UEFA Champions League – Group Stage (Matchday 4)

1 November 2016
Manchester City – FC Barcelona
Referee: Viktor Kassai (HUN, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: György Ring (HUN)
Assistant Referee 2: Vencel Tóth (HUN)
Additional AR 1: Tamás Bognar (HUN)
Additional AR 2: Ádám Farkas (HUN)
Fourth Official: Peter Berettyán (HUN)
Referee Observer: Michel Vautrot (FRA)

Ludogorets – Arsenal
Referee: Bas Nijhuis (NED)
Assistant Referee 1: Rob van de Ven (NED)
Assistant Referee 2: Charles Schaap (NED)
Additional AR 1: Serdar Gözübüyük (NED)
Additional AR 2: Ed Janssen (NED)
Fourth Official: Patrick Langkamp (NED)
Referee Observer: Murat Ilgaz (TUR)

FC Basel – Paris St. Germain
Referee: Ovidiu Hategan (ROU)
Assistant Referee 1: Octavian Sovre (ROU)
Assistant Referee 2: Sebastian Gheorghe (ROU)
Additional AR 1: Radu Petrescu (ROU)
Additional AR 2: Sebastian Coltescu (ROU)
Fourth Official: Radu Ghinguleac (ROU)
Referee Observer: Hans Reijgwart (NED)

SL Benfica – Dynamo Kyiv
Referee: Clément Turpin (FRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Nicolas Danos (FRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Cyril Gringore (FRA)
Additional AR 1: Ruddy Buquet (FRA)
Additional AR 2: Benoît Bastien (FRA)
Fourth Official: Hicham Zakrani (FRA)
Referee Observer: Francesco Bianchi (SUI)

Besiktas – Napoli
Referee: Mark Clattenburg (ENG)
Assistant Referee 1: Jake Collin (ENG)
Assistant Referee 2: Simon Bennett (ENG)
Additional AR 1: Anthony Taylor (ENG)
Additional AR 2: Andre Marriner (ENG)
Fourth Official: Ian Hussin (ENG)
Referee Observer: Sergey Zuev (RUS)

Borussia Monchengladbach – Celtic
Referee: Manuel De Sousa (POR)
Assistant Referee 1: Alvaro Mesquita (POR)
Assistant Referee 2: Ricardo Santos (POR)
Additional AR 1: Carlos Taborda (POR)
Additional AR 2: João Capela (POR)
Fourth Official: Paulo Soares (POR)
Referee Observer: Jørn West Larsen (DEN)

Atletico Madrid – FC Rostov
Referee: Craig Thomson (SCO)
Assistant Referee 1: David McGeachie (SCO)
Assistant Referee 2: Alan Mulvanny (SCO)
Additional AR 1: Robert Madden (SCO)
Additional AR 2: Andrew Dallas (SCO)
Fourth Official: Graeme Stewart (SCO)
Referee Observer: Georgios Bikas (GRE)

PSV Eindhoven – Bayern München
Referee: Gianluca Rocchi (ITA)
Assistant Referee 1: Elenito Di Liberatore (ITA)
Assistant Referee 2: Mauro Tonolini (ITA)
Additional AR 1: Antonio Damato (ITA)
Additional AR 2: Daniele Doveri (ITA)
Fourth Official: Gianluca Cariolato (ITA)
Referee Observer: Zbigniew Przesmycki (POL)

2 November 2016
Tottenham Hotspur – Bayer Leverkusen
Referee: Jonas Eriksson (SWE)
Assistant Referee 1: Mathias Klasenius (SWE)
Assistant Referee 2: Daniel Wärnmark (SWE)
Additional AR 1: Stefan Johannesson (SWE)
Additional AR 2: Markus Strömbergsson (SWE)
Fourth Official: Daniel Gustavsson (SWE)
Referee Observer: Ilkka Koho (FIN)

AS Monaco – CSKA Moskva
Referee: Matej Jug (SVN)
Assistant Referee 1: Matej Žunič (SVN)
Assistant Referee 2: Manuel Vidali (SVN)
Additional AR 1: Mitja Zganec (SVN)
Additional AR 2: Rade Obrenović (SVN)
Fourth Official: Jure Praprotnik (SVN)
Referee Observer: Vítor Melo Pereira (POR)

Borussia Dortmund – Sporting Lisbon
Referee: Danny Makkelie (NED)
Assistant Referee 1: Mario Diks (NED)
Assistant Referee 2: Hessel Steegstra (NED)
Additional AR 1: Kevin Blom (NED)
Additional AR 2: Jochem Kamphuis (NED)
Fourth Official: Jan de Vries (NED)
Referee Observer: Peter Jones (ENG)

Legia Warszawa – Real Madrid
Referee: Pavel Královec (CZE)
Assistant Referee 1: Roman Slyško (SVK)
Assistant Referee 2: Ivo Nadvornik (CZE)
Additional AR 1: Petr Ardeleanu (CZE)
Additional AR 2: Karel Hrubes (CZE)
Fourth Official: Tomas Mokrusch (CZE)
Referee Observer: Bertrand Layec (FRA)

FC København – Leicester City
Referee: Felix Brych (GER)
Assistant Referee 1: Mark Borsch (GER)
Assistant Referee 2: Stefan Lupp (GER)
Additional AR 1: Bastian Dankert (GER)
Additional AR 2: Marco Fritz (GER)
Fourth Official: Markus Häcker (GER)
Referee Observer: Sándor Piller (HUN)

FC Porto – Club Brügge
Referee: Alberto Undiano Mallenco (ESP)
Assistant Referee 1: Raúl Cabanero Martínez (ESP)
Assistant Referee 2: Diego Barbero Sevilla (ESP)
Additional AR 1: David Fernández Borbalán (ESP)
Additional AR 2: José Sánchez Martínez (ESP)
Fourth Official: Ángel Nevado Rodríguez (ESP)
Referee Observer: Oguz Sarvan (TUR)

Sevilla FC – Dinamo Zagreb
Referee: Felix Zwayer (GER)
Assistant Referee 1: Thorsten Schiffner (GER)
Assistant Referee 2: Marco Achmüller (GER)
Additional AR 1: Daniel Siebert (GER)
Additional AR 2: Sascha Stegemann (GER)
Fourth Official: Jan Seidel (GER)
Referee Observer: Carmel Agius (MLT)

Juventus Turin – Olympique Lyon
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: Davie Goossens (NED)
Referee Observer: Peter Fröjdfeldt (SWE)

FIFA Club World Cup 2016

Japan, 8-18 December 2016

AFC
Referee: Nawaf Shukralla (BHR, 1976, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Yaser Tulefat (BHR, 1974)
Assistant Referee 2: Ebrahim Saleh (BHR, 1974)
VAR: Ravshan Irmatov (UZB, 1977)

CAF
Referee: Janny Sikazwe (ZAM, 1979)
Assistant Referee 1: Jerson Dos Santos (ANG, 1983)
Assistant Referee 2: Berhe Tesfagiorghis (ERI, 1975)
VAR: Bakary Gassama (GAM, 1979)

CONCACAF*
Referee: Ricardo Montero (CRC, 1986)
Assistant Referee 1: Octavio Jara (CRC, 1981)
Assistant Referee 2: Juan Mora (CRC, 1989)
VAR: Mark Geiger (USA, 1974)

*Referee Ricardo Montero declined the appointment due to his wedding, while AR Octavio Jara is injured. In these circumstances, FIFA replaced the Costa Ricans with a Mexican trio:

Referee: Roberto Garcia (MEX, 1974)
Assistant Referee 1: Jose Camargo (MEX, 1972)
Assistant Referee 2: Alberto Morin (MEX, 1980)

CONMEBOL
Referee: Enrique Caceres (PAR, 1974)
Assistant Referee 1: Eduardo Cardozo (PAR, 1982)
Assistant Referee 2: Juan Zorrilla (PAR, 1975)
VAR: Andres Cunha (URU, 1976)

OFC
Referee: Abdelkader Zitouni (TAH, 1981)
Assistant Referee 1: Ravinesh Kumar (FIJ, 1982)
Assistant Referee 2: Philippe Revel (TAH, 1982)
VAR: Nicholas Waldron (NZL, 1982)

UEFA
Referee: Viktor Kassai (HUN, 1975)
Assistant Referee 1: György Ring (HUN, 1981)
Assistant Referee 2: Vencel Toth (HUN, 1978)
VAR: Damir Skomina (SVN, 1976)

Video replays not intended to wipe out all refereeing mistakes

Dunga might still be coach of Brazil if video replay technology had been used at the Copa America in June. The goal which gave Peru a 1-0 win over Brazil and eliminated the five-times world champions was a clear example of where the technology could avoid a glaring mistake, according to former international referee David Elleray. In a replay of the incident, Elleray pointed out that it was clear Raul Ruidiaz controlled Andy Polo's cross with his hand before turning the ball into the net. But match officials were unable to spot the infringement, despite a four-minute consultation and even though the referee sensed something was wrong, said Elleray, the technical director of soccer's law-making body IFAB. Dunga was sacked days later and replaced by Tite, who ironically has overseen a turnaround in Brazil's fortunes.

In March, IFAB approved a two-year trial of a system in which a so-called Video Assistant Referee (VAR), with access to replays, helps the match officials review key decisions. Australia, Brazil, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal and the United States have all been conducting tests. Elleray emphasised that the technology was not intended to be used for every contentious decision. "It's not about getting 100 per cent (of) decisions right because that will turn football into American football, stop-start-stop-start-stop-start," he told Reuters after an IFAB workshop. "It isn't designed to end referee mistakes but it's to deal with those very clear match-changing ones and football needs to realise that. We do not want to disrupt the essential flow and emotion of football. We don't want to be interfering every two or three minutes. We want to deal with a Thierry Henry clear unfairness, the clear mistakes which have a big impact on the game," he added, referring to the infamous France goal which took them to the 2010 World Cup at the expense of Ireland. Replays would be used to decide on so-called "factual" matters, such as where an incident took place, mistaken identity or whether a player had used his hand, but not on decisions which required interpretation, such as whether or not a player had dived. Elleray also stressed that the match referee, who always has the final word, can only ask for an incident to be reviewed once he has made a decision. In simpler cases, he accepts the VAR's verdict but he can also review the incident himself on a pitchside monitor. "We want the referee review area to be visible so he doesn't disappear down a dark tunnel," he added. Players would be banned from this area and those who drew a pretend television in the air to demand a review would be booked, he added. Elleray said that mastering the system was far more complicated than it looked and the guidelines for officials already ran to 60 pages. "People think it is very easy," he said. "Some people think we can decide tomorrow to have video replays in matches and it would just involve getting a few people to sit and watch the match and give the referee a call on the mobile, telling him he got it wrong.

