UEFA Super Cup 2014: Clattenburg (ENG)

English referee Mark Clattenburg will referee the all-Spanish UEFA Super Cup match between Real Madrid CF and Sevilla FC at the Cardiff City Stadium in Cardiff, Wales on Tuesday 12 August. Kick-off is at 20.45CET. Clattenburg, 39, has been an international referee since 2006. He has officiated in 46 UEFA fixtures in his career, as well as a considerable number of high-profile Premier League encounters. Last season, Clattenburg handled five UEFA Champions League games, including the quarter-final first leg between Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund. He also took charge of the UEFA Europa League semi-final second leg between Juventus and SL Benfica. Referee for the 2012 Olympic Games football final at Wembley Stadium between Mexico and Brazil, earlier that summer he was an additional assistant referee at the UEFA European Championship in Poland and Ukraine. Clattenburg will be accompanied in Cardiff by an all-English team of match officials. Simon Beck and Stuart Burt are the assistant referees, with Darren England acting as fourth official. Two additional assistant referees, Michael Oliver and Anthony Taylor, complete the lineup. (Source: UEFA)

12 August 2014
Real Madrid – Sevilla FC
Referee: Mark Clattenburg (ENG)
Assistant Referee 1: Simon Beck (ENG)
Assistant Referee 2: Stuart Burt (ENG)
Additional AR 1: Michael Oliver (ENG)
Additional AR 2: Anthony Taylor (ENG)
Fourth Official: Darren England (ENG)
Referee Observer: Donald McVicar (SCO)

UEFA U-19 Euro Final 2014: Estrada Fernandez (ESP)

Spanish referee Javier Estrada Fernández says that taking charge of Thursday's UEFA European Under-19 Championship final will be a crucial step on his career ladder. Referee Javier Estrada Fernández is eager to treat the UEFA European Under-19 Championship final as another invaluable learning experience – the latest of many lessons in Hungary. The Spanish match official will take charge of Thursday's decider between Germany and Portugal in Budapest, the culmination of a successful tournament on and off the pitch. "When you start as a referee, so many years ago, it's unbelievable to think that one day you could be chosen for a final like this," Estrada Fernández told UEFA.com. "My routine is to work hard every day and to try to learn everything from my colleagues and the observers about the competition and situations with the coaches and players. In every match it's necessary to adapt, in every situation. The most important thing for me is that when I go home I'm totally sure that I will be a better referee than the day I arrived here. As you can imagine, to reach the final is so important – not only for me but also for the assistants and the fourth official. All the referees at this tournament have been so professional and I'll go home with a lot of new friends."

Estrada Fernández will work alongside assistant referees Darren England from England and Kazakhstan's Yevgeniy Belskiy, plus fourth official Enea Jorgji, of Albania, at the final. "This has been my first experience working with colleagues from another country and it's been very good," he explained. "You learn their ways, and find what works for you both so you can work together. It's important to discuss how you work before kick-off and have meetings during the week. Every referee knows the laws of the game but it's also their interpretation so you must make sure you follow the same line for 90 minutes." That thorough approach will include watching both finalists in action, another key element of a referee's preparation. "I've tried to watch as many matches as I can in these finals," Estrada Fernández added. "I've had the chance to referee Germany, not Portugal but I've seen a lot of their DVDs and had chance to see plenty of their match situations and tactical play. That's helped me to perform well."

The final at the Szusza Ferenc Stadium will be the latest landmark in a career that started more than 15 years ago. "I started as a referee when I was 20," the 38-year-old explained. "I like football and played futsal and one day a colleague said 'Why not try to ref some matches?' I thought it could be a good idea, but I was afraid because I obviously had no experience. I still tried it and by the second year it was amazing. I had a lot of friends and I really enjoyed being on the field. Step by step I was promoted through our levels in Spain and reached the first division in 2009. I've been an international referee since 2013 and now I've refereed more than 100 matches in the top division, so I have experience and also I try to learn from everybody. It's not just reaching the top; it's performing when you get there so that you stay there". (Source: UEFA)

31 July 2014

Portugal – Germany
Referee: Javier Estrada Fernández (ESP)
Assistant Referee 1: Darren England (ENG)
Assistant Referee 2: Evgeni Belski (KAZ)
Fourth Official: Enea Jorgj (ALB)
Referee Observer: Jozef Marko (SVK)

UEFA Europa League – Third Qualifying Round (First Leg)

31 July 2014

AS Trenčín – Hull City
Referee: Davide Massa (ITA, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Gianluca Cariolato (ITA)
Assistant Referee 2: Francesco De Luca (ITA)
Fourth Official: Dino Tommasi (ITA)
Referee Observer: Frank De Bleeckere (BEL)

IF Elfsborg – FH
Referee: Tom Harald Hagen (NOR)
Assistant Referee 1: Magnus Lundberg (NOR)
Assistant Referee 2: Jan Erik Engan (NOR)
Fourth Official: Anders Johansen (NOR)
Referee Observer: Dragutin Poljak (CRO)

Zulte Waregem – Shakhtyor Soligorsk
Referee: Firat Aydinus (TUR)
Assistant Referee 1: Serkan Ok (TUR)
Assistant Referee 2: Aleks Tascioglu (TUR)
Fourth Official: Tolga Özkalfa (TUR)
Referee Observer: Tony Asumaa (FIN)

Shakhter Karagandy – Hajduk Split
Referee: Aliyar Aghayev (AZE)
Assistant Referee 1: Zeynal Zeynalov (AZE)
Assistant Referee 2: Reza Mammadov (AZE)
Fourth Official: Elvin Asgarov (AZE)
Referee Observer: Karen Nalbandyan (ARM)

FC Astana – AIK
Referee: Ante Vucemilovic-Simunovic (CRO)
Assistant Referee 1: Dalibor Conjar (CRO)
Assistant Referee 2: Goran Pataki (CRO)
Fourth Official: Tihomir Pejin (CRO)
Referee Observer: Sergey Zuev (RUS)

Neftçi PFK – Chikhura Sachkhere
Referee: Cristian Balaj (ROU)
Assistant Referee 1: Sebastian Gheorghe (ROU)
Assistant Referee 2: Mihai Artene (ROU)
Fourth Official: Catalin Popa (ROU)
Referee Observer: Jiri Ulrich (CZE)

FC Astra – Slovan Liberec
Referee: Ilias Spathas (GRE)
Assistant Referee 1: Lazaros Dimitriadis (GRE)
Assistant Referee 2: Polychronis Kostaras (GRE)
Fourth Official: Anastasios Sidiropoulos (GRE)
Referee Observer: William Young (SCO)

Ruch Chorzów – Esbjerg
Referee: Vlado Glođović (SRB)
Assistant Referee 1: Dejan Petrović (SRB)
Assistant Referee 2: Uroš Stojković (SRB)
Fourth Official: Milan Jeremić (SRB)
Referee Observer: Wilfried Heitmann (GER)

Dinamo Moskva – Hapoel Kiryat Shmona
Referee: Kristinn Jakobsson (ISL)
Assistant Referee 1: Gunnar Gunnarsson (ISL)
Assistant Referee 2: Johann Gudmundsson (ISL)
Fourth Official: Thoroddur Hjaltalin (ISL)
Referee Observer: Michael Ross (NIR)

AC Omonia – Metalurg Skopje
Referee: Gediminas Mazeika (LTU)
Assistant Referee 1: Vytautas Simkus (LTU)
Assistant Referee 2: Saulius Dirda (LTU)
Fourth Official: Mindagaus Jackus (LTU)
Referee Observer: Jean Lemmer (LUX)

Brommapojkarna – Torino FC
Referee: Serdar Gözübüyük (NED)
Assistant Referee 1: Hessel Steegstra (NED)
Assistant Referee 2: Mario Diks (NED)
Fourth Official: Allard Lindhout (NED)
Referee Observer: Peter Jones (ENG)

PSV Eindhoven – SKN St. Pölten
Referee: Slavko Vinčić (SVN)
Assistant Referee 1: Matej Žunič (SVN)
Assistant Referee 2: Bojan Ul (SVN)
Fourth Official: Bojan Mertik (SVN)
Referee Observer: Vitor Melo Pereira (POR)

Kardemir Karabükspor – Rosenborg
Referee: Libor Kovarik (CZE)
Assistant Referee 1: Jiri Molacek (CZE)
Assistant Referee 2: Krystof Mencl (CZE)
Fourth Official: Karel Hrubes (CZE)
Referee Observer: Miroslav Vitkovic (CRO)

Mladá Boleslav – Olympique Lyonnais
Referee: Tobias Welz (GER)
Assistant Referee 1: Torsten Schiffner (GER)
Assistant Referee 2: Rafael Foltyn (GER)
Fourth Official: Günter Perl (GER)
Referee Observer: Aleh Chykun (BLR)

IFK Göteborg – Rio Ave FC
Referee: Fernando Teixeira Vitienes (ESP)
Assistant Referee 1: Victoriano Díaz Casado (ESP)
Assistant Referee 2: Manuel Torre Cimiano (ESP)
Fourth Official: Ignacio Iglesias Villanueva (ESP)
Referee Observer: Andreas Schluchter (SUI)

Dinamo Minsk – CFR Cluj
Referee: Martin Hansson (SWE)
Assistant Referee 1: Magnus Sjöblom (SWE)
Assistant Referee 2: Joakim Flink (SWE)
Fourth Official: Glenn Nyberg (SWE)
Referee Observer: Charles Agius (MLT)

Zorya Luhansk – Molde FC
Referee: Harald Lechner (AUT)
Assistant Referee 1: Andreas Staudinger (AUT)
Assistant Referee 2: Maximilian Kolbitsch (AUT)
Fourth Official: Gerhard Grobelnik (AUT)
Referee Observer: Michel Piraux (BEL)

BSC Young Boys – Ermis Aradippou
Referee: Clayton Pisani (MLT)
Assistant Referee 1: Alan Camilleri (MLT)
Assistant Referee 2: Edward Spiteri (MLT)
Fourth Official: Fyodor Zammit (MLT)
Referee Observer: Jouni Hyytiä (FIN)

Petrolul Ploiești – Viktoria Plzeň
Referee: Anthony Taylor (ENG)
Assistant Referee 1: Gary Beswick (ENG)
Assistant Referee 2: John Brooks (ENG)
Fourth Official: Jonathan Moss (ENG)
Referee Observer: Kaj Natri (FIN)

