UEFA Euro 2016 – Group Stage (Matches 22-24)

18 June 2016

Belgium – Ireland
Referee: Cuneyt Cakir (TUR, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Bahattin Duran (TUR)
Assistant Referee 2: Tarik Ongun (TUR)
Additional AR 1: Huseyin Gocek (TUR)
Additional AR 2: Baris Simsek (TUR)
Fourth Official: Benoît Bastien (FRA)
Reserve AR: Frederic Cano (FRA)
Referee Observer: David Elleray (ENG)

Iceland – Hungary
Referee: Sergei Karasev (RUS)
Assistant Referee 1: Nikolai Golubev (RUS)
Assistant Referee 2: Tikhon Kalugin (RUS)
Additional AR 1: Sergei Lapochkin (RUS)
Additional AR 2: Sergei Ivanov (RUS)
Fourth Official: Aleksei Kulbakov (BLR)
Reserve AR: Vitali Maliutsin (BLR)
Referee Observer: Dagmar Damkova (CZE)

Portugal – Austria
Referee: Nicola Rizzoli (ITA)
Assistant Referee 1: Elenito Di Liberatore (ITA)
Assistant Referee 2: Mauro Tonolini (ITA)
Additional AR 1: Daniele Orsato (ITA)
Additional AR 2: Antonio Damato (ITA)
Fourth Official: Alexandru Tudor (ROU)
Reserve AR: Octavian Sovre (ROU)
Referee Observer: Bo Karlsson (SWE)

Copa America Centenario – Quarter-finals

16 June 2016
USA – Ecuador
Referee: Wilmar Roldan (COL, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Alexander Guzman (COL)
Assistant Referee 2: Wilmar Navarro (COL)
Fourth Official: Wilton Sampaio (BRA)
Reserve AR: Juan Montano (BOL)

17 June 2016
Colombia – Peru
Referee: Patricio Loustau (ARG)
Assistant Referee 1: Ezequiel Brailovsky (ARG)
Assistant Referee 2: Ariel Scime (ARG)
Fourth Official: Mark Geiger (USA)
Reserve AR: Charles Morgante (USA)

18 June 2016
Mexico – Chile
Referee: Heber Lopes (BRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Kleber Gil (BRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Bruno Boschilia (BRA)
Fourth Official: Jose Argote (VEN)
Reserve AR: Luis Sanchez (VEN)

Venezuela – Argentina
Referee: Roberto Garcia (MEX)
Assistant Referee 1: Jose Camargo (MEX)
Assistant Referee 2: Alberto Morin (MEX)
Fourth Official: Ricardo Montero (CRC)
Reserve AR: Christian Ramirez (HON)

UEFA Euro 2016 – Group Stage (Matches 19-21)

17 June 2016

Italy – Sweden
Referee: Viktor Kassai (HUN, photo)
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: Clement Turpin (FRA)
Reserve AR: Nicolas Danos (FRA)
Referee Observer: David Elleray (ENG)

Czech Republic – Croatia
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: Anastasios Sidiropoulos (GRE)
Reserve AR: Damianos Efthymiadis (GRE)
Referee Observer: Vladimir Sajn (SVN)

Spain – Turkey
Referee: Milorad Mazic (SRB)
Assistant Referee 1: Milovan Ristic (SRB)
Assistant Referee 2: Dalibor Djurdjevic (SRB)
Additional AR 1: Danilo Grujic (SRB)
Additional AR 2: Nenad Djokic (SRB)
Fourth Official: Aleksei Kulbakov (BLR)
Reserve AR: Vitali Maliutsin (BLR)
Referee Observer: Nikolai Levnikov (RUS)

UEFA Euro 2016 – Group Stage (Matches 16-18)

Image result for felix brych
16 June 2016

England – Wales
Referee: Felix Brych (GER, photo)
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: Matej Jug (SVN)
Reserve AR: Robert Vukan (SVN)
Referee Observer: Jaap Uilenberg (NED)

Ukraine – Northern Ireland
Referee: Pavel Kralovec (CZE)
Assistant Referee 1: Roman Slysko (SVK)
Assistant Referee 2: Tomas Mokrusch (CZE)
Additional AR 1: Petr Ardeleanu (CZE)
Additional AR 2: Michal Patak (CZE)
Fourth Official: Anastasios Sidiropoulos (GRE)
Reserve AR: Damianos Efthymiadis (GRE)
Referee Observer: Vladimir Sajn (SVN)

Germany – Poland
Referee: Bjorn 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: Daniele Orsato (ITA)
Reserve AR: Elenito Di Liberatore (ITA)
Referee Observer: Hugh Dallas (SCO)

UEFA Euro 2016 – Group Stage (Matches 13-15)

15 June 2016

Russia – Slovakia
Referee: Damir Skomina (SVN, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Jure Praprotnik (SVN)
Assistant Referee 2: Robert Vukan (SVN)
Additional AR 1: Matej Jug (SVN)
Additional AR 2: Slavko Vincic (SVN)
Fourth Official: Jonas Eriksson (SWE)
Reserve AR: Mathias Klasenius (SWE)
Referee Observer: Jaap Uilenberg (NED)

Romania – Switzerland

Referee: Sergei Karasev (RUS)
Assistant Referee 1: Nikolai Golubev (RUS)
Assistant Referee 2: Tikhon Kalugin (RUS)
Additional AR 1: Sergei Lapochkin (RUS)
Additional AR 2: Sergei Ivanov (RUS)
Fourth Official: Aleksei Kulbakov (BLR)
Reserve AR: Vitali Maliutsin (BLR)
Referee Observer: Herbert Fandel (GER)