Source: Yahoo Sports

UEFA Youth League – Domestic Champions Path (Second Round, Matchday 1)

2-16 November 2016

FC Salzburg – Kairat Almaty
Referee: Sascha Amhof (SUI, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Marco Zürcher (SUI)
Assistant Referee 2: Sertac Kurnazca (SUI)
Fourth Official: Sebastian Gishamer (AUT)
Referee Observer: Konrad Plautz (AUT)

PAOK – Ajax
Referee: Kirill Levnikov (RUS)
Assistant Referee 1: Viacheslav Semenov (RUS)
Assistant Referee 2: Andrei Vereteshkin (RUS)
Fourth Official: Ioannis Papadopoulos (GRE)
Referee Observer: Christoforos Zografos (GRE)

Viitorul Constanta – FC Zürich
Referee: Cann Trustin Farrugia (MLT)
Assistant Referee 1: Jurgen Spiteri (MLT)
Assistant Referee 2: Christopher Francalanza (MLT)
Fourth Official: Claudiu Marcu (ROU)
Referee Observer: Patritiu Abrudan (ROU)

Málaga – Midtjylland
Referee: Tiago Lopes (POR)
Assistant Referee 1: Luís Pinto (POR)
Assistant Referee 2: Pedro Almeida (POR)
Fourth Official: Juan López Amaya (ESP)
Referee Observer: Juan Fernández Marín (ESP)

Rosenborg – Čukarički
Referee: Glenn Nyberg (SWE)
Assistant Referee 1: Stefan Hallberg (SWE)
Assistant Referee 2: Daniel Ekman (SWE)
Fourth Official: Mads Følstad Skarsem (NOR)
Referee Observer: Jon Skjervold (NOR)

Cork City – AS Roma
Referee: Jørgen Daugbjerg (DEN)
Assistant Referee 1: Elvis Boric (DEN)
Assistant Referee 2: Amir Sabic (DEN)
Fourth Official: David Keeler (IRL)
Referee Observer: Patrick Kelly (IRL)

Altınordu – Sparta Praha
Referee: Ferenc Karakó (HUN)
Assistant Referee 1: Balázs Szert (HUN)
Assistant Referee 2: Balázs Szalai (HUN)
Fourth Official: Emre Kargin (TUR)
Referee Observer: Erol Ersoy (TUR)

Maccabi Haifa – Dynamo Moscow
Referee: Georgios Kyzas (GRE)
Assistant Referee 1: Tryfon Petropoulos (GRE)
Assistant Referee 2: Panagiotis Messinis (GRE)
Fourth Official: Nael Odeh (ISR)
Referee Observer: Shmuel Shteif (ISR)

UEFA Youth League – Group Stage (Matchday 4)

1-2 November 2016

Manchester City – FC Barcelona
Referee: Arnold Hunter (NIR, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Andrew Nethery (NIR)
Assistant Referee 2: Ryan Kelsey (NIR)
Fourth Official: Robert Jones (ENG)
Referee Observer: Michel Vautrot (FRA)

FC Basel – Paris St. Germain
Referee: Aleksandrs Anufrijevs (LVA)
Assistant Referee 1: Romans Platonovs (LVA)
Assistant Referee 2: Aleksejs Griščenko (LVA)
Fourth Official: Urs Schnyder (SUI)
Referee Observer: Markus Nobs (SUI)

Ludogorets – Arsenal
Referee: Charalampos Kalogeropoulos (GRE)
Assistant Referee 1: Chasan Koula (GRE)
Assistant Referee 2: Ioannis Sipkas (GRE)
Fourth Official: Georgi Dimitrov (BUL)
Referee Observer: Murat Ilgaz (TUR)

Benfica – Dynamo Kyiv
Referee: Alain Durieux (LUX)
Assistant Referee 1: Joaquim Da Silva (LUX)
Assistant Referee 2: Claude Ries (LUX)
Fourth Official: Tiago Cardoso (POR)
Referee Observer: Francesco Bianchi (SUI)

Beşiktaş – Napoli
Referee: Erez Papir (ISR)
Assistant Referee 1: Matityahu Yakobov (ISR)
Assistant Referee 2: Lioz Edi (ISR)
Fourth Official: Can Cengiz (TUR)
Referee Observer: Sergey Zuev (RUS)

Borussia Mönchengladbach – Celtic
Referee: Nikola Dabanović (MNE)
Assistant Referee 1: Veselin Radunović (MNE)
Assistant Referee 2: Miloš Asović (MNE)
Fourth Official: Florian Heft (GER)
Referee Observer: Jørn West Larsen (DEN)

Atlético Madrid – FC Rostov
Referee: Kevin Clancy (SCO)
Assistant Referee 1: Jordan Stokoe (SCO)
Assistant Referee 2: David Doig (SCO)
Fourth Official: Valentín Pizarro Gómez (ESP)
Referee Observer: Bernardino González Vázquez (ESP)

PSV Eindhoven – Bayern München
Referee: Sergejus Slyva (LTU)
Assistant Referee 1: Saulius Dirda (LTU)
Assistant Referee 2: Vladimir Gerasimov (LTU)
Fourth Official: Dennis Higler (NED)
Referee Observer: René Temmink (NED)

AS Monaco – CSKA Moskva
Referee: Fedayi San (SUI)
Assistant Referee 1: Sladan Josipović (SUI)
Assistant Referee 2: Carmine Sangiovanni (SUI)
Fourth Official: Florent Batta (FRA)
Referee Observer: Vítor Melo Pereira (POR)

Tottenham Hotspur – Bayer Leverkusen
Referee: Neil Doyle (IRL)
Assistant Referee 1: Allen Lynch (IRL)
Assistant Referee 2: Dermot Broughton (IRL)
Fourth Official: John Busby (ENG)

Borussia Dortmund – Sporting Lisbon
Referee: Srđan Jovanović (SRB)
Assistant Referee 1: Slobodan Pavlović (SRB)
Assistant Referee 2: Aleksandar Stanojković (SRB)
Fourth Official: Martin Thomsen (GER)
Referee Observer: Vladimir Medved (SVK)

Legia Warszawa – Real Madrid
Referee: Alan Sant (MLT)
Assistant Referee 1: Roberto Vella (MLT)
Assistant Referee 2: David Castillo (MLT)
Fourth Official: Konrad Kiełczewski (POL)
Referee Observer: Tomasz Mikulski (POL)

FC København – Leicester City
Referee: Ville Nevalainen (FIN)
Assistant Referee 1: Ville Koskiniemi (FIN)
Assistant Referee 2: Mike Lamppu (FIN)
Fourth Official: Peter Larsen (DEN)
Referee Observer: Kaj Østergaard (DEN)

FC Porto – Club Brugge
Referee: Manuel Schüttengruber (AUT)
Assistant Referee 1: Andreas Rothmann (AUT)
Assistant Referee 2: Christian Rigler (AUT)
Fourth Official: João Borlido Matos (POR)
Referee Observer: Oguz Sarvan (TUR)

Juventus – Olympique Lyonnais
Referee: Ognjen Valjić (BIH)
Assistant Referee 1: Senad Ibrisimbegović (BIH)
Assistant Referee 2: Davor Beljo (BIH)
Fourth Official: Gianluca Manganiello (ITA)
Referee Observer: Matteo Trefoloni (ITA)

Sevilla FC – Dinamo Youth
Referee: Bart Vertenten (BEL)
Assistant Referee 1: Rien Vanyzere (BEL)
Assistant Referee 2: Thibaud Nijssen (BEL)
Fourth Official: Jorge Figueroa Vázquez (ESP)
Referee Observer: Carmel Agius (MLT)

Bennett: From cricket to football

Steve Bennett, 55, has just completed the second week of his new job as the UAE Football Association’s refereeing technical director. The role will see him utilise the extensive experience gained overseeing the English top-flight’s superstars, UEFA Champions League matches, FA Cup finals and international games across the globe prior to his retirement six years ago. Speaking to Sport360 from behind his desk at the Al Khawaneej headquarters, he expanded on his methodical approach to referee coaching, treasured memories of a high-profile career and attitude towards video technology.

- How did this new position come about for you?

- I finished refereeing in England (in 2010) and then became a FIFA Technical Referee Instructor. I ended up travelling here, there and everywhere. I was working a lot in Africa, the Pacific Islands, in Europe and parts of Asia and you cross paths with so many people. They (UAE FA) tried to entice me last October, but it wasn’t quite right timing-wise. I politely declined, then continued working with FIFA. Then this summer they had their training camp in Germany and I was working with the UAE referees for a week. It made me wonder what was going on there now? I was about to go back and then somebody said to me, ‘what do you reckon?’ Lots of negotiations followed and now here I am. It is a big challenge ahead. 

- What are your first impressions of the Arabian Gulf League and the referees?

- It is getting to know the culture and the way they operate. I will give it a few weeks to see how things go. I have seen several matches now. We’ve had debriefing meetings with the referees, cutting up all the clips and finding out about all the incidents. We’ve talked about them and have seen whether we can move in the direction of consistency. They are small things.

- What areas do you want to work on with the UAE referees?

- We want them and will teach them to be in the best-possible position to make a judgement. You always have to be on the move. They are human. Players make thousands of mistakes, but they are not over scrutinised. Our aim is to make sure they are super-fit, as you must be an athlete. You need to be technically aware and manage the game. We’ll be working on this week-in, week-out.

- How do you place the UAE referees in regards to ones you’ve worked with across the world?

- They are in a good place. We have a World Cup candidate with Mohammed Abdulla Hassan. Therefore, we have to support him like we support all the others. Maybe there will be more time we devote to him and his assistants, looking at videos and looking at performances in really fine detail. You have to make an impression.