Víkingur – HNK Rijeka
Referee: Dimitar Meckarovski (MKD)
Assistant Referee 1: Marjan Kirovski (MKD)
Assistant Referee 2: Dejan Kostadinov (MKD)
Fourth Official: Dejan Jakimovski (MKD)
Referee Observer: Dušan Krchnak (SVK)

RNK Split – Chernomorets Odessa
Referee: Marcin Borski (POL)
Assistant Referee 1: Rafal Rostkowski (POL)
Assistant Referee 2: Krzysztof Myrmus (POL)
Fourth Official: Jaroslaw Rynkiewicz (POL)
Referee Observer: Plarent Kotherja (ALB)

Stjarnan – Lech Poznań
Referee: Ognjen Valjić (BIH)
Assistant Referee 1: Dalibor Drašković (BIH)
Assistant Referee 2: Haris Baković (BIH)
Fourth Official: Edin Jakupović (BIH)
Referee Observer: Francesco Bianchi (SUI)

FSV Mainz – Asteras Tripolis
Referee: Manuel De Sousa (POR)
Assistant Referee 1: Bertino Miranda (POR)
Assistant Referee 2: Alvaro Mesquita (POR)
Fourth Official: Marco Ferreira (POR)
Referee Observer: Luciano Luci (ITA)

Diósgyőri VTK – FC Krasnodar
Referee: Bülent Yildirim (TUR)
Assistant Referee 1: Volkan Narinç (TUR)
Assistant Referee 2: Asim Öz (TUR)
Fourth Official: Mustafa Coskun (TUR)
Referee Observer: Asim Khudiyev (AZE)

Club Brugge – Brøndby IF
Referee: Vladislav Bezborodov (RUS)
Assistant Referee 1: Nikolai Golubev (RUS)
Assistant Referee 2: Maksim Gavrilin (RUS)
Fourth Official: Sergey Ivanov (RUS)
Referee Observer: Miroslav Tulinger (CZE)

FK Sarajevo – Atromitos FC
Referee: Ivaylo Stoyanov (BUL)
Assistant Referee 1: Ivo Kolev (BUL)
Assistant Referee 2: Veselin Dobriyanov (BUL)
Fourth Official: Georgi Kabakov (BUL)
Referee Observer: Tomasz Mikulski (POL)

Real Sociedad – Aberdeen FC
Referee: Bastian Dankert (GER)
Assistant Referee 1: Markus Haecker (GER)
Assistant Referee 2: Christian Fischer (GER)
Fourth Official: Guido Winkmann (GER)
Referee Observer: Vladimir Antonov (MDA)

Saint Johnstone – Spartak Trnava
Referee: Mattias Gestranius (FIN)
Assistant Referee 1: Jan-Peter Aravirta (FIN)
Assistant Referee 2: Mikko Alakare (FIN)
Fourth Official: Dennis Antamo (FIN)
Referee Observer: Milovan Nikolic (SVN)

SV Grödig – Zimbru Chişinău
Referee: Simon Lee Evans (WAL)
Assistant Referee 1: John Roberts (WAL)
Assistant Referee 2: Gareth Jones (WAL)
Fourth Official: Huw Jones (WAL)
Referee Observer: Jari Maisonlahti (FIN)

UEFA Champions League – Third Qualifying Round (First Leg)

29-30 July 2014

Debreceni VSC – Bate Borisov
Referee: Szymon Marciniak (POL)
Assistant Referee 1: Pawel Sokolnicki (POL)
Assistant Referee 2: Tomasz Listkiewicz (POL)
Fourth Official: Pawel Raczkowski (POL)
Referee Observer: Alain Hamer (LUX)

Sparta Praha – Malmö FF
Referee: Halis Ozkahya (TUR)
Assistant Referee 1: Cem Satman (TUR)
Assistant Referee 2: Ekrem Kan (TUR)
Fourth Official: Ali Palabiyik (TUR)
Referee Observer: Leslie Irvine (NIR)

Slovan Bratislava – FC Sheriff
Referee: Stephan Studer (SUI)
Assistant Referee 1: Sandro Pozzi (SUI)
Assistant Referee 2: Jean-Yves Wicht (SUI)
Fourth Official: Sébastien Pache (SUI)
Referee Observer: Kaj Østergaard (DEN)

FC Aktobe – Steaua București
Referee: Hüseyin Göcek (TUR)
Assistant Referee 1: Mustafa Eyisoy (TUR)
Assistant Referee 2: Orkun Aktas (TUR)
Fourth Official: Suleyman Abay (TUR)
Referee Observer: Gevorg Hovhannisyan (ARM)

Qarabağ Ağdam – FC Salzburg
Referee: Sergii Boiko (UKR)
Assistant Referee 1: Oleksandr Voytyuk (UKR)
Assistant Referee 2: Oleg Pluzhnyk (UKR)
Fourth Official: Anatoliy Abdula (UKR)
Referee Observer: Oguz Sarvan (TUR)

HJK Helsinki – Apoel FC
Referee: Pawel Gil (POL)
Assistant Referee 1: Piotr Sadczuk (POL)
Assistant Referee 2: Marcin Borkowski (POL)
Fourth Official: Basrtosz Frankowski (POL)
Referee Observer: Adrian Casha (MLT)

AEL Limassol – FC Zenit
Referee: Marijo Strahonja (CRO)
Assistant Referee 1: Sinisa Premuzaj (CRO)
Assistant Referee 2: Igor Krmar (CRO)
Fourth Official: Fran Jovic (CRO)
Referee Observer: Dani Koren (ISR)

Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk – FC København
Referee: Andre Marriner (ENG)
Assistant Referee 1: Darren Cann (ENG)
Assistant Referee 2: Harry Lennard (ENG)
Fourth Official: Kevin Friend (ENG)
Referee Observer: Ichko Lozev (BUL)

Grasshopper Zürich – LOSC Lille
Referee: Aleksei Eskov (RUS)
Assistant Referee 1: Dimitrii Mosiakin (RUS)
Assistant Referee 2: Valeriy Danchenko (RUS)
Fourth Official: Mikhail Vilkov (RUS)
Referee Observer: Murat Ilgaz (TUR)

Standard Liège – Panathinaikos FC
Referee: Carlos Clos Gómez (ESP)
Assistant Referee 1: Javier Aguilar Rodríguez (ESP)
Assistant Referee 2: Luis Marco Martínez (ESP)
Fourth Official: Santiago Jaime Latre (ESP)
Referee Observer: Michel Vautrot (FRA)

Feyenoord – Beşiktaş
Referee: Luca Banti (ITA)
Assistant Referee 1: Elenito Di Liberatore (ITA)
Assistant Referee 2: Andrea Padovan (ITA)
Fourth Official: Andrea Gervasoni (ITA)
Referee Observer: Markus Nobs (SUI)

PFC Ludogorets – FK Partizan
Referee: Kenn Hansen (DEN)
Assistant Referee 1: Lars Rix (DEN)
Assistant Referee 2: David Andersen (DEN)
Fourth Official: Jakob Kehlet (DEN)
Referee Observer: Kyros Vassaras (GRE)

Aalborg – GNK Dinamo
Referee: Danny Makkelie (NED)
Assistant Referee 1: Davy Goossens (NED)
Assistant Referee 2: Bas Van Dongen (NED)
Fourth Official: Martin Van den Kerkhof (NED)
Referee Observer: Drago Kos (SVN)

NK Maribor – Maccabi Tel Aviv
Referee: Ivan Kruzliak (SVK)
Assistant Referee 1: Tomas Somolani (SVK)
Assistant Referee 2: Ondrej Brendza (SVK)
Fourth Official: Peter Kralovic (SVK)
Referee Observer: Stefan Ormandjiev (BUL)

Legia Warszawa – Celtic FC
Referee: Pol Van Boekel (NED)
Assistant Referee 1: Charles Schaap (NED)
Assistant Referee 2: Rob Van de Ven (NED)
Fourth Official: Edwin Van de Graaf (NED)
Referee Observer: Gylfi Orrason (ISL)

Copa Libertadores Semi-finals (Second Leg)

29-30 July 2014

Bolivar – San Lorenzo
Referee: Carlos Vera (ECU, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Christian Lescano (ECU)
Assistant Referee 2: Byron Romero (ECU)
Fourth Official: Jose Espinel (ECU)
Referee Observer: Rene Ortube (BOL)

Defensor Sporting – Nacional
Referee: Ricardo Marques (BRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Marcio Santiago (BRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Kleber Gil (BRA)
Fourth Official: Pericles Cortez (BRA)
Referee Observer: Ernesto Filippi (URU)

UEFA U-19 Euro 2014 – Semi-finals

28 July 2014

Portugal – Serbia
Referee: Istvan Kovacs (ROU, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Henrik Larsen (DEN)
Assistant Referee 2: Laurent Conotte (BEL)
Fourth Official: Enea Jorgji (ALB)
Referee Observer: Jozef Marko (SVK)

Germany – Austria
Referee: Kevin Clancy (SCO)
Assistant Referee 1: Darren England (ENG)
Assistant Referee 2: Evgeni Belski (KAZ)
Fourth Official: Javier Estrada Fernandez (ESP)
Referee Observer: Nikolai Levnikov (RUS)

UEFA Women's U-19 Euro Final 2014: Kovacova (SVK)

Thirteen years ago, Zuzana Kováčová's brother took it upon himself to book her on a refereeing course. On Sunday the Slovakian takes charge of a European final. When Zuzana Kováčová blows the whistle to signal the start of Sunday's UEFA European Women's Under-19 Championship final it will mark the latest step in a refereeing career that began almost my accident. "I started refereeing in 2001," says Kováčová. "My brother Miroslav was a player and when he stopped playing he became a referee. One day he asked me if I wanted to be a referee. I told him I'd think about it but by the next day he had signed me up for a refereeing course. And now I'm here. He has since stopped but I've continued. All the men in my family were players so I have football in my blood.” Over the past 13 years Kováčová's refereeing has progressed stage by stage, and these days she combines her job as an insurance agent with UEFA appointments, the men's third tier and a few women's games in her native Slovakia. In this competition, too, it has been a steady progression – from qualifiers, to the 2007 finals as a fourth official, to the 2012 group stage and now the 2014 showpiece. "I am very happy because every official dreams of a final," says the 35-year-old. "My appointment is also a sign of trust, that I've been doing well and am ready. Being a final there will be different emotions among the players – both sides are obviously desperate to win. I think it will be a very good match." Kováčová has already refereed matches involving both final teams: the Netherlands' 0-0 opening-day draw with Norway and Spain's semi-final triumph over the hosts. "It has been a very nice tournament. I've had three matches and the weather has been really incredible. The heat! It was kind of a relief to have some heavy rain in my last game. But we all have to cope with the conditions, officials and players." It is all a learning curve, for players, coaches and officials. So while she is not looking beyond Sunday, what is next for Kováčová? "I've got where I am now step by step because the more time you spend on a pitch the more you learn about the game. You must have that experience. This is not the last step, either. Maybe the next step is the Women's Champions League and in the future – why not – the World Cup?" (Source: UEFA)

27 July 2014

Spain – Netherlands
Referee: Zuzana Kováčová (SVK)
Assistant Referee 1: Petra Simmerová (CZE)
Assistant Referee 2: May Moalem (ISR)
Fourth Official: Marija Kurtes (GER)

Gassama appreciated by FIFA

Football's world governing body, FIFA, has rated the performance of Gambian referee Bakary Gassama as very satisfactory and categorised him among the best at the recently concluded World Cup in Brazil. Gassama officiated the deciding group stage match between the Netherlands and Chile but despite working under difficult circumstances, he gave a flawless performance that was hailed by commentators and the international media alike.

