
Additional AR 2: Andrew Dallas (SCO)
Fourth Official: Graham Chambers (SCO)
Referee Observer: Nuno Castro (POR)

Maribor - Wigan
Referee: Szymon Marciniak (POL)
Assistant Referee 1: Paweł Sokolnicki (POL)
Assistant Referee 2: Tomasz Listkiewicz (POL)
Additional AR 1: Paweł Raczkowski (POL)
Additional AR 2: Tomasz Musiał (POL)
Fourth Official: Radosław Siejka (POL)
Referee Observer: Costas Kapitanis (CYP)

Fiorentina - Dnipro
Referee: Artur Soares Dias (POR)
Assistant Referee 1: Rui Tavares (POR)
Assistant Referee 2: Ricardo Santos (POR)
Additional AR 1: Manuel De Sousa (POR)
Additional AR 2: Hugo Miguel (POR)
Fourth Official: Nuno Pereira (POR)
Referee Observer: Michel Piraux (BEL)

Pandurii - Paços Ferreira
Referee: Simon Lee Evans (WAL)
Assistant Referee 1: Philip Thomas (WAL)
Assistant Referee 2: Gareth Jones (WAL)
Additional AR 1: Mark Whitby (WAL)
Additional AR 2: John Dean (WAL)
Fourth Official: Edward King (WAL)
Referee Observer: Leif Sundell (SWE)

Eintracht Frankfurt - Apoel
Referee: Stephan Studer (SUI)
Assistant Referee 1: Sandro Pozzi (SUI)
Assistant Referee 2: Jean-Yves Wicht (SUI)
Additional AR 1: Stephan Klossner (SUI)
Additional AR 2: Nikolaj Hänni (SUI )
Fourth Official: Johannes Vogel (SUI)
Referee Observer: Christer Fällström (SWE)

Maccabi Tel Aviv - Bordeaux
Referee: Serhiy Boiko (UKR)
Assistant Referee 1: Serhiy Bekker (UKR)
Assistant Referee 2: Volodymyr Volodin (UKR)
Additional AR 1: Yevhen Aranovskiy (UKR)
Additional AR 2: Anatoliy Abdula (UKR)
Fourth Official: Oleksandr Korniyko (UKR)
Referee Observer: Manuel Mejuto González (ESP)

Dinamo Kyiv - Rapid Wien
Referee: Björn Kuipers (NED)
Assistant Referee 1: Sander van Roekel (NED)
Assistant Referee 2: Erwin Zeinstra (NED)
Additional AR 1: Pol van Boekel (NED)
Additional AR 2: Richard Liesveld (NED)
Fourth Official: Angelo Boonman (NED)
Referee Observer: Guy Goethals (BEL)

Thun - Genk
Referee: Alexandru Tudor (ROU)
Assistant Referee 1: Cristian Nica (ROU)
Assistant Referee 2: Aurel Onita (ROU)
Additional AR 1: Ovidiu Haţegan (ROU)
Additional AR 2: Cristian Balaj (ROU)
Fourth Official: Octavian Sovre (ROU)
Referee Observer: Leslie Irvine (NIR)

Freiburg - Sevilla
Referee: Tony Chapron (FRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Cyril Gringore (FRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Eric Dansault (FRA)
Additional AR 1: Said Ennjimi (FRA)
Additional AR 2: Wilfried Bien (FRA)
Fourth Official: Fredji Harchay (FRA)
Referee Observer: Rodger Gifford (WAL)

Estoril - Liberec
Referee: Halis Özkahya (TUR)
Assistant Referee 1: Çem Satman (TUR)
Assistant Referee 2: Kemal Yilmaz (TUR)
Additional AR 1: Tolga Özkalfa (TUR)
Additional AR 2: Süleyman Abay (TUR)
Fourth Official: Mustafa Eyisoy (TUR)
Referee Observer: Paul Allaerts (BEL)