- World Cup 2010 final referee and fellow Englishman Howard Webb has taken on a similar role with Saudi Arabia. Have you received any advice from him?

- I certainly intend to meet up with Howard, I’m sure he will come over to Dubai and we’ll discuss some things. Maybe we can arrange some things which can benefit referees between us. It is about working together. He’s not given me any particular tips. He’s told me to enjoy the lifestyle and we always stay in touch, anyway.

- To talk about your career, how did you get into refereeing?

- It was a complete accident. I was teaching and also played a high level of cricket, county seconds and representative cricket for Kent. I passed the referee examinations in 1984 and it was just to keep the parents off my back. I was a FIFA referee, I am one of only two who has done three FA Cup finals, many international games such as Brazil - Argentina, the Qatar Emir Cup and even officiated in the Himalaya. It has been vast and great. I am so glad I took those examinations.

- One of the most infamous moments from your lengthy career in the Premier League was your sending off of Liverpool’s Javier Mascherano for constant dissent against Manchester United in 2008. What are your recollections of that game?

- That was an incredible situation. Within 10 minutes he had put a tackle in on Scholesy (Paul Scholes), easy yellow card. He was then in my face every time after that. I had 75,000 fans and millions of people on TV watching. You have to sell your decisions properly, so I just thought I need to wait for my moment. It was difficult to manage. Just before half-time, Fernando Torres was fouled and I could see him running over. I understand Rafa Benitez and Steven Gerrard were yelling ‘no’ at him, they knew. I kept walking towards the tunnel and a second yellow card was produced. I had e-mails from people I hadn’t even heard of across football thanking me for getting hold of the players. It made me feel better, it was a big moment in which people realised you have to be strong as a referee.

- There was also ‘Pizzagate’ between Manchester United and Arsenal in 2004 which led to a lengthy list of suspensions for the players. What was that like?

- There was a late penalty and thankfully I was correct to give it, as it was a tough decision. The ball hits the crossbar and I am gone, I did not know what Martin Keown had done (provoking Ruud van Nistelrooy). All the players lost it and at the end of the game, it got worse. I missed all the stuff in the tunnel, so you just report what you see. I believe the players let football down that day.

- Looking ahead to the future, what is your opinion about the use of video technology the game?

- I like technologies which are for matters of fact, such as whether the ball has crossed the line. Goal-line technology has helped a great deal and has taken away the controversial debate of whether a goal has been scored or not. Here in the UAE, I believe they had additional assistants behind the goal last season which certainly acted as a deterrent with regard to holding and pushing inside the penalty areas. They have now taken this away, so referees will have to be more aware of potential problems. Referees and assistant referees currently use the communication system in the Arabian Gulf League; all officials are linked up and this is a good tool to assist with teamwork. FIFA are trialing other technologies and its feasible that in the future we will see more of this introduced into the laws of the game, to assist the match officials even further.

Source: Sport 360

UEFA Women’s Euro 2017 Qualifiers (Play-off)

First Leg, 21 October 2016
Portugal – Romania
Referee: Katalin Kulcsár (HUN, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Judit Kulcsár (HUN)
Assistant Referee 2: Brigitta Makkosne Petz (HUN)
Fourth Official: Gyöngyi Gaál (HUN)

Second Leg, 25 October 2016
Romania – Portugal
Referee: Kateryna Monzul (UKR)
Assistant Referee 1: Natalia Rachynska (UKR)
Assistant Referee 2: Maryna Striletska (UKR)
Fourth Official: Stéphanie Frappart (FRA)

Referee Rocchi burgled

Italian referee Gianluca Rocchi’s house was burgled and €100,000 worth of items stolen. The 43-year-old FIFA official saw his home in Soffiano, near Florence, attacked by well-organised thieves.

According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, the gang actually knocked a safe out of the wall. They made off with jewellery and other items worth in the region of €100,000. It’s believed the thieves first broke into the house next door and used that to gain entry to Rocchi’s home. He has officiated six games this season in all competitions, including Monaco’s 2-1 Champions League victory at Tottenham and the World Cup qualifier between Poland and Denmark.

Source: Football Italia

Copa Sudamericana – Quarter-finals (Second Leg)

25-27 October 2016

Cerro Porteno – Independiente
Referee: Mauro Vigliano (ARG, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Hernán Maidana (ARG)
Assistant Referee 2: Juan Belatti (ARG)
Fourth Official: Jorge Baliño (ARG)
Referee Assessor: Víctor Martínez (PAR)

Chapecoense – Junior
Referee: Enrique Cáceres (PAR)
Assistant Referee 1: Milciades Saldivar (PAR)
Assistant Referee 2: Darío Gaona (PAR)
Fourth Official: Ulises Mereles (PAR)
Referee Assessor: Nilson Moncao (BRA)

Atlético Nacional – Coritiba
Referee: Víctor Carrillo (PER)
Assistant Referee 1: Jonny Bossio (PER)
Assistant Referee 2: Coty Carrera (PER)
Fourth Official: Miguel Santivañez (PER)
Referee Assessor: Pablo Montoya (COL)

Palestino – San Lorenzo
Referee: Christian Ferreyra (URU)
Assistant Referee 1: Nicolás Tarán (URU)
Assistant Referee 2: Gabriel Popovits (URU)
Fourth Official: Óscar Rojas (URU)
Referee Assessor: Gastón Castro (CHI)

Webb books dates with Steinhaus

Former World Cup 2010 final referee Howard Webb has blown the final whistle on his marriage and is currently enjoying extra time with Bibiana Steinhaus.

Webb, 45, has moved abroad to live with Steinhaus, 37, after splitting with devoted wife Kay, 45, mum to his three teenage kids. He was photographed with Bibiana — the first female ref in German professional football — during a soccer tournament in Lower Saxony earlier this year. A local media report said at the time: “The reps of the three winning teams were surprised by the presence of Howard Webb.” But it was no surprise to Bibiana, who, like Webb, is a former police officer. A source said: “Howard is making no secret of his marriage split in football circles and it is not his style to hide away from things. He has been with Kay for years — since they were both quite young — but their relationship is now over. They are still close because they have three children together and he is a devoted dad. But Howard has been with Bibiana for a while, although it is very much early days for them. He loves being with her though and has now relocated to Germany where he is spending a lot of time. They met through football — and it is not hard to see what attracted Howard to her. She is blonde, beautiful and also a football ref — so they have a lot to talk about as Howard is so passionate about the sport and the role of referees.” As well as being the first professional female ref in Germany, Bibiana also officiated the women’s final at the London 2012 Olympics between Japan and the USA. A year earlier she took charge of the women’s World Cup Final. She also had a row with Man City boss Pep Guardiola during his time at Bayern Munich. And she once had her boob accidentally touched by Hertha Berlin defender Peter Niemeyer during a match.

Webb, who refereed the World Cup and Champions League finals in 2010, is currently promoting his autobiography, Man in the Middle. There is no mention in the book of his romance with Bibiana. But tellingly, he writes about his wife in the past tense as he says: “Success also comes at a price and can change people and circumstance, as Kay and I have both come to realise. Whatever the future holds, I want her to know that I’ll be personally grateful for the huge part she played in my life both personally and professionally.” They first met nearly 29 years ago while working in the Yorkshire Bank at his home town of Rotherham — and Webb was instantly attracted to his “vivacious” blonde colleague. He says: “My first day at work — Monday, 25 January 1988 — brought me into contact with my future wife, Kay, who was a member of the admin team. We wouldn’t become an item for another three years — she had a long-term boyfriend — but I remember being immediately drawn to this friendly, fun-loving and vivacious blonde who took this wet-behind-the-ears new boy under her wing”. The couple eventually tied the knot in 1995 and went on to have three children together. Webb also juggled his new job as a police officer with his burgeoning refereeing career — and admits his home life suffered as a result. He recalled: “We worked hard and played hard. If a match had gone well, we’d reward ourselves by piling back to someone’s room, cracking open the beers and chatting until the early hours. It was a charmed life, a self-centred life and I’d often experience a huge sense of anti-climax when I returned home.” In 2003, Webb feared he would miss the Division Two play-off final between QPR and Cardiff due to the overdue birth of their youngest daughter. He writes: “Our baby was due on the 11th but, ten days later, the stubborn little minx was still a no-show. However, a sympathetic obstetrician agreed to induce the birth, and she was born three days before the match. Panic over.” Later that year, Webb took charge of his first Premier League game and subsequently decided to take a sabbatical from South Yorkshire Police to focus on reffing. He became one of the best officials in the country but was often dogged by controversy, including accusations he regularly favoured Manchester United. He has admitted making a “mistake” giving United a vital penalty against Tottenham in April 2009 – which helped them win the league ahead of rivals Liverpool. In 2011, then United boss Sir Alex Ferguson was warned by the FA after making complimentary comments about Webb before a vital game with Chelsea. Webb’s wife also hit the headlines after her husband’s controversial handling of 2010’s bad-tempered World Cup Final between Spain and Holland. Kay said the next day: “I don’t know how he does it. He can’t take charge of his own children. I don’t know how he managed it on a football pitch.” Webb, who admits failing to send off Holland’s Nigel de Jong for a violent challenge in that game was his biggest error, welcomed Kay’s comments. He recalled: “I rang Kay to give her some gentle ribbing. She hadn’t seen that morning’s newspapers and was horrified they’d latched on to a seemingly throwaway remark. But I was fine with it, and I told her so. In fact it added some much-needed light relief to a pretty heavy-going press conference.”