FIFA who had already taken stock of the refereeing performances in Brazil wanted no big scandals and, above all else, no country to be sent home due to a refereeing mistake, which they managed to achieve. Another priority was the correct use of yellow cards. During a short tournament, with suspensions for picking up two yellow cards, they had asked referees to impose their authority without the need to constantly book players, which they also managed. There were only two bookings for dissent. The spray used to line up walls at set pieces avoided many bookings. According to FIFA, the referees who scored the highest once the tournament was over were Bjorn Kuipers, Carlos Velasco Carballo, Carlos Vera, Bakary Gassama, Jonas Eriksson and Sandro Ricci. FIFA believes that they put in impeccable performances.Some people might not understand FIFA's decision to rate Gassama as one of the best referees in Brazil having only appointed him for one game, but the 34-year-old is a young man in terms of refereeing circles and has another two to three more World Cups ahead of him. The Gambian is also expected to referee at this year's Club World Cup in Morocco that will feature clubs like European Champions Real Madrid. Papa has already arrived in Banjul but has since left town to referee at this Friday's all-Tunisian CAF Champions League game between Sfaxien and Esperance de Tunis.

Source: All Africa

Nishimura: “I trusted my own judgement and made a clear decision”

World Cup referee Yuichi Nishimura has shrugged off the controversy that surrounded his decision to award Brazil a penalty in the tournament’s opening game, but admitted that being a referee is no easy task. Nishimura made global headlines for all the wrong reasons following his performance in Brazil’s June 12 opener against Croatia in Sao Paulo, where he gave the hosts a second-half penalty with the score at 1-1 after ruling that Croatian defender Dejan Lovren had pulled down Brazilian striker Fred in the box. Neymar duly converted from the spot as Brazil went on to claim a 3-1 win, leaving Nishimura to face the fury of the beaten Croatians and millions of irate fans worldwide. Croatia manager Niko Kovac branded Nishimura’s performance “shameful,” while his players went as far as to claim that the referee could not communicate in English and spoke instead to them in Japanese. But Nishimura, who became the first Japanese referee to take charge of a World Cup opening game, played down the furor as he faced the media in Tokyo on Thursday, insisting that criticism is simply part of the job.

“There were a lot of different opinions, but we were prepared for that,” Nishimura, flanked by the two other members of his refereeing team, Toshiyuki Nagi and Toru Sagara, told reporters at the Japan Football Association’s headquarters on Thursday. “Lots of people told me that they agreed with my decision and I appreciated that. Other people told me that I was wrong and I accept that. The most important thing is that I made a clear decision from the best vantage point and that I trusted my own judgement.” Nishimura’s decision sparked such anger among Croatian fans that a group of supporters harassed the referee and his assistants after spotting them at an airport in Rio de Janeiro a week later. “At the airport there was a group of volunteers holding up a placard with our names on it, so we were easily recognized,” Nishimura said with a smile. “We weren’t roughed up or anything like that, but there are people like that. The security people moved in quickly to protect us.” Nishimura laughed off the Croatian players’ claim that he could not speak English, and stuck by his decision to award the penalty for Lovren’s foul. "I spoke English on the pitch," he said. "Those I spoke to understood me. I just refereed the way I always do. It was the kind of decision that I make all the time,” he said. “The thing you are looking for is whether it is simulation or whether the defender is holding the striker. The striker receives the ball and takes a step to shoot. I think the defender misjudges the situation. He thinks the striker is going to stop and hold the ball up, so he puts his hand on him. If the striker hadn’t moved to shoot, I don’t think the defender would have done that.” Nishimura pointed to the fact that he and his team made FIFA’s shortlist to referee the final as evidence of how highly their work in Brazil was valued, but acknowledged that the tournament had not always been easy. “There were a lot of harsh opinions but also a lot of kind words of encouragement,” said Nishimura. “Being a referee is very difficult.”

For fans of Japan's J-League, however, Nishimura is a polarising figure with a reputation for awarding dubious penalties and he has been in scrapes at international tournaments before. At the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations, Nishimura was shoved by Angola players during an ill-tempered quarter-final with Egypt but failed to send any of them off, and did not feature in the rest of the tournament. In 2010, Congolese fans incandescent at his performance in a Club World Cup game took misguided revenge by vandalising a Chinese restaurant in their country.

Source: AFP

UEFA Europa League – Second Qualifying Round (Second Leg)

22-24 July 2014

FC Zimbru Chișinău – CSKA Sofia
Referee: Marco Fritz (GER, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Marco Achmüller (GER) 
Assistant Referee 2: Dominik Schaal (GER)
Fourth Official: Guido Winkmann (GER)
Referee Observer: Jan Wegereef (NED)

FK Željezničar – FK Metalurg Skopje
Referee: Mervyn Smyth (NIR)
Assistant Referee 1: Andrew Neeson (NIR) 
Assistant Referee 2: Stephen Bell (NIR)
Fourth Official: Ian Mc Nabb (NIR)
Referee Observer: Vladimir Medved (SVK)

FC Shakhter Karagandy – FK Atlantas
Referee: Dumitru Muntean (MDA)
Assistant Referees: Vitalli Gorbatov (MDA), Vasili Ermischin (MDA)
Fourth Official: Alexandru Tean (MDA)
Referee Observer: Muharrem Aksoy (TUR)

Hapoel Beer Sheva – RNK Split
Referee: João Capela (POR)
Assistant Referees: Paulo Soares (POR), Bruno Rodrigues (POR)
Fourth Official: Rui Costa (POR)
Referee Observer: Tony Asumaa (FIN)

Myllykosken Pallo – Dinamo Minsk
Referee: Bryan Markham-Jones (WAL)
Assistant Referees: Lewis Edwards (WAL), Daniel Beckett (WAL)
Fourth Official: Brian James (WAL)
Referee Observer: Gabriele De Gaetano (MLT)

AC Omonia – Budućnost Podgorica
Referee: Oliver Drachta (AUT)
Assistant Referees: Matthias Winsauer (AUT), Stefan Kuehr (AUT)

Fourth Official: Dieter Muckenhammer (AUT)

Referee Observer: Francesco Bianchi (SUI)

FC Krasnodar – JK Sillamäe Kalev

Referee: Sándor Andó-Szabó (HUN)
Assistant Referees: Zsolt Szpisják (HUN), János Medovarszki (HUN)
Fourth Official: Iványi Zoltán (HUN)
Referee Observer: Gevorg Hovhannisyan (ARM)

FK Haugesund – FK Sarajevo
Referee: Mihaly Fabian (HUN)
Assistant Referees: Gabor Eros (HUN), László Viszokai (HUN)
Fourth Official: Jozsef Erdos (HUN)
Referee Observer: Robert Sedlacek (AUT)

Inter Baku PIK – IF Elfsborg
Referee: Stanivlasv Todorov (BUL)
Assistant Referees: Ivo Kolev (BUL), Martin Venev (BUL)
Fourth Official: Nikolay Yordanov (BUL)
Referee Observer: Gudmunder Jónsson (ISL)

Esbjerg FB – Kairat Almaty
Referee: Dennis Antamo (FIN)
Assistant Referees: Jukka Honkanen (FIN), Jonas Turunen (FIN)
Fourth Official: Ville Nevalainen (FIN)
Referee Observer: Rodger Gifford (WAL)

Shakhtyor Soligorsk – Derry City FC
Referee: Elmir Pilav (BIH)
Assistant Referees: Senad Ibrisimbegovic (BIH), Hrvoje Turudic (BIH)
Fourth Official: Goran Paradzik (BIH)
Referee Observer: Asim Khudiyev (AZE)

FC Vaduz – Ruch Chorzów
Referee: Anar Salmanov (AZE)
Assistant Referees: Mubariz Hashimov (AZE), Vagif Musayev (AZE)
Fourth Official: Rahim Hasanov (AZE)
Referee Observer: Cosimo Bolognino (ITA)

Hapoel Tel Aviv – FC Astana
Referee: Rob Rogers (IRL)
Assistant Referees: Mark Gavin (IRL), Ciaran Delaney (IRL)
Fourth Official: Tomas Connolly (IRL)
Referee Observer: Fritz Stuchlik (AUT)

Chikhura Sachkhere – Bursaspor SK
Referee: Tomasz Musial (POL)
Assistant Referees: Radoslaw Siejka (POL), Sebastian Mucha (POL)
Fourth Official: Pawel Raczkowski (POL)
Referee Observer: Karel Bohunek (CZE)

AIK – Linfield FC
Referee: Fredy Fautrel (FRA)
Assistant Referees: Philippe Jeanne (FRA), Mathieu Grosbost (FRA)
Fourth Official: Alexandre Castro (FRA)
Referee Observer: Stefano Podeschi (SMR)

FC Slovan Liberec – MFK Košice
Referee: Svein-Erik Edvartsen (NOR)
Assistant Referees: Magnus Lundberg (NOR), Reidar Gundersen (NOR)
Fourth Official: Anders Johansen (NOR)
Referee Observer: Zoran Petrović (SRB)

Tromsø IL – Víkingur
Referee: Gunnar Jónsson (ISL)
Assistant Referees: Sigurdur Thorleifsson (ISL), Birkir Sigurdarson (ISL)
Fourth Official: Thorvaldur Arnason (ISL)
Referee Observer: Stefan Messner (AUT)

KS Flamurtari – Petrolul Ploiești
Referee: Jan Valasek (SVK)
Assistant Referees: Tomas Vorel (SVK), Peter Chladek (SVK)
Fourth Official: Mario Vlk (SVK)
Referee Observer: Jari Maisonlahti (FIN)

