UEFA Women's Champions League – Quarter-finals (Second Leg)

30 March 2016 

FFC Frankfurt – Rosengard
Referee: Carina Vitulano (ITA, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Lucia Abruzzese (ITA)
Assistant Referee 2: Francesca Di Monte (ITA)
Fourth Official: Maria Marotta (ITA)

Brescia – Wolfsburg
Referee: Olga Zadinová (CZE)
Assistant Referee 1: Lucie Ratajová (CZE)
Assistant Referee 2: Nikol Šafránková (CZE)
Fourth Official: Zuzana Špindlerová (CZE)


Paris St. Germain – Barcelona
Referee: Riem Hussein (GER)
Assistant Referee 1: Ines Appelmann (GER)
Assistant Referee 2: Imke Lohmeyer (GER)
Fourth Official: Angelika Soeder (GER)

Slavia Praha – Olympique Lyon
Referee: Efthalia Mitsi (GRE)
Assistant Referee 1: Chrysoula Kourompilia (GRE)
Assistant Referee 2: Panayiota Koutsoumpou (GRE)
Fourth Official: Eleni Lampadariou (GRE)

FIFA World Cup 2018 Qualifiers – CONMEBOL (Matchday 6)

29 March 2016

Colombia – Ecuador
Referee: Enrique Osses (CHI, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Carlos Astroza (CHI)
Assistant Referee 2: Christian Schiemann (CHI)
Fourth Official: Patricio Polic (CHI)
Referee Observer: Miguel Scime (ARG)

Uruguay – Peru
Referee: Roddy Zambrano (ECU)
Assistant Referee 1: Byron Romero (ECU)
Assistant Referee 2: Christian Lescano (ECU)
Fourth Official: Carlos Orbe (ECU)
Referee Observer: Otalvaro Polanco (COL)

Venezuela – Chile
Referee: Diego Haro (PER)
Assistant Referee 1: Jonny Bossio (PER)
Assistant Referee 2: Victor Raez (PER)
Fourth Official: Miguel Santivanez (PER)
Referee Observer: Alicio Pena (BRA)

Argentina – Bolivia
Referee: Jesus Valenzuela (VEN) 

Assistant Referee 1: Carlos Lopez (VEN)
Assistant Referee 2: Luis Sanchez (VEN)
Fourth Official: Juan Soto (VEN)
Referee Observer: Carlos Alarcon (PAR)

Paraguay – Brazil
Referee: Wilmar Roldan (COL)
Assistant Referee 1: Alexander Guzman (COL)
Assistant Referee 2: Cristian De La Cruz (COL)
Fourth Official: Wilson Lamouroux (COL)
Referee Observer: Adrian Gomez (VEN)

FIFA World Cup 2018 Qualifiers – CONCACAF (Round 4, Matchday 4)

29 March 2016

Honduras – El Salvador
Referee: Ricardo Montero (CRC, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Octavio Jara (CRC)
Assistant Referee 2: Warner Castro (CRC)
Fourth Official: Walter Quesada (CRC)

USA – Guatemala
Referee: Valdin Legister (JAM)
Assistant Referee 1: Keble Williams (JAM)
Assistant Referee 2: Lloyd Edwards (JAM)
Fourth Official: Karl Tyrell (JAM)

Costa Rica – Jamaica
Referee: Drew Fischer (CAN)
Assistant Referee 1: Joe Fletcher (CAN)
Assistant Referee 2: Daniel Belleau (CAN)
Fourth Official: Baldomero Toledo (USA)

Mexico – Canada
Referee: Yadel Martinez (CUB)
Assistant Referee 1: Hiran Dopico (CUB)
Assistant Referee 2: Leonardo Sanchez (CUB)
Fourth Official: Marcos Brea (CUB)

Trinidad & Tobago – St. Vincent

Referee: Arenoso Vasquez (DOM)
Assistant Referee 1: Walter Rodriguez (DOM)
Assistant Referee 2: David Moran (SLV)

Fourth Official: Juan Hidalgo (DOM)

Panama – Haiti
Referee: Oscar Moncada (HON)
Assistant Referee 1: Oscar Velasquez (HON)
Assistant Referee 2: Walter Lopez (HON)
Fourth Official: Melvin Matamoros (HON)

FIFA World Cup 2018 Qualifiers – AFC (Round 2, Matchday 10)

29 March 2016

UAE – Saudi Arabia
Referee: Nawaf Shukralla (BHR, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Yaser Tulefat (BHR)
Assistant Referee 2: Mohamed Salman (BHR)
Fourth Official: Ammar Mahfoodh (BHR)

Lebanon – Myanmar
Referee: Jumpei Iida (JPN)
Assistant Referee 1: Akane Yagi (JPN)
Assistant Referee 2: Hsu Min-Yu (TPE)
Fourth Official: Pranjal Banerjee (IND)

Australia – Jordan
Referee: Kim Jong-Hyeok (KOR)
Assistant Referee 1: Yoon Kwang-Yeol (KOR)
Assistant Referee 2: Kim Young-Ha (KOR)
Fourth Official: Kim Hee-Gon (KOR)

Afghanistan – Singapore
Referee: Fu Ming (CHN)
Assistant Referee 1: Ma Ji (CHN)
Assistant Referee 2: Cao Yi (CHN)
Fourth Official: Kun Ai (CHN)

Japan – Syria
Referee: Alireza Faghani (IRN)
Assistant Referee 1: Reza Sokhandan (IRN)
Assistant Referee 2: Mohammadreza Mansouri (IRN)
Fourth Official: Payam Heidari (IRN)

Philippines – Korea DPR
Referee: Fahad Al Mirdasi (KSA)
Assistant Referee 1: Abdulah Al Shalwai (KSA)
Assistant Referee 2: Abu Al Amri (OMA)
Fourth Official: Turki Al Khudhayr (KSA)

China – Qatar
Referee: Mohd Bin Yaacob (MAS)
Assistant Referee 1: Mohd Muhamad (MAS)
Assistant Referee 2: Mohamad Bin Zainal (MAS)
Fourth Official: Muhammad Nasaruddin (MAS)

India – Turkmenistan

Referee: Khamis Al Marri (QAT)
Assistant Referee 1: Juma Al Burshaid (QAT)
Assistant Referee 2: Ali Ahmad (SYR)
Fourth Official: Ali Reda (LIB)

Uzbekistan – Bahrain
Referee: Abdulla Mohammed (UAE)
Assistant Referee 1: Mohamed Al Hammadi (UAE)
Assistant Referee 2: Hasan Al Mahri (UAE)
Fourth Official: Khamis Al Kuwari (QAT)

Tajikistan – Kyrgyzstan
Referee: Aziz Asimov (UZB)
Assistant Referee 1: Ruslan Serazitdinov (UZB)
Assistant Referee 2: Andrey Tsapenko (UZB)
Fourth Official: Alibek Sapayev (TKM)

Palestine – Timor
Referee: Hettikamkanamge Perera (SRI)
Assistant Referee 1: Palitha Hemathunga (SRI)
Assistant Referee 2: Iran Udayakantha (SRI)
Fourth Official: Kuttiappa Rajakrishna (SRI)

Irak – Vietnam

Referee: Peter Green (AUS)
Assistant Referee 1: Anton Shchetinin (AUS)
Assistant Referee 2: Mohd Che (MAS)
Fourth Official: Ullah Hidayat (PAK)

Iran – Oman
Referee: Minoru Tojo (JPN)
Assistant Referee 1: Satoshi Karakami (JPN)
Assistant Referee 2: Hiroshi Yamauchi (JPN)
Fourth Official: Shahzad Khurram (PAK)

Maldives – Bhutan
Referee: Kim Sang-Woo (KOR)
Assistant Referee 1: Bang Gi Yeol (KOR)
Assistant Referee 2: Bong Keun Song (KOR)
Fourth Official: Woo Sung Kim (KOR)

UEFA Euro 2016 referees staying at the Hotel du Lac

The referees selected for the Euro 2016 will be staying at the Hotel du Lac, Barrière Group's property, starting from 6 June 2016. The information was recently confirmed by UEFA. This property is located in the spa town of Enghien-les-Bains in the Val d' Oise region and has already hosted several times the France national team in recent years.




The City and Montmorency Football Club will have the pleasure of welcoming the referees of the European Championship on the facilities of Nelson Mandela Sports. The 94 match officials selected (referees, assistant referees and additional assistant referees) will learn about these places on 18 April 2016 with the occasion of their preparation workshop. It is a nice spotlight for the city of Val d'Oise and the quality of sports facilities is unanimously recognized. Montmorency FC has three grass pitches.