Betis - Rijeka
Referee: Danny Makkelie (NED)
Assistant Referee 1: Davie Goossens (NED)
Assistant Referee 2: Bas van Dongen (NED)
Additional AR 1: Kevin Blom (NED)
Additional AR 2: Serdar Gözübüyük (NED)
Fourth Official: Patrick Langkamp (NED)
Referee Observer: Donald Mcvicar (SCO)

Guimarães - Lyon
Referee: Matej Jug (SVN)
Assistant Referee 1: Marko Stančin (SVN)
Assistant Referee 2: Andrej Kokolj (SVN)
Additional AR 1: Dragoslav Perič (SVN)
Additional AR 2: Dejan Balažić (SVN)
Fourth Official: Tomaž Klančnik (SVN)
Referee Observer: Siegfried Kirschen (GER)

Apollon - Legia
Referee: Robert Schörgenhofer (AUT)
Assistant Referee 1: Alain Hoxha (AUT)
Assistant Referee 2: Matthias Winsauer (AUT)
Additional AR 1: Harald Lechner (AUT)
Additional AR 2: Rene Eisner (AUT)
Fourth Official: Roland Brandner (AUT)
Referee Observer: Aleh Chykun (BLR)

Lazio - Trabzonspor
Referee: Clément Turpin (FRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Frédéric Cano (FRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Nicolas Danos (FRA)
Additional AR 1: Nicolas Rainville (FRA)
Additional AR 2: Benoit Bastien (FRA)
Fourth Official: Stephan Luzi (FRA)
Referee Observer: Peter Fröjdfeldt (SWE)

Sheriff - Tromso
Referee: Sébastien Delferiere (BEL)
Assistant Referee 1: Yves De Neve (BEL)
Assistant Referee 2: Frederick Stalport (BEL)
Additional AR 1: Luc Wouters (BEL)
Additional AR 2: Jonathan Lardot (BEL)
Fourth Official: Frank Bleyen (BEL)
Referee Observer: Nikolai Levnikov (RUS)

Tottenham - Anji
Referee: Stefan Johannesson (SWE)
Assistant Referee 1: Mehmet Culum (SWE)
Assistant Referee 2: Daniel Gustavsson (SWE)
Additional AR 1: Martin Strömbergsson (SWE)
Additional AR 2: Andreas Ekberg (SWE)
Fourth Official: Magnus Sjöblom (SWE)
Referee Observer: Jon Skjervold (NOR)

PAOK - AZ
Referee: Michael Oliver (ENG)
Assistant Referee 1: Stuart Burt (ENG)
Assistant Referee 2: Darren England (ENG)
Additional AR 1: Anthony Taylor (ENG)
Additional AR 2: Jonathan Moss (ENG)
Fourth Official: Gary Beswick (ENG)
Referee Observer: Manuel Lopez Fernandez (ESP)

Maccabi Haifa - Shakhter

Referee: Gediminas Mažeika (LTU)
Assistant Referee 1: Vytautas Šimkus (LTU)
Assistant Referee 2: Saulius Dirda (LTU)
Additional AR 1: Sergejus Slyva (LTU)
Additional AR 2: Nerijus Dunauskas (LTU)
Fourth Official: Dovydas Sužiedėlis (LTU)
Referee Observer: Marinus Koopman (NED)

FIFA Club World Cup 2013 – Play-off

11 December 2013

Raja Casablanca – Auckland City
Referee: Bakary Gassama (GAM, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Angesom Ogbamariam (ERI)
Assistant Referee 2: Evarist Menkouande (CMR)
Fourth Official: Carlos Velasco Carballo (ESP)
Reserve AR: Roberto Alonso Fernandez (ESP)