Sportverein Grödig – FK Čukarički
Referee: Orel Grinfeeld (ISR)
Assistant Referees: Shabtai Nahmias (ISR), Oren Bornshtein (ISR)
Fourth Official: Oren Simanian (ISR)
Referee Observer: Marian Ruzbarsky (SVK)

Lech Poznan – Nomme Kalju
Referee: Sebastian Coltescu (ROU)
Assistant Referees: Sebastian Gheorghe (ROU), Radu Ghinguleac (ROU)
Fourth Official: George Gaman (ROU)
Referee Observer: John Ferry (NIR)

IFK Goteborg – Gyori Eto
Referee: Bartosz Frankowski (POL)
Assistant Referees: Pawel Sokolnicki (POL), Jakub Winkler (POL)
Fourth Official: Pawel Pskit (POL)
Referee Observer: Andreas Schluchter (SUI)

Spartak Trnava – FC Zestafoni
Referee: Mete Kalkavan (TUR)
Assistant Referees: Serkan Ok (TUR), Ceyhun Sesiguzel (TUR)
Fourth Official: Tayfur Özkan (TUR)
Referee Observer: Neale Barry (ENG)

Zorya Luhansk – KF Laçi
Referee: Stavros Tritsonis (GRE)
Assistant Referees: Polychronis Kostaras (GRE), Alexandros Grevenis (GRE)
Fourth Official: Michael Koukoulakis (GRE)
Referee Observer: Eyjolfur Olafsson (ISL)

FC Groningen – Aberdeen FC
Referee: Daniel Stefanski (POL)
Assistant Referees: Rafal Rostkowski (POL), Marcin Boniek (POL)
Fourth Official: Zbigniew Dobrynin (POL)
Referee Observer: Manuel Mejuto González (ESP)

Zawisza Bydgoszcz – Zulte Waregem
Referee: Lee Probert (ENG)
Assistant Referees: Gary Beswick (ENG), Harry Lennard (ENG)
Fourth Official: Jonathan Moss (ENG)
Referee Observer: Nikolai Ivanov (RUS)

Asteras Tripolis – RoPS Rovaniemi
Referee: Vitaliy Meshkov (RUS)
Assistant Referees:Dmitri Mosiakin (RUS), Maksim Gavrilin (RUS)
Fourth Official: Alexander Egorov (RUS)
Referee Observer: Zbigniew Przesmycki (POL)

Sligo Rovers – Rosenborg
Referee: Erik Lambrechts (BEL)
Assistant Referees: Jimmy Cremers (BEL), Karel De Rocker (BEL)
Fourth Official: Christophe Delacour (BEL)
Referee Observer: Lassin Isaksen (FRO)

FK Vojvodina – AS Trencin
Referee: Mads-Kristoffer Kristoffersen (DEN)
Assistant Referees: Henrik Sonderby (DEN), Jakob Bille (DEN)
Fourth Official: Michael Johansen (DEN)
Referee Observer: Milovan Nikolic (SVN)

Hajduk Split – Dundalk FC
Referee: Marius Avram (ROU)
Assistant Referees: Miklos Nagy (ROU), Valentin Avram (ROU)
Fourth Official: Adrian Comanescu (ROU)
Referee Observer: Paulius Malžinskas (LTU)

Diosgyori VTK – Litex Lovech
Referee: Nikolaj Hänni (SUI)
Assistant Referees: Raffael Zeder (SUI), Vital Jobin (SUI)
Fourth Official: Pascal Erlachner (SUI)
Referee Observer: Shmuel Shteif (ISR)

Široki Brijeg – Mladá Boleslav
Referee: Alan Sant (MLT)
Assistant Referees: Alan Camilleri (MLT), Roberto Vella (MLT)
Fourth Official: Christopher Lautier (MLT)
Referee Observer: Alexey Spirin (RUS)

Ferencvárosi TC – HNK Rijeka
Referee: Paolo Valeri (ITA)
Assistant Referees: Matteo Passeri (ITA), Filippo Meli (ITA)
Fourth Official: Daniele Doveri (ITA)
Referee Observer: Martin Iseli (SUI)

FC Koper – Neftci PFK
Referee: Benoit Millot (FRA)
Assistant Referees: Stephan Luzi (FRA), Cyril Lompre (FRA)
Fourth Official: Sébastien Moreira (FRA)
Referee Observer: Alfredo Trentalange (ITA)

FK Jagodina – CFR Cluj
Referee: Bastian Dankert (GER)
Assistant Referees: Thorsten Schiffner (GER), Jan Seidel (GER)
Fourth Official: Sascha Stegemann (GER)
Referee Observer: Leslie Irvine (NIR)

ND Gorica – Molde FK
Referee: Carlos Taborda Xistra (POR)
Assistant Referees: Nuno Pereira (POR), Nelson Moniz (POR)
Fourth Official: Vasco Dos Santos (POR)
Referee Observer: Erol Ersoy (TUR)

Crusaders FC – IF Brommapojkarna
Referee: Alan Bieri (SUI)
Assistant Referees: Johanns Vogel (SUI), Alain Heiniger (SUI)
Fourth Official: Sandro Scharer (SUI)
Referee Observer: Patritiu Abrudan (ROU)

Saint Johnstone – FC Luzern
Referee: Jonathan Lardot (BEL)
Assistant Referees: Frank Bleyen (BEL), Thibaud Nijssen (BEL)
Fourth Official: Denis Vanbecelaere (BEL)
Referee Observer: Rusmir Mrkovic (BIH)

SKN St. Pölten – Botev Plovdiv
Referee: Jovan Kaludjerovic (MNE)
Assistant Referees: Danijel Devic (MNE), Dimitrije Mrgunovic (MNE)
Fourth Official: Mileta Scepanovic (MNE)
Referee Observer: Luciano Luci (ITA)

FH – Neman Grodno
Referee: Nerijus Dunauskas (LTU)
Assistant Referees: Dovydas Suziedelis (LTU), Vytenis Kazlauskas (LTU)
Fourth Official: Jurij Paskovskij (LTU)
Referee Observer: Leif Lindberg (SWE)

Stjarnan – Motherwell FC
Referee: Athanasios Giachos (GRE)
Assistant Referees: Michael Karsiotis (GRE), Dimitrios Tatsis (GRE)
Fourth Official: Andrea Pappas (GRE)
Referee Observer: Kaj Natri (FIN)

UEFA Champions League – Second Qualifying Round (Second Leg)

22-23 July 2014

FC Levadia Tallinn – AC Sparta Praha
Referee: Antonio Damato (ITA, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Lorenzo Manganelli (ITA)
Assistant Referee 2: Fabiano Preti (ITA)
Fourth Official: Gianpaolo Calvarese (ITA)
Referee Observer: Alan Snoddy (NIR)

FK Sutjeska – FC Sheriff
Referee: Alexander Harkam (AUT)
Assistant Referee 1: Andreas Witschnigg (AUT) 
Assistant Referee 2: Andreas Staudinger (AUT)
Fourth Official: Rene Eisner (AUT)
Referee Observer: Gylfi Thor Orrason (ISL)

F91 Dudelange – PFC Ludogorets
Referee: Tobias Welz (GER)
Assistant Referees: Guido Kleve (GER), Rafael Foltyn (GER) 
Fourth Official: Markus Schmidt (GER)
Referee Observer: Nuno Castro (POR)

FK Qarabağ Ağdam – Valletta FC
Referee: Sergei Tsinkevich (BLR)
Assistant Referees: Evgeni Romanov (BLR), Vitali Malyutin (BLR)
Fourth Official: Denis Scherbakov (BLR)
Referee Observer: Levan Paniashvili (GEO)

Maccabi Tel Aviv – FC Santa Coloma
Referee: Ioannis Anastasiou (CYP)
Assistant Referees: Athinodoros Ioannou (CYP), Marios Dimitriadis (CYP)
Fourth Official: Demetris Masias (CYP)
Referee Observer: Borislav Alexandrov (BUL)

The New Saints FC – ŠK Slovan Bratislava
Referee: Jakob Kehlet (DEN)
Assistant Referees: Lars Rix (DEN), Heine Sørensen (DEN)
Fourth Official: Jens Maae (DEN)
Referee Observer: Edward Foley (IRL)

KS Skënderbeu – FC Bate Borisov
Referee: Ante Vučemilović (CRO)
Assistant Referees: Dalibor Conjar (CRO), Hrvoje Barišić (CRO)
Fourth Official: Damir Batinić (CRO)
Referee Observer: Brian Lawlor (WAL)

HB Tórshavn – FK Partizan
Referee: Dimitar Meckarovski (MKD)
Assistant Referees: Dejan Nedelkoski (MKD), Goce Petreski (MKD)
Fourth Official: Dejan Jakimovski (MKD)
Referee Observer: Miroslav Liba (CZE)

VMFD Žalgiris – GNK Dinamo
Referee: Artyom Kuchin (KAZ) 

Assistant Referees: Sergei Vassyutin (KAZ), Anatoli Hodin (KAZ)
Fourth Official: Aleksandr Gauzer (KAZ)
Referee Observer: Peter Jones (ENG)

Debreceni VSC – Cliftonville FC
Referee: Vlado Glodjović (SRB)
Assistant Referees: Dejan Petrović (SRB), Dejan Potoćan (SRB)
Fourth Official: Dejan Santrac (SRB)
Referee Observer: Adrian Casha (MLT)

Celtic FC – KR
Referee: Andris Treimanis (LVA)
Assistant Referees: Haralds Gudermanis (LVA), Aleksejs Spasjonnikovs (LVA)
Fourth Official: Vadims Direktorenko (LVA)
Referee Observer: Kyros Vassaras (GRE)

FC Aktobe – Dinamo Tbilisi
Referee: Aliyar Aghayev (AZE)
Assistant Referees: Zeynal Zeynalov (AZE), Namik Huseynov (AZE)
Fourth Official: Rauf Jabarov (AZE)
Referee Observer: Vladimir Antonov (MDA)

FK Ventspils – Malmö FF
Referee: Kristo Tohver (EST)
Assistant Referees: Sten Klaasen (EST), Neeme Neemlaid (EST)
Fourth Official: Roomer Tarajev (EST)
Referee Observer: Konrad Plautz (AUT)

HJK Helsinki – FK Rabotnicki
Referee: Neil Doyle (IRL)
Assistant Referees: Damien MacGraith (IRL), Dermot Broughton (IRL)
Fourth Official: Padraigh Sutton (IRL)
Referee Observer: Guy Goethals (BEL)