France – Albania

Referee: William Collum (SCO)
Assistant Referee 1: Damien MacGraith (IRL)
Assistant Referee 2: Francis Connor (SCO)
Additional AR 1: Robert Madden (SCO)
Additional AR 2: John Beaton (SCO)
Fourth Official: Michael Oliver (ENG)
Reserve AR: Michael Mullarkey (ENG)
Referee Observer: Nikolai Levnikov (RUS)

Copa America Centenario – Group Stage (Matches 21-24)

13 June 2016
Mexico – Venezuela
Referee: Yadel Martinez (CUB, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Joe Fletcher (CAN)
Assistant Referee 2: Dario Gaona (PAR)
Fourth Official: Armando Villarreal (USA)
Reserve AR: Hiran Dopico (CUB)

Uruguay – Jamaica
Referee: Wilson Lamouroux (COL)
Assistant Referee 1: Alexander Guzman (COL)
Assistant Referee 2: Corey Parker (USA)
Fourth Official: Ricardo Montero (CRC) 

Reserve AR: Juan Mora (CRC)

14 June 2016
Chile – Panama
Referee: Roddy Zambrano (ECU)
Assistant Referee 1: Byron Romero (ECU)
Assistant Referee 2: Luis Vera (ECU)
Fourth Official: Wilmar Roldan (COL)
Reserve AR: Alexander Leon (COL)

Argentina – Bolivia
Referee: Victor Carillo (PER)
Assistant Referee 1: Jorge Yupanqui (PER)
Assistant Referee 2: Coty Carrera (PER)
Fourth Official: Wilton Sampaio (BRA)
Reserve AR: Octavio Jara (CRC)

Linemayr: referee for special moments

Former FIFA referee Erich Linemayr, one of the best referees of Austrian football history, died at the age of 83, announced ÖFB. Linemayr refereed at the FIFA World Cup finals in Germany 1974 and Argentina 1978, the 1980 European Championship in Italy, UEFA Cup finals 1973 and 1977, European Cup final 1979.
In 1974, he led the legendary "water fight" between Germany and Poland, in Frankfurt’s Waldstadion. The game decided the finalists, as both teams had won their first matches in the second round. A downpour had flooded with water the pitch before kick-off, but the schedule of the tournament did not provide for the possibility of a change. The field was almost not playable, but Linemayr had to start the match. Large pools of water affected the technically superior style of Poland and Germany won 1-0. Excessive rain seemed to be a bit of fate for Linemayr. In 1973, he had to cancel the first leg of the final of the UEFA Cup between Liverpool and Mönchengladbach. In Anfield the water was standing ankle-deep. 
The most bizarre moment in the career of Linemayr occurred on 21 November 1973. On that day it was scheduled the second leg of the World Cup qualifier between Chile and the USSR in Santiago de Chile. However, political reasons did not allow the Soviet team to show up. So, the eleven Chilean players found alone on the nearly empty stadium. Linemayr blew the first whistle, a Chilean put the ball into the goal and then Linemayr ended the game. Chile went to the World Cup.
Linemayr started refereeing in 1963 and became a FIFA referee after only 3 years (1966). During his career, Linemayr refereed 52 European Cup matches, including three finals, and a total of 30 international A matches. In 1981, he had to end his career on grounds of age, but Linemayr continued for years as a referee observer, including at the UEFA level. 

Source: Der Standard

UEFA demoted Bebek and Hunter

At their recent meeting, the UEFA Referees Committee made two changes on the men’s list, demoting Ivan Bebek (CRO, photo) from Elite to First Category and Arnold Hunter (NIR) from First to Second Category.


Men

Elite Category
Martin Atkinson (ENG), Deniz Aytekin (GER), Felix Brych (GER), Cüneyt Çakır (TUR), Mark Clattenburg (ENG), William Collum (SCO), Jonas Eriksson (SWE), David Fernández Borbalán (ESP), Ovidiu Hategan (ROU), Sergei Karasev (RUS), Viktor Kassai (HUN), Pavel Královec (CZE), Björn Kuipers (NED), Szymon Marciniak (POL), Antonio Mateu Lahoz (ESP), Milorad Mažić (SRB), Svein Oddvar Moen (NOR), Bas Nijhuis (NED), Daniele Orsato (ITA), Nicola Rizzoli (ITA), Gianluca Rocchi (ITA), Anastasios Sidiropoulos (GRE), Damir Skomina (SVN), Paolo Tagliavento (ITA), Craig Thomson (SCO), Clément Turpin (FRA), Alberto Undiano Mallenco (ESP), Carlos Velasco Carballo (ESP).

First Category
Ievgenii Aranovskiy (UKR), Luca Banti (ITA), Benoît Bastien (FRA), John Beaton (SCO), Ivan Bebek (CRO), Vladislav Bezborodov (RUS), Kevin Blom (NED), Tamás Bognar (HUN), Serhiy Boiko (UKR), Ruddy Buquet (FRA), Tony Chapron (FRA), Sébastien Delferiere (BEL), Oliver Drachta (AUT), Aleksei Eskov (RUS), Javier Estrada Fernández (ESP), Simon Evans (WAL), Mattias Gestranius (FIN), Pawel Gil (POL), Jesús Gil Manzano (ESP), Hüseyin Göçek (TUR), Serdar Gözübüyük (NED), Manuel Gräfe (GER), Serge Gumienny (BEL), Stefan Johannesson (SWE), Matej Jug (SVN), Jakob Kehlet (DEN), István Kovács (ROU), Ivan Kruzliak (SVK), Aleksei Kulbakov (BLR), Harald Lechner (AUT), Liran Liany (ISR), Robert Madden (SCO), Danny Makkelie (NED), Andre Marriner (ENG), Gediminas Mazeika (LTU), Paolo Mazzoleni (ITA), Michael Oliver (ENG), Halis Özkahya (TUR), Clayton Pisani (MLT), Pawel Raczkowski (POL), Robert Schörgenhofer (AUT), Artur Soares Dias (POR), Manuel Sousa (POR), Aleksandar Stavrev (MKD), Tobias Stieler (GER), Marijo Strahonja (CRO), Martin Strömbergsson (SWE), Anthony Taylor (ENG), Alexandru Tudor (ROU), István Vad (HUN), Slavko Vinčič (SVN), Tobias Welz (GER), Alon Yefet (ISR), Miroslav Zelinka (CZE), Felix Zwayer (GER).