Source: Arbitrage 57

FIFA Futsal World Cup 2016 Qualifiers – UEFA (Play-off, First Leg)

22 March 2016

Slovenia – Spain
Referee 1: Alessandro Malfer (ITA, photo)
Referee 2: Angelo Galante (ITA)

Netherlands – Azerbaijan
Referee 1: Ondřej Černý (CZE)
Referee 2: Cédric Pelissier (FRA)

Serbia – Portugal
Referee 1: Saša Tomić (CRO)
Referee 2: Nikola Jelić (CRO)

Belarus – Russia
Referee 1: Tomasz Frak (POL)
Referee 2: Sebastian Stawicki (POL)

Hungary – Italy
Referee 1: Admir Zahovič (SVN)
Referee 2: Dejan Nikolić (SVN)

Poland – Kazakhstan
Referee 1: Kamil Çetin (TUR)
Referee 2: Ozan Soykan (TUR)

Slovakia – Ukraine

Referee 1: Timo Onatsu (FIN)
Referee 2: Borislav Kolev (BUL)

FIFA World Cup 2018 Qualifiers – CONMEBOL (Matchday 5)

24-25 March 2016

Brazil – Uruguay
Referee: Nestor Pitana (ARG, phto)
Assistant Referee 1: Juan Belatti (ARG)
Assistant Referee 2: Ezequiel Brailovsky (ARG)
Fourth Official: Fernando Rapallini (ARG)
Referee Observer: Rogger Zambrano (ECU)

Bolivia – Colombia
Referee: Wilton Sampaio (BRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Emerson Carvalho (BRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Alessandro Rocha (BRA)
Fourth Official: Anderson Daronco (BRA)
Referee Observer: Martin Vazquez (URU)

Ecuador – Paraguay
Referee: Daniel Fedorczuk (URU)
Assistant Referee 1: Nicolas Taran (URU)
Assistant Referee 2: Richard Trinidad (URU)
Fourth Official: Jonathan Fuentes (URU)
Referee Observer: Hebert Aguilera (BOL)

Chile – Argentina
Referee: Heber Lopes (BRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Marcelo Van Gasse (BRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Rodrigo Correa (BRA)
Fourth Official: Raphael Claus (BRA)
Referee Observer: Manuel Yupanqui (PER)

Peru – Venezuela
Referee: Enrique Caceres (PAR)
Assistant Referee 1: Juan Zorrilla (PAR)
Assistant Referee 2: Roberto Canete (PAR)
Fourth Official: Mario Diaz De Vivar (PAR)
Referee Observer: Guido Aros (CHI)

FIFA World Cup 2018 Qualifiers – CONCACAF (Round 4, Matchday 3)

25 March 2016

Jamaica – Costa Rica
Referee: Jair Marrufo (USA, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Frank Anderson (USA)
Assistant Referee 2: Adam Garner (USA)
Fourth Official: Edvin Jurisevic (USA)

St. Vincent – Trinidad & Tobago
Referee: Jose Kellys (PAN)
Assistant Referee 1: Keytzel Corrales (NCA)
Assistant Referee 2: Ramon Louisville (SUR)
Fourth Official: Johannes Dolaini (SUR)

Haiti – Panama
Referee: Oscar Reyna (GUA)
Assistant Referee 1: Ronaldo De La Cruz (GUA)
Assistant Referee 2: Marco Diaz (GUA)
Fourth Official: Jonathan Polanco (GUA)

El Salvador – Honduras
Referee: Javier Santos (PUR)
Assistant Referee 1: Jairo Morales (PUR)
Assistant Referee 2: Ainsley Rochard (TRI)
Fourth Official: William Anderson (PUR)

Guatemala – USA
Referee: Jafeth Perea (PAN)
Assistant Referee 1: Ronald Bruna (PAN)
Assistant Referee 2: Juan Baines (PAN)
Fourth Official: Ariel Sanchez (PAN)

Canada – Mexico
Referee: Kimbell Ward (SKN)
Assistant Referee 1: Peter Manikowski (USA)
Assistant Referee 2: Ike Inniss (SKN)
Fourth Official: Tristley Bassue (SKN)

FIFA World Cup 2018 Qualifiers – AFC (Round 2, Matchday 9)

24 March 2016

Uzbekistan – Philippines
Referee: Ryuji Sato (JPN, phto)
Assistant Referee 1: Toru Sagara (JPN)
Assistant Referee 2: Shinji Ochi (JPN)
Fourth Official: Sivakorn Pu-Udom (THA) 


Iraq – Thailand
Referee: Abdulrahman Al Jassim (QAT)
Assistant Referee 1: Taleb Al Marri (QAT)
Assistant Referee 2: Saoud Al Maqaleh (QAT)
Fourth Official: Ali Al Adba (QAT)

Australia – Tajikistan
Referee: Fahad Al Marri (QAT)
Assistant Referee 1: Yousuf Al Shamari (QAT)
Assistant Referee 2: Mohammed Al Abakry (KSA)
Fourth Official: Chuan Hui Foo (SIN)

Japan – Afghanistan
Referee: Mohanad Sarray (IRQ) 
Assistant Referee 1: Fahad Al Umri (KSA)
Assistant Referee 2: Khalaf Al Shammari (KSA)
Fourth Official: Zaid Mohammed (IRQ)

Korea – Lebanon
Referee: Ma Ning (CHN)
Assistant Referee 1: Dexin Wang (CHN)
Assistant Referee 2: Huo Weiming (CHN)
Fourth Official: Wang Di (CHN)

Jordan – Bangladesh
Referee: Muhammad Bin Jahari (SIN)
Assistant Referee 1: Edwin Tzu Liang (SIN)
Assistant Referee 2: Ronnie Min Kiat (SIN)
Fourth Official: Farhad Bin Mohamed (SIN)

China – Maldives
Referee: Ali Al Qaysi (IRQ)
Assistant Referee 1: Ameer Hussein (IRQ)
Assistant Referee 2: Abdullah Al Jardani (OMA)
Fourth Official: Omar Al Yaquobi (OMA)

Vietnam – Chinese Taipei
Referee: Adham Makhadmeh (JOR)
Assistant Referee 1: Ahmad Alroalle (JOR)
Assistant Referee 2: Issa Alamawi (JOR)
Fourth Official: Ahmed Alali (JOR)

Iran – India
Referee: Vo Minh Tri (VIE)
Assistant Referee 1: Manh Long Pham (VIE)
Assistant Referee 2: Nguyen Trung Hau (VIE)
Fourth Official: Hien Triet Nguyen (VIE)

Oman – Guam
Referee: Jameel Abdulhusin (BHR)
Assistant Referee 1: Nawaf Moosa (BHR)
Assistant Referee 2: Zakariya Kanat (SYR)
Fourth Official: Masoud Tufayelieh (SYR)

UAE – Palestine
Referee: Ben Williams (AUS)
Assistant Referee 1: Matthew Cream (AUS)
Assistant Referee 2: Paul Cetrangolo (AUS)
Fourth Official: Nivon Gamini (SRI)

Bahrain – Yemen
Referee: Ahmed Al Kaf (OMA)
Assistant Referee 1: Rashid Al Ghaithi (OMA)
Assistant Referee 2: Abdullah Al Shammakhi (OMA)
Fourth Official: Mahmood Al Majarafi (OMA)

Qatar – Hong Kong
Referee: Dmitri Mashentsev (KGZ)
Assistant Referee 1: Bakhadyr Kochkarov (KGZ)
Assistant Referee 2: Ismailzhan Talipzhanov (KGZ)
Fourth Official: Rysbek Shekerbekov (KGZ)

Saudi Arabia – Malaysia
Referee: Kim Dong-Jin (KOR)
Assistant Referee 1: Park In-Sun (KOR)
Assistant Referee 2: Lee Jungmin (KOR)
Fourth Official: Kim Dae-Young (KOR)

Syria – Cambodia
Referee: Chris Beath (AUS)
Assistant Referee 1: Nathan MacDonald (AUS)
Assistant Referee 2: Ashley Beecham (AUS)
Fourth Official: Alan Milliner (AUS)

International Friendly Matches

23-29 March 2016

Romania – Lithuania
Referee: David Fernandez Borbalan (ESP, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Roberto Diaz Perez (ESP)
Assistant Referee 2: Angel Nevado Rodriguez (ESP)

Slovenia – Macedonia
Referee: Milorad Mazic (SRB)
Assistant Referee 1: Milovan Ristic (SRB)

Assistant Referee 2: Dalibor Djurdjevic (SRB)
Fourth Official: Roberto Ponis (SVN)

Croatia
 Israel 
Referee: Istvan Vad (HUN)
Assistant Referee 1: Peter Berettyan (HUN)
Assistant Referee 2: Gabor Eros (HUN)
Fourth Official: Ante Vucemilovic-Simunovic (CRO)

Poland – Serbia
Referee: Alexander Harkam (AUT)

Assistant Referee 1: Andreas Staudinger (AUT)
Assistant Referee 2: Andreas Witschnigg (AUT)
Fourth Official: Daniel Stefanski (POL)

Gibraltar – Liechtenstein
Referee: Ryan Stewart (WAL)
Assistant Referee 1: Phil Thomas (WAL)
Assistant Referee 2: Dan Beckett (WAL)

Denmark – Iceland
Referee: Tore Hansen (NOR)
Assistant Referee 1: Jon-Michael Knutsen (NOR)
Assistant Referee 2: Oystein Ytterland (NOR)
Fourth Official: Michael Tykgaard (DEN)

Italy – Spain
Referee: Deniz Aytekin (GER)
Assistant Referee 1: Guido Kleve (GER)
Assistant Referee 2: Holger Henschel (GER)
Fourth Official: Paolo Mazzoleni (ITA)

Ukraine – Cyprus
Referee: Orel Grinfeeld (ISR)
Assistant Referee 1: Dvir Shimon (ISR)
Assistant Referee 2: Mahmud Mahagna (ISR)
Fourth Official: Oleksandr Derdo (UKR)

Czech Republic – Scotland
Referee: Paul McLaughlin (IRL)
Assistant Referee 1: Dermot Broughton (IRL)
Assistant Referee 2: Allen Lynch (IRL)
Fourth Official: Pavel Orel (CZE)