Webb, whose father was also a ref, retired in 2014 after presiding over almost 1,000 matches. He declined to comment when approached by The Sun on Sunday. A Union Jack flag was flying in the garden of Bibiana’s family home in Bad Lauterberg. Contacted by Bild, Steinhaus confirmed that they are a couple. Webb’s wife, Kay, refused to comment at the family’s home in Rotherham. A friend said: “She doesn’t want to say anything at the moment. She’s getting the kids ready to go away.” In his new autobiography, Man in the Middle, former ref Howard Webb gushes over his wife Kay. But Webb, now a pundit after retiring in 2014, also reveals how his career affected life at home. The dad of three writes: “Without the wonderful support of Kay and our children, my successes would have been almost impossible to achieve. My family were patient with me when things went wrong and tolerated my subsequent mood swings. They accepted the many days spent away from home and understood when I had to miss important family events. They also helped me celebrate my career high points.” Webb, who has moved abroad to live with German ref Bibiana Steinhaus, also admits he struggled to adapt to home life after the adrenalin rush of top-flight refereeing. He reveals: “It was always great to be reunited with Kay and the kids but after a few days reality would take a grip and I would come crashing down to earth”.

Source: The Sun / Bild

Seitz: The record-breaking referee developing a new generation

As a referee, Kari Seitz officiated at four separate World Cups and broke records in the process. No-one, male or female, has achieved the same distinction either before or since. But as well as making history, Seitz was determined to make a difference. Indeed, it is that decades-old ambition which compelled the American to rip up long-standing plans to take on the job of senior manager in FIFA's referees department.

As Seitz told FIFA.com: "One of my key goals was always to be a role model and make a real impact on behalf of women. I didn't know if that would be in sport, never mind in football. I just wanted to make some kind of difference, and in refereeing I did feel that I made some progress. But this job, I feel, offers me an even bigger platform to help more women and be a positive influence and example. One of my responsibilities will be helping lead women's referees. In the short term, that will have the focus of building towards the 2019 Women's World Cup: preparing the prospective list of officials, ensuring top training for them, the best opportunities and the greatest amount of development. More generally, I'll also be part of the referees department, involving myself in all of the projects and support work that goes on. It's a job I'm really excited to take on and one I want to make the very most of".

A look at Seitz's background suggests she will not rest until her involvement can be declared an unqualified success. Refereeing, after all, is just one of the areas in which the 45-year-old has flourished. So successful was she in her day job, in fact, that only perfect timing enabled FIFA to pull off the coup of securing her appointment. "Until recently," Seitz explained. "I ran one of the world's largest advertising agencies, and it just wouldn't have been possible to do both jobs. I can only say that it was serendipity that this opportunity came up at a time when I was able to grasp it. My husband and I had planned for ten years to take a sabbatical and travel the world. We had quit our jobs, rented out our house and the plan at that stage was to be on the road for two years. Seven months in, though, I got the call from FIFA, so here we are moving to Switzerland." Not that the switch has put an end to Seitz's travelling. She spoke to FIFA.com, after all, not from Zurich but Amman, the Jordanian city in which she has been heading up the delegation of match officials at the ongoing FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup. And though such youth tournaments are best known for unearthing footballing gems, they are, she says, just as vital in developing the next generation of top-level referees. "Like the various teams here, we're looking for the three or four who can really be our stars of the future," she said. "And I must say, we've been really pleased with the standard of officiating we have seen. It has exceeded my expectations. Here in Jordan, we have 45 referees from across the world and a total delegation of 65. Think of it as a big team. And my job, the way I see it, is to be the coach of that team and to get the best possible performances." Those efforts kicked off with a week-long seminar and have continued with daily practical sessions and post-match debriefs. "All the things you would expect at a senior World Cup, in other words," Seitz explains. But she was also at pains to stress that her role at FIFA will not be confined solely to women, with FIFA's referees department operating within a 'one game' philosophy that ensures a unified approach is taken towards the development of male and female match officials. This joint-preparation project was launched in April by FIFA’s Head of Refereeing Massimo Busacca at a historic seminar in Doha, Qatar, and is already yielding positive results. "I'm very much looking forward to that aspect of the job, and I believe wholeheartedly that it's the way to go," said Seitz. "Women's referees aren't confined to or dedicated solely to women's football after all. Most of them in their home countries referee both men and women. And having an integrated department overseeing both men and women's referees - thinking of it all as one game - is definitely the best way to ensure we get the very highest quality of top-level officials." That, of course, has long been FIFA's goal. With individuals of Seitz's calibre and experience on board, however, the target becomes that little bit more attainable.

Source: FIFA

FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Final 2016: Jacewicz (AUS)

21 October 2016

Final
Korea DPR – Japan
Referee: Kate Jacewicz (AUS, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Renae Coghill (AUS)
Assistant Referee 2: Uvena Fernandes (IND)
Fourth Official: Anastasia Pustovoitova (RUS)
Reserve AR: Tatiane Sacilotti (BRA)

Match for Third Place
Venezuela – Spain
Referee: Ledya Tafesse (ETH)
Assistant Referee 1: Kylie McMullan (SCO)
Assistant Referee 2: Lucia Abruzzese (ITA)
Fourth Official: Ekaterina Koroleva (USA)
Reserve AR: Leslie Vasquez (CHI)

UEFA Europa League – Group Stage (Matchday 3)

20 October 2016

Manchester United – Fenerbahçe
Referee: Benoît Bastien (FRA, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Hicham Zakrani (FRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Frédéric Haquette (FRA)
Additional AR 1: Benoît Millot (FRA)
Additional AR 2: Jérôme Miguelgorry (FRA)
Fourth Official: Julien Pacelli (FRA)
Referee Observer: Matteo Trefoloni (ITA)

Celta Vigo – Ajax
Referee: Ivan Kruzliak (SVK)
Assistant Referee 1: Martin Balko (SVK)
Assistant Referee 2: Tomas Somolani (SVK)
Additional AR 1: Peter Kralovic (SVK)
Additional AR 2: Filip Glova (SVK)
Fourth Official: Ondrej Brendza (SVK)
Referee Observer: Alexandru Deaconu (ROU)

Standard Liège – Panathinaikos
Referee: Daniel Stefanski (POL)
Assistant Referee 1: Marcin Boniek (POL)
Assistant Referee 2: Dawid Golis (POL)
Additional AR 1: Zbigniew Dobrynin (POL)
Additional AR 2: Krzysztof Jakubik (POL)
Fourth Official: Rafal Rostkowski (POL)
Referee Observer: Jon Skjervold (NOR)

Konyaspor – SC Braga
Referee: Aliyar Aghayev (AZE)
Assistant Referee 1: Rza Mammadov (AZE)
Assistant Referee 2: Zeynal Zeynalov (AZE)
Additional AR 1: Orkhan Mammadov (AZE)
Additional AR 2: Rahim Hasanov (AZE)
Fourth Official: Mubariz Hashimov (AZE)
Referee Observer: Nikolai Levnikov (RUS)

Shakhtar Donetsk – KAA Gent
Referee: Anthony Taylor (ENG)
Assistant Referee 1: Stephen Child (ENG)
Assistant Referee 2: Adam Nunn (ENG)
Additional AR 1: Martin Atkinson (ENG)
Additional AR 2: Lee Mason (ENG)
Fourth Official: Harry Lennard (ENG)
Referee Observer: Bo Karlsson (SWE)

FC Krasnodar – FC Schalke
Referee: Mark Clattenburg (ENG)
Assistant Referee 1: Jake Collin (ENG)
Assistant Referee 2: Simon Bennett (ENG)
Additional AR 1: Andre Marriner (ENG)
Additional AR 2: Stuart Attwell (ENG)
Fourth Official: Ian Hussin (ENG)
Referee Observer: Miroslav Tulinger (CZE)

FC Salzburg – OGC Nice
Referee: Ievgenii Aranovskyi (UKR)
Assistant Referee 1: Sergii Bekker (UKR)
Assistant Referee 2: Oleksandr Voytyuk (UKR)
Additional AR 1: Anatoliy Abdula (UKR)
Additional AR 2: Anatoliy Zhabchenko (UKR)
Fourth Official: Semen Shlonchak (UKR)
Referee Observer: Costas Kapitanis (CYP)

Slovan Liberec – Fiorentina
Referee: Serdar Gözübüyük (NED)
Assistant Referee 1: Davie Goossens (NED)
Assistant Referee 2: Bas van Dongen (NED)
Additional AR 1: Pol van Boekel (NED)
Additional AR 2: Ed Janssen (NED)
Fourth Official: Erwin Zeinstra (NED)
Referee Observer: Manuel Mejuto González (ESP)

Qarabağ – PAOK
Referee: Alon Yefet (ISR)
Assistant Referee 1: Danny Krasikow (ISR)
Assistant Referee 2: Nissan Davidy (ISR)
Additional AR 1: Roi Reinshreiber (ISR)
Additional AR 2: Ziv Adler (ISR)
Fourth Official: Kiril Balikin (ISR)
Referee Observer: Igor Ischenko (UKR)

Hapoel Beer Sheva – Sparta Praha
Referee: Ivan Bebek (CRO)
Assistant Referee 1: Tomislav Petrovic (CRO)
Assistant Referee 2: Miro Grgic (CRO)
Additional AR 1: Tihomir Pejin (CRO)
Additional AR 2: Goran Gabrilo (CRO)
Fourth Official: Goran Pataki (CRO)
Referee Observer: Michel Piraux (BEL)

Inter Milano – Southampton
Referee: Gediminas Mazeika (LTU)
Assistant Referee 1: Vytautas Simkus (LTU)
Assistant Referee 2: Vytenis Kazlauskas (LTU)
Additional AR 1: Sergejus Slyva (LTU)
Additional AR 2: Donatas Rumsas (LTU)
Fourth Official: Dovydas Suziedelis (LTU)
Referee Observer: Jaap Uilenberg (NED)

Osmanlıspor – Villarreal
Referee: Liran Liany (ISR)
Assistant Referee 1: David Bitton (ISR)
Assistant Referee 2: Dvir Shimon (ISR)
Additional AR 1: Eitan Shmuelevitz (ISR)
Additional AR 2: Menashe Masiah (ISR)
Fourth Official: Oren Bornshtain (ISR)
Referee Observer: Lassin Isaksen (FRO)

Steaua Bucureşti – FC Zürich
Referee: Tamás Bognar (HUN)
Assistant Referee 1: Balazs Buzas (HUN)
Assistant Referee 2: Zsolt Varga (HUN)
Additional AR 1: Adám Farkas (HUN)
Additional AR 2: Peter Solymosi (HUN)
Fourth Official: Theodoros Georgiou (HUN)
Referee Observer: Vladimir Antonov (MDA)