Rosetti has resigned as Head of Russian Refereeing

Former top Italian referee Roberto Rosetti has resigned as head of the Russian referees department citing family reasons, the domestic football union (RFU) president said on Tuesday. Rosetti, who was named best referee in Serie A four times in a row between 2006 and 2009 and officiated the Euro 2008 final between Spain and Germany, was hired by the RFU in 2011 in a bid to improve refereeing standards in Russia. "We received a request from Roberto Rosetti to release him from his post due to family reasons," RFU's president Nikolai Tolstykh told reporters. His contract was due in 2015.
Rosetti, who retired after the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa, expressed his special thanks to the Russian soccer authorities and all the referees in a statement, published on the RFU's web site. "I chose Russia because I wanted to do something completely new, I was looking for a new challenge after officiating for 27 years in Italy," the 46-year-old said. "My mission is accomplished and my family also needs me at this moment. The refereeing has improved during my stay. The Russian officials are on the right track and I'm sure they'll have a great future".
Last year, Rosetti said that the officiating level at the matches of the Russian Premier League was unsatisfactory and the entire refereeing system in Russia needs a radical overhaul. "There are only 3,000 professional referees in the huge country of Russia", Rosetti said. "It's too few. Russia needs much, much more referees to have a variety of the officials to choose from in every division." Rosetti added that Italy's refereeing corps counted more than 32,000 officials, while England had a choice of 38,000 referees. He said that the referees in Russia were under constant pressure with almost every official's mistake in the match of the Premier League becoming the cause of a serious scandal. "There are too few referees in Russia, it's a fact," Rosetti said. "Besides, the officials here are humiliated after the slightest mistake. It's absolutely impossible that a child would dream to become a referee here in Russia”.

Source: Yahoo / NDTV Sports

UEFA Champions League – Group Stage (Matchday 6)

10 December 2013
Real Sociedad – Bayer Leverkusen
Referee: Tom Harald Hagen (NOR, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Dag Roger Nebben (NOR)
Assistant Referee 2: Jan Erik Engan (NOR)
Additional AR 1: Dag Vidar Hafsas (NOR)
Additional AR 2: Ola Hobber Nilsen (NOR)
Fourth Official: Leif Erik Opland (NOR)
Referee Observer: Pierluigi Collina (ITA)

Manchester United – Shakhtar Donetsk
Referee: Milorad Mazic (SRB)
Assistant Referee 1: Milovan Ristic (SRB)
Assistant Referee 2: Dalibor Djurdjevic (SRB)
Additional AR 1: Danilo Grujic (SRB)
Additional AR 2: Miodrag Gogic (SRB)
Fourth Official: Milan Minic (SRB)
Referee Observer: Sergey Zuev (RUS)

Galatasaray – Juventus
Referee: Pedro Proenca (POR)
Assistant Referee 1: Bertino Miranda (POR)
Assistant Referee 2: Tiago Trigo (POR)
Additional AR 1: Joao Capela (POR)
Additional AR 2: Duarte Gomes (POR)
Fourth Official: Venancio Tome (POR)
Referee Observer: Sandor Piller (HUN)

FC Kobenhavn – Real Madrid

Referee: Felix Brych (GER)
Assistant Referee 1: Mark Borsch (GER)
Assistant Referee 2: Stefan Lupp (GER)
Additional AR 1: Marco Fritz (GER)
Additional AR 2: Robert Hartmann (GER)
Fourth Official: Tobias Christ (GER)
Referee Observer: Neale Barry (ENG)

SL Benfica – Paris SG
Referee: Mark Clattenburg (ENG)
Assistant Referee 1: Simon Beck (ENG)
Assistant Referee 2: Stephen Child (ENG)
Additional AR 1: Lee Probert (ENG)
Additional AR 2: Lee Mason (ENG)
Fourth Official: Simon Long (ENG)
Referee Observer: Laszlo Vagner (HUN)

Olympiacos – Anderlecht
Referee: Wolfgang Stark (GER)
Assistant Referee 1: Jan-Hendrik Salver (GER)
Assistant Referee 2: Mike Pickel (GER)
Additional AR 1: Tobias Welz (GER)
Additional AR 2: Tobias Stieler (GER)
Fourth Official: Detlef Scheppe (GER)
Referee Observer: Adrian Casha (MLT)