Second Category
Anatoliy Abdula (UKR), Aliyar Aghayev (AZE), Thorvaldur Arnason (ISL), Marius Avram (ROU), Pavel Balaj (ROU), Alain Bieri (SUI), Marcin Borski (POL), Alexandre Boucaut (BEL), Kevin Clancy (SCO), Carlos Clos Gómez (ESP), Sebastian Coltescu (ROU), Nikola Dabanović (MNE), Andrew Dallas (SCO), Antonio Damato (ITA), Bastian Dankert (GER), Carlos Del Cerro Grande (ESP), Amaury Delerue (FRA), Christian Dingert (GER), Neil Doyle (IRL), Svein-Erik Edvartsen (NOR), Andreas Ekberg (SWE), Fredy Fautrel (FRA), Bartosz Frankowski (POL), Marco Fritz (GER), Antony Gautier (FRA), Vlado Glodjović (SRB), Orel Grinfeeld (ISR), Marco Guida (ITA), Tore Hansen (NOR), Alexander Harkam (AUT), Alejandro Hernández Hernández (ESP), Arnold Hunter (NIR), Sergei Ivanov (RUS), Adrien Jaccottet (SUI), Ken Henry Johnsen (NOR), Enea Jorgji (ALB), Georgi Kabakov (BUL), Mete Kalkavan (TUR), Charalampos Kalogeropoulos (GRE), Stephan Klossner (SUI), Artyom Kuchin (KAZ), Sergei Lapochkin (RUS), Jonathan Lardot (BEL), Richard Liesveld (NED), Robert Madley (ENG), Juan Martínez Munuera (ESP), Davide Massa (ITA), Dimitar Meckarovski (MKD), Vitaly Meshkov (RUS), Steven McLean (SCO), Hugo Miguel (POR), Benoît Millot (FRA), Antti Munukka (FIN), Ville Nevalainen (FIN), Christos Nicolaides (CYP), Aleksei Nikolaev (RUS), Ali Palabiyik (TUR), Bojan Pandzić (SWE), Craig Pawson (ENG), Radu Petrescu (ROU), Nikola Popov (BUL), Lee Probert (ENG), Pavle Radovanović (MNE), Nicolas Rainville (FRA), Roi Reinshreiber (ISR), Alan Sant (MLT), Sandro Schärer (SUI), Frank Schneider (FRA), Manuel Schüttengruber (AUT), Eitan Shmuelevitz (ISR), Daniel Siebert (GER), Daniel Stefanski (POL), Ivaylo Stoyanov (BUL), Padraigh Sutton (IRL), Stanislav Todorov (BUL), Kristo Tohver (EST), Leontios Trattou (CYP), Andris Treimanis (LVA), Siarhei Tsynkevich (BLR), Michael Tykgaard (DEN), Paolo Valeri (ITA), Ognjen Valjić (BIH), Pol van Boekel (NED), Bart Vertenten (BEL), Ante Vucemilović-Simunović (CRO), Carlos Xistra (POR), Anatoliy Zhabchenko (UKR).

Third Category
Mohammed Al-Hakim (SWE), Alexandr Aliyev (KAZ), Sascha Amhof (SUI), Sándor Andó-Szabó (HUN), Dennis Antamo (FIN), Aleksandrs Anufrijevs (LVA), Petr Ardeleanu (CZE), Alexandros Aretopoulos (GRE), Suren Baliyan (ARM), Veaceslav Banari (MDA), Sven Bindels (LUX), Deniz Ates Bitnel (TUR), Jörgen Daugbjerg Burchardt (DEN), Johnny Casanova (SMR), Fabio Costa Verissimo (POR), Raymond Crangle (NIR), Andrew Davey (NIR), Oleksandr Derdo (UKR), Vasilis Dimitriou (CYP), Nenad Djokić (SRB), Alain Durieux (LUX), Adam Farkas (HUN), Trustin Farrugia (MLT), Juri Frischer (EST), Aleksander Gauzer (KAZ), Filip Glova (SVK), Aleksandrs Golubevs (LVA), Sergio Piscarreta (POR), Danilo Grujić (SRB), Dag Vidar Hafsas (NOR), Markus Hameter (AUT), Nikolaj Hänni (SUI), Robert Harvey (IRL), Rahim Hasanov (AZE), Thoroddur Hjaltalin (ISL), Zaven Hovhannisyan (ARM), Dejan Jakimovski (MKD), Edin Jakupović (BIH), Jari Järvinen (FIN), Lorenc Jemini (ALB), Gunnar Jónsson (ISL), Srdjan Jovanović (SRB), Fran Jović (CRO), Jovan Kaludjerović (MNE), Ferenc Karakó (HUN), Peter Kjaersgaard (DEN), Georgios Kominis (GRE), Laurent Kopriwa (LUX), Yaroslav Kozyk (UKR), Peter Kralović (SVK), Tvetan Krastev (BUL), Mads Kristoffersen (DEN), Giorgi Kruashvili (GEO), Georgios Kyzas (GRE), Nicolas Laforge (BEL), Erik Lambrechts (BEL), Kirill Levnikov (RUS), Tiago Lopes Martins (POR), Martin Lundby (NOR), Jens Maae (DEN), Orkhan Mammadov (AZE), Stavros Mantalos (GRE), Boris Marhefka (SVK), Bryn Markham-Jones (WAL), Tim Marshall (NIR), Dimitrios Masias (CYP), Paul McLaughlin (IRL), Yuriy Mozharovskyy (UKR), Dumitru Muntean (MDA), Tomasz Musial (POL), Ola Hobber Nilsen (NOR), Glenn Nyberg (SWE), Pavel Orel (CZE), Dominik Ouschan (AUT), Anastasios Papapetrou (GRE), Erez Papir (ISR), Bardhyl Pashaj (ALB), Tihomir Pejin (CRO), Irfan Peljto (BIH), Anders Poulsen (DEN), Zbynek Proske (CZE), Petur Reinert (FAR), Donatas Rumsas (LTU), Fedayi San (SUI), Joao Santos Capela (POR), Dzianis Shcharbakou (BLR), Lasha Silagava (GEO), Joao Silva Pinheiro (POR), Sergejus Slyva (LTU), Ryan Stewart (WAL), Roomer Tarajev (EST), Alexandru Tean (MDA), Vilhjalmur Thorarinnsson (ISL), Stanislav Todorov (BUL), Alex De Albuquerque Troleis (FRO), Alper Ulusoy (TUR), George Vadachkoria (GEO), Mikhail Vilkov (RUS), Ignasi Villamayor (AND), Vladimir Vnuk (SVK), Nikolai Yordanov (BUL), Fyodor Zammit (MLT), Mario Zebec (CRO), Mitja Zganec (SVN).

