FIFA World Cup 2018 Qualifiers – UEFA (Matchday 7)

31 August - 2 September 2017

France – Netherlands
Referee: Gianluca Rocchi (ITA, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Elenito Di Liberatore (ITA)
Assistant Referee 2: Mauro Tonolini (ITA)
Fourth Official: Luca Banti (ITA)
Referee Assessor: Alexandru Deaconu (ROU)

Belgium – Gibraltar
Referee: Neil Doyle (IRL)
Assistant Referee 1: Robert Clarke (IRL)
Assistant Referee 2: Wayne McDonnell (IRL)
Fourth Official: Rob Harvey (IRL)
Referee Assessor: Peter Fröjdfeldt (SWE)

Cyprus – Bosnia and Herzegovina
Referee: Andre Marriner (ENG)
Assistant Referee 1: Lee Betts (ENG)
Assistant Referee 2: Simon Bennett (ENG)
Fourth Official: Craig Pawson (ENG)
Referee Assessor: Gaetano De Gabriele (MLT)

Greece – Estonia
Referee: Liran Liany (ISR)
Assistant Referee 1: David Biton (ISR)
Assistant Referee 2: Dvir Shimon (ISR)
Fourth Official: Roi Reinshreiber (ISR)
Referee Assessor: Salustia Chato Cipres (AND)

Hungary – Latvia
Referee: Yevhen Aranovskyy (UKR)
Assistant Referee 1: Oleksandr Voytyuk (UKR)
Assistant Referee 2: Serhiy Bekker (UKR)
Fourth Official: Anatoliy Abdula (UKR)
Referee Assessor: Jari Maisonlahti (FIN)

Switzerland – Andorra
Referee: Tore Hansen (NOR)
Assistant Referee 1: Jon Knutsen (NOR)
Assistant Referee 2: Oystein Ytterland (NOR)
Fourth Official: Espen Eskås (NOR)
Referee Assessor: Karen Nalbandyan (ARM)

Portugal – Faroe Islands
Referee: Srdjan Jovanović (SRB)
Assistant Referee 1: Milan Mihajlović (SRB)
Assistant Referee 2: Uroš Stojković (SRB)
Fourth Official: Bojan Nikolić (SRB)
Referee Assessor: Kristinn Jakobsson (ISL)

Luxembourg – Belarus
Referee: Clayton Pisani (MLT)
Assistant Referee 1: Alan Camilleri (MLT)
Assistant Referee 2: Edward Spiteri (MLT)
Fourth Official: Trustin Farrugia (MLT)
Referee Assessor: Michael Ross (NIR)

Bulgaria – Sweden
Referee: Paolo Tagliavento (ITA)
Assistant Referee 1: Filippo Meli (ITA)
Assistant Referee 2: Alessandro Costanzo (ITA)
Fourth Official: Massimiliano Irrati (ITA)
Referee Assessor: Charles Agius (MLT)

Kazakhstan – Montenegro
Referee: Sébastien Delferiere (BEL)
Assistant Referee 1: Yves De Neve (BEL)
Assistant Referee 2: Rien Vanyzere (BEL)
Fourth Official: Lawrence Visser (BEL)
Referee Assessor: Levan Paniashvili (GEO)

Malta – England
Referee: Artur Soares Dias (POR)
Assistant Referee 1: Rui Tavares (POR)
Assistant Referee 2: Paulo Santos (POR)
Fourth Official: João Pinheiro (POR)
Referee Assessor: Ilkka Koho (FIN)

Lithuania – Scotland
Referee: Carlos Del Cerro Grande (ESP)
Assistant Referee 1: Juan Yuste Jiménez (ESP)
Assistant Referee 2: Roberto Alonso Fernández (ESP)
Fourth Official: Juan Martínez Munuera (ESP)
Referee Assessor: Igor Ishchenko (UKR)

Slovakia – Slovenia
Referee: Antonio Mateu Lahoz (ESP)
Assistant Referee 1: Pau Cebrián Devís (ESP)
Assistant Referee 2: Roberto Díaz Pérez (ESP)
Fourth official: Alejandro Hernández Hernández (ESP)
Referee Assessor: Alain Hamer (LUX)

San Marino – Northern Ireland
Referee: Enea Jorgji (ALB)
Assistant Referee 1: Rejdi Avdo (ALB)
Assistant Referee 2: Ridiger Çokaj (ALB)
Fourth Official: Genz Nuza (KOS)
Referee Assessor: Andrejs Sipailo (LVA)

Norway – Azerbaijan
Referee: Daniel Stefański (POL)
Assistant Referee 1: Marcin Boniek (POL)
Assistant Referee 2: Dawid Golis (POL)
Fourth Official: Bartosz Frankowski (POL)
Referee Assessor: Peter Jones (ENG)

Czech Republic – Germany
Referee: Sergey Karasev (RUS)
Assistant Referee 1: Anton Averianov (RUS)
Assistant Referee 2: Tikhon Kalugin (RUS)
Fourth Official: Sergey Ivanov (RUS)
Referee Assessor: Fritz Stuchlik (AUT)

Denmark – Poland
Referee: Milorad Mažić (SRB)
Assistant Referee 1: Milovan Ristić (SRB)
Assistant Referee 2: Dalibor Djurdjević (SRB)
Fourth Official: Nenad Djokić (SRB)
Referee Assessor: Eugen Strigel (GER)