Bayern Munchen – Manchester City
Referee: David Fernandez Borbalan (ESP)
Assistant Referee 1: Jesus Calvo Guadamuro (ESP)
Assistant Referee 2: Jose Fernandez Miranda (ESP)
Additional AR 1: Cesar Muniz Fernandez (ESP)
Additional AR 2: Jesus Gil Manzano (ESP)
Fourth Official: Raul Cabanero Martinez (ESP)
Referee Observer: Alan Snoddy (NIR)

Viktoria Plzen – CSKA Moskva
Referee: Damir Skomina (SVN)
Assistant Referee 1: Primoz Arhar (SVN)
Assistant Referee 2: Bojan Ul (SVN)
Additional AR 1: Slavko Vincic (SVN)
Additional AR 2: Roberto Ponis (SVN)
Fourth Official: Robert Vukan (SVN)
Referee Observer: Stephen Bennett (ENG)

11 December 2013
Schalke – Basel
Referee: Paolo Tagliavento (ITA)
Assistant Referee 1: Andrea Stefani (ITA)
Assistant Referee 2: Renato Faverani (ITA)
Additional AR 1: Paolo Valeri (ITA)
Additional AR 2: Andrea De Marco (ITA)
Fourth Official: Nicola Nicoletti (ITA)
Referee Observer: Athanassios Briakos (GRE)

Chelsea – Steaua
Referee: Gianluca Rocchi (ITA)
Assistant Referee 1: Elenito Di Liberatore (ITA)
Assistant Referee 2: Gianluca Cariolato (ITA)
Additional AR 1: Luca Banti (ITA)
Additional AR 2: Antonio Damato (ITA)
Fourth Official: Alessandro Giallatini (ITA)
Referee Observer: Kaj Natri (FIN)

Napoli – Arsenal
Referee: Viktor Kassai (HUN)
Assistant Referee 1: Gyorgy Ring (HUN)
Assistant Referee 2: Vencel Toth (HUN)
Additional AR 1: Tamas Bognar (HUN)
Additional AR 2: Sandor Ando-Szabo (HUN)
Fourth Official: Robert Kispal (HUN)
Referee Observer: Konrad Plautz (AUT)

Olympique Marseille – Borussia Dortmund
Referee: Marijo Strahonja (CRO)
Assistant Referee 1: Sinisa Premuzaj (CRO)
Assistant Referee 2: Igor Krmar (CRO)
Additional AR 1: Ante Vucemilovic-Simunovic (CRO)
Additional AR 2: Igor Pristovnik (CRO)
Fourth Official: Ivica Modric (CRO)
Referee Observer: Gylfi Thor Orrason (ISL)

Atletico Madrid – FC Porto
Referee: Deniz Aytekin (GER)
Assistant Referee 1: Markus Hacker (GER)
Assistant Referee 2: Holger Henschel (GER)
Additional AR 1: Bastian Dankert (GER)
Additional AR 2: Daniel Siebert (GER)
Fourth Official: Marco Achmuller (GER)
Referee Observer: Terje Hauge (NOR)

Austria Wien – Zenit St. Petersburg
Referee: Aleksandar Stavrev (MKD)
Assistant Referee 1: Marjan Kirovski (MKD)
Assistant Referee 2: Dejan Kostadinov (MKD)
Additional AR 1: Dimitar Meckarovski (MKD)
Additional AR 2: Dejan Jakimovski (MKD)
Fourth Official: Nikola Karakolev (MKD)
Referee Observer: David Elleray (ENG)

FC Barcelona – Celtic Glasgow
Referee: Sergei Karasev (RUS)
Assistant Referee 1: Tikhon Kalugin (RUS)
Assistant Referee 2: Anton Averianov (RUS)
Additional AR 1: Maksim Layushkin (RUS)
Additional AR 2: Vitaly Meshkov (RUS)
Fourth Official: Dmitry Mosyakin (RUS)
Referee Observer: Stefan Ormandjiev (BUL)