UEFA Euro 2016 – Group Stage (Matches 11-12)

14 June 2016

Austria – Hungary
Referee: Clement Turpin (FRA, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Frederic Cano (FRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Nicolas Danos (FRA)
Additional AR 1: Benoît Bastien (FRA)
Additional AR 2: Fredy Fautrel (FRA)
Fourth Official: Jesus Gil Manzano (ESP)
Reserve AR: Roberto Alonso Fernandez (ESP)
Referee Observer: David Elleray (ENG)

Portugal – Iceland
Referee: Cuneyt Cakir (TUR)
Assistant Referee 1: Bahattin Duran (TUR)
Assistant Referee 2: Tarik Ongun (TUR)
Additional AR 1: Huseyin Gocek (TUR)
Additional AR 2: Baris Simsek (TUR)
Fourth Official: Carlos Del Cerro Grande (ESP)
Reserve AR: Juan Yuste Jimenez (ESP)
Referee Observer: Dagmar Damkova (CZE)

OFC Nations Cup Final 2016: Hauata (TAH)

11 June 2016

New Zealand – Papua New Guinea
Referee: Norbert Hauata (TAH, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Philippe Revel (TAH)
Assistant Referee 2: Tevita Makasini (TGA)
Fourth Official: Abdelkader Zitouni (TAH)

UEFA Euro 2016 – Group Stage (Matches 8-10)

13 June 2016

Spain – Czech Republic
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: Aleksei Kulbakov (BLR)
Reserve AR: Vitali Maliutsin (BLR)
Referee Observer: Kyros Vassaras (GRE)

Ireland – Sweden
Referee: Milorad Mazic (SRB)
Assistant Referee 1: Milovan Ristic (SRB)
Assistant Referee 2: Dalibor Djurdjevic (SRB)
Additional AR 1: Danilo Grujic (SRB)
Additional AR 2: Nenad Djokic (SRB)
Fourth Official: Matej Jug (SVN)
Reserve AR: Jure Praprotnik (SVN)
Referee Observer: Marc Batta (FRA)

Belgium – Italy
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: Carlos Del Cerro Grande (ESP)
Reserve AR: Juan Yuste Jimenez (ESP)
Referee Observer: Dagmar Damkova (CZE)

Copa America Centenario – Group Stage (Matches 17-20)

11 June 2016
USA – Paraguay
Referee: Julio Bascunan (CHI, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Carlos Astroza (CHI)
Assistant Referee 2: Christian Schiemann (CHI)
Fourth Official: John Pitti (PAN)
Reserve AR: Gabriel Victoria (PAN)

Colombia – Costa Rica

Referee: Jose Argote (VEN)
Assistant Referee 1: Luis Sanchez (VEN)
Assistant Referee 2: Luis Murrilo (VEN)
Fourth Official: Daniel Fedorczuk (URU)

Reserve AR: Bruno Boschilla (BRA)

12 June 2016
Ecuador – Haiti
Referee: Gery Vargas (BOL)
Assistant Referee 1: Javier Bustillos (BOL)
Assistant Referee 2: Juan Montaño (BOL)
Fourth Official: Patricio Loustau (ARG)
Reserve AR: Ezequiel Brailovsky (ARG)

Brazil – Peru
Referee: Andres Cunha (URU)
Assistant Referee 1: Nicolas Taran (URU)
Assistant Referee 2: Richard Trinidad (URU)
Fourth Official: Enrique Caceres (PAR)
Reserve AR: Eduardo Cardozo (PAR)

UEFA Euro 2016 – Group Stage (Matches 5-7)

12 June 2016

Turkey – Croatia
Referee: Jonas Eriksson (SWE, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Mathias Klasenius (SWE)
Assistant Referee 2: Daniel Warnmark (SWE)
Additional AR 1: Stefan Johannesson (SWE)
Additional AR 2: Markus Strombergsson (SWE)
Fourth Official: William Collum (SCO)
Reserve AR: Damien MacGraith (IRL)
Referee Observer: David Elleray (ENG)