Greece – Montenegro
Referee: Istvan Kovacs (ROU)
Assistant Referee 1: Vasilie Marinescu (ROU)
Assistant Referee 2: Alexandru Cerei (ROU)
Fourth Official: Anastassios Papapetrou (GRE)

Wales – Northern Ireland
Referee: Steven McLean (SCO)
Assistant Referee 1: Stuart Stevenson (SCO)
Assistant Referee 2: Sean Carr (SCO)

Netherlands – France
Referee: Felix Zwayer (GER)
Assistant Referee 1: Thorsten Schiffner (GER)
Assistant Referee 2: Mike Pickel (GER)
Fourth Official: Serdar Gözübüyük (NED)

Luxembourg – Bosnia and Herzegovina
Referee: Jonathan Lardot (BEL)
Assistant Referee 1: Laurent Conotte (BEL)
Assistant Referee 2: Frederic Godelaine (BEL)

Portugal – Bulgaria
Referee: Serge Gumienny (BEL)
Assistant Referee 1: Jimmy Cremers (BEL)
Assistant Referee 2: Karel De Rocker (BEL)
Fourth Official: Fabio Costa Veríssimo (POR)

Slovakia – Latvia
Referee: Harald Lechner (AUT)
Assistant Referee 1: Andreas Heidenreich (AUT)
Assistant Referee 2: Roland Braunschmidt (AUT)
Fourth Official: Markus Hameter (AUT)

Armenia – Belarus
Referee: Giorgi Vadachkoria (GEO)
Assistant Referee 1: Zaza Menteshashvili (GEO)
Assistant Referee 2: Zaza Pipia (GEO)

Germany – England
Referee: Gianluca Rocchi (ITA)
Assistant Referee 1: Lorenzo Manganelli (ITA)
Assistant Referee 2: Filippo Meli (ITA)
Fourth Official: Paolo Valeri (ITA)

Hungary – Croatia
Referee: Radek Príhoda (CZE)
Assistant Referee 1: Radek Kotik (CZE)
Assistant Referee 2: Ivo Nadvornik (CZE)
Fourth Official: Zbynek Proske (CZE)

Poland – Finland
Referee: Hiroyuki Kimura (JPN)
Assistant Referee 1: Toshiyuki Nagi (JPN)
Assistant Referee 2: Toshiyuki Tanaka (JPN)
Fourth Official: Bartosz Frankowski (POL)

Russia – Lithuania
Referee: Daniele Orsato (ITA)
Assistant Referee 1: Riccardo Di Fiore (ITA)
Assistant Referee 2: Alessandro Costanzo (ITA)

Turkey – Sweden
Referee: Danny Makkelie (NED)
Assistant Referee 1: Hessel Steegstra (NED)
Assistant Referee 2: Bas van Dongen (NED)
Fourth Official: Mete Kalkavan (TUR)

Austria – Albania
Referee: Ivan Kruzliak (SVK)
Assistant Referee 1: Tomas Mokos (SVK)
Assistant Referee 2: Ondrej Brendza (SVK)
Fourth Official: Filip Glova (SVK)

Estonia – Norway
Referee: Andrew Dallas (SCO)
Assistant Referee 1: Alan Mulvanny (SCO)
Assistant Referee 2: Graham Chambers (SCO)
Fourth Official: Kristo Tohver (EST)

England – Netherlands
Referee: Antonio Mateu Lahoz (ESP)
Assistant Referee 1: Pau Cebrian Devis (ESP)
Assistant Referee 2: Roberto Diaz Perez (ESP)
Fourth Official: Carlos Clos Gomez (ESP)

Romania – Spain
Referee: Ruddy Buquet (FRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Guillaume Debart (FRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Philippe Jeanne (FRA)

Austria – Turkey

Referee: Paweł Gil (POL)
Assistant Referee 1: Piotr Sadczuk (POL)
Assistant Referee 2: Marcin Borkowski (POL)
Fourth Official: Bartosz Frankowski (POL)

Germany – Italy

Referee: Oliver Drachta (AUT)
Assistant Referee 1: Roland Brandner (AUT)
Assistant Referee 2: Stefan Kühr (AUT)
Fourth Official: Manuel Schüttengruber (AUT)

Greece – Iceland
Referee: Javier Estrada Fernandez (ESP)
Assistant Referee 1: Miguel Martinez Munuera (ESP)
Assistant Referee 2: Javier Aguilar Rodriguez (ESP)

Luxembourg – Albania
Referee: Robert Schörgenhofer (AUT)
Assistant Referee 1: Maximilian Kolbitsch (AUT)
Assistant Referee 2: Roland Riedel (AUT)

Scotland – Denmark
Referee: Svein Oddvar Moen (NOR)
Assistant Referee 1: Kim Haglund (NOR)
Assistant Referee 2: Frank Andas (NOR)
Fourth Official: Ken Henry Johnsen (NOR)

Sweden – Czech Republic
Referee: Bas Nijhuis (NED)
Assistant Referee 1: Rob van de Ven (NED)
Assistant Referee 2: Charl Schaap (NED)
Fourth Official: Kevin Blom (NED)

Switzerland – Bosnia and Herzegovina
Referee: Sebastien Delferiere (BEL)
Assistant Referee 1: Yves De Neve (BEL)
Assistant Referee 2: Kevin Monteny (BEL)

France – Russia
Referee: Craig Thomson (SCO)
Assistant Referee 1: David McGeachie (SCO)
Assistant Referee 2: Alastair Mather (SCO)
Fourth Official: Steven McLean (SCO)

Norway – Finland
Referee: Neil Doyle (IRL)
Assistant Referee 1: Damien MacGraith (IRL)
Assistant Referee 2: Wayne McDonnell (IRL)

Ukraine – Wales
Referee: Serdar Gözübüyük (NED)
Assistant Referee 1: Dave Goossens (NED)
Assistant Referee 2: Angelo Boonman (NED)
Fourth Official: Yevhen Aranovsky (UKR)

Montenegro – Belarus
Referee: Danilo Grujic (SRB)
Assistant Referee 1: Vladimir Jovanovic (SRB)
Assistant Referee 2: Dejan Potocan (SRB) 


Liechtenstein – Faroe Islands
Referee: Jesus Gil Manzano (ESP)
Assistant Referee 1: Angel Nevado Rodriguez (ESP)
Assistant Referee 2: Juan Yuste Jimenez (ESP)
Fourth Official: Carlos Del Cerro Grande (ESP)

UEFA Women's Champions League – Quarter-finals (First Leg)

23 March 2016

Rosengard – FFC Frankfurt
Referee: Cristina Dorcioman (ROU, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Petruta Iugulescu (ROU)
Assistant Referee 2: Alexandra Apostu (ROU)
Fourth Official: Teodora Albon (ROU)

Wolfsburg – Brescia
Referee: Stephanie Frappart (FRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Manuela Nicolosi (FRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Solenne Bartnik (FRA)
Fourth Official: Florence Guillemin (FRA)

Barcelona – Paris St. Germain
Referee: Katalin Kulcsar (HUN)
Assistant Referee 1: Judit Kulcsar (HUN)
Assistant Referee 2: Andrea Hima (HUN)
Fourth Official: Eszter Urban (HUN)

Olympique Lyon – Slavia Praha
Referee: Pernilla Larsson (SWE)
Assistant Referee 1: Julia Magnusson (SWE)
Assistant Referee 2: Anna Nystrom (SWE)
Fourth Official: Sara Persson (SWE)

Referee brutally attacked in Africa

A play-off match in the Democratic Republic of Congo descended into utter chaos after a referee was brutally attacked by a pack of field invaders. Daring Club Motema Pembe (DCMP) and Dauphin Noir, both of the Super Ligue, Congo's top tier, engaged in a scoreless draw before emotions boiled over upon the full-time whistle, and supporters stormed the field to attack the referee.
Upon hearing the final whistle, spectators burst onto the field and chased down the match officials. The referee desperately attempted to flee the melee, but he was tackled to the ground as a large group of fans piled in to beat him. Riot police tried to protect the referee, who can be seen with a severely swollen, with bleeding face and a black eye. He was beaten so badly by fans he was forced to leave the pitch on a stretcher under the protection of police.
Fans also caused damage to the stadium itself as they rioted, with seats ripped out and smashed on the field and windows at the arena's main entrance broken.