Feyenoord – Zorya Luhansk
Referee: Andris Treimanis (LVA)
Assistant Referee 1: Haralds Gudermanis (LVA)
Assistant Referee 2: Aleksejs Spasjonnikovs (LVA)
Additional AR 1: Aleksandrs Golubev (LVA)
Additional AR 2: Edgars Malcevs (LVA)
Fourth Official: Raimonds Tatriks (LVA)
Referee Observer: Juan Fernández Marín (ESP)

Young Boys – Apoel
Referee: Tobias Welz (GER)
Assistant Referee 1: Rafael Foltyn (GER)
Assistant Referee 2: Holger Henschel (GER)
Additional AR 1: Marco Fritz (GER)
Additional AR 2: Robert Hartmann (GER)
Fourth Official: Christian Gittelmann (GER)
Referee Observer: Miroslav Radoman (SRB)

Olympiacos – Astana
Referee: Tobias Stieler (GER)
Assistant Referee 1: Mike Pickel (GER)
Assistant Referee 2: Jan Seidel (GER)
Additional AR 1: Sascha Stegemann (GER)
Additional AR 2: Patrick Ittrich (GER)
Fourth Official: Marco Achmüller (GER)
Referee Observer: William Young (SCO)

FSV Mainz – RSC Anderlecht
Referee: Jesús Gil Manzano (ESP)
Assistant Referee 1: Angel Nevado Rodríguez (ESP)
Assistant Referee 2: Roberto Díaz Pérez (ESP)
Additional AR 1: Carlos Clos Gómez (ESP)
Additional AR 2: Alejandro Hernández Hernández (ESP)
Fourth Official: Miguel Martínez Munuera (ESP)
Referee Observer: Kristinn Jakobsson (ISL)

AS Saint Étienne – Qabala FK
Referee: Ali Palabiyik (TUR)
Assistant Referee 1: Cem Satman (TUR)
Assistant Referee 2: Ekrem Kan (TUR)
Additional AR 1: Alper Ulusoy (TUR)
Additional AR 2: Volkan Bayarslan (TUR)
Fourth Official: Ceyhun Sesiguzel (TUR)
Referee Observer: László Vagner (HUN)

AZ Alkmaar – Maccabi Tel Aviv
Referee: István Kovács (ROU)
Assistant Referee 1: Vasile Marinescu (ROU)
Assistant Referee 2: Mihai Artene (ROU)
Additional AR 1: Alexandru Tudor (ROU)
Additional AR 2: Marius Avram (ROU)
Fourth Official: Alexandru Cerei (ROU)
Referee Observer: Paulius Malžinskas (LTU)

Dundalk – Zenit
Referee: Miroslav Zelinka (CZE)
Assistant Referee 1: Ondrej Pelikan (CZE)
Assistant Referee 2: Jan Paták (CZE)
Additional AR 1: Radek Prihoda (CZE)
Additional AR 2: Jan Jilek (CZE)
Fourth Official: Ivo Nadvornik (CZE)
Referee Observer: Tomasz Mikulski (POL)

AS Roma – Austria Wien
Referee: Vladislav Bezborodov (RUS)
Assistant Referee 1: Valeriy Danchenko (RUS)
Assistant Referee 2: Maksim Gavrilin (RUS)
Additional AR 1: Kirill Levnikov (RUS)
Additional AR 2: Igor Fedotov (RUS)
Fourth Official: Andrei Vereteshkin (RUS)
Referee Observer: Jan Carlsen (DEN)

Viktoria Plzeň – Astra Giurgiu
Referee: Aleksei Eskov (RUS)
Assistant Referee 1: Dmitry Mosyakin (RUS)
Assistant Referee 2: Igor Demeshko (RUS)
Additional AR 1: Aleksei Nikolaev (RUS)
Additional AR 2: Aleksander Egorov (RUS)
Fourth Official: Aleksei Lunev (RUS)
Referee Observer: Miroslav Vitković (CRO)

KRC Genk – Athletic Club
Referee: Stefan Johannesson (SWE)
Assistant Referee 1: Fredrik Nilsson (SWE)
Assistant Referee 2: Mehmet Culum (SWE)
Additional AR 1: Andreas Ekberg (SWE)
Additional AR 2: Kristoffer Karlsson (SWE)
Fourth Official: Magnus Sjöblom (SWE)
Referee Observer: Rodger Gifford (WAL)

Rapid Wien – Sassuolo Calcio
Referee: Hugo Miguel (POR)
Assistant Referee 1: Antonio Godinho (POR)
Assistant Referee 2: Luis Ferreira (POR)
Additional Assistant Referee 1: Joao Capela (POR)
Additional Assistant Referee 2: Fabio Verissimo (POR)
Fourth Official: Rui Martins (POR)
Referee Observer: John Ward (IRL)

Webb “gutted” to miss a red card in the 2010 World Cup final

On 20 October 2016, World Cup 2010 final referee Howard Webb will be launching his autobiography, The Man in the Middle. Webb has described how he was "gutted beyond belief" to miss the flying kick by Netherlands midfielder Nigel de Jong when he refereed the 2010 World Cup final. De Jong had crashed a high boot into the chest of Spain's Xabi Alonso midway through the first half, but Webb chose to only produce a yellow card for the then-Manchester City player when he should have shown a red. "Xabi Alonso headed the ball forward to David Villa but, as he did so, Nigel de Jong crashed into him," Webb wrote in his new book "The Man in the Middle," which is being serialised in The Times. "At that moment I'd been positioned just behind Alonso, about 10 yards away, so I hadn't seen the actual point of impact or exactly how De Jong had connected. However, I knew that it was a late and forceful challenge, and that it warranted a caution. None of my team spoke up on the radio to suggest otherwise, so I showed a yellow card for what I'd seen unfold before me: an untidy, reckless challenge from the Dutch midfielder. Hand on heart, it never, ever crossed my mind that this was a red card. In that instance, on that pitch, I was utterly convinced it was a yellow; not one percent of me thought otherwise. I hadn't bottled out of the big decision, I hadn't felt intimidated by the occasion, and I'd certainly not felt under any pressure from FIFA to curb dismissals. I'd simply handed out the appropriate penalty for what I'd seen with my own eyes, from my vantage point. And that's the truth. As I brandished the card, however, there was a furious reaction from the Spaniards, both on and off the field. I genuinely thought they were pissed off because of the general physicality of the Dutch team, not just this one particular offence. I also presumed they were riled because I'd chosen not to play advantage when the ball had dropped to David Villa from Alonso's header. It wasn't until half-time that I realised De Jong's tackle might have been worthy of a red card... I felt gutted beyond belief. It looked like I'd missed a red-card offence in the World Cup final. What a f---ing nightmare. I returned to the pitch with my head pounding and my heart thumping". (Source: ESPN)

Howard Webb opens up on astonishing referee civil war between Graham Poll’s ‘Red Wine Club’ and Jeff Winter’s crew. While the job of the man in the middle is to keep things calm between two sides on the pitch, when refereeing’s two cliques came together things can get feisty. In the red corner was Graham Poll’s ‘Red Wine Club’, who got the nickname because they liked to “relax with a tipple (or two) while off-duty”. In his autobiography, The Man in the Middle, Webb named Paul Durkin, Rob Styles, Mike Dean, Andy D’Urso and Graham Barber as belonging to Poll’s group. On the other side was Jeff Winter and his pals Mark Halsey, Mike Riley, Neale Barry, Steve Bennett and Barry Knight. Webb said there was a vague North-South divide with Poll’s group being mainly Southerners and Winter’s tending to come from the North. He added that group video sessions were a nightmare: “Keith [Hackett] would ask one of us to lead the meeting, giving this nominee carte blanche to hand-pick clips of his choosing. Unsurprisingly, this often accounted for some bum-clenchingly awkward moments, since the group’s social chasm meant that personal vendettas would intervene. Rob Styles, for example, would replay unflattering clips featuring a rival like Jeff Winter, before gladly dissecting his mishaps and blunders”. Howard Webb says he was able to get on with both sides but felt closer to Winter’s group and, during the video reviews, some members of the Red Wine Club would go over the top in pointing out his errors. “Come on, Howard,’ they’d sneer. You’ve got to do better than that, for f***’s sake. You’re letting us all down, pal . . .”According to Webb, referees were relieved when Hackett, who favoured the group bonding sessions, retired as head of the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PMGOL) to be replaced by Mike Riley, who knew what was going on behind the scenes and scrapped them altogether. The feud between the two cliques came to a head during a team-building weekend at an isolated Lake District cottage. Webb wrote: “What had been intended as an informal beer ’n’ barbecue night in Cumbria almost descended into a version of Fight Night at the NEC, following a ruckus between Graham Poll and Mark Halsey. These were well-regarded, well-paid Premier League referees acting like badly behaved schoolboys. It was big Uriah Rennie who eventually stepped in, shouting ‘Enough!’ as he grabbed Poll and Halsey by the scruffs of their necks before dragging them apart”. At the time Howard Webb had only just been promoted to refereeing Premier League games, and says: “I remember thinking Jesus Christ, what the hell have I let myself in for here?” Webb was full of praise for current referees' chief Mike Riley, despite describing him as 'not the most sociable person in the world'. He wrote: "If you ever felt down and needed someone to put your head back on straight, Riley was your man. Mike had a knack of putting the spring back into your step, and I’d always emerge from our chats with a more positive mindset". (Source: The Sun)