Steaua București – Strømsgodset
Referee: Eitan Shmuelevitz (ISR)
Assistant Referees: Danny Krasikow (ISR), Nissan Davidy (ISR)
Fourth Official: Alon Yefet (ISR)
Referee Observer: Vitor Melo Pereira (POR)

NK Maribor – HŠK Zrinjski Mostar
Referee: Sergey Lapochkin (RUS)
Assistant Referees: Nikolay Golubev (RUS), Aleksei Lebedev (RUS) 

Fourth Official: Mikhail Vilkov (RUS)
Referee Observer: Peter Fröjdfeldt (SWE)

Saint Patrick's Athletic – Legia Warszawa
Referee: Andreas Ekberg (SWE)
Assistant Referees: Fredrik Nilsson (SWE), Mehmet Culum (SWE)
Fourth Official: Johan Hamlin (SWE)
Referee Observer: Stefan Ormandjiev (BUL)

Recopa Sudamericana 2014 (Second Leg)

23 July 2014

Atletico Mineiro – Lanus
Referee: Roberto Silvera (URU, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Miguel Nievas (URU)
Assistant Referee 1: Nicolas Taran (URU)
Fourth Official: Christian Ferreyra (URU)
Referee Observer: Wilson Seneme (BRA)

Copa Libertadores Semi-finals (First Leg)

22-23 July 2014

San Lorenzo – Bolivar
Referee: Jose Buitrago (COL, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Wilmar Navarro (COL)
Assistant Referee 2: Alexandre Guzman (COL)
Fourth Official: Luis Sanchez (COL)
Referee Observer: Abel Gnecco (ARG)

Asunción Nacional – Defensor Sporting
Referee: Diego Ceballos (ARG)
Assistant Referee 1: Gustavo Rossi (ARG)
Assistant Referee 2: Ivan Nunez (ARG)
Fourth Official: Pablo Diaz (ARG)
Referee Observer: Carlos Alarcon (PAR)

UEFA U-19 Euro 2014

Hungary, 19-31 July 2014

Referees
1. Kevin Clancy (SCO, 1983, photo) 
2. Javier Estrada Fernández (ESP, 1976)
3. Tore Hansen (NOR, 1978)
4. Enea Jorgji (ALB, 1984)
5. Stephan Klossner (SUI, 1981)
6. Istvan Kovacs (ROU, 1984)

Assistant Referees
1. Yashar Abbasov (AZE, 1980)
2. Yevgeniy Belskiy (KAZ, 1981)
3. Laurent Conotte (BEL, 1981)
4. Darren England (ENG, 1985)
5. Henrik Larsen (DEN, 1980)
6. Wayne McDonnell (IRL, 1986)
7. Ivo Nadvornik (CZE, 1982)
8. Gylfi Mar Sigurdsson (ISL, 1987)

Fourth Officials
1. Tamás Bognar (HUN, 1978)
2. Mihaly Fabian (HUN, 1980)
3. Adam Nemeth (HUN, 1982)

Referee Observers
1. Jozef Marko (SVK)
2. Nikolai Levnikov (RUS)
3. Sandor Piller (HUN)
4. Laszlo Vagner (HUN)  

Marco Rodriguez retires after World Cup semi-final

After officiating the 7-1 German onslaught of the host nation in the 2014 World Cup semi-finals, Mexican referee Marco Rodriguez has called it quits, although he would have been age-eligible for a fourth World Cup in 2018. The Mexican federation officially announced the retirement of the man known as “Chiquidracula” due to his resemblance to an actor that played Count Dracula, but asked instead to be called “Chiquimarco”.

“I dreamed of working three World Cups and I’m satisfied,” Rodriguez, 40, said in a press conference from Mexico. “I am satisfied by the achievements in my 25-year career. Brazil was the place where I showed all that I acquired over my career.” Including the 7-1 drubbing of Brazil, Rodriguez officiated a total of seven World Cup matches over three different tournaments, with the Brazil vs. Germany semi-final match his first outside of the group stage. Rodriguez has been a referee in the Mexican Liga MX since 1997 and a FIFA referee since 2000. He quickly picked up a reputation as a strict referee not afraid to pull cards out of his pocket. Australia’s Tim Cahill learned this the hard way, earning a controversial straight red card in the 2010 World Cup in an eventual 4-0 loss. Rodriguez also handed Chile’s Marco Estrada a second yellow in the same tournament, falling for a clear dive by Fernando Torres. Other incidents Rodriguez was known for included the famous “double yellow” in the 2012 Mexican Apertura finals between Tigres and Santos, where he produced two yellow cards at once, holding each hand. Overall, he sent off three players from that match and issued seven yellows, and was suspended for five matches following the incident. Despite this incident, Liga MX refereeing official Marco Trejo at the time still called him “one of our top referees.” The 40-year-old also refereed the group stage match between Uruguay and Italy in this year’s World Cup that saw Luis Suarez eventually banned for biting Giorgio Chiellini. Rodriguez missed the incident and did not punish Suarez during play. In that match he also correctly sent off Italy’s Claudio Marchisio with a straight red for a dangerous tackle. Rodriguez was most recently at the center of controversy in the United States (not entirely of his own doing) when he was assigned to referee a World Cup qualifier last September between Costa Rica and the United States. The match was just four days before the US took on Mexico in Columbus, and Jurgen Klinsmann spoke publicly about having to deal with a strict referee so close to an important match with eight of his players facing a yellow card suspension. Matt Besler, Geoff Cameron, and Jozy Altidore were all shown yellows during the eventual 3-1 loss to Costa Rica and were forced to miss the next match, but the US beat Mexico 2-0 anyways to secure a berth in the 2014 World Cup. "I know that everything in this life has a time. Everything in life has a beginning and an end. I have taken the decision with great conviction, great joy, great peace in my heart in a very clear way that Marco Rodriguez closed his cycle as an active referee after the World Cup", said Rodriguez, who is a protestant priest outside of refereeing.

Source: NBC Sports

Djamel Haimoudi announces international retirement

Following his participation at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, the Algerian referee Djamel Haimoudi announces his international retirement. "I am glad to have made ​​such a career. I think that it cannot be a better end. Taking my international retirement after a World Cup where I refereed four games, including the third place match, will remain a very important moment in my career", said Haimoudi, according to several news sites.

Djamel Haimoudi officiated four matches at the 2014 World Cup. He does not hide his pride at having been appointed by FIFA to the match for third place. "It allowed me to leave my international career through the front door. Appointing me for the third place match means that the FIFA Referee Committee trusts me and it honors me greatly. It is also a great honor for the African refereeing", said Haimoudi. He does not rule out the possibility of, one day, joining the referees committee of the Algerian Football Federation, if they want to use his services.

Source: TSA

Recopa Sudamericana 2014 (First Leg)

16 July 2014

Lanus – Atletico Mineiro 
Referee: Antonio Arias (PAR, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Carlos Caceres (PAR)
Assistant Referee 2: Dario Gaona (PAR)
Fourth Official: Julio Quintana (PAR)
Referee Observer: Abel Gnecco (ARG)

UEFA Europa League – Second Qualifying Round (First Leg)

17 July 2014

Kosice – Slovan Liberec
Referee: Jesús Gil Manzano (ESP, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Angel Nevado Rodriguez (ESP)
Assistant Referee 2: Marcos Alvarez Moreno (ESP)
Fourth Official: Inaki Vicandi Garrido (ESP)
Referee Observer: Athanassios Briakos (GRE)

Luzern – St. Johnstone
Referee: Benoît Bastien (FRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Nicolas Danos (FRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Frédéric Haquette (FRA)
Fourth Official: Mikael Lesage (FRA)
Referee Observer: Stephen Lodge (ENG)

Kairat – Esbjerg
Referee: Oleksandr Derdo (UKR)
Assistant Referee 1: Semen Shlonchak (UKR)
Assistant Referee 2: Mykola Levko (UKR)
Fourth Official: Yaroslav Kozyk (UKR)
Referee Observer: Drazenko Kovacic (CRO)

Lac – Zorya
Referee: Peter Kralovic (SVK)
Assistant Referee 1: Ondrej Brendza (SVK)
Assistant Referee 2: Erik Weiss (SVK)
Fourth Official: Miroslav Jaska (SVK)
Referee Observer: Konrad Plautz (AUT)

Neftci – Koper
Referee: Dzianis Shcharbakou (BLR)
Assistant Referee 1: Dmitry Zhuk (BLR)
Assistant Referee 2: Andrei Hetsikau (BLR)
Fourth Official: Aleksei Kulbakov (BLR)
Referee Observer: Sergey Zuev (RUS)

Dinamo Minsk – MYPA
Referee: Ivaylo Stoyanov (BUL)
Assistant Referee 1: Krum Stoilov (BUL)
Assistant Referee 2: Georgi Todorov (BUL)
Fourth Official: Georgi Davidov (BUL)
Referee Observer: Sigurdur Hannesson (ISL)

Buducnost Podgorica – Omonia
Referee: Bart Vertenten (BEL)
Assistant Referee 1: Frank Bleyen (BEL)
Assistant Referee 2: Yves de Neve (BEL)
Fourth Official: Laurent Colemonts (BEL)
Referee Observer: Donald McVicar (SCO)

Trencin – Vojvodina
Referee: Michael Lerjeus (SWE)
Assistant Referee 1: Magnus Sjöblom (SWE)
Assistant Referee 2: Joakim Flink (SWE)
Fourth Official: Mohammed Al-Hakim (SWE)
Referee Observer: Dragutin Poljak (CRO)

Sillamäe – Kuban Krasnodar
Referee: Bojan Pandzic (SWE)
Assistant Referee 1: Per Brogevik (SWE)
Assistant Referee 2: Stefan Hallberg (SWE)
Fourth Official: Glenn Nyberg (SWE)
Referee Observer: Siegfried Kirschen (GER)

Ruch – Vaduz
Referee: Radek Prihoda (CZE)
Assistant Referee 1: Ondrej Pelikan (CZE)
Assistant Referee 2: Radek Kotik (CZE)
Fourth Official: Pavel Orel (CZE)
Referee Observer: Vencel Tóth (HUN)

Atlantas – Shakhter Karagandy
Referee: Ognjen Valjic (BIH)
Assistant Referee 1: Haris Bakovic (BIH)
Assistant Referee 2: Dalibor Draskovic (BIH)
Fourth Official: Irfan Peljto (BIH)
Referee Observer: Ilkka Koho (FIN)

Kalju – Lech Poznán
Referee: Domagoj Vuckov (CRO)
Assistant Referee 1: Goran Perica (CRO)
Assistant Referee 2: Ivica Modric (CRO)
Fourth Official: Marin Vidulin (CRO)
Referee Observer: Jan Fasung (SVK)