Source: Metro

FIFA World Cup 2018: Prospective Referee Trios

AFC (7)

Referee: Abdulrahman Al Jassim (QAT, 1987)
Assistant Referee 1: Taleb Al Marri (QAT, 1988)
Assistant Referee 2: Saoud Al Maqaleh (QAT, 1988)

Referee: Fahad Al Mirdasi (KSA, 1985, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Abdulah Al Shalwai (KSA, 1975)
Assistant Referee 2: Mohammed Al Abakry (KSA, 1980)

Referee: Alireza Faghani (IRN, 1978)
Assistant Referee 1: Reza Sokhandan (IRN, 1974)
Assistant Referee 2: Mohammadreza Mansouri (IRN, 1978)

Referee: Ravshan Irmatov (UZB, 1977)
Assistant Referee 1: Abduxamidullo Rasulov (UZB, 1976)
Assistant Referee 2: Jakhongir Saidov (UZB, 1979)

Referee: Abdulla Mohamed (EAU, 1978)
Assistant Referee 1: Mohamed Al-Hammadi (EAU, 1984)
Assistant Referee 2: Hasan Al-Mahri (EAU, 1978)

Referee: Ryuji Sato (JPN, 1977)
Assistant Referee 1: Toru Sagara (JPN, 1976)
Assistant Referee 2: Hiroshi Yamauchi (JPN, 1979)

Referee: Nawaf Shukralla (BHR, 1976)
Assistant Referee 1: Yaser Abdulla (BHR, 1974)
Assistant Referee 2: Ebrahim Saleh (BHR, 1974)

Reserve Referees
1. Muhammad Bin Jahari (SIN, 1986)
2. Mohd Bin Yaacob (MAS, 1986)
3. Jong Hyeok Kim (KOR, 1983)

CAF (7)

Referee: Mehdi Abid Charef (ALG, 1980)
Assistant Referee 1: Abdelhak Etchiali (ALG, 1981)
Assistant Referee 2: Anouar Hmila (TUN, 1974)

Referee: Alioum Alioum (CMR, 1982)
Assistant Referee 1: Evarist Menkouande (CMR, 1974)
Assistant Referee 1: Elvis Noupue (CMR, 1983)

Referee: Bernard Camille (SEY, 1975)
Assistant Referee 1: Zakhele Siwela (RSA, 1982)
Assistant Referee 2: Theogene Ndagijimana (RWA, 1978)

Referee: Malang Diedhiou (SEN, 1973)
Assistant Referee 1: Djibril Camara (SEN, 1983)
Assistant Referee 2: El Hadji Samba (SEN, 1979)

Referee: Bakary Gassama (GAM, 1979)
Assistant Referee 1: Jean Birumushahu (BDI, 1972)
Assistant Referee 2: Marwa Range (KEN, 1977)

Referee: Ghead Grisha (EGY, 1976)
Assistant Referee 1: Redouane Achik (MAR, 1972)
Assistant Referee 2: Waleed Ahmed (SDN, 1974)

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

Reserve Referees
1. Joseph Lamptey (GHA, 1974)
2. Eric Otogo Castane (GAB, 1976)
3. Bamlak Tessema (ETH, 1980)

CONCACAF (7)

1. Joel Aguilar (SLV, 1975)
2. Roberto Garcia (MEX, 1974)
3. Mark Geiger (USA, 1974)
4. Walter Lopez (GUA, 1980)
5. Ricardo Montero (CRC, 1986)
6. John Pitti (PAN, 1978)
7. Cesar Ramos (MEX, 1983)


Reserve Referees
1. Armando Castro (HON, 1983)
2. Valdin Legister (JAM, 1979)
3. Yadel Martinez (CUB, 1985)

CONMEBOL (10)

Referee: Jose Argote (VEN, 1980)
Assistant Referee 1: Luis Murillo (VEN, 1976)
Assistant Referee 2: Carlos Lopez (VEN, 1982)

Referee: Enrique Caceres (PAR, 1974)
Assistant Referee 1: Eduardo Cardozo (PAR, 1982)
Assistant Referee 2: Juan Zorrilla (PAR, 1975)

Referee: Andres Cunha (URU, 1976)
Assistant Referee 1: Nicolas Taran (URU, 1980)
Assistant Referee 2: Mauricio Espinosa (URU, 1972)

Referee: Diego Haro (PER, 1982)
Assistant Referee 1: Jonny Bossio (PER, 1975)
Assistant Referee 2: Raul Lopez (PER, 1977)

Referee: Enrique Osses (CHI, 1974)
Assistant Referee 1: Carlos Astroza (CHI, 1976)
Assistant Referee 2: Christian Schiemann (CHI, 1977)

Referee: Nestor Pitana (ARG, 1975)
Assistant Referee 1: Hernan Maidana (ARG, 1972)
Assistant Referee 2: Juan Belatti (ARG, 1979)

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

Referee: Wilmar Roldan (COL, 1980)
Assistant Referee 1: Alexander Guzman (COL, 1985)
Assistant Referee 2: Cristian De La Cruz (COL, 1978)

Referee: Gery Vargas (BOL, 1981)
Assistant Referee 1: Juan Montano (BOL, 1988)
Assistant Referee 2: Javier Bustillos (BOL, 1976)

Referee: Roddy Zambrano (ECU, 1978)
Assistant Referee 1: Christian Lescano (ECU, 1983)
Assistant Referee 2: Byron Romero (ECU, 1980)

Reserve Referees
1. Julio Bascunan (CHI, 1978)
2. Daniel Fedorczuk (URU, 1976)
3. Wilson Lamouroux (COL, 1979)
4. Wilton Sampaio (BRA, 1981)
5. Mauro Vigliano (ARG, 1975)

OFC (2)

Referee: Matthew Conger (NZL, 1978)
Assistant Referee 1: Simon Lount (NZL, 1981)
Assistant Referee 2: Tevita Makasini (TGA, 1976)

Referee: Norbert Hauata (TAH, 1979)
Assistant Referee 1: Ravenish Kumar (FIJ, 1982)
Assistant Referee 2: Philippe Revel (TAH, 1982)

Reserve Referees
1. Ravitesh Behari (FIJ, 1981)
2. Nicholas Waldron (NZL, 1982)
3. Abdelkader Zitouni (TAH, 1981)


According to this updated list, the cut-off birth year is 1972, which means that, if selected, those match officials will be 46 at the World Cup in 2018.
All pre-selected referees will be attending FIFA Elite courses: AFC, CAF and OFC in Doha, Qatar (11-15 April 2016), CONCACAF and CONMEBOL in Miami, USA (25-29 April 2016), The assistant referees courses are scheduled for 9-13 May 2016 in Asuncion (CONMEBOL and CONCACAF), 23-27 May 2016 in Agadir, Morocco (AFC, CAF and OFC). The UEFA courses and participants will be announced later.

Source: Arbitro Internacional

UEFA Europa League – Round of 16 (Second Leg)

17 March 2016

Sevilla – Basel
Referee: Deniz Aytekin (GER, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Guido Kleve (GER)
Assistant Referee 2: Mike Pickel (GER)
Additional AR1: Tobias Welz (GER)
Additional AR 2: Benjamin Brand (GER)
Fourth Official: Rafael Foltyn (GER)
Referee Observer: Gylfi Orasson (ISL)

Bayer Leverkusen – Villarreal
Referee: William Collum (SCO)
Assistant Referee 1: Damien MacGraith (IRL)
Assistant Referee 2: Francis Connor (SCO)
Additional AR 1: Bobby Madden (SCO)
Additional AR 2: John Beaton (SCO)
Fourth Official: Douglas Ross (SCO)
Referee Observer: Vaclav Krondl (CZE)

Valencia – Athletic
Referee: Daniele Orsato (ITA)
Assistant Referee 1: Gianluca Cariolato (ITA)
Assistant Referee 2: Lorenzo Manganelli (ITA)
Additional AR 1: Paolo Valeri (ITA)
Additional AR 2: Daniele Doveri (ITA)
Fourth Official: Riccardo Di Fiore (ITA)
Referee Observer: Zdravko Jokić (SRB)

Lazio – Sparta Praha
Referee: Ruddy Buquet (FRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Cyril Gringore (FRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Guillaume Debart (FRA)
Additional AR 1: Tony Chapron (FRA)
Additional AR 2: Nicolas Rainville (FRA)
Fourth Official: Laurent Stien (FRA)
Referee Observer: Nikolai Levnikov (RUS)

Tottenham Hotspur – Borussia Dortmund
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: Antonio Damato (ITA)
Fourth Official: Andrea Padovan (ITA)
Referee Observer: Kaj Natri (FIN)

Braga – Fenerbahçe
Referee: Ivan Bebek (CRO)
Assistant Referee 1: Tomislav Petrović (CRO)
Assistant Referee 2: Miro Grgić (CRO)
Additional AR 1: Marijo Strahonja (CRO)
Additional AR 2: Goran Gabrilo (CRO)
Fourth Official: Goran Pataki (CRO)
Referee Observer: Manuel Díaz Vega (ESP)

Manchester United – Liverpool
Referee: Milorad Mažić (SRB)
Assistant Referee 1: Milovan Ristić (SRB)
Assistant Referee 2: Dalibor Đurđević (SRB)
Additional AR 1: Danilo Grujić (SRB)
Additional AR 2: Nenad Đokić (SRB)
Fourth Official: Nemanja Petrović (SRB)
Referee Observer: Luciano Luci (ITA)

Anderlecht – Shakhtar Donetsk
Referee: Antonio Mateu Lahoz (ESP)
Assistant Referee 1: Pau Cebrián Devís (ESP)
Assistant Referee 2: Roberto Díaz Pérez (ESP)
Additional AR 1: Jesús Gil Manzano (ESP)
Additional AR 2: Carlos Clos Gómez (ESP)
Fourth Official: Raúl Cabañero Martínez (ESP)
Referee Observer: Zbigniew Przesmycki (POL)

CONCACAF Champions League – Semi-finals (First Leg)

15-16 March 2016

Queretaro – Tigres
Referee: Cesar Ramos (MEX, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Marcos Quintero (MEX)
Assistant Referee 2: Miguel Hernandez (MEX)
Fourth Official: Jose Penaloza (MEX)

Santos Laguna – Club America
Referee: Luis Santander (MEX)
Assistant Referee 1: Salvador Rodriguez (MEX)
Assistant Referee 2: Mario Lopez (MEX)
Fourth Official: Paul Delgadillo (MEX)

Copa Libertadores – Group Stage (Matchday 5)

15 March 2016
San Lorenzo – Gremio
Referee: Andres Cunha (URU, (photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Miguel Nievas (URU)
Assistant Referee 2: Carlos Pastorino (URU)
Fourth Official: Christian Ferreyra (URU)
Referee Observer: Luis Pasturenzi (ARG)