Poland – Northern Ireland
Referee: Ovidiu Hategan (ROU)
Assistant Referee 1: Octavian Sovre (ROU)
Assistant Referee 2: Sebastian Gheorghe (ROU)
Additional AR 1: Alexandru Tudor (ROU)
Additional AR 2: Sebastian Coltescu (ROU)
Fourth Official: Anastasios Sidiropoulos (GRE)
Reserve AR: Damianos Efthymiadis (GRE)
Referee Observer: Vladimir Sajn (SVN)

Germany – Ukraine
Referee: Martin Atkinson (ENG)
Assistant Referee 1: Michael Mullarkey (ENG)
Assistant Referee 2: Stephen Child (ENG)
Additional AR 1: Michael Oliver (ENG)
Additional AR 2: Craig Pawson (ENG)
Fourth Official: Robert Madden (SCO)
Reserve AR: Francis Connor (SCO)
Referee Observer: Bo Karlsson (SWE)

Belarus: Head of Referees arrested on suspicion of taking bribes

Andrei Zhukov, the Head of the Referee Department in Belarus, was arrested on suspicion of committing a crime under Part 1 st.430 of the Criminal Code of Belarus (“Taking a bribe”). He was arrested at work and police officers carried out urgent investigative actions. Zhukov (photo) is in a temporary detention facility.
The police have also detained the coach of FC Smarhon and ex-player of Belarus national football team Mikalai Ryndzyuk and referee Andrei Saroka, Pressball reports. Referee Andrei Saroka was released later, but he is refusing to comment on the situation. According to information obtained by Pressball, the detentions are connected with illegal betting.

Source: Euroradio/Pressball

Copa America Centenario – Group Stage (Matches 13-16)

9 June 2016
Uruguay – Venezuela
Referee: Patricio Loustau (ARG, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Ezequiel Brailovsky (ARG)
Assistant Referee 2: Ariel Scime (ARG)
Fourth Official: Roddy Zambrano (ECU)
Reserve AR: Luis Vera (ECU)

Mexico – Jamaica
Referee: Wilton Sampaio (BRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Gustavo Rossi (ARG)
Assistant Referee 2: Alexander Leon (COL)
Fourth Official: Ricardo Montero (CRC)
Reserve AR: Octavio Jara (CRC)

10 June 2016
Argentina – Panama
Referee: Joel Aguilar (SLV)
Assistant Referee 1: Juan Zumba (SLV)
Assistant Referee 2: William Torres (SLV)
Fourth Official: Victor Carrillo (PER)
Reserve AR: Coty Carrera (PER)

Chile – Bolivia
Referee: Jair Marrufo (USA)
Assistant Referee 1: Corey Rockwell (USA)
Assistant Referee 2: Peter Manikowski (USA)
Fourth Official: Armando Villarreal (USA)
Reserve AR: Christian Ramirez (HON)

UEFA Euro 2016 – Group Stage (Matches 2-4)

11 June 2016

Albania – Switzerland
Referee: Carlos Velasco Carballo (ESP, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Roberto Alonso Fernandez (ESP)
Assistant Referee 2: Juan Yuste Jimenez (ESP)
Additional AR 1: Jesus Gil Manzano (ESP)
Additional AR 2: Carlos Del Cerro Grande (ESP)
Fourth Official: Pol van Boekel (NED)
Reserve AR: Erwin Zeinstra (NED)
Referee Observer: Bo Karlsson (SWE)

Wales – Slovakia
Referee: Svein Oddvar Moen (NOR)
Assistant Referee 1: Kim Haglund (NOR)
Assistant Referee 2: Frank Andas (NOR)
Additional AR 1: Ken Henry Johnsen (NOR)
Additional AR 2: Svein Erik Edvartsen (NOR)
Fourth Official: Aleksei Kulbakov (BLR)
Reserve AR: Vitali Maliutsin (BLR)
Referee Observer: Kyros Vassaras (GRE)

England – Russia
Referee: Nicola Rizzoli (ITA)
Assistant Referee 1: Elenito Di Liberatore (ITA)
Assistant Referee 2: Mauro Tonolini (ITA)
Additional AR 1: Daniele Orsato (ITA)
Additional AR 2: Antonio Damato (ITA)
Fourth Official: Anastasios Sidiropoulos (GRE)
Reserve AR: Damianos Efthymiadis (GRE)
Referee Observer: Herbert Fandel (GER)

UEFA Euro 2016 Opener: Kassai (HUN)

Fourth official at this season's UEFA Champions League final, Hungary's Viktor Kassai will officiate at Friday's UEFA Euro 2016 opener between France and Romania. Kassai's most prestigious appointment to date is his posting for the 2011 UEFA Champions League final between Barcelona and Manchester United. Last month he was fourth official at the 2016 decider in Milan.


10 June 2016
France – Romania
Referee: Viktor Kassai (HUN, photo)
Assistant Referee: György Ring (HUN)
Assistant Referee: Vencel Toth (HUN)
Additional AR1: Tamas Bognar (HUN)
Additional AR2: Adam Farkas (HUN)
Fourth Official: Björn Kuipers (NED)
Reserve AR: Sander van Roekel (NED)
Referee Observer: Pierluigi Collina (ITA)

Updated Euro 2016 Referee Teams

According to a FFF video showing the final preparations of the French referee team for Euro 2016, assistant referee Nicolas Danos (photo), who got injured before the French Cup final, may be replaced by Cyril Gringore, if he will not recover in time. So far, UEFA replaced 2 assistant referees, Anton Averianov (RUS) and Martin Wilczek (CZE), and 1 additional assistant referee, Luca Banti (ITA).