AC Milan – Ajax Amsterdam
Referee: Howard Webb (ENG)
Assistant Referee 1: Michael Mullarkey (ENG)
Assistant Referee 2: Darren Cann (ENG)
Additional AR 1: Michael Dean (ENG)
Additional AR 2: Michael Jones (ENG)
Fourth Official: Peter Kirkup (ENG)
Referee Observer: Ryszard Wojcik (POL)

UEFA Women’s U-17 Euro Final 2013: Persson (SWE)

The UEFA European Women's Under-17 Championship has provided an important daily learning curve for the match officials working at the final tournament in England.
Sara Persson is an international football referee and a mother of two – two very different roles which, as she recalls with a smile, once came together with amusing consequences. "There was one time I was angry with my son Lucas, who was five at the time. I sent him upstairs and the next thing he appeared with my whistle and he showed me a red card," she says with a smile. Fortunately Persson has had no need to use that red card at the UEFA European Women's Under-17 Championship, a tournament where the respect from the young players involved has been commendable and where UEFA's refereeing team have had the opportunity to gain some invaluable experience. "Being in a final tournament is a big difference," says Persson, whose highest level matches to date had come in qualifying rounds for both the UEFA Women's Champions League and UEFA women's under-age tournaments. "In the qualification rounds it is important but this is more intense," adds the 37-year-old. "My colleagues and the games have been really good. My last game was Scotland–France and they are really technical these girls – they are tough and fast. I am really satisfied, also because it's gone really well in terms of respect from the players." Persson, an animal welfare officer from Gothenburg, is speaking at the refereeing team's base camp for the tournament in Derby, a short distance from St George's Park where the eight competing squads have been based. A total of 16 match officials came to England for the tournament – six referees, eight assistant and two fourth officials – and Persson is one of two referees granted the honour of taking charge of a game on the last day of this tournament, either the final or play-off for third place.
Also on duty on Sunday will be assistant referee Mathilde Abildgaard from Denmark. The 26-year-old from Copenhagen postponed the completion of her MA thesis to be here and is delighted she did. Having attended a UEFA Centre of Refereeing Excellence course earlier this year, this has been another crucial step in her development. "We have been lucky to have very experienced observers," says Abildgaard, whose father Bo has served as a FIFA-standard assistant referee. "They have tried to teach us and give us good advice we can take into our next matches. We've also been lucky to be in good teams, reflecting together on how to do even better in the next matches. That has really helped me." For Katalin Török, another of the assistant referees staying until Sunday, working together with match officials from other countries – with "different personalities, different styles" – has been central to the learning experience. "Once we see the appointments we have time to prepare with our referee – we have pre-match discussion before the game so it is easier," explains the Budapest-based economist, 28. "We receive the same guidelines from the observers so it helps a lot to really look like a team and work as a team on the pitch."
What all three women have in common is they officiate both men's and women's matches back at home. "Back home I do most men's games and some of the top matches of the women’s league – three games for men and then one women," Persson explains. This leads to an insightful discussion on the difference between refereeing men and women. "If you argue with a woman she will remember for a long time; with men you'll just fight and forget about it," suggests Abildgaard. "In women's matches sometimes they remember the whole match if you make a small mistake." And do male players treat a woman referee differently? "For me I think I have some goodwill being a female," she adds, "but then again maybe I have the opposite when I have females!" One particular highlight of their stay was a surprise visit to the referees' hotel by Howard Webb, the English referee. "What a good surprise – it was a very big moment," adds Abildgaard. Happily for all three women, one more big moment awaits on Sunday. (Source: UEFA)

 

8 December 2013
Germany – Spain
Referee: Sara Persson (SWE)
Assistant Referee 1: Mathilde Abildgaard (DEN)
Assistant Referee 2: Katalin Torok (HUN)
Fourth Official: Ana Minic (SRB)

Busacca: “Players cannot win the game with simulation”