Independiente del Valle – Melgar
Referee: Raul Orosco (BOL)
Assistant Referee 1: Javier Bustillos (BOL)
Assistant Referee 2: Edwar Saavedra (BOL)
Fourth Official: José Jordan (BOL)

Referee Observer: Miguel Erazo (ECU)

Santa Fe – Cobresal
Referee: Óscar Maldonado (BOL)
Assistant Referee 1: José Antelo (BOL)

Assistant Referee 2: Edwin Paredes (BOL)
Fourth Official: Juan García (BOL)
Referee Observer: Denver Perdomo (COL)

Penarol – Atletico Nacional
Referee: Julio Bascunan (CHI)
Assistant Referee 1: Christian Schiemann (CHI)
Assistant Referee 2: Claudio Ríos (CHI)
Fourth Official: Claudio Puga (CHI)
Referee Observer: Martín Vázquez (URU)

16 March 2016
Trujillanos – Sao Paulo
Referee: Wilson Lamouroux (COL)
Assistant Referee 1: Alexander León (COL)
Assistant Referee 2: Dionisio Ruiz (COL)

Fourth Official: Juan Ponton (COL)
Referee Observer: Candelario Andaracia (VEN)

The Strongest – River Plate
Referee: Julio Quintana (PAR)
Assistant Referee 1: Rodney Aquino (PAR)
Assistant Referee 2: Eduardo Cardozo (PAR)
Fourth Official: Eber Aquino (PAR)
Referee Observer: Marcelo Ortube (BOL)

Corinthians – Cerro Porteno
Referee: Patricio Loustau (ARG)
Assistant Referee 1: Hernán Maidana (ARG)
Assistant Referee 2: Lucas Germanota (ARG)
Fourth Official: Diego Abal (ARG)
Referee Observer: Ednilson Corona (BRA)

Atletico Mineiro – Colo Colo
Referee: Juan Soto (VEN)
Assistant Referee 1: Jorge Urrego (VEN)
Assistant Referee 2: Elbis Gómez (VEN)
Fourth Official: José Hoyo (VEN)
Referee Observer: Roberto Perassi (BRA)

17 March 2016
River – Rosario Central
Referee: Jose Argote (VEN)
Assistant Referee 1: Tulio Moreno (VEN)
Assistant Referee 2: Luis Murillo (VEN)
Fourth Official: Mayker Gomez (VEN)
Referee Observer: Jorge Larrionda (URU)

Olimpia – Emelec
Referee: Dario Herrera (ARG)
Assistant Referee 1: Ariel Scime (ARG)
Assistant Referee 2: Gabriel Chade (ARG)
Fourth Official: Fernando Espinoza (ARG)
Referee Observer: Ubaldo Aquino (PAR)

Deportivo Cali – Racing
Referee: Diego Haro (PER)
Assistant Referee 1: Braulio Cornejo (PER)
Assistant Referee 2: Jorge Yupanqui (PER)

Fourth Official: Henry Gambetta (PER)
Referee Observer: Óscar Ruiz (COL)

Nacional – Palmeiras
Referee: Carlos Vera (ECU)
Assistant Referee 1: Juan Macías (ECU)
Assistant Referee 2: Flavio Nall (ECU)
Fourth Official: Omar Ponce (ECU)

Referee Observer: Juan Cardellino (URU)

Pumas Unam – Deportivo Táchira
Referee: Ricardo Marques (BRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Kleber Gil (BRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Fabricio Vilarinho (BRA)
Fourth Official: Luiz De Oliveira (BRA)
Referee Observer: Edgardo Codesal (MEX)

UEFA Champions League – Round of 16 (Second Leg, II)

15 March 2016
Manchester City – Dynamo Kyiv
Referee: Ovidiu Haţegan (ROU, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Octavian Șovre (ROU)
Assistant Referee 2: Sebastian Gheorghe (ROU)
Additional AR 1: Alexandru Tudor (ROU)
Additional AR 2: Sebastian Colţescu (ROU)
Fourth Official: Radu Ghinguleac (ROU)
Referee Observer: Frank De Bleeckere (BEL)

Atletico Madrid – PSV Eindhoven
Referee: Mark Clattenburg (ENG)
Assistant Referee 1: Simon Beck (ENG)
Assistant Referee 2: Jake Collin (ENG)
Additional AR 1: Anthony Taylor (ENG)
Additional AR 2: Andre Marriner (ENG)
Fourth Official: Stuart Burt (ENG)
Referee Observer: Rune Pedersen (NOR)

16 March 2016
FC Barcelona – Arsenal
Referee: Sergei Karasev (RUS)
Assistant Referee 1: Anton Averyanov (RUS)
Assistant Referee 2: Tikhon Kalugin (RUS)
Additional AR 1: Sergei Lapochkin (RUS)
Additional AR 2: Sergei Ivanov (RUS)
Fourth Official: Nikolay Golubev (RUS)
Referee Observer: Murat Ilgaz (TUR)

Bayern München – Juventus Turin
Referee: Jonas Erikssson (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: Mehmet Culum (SWE)
Referee Observer: Levan Paniashvili (GEO)

Klein: “England - Brazil, a wonderful concert of soccer”

“Go on, open the envelope and see who you got,” a Hungarian colleague urged him. The referees for the 1970 World Cup finals in Mexico were being told which games they would be officiating. “I can’t. I’m nervous,” was the reply. Of course, he opened the envelope. England versus Brazil. The game of the tournament – the defending champion versus the heir apparent, the cradle of soccer versus the land of soccer, the Three Lions versus the Brazilian wonder team. Bobby Charlton and Bobby Moore versus Pelé, Tostao, Jairzinho and Gerson. And inside the envelope, in black magic marker, the name Klein. Abraham Klein.
Yes, the young Israeli referee had impressed two years earlier at the Mexico Olympics, but no one could figure out why he drew the most important game. “Without a doubt, FIFA was taking a risk,” Klein recounts in his Haifa apartment overlooking the Mediterranean. “The excitement only grew. As I took to the field at Jalisco Stadium in Guadalajara I realized my hands were in my pockets, shaking with nervousness,” he says. “Bobby Moore and Carlos Alberto shook each other’s hands and then mine, those of an unknown referee from a small country in his first World Cup. The players always check out the referee, and these were the greatest players. Pelé, of course, and Charlton. I took my hands out, shook theirs firmly, showed some confidence.” Ken Aston, the great English referee who invented the red and yellow cards, made the right choice. It was one of the greatest games in soccer history – “a concert”, Klein says repeatedly. And don’t forget the unbelievable save by English goalkeeper Gordon Banks on Pelé’s header. Pelé, by the way, became a friend. “I first met Klein at the England game in 1970, which was the most important game on the way to the title. It was a tough game, but he controlled it completely,” Pelé wrote in the introduction to Klein’s autobiography “Aman Hamashrukit” (“The Whistle Artist”). Klein rose higher in world soccer than any other Israeli. Three World Cups, including some of the most important games in the tournament’s history; two Olympics; the Little World Cup, a prestigious 1972 tournament celebrating 150 years of Brazilian independence; and countless internationals. He served in various roles in FIFA and the European governing body, UEFA. The sport’s greats are his personal friends, from Pelé to former FIFA President Sepp Blatter. On March 29 Klein turns 82, yet he looks far younger than his age and remains impressively athletic. And he still remembers everything – even the name of every head of Bermuda’s referees’ association. He’s also a gentleman, who insisted: “If you come by train, tell me and I’ll pick you up.” Klein also officiated between Italy and Argentina in 1978, and between Brazil and Italy in 1982, maybe the greatest game in history. He was a linesman in the wonderful final that year. Still, England versus Brazil remains his favorite. “It had everything: importance, history, tremendous media interest, the top players,” Klein says. “And it was a wonderful game, a concert of soccer”.
His small apartment is heaving with photos and memorabilia, which he started collecting at the 1968 Mexico Olympics. Other valuable mementoes he stores elsewhere. His collection includes pictures, flags, magazines, emblems, ties, patches, cups, whistles, balls and trophies (including one with the signatures engraved of the entire 1982 Italy team). There’s the ball from England versus Brazil; like the others, it’s in a plastic supermarket bag. That’s right, the ball that Pelé and Moore, Tostao and Charlton kicked. The ball that Jairzinho sent to the back of the net and the one that Banks saved. There’s the ball with the signatures of the world’s best players, from a game against the rest of the world marking a year since Argentina’s World Cup victory in 1978. There they are, the signatures of Zico, Ruud Krol, Michel Platini, Marco Tardelli, Emerson Leao and others. There’s the ball from the 1982 final. And there’s the ball that many will say is the most historic, from the Brazil-Italy game that year. Okay, I was already excited, but now my hands were trembling slightly, like Klein’s in 1970. To hold the ball with which Paulo Rossi scored a hat trick, with which Falcao leveled the score at 2-2, that keeper Dino Zoff stopped near the end of the game. If soccer is a religion and the billions are its believers, I touched a holy arc. Not everyone gets so excited. Two years ago Klein sought to donate his amazing collection to a certain institution, which declined. Klein refuses to give names. Maybe it didn’t realize the magnitude of the trove. The balls were in a dusty bag at his daughter’s. If not for the former publisher Mordi Alon, a curator who befriended Klein when he published his book, much of this treasure may have ended up in the garbage. With the help of Alon and his wife Bracha, Klein is putting his collection up for auction. The lot is estimated to be worth about $370,000, including about $50,000 for the England versus Brazil ball and $40,000 for Brazil versus Italy. There has already been interest; an Italian historian has sent an email and a fax has arrived from Japan, which won the bronze medal in the 1968 Olympics. If I had a spare $100,000 floating around I know what I would do, but Klein doesn’t want the memorabilia sitting at home with a private collector. He wants the stuff in a museum so anybody can see it, including people not yet born in the ‘70s and ‘80s. He continued to referee in youth games in Israel and abroad, including in the Special Olympics, long after he officially retired. If not for a knee operation in 2000, he’d still be treading the grass. “A few months ago I took a train to Florence,” he says. “A kid of about 16 or 17 got up so I could sit down. I sat down, called him over, and showed him a photo of Brazil versus Italy. The kid didn’t believe it at first. He called his friends over. It warmed my heart”.
Klein was considered one of the world’s top referees in part because he was in such great shape and could get so close to the action. “Watch Jairzinho’s goal against Portugal in the last minute of the Little World Cup final,” he says. “I’m a meter away from him, not like today when the referees are outside the penalty box.” Maybe most importantly, he was a referee with a presence, someone who could handle the big stars. “A referee should first of all worry about the players’ well-being and health,” he says. “It’s no coincidence that the 1970 World Cup was the only one without any red cards, because it had the best referees ever.” He doesn’t have many good things to say about today’s refereeing, whether in Israel or around the world. As a gentleman he doesn’t criticize anyone personally; he simply praises the great referees of yesteryear. In Israel these are the late brothers Menachem and Moshe Ashkenazi. On the world stage he lauds England’s Jack Taylor, who refereed with him in 1970 and officiated the 1974 World Cup final. Then there’s Brazilian Arnaldo Cezar Coelho, who officiated with him in 1978 and 1982, including in the final where Klein was a linesman. Incidentally, politics had much to do with preventing him from refereeing the final in Argentina 1978 or Spain 1982. But in 1982, the last time a final would have been replayed in the event of a tie after 120 minutes, Klein was slated to officiate the replay. In any case, referees’ lack of authority nowadays irks him, as does the overreliance on linesmen. And then there are players who touch referees, and referees who take pains to explain things to players. It’s enough to see the photo of Klein waving away the whining Giancarlo Antognoni in the Brazil game. That’s a referee the players respect. But Brazilians still complain about the time Claudio Gentile tore Zico’s shirt while fouling him; they say Klein should have called a penalty shot. “I was in Brazil a few years ago and the television network Globo chased me everywhere for four days ... They asked about Zico and Gentile all the time,” he says. “They forget there was an offside and the linesman raised his flag.” Klein, by the way, received a match rating of 9.2 – the highest ever for a referee in a World Cup game. He thinks the lowering of referees’ retirement age (from 50 in his day to 48 and then 45) is a problem. He also wants to see the Hawk-Eye electronic ball-tracking system used. “There have been many mistakes in goals where the ball did or didn’t cross the line, for which teams were promoted or eliminated,” he notes. But he’s against replays helping decide on fouls or offside calls. He tells of a lesson in a course he once took; 30 World Cup referees were studying an incident. “Fifty percent thought it deserved a penalty and 50 percent thought it didn’t. And all of them were qualified referees.” Either way, he’s admired around the world. “Beyond the refereeing, I’m proud of the number of friends I have everywhere,” he says. In Israel, it took a while for a game to be held in his honor; finally Maccabi Haifa did it. The Netherlands beat the Greens to it. “I didn’t know that Klein was Dutch,” Yehoshua Sagi wrote at the time in Haaretz. Still, it’s not too late to revive a suggestion by then-Knesset member, now president, Reuven Rivlin in 1991: Award Klein the Israel Prize.