Sergeant Webb, policeman and football referee. And before that, one referee who really was a banker! There are few more combative fields of work. But what strikes me most, from knowing the author a little and reading his autobiography, is that he is one of the least confrontational blokes you could wish to meet. He had to learn to assert himself and it didn’t come naturally. Maybe that’s one secret of Webb’s great success. Forget refereeing, Rotherham’s finest is one of the most recognisable people on planet football. Perhaps that stature comes from the non-officious personality that he and others, including an influential mentor in Keith Hackett, moulded into the man who would preside over the finals of the Champions League and the World Cup in the same year. As such, he’s an ideal role model. Take note any overbearing, attention-seeking jobsworths. Howard did it quietly but firmly up to that momentous year of 2010, flanked by his outstanding assistants Darren Cann and Mike Mullarkey. That’s why it’s so ironic he will be remembered for the record 14 yellow cards he flashed in the final between winners Spain and the Netherlands – while failing to send off Holland’s Nigel De Jong for an assault with a chest-high boot. Howard plainly hated to be at the centre of controversy, let alone on that scale. But despite spending a career trying to avoid the headlines, he doesn’t shirk the big issues in his book. Bravely, these include the shock revelation that he has suffered from OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder), ordaining behaviour way beyond superstition and rituals. Many fellow sufferers will be grateful for his honesty and benefit from it. He candidly confesses mistakes. Jose Mourinho correctly, but respectfully, predicted that one of them would get him fired as Chelsea manager. There’s a close-up on the biggest names; being the target of death threats; how uncalled for abuse from the likes of Craig Bellamy, Alan Pardew and David Moyes played a part in him quitting the middle at just 43. Why he regretted that decision; why he quit a new role with PGMOL, frustrated that the power of the Premier League seemed to prevent referees being publicly supported by their bosses; how success “comes at a price” in an unclarified passing comment on his marriage and family life. There’s also confirmation of historic bitter divisions in the select group of Premier League referees. From personal knowledge, it’s a pity that the most criticised species in the game can’t stick together more than they do. Their habitat can be a bear-pit of bitterness and backbiting. You could argue it takes big characters and personalities to referee. Howard seemed to succeed without being either, through an often tortured and painstaking process of self-examination. Webb positioned himself one step to the side of neutral (again avoiding conflict) to rise above the infighting; he steeled himself to make the big calls and assert himself fully in the middle – as he admits failing to do as a player, having been affectionately mocked by his bluff father Billy, a prominent local referee, as “a big girl’s blouse.” Yet this would be a fellow who’d go on to be threatened at the point of a pistol and a knife in his day job and unflinchingly control the biggest football matches on earth. Poignantly, it all sprang from the best of upbringings. The dedication at the start – to his dad – is deeply touching: “My fiercest critic, my biggest supporter, my chauffeur and my best friend.” (Source: The Star)

CONCACAF Champions League – Group Stage (Matchday 6)

18-20 October 2016

Tigres – Herediano
Referee: Armando Villareal (USA, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Sean Hurd (USA)
Assistant Referee 2: Peter Manikowski (USA)
Fourth Official: William Anderson (PUR)

Arabe Unido – Don Bosco
Referee: Oscar Reyna (GUA)
Assistant Referee 1: Ronaldo De La Cruz (GUA)
Assistant Referee 2: Marco Diaz (GUA)
Fourth Official: Mario Escobar (GUA)

Antigua GFC – Alianza FC
Referee: Gianni Ascani (TCA)
Assistant Referee 1: Garnet Page (JAM)
Assistant Referee 2: Keytzel Corrales (NCA)
Fourth Official: Kevin Morrison (JAM)

Sporting KC – Central FC
Referee: Kimbell Ward (SKN)
Assistant Referee 1: Graeme Browne (SKN)
Assistant Referee 2: Clifton Garnes (BRB)
Fourth Official: Wilson Da Costa (BAH)

Portland Timbers – Saprissa
Referee: Walter Lopez (GUA)
Assistant Referee 1: Gerson Lopez (GUA)
Assistant Referee 2: Hermenerito Leal (GUA)
Fourth Official: Jonathan Polanco (GUA)

Olimpia – Pachuca
Referee: Henry Bejarano (CRC)
Assistant Referee 1: Leonel Leal (CRC)
Assistant Referee 2: Carlos Fernandez (CRC)
Fourth Official: Walter Quesada (CRC)

Suchitepequez – FC Dallas
Referee: Drew Fischer (CAN)
Assistant Referee 1: Joe Fletcher (CAN)
Assistant Referee 2: Philippe Briere (CAN)
Fourth Official: David Gantar (CAN)

Pumas – W Connection
Referee: John Pitti (PAN)
Assistant Referee 1: Gabriel Victoria (PAN)
Assistant Referee 2: Christian Ramirez (HON)
Fourth Official: Jafeth Perea (PAN)

Copa Sudamericana – Quarter-finals (First Leg)

18-20 October 2016

Medellin – Cerro Porteno
Referee: Andres Cunha (URU, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Carlos Pastorino (URU)
Assistant Referee 2: Miguel Nievas (URU)
Fourth Official: Esteban Ostojich (URU)
Referee Assessor: Rodolfo Otero (ARG)

Junior – Chapecoense
Referee: Juan Soto (VEN)
Assistant Referee 1: Carlos Lopez (VEN)
Assistant Referee 2: Jorge Urrego (VEN)
Fourth Official: José Luis Hoyo (VEN)
Referee Assessor: Wilson Berrio (COL)

Coritiba – Atletico Nacional
Referee: Roberto Tobar (CHI)
Assistant Referee 1: Carlos Astroza (CHI)
Assistant Referee 2: Claudio Rios (CHI)
Fourth Official: Eduardo Gamboa (CHI)
Referee Assessor: Ubaldo Aquino (PAR)

San Lorenzo – Palestino
Referee: Anderson Daronco (BRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Alessandro Rocha (BRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Guilherme Camilo (BRA)
Fourth Official: Raphael Claus (BRA)
Referee Assessor: Carlos Coradina (ARG)

UEFA Champions League – Group Stage (Matchday 3)

18 October 2016
Bayer Leverkusen – Tottenham Hotspur
Referee: Cüneyt Çakır (TUR, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Bahattin Duran (TUR)
Assistant Referee 2: Tarik Ongun (TUR)
Additional AR 1: Hüseyin Göçek (TUR)
Additional AR 2: Barış Şimşek (TUR)
Fourth Official: Emre Eyisoy (TUR)
Referee Observer: Haim Jakov (ISR)

Real Madrid – Legia Warszawa
Referee: Ruddy Buquet (FRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Cyril Gringore (FRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Frédéric Cano (FRA)
Additional AR 1: Nicolas Rainville (FRA)
Additional AR 2: Amaury Delerue (FRA)
Fourth Official: Nicolas Danos (FRA)
Referee Observer: Robert Sedlacek (AUT)

CSKA Moskva – AS Monaco
Referee: Martin Strömbergsson (SWE)
Assistant Referee 1: Daniel Gustavsson (SWE)
Assistant Referee 2: Joakim Nilsson (SWE)
Additional AR 1: Mohammed Al-Hakim (SWE)
Additional AR 2: Glenn Nyberg (SWE)
Fourth Official: Per Brogevik (SWE)
Referee Observer: Nuno Castro (POR)

Sporting Lisbon – Borussia Dortmund
Referee: Damir Skomina (SVN)
Assistant Referee 1: Jure Praprotnik (SVN)
Assistant Referee 2: Robert Vukan (SVN)
Additional AR 1: Matej Jug (SVN)
Additional AR 2: Slavko Vinčić (SVN)
Fourth Official: Bojan Ul (SVN)
Referee Observer: Christos Skapoullis (CYP)

Leicester City – FC København
Referee: Nicola Rizzoli (ITA)
Assistant Referee 1: Elenito Di Liberatore (ITA)
Assistant Referee 2: Mauro Tonolini (ITA)
Additional AR 1: Luca Banti (ITA)
Additional AR 2: Massimiliano Irrati (ITA)
Fourth Official: Riccardo Di Fiore (ITA)
Referee Observer: Patrick Kelly (IRL)

Club Brügge – FC Porto
Referee: Paolo Tagliavento (ITA)
Assistant Referee 1: Alessandro Costanzo (ITA)
Assistant Referee 2: Filippo Meli (ITA)
Additional AR 1: Paolo Valeri (ITA)
Additional AR 2: Davide Massa (ITA)
Fourth Official: Alessandro Giallatini (ITA)
Referee Observer: Leslie Irvine (NIR)

Olympique Lyon – Juventus Turin
Referee: Szymon Marciniak (POL)
Assistant Referee 1: Pawel Sokolnicki (POL)
Assistant Referee 2: Tomasz Listkiewicz (POL)
Additional AR 1: Pawel Raczkowski (POL)
Additional AR 2: Bartosz Frankowski (POL)
Fourth Official: Radoslaw Siejka (POL)
Referee Observer: Fritz Stuchlik (AUT)

Dinamo Zagreb – Sevilla FC
Referee: Michael Oliver (ENG)
Assistant Referee 1: Stuart Burt (ENG)
Assistant Referee 2: Gary Beswick (ENG)
Additional AR 1: Craig Pawson (ENG)
Additional AR 2: Jonathan Moss (ENG)
Fourth Official: Constantine Hatzidakis (ENG)
Referee Observer: Frank De Bleeckere (BEL)

19 October 2016
Arsenal – Ludogorets
Referee: Artur Soares Dias (POR)
Assistant Referee 1: Rui Tavares (POR)
Assistant Referee 2: Paulo Santos (POR)
Additional AR 1: Tiago Lope (POR)
Additional AR 2: Joao Silva (POR)
Fourth Official: Nuno Dos Santos (POR)
Referee Observer: Eugen Strigel (GER)

Paris St. Germain – FC Basel
Referee: Deniz Aytekin (GER)
Assistant Referee 1: Guido Kleve (GER)
Assistant Referee 2: Markus Häcker (GER)
Additional AR 1: Daniel Siebert (GER)
Additional AR 2: Benjamin Brand (GER)
Fourth Official: Eduard Beitinger (GER)
Referee Observer: Rune Pedersen (NOR)

Napoli – Besiktas
Referee: Sergei Karasev (RUS)
Assistant Referee 1: Anton Averianov (RUS)
Assistant Referee 2: Tikhon Kalugin (RUS)
Additional AR 1: Sergei Lapochkin (RUS)
Additional AR 2: Sergei Ivanov (RUS)
Fourth Official: Aleksei Lebedev (RUS)
Referee Observer: Horst Brummeier (AUT)

Dynamo Kyiv – Benfica
Referee: David Fernández Borbalán (ESP)
Assistant Referee 1: Raúl Cabanero Martínez (ESP)
Assistant Referee 2: Roberto Alonso Fernández (ESP)
Additional AR 1: Javier Estrada Fernández (ESP)
Additional AR 2: Juan Martínez Munuera (ESP)
Fourth Official: Diego Barbero Sevilla (ESP)
Referee Observer: Zdravko Jokic (SRB)