Astana – Hapoel Tel Aviv
Referee: Sergei Ivanov (RUS)
Assistant Referee 1: Vyacheslav Semenov (RUS)
Assistant Referee 2: Aleksei Vorontsov (RUS)
Fourth Official: Igor Fedotov (RUS)
Referee Observer: Levan Paniashvili (GEO)

Zestafoni – Spartak Trnava
Referee: Alexandr Aliyev (KAZ)
Assistant Referee 1: Serik Zhappasbayev (KAZ)
Assistant Referee 2: Sanzhar Iskakov (KAZ)
Fourth Official: Artyom Kuchin (KAZ)
Referee Observer: Uno Tutk (EST)

Elfsborg – Inter Baki
Referee: Davide Massa (ITA)
Assistant Referee 1: Riccardo Di Fiore (ITA)
Assistant Referee 2: Andrea Crispo (ITA)
Fourth Official: Sebastiano Peruzzo (ITA)
Referee Observer: William Young (SCO)

RoPS – Asteras
Referee: Milenko Vukadinovic (SRB)
Assistant Referee 1: Uros Stojkovic (SRB)
Assistant Referee 2: Goran Miletic (SRB)
Fourth Official: Marko Popovic (SRB)
Referee Observer: John Ward (IRL)

Petrolul – Flamurtari
Referee: Ken Henry Johnsen (NOR)
Assistant Referee 1: Frank Andas (NOR)
Assistant Referee 2: Sven Erik Midthjell (NOR)
Fourth Official: Ole Hobber Nilsen (NOR)
Referee Observer: Michael Ross (NIR)

Botev Plovdiv – St. Pölten
Referee: Marco Guida (ITA)
Assistant Referee 1: Alessandro Costanzo (ITA)
Assistant Referee 2: Giacomo Paganessi (ITA)
Fourth Official: Carmine Russo (ITA)
Referee Observer: Juan Fernández Marín (ESP)

Rosenborg – Sligo Rovers
Referee: Michael Tykgaard (DEN)
Assistant Referee 1: Jakob Bille (DEN)
Assistant Referee 2: Henrik Kristensen (DEN)
Fourth Official: Jens Maae (DEN)
Referee Observer: Günter Benkö (AUT)

Mladá Boleslav – Siroki Brijeg
Referee: Said Ennjimi (FRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Frédéric Cano (FRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Cédric Schurra (FRA)
Fourth Official: Wilfried Bien (FRA)
Referee Observer: Michael Argyrou (CYP)

Brommapojkarna – Crusaders
Referee: Christos Nicolaides (CYP)
Assistant Referee 1: Aristides Christou (CYP)
Assistant Referee 2: Ioannis Lazarou (CYP)
Fourth Official: Marios Tsangaris (CYP)
Referee Observer: Jean Lemmer (LUX)

Neman – FH
Referee: Nerijus Dunauskas (LTU)
Assistant Referee 1: Dovydas Suzieledis (LTU)
Assistant Referee 2: Vytenis Kazlauskas (LTU)
Fourth Official: Jurij Paskovskij (LTU)
Referee Observer: Leif Lindberg (SWE)

CFR Cluj – Jagodina
Referee: Aleksei Nikolaev (RUS)
Assistant Referee 1: Tikhon Kalugin (RUS)
Assistant Referee 2: Valeriy Danchenko (RUS)
Fourth Official: Timur Arslanbekov (RUS)
Referee Observer: Raymond Ellingham (WAL)

CSKA Sofia – Zimbru
Referee: Baris Simsek (TUR)
Assistant Referee 1: Orkun Aktas (TUR)
Assistant Referee 2: Kemal Yilmaz (TUR)
Fourth Official: Bülent Birincioglu (TUR)
Referee Observer: Patrick Kelly (IRL)

Litex Lovech – Diósgyor
Referee: Marios Panayi (CYP)
Assistant Referee 1: Sotiris Viktoros (CYP)
Assistant Referee 2: Nikolas Kalisperas (CYP)
Fourth Official: Charalambos Skapoullis (CYP)
Referee Observer: Andrejs Sipailo (LVA)

Zulte Wagerem – Zawisza
Referee: Alejandro Hernández Hernández (ESP)
Assistant Referee 1: Teodoro Sobrino Magán (ESP)
Assistant Referee 2: Jon Nunez Fernández (ESP)
Fourth Official: Mario Melero López (ESP)
Referee Observer: Zdravko Jokic (SRB)

Vikingur – Tromsö
Referee: Radu Petrescu (ROU)
Assistant Referee 1: Aurel Onita (ROU)
Assistant Referee 2: Mihai Artene (ROU)
Fourth Official: Marcel Birsan (ROU)
Referee Observer: Emil Bozhinovski (MKD)

Split – Hapoel Beer Sheva
Referee: Ilias Spathas (GRE)
Assistant Referee 1: Lazaros Dimitriadis (GRE)
Assistant Referee 2: Polychronis Kostaras (GRE)
Fourth Official: Tasos Sidiropoulos (GRE)
Referee Observer: Michel Piraux (BEL)

Molde – Gorica
Referee: Padraigh Sutton (IRL)
Assistant Referee 1: Allen Lynch (IRL)
Assistant Referee 2: Emmett Dynan (IRL)
Fourth Official: Robert Harvey (IRL)
Referee Observer: Bertrand Layec (FRA)

Metalurg Skopje – Zeljeznicar
Referee: Eli Hacmon (ISR)
Assistant Referee 1: Nissan Davidy (ISR)
Assistant Referee 2: Rami Ben-Itshak (ISR)
Fourth Official: Zvi Levi (ISR)
Referee Observer: Kostadin Gerginov (BUL)

Bursaspor – Chikhura
Referee: Roy Reinshreiber (ISR)
Assistant Referee 1: Danny Krasikow (ISR)
Assistant Referee 2: Mahmud Mahanga (ISR)
Fourth Official: Liran Liany (ISR)
Referee Observer: Ryszard Wójcik (POL)

Rijeka – Ferencváros
Referee: Tobias Stieler (GER)
Assistant Referee 1: Christoph Bornhorst (GER)
Assistant Referee 2: Sascha Thielert (GER)
Fourth Official: Robert Hartmann (GER)
Referee Observer: Murat Ilgaz (TUR)

Derry – Shakhtyor
Referee: Danilo Grujic (SRB)
Assistant Referee 1: Milan Minic (SRB)
Assistant Referee 2: Srdan Milutinovic (SRB)
Fourth Official: Ninoslav Spasic (SRB)
Referee Observer: Niklas A Lídarenda (FRO)

Motherwell FC – Stjarnan
Referee: Michael Johansen (DEN)
Assistant Referee 1: Lars Hummelgaard (DEN)
Assistant Referee 2: Derya Oguz (DEN)
Fourth Official: Anders Poulsen (DEN)
Referee Observer: Bernardino González Vazquez (ESP)

Aberdeen – Groningen
Referee: Hugo Miguel (POR)
Assistant Referee 1: Ricardo Santos (POR)
Assistant Referee 2: António Godinho (POR)
Fourth Official: Bruno Esteves (POR)
Referee Observer: Kjell Alseth (NOR)

Linfield – AIK Solna
Referee: Rene Eisner (AUT)
Assistant Referee 1: Andreas Witschnigg (AUT)
Assistant Referee 2: Richard Hübler (AUT)
Fourth Official: Andreas Kollegger (AUT)
Referee Observer: Ferenc Székely (HUN)

Dundalk – Hajduk Split
Referee: Markus Hameter (AUT)
Assistant Referee 1: Maximilian Kolbitsch (AUT)
Assistant Referee 2: Roland Riedel (AUT)
Fourth Official: Gerhard Grobelnik (AUT)
Referee Observer: Ichko Lozev (BUL)

Gyor – Göteborg
Referee: Anatoliy Abdula (UKR)
Assistant Referee 1: Oleksandr Korniyko (UKR)
Assistant Referee 2: Volodymyr Volodin (UKR)
Fourth Official: Sergii Lysenchuk (UKR)
Referee Observer: Miroslav Vitkovic (CRO)

Sarajevo – Haugesund
Referee: Anatolii Zhabchenko (UKR)
Assistant Referee 1: Oleksandr Voytyuk (UKR)
Assistant Referee 2: Ievgenii Khalamendyk (UKR)
Fourth Official: Vitaliy Romanov (UKR)
Referee Observer: Nicolae Grigorescu (ROU)

Cukaricki – Grödig
Referee: Sergejus Slyva (LTU)
Assistant Referee 1: Vytautas Simkus (LTU)
Assistant Referee 2: Vladimir Gerasimov (LTU)
Fourth Official: Darius Petraska (LTU)
Referee Observer: John Fleming (SCO)

UEFA Champions League – Second Qualifying Round (First Leg)

15-16 July 2014

GNK Dinamo – VMFD Žalgiris
Referee: Anthony Taylor (ENG, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Stuart Burt (ENG)
Assistant Referee 2: John Brooks (ENG)
Fourth Official: Craig Pawson (ENG)
Referee Observer: Manuel Díaz Vega (ESP)

Valletta FC – Qarabağ Ağdam
Referee: Adrien Jaccottet (SUI)
Assistant Referee 1: Johannes Vogel (SUI)
Assistant Referee 2: Stephane De Almeida (SUI)
Fourth Official: Sandro Schärer (SUI)
Referee Observer: Alain Hamer (LUX)

ŠK Slovan Bratislava – The New Saints FC
Referee: Pavle Radovanović (MNE)
Assistant Referee 1: Veslin Radunović (MNE)
Assistant Referee 2: Đorđe Ražnatović (MNE)
Fourth Official: Aleksandar Marković (MNE)
Referee Observer: Sokol Jareci (ALB)

FC Sheriff – FK Sutjeska
Referee: Clayton Pisani (MLT)
Assistant Referee 1: Ingmar Spiteri (MLT)
Assistant Referee 2: Edward Spiteri (MLT)
Fourth Official: Mario Apap (MLT)
Referee Observer: Jan Carlsen (DEN)

FC Bate Borisov – KS Skënderbeu
Referee: Georgi Kabakov (BUL)
Assistant Referee 1: Ivan Valchev (BUL)
Assistant Referee 2: Martin Margaritov (BUL)
Fourth Official: Nikola Popov (BUL)
Referee Observer: Matteo Trefoloni (ITA)