Source: Haaretz

FIFA Referee Kurtes resigns: “What happens in refereeing does not correspond to my beliefs”

In 2014 she was voted as the German female referee of the year. In 2015 her career precipitated with a historic mistake. Now Marija Kurtes (28) resigned and strongly criticized DFB, UEFA and FIFA. In a statement on her Facebook page, Kurtes said that the main reason for her surprise resignation was "structural problems within the DFB, UEFA and FIFA". After she tried in vain to bring changes, Kurtes arrived at the conclusion that "what happens in refereeing does not correspond to my beliefs". She mentioned “the lack of transparency in the decision-making structures, lack of clear responsibilities and contact within the associations. The hierarchical structures demand conformity to the system. Repressive and selective decisions came to light. This was working, because enough people are involved. Our services are required, but each of us is left on its own. From a scientific training and sport medicine point of view, this is very risky. They also live a culture of errors. Their decisions and actions are not comprehensible, but bound to individual persons who cannot hide. These injustices are reoccurring and never adjusted", Kurtes wrote in a public letter.
Marija Kurtes became famous last year, when her mistake forced UEFA to replay the final seconds of the U-19 Euro qualifier England - Norway. With Norway winning 2-1, England was awarded a penalty kick in the sixth minute of stoppage time. Leah Williamson scored the penalty kick, but the referee, Marija Kurtes, disallowed the goal because one England player entered the penalty area before the ball was kicked. Norway played out the final minute of stoppage time and won the match 2-1. The Laws of the Game state that the referee should have ordered the penalty to be retaken and UEFA said it had no choice but to order the final moments of the match be replayed from the moment of the penalty kick. The shortest international match in the history was born. "The 'real' error was not in the rules, but the way I was treated, feeling 'like a prisoner' in Belfast for three days”, said Kurtes.
"It is extremely unfortunate that a young and talented referee as Marija Kurtes takes this step to resign", said DFB Vice-President Ronny Zimmermann. "The DFB refereeing has improved by creating structures and new ways of doing things. Referees are closely involved in this process. In addition, I have also spoken extensively with Marija Kurtes, which makes her resignation even more regrettable".
Marija Kurtes became a FIFA referee in 2012 and two years later she was named the German female referee of the year. Now she had enough. "For me, personally, that was the right decision", she concludes. "I am at peace".

Source: Kicker

Elleray: The revised Laws of the Game should reduce controversy

David Elleray was the perfect figure to lead the team tasked with making the Laws of the Game more accessible, concise and clear by the International Football Association Board (IFAB), after he refereed with distinction at the top level of the English game for over a decade. Elleray (photo), who retired from refereeing in 2003, presented a new edition of the Laws of the Game at the 130th Annual General Meeting of the IFAB in Cardiff, and FIFA.com caught up with the former schoolteacher to discuss the changes.
FIFA.com: What impact will the revision of the Laws of the Game have?
David Elleray: The revision of the Laws of the Game is designed to make the Laws more accessible, not just to referees but to players, coaches and anybody that's interested in football so they can understand the Laws. We've also brought them up to date because they had fallen behind the development of football. They are briefer Laws, with 10,000 words removed but with much greater clarity so everybody understands what decision a referee makes.
- Who was involved in the revision process?
- It was led by the IFAB technical sub-committee who did all the work; I was charged with leading them. We had regular consultations over 18 months with the IFAB football advisory panel (FAP) and technical advisory panel (TAP). It was actually with their support, especially the FAP with the players and coaches, which enabled us to bring in some slightly more radical changes and move things much faster than we had anticipated. 
- How important are the two advisory panels?
- They have enabled us to effectively consult the world of football. In fact, the revision of the Laws of the Game has gone further and faster than we anticipated simply because of the extent of support from players and coaches from the different confederations. IFAB now understands better what people think in different footballing cultures and I think that gives us a greater strength to feel that when we recommend something it’s a correct recommendation for football.
- What are the aims behind the revision?
- I think the original aim was an extensive tidying up to make the language and structure clearer to make the Laws accessible. As we went into it more deeply, we became aware of more contradictions and wording which was open to too many conflicting but equally valid interpretations. That wasn't going to help referees or football in general. We very much looked at making the Laws fair, encouraging Fair Play, and we had at the back of our minds the thought, "What would football expect?' We think we've moved the Laws much more to what people in football would expect to happen in certain situations.
- Can you talk us through the most significant alterations to the Laws?
- In a way, the change to 'triple punishment' is part of the revision but others include; a player who is injured by a yellow or red card foul can have quick treatment and not have to leave the field of play because that seemed unfair. Where a foul occurs off the field of play, as part of play, that is restarted with a free kick and not a drop ball. Also, trying to stop unfairness with penalty kicks, a stronger punishment if the kicker doesn't behave correctly, whether he scores or not it will always be a free kick. If the goalkeeper moves early and the kicker doesn't score it will be a retake but also a yellow card for the goalkeeper.
- What benefits does the revision offer?
- We should have a much more consistent interpretation across the world because we've made it much clearer what should happen in certain situations. That should reduce controversy and confusion. I think more people will be able to understand the Laws because the book is much clearer and if people understand the Laws they will be more accepting of referees' decisions, that's not just spectators but players and coaches. Also, for the first time ever, the Laws are gender neutral in terms of language and I think that makes a significant point that the Laws of the Game and football are not just for men.
- Will the revision make future additions or alterations to the Laws easier?
- I think so, because we used to have the front of the book which told you what the Law was, and the back which told you how to interpret that Law. Often people only read the front and not the back, so by bringing that altogether that makes it clearer and easier in the future. 
- Where can fans, players, coaches find the new version of the Laws?
- In May we will be launching the IFAB website (www.theifab.com) and the whole book and each individual Law will be available for download. Increasingly, we will have more educational material on the website, explaining the Laws with video clip examples of offences and how they are dealt with.