Referee: Pavel Kralovec (CZE, 1977)
Assistant Referee 1: Roman Slysko (SVK, 1973)
Assistant Referee 2: Tomas Mokrusch (CZE, 1982)
Additional AR 1: Petr Ardeleanu (CZE, 1980)
Additional AR 2: Michal Patak (CZE, 1975)

Referee: Martin Atkinson (ENG, 1971)
Assistant Referee 1: Michael Mullarkey (ENG, 1970)
Assistant Referee 2: Stephen Child (ENG, 1973)
Additional AR 1: Michael Oliver (ENG, 1985)
Additional AR 2: Craig Pawson (ENG, 1979)

Referee: Mark Clattenburg (ENG, 1975)
Assistant Referee 1: Simon Beck (ENG, 1972)
Assistant Referee 2: Jake Collin (ENG, 1972)
Additional AR 1: Anthony Taylor (ENG, 1978)
Additional AR 2: Andre Marriner (ENG, 1971)

Referee: Clement Turpin (FRA, 1982)
Assistant Referee 1: Frederic Cano (FRA, 1973)
Assistant Referee 2: Nicolas Danos (FRA, 1980)
Additional AR 1: Benoît Bastien (FRA, 1983)
Additional AR 2: Fredy Fautrel (FRA, 1971)

Referee: Felix Brych (GER, 1975)
Assistant Referee 1: Mark Borsch (GER, 1977)
Assistant Referee 2: Stefan Lupp (GER, 1978)
Additional AR 1: Bastian Dankert (GER, 1980)
Additional AR 2: Marco Fritz (GER, 1977)

Referee: Viktor Kassai (HUN, 1975)
Assistant Referee 1: Gyorgy Ring (HUN, 1981)
Assistant Referee 2: Vencel Toth (HUN, 1978)
Additional AR 1: Tamas Bognar (HUN, 1978)
Additional AR 2: Adam Farkas (HUN, 1982)

Referee: Nicola Rizzoli (ITA, 1971)
Assistant Referee 1: Elenito Di Liberatore (ITA, 1973)
Assistant Referee 2: Mauro Tonolini (ITA, 1973)

Additional AR 1: Daniele Orsato (ITA, 1975)
Additional AR 2: Antonio Damato (ITA, 1972)

Referee: Bjorn Kuipers (NED, 1973)
Assistant Referee 1: Sander van Roekel (NED, 1974)
Assistant Referee 2: Erwin Zeinstra (NED, 1977)
Additional AR 1: Pol van Boekel (NED, 1975)
Additional AR 2: Richard Liesveld (NED, 1973)

Referee: Svein Oddvar Moen (NOR, 1979)
Assistant Referee 1: Kim Haglund (NOR, 1977)
Assistant Referee 2: Frank Andas (NOR, 1975)
Additional AR 1: Ken Henry Johnsen (NOR, 1975)
Additional AR 2: Svein Erik Edvartsen (NOR, 1979)

Referee: Szymon Marciniak (POL, 1981)
Assistant Referee 1: Pawel Sokolnicki (POL, 1980)
Assistant Referee 2: Tomasz Listkiewicz (POL, 1978)
Additional AR 1: Pawel Raczkowski (POL, 1983)
Additional AR 2: Tomasz Musial (POL, 1981)

Referee: Ovidiu Hategan (ROU, 1980)
Assistant Referee 1: Octavian Sovre (ROU, 1973)
Assistant Referee 2: Sebastian Gheorghe (ROU, 1976)
Additional AR 1: Alexandru Tudor (ROU, 1971)
Additional AR 2: Sebastian Coltescu (ROU, 1977)

Referee: Sergei Karasev (RUS, 1979)
Assistant Referee 1: Nikolai Golubev (RUS, 1970)
Assistant Referee 2: Tikhon Kalugin (RUS, 1974)
Additional AR 1: Sergei Lapochkin (RUS, 1981)
Additional AR 2: Sergei Ivanov (RUS, 1984)

Referee: William Collum (SCO, 1979)
Assistant Referee 1: Damien MacGraith (IRL, 1980)
Assistant Referee 2: Francis Connor (SCO, 1981)
Additional AR 1: Robert Madden (SCO, 1978)
Additional AR 2: John Beaton (SCO, 1982)

Referee: Milorad Mazic (SRB, 1973)
Assistant Referee 1: Milovan Ristic (SRB, 1974)
Assistant Referee 2: Dalibor Djurdjevic (SRB, 1973)
Additional AR 1: Danilo Grujic (SRB, 1980)
Additional AR 2: Nenad Djokic (SRB, 1979)

Referee: Damir Skomina (SVN, 1976)
Assistant Referee 1: Jure Praprotnik (SVN, 1985)
Assistant Referee 2: Robert Vukan (SVN, 1976)
Additional AR 1: Matej Jug (SVN, 1980)
Additional AR 2: Slavko Vincic (SVN, 1979)

Referee: Carlos Velasco Carballo (ESP, 1971)
Assistant Referee 1: Roberto Alonso Fernandez (ESP, 1976)
Assistant Referee 2: Juan Yuste Jimenez (ESP, 1975)
Additional AR 1: Jesus Gil Manzano (ESP, 1984)
Additional AR 2: Carlos Del Cerro Grande (ESP, 1976)

Referee: Jonas Eriksson (SWE, 1974)
Assistant Referee 1: Mathias Klasenius (SWE, 1975)
Assistant Referee 2: Daniel Warnmark (SWE, 1974)
Additional AR 1: Stefan Johannesson (SWE, 1971)
Additional AR 2: Markus Strombergsson (SWE, 1975)

Referee: Cuneyt Cakir (TUR, 1976)
Assistant Referee 1: Bahattin Duran (TUR, 1975)
Assistant Referee 2: Tarik Ongun (TUR, 1973)
Additional AR 1: Huseyin Gocek (TUR, 1976)
Additional AR 2: Baris Simsek (TUR, 1976)