HŠK Zrinjski Mostar – NK Maribor
Referee: Carlos Del Cerro Grande (ESP)
Assistant Referee 1: Pau Cebrián Devis (ESP)
Assistant Referee 2: Abraham Álvarez Cantón (ESP)
Fourth Official: Juan Martínez Munuera (ESP)
Referee Observer: Markus Nobs (SUI)

FC Santa Coloma – Maccabi Tel Aviv FC
Referee: Lasha Silagava (GEO)
Assistant Referee 1: Besik Chichinadze (GEO)
Assistant Referee 2: Zaza Menteshashvili (GEO)
Fourth Official: George Vadachkoria (GEO)
Referee Observer: Kyros Georgiou (CYP)

FK Rabotnicki – HJK Helsinki
Referee: Tamás Bognar (HUN)
Assistant Referee 1: Istvan Albert (HUN)
Assistant Referee 2: Robert Kispal (HUN)
Fourth Official: Zsolt Szabo (HUN)
Referee Observer: Dani Koren (ISR)

Cliftonville FC – Debreceni VSC
Referee: Artur Soares Dias (POR)
Assistant Referee 1: Rui Barbosa Tavares (POR)
Assistant Referee 2: Alvaro Carvalho Mesquita (POR)
Fourth Official: Paulo Lourenço Batista (POR)
Referee Observer: Marcel Vanelshocht (BEL)

FK Partizan – HB Tórshavn
Referee: Sven Bindels (LUX)
Assistant Referee 1: Joao Paulo Vivas (LUX)
Assistant Referee 2: Ricardo Morais (LUX)
Fourth Official: Franc Bourgnon (LUX)
Referee Observer: Costas Kapitanis (CYP)

AC Sparta Praha – FC Levadia Tallinn
Referee: Arnold Hunter (NIR)
Assistant Referee 1: Richard Storey (NIR)
Assistant Referee 2: Gareth Eakin (NIR)
Fourth Official: Raymond Crangle (NIR)
Referee Observer: Oguz Sarvan (TUR)

KR – Celtic FC
Referee: Andreas Pappas (GRE)
Assistant Referee 1: Ilias Alexeas (GRE)
Assistant Referee 2: Alexandros Grevenis (GRE)
Fourth Official: Athanasios Giachos (GRE)
Referee Observer: Tomasz Mikulski (POL)

Malmö FF – FK Ventspils
Referee: Antti Munukka (FIN)
Assistant Referee 1: Matti Heininen (FIN)
Assistant Referee 2: Jan-Peter Aravirta (FIN)
Fourth Official: Mattias Gestranius (FIN)
Referee Observer: Frank De Bleeckere (BEL)

PFC Ludogorets – F91 Dudelange
Referee: Richard Trutz (SVK)
Assistant Referee 1: Tomas Somolani (SVK)
Assistant Referee 2: Tomas Mokos (SVK)
Fourth Official: Pavol Chmura (SVK)
Referee Observer: Christos Skapoullis (CYP)

FC Dinamo Tbilisi – FC Aktobe
Referee: Pawel Raczkowski (POL)
Assistant Referee 1: Pawel Sokolnicki (POL)
Assistant Referee 2: Michał Obukowicz (POL)
Fourth Official: Tomasz Kwiatkowski (POL)
Referee Observer: Jørn West Larsen (DEN)

Legia Warszawa – Saint Patrick's Athletic
Referee: Marius Avram (ROU)
Assistant Referee 1: Miklos Nagy (ROU)
Assistant Referee 2: Vasile Marinescu (ROU)
Fourth Official: Adrian Comanescu (ROU)
Referee Observer: Edgar Steinborn (GER)

Strømsgodset – Steaua București
Referee: Serdar Gozubuyuk (NED)
Assistant Referee 1: Davie Goossens (NED)
Assistant Referee 2: Patrick Langkamp (NED)
Fourth Official: Jeroen Manschot (NED)
Referee Observer: Vaclav Krondl (CZE)

Vassaras removed from the UEFA Referees Committee

Former World Cup 2002 and Euro 2008 referee Kyros Vassaras (Greece) has been recently removed from the UEFA Referees Committee. He missed the 2006 World Cup in Germany due to one of his assistants failing the fitness test. He tried again for South Africa 2010, but got disappointed in the fall of 2009, when he quit refereeing and became a member of the UEFA Referees Committee, where he was mainly responsible for refereeing at UEFA's youth tournaments and futsal competitions. According to the Greek media, Vassaras was removed following an official request submitted by the Hellenic Football Federation to UEFA. Kyros Vassaras was a member of the Greek Refereeing Committee from 2010 until November 2012. In August 2012 he sent a letter to the HFF Board criticizing the referee selection for the Greek Super League and Football League. That letter was used by a member of the Board to make allegations about corrupted referee promotions on these lists, which started an inquiry by the Greek justice. After his dismissal from the UEFA Referees Committee, Kyros Vassaras was hired by the Romanian Football Federation, as their new Chairman of the Referees Committee.

UEFA Referees Committee 2014-2015

Chairman
Angel Villar Llona (ESP)

Deputy Chairman
Senes Erzik (TUR)

Chief Refereeing Officer
Pierluigi Collina (ITA)

Refereeing Officers
Marc Batta (FRA), Hugh Dallas (SCO)

Members
Dagmar Damkova (CZE), David Elleray (ENG), Herbert Fandel (GER), Bo Karlsson (SWE), Nikolai Levnikov (RUS), Jozef Marko (SVK), Vlado Sajn (SVN), Jaap Uilenberg (NED), Kurt Zuppinger (SUI).

Rizzoli: “Great satisfaction for the Italian refereeing”

Italian referee Nicola Rizzoli has revealed that he was proud to represent Italy at the World Cup final between Germany and Argentina on Sunday. The 42-year-old was the third Italian to officiate the tournament’s final game, following Sergio Gonella in 1978 and Pierluigi Collina in 2002, and he admits that being able to do so has been an incredible experience, as well as a great source of pride for all of Italy.

Rizzoli spoke to the official FIGC website about the difficulty of refereeing the World Cup final, which Germany won 1-0 after extra time, and praised assistants Renato Faverani and Andrea Stefani for helping him keep the match under control. “It was a great match and a great satisfaction, a source of pride for Italy and for the entire Italian football,” said the official. “The match was difficult, but I had been greatly helped by the players and especially by my assistants. A World Cup final is not an easy match, but perhaps the most psychologically complicated moment came when Higuain’s goal was disallowed, which inevitably created some tension. Fortunately, the high level of Italian refereeing is known in the international arena, players trust us, we talk and it helps make everything better. I am very proud to have represented the Italian referees here at the World Cup and at the final. I dedicate my succes to them and to my family”. 

Source: FIGC

FIFA World Cup Final 2014: Rizzoli (ITA)

Germany and Argentina contested the final of the 1990 FIFA World Cup Italy and an Italian referee will officiate as the same countries meet in the 2014 decider. Nicola Rizzoli, a 42-years-old an architect from Bologna, has already refereed three matches at the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil, taking charge of Spain-Netherlands and Nigeria-Argentina in the group stages and the quarter-final between Argentina and Belgium. 

Rizzoli started his international career in 2007, going on to referee the final in each of the two main European club competitions. He was the man in the middle for Atletico Madrid-Fulham at the climax of the 2010 UEFA Europa League, followed by the all-German decider between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund in the 2013 UEFA Champions League. In 2011, the Italian was selected for the FIFA Club World Cup, where he presided over two games. In 2012, Rizzoli was tasked with handling Spain-France in the quarter-finals of UEFA EURO 2012 and two more matches during the same competition. Last year, he was in Turkey for the FIFA U-20 World Cup, where he took charge of two fixtures. 

Nicola Rizzoli (photo) will be assisted by his compatriots Renato Faverani and Andrea Stefani, who are both 44 years old. The fourth official will be Carlos Vera from Ecuador. Nicola Rizzoli will be the third Italian referee in the history of the FIFA World Cup to officiate a final, following in the footsteps of Sergio Gonella in 1978 and Pierluigi Collina in 2002.

13 July 2014
Germany – Argentina
Referee: Nicola Rizzoli (ITA)
Assistant Referee 1: Renato Faverani (ITA)
Assistant Referee 2: Andrea Stefani (ITA)
Fourth Official: Carlos Vera (ECU)
Reserve AR: Christian Lescano (ECU)

FIFA World Cup 2014 – Third Place Match

Algeria’s Djamel Haimoudi has been confirmed as the referee for match 63 of the FIFA World Cup, the match for third place between Brazil and the Netherlands. During this tournament, the 43-year-old officiated the group-stage matches Australia-Netherlands and Costa Rica-England, as well as Belgium-USA in the Round of 16. In his career, Haimoudi oversaw two matches in last year’s FIFA Confederations Cup and he was selected for the FIFA Club World Cup 2012 and the FIFA U-20 World Cup 2011. Haimoudi also has notable experience in his confederation CAF taking charge of three editions of the Africa Cup of Nations - in 2008, 2012 and 2013. At the end of the most recent edition, he refereed Nigeria-Burkina Faso in the final. Finally, the Algerian officiated four more important final matches, including the deciders for the CAF Champions League 2008, 2012 and 2013 and the CAF Super Cup 2008. Djamel Haimoudi (photo) will become the first CAF referee to officiate a third place match of a FIFA World Cup.