Source: IFAB/FIFA

UEFA Europa League – Round of 16 (First Leg)

10 March 2016

Athletic – Valencia
Referee: Björn Kuipers (NED, photo)
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: Mario Diks (NED)
Referee Observer: Jean Lemmer (LUX)

Liverpool – Manchester United
Referee: Carlos Velasco Carballo (ESP)
Assistant Referee 1: Roberto Alonso Fernández (ESP)
Assistant Referee 2: Juan Yuste Jiménez (ESP)
Additional AR 1: Jesús Gil Manzano (ESP)
Additional AR 2: Carlos Del Cerro Grande (ESP)
Fourth Official: Ángel Nevado Rodríguez (ESP)
Referee Observer: Jørn West Larsen (DEN)

Shakhtar Donetsk – Anderlecht
Referee: Artur Soares Dias (POR)
Assistant Referee 1: Bertino Miranda (POR)
Assistant Referee 2: Rui Tavares (POR)
Additional AR 1: João Pinheiro (POR)
Additional AR 2: Cosme Machado (POR)
Fourth Official: Bruno Rodrigues (POR)
Referee Observer: Bertrand Layec (FRA)

Basel – Sevilla
Referee: Anthony Taylor (ENG)
Assistant Referee 1: Stuart Burt (ENG)
Assistant Referee 2: Gary Beswick (ENG)
Additional AR 1: Andre Marriner (ENG)
Additional AR 2: Robert Madley (ENG)
Fourth Official: Michael Mullarkery (ENG)
Referee Observer: Eugen Strigel (GER)

Borussia Dortmund – Tottenham Hotspur
Referee: Cüneyt Çakir (TUR)
Assistant Referee 1: Bahattin Duran (TUR)
Assistant Referee 2: Tarık Ongun (TUR)
Additional AR 1: Hüseyin Göçek (TUR)
Additional AR 2: Bariş Şimşek (TUR)
Fourth Official: Cem Satman (TUR)
Referee Observer: Vladimir Antonov (MDA)

Fenerbahçe – Braga
Referee: Clément Turpin (FRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Frédéric Cano (FRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Nicolas Danos (FRA)
Additional AR 1: Benoît Bastien (FRA)
Additional AR 2: Fredy Fautrel (FRA)
Fourth Official: Cyril Gringore (FRA)
Referee Observer: Markus Nobs (SUI)

Villarreal – Bayer Leverkusen
Referee: Gianluca Rocchi (ITA)
Assistant Referee 1: Elenito Di Liberatore (ITA)
Assistant Referee 2: Gialuca Cariolato (ITA)
Additional AR 1: Antonio Damato (ITA)
Additional AR 2: Carmine Russo (ITA)
Fourth Official: Mauro Tonolini (ITA)
Referee Observer: Robert Sedlacek (AUT)

Sparta Praha – Lazio
Referee: Alberto Undiano Mallenco (ESP)
Assistant Referee 1: Roberto Díaz Pérez (ESP)
Assistant Referee 2: Raúl Cabañero Martínez (ESP)
Additional AR 1: Carlos Clos Gómez (ESP)
Additional AR 2: Javier Estrada Fernández (ESP)
Fourth Official: Miguel Martínez Munuera (ESP)
Referee Observer: Jozef Marko (SVK)

Copa Libertadores – Group Stage (Matchday 4)

8 March 2016
Emelec – Olimpia
Referee: Wilton Sampaio (BRA, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Emerson de Carvalho (BRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Guilherme Camilo (BRA)
Fourth Official: Raphael Claus (BRA)
Referee Observer: Rogger Zambrano (ECU)

Sporting Cristal – Huracán
Referee: Mario Diaz de Vivar (PAR)
Assistant Referee 1: Eduardo Cardozo (PAR)
Assistant Referee 2: Juan Zorrilla (PAR)
Fourth Official: José Mendez (PAR)
Referee Observer: César Mongrut (PER)

Atlético Nacional – Peñarol
Referee: Heber Lopes (BRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Marcelo van Gasse (BRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Bruno Pires (BRA)
Fourth Official: Anderson Daronco (BRA)
Referee Observer: Otalvaro Polanco (COL)

9 March 2016
Cobresal – Santa Fe
Referee: Roddy Zambrano (ECU)
Assistant Referee 1: Christian Lescano (ECU)
Assistant Referee 2: Juan Macías (ECU)
Fourth Official: Omar Ponce (ECU)
Referee Observer: Ivan Guerrero (CHI)

Rosario Central – River
Referee: Ulises Mereles (PAR)
Assistant Referee 1: Rodney Aquino (PAR)
Assistant Referee 2: Dario Gaona (PAR)
Fourth Official: Eber Aquino (PAR)
Referee Observer: Luis Bongianino (ARG)

Cerro Porteño – Corinthians
Referee: Diego Haro (PER)
Assistant Referee 1: Braulio Cornejo (PER)
Assistant Referee 2: Coty Carrera (PER)
Fourth Official: Joel Alarcón (PER)
Referee Observer: Ubaldo Aquino (PAR)

Deportivo Táchira – Pumas Unam
Referee: Jorge Baliño (ARG)
Assistant Referee 1: Gustavo Rossi (ARG)
Assistant Referee 2: Iván Núñez (ARG)
Fourth Official: Silvio Trucco (ARG)
Referee Observer: Adrián Gómez (VEN)

Palmeiras – Nacional
Referee: Enrique Osses (CHI)
Assistant Referee 1: Carlos Astroza (CHI)
Assistant Referee 2: Christian Schiemann (CHI)
Fourth Official: Jorge Osorio (CHI)
Referee Observer: Roberto Perassi (BRA)

Gremio – San Lorenzo
Referee: Daniel Fedorczuk (URU)
Assistant Referee 1: Nicolás Taran (URU)
Assistant Referee 2: Richard Trinidad (URU)
Fourth Official: Esteban Ostojich (URU)
Referee Observer: Antonio Pereira (BRA)

10 March 2016
River Plate – Sao Paulo
Referee: Julio Bascuñán (CHI)
Assistant Referee 1: Francisco Mondria (CHI)
Assistant Referee 2: Marcelo Barraza (CHI)
Fourth Official: Eduardo Gamboa (CHI)
Referee Observer: Carlos Coradina (ARG)

Liga de Quito – Toluca
Referee: Wilson Lamouroux (COL)
Assistant Referee 1: Wilmar Navarro (COL)
Assistant Referee 2: Christian de la Cruz (COL)
Fourth Official: Gustavo Murillo (COL)
Referee Observer: Bomer Fierro (ECU)

Bolívar – Boca Juniors
Referee: Andrés Cunha (URU)

Assistant Referee 1: Mauricio Espinosa (URU)
Assistant Referee 2: Gabriel Popovits (URU)
Fourth Official: Jonathan Fuentes (URU)
Referee Observer: Marcelo Ortubé (BOL)

Colo Colo – Atlético Mineiro
Referee: Gery Vargas (BOL)
Assistant Referee 1: Juan Montaño (BOL)
Assistant Referee 2: Wilson Arellano (BOL)
Fourth Official: Luis Yrusta (BOL)
Referee Observer: Pablo Pozo (CHI)

UEFA Youth League – Quarter-finals

8 March 2016
Real Madrid – SL Benfica
Referee: Nicolas Rainville (FRA, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Laurent Stien (FRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Hicham Zakrani (FRA)
Fourth Official: Valentín Pizarro Gómez (ESP)
Referee Observer: Luis Medina Cantalejo (ESP)

Anderlecht – Barcelona
Referee: Aliyar Aghayev (AZE)
Assistant Referee 1: Zeynal Zeynalov (AZE)
Assistant Referee 2: Rza Mammadov (AZE)
Fourth Official: Wesley Alen (BEL)
Referee Observer: Paul Allaerts (BEL)

9 March 2016
Paris St. Germain – AS Roma
Referee: Alejandro Hernández Hernández (ESP)
Assistant Referee 1: Teodoro Sobrino Magán (ESP)
Assistant Referee 2: José Naranjo Pérez (ESP)
Fourth Official: Romain Delpech (FRA)
Referee Observer: Pascal Garibian (FRA)

Hall returns to CONCACAF as Director of Refereeing

The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) announced today the appointment of Brian Hall (USA) as Director of Refereeing. Hall (photo) will lead all aspects of refereeing in the Confederation, playing a key role in improving the Refereeing Department’s operations and developing a professional workforce that enables CONCACAF referees to achieve and maintain a consistent, high-quality performance on the field.
“Refereeing is one of the most critical functions for the Confederation and we are confident that the department’s reorganization under Brian’s leadership will establish an efficient structure to continue strengthening our operations,” said CONCACAF Acting General Secretary Ted Howard. “Brian has a deep understanding of our region and an intense passion for refereeing. We look forward to having him lead the assessment and development of referees, while ensuring that our community of referees receives the necessary support to perform professionally and effectively on the field.”
In January 2016, CONCACAF announced the results of its Refereeing Department review, which included a recommendation to hire a new Director of Refereeing. The appointment of Mr. Hall is a result of a rigorous and public search undertaken by the Confederation, which included the screening of 10 candidates over a three-month period, followed by a thorough selection process focused on the top five candidates. This process included comprehensive interviews and evaluations from a selection panel composed by regional stakeholders, to identify the best suited individual. 
Brian Hall has a successful track record over the past 10 years as both a referee and referee development manager within the CONCACAF region, and has forged a strong relationship with the community of referees. Mr. Hall’s experience includes serving as: 
- Match Official Development Manager at the Professional Referee Organization (PRO), where he was responsible for training, developing, and identifying professional referees, and assessing match officials in Major League Soccer (MLS); 
- Director of Refereeing Administration at CONCACAF with oversight of all refereeing activities throughout the region, including developing training programs, assessing referees, and assigning referees for CONCACAF matches; 
- Manager of Assessment and Training at the United States Soccer Federation, with responsibility for training and assessing referees in both Men’s and Women’s Professional soccer; and 
- Referee at the 2002 FIFA World Cup in Korea and Japan, and for over five years in MLS. 
Commenting on his appointment, Brian Hall said: “I’m eager to work alongside CONCACAF’s staff, and the entire refereeing community, to continue building a professional Refereeing Department that raises the quality of refereeing for every competition across the region. As a Department, we must also prioritize the implementation of a robust referee development program that is tailored to assess and meet the needs of all 41 CONCACAF Member Associations”.