Detested in some countries and regarded as act of cunning in others, the practice of diving and feigning injury to win penalties and get opponents sent off has become ingrained in football almost everywhere. Forwards have become increasingly adept at what is officially known as simulation, often provoking contact themselves yet somehow making it look the defender's fault. Referees have been caught in the middle and have to judge in a split second whether a foul was genuine or enacted, often an impossible decision to make even with the use of slow motion replays. With the World Cup looming and the stakes higher than ever, soccer's governing body FIFA is hoping that it can appeal to the conscience of the players to stamp out a practice which many feel is ruining the game.
"We need fair play," FIFA's head of refereeing Massimo Busacca told Reuters in an interview. "You cannot win the game with simulation, what are you to tell your children when you go home? Will you say, 'I won the game by simulation, it was cheating'? It should be an honour to win a game on merit." Busacca's comments may sound idealistic, especially in the pressure-cooker atmosphere of a World Cup, but he was hopeful that players would listen. "I'm always positive," said Busacca, a former Swiss and international referee. "We stress that we want fair play, we want to see football, and spectators want to enjoy football, so you have to win the game correctly. If we continue to say that, in my opinion we can achieve results." In some cases, he said, players would even own up if a referee asked them what had happened. "It happened to me twice in my career, in the first division. I asked the player if he was sure it was a foul and he said it wasn't then I changed my mind... It wasn't in the penalty area, but it was close. He said sorry and I changed my decision...imagine if we could have more of that in the future." He added: "Of course, everyone wants to win, and in such an important competition, sometimes the adrenalin and emotion are so much that you forget, sometimes you do not think, it's like a habit."
On a positive note, Busacca said he believed that dangerously violent tackles had largely been eradicated from the game. "I think that because we have worked a lot on prevention, we don't see the really bad fouls anymore," he said. "I think the safety of the opponent is clear for the referee today. In my opinion we have reduced these bad tackles." Referees, he said, still had to be aware of the use of tactical fouling by some teams, where players took it in turns to commit minor fouls in midfield to disrupt the opposition's rhythm and passing. "If you realize in the first 10 minutes that the coach has prepared the game (plan) in that way, you have to understand what is happening and... you have to do something. This is what we expect from top referees...to understand how the coach prepared the game, respect the other team and say now we have to stop this type of play." Busacca emphasised that it was essential for referees to have a good understanding of football and know about the tactics of the teams they were refereeing. "The more you understand football, the more ready you will be for the game, and the more you are likely to be in the right place at the right moment, and run less," he said. "It's about anticipation, you are there and then you wait. If not, you continue to run." He added that passing sides such as Spain were less physically demanding for referees and that, the worse the game, the more the official would have to run. "Usually, you run around nine or 10 kilometres in a game although it can reach 12 if the teams are not playing well and keep losing the ball. "You can imagine that when a team is passing and passing and keeping the ball, the referee doesn't have to run a lot, but if they lose it all the time, there is attack and counter-attack, so you run all the time."
Referees are often the brunt of angry outbursts from players and Busacca said the only way to avoid this was with better communication. "Unfortunately, I realize that it's quite impossible to eliminate this kind of behaviour from players," he said. "I don't know why we accept (it) and I don't know if really (we could) do more to eliminate this kind of arrogance sometimes. "It's important to communicate and if it happens at the start of the game, you have to send a message. "Today, referees are lacking in communication sometimes... and with the players you need that because sometimes they are on full of adrenalin".