Fourth Official: Aleksei Kulbakov (BLR, 1979)
Reserve AR: Vitali Maliutsin (BLR, 1974)

Fourth Official: Anastasios Sidiropoulos (GRE, 1979)
Reserve AR: Damianos Efthimiadis (GRE, 1973)

Copa America Centenario – Group Stage (Matches 9-12)

7 June 2016
USA – Costa Rica
Referee: Roddy Zambrano (ECU, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Byron Romero (ECU)
Assistant Referee 2: Luis Vera (ECU)
Fourth Official: John Pitti (PAN)
Reserve AR: Gabriel Victoria (PAN)

Colombia – Paraguay
Referee: Heber Lopes (BRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Kleber Lucio Gil (BRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Bruno Boschilia (BRA)
Fourth Official: Julio Bascunan (CHI)

Reserve AR: Christian Shiemann (CHI)

8 June 2016
Ecuador – Peru
Referee: Wilmar Roldan (COL)
Assistant Referee 1: Alexander Guzman (COL)
Assistant Referee 2: Wilmar Navarro (COL)
Fourth Official: Yadel Martinez (CUB)
Reserve AR: Hiran Dopico (CUB)

Brazil – Haiti
Referee: Mark Geiger (USA)
Assistant Referee 1: Joe Fletcher (CAN)
Assistant Referee 2: Charles Morgante (USA)
Fourth Official: Roberto Garcia (MEX)
Reserve AR: Jose Camargo (MEX)

Copa America Centenario – Group Stage (Matches 5-8)

5 June 2016
Jamaica – Venezuela
Referee: Victor Carrillo (PER, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Jorge Yupanqui (PER)
Assistant Referee 2: Coty Carrera (PER)
Fourth Official: Wilmar Roldan (COL)
Reserve AR: Javier Bustillos (BOL)

Mexico – Uruguay
Referee: Enrique Caceres (PAR)
Assistant Referee 1: Eduardo Cardozo (PAR)
Assistant Referee 2: Milciades Saldivar (PAR)
Fourth Official: Gery Vargas (BOL)
Reserve AR: Dario Gaona (PAR)

6 June 2016
Panama – Bolivia
Referee: Ricardo Montero (CRC)
Assistant Referee 1: Octavio Jara (CRC) 

Assistant Referee 2: Juan Mora (CRC)
Fourth Official: Wilson Lamouroux (COL)
Reserve AR: Peter Manikowski (USA)

Argentina – Chile
Referee: Daniel Fedorczuk (URU)
Assistant Referee 1: Nicolas Taran (URU)
Assistant Referee 2: Richard Trinidad (URU)
Fourth Official: Jair Marrufo (USA)
Reserve AR: Corey Parker (USA)

FIFA World Cup 2018 Qualifiers – OFC (Round 2)

New Zealand – Fiji
Referee: Norbert Hauata (TAH, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Philippe Revel (TAH)
Assistant Referee 2: Noah Kusunan (PNG)
Fourth official: Anio Amos (PNG)

Vanuatu – Solomon Islands
Referee: Mederic Lacour (NCL)
Assistant Referee 1: Folio Moeaki (TGA)
Assistant Referee 2: Bertrand Brial (NCL)
Fourth official: Abdelkader Zitouni (TAH)

Papua New Guinea – New Caledonia
Referee: Matthew Conger (NZL)
Assistant Referee 1: Mark Rule (NZL)
Assistant Referee 2: Tevita Makasini (TGA)
Fourth official: Robinson Banga (VAN)

Tahiti – Samoa
Referee: Ravitesh Behari (FIJ)
Assistant Referee 1: Ravinesh Kumar (FIJ)
Assistant Referee 2: Johnny Erick (SOL)
Fourth official: George Time (SOL)

Vanuatu – New Zealand
Referee: Anio Amos (PNG)
Assistant Referee 1: Norman Bafinu (PNG)
Assistant Referee 2: John Pareanga (COK)
Fourth official: Norbert Hauata (TAH)

Solomon Islands – Fiji
Referee: Abdelkader Zitouni (TAH)
Assistant Referee 1: Tevita Makasini (TGA)
Assistant Referee 2: Folio Moeaki (TGA)
Fourth official: Mederic Lacour (NCL)

New Caledonia – Samoa
Referee: Robinson Banga (VAN)
Assistant Referee 1: Ravinesh Kumar (FIJ)
Assistant Referee 2: Hilmon Sese (VAN)
Fourth official: Joel Hopkken (VAN)

Papua New Guinea – Tahiti
Referee: Nick Waldron (NZL)
Assistant Referee 1: Mark Rule (NZL)
Assistant Referee 2: Avinesh Narayan (FIJ)
Fourth official: Matthew Conger (NZL)

Fiji – Vanuatu
Referee: Abdelkader Zitouni (TAH)
Assistant Referee 1: Bertrand Brial (NCL)
Assistant Referee 2: John Pareanga (COK) 

Fourth official: Mederic Lacour (NCL)

New Zealand – Solomon Islands
Referee: Norbert Hauata (TAH)
Assistant Referee 1: Philippe Revel (TAH)
Assistant Referee 2: Folio Moeaki (TGA)
Fourth official: Anio Amos (PNG)

Papua New Guinea – Samoa
Referee: Joel Hopkken (VAN)
Assistant Referee 1: Hilmon Sese (VAN)
Assistant Referee 2: Johnny Niabo (SOL)
Fourth official: George Time (SOL)

Tahiti – New Caledonia
Referee: Nick Waldron (NZL)
Assistant Referee 1: Tevita Makasini (TGA)
Assistant Referee 2: Avinesh Narayan (FIJ) 

Fourth official: Ravitesh Behari (FIJ)