Source: CONCACAF

UEFA Champions League – Round of 16 (Second Leg, I)

8 March 2016
Real Madrid – AS Roma
Referee: Szymon Marciniak (POL, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Pawel Sokolnicki (POL)
Assistant Referee 2: Tomasz Listkiewicz (POL)
Additional AR 1: Pawel Raczkowski (POL)
Additional AR 2: Tomasz Musial (POL)
Fourth Official: Radoslaw Siejka (POL)
Referee Observer: Sándor Piller (HUN)

VfL Wolfsburg – KAA Gent
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: Pierluigi Collina (ITA)

9 March 2016
Chelsea – Paris St. Germain
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: Marco Achmuller (GER)
Referee Observer: Roberto Rosetti (ITA)

Zenit St. Petersburg – SL Benfica
Referee: Viktor Kassai (HUN)
Assistant Referee 1: Gyorgy Ring (HUN)
Assistant Referee 2: Vencel Toth (HUN)
Additional AR 1: Tamas Bognar (HUN)
Additional AR 2: Adam Farkas (HUN)
Fourth Official: Istvan Albert (HUN)
Referee Observer: Alan Snoddy (NIR)

Collina welcomes video trials

Former World Cup final referee Pierluigi Collina has welcomed the introduction of video technology trials to assist officials and said on Sunday that it will end years of frustration for the men in the middle. Collina, the most distinctive and famous referee of modern times, remembered for his piercing blue eyes and bald head, also said the revised laws of the game were a major development in bringing all interested parties in the game together. The decisions to allow a two-year experiment with video technology and change a number of the game's laws were announced by football's law-making body, the International Football Association Board (IFAB), after a meeting in Cardiff. The laws, extensively rewritten for the first time since they were formulated in the 19th century, have been edited from 22,000 to 12,000 words by former Premier League referee David Elleray with some input from, among others, Collina, who took charge of the 2002 World Cup final between Brazil and Germany.
The 56-year-old Italian, who is now UEFA's head of refereeing, said in a telephone interview with Reuters from his home in Forte dei Marmi, Italy that he welcomed the changes, which have been made following years of debate. "Being a referee and being assessed, not based on what we can see but by TV camera images, leaves many referees frustrated," he said. "Half of the football community cannot understand that a mistake committed by the referee is only committed because he is a human being and cannot see every incident. So the use of video assistance will help the referee enormously. I am not sceptical about this. The referee on the field tries to do his best but he has not been assessed on what he can see, but what the television shows. Just think how difficult it is to correctly assess an offside incident sometimes, for example."
Collina, who until last week worked closely with new FIFA president Gianni Infantino in the latter's role as UEFA's general secretary, agrees that the Swiss is right to take a cautious approach now he is in football's top job. "As Gianni Infantino said in Cardiff, we have to be cautious because there are instances in play which are difficult to assess by TV images," said Collina. "Imagine a push. It is difficult to assess the intensity of a push by television and there are other areas which could create problems, but generally speaking we have taken a big step forwards. At UEFA we have done our best to support the referee. But certainly if you have 32 cameras positioned at different angles with high definition, the referee cannot see what 32 cameras can show, that's impossible. In the past that has been frustrating for the referee but now we can see if some of this technology can help the referee and that is very positive."
One of the major revisions to the laws, also for a trial period, is downgrading the so-called "triple punishment" of sending off, penalty and suspension for denying an opponent a goal-scoring opportunity in the penalty area. Players will now be cautioned rather than red-carded if they make a serious attempt to get the ball but commit a foul, and Collina is delighted with the change. "We at UEFA are happy about this as we worked hard to achieve this," he said. "It is something very positive as the entire world of football - players, coaches and everyone - has been asking for this for a long time and we are delighted that this change will be implemented from Euro 2016."
Another law change likely to have a significant impact is that in future a player who has been injured by a reckless and cautionable challenge does not have to leave the field after treatment and wait to be waved back on by the referee. "This was something that needed to be changed and I am proud we made this contribution to IFAB and IFAB has put this change in place," said Collina. "It restores fair play and means that the team victimised is not playing 10 against 11 for a while."
The law changes will take effect from June 1 and be in place for the 2016 European Championship in France, with video trials implemented no later than the start of the 2017-2018 season.

Source: Reuters

IFAB modified Law 12 – DOGSO

A special item on today’s IFAB AGM was the so-called “triple punishment” of sending off, penalty and suspension for the denial of an obvious goal-scoring opportunity within the penalty area. After a long debate, The IFAB unanimously approved a new wording for Law 12 as submitted by UEFA and agreed that it should be implemented globally for a two-year trial period, starting on 1 June 2016, followed by a review by the IFAB.
Denying a goal or an obvious goal-scoring opportunity
Where a player denies the opposing team a goal or an obvious goal scoring opportunity by a deliberate handball offence the player is sent off wherever the offence occurs.
Where a player commits an offence against an opponent within their own penalty area which denies an opponent an obvious goal-scoring opportunity and the referee awards a penalty kick, the offending player is cautioned unless:
- The offence is holding, pulling or pushing or
- The offending player does not attempt to play the ball or there is no possibility for the player making the challenge to play the ball or
- The offence is one which is punishable by a red card wherever it occurs on the field of play (e.g. serious foul play, violent conduct, etc.)
In all the above circumstances the player is sent off.

Source: IFAB/FIFA

Experiments with video assistant referees

A landmark decision by the International Football Association Board (The IFAB) at its 130th Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Cardiff, Wales, will pave the way for the introduction of live experiments with video assistant referees in football. Today’s meeting, held at the St David’s Hotel and chaired by the President of the Football Association of Wales David Griffiths, also saw the most substantial revision of the Laws of the Game get the green light.
The first item on the agenda was the comprehensive revision of the Laws of the Game – an 18-month project of The IFAB Technical Sub-Committee, led by former English Premier League referee David Elleray. The IFAB unanimously approved the revision, which they identified as a ‘once in a generation’ opportunity to address anomalies and inconsistences in the Laws. While the main focus is improving the structure and phraseology – with each Law and interpretation now combined, the word count halved and gender neutral language used throughout – some of the 94 edits also include Law changes that are based on common sense and meeting the needs of the modern game. For example, the ball will be able to move in any direction from the kick-off rather than only moving forward (Law 8), while a player who is injured by a challenge punished by a yellow/red card can now have a quick assessment/treatment on the field rather than having to leave the field which gave the offending team a numerical advantage (Law 5). It represents the most comprehensive revision of the Laws ever undertaken in The IFAB’s 130-year history.
With regard to video assistance for match officials, The IFAB approved in principle a detailed set of protocols for the experiments and agreed they should be conducted for a minimum of two years in order to identify the advantages, disadvantages and worst-case scenarios. The set of protocols were drawn up by The IFAB’s Technical Sub-Committee, with support from FIFA’s Technology Innovation Department, and followed discussions with the Football Advisory Panel and Technical Advisory Panel as well as football associations, leagues, other sports and technology providers. The IFAB agreed that live experiments should be implemented at the latest for the 2017/18 season. The expectation is not to achieve 100 per cent accuracy in decisions for every single incident, but to avoid clearly incorrect decisions that are pre-defined “game-changing” situations – goals, penalty decisions, direct red card incidents and mistaken identity. The IFAB agreed to allow one type of experiment, which will involve a video assistant referee having access to video replays during the match and either reviewing an incident on request by the referee, or communicating with the referee proactively about an incident that he/she may have missed (further information available here). The experiments will be managed and overseen by The IFAB with the support of FIFA. A university will be selected to conduct a research study, which will focus not only on refereeing but also on the impact on the game itself, including the emotions of the stakeholders, in order to provide The IFAB with a strong basis for the decision-making process. The IFAB will meet with interested competition organisers and FIFA in the coming weeks in order to define a schedule for the next 24 months. This will include a pre-testing phase with an experiment done in a controlled ‘non-live’ environment as well as referee trainings, workshops and onsite preparation for experiments to be implemented in two testing phases across a number of competitions/leagues. The experiments of testing phase two will be modified based on findings of testing phase one. Further information will follow once the schedule is defined. 
The IFAB also agreed to allow experimentation with a fourth substitution in extra time within a competition/league(s) still to be decided on. The aim will be to see whether there is player welfare benefit, whether the fourth substitute is used tactically or genuinely for player welfare, whether the potential use of all four substitutes during extra time (and thus change more than a third of the team) has an unfair impact. 
The modifications to the Laws of the Game made at today’s AGM will come into effect on 1 June 2016.

Source: IFAB/FIFA