Source: Yahoo Sports

Platini wants sin bins instead of yellow cards

UEFA chief Michel Platini wants yellow cards to be replaced by a rugby-style system of sin bins. "I would change the system of cautions," Platini told Spanish newspaper AS.
"I would do it like in rugby, where the perpetrator would be punished by being off the pitch for 10 or 15 minutes of the game. That means the team they are facing would benefit in the same match and it would be instead of a ban for accumulation of cards against another side later in the season. It is an idea which needs now to be developed and to see if it is something that would be good for the game." Under the existing disciplinary system, a player who is shown a straight red card or two yellow cards in the same game is immediately sent off and cannot be replaced. However, if a player picks up a certain number of yellow cards spread over several matches they will be suspended for future games, and it is this aspect that most concerns Platini. He believes a sin-bin would be a fairer punishment because "that way, the benefit goes to the team he is playing against, in the same match, instead of a sanction by cards which is carried out against a third team, the next on the calendar".
FIFA president Sepp Blatter poured cold water on Platini's idea later on Thursday. "I cannot see why we should change something in match control when we have already established all the regulations," Blatter told a news conference in Costa do Sauipe, Brazil, where the world's governing body is meeting ahead of Friday's draw for the 2014 World Cup finals.
The former France captain, who won 76 international caps between 1976-1987 and has run UEFA since 2007, also believes goalkeepers who concede a penalty should not be sent off. "It seems excessive," he said. "The penalty itself already is punishment enough. I think it's something that everyone in FIFA and UEFA agree, but one or two of the countries that make up the International Board are unwilling to change".
Platini said he had improved the game in Europe since taking over as UEFA president in 2007. "I have worked to improve the game by asking for three changes: the pass-back rule, the red card for the last defender, and the introduction of goal-line officials", he said. "I think I have done plenty to improve the game with these rule changes".

Source: Yahoo Sports

FCWC 2013: Al-Badwawi (UAE) replaced by Faghani (IRN)

Ali Al-Badwawi (UAE) was not able to recover after his injury and will miss his second FIFA tournament in 2013, after having already been forced to decline his appointment to the U-17 World Cup in his home country. Al-Badwawi and his ARs Saleh Al-Marzouqi and Mohamed Al-Mehairi will not participate at the 2013 FIFA Club World Cup in Morocco. They will be replaced by another AFC trio: Alireza Faghani – Hassan Kamranifar and Reza Sokhandan (photo), from Iran.
 

Match Officials for FIFA Club World Cup 2013

AFC
Referee: Alireza Faghani (IRN, 1978)
Assistant Referee 1: Hassan Kamranifar (IRN, 1972)
Assistant Referee 2: Reza Sokhandan (IRN, 1974)

CAF
Referee: Bakary Gassama (GAM, 1979)
Assistant Referee 1: Angesom Ogbamariam (ERI, 1971)
Assistant Referee 2: Felicien Kabanda (RWA, 1971)

CONCACAF
Referee: Mark Geiger (USA, 1974)
Assistant Referee 1: Mark Hurd (USA, 1971)
Assistant Referee 2: Joe Fletcher (CAN, 1976)

CONMEBOL
Referee: Sandro Ricci (BRA, 1974)
Assistant Referee 1: Emerson De Carvalho (BRA, 1976)
Assistant Referee 2: Marcelo Van Gasse (BRA, 1972)

UEFA
Referee: Carlos Velasco Carballo (ESP, 1971)
Assistant Referee 1: Roberto Alonso Fernandez (ESP, 1976)
Assistant Referee 2: Juan Yuste Jimenez (ESP, 1975)

Reserve Trio (CAF)
Referee: Neant Alioum (CMR, 1982)
Assistant Referee 1: Evarist Menkouande (CMR, 1974)
Assistant Referee 2: Peter Edibi (NGA, 1970)

Referee Observers
Jorge Larrionda (URU)
Alfredo Trentalange (ITA)

Copa Sudamericana Final 2013

First Leg, 4 December 2013
Ponte Preta – Lanus
Referee: Roberto Silvera (URU, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Mauricio Espinosa (URU)
Assistant Referee 2: Marcelo Costa (URU)
Fourth Official: Daniel Fedorczuk (URU)
Referee Observer: Antonio Pereira (BRA)

Second Leg, 11 December 2013
Lanus – Ponte Preta
Referee: Enrique Osses (CHI)
Assistant Referee 1: Carlos Astroza (CHI)
Assistant Referee 2: Sergio Roman (CHI)
Fourth Official: Julio Bascunan (CHI)
Referee Observer: Abel Gnecco (ARG)