FC Barcelona – Manchester City
Referee: Milorad Mažić (SRB)
Assistant Referee 1: Milovan Ristić (SRB)
Assistant Referee 2: Dalibor Djurdjević (SRB)
Additional AR 1: Danilo Grujić (SRB)
Additional AR 2: Nenad Djokić (SRB)
Fourth Official: Nemanja Petrović (SRB)
Referee Observer: Terje Hauge (NOR)

Celtic – Borussia Monchengladbach
Referee: Anastasios Sidiropoulos (GRE)
Assistant Referee 1: Damianos Efthymiadis (GRE)
Assistant Referee 2: Polychronis Kostaras (GRE)
Additional AR 1: Charalampos Kalogeropoulos (GRE)
Additional AR 2: Alexandros Aretopoulos (GRE)
Fourth Official: Lazaros Dimitriadis (GRE)
Referee Observer: Alfredo Trentalange (ITA)

Bayern München – PSV Eindhoven
Referee: William Collum (SCO)
Assistant Referee 1: Francis Connor (SCO)
Assistant Referee 2: Douglas Ross (SCO)
Additional AR 1: John Beaton (SCO)
Additional AR 2: Kevin Clancy (SCO)
Fourth Official: Stuart Stevenson (SCO)
Referee Observer: Manuel Díaz Vega (ESP)

FC Rostov – Atlético Madrid
Referee: Daniele Orsato (ITA)
Assistant Referee 1: Gianluca Cariolato (ITA)
Assistant Referee 2: Lorenzo Manganelli (ITA)
Additional AR 1: Paolo Mazzoleni (ITA)
Additional AR 2: Carmine Russo (ITA)
Fourth Official: Matteo Passeri (ITA)
Referee Observer: Uno Tutk (EST)

FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup 2016 – Semi-finals

17 October 2016

Venezuela – Korea DPR
Referee: Olga Zadinova (CZE, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Slavomira Majkuthova (SVK)
Assistant Referee 2: Katarzyna Wojs (POL)
Fourth Official: Esther Azzopardi (MLT)
Reserve AR: Tatiane Sacilotti (BRA)

Spain – Japan
Referee: Marie-Soleil Beaudoin (CAN)
Assistant Referee 1: Princess Brown (JAM)
Assistant Referee 2: Stephanie Yee Sing (JAM)
Fourth Official: Laura Fortunato (ARG)
Reserve AR: Leslie Vasquez (CHI)

Fitness Test project for FWC18 – FWWC19

FIFA introduced this year an updated version of their fitness test, which is more demanding than the previous tests. Prospective referees and assistant referees for the 2018 FIFA World Cup and the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup have to pass even more demanding tests. Here is a comparison between the requirements for "regular" FIFA referees and prospective World Cup referees.

Referees (men and women)

Test 1 – Change of Direction (COD) – evaluates the explosivity and the ability to change direction. It is conducted two times with 90 seconds recovery between runs.
Reference times (7-7-7 m)
FIFA Referees (men): N/A
FWC18 Referees: 4.80 sec
FIFA Referees (women): N/A
FWWC19 Referees: 5.30 sec

The time between the end of Test 1 and the start of Test 2 should be 6 minutes.

Test 2 – Repeated Sprint Ability (RSA) – evaluates the capacity to perform repeated sprints with limited recovery time (60 sec) between runs.
Reference times (4x40 m)
FIFA Referees (men): 6.00 sec per trial
FWC18 Referees: 5.80 sec per trial
FIFA Referees (women): 6.40 sec per trial
FWWC19 Referees: 6.30 sec per trial

The time between the end of Test 2 and the start of Test 3 should be 10 minutes.

Test 3 – Endurance (Intervals) – evaluates the capacity to perform repeated high-intensity runs.
Reference times (4000 m: 75 m running/25 m walking)
FIFA Referees (men): 15 sec/18 sec
FWC18 Referees: 15 sec/15 sec
FIFA Referees (women): 17 sec/20 sec
FWWC19 Referees: 18 sec/18 sec

Additional Test – Dynamic Yo-Yo (DYY) – evaluates the ability to repeatedly perform intervals over a prolonged period of time.
Reference times
FIFA Referees (men): level 18-8 (2040 m)
FWC18 Referees: level 19-5 (2240 m)
FIFA Referees (women): level 17-8 (1720 m)
FWWC19 Referees: level 18-5 (1920 m)

Assistant Referees (men and women)

Test 1 Change of Direction Ability (CODA) – evaluates the ability to change direction.
Reference times (10-8-8-10 m)
FIFA Assistant Referees (men): 10.00 sec per trial
FWC18 Assistant Referees: 9.90 sec per trial
FIFA Assistant Referees (women): 11.00 sec per trial
FWWC19 Assistant Referees: 10.90 sec per trial

The time between the end of Test 1 and the start of Test 2 should be 6 minutes.

Test 2 (RSA) – evaluates the capacity to perform repeated sprints with limited recovery time (60 sec) between runs.
Reference times (5x30 m)
FIFA Assistant Referees (men): 4.70 sec per trial
FWC18 Assistant Referees: 4.60 sec per trial
FIFA Assistant Referees (women): 5.10 sec per trial
FWWC19 Assistant Referees: 5.00 sec per trial

The time between the end of Test 2 and the start of Test 3 should be 10 minutes.

Test 3 – Endurance (Intervals) – evaluates the capacity to perform repeated high-intensity runs.
Reference times (4000 m: 75 m running/25 m walking)
FIFA Assistant Referees (men): 15 sec/20 sec
FWC18 Assistant Referees: 15 sec/18 sec
FIFA Assistant Referees (women): 17 sec/22 sec
FWWC19 Assistant Referees: 18 sec/20 sec

Additional Test – ARIET – evaluates the aerobic fitness with the recommended standards.
Reference times
FIFA Assistant Referees (men): level 16.0-3 (1470 m)
FWC18 Assistant Referees: level 16.0-3 (1470 m)
FIFA Assistant Referees (women): level 14.5-3 (1080 m)
FWWC19 Assistant Referees: level 14.5-3 (1080 m)

Collina: “The referee’s shape now is a professional footballer’s shape”

- Firstly, can you reflect a little on Euro 2016? You must have been very happy with the high refereeing standards.

- The standard of refereeing at Euro 2016 was very high. I have to say that four years ago in Poland and Ukraine, the standard was already very high, and it was not easy to improve from that level. But we were confident, because we knew how much work the referees had done, and how committed they were in preparing for the tournament. So it is not a surprise, because I am convinced that if you work hard, the results come. Nevertheless, I am very happy, and I have to thank the referees for their commitment, because we demanded a lot from them in terms of preparation for this tournament… and they were very, very committed.

- There were only three red cards in the tournament, and only one straight red card. Does the higher standard of refereeing go hand in hand with better player behaviour?

- Certainly the number of cards depends on the behaviour of the players. I think something that made a difference, and this was something we had already experienced in 2008 and 2012, was the programme that we ran before the competition, when we visited the national team camps and showed the coaches, staff and players the same instructions that we gave to the referees. The objective was to have everyone on the field of play speaking the same language, so they all knew what to expect.
- High standards do not happen by accident. Can you tell us a little about the preparation that goes into achieving and maintaining these standards?

- There are three pillars of match preparation. Certainly, referees need to know the Laws of the Game and how to interpret them, and we had several seminars before the tournament – in February, then in April, and again before the tournament kick-off. Euro 2016 was particular for this matter, because the IFAB [International Football Association Board] introduced several changes that were really important, such as the new rules on denying a goal-scoring opportunity and the new sanction for handball. Then there’s fitness preparation. For some time, we have been running very accurate monitoring of all our referees through our head of fitness, Werner Helsen, and his staff. They monitor the referees throughout the season, so they know exactly how they are, what the standards are like and what they have to do. So the level of physical preparation [for Euro 2016] was high. Once more, it was really hard or almost impossible to distinguish players from referees, because their shape now is really a professional footballer’s shape. They look like the players that they are refereeing. The third pillar is knowledge of football – the tactical preparation. We have been working on this for some years, trying to give the referees support. For the EURO, we introduced a new role, so we had a team of match analysts: UEFA-licensed coaches who compiled reports on the 24 teams, analysing how they played in different moments of a match and highlighting the technical characteristics of the players. They analysed the teams for six months before the Euro, and before every Euro match one of the analysts briefed the referees at our headquarters, and the team reports were updated during the competition. This gave added value to the referees’ team – not only to the referees, but also the assistant referees, because information concerning offside was also given.

- You spoke about the Euro for only five minutes in your initial presentation. What were the objectives of the pre-season gathering?

- Yes, because as much as we would like to speak about something that was successful, the Euro is over. It’s in the past. We have a very important season ahead of us, starting with the play-offs, one of the key moments of the season. We want to have our referees ready for the beginning of the competition, and also for the group stage of the Champions League and the Europa League. For the women at the pre-season gathering, it is also an important season, even more so because of the Women’s Euro in the Netherlands next year. The aim is to check how they are, and prepare them for the forthcoming season. 

- How are the referees educated, how are they tested, and how important is interpretation of the laws?

- The knowledge is crucial. The pre-season gathering started with a test on the Laws of the Game, particularly concerning the changes. There were two types of test: a written test and a video test, where we want the referees to give us their interpretations of the incidents shown. During your presentations, you reviewed video clips and offered constructive criticism, even when the referees involved were present

- Is that something that happens throughout the season?

- The best way to learn is to see something, and you can learn from the experience you had and this opportunity should also be given to those who did not have this experience. So if we show a clip, and there is something that did not work, this is not to blame the referee, but to offer the experience that this referee had to all the other referees, because the same thing could happen to them next time round. Normally, we do it during our seminars, but, as we cannot have seminars too often, we have implemented a web platform, so that whenever there is something important to be learned, explained or shown to the referees, we create a clip with a comment, and send it to a referee or group of referees. We do the same for assistants and observers. It is not just a matter of saying “this was wrong”, and then giving the reason; for us it is actually more important to give the reason, and we might also say “this was right, and this is the reason”. Positive things can also come from a mistake if you understand the reason.