12 July 2014
Brazil – Netherlands
Referee: Djamel Haimoudi (ALG)
Assistant Referee 1: Redouane Achik (MAR)
Assistant Referee 2: Abdelhak Etchiali (ALG)
Fourth Official: Yuichi Nishimura (JPN)
Reserve AR: Toru Sagara (JPN)

UEFA Europa League – First Qualifying Round (Second Leg)

Glenavon FC – FH

Referee: Sascha Amhof (SUI, photo)

Assistant Referee 1: Charles Helbling (SUI) 

Assistant Referee 2: Sladan Josipović (SUI)

Fourth Official: Fedayi San (SUI)

Referee Observer: Nuno Castro (POR)

Linfield – B36 Tórshavn

Referee: Thoroddur Hjaltalin (ISL)

Assistant Referee 1: Johann Gudmundsson (ISL)

Assistant Referee 2: Áskell Gíslason (ISL)

Fourth Official: Vilhjalmur Thorarinnsson (ISL)

Referee Observer: Zbigniew Przesmycki (POL)

FC Shakhter Karagandy – FC Shirak

Referee: Eitan Shmuelevitz (ISR)

Assistant Referee 1: Mahmud Mahagna (ISR) 

Assistant Referee 2: Kiril Balikin (ISR)

Fourth Official: Erez Papir (ISR)

Referee Observer: Milovan Nikolić (SVN)

FC Astana – FC Pyunik

Referee: Siarhei Tsynkevich (BLR)

Assistant Referees: Yauheni Ramanau (BLR), Vitali Maliutsin (BLR)

Fourth Official: Dzianis Shcharbakou (BLR)

Referee Observer: Asim Khudiyev (AZE)

FC Mika – RNK Split

Referee: Oliver Drachta (AUT)

Assistant Referees: Roland Brandner (AUT), Roland Braunschmidt (AUT)

Fourth Official: Dieter Muckenhammer (AUT)

Referee Observer: Manuel Mejuto González (ESP)

KF Laçi – NK Rudar Velenje (SVN)

Referee: Tamás Bognar (HUN)

Assistant Referees: Peter Berettyán (HUN), Robert Horvath (HUN)

Fourth Official: Adam Farkas (HUN)

Referee Observer: Rusmir Mrković (BIH)

Daugava Daugavpils – Víkingur

Referee: Aleksander Gauzer (KAZ)

Assistant Referees: Alibek Aubakirov (KAZ), Samat Tergeussizov (KAZ)

Fourth Official: Alexandr Aliyev (KAZ)

Referee Observer: Alan Freeland (SCO)

FC Honka Espoo – JK Sillamäe Kalev

Referee: Raymond Crangle (NIR)

Assistant Referees: Gareth Eakin (NIR), James Eakin (NIR)

Fourth Official: Ross Dunlop (NIR)

Referee Observer: Lassin Isaksen (FRO)

FK Ekranas – Crusaders FC

Referee: Yaroslav Kozyk (UKR)

Assistant Referees: Mykola Levko (UKR), Ievgenii Khalamendyk (UKR)

Fourth Official: Anatoliy Abdula (UKR)

Referee Observer: Bernardino González Vázquez (ESP)

FK Lovćen – FK Željezničar

Referee: Christian Dingert (GER)

Assistant Referees: Holger Henschel (GER), Tobias Christ (GER)

Fourth Official: Sascha Stegemann (GER)

Referee Observer: Roberto Rosetti (ITA)

FK Budućnost Podgorica – S. S. Folgore

Referee: Tornike Gvantseladze (GEO)

Assistant Referees: Zaza Pipia (GEO), Davit Chigogidze (GEO)

Fourth Official: Giorgi Kruashvili (GEO)

Referee Observer: Tomasz Mikulski (POL)

FK Atlantas – FC Differdange

Referee: Ken Henry Johnsen (NOR)

Assistant Referees: Svein Erik Midthjell (NOR), Tom Harald Grønevik (NOR)

Fourth Official: Svein-Erik Edvartsen (NOR)

Referee Observer: Murat Ilgaz (TUR)

FC Chikhura Sachkhere – FK Turnovo

Referee: Manuel Schüttengruber (AUT)

Assistant Referees: Stefan Kühr (AUT), Roland Riedel (AUT)

Fourth Official: Dominik Ouschan (AUT)

Referee Observer: Miroslav Tulinger (CZE)

JK Nõmme Kalju – Fram

Referee: Anders Poulsen (DEN) 

Assistant Referees: Lars Rix (DEN),  Niels Christian Brixen (DEN)

Fourth Official: Michael Tykgaard (DEN)

Referee Observer: Jan Wegereef (NED)

FK Jelgava – Rosenborg BK

Referee: John Beaton (SCO)

Assistant Referees: Stuart Stevenson (SCO), David McGeachie (SCO)

Fourth Official: Brian Colvin (SCO)

Referee Observer: Alan Snoddy (NIR)

Inter Baku PIK – FC Tiraspol

Referee: Marios Panayi (CYP)

Assistant Referees: Charalambos Charalambous (CYP), Stelios Nikita (CYP)

Fourth Official: Ioannis Anastasiou (CYP)

Referee Observer: Aleh Chykun (BLR)

UE Sant Julià – FK Čukarički

Referee: Zaven Hovhannisyan (ARM)

Assistant Referees: Mesrop Ghazaryan (ARM), Arman Ghushchyan (ARM)

Fourth Official: Suren Baliyan (ARM)

Referee Observer: Plarent Kotherja (ALB)

FK Haugesund – AUK Broughton

Referee: Fran Jović (CRO)

Assistant Referees: Dario Vrabec (CRO), Hrvoje Radić (CRO)

Fourth Official: Marijo Strahonja (CRO)

Referee Observer: Wilfried Heitmann (GER)

FK Dugava Riga – Aberdeen FC

Referee: Mikhail Vilkov (RUS)

Assistant Referees: Aleksei Vorontsov (RUS), Valeriy Danchenko (RUS)

Fourth Official: Alexander Egorov (RUS)

Referee Observer: Shmuel Shteif (ISR)

Tromsø IL – Tartu FC Santos

Referee: Richard Trutz (SVK)

Assistant Referees: Tomas Vorel (SVK), Gabriel Adam (SVK)

Fourth Official:  Gabriel Michlian (SVK)

Referee Observer: Michel Vautrot (FRA)

FC Zimbru Chișinău – FK Škendija

Referee: Anatoliy Vishnichenko (KAZ)

Assistant Referees: Sergey Vassyutin (KAZ), Anatoliy Khodin (KAZ)

Fourth Official: Marat Iskakov (KAZ)

Referee Observer: Guy Goethals (BEL)

CS Fola Esch – IFK Göteborg

Referee: Jakob Kehlet (DEN)

Assistant Referees: Lars Hummelgaard (DEN), Henrik Larsen (DEN)

Fourth Official: Dennis Mogensen (DEN)

Referee Observer: Patrick Kelly (IRL)

IF Brommapojkarna – VPS Vaasa

Referee: Sergey Lapochkin (RUS)

Assistant Referees: Aleksei Lebedev (RUS), Maksim Gavrilin (RUS)

Fourth Official: Sergey Ivanov (RUS)

Referee Observer: Peter Jones (ENG)

KS Flamurtari – FC Sioni Bolnisi

Referee: Clayton Pisani (MLT)

Assistant Referees: Ingmar Spiteri (MLT), Duncan Sultana (MLT)

Fourth Official: Philip Farrugia (MLT)

Referee Observer: Robert Sedlacek (AUT)

FC Spartak Trnava – Hibernians FC

Referee: Nerijus Dunauskas (LTU)

Assistant Referees: Dovydas Suziedelis (LTU), Aleksandr Radius (LTU)

Fourth Official: Audruis Žuta (LTU)

Referee Observer: Luciano Luci (ITA)

FK Kukësi – FC Kairat Almaty

Referee: Neil Doyle (IRL)

Assistant Referees: Wayne McDonnell (IRL), Robert Clarke (IRL)

Fourth Official: Graham Kelly (IRL)

Referee Observer: Vladimir Antonov (MDA)

Birkirkara FC – Diósgyőri VTK

Referee: Pavle Radovanović (MNE)

Assistant Referees: Milutin Đukić (MNE), Dejan Šaković (MNE)

Fourth Official: Milovan Milačić (MNE)

Referee Observer: Uno Tutk (EST)

PFC Litex Lovech – FC Veris Chisinau

Referee: Petr Ardeleanu (CZE)

Assistant Referees: Jiri Molacek (CZE), Jakub Hrabovsky (CZE)

Fourth Official: Michal Patak (CZE)

Referee Observer: Gaetano De Gabriele (MLT)

Bangor City FC – Stjarnan

Referee: Dag Vidar Hafsås (NOR)

Assistant Referees: Leif Opland (NOR), Jan Engan (NOR)

Fourth Official: Martin Lundby (NOR)

Referee Observer: Drago Kos (SVN)

Aberystwyth Town FC – Derry City FC

Referee: Jérome Efong-Nzolo (BEL)

Assistant Referees:  Danny Huens (BEL), Frederick Stalport (BEL)

Fourth Official: Christof Dierick (BEL)

Referee Observer: Dragutin Poljak  (CRO)

ÍF Fuglafjørdur – Myllykosken Pallo

Referee: Boško Jovanetic (SRB)

Assistant Referees: Nemanja Petrović (SRB), Vladimir Čađenović (SRB)

Fourth Official: Nenad Đokić (SRB)

Referee Observer: Leif Sundell (SWE)

Sligo Rovers FC – FK Banga

Referee: Bardhyl Pashaj (ALB)

Assistant Referees: Ermal Barushi (ALB), Denis Rexha (ALB)

Fourth Official: Andi Koçi (ALB)

Referee Observer: Martin Iseli (SUI)

College Europa FC – FC Vaduz

Referee: Laurent Kopriwa (LUX)

Assistant Referees: Steven Curfs (LUX), Ricardo Fernandes (LUX)

Fourth Official: Alain Duriex (LUX)

Referee Observer: Jon Skjervold (NOR)

NK Široki Brijeg – Qabala IK

Referee: Vladimir Vnuk (SVK) 

Assistant Referees: Miroslav Benko (SVK), Michal Tomcik (SVK)

Fourth Official: Boris Marhefka (SVK)

Referee Observer: Jouni Hyytiä (FIN)

A.C. Libertas – PFC Botev Plovdiv

Referee: Alexandru Tean (MDA)

Assistant Referees: Anatolie Bodean (MDA), Victor Mardari (MDA)

Fourth Official: Victor Gheciu (MDA)

Referee Observer: Emil Bozhinovski (MKD)

Ferencvárosi TC – Sliema Wanderers

Referee: Ognjen Valjić (BIH)

Assistant Referees: Hrvoje Turudić (BIH), Goran Dujak (BIH)

Fourth Official: Edin Jakupović (BIH)

Referee Observer: Vasily Melnychuk (UKR)

FC Koper – FK Čelik Nikšić

Referee: Anatolii Zhabchenko (UKR)

Assistant Referees: Oleg Pluzhnyk (UKR), Oleksii Andrieiev (UKR)

Fourth Official: Oleksandr Derdo (UKR)

Referee Observer: Haim Jakov (ISR)

Dundalk FC – AS Jeunesse Esch

Referee: Tsvetan Krastev (BUL) 

Assistant Referees: Diyan Valkov (BUL), Aleksandar Atanasov (BUL)

Fourth Official: Radan Miryanov (BUL)

Referee Observer: Cyril Zimmermann (SUI) 

FK Metalurg Skopje – UE Santa Coloma

Referee: Ville Nevalaine (FIN)

Assistant Referees: Matti Heininen (FIN), Ville Koskiniemi (FIN)

Fourth Official: Jari Järvinen (FIN)

Referee Observer: Kaj Østergaard (DEN)