New Zealand – New Caledonia
Referee: Abdelkader Zitouni (TAH)
Assistant Referee 1: Ravinesh Kumar (FIJ)
Assistant Referee 2: Philippe Revel (TAH)
Fourth official: Norbert Hauata (TAH)

Papua New Guinea – Solomon Islands
Referee: Matthew Conger (NZL)
Assistant Referee 1: Tevita Makasini (TGA)
Assistant Referee 2: Mark Rule (NZL)
Fourth official: Nick Waldron (NZL)

Video Assistant Referee experiments

Competitions in Australia, Brazil, Germany, Portugal, the Netherlands and the United States are the first to agree to the requirements drawn up by The IFAB and FIFA to participate in experiments with video assistant referees (VARs).
First participants of video assistant referee experiments announced
Organisers of the following competitions can now begin preparations in earnest for initial “offline” experiments and eventual “live” experiments:
- Australia: Hyundai A-League
- Brazil: several competitions under the umbrella of the CBF
- Germany: Bundesliga (as a combined project between the DFB and DFL)
- Netherlands: several competitions under the umbrella of the KNVB
- Portugal: Liga NOS, Portuguese Cup and Super Cup
- USA: Major League Soccer
Meanwhile, subject to the successful completion of initial tests, the FIFA Club World Cup Japan 2016 is also set to be used as a final test event before The IFAB allows participants to conduct live experiments early next year.
An offline experiment represents a dry run whereby the VARs familiarise themselves with the setup, assess video replays and practice making calls on clear match-changing incidents but without communicating with the referee. This means there is no impact on the game, unlike during a live experiment when the match officials do communicate with each other and the referee can take decisions based on information provided by the VAR.
Live experiments will only begin once all participants have had time to complete the preparations, which is not expected before the beginning of 2017. However, The IFAB and FIFA may in the meantime choose selected friendly matches or competitions such as the FIFA Club World Cup in Japan in December, in which offline and/or live tests are conducted in order to improve the technological set-up and to help train participants, particularly with regard to communication between referees and VARs.
“The IFAB believes the best way to answer the question of whether the use of VARs will improve the game is to test it in different regions, so we are delighted to already have competitions across four confederations sign up,” said IFAB Secretary Lukas Brud. “The organisers of these competitions can now begin installing and testing video replay facilities as well as training match officials and technical staff in line with the protocol and in consultation with The IFAB and FIFA’s Football Technology Innovation Department.” Once The IFAB gives the green light for live tests to go ahead, each competition organiser can decide exactly when they will start in their respective events with the live trials. The IFAB remains in close contact with a number of other associations and leagues from all over the world those are eager to host the experiments. “There are others that are very interested but need to hold further consultations with their key stakeholders and with different technology providers. They still have time and we expect to be able to officially confirm additional participants in the coming months,” adds Brud.
The first workshop on VARs took place in the Netherlands in May and focused on providing interested competition organisers with information needed to make a decision on whether or not to participate. Additional workshops will take place in the coming months offering participants further detail about the experiments and procedures. The trials are expected to last two years with a subsequent decision by The IFAB potentially in 2018.

Source: FIFA

Copa America Centenario – Group Stage (Matches 1-4)

3 June 2016
USA – Colombia
Referee: Roberto García (MEX, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Jose Camargo (MEX)
Assistant Referee 2: Alberto Morin (MEX)
Fourth Official: Wilton Sampaio (BRA)
Reserve AR: Kleber Gil (BRA)

4 June 2016
Costa Rica – Paraguay
Referee: Patricio Loustau (ARG)
Assistant Referee 1: Ezequiel Brailovsky (ARG)
Assistant Referee 2: Ariel Scime (ARG)
Fourth Official: Yadel Martinez (CUB)
Reserve AR: Gustavo Rossi (ARG)


Haiti – Peru
Referee: John Pitti (PAN)
Assistant Referee 1: Gabriel Victoria (PAN)
Assistant Referee 2: Christian Ramirez (HON)
Fourth Official: Armando Villarreal (USA)
Reserve AR: Hiran Dopico (CUB)

Brazil – Ecuador
Referee: Julio Bascunan (CHI)
Assistant Referee 1: Carlos Astroza (CHI)
Assistant Referee 2: Christian Schiemann (CHI)
Fourth Official: Jose Argote (VEN)
Reserve AR: Alexander Leon (COL)

Seneme: “Referee consistency within both confederations”

The group of referees appointed to officiate Copa America Centenario gathered in Chicago earlier this week to go through final preparation before taking on their first assignments at the tournament. Fifty-eight referees, assistant referees and reserve officials representing 18 nations across CONCACAF and CONMEBOL went through on-the-field exercises as well as classroom to prepare for game situations and other processes during the tournament.
"For us, we understand the referees’ teams are the same as the teams that are here to play”, said Copa America Centenario Referees Committee President Wilson Seneme. “We prepared these referees, not only with work in class, also on the field with the goal to train with players and game situations, so they are prepared to face real game situations later in the tournament.” With the unique nature of the tournament combining two confederations – CONMEBOL and CONCACAF – Seneme said the work done in Chicago earlier this week was all the more important to make sure all referees are on the same page. “We want to speak one single language: the rules of the game on the field,” he said. “We are gathered here to plan, adjust concepts, have consistency within both confederations and share criteria to do the best during games.” As the United States gets ready to welcome some of the world’s best players for Copa America Centenario, it will also welcome some of the world’s best officials, something Seneme hopes players realize as they kick off the tournament. “We want players to acknowledge there are great referees here,” he said. “We have World Cup referees, who are at the same level of these players. It is a great party, we are going to have great players, but referees are here to do their job. Aside from how important players are, the referees have to be very prepared”.

Source: ca2016.com