Source: UEFA Direct

UEFA Youth League – Group Stage (Matchday 3)

18-19 October 2016

Real Madrid – Legia Warszawa
Referee: Petr Ardeleanu (CZE, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Tomáš Mokrusch (CZE)
Assistant Referee 2: Jakub Hrabovský (CZE)
Fourth Official: Valentín Pizarro Gómez (ESP)
Referee Observer: Manuel López Fernández (ESP)

Bayer Leverkusen – Tottenham Hotspur
Referee: Fran Jović (CRO)
Assistant Referee 1: Ivica Modrić (CRO)
Assistant Referee 2: Hrvoje Radić (CRO)
Fourth Official: Benedikt Kempkes (GER)
Referee Observer: Lutz-Michael Fröhlich (GER)

Sporting CP – Borussia Dortmund
Referee: Alexandre Boucaut (BEL)
Assistant Referee 1: Laurent Conotte (BEL)
Assistant Referee 2: Kristof Meers (BEL)
Fourth Official: Rui Piteira Rodrigues (POR)
Referee Observer: Bernardino González Vázquez (ESP)

Club Brugge – FC Porto
Referee: Dominik Ouschan (AUT)
Assistant Referee 1: Markus Gutschi (AUT)
Assistant Referee 2: Stefan Gamper (AUT)
Fourth Official: Kevin Van Damme (BEL)
Referee Observer: Leslie Irvine (NIR)

CSKA Moskva – AS Monaco
Referee: Zaven Hovhannisyan (ARM)
Assistant Referee 1: Mesrop Ghazaryan (ARM)
Assistant Referee 2: Vanik Simonyan (ARM)
Referee Observer: Nuno Castro (POR)

Leicester City – FC København
Referee: Bryn Markham-Jones (WAL)
Assistant Referee 1: Ian Bird (WAL)
Assistant Referee 2: Harry Hendricks (WAL)
Fourth Official: Oliver Yates (ENG)
Referee Observer: Patrick Kelly (IRL)

Dinamo Zagreb – Sevilla FC
Referee: Demetrios Masias (CYP)
Assistant Referee 1: Evagoras Evagorou (CYP)
Assistant Referee 2: Kyriacos Sokratous (CYP)
Fourth Official: Željko Frković (CRO)
Referee Observer: Frank De Bleeckere (BEL)

Olympique Lyonnais – Juventus
Referee: Antti Munukka (FIN)
Assistant Referee 1: Jukka Honkanen (FIN)
Assistant Referee 2: Antti Malaska (FIN)
Fourth Official: Wilfried Bien (FRA)
Referee Observer: Fritz Stuchlik (AUT)

Arsenal – Ludogorets
Referee: Anders Poulsen (DEN)
Assistant Referee 1: Ole Kronlykke (DEN)
Assistant Referee 2: Amir Šabić (DEN)
Fourth Official: John Brooks (ENG)
Referee Observer: Brian Lawlor (WAL)

Paris St. Germain – FC Basel
Referee: Nikola Dabanović (MNE)
Assistant Referee 1: Nikola Radulović (MNE)
Assistant Referee 2: Aleksandar Đikanović (MNE)
Fourth Official: Romain Lissorgue (FRA)
Referee Observer: Pascal Garibian (FRA)

Dynamo Kyiv – SL Benfica
Referee: Sándor Andó-Szabó (HUN)
Assistant Referee 1: Balázs Szert (HUN)
Assistant Referee 2: Balázs Szalai (HUN)
Fourth Official: Mykola Balakin (UKR)
Referee Observer: Zdravko Jokić (SRB)

Napoli – Beşiktaş
Referee: Edin Jakupović (BIH)
Assistant Referee 1: Sreten Udovičić (BIH)
Assistant Referee 2: Goran Dujak (BIH)
Fourth Official: Daniele Martinelli (ITA)
Referee Observer: Horst Brummeier (AUT)

FC Barcelona – Manchester City
Referee: Sandro Schärer (SUI)
Assistant Referee 1: Johannes Vogel (SUI)
Assistant Referee 2: Bekim Zogaj (SUI)
Fourth Official: David Medié Jiménez (ESP)
Referee Observer: Terje Hauge (NOR)

Celtic – Borussia Mönchengladbach
Referee: Paul McLaughlin (IRL)
Assistant Referee 1: Wayne McDonnell (IRL)
Assistant Referee 2: Mark Gavin (IRL)
Fourth Official: David Munro (SCO)
Referee Observer: Alfredo Trentalange (ITA)

Bayern München – PSV Eindhoven
Referee: Zbynek Proske (CZE)
Assistant Referee 1: Radek Kotík (CZE)
Assistant Referee 2: Petr Blažej (CZE)
Fourth Official: Matthias Jöllenbeck (GER)
Referee Observer: Edgar Steinborn (GER)

FC Rostov – Atlético Madrid
Referee: Srđan Jovanović (SRB)
Assistant Referee 1: Uroš Stojkovic (SRB)
Assistant Referee 2: Milan Mihajlović (SRB)
Fourth Official: Artem Chistyakov (RUS)
Referee Observer: Uno Tutk (EST)

UEFA Youth League – Domestic Champions Path (First Round, Matchday 2)

18-19 October 2016

AS Roma – Apoel Nicosia
Referee: Markus Hameter (AUT, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Sebastian Gruber (AUT)
Assistant Referee 2: Michael Nemetz (AUT)
Fourth Official: Federico La Penna (ITA)
Referee Observer: Stefano Podeschi (SMR)

Mladost Podgorica – Sparta Praha
Referee: Alexandru Tean (MDA)
Assistant Referee 1: Andrei Bodean (MDA)
Assistant Referee 2: Vadim Vicol (MDA)
Fourth Official: Milovan Milačić (MNE)
Referee Observer: Goran Mihaljević (MNE)

Kairat Almaty – Dinamo Tbilisi
Referee: Mikhail Vilkov (RUS)
Assistant Referee 1: Viacheslav Semenov (RUS)
Assistant Referee 2: Alexei Vorontcov (RUS)
Fourth Official: Daniyar Sakhi (KAZ)
Referee Observer: Levan Paniashvili (GEO)

Levski Sofia – Altınordu AS
Referee: Mario Zebec (CRO)
Assistant Referee 1: Jerko Crnčić (CRO)
Assistant Referee 2: Vedran Đurak (CRO)
Fourth Official: Georgi Davidov (BUL)
Referee Observer: Ichko Lozev (BUL)

FC Zürich – Zrinjski Mostar
Referee: Erik Lambrechts (BEL)
Assistant Referee 1: Karel De Rocker (BEL)
Assistant Referee 2: Jo De Weirdt (BEL)
Fourth Official: Pascal Erlachner (SUI)
Referee Observer: Francesco Bianchi (SUI)

PAOK FC – Puskás Akadémia
Referee: Cann Trustin Farrugia (MLT)
Assistant Referee 1: Mitchell Scerri (MLT)
Assistant Referee 2: Jurgen Spiteri (MLT)
Fourth Official: Dimitrios Karantonis (GRE)
Referee Observer: Ioannis Tsachilidis (GRE)

Sheriff Tiraspol – Viitorul Constanța
Referee: Dejan Jakimovski (MKD)
Assistant Referee 1: Dejan Nedelkoski (MKD)
Assistant Referee 2: Isa Emurli (MKD)
Fourth Official: Ion Orlic (MDA)
Referee Observer: Igor Satkii (MDA)

Dynamo Moskow – Qabala FK
Referee: Dumitru Muntean (MDA)
Assistant Referee 1: Veaceslav Sivaciov (MDA)
Assistant Referee 2: Anatolie Basiul (MDA)
Referee Observer: Yuri Baskakov (RUS)

AIK Solna – Rosenborg BK
Referee: Roomer Tarajev (EST)
Assistant Referee 1: Jaan Roos (EST)
Assistant Referee 2: Veiko Mõtsnik (EST)
Referee Observer: Leif Lindberg (SWE)

Shakhtyor Soligorsk – Maccabi Haifa
Referee: Oleksandr Derdo (UKR)
Assistant Referee 1: Andrii Skrypka (UKR)
Assistant Referee 2: Viktor Matyash (UKR)
Fourth Official: Viktar Shymusik (BLR)

Málaga – Nitra
Referee: Laurent Kopriwa (LUX)
Assistant Referee 1: David Santos (LUX)
Assistant Referee 2: Daniel Da Costa (LUX)
Fourth Official: Juan López Amaya (ESP)
Referee Observer: Luis Medina Cantalejo (ESP)

FK Čukarički – NK Domžale
Referee: Irfan Peljto (BIH)
Assistant Referee 1: Haris Baković (BIH)
Assistant Referee 2: Damir Lazić (BIH)
Fourth Official: Igor Stojilković (SRB)
Referee Observer: Zoran Petrović (SRB)

FC Midtjylland – RSC Anderlecht
Referee: Vladimir Vnuk (SVK)
Assistant Referee 1: Branislav Hancko (SVK)
Assistant Referee 2: Jan Pozor (SVK)
Fourth Official: Sandi Putros (DEN)
Referee Observer: Jens Larsen (DEN)

Ajax – Breidablik
Referee: Jens Maae DEN)
Assistant Referee 1: Elvis Borić (DEN)
Assistant Referee 2: Victor Skytte (DEN)
Fourth Official: Siemen Mulder (NED)
Referee Observer: Jan Wegereef (NED)

FK Vardar – FC Salzburg
Referee: Suren Baliyan (ARM)
Assistant Referee 1: Erik Arevshatyan (ARM)
Assistant Referee 2: Arman Ghushchyan (ARM)
Fourth Official: Konstantin Vlaho (MKD)
Referee Observer: Emil Bozhinovski (MKD)

Cork City – HJK Helsinki
Referee: Petur Reinert (FRO)
Assistant Referee 1: Jan Hermansen (FRO)
Assistant Referee 2: Johnleif Gerðisá (FRO)
Fourth Official: Graham Kelly (IRL)
Referee Observer: Edward Foley (IRL)