Romania – Armenia
Referee: Ivan Bebek (CRO)
Assistant Referee 1: Tomislav Petrović (CRO)
Assistant Referee 2: Miro Grgić (CRO)
Fourth Official: Duje Strukan (CRO)
Referee Assessor: Shmuel Shteif (ISR)

Finland – Iceland
Referee: Pavel Královec (CZE)
Assistant Referee 1: Roman Slyško (SVK)
Assistant Referee 2: Ivo Nadvornik (CZE)
Fourth Official: Miroslav Zelinka (CZE)
Referee Assessor: Rodger Gifford (WAL)

Albania – Liechtenstein
Referee: Sergey Lapochkin (RUS)
Assistant Referee 1: Aleksei Lebedev (RUS)
Assistant Referee 2: Aleksei Lunev (RUS)
Fourth Official: Mikhail Vilkov (RUS)
Referee Assessor: Ioannis Tsachilidis (GRE)

Georgia – Ireland
Referee: Ivan Kružliak (SVK)
Assistant Referee 1: Martin Balko (SVK)
Assistant Referee 2: Tomaš Mokoš (SVK)
Fourth Official: Michal Ocenáš (SVK)
Referee Assessor: Michel Piraux (BEL)

Serbia – Moldova
Referee: Tamás Bognár (HUN)
Assistant Referee 1: Balázs Buzás (HUN)
Assistant Referee 2: Theodoros Georgiou (HUN)
Fourth Official: Ádám Farkas (HUN)
Referee Assessor: Marinus Koopman (NED)

Croatia – Kosovo
Referee: Stefan Johannesson (SWE)
Assistant Referee 1: Fredrik Nilsson (SWE)
Assistant Referee 2: Mehmet Culum (SWE)
Fourth Official: Mohammed Al-Hakim (SWE)
Referee Assessor: Uno Tutk (EST)

Ukraine – Turkey
Referee: David Fernández Borbalán (ESP)
Assistant Referee 1: Raúl Cabañero Martínez (ESP)
Assistant Referee 2: Diego Barbero Sevilla (ESP)
Fourth official: José Sánchez Martínez (ESP)
Referee Assessor: Zbigniew Przesmycki (POL)

Israel – FYR Macedonia
Referee: Aleksei Eskov (RUS)
Assistant Referee 1: Dmitri Mosyakin (RUS)
Assistant Referee 2: Igor Demeschko (RUS)
Fourth Official: Aleksei Matyunin (RUS)
Referee Assessor: Vladimir Medved (SVK)

Spain – Italy
Referee: Björn Kuipers (NED)
Assistant Referee 1: Sander van Roekel (NED)
Assistant Referee 2: Erwin Zeinstra (NED)
Fourth Official: Pol van Boekel (NED)
Referee Assessor: Bertrand Layec (FRA)

Wales – Austria
Referee: Ovidiu Hațegan (ROU)
Assistant Referee 1: Octavian Șovre (ROU)
Assistant Referee 2: Sebastian Gheorghe (ROU)
Fourth Official: Sebastian Colțescu (ROU)
Referee Assessor: Jorn West Larsen (DEN)

FIFA World Cup 2018 Qualifiers – CONMEBOL (Matchday 15)

31 August 2017

Uruguay – Argentina
Referee: Víctor Carrillo (PER, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Jonny Bossio (PER)
Assistant Referee 2: Coty Carrera (PER)
Fourth Official: Miguel Santivanez (PER)
Referee Assessor: Oscar Ruiz (COL)

Brazil – Ecuador
Referee: Mario Diaz de Vivar (PAR)
Assistant Referee 1: Milciades Saldivar (PAR)
Assistant Referee 2: Rodney Aquino (PAR)
Fourth Official: Julio Quintana (PAR)
Referee Assessor: Jorge Larrionda (URU)

Venezuela – Colombia
Referee: Wilton Sampaio (BRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Kleber Gil (BRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Bruno Boschilia (BRA)
Fourth Official: Anderson Daronco (BRA)
Referee Assessor: Alberto Tejada (PER)

Peru – Bolivia
Referee: Andres Cunha (URU)
Assistant Referee 1: Mauricio Espinosa (URU)
Assistant Referee 2: Nicolas Taran (URU)
Fourth Official: Leodan Gonzalez (URU)
Referee Assessor: Hugo Munoz (CHI)

Chile – Paraguay
Referee: Nestor Pitana (ARG)
Assistant Referee 1: Hernan Maidana (ARG)
Assistant Referee 2: Juan Belatti (ARG)
Fourth Official: Fernando Rapallini (ARG)
Referee Assessor: Claudio Cerdeira (BRA)

FIFA World Cup 2018 Qualifiers – CONCACAF (Round 5, Matchday 7)

1 September 2017

USA – Costa Rica
Referee: John Pitti (PAN, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Gabriel Victoria (PAN)
Assistant Referee 2: Ronald Bruna (PAN)
Fourth Official: Jose Kellys (PAN)

Mexico – Panama

Referee: Walter Lopez (GUA)
Assistant Referee 1: Gerson Lopez (GUA)
Assistant Referee 2: Hermenerito Leal (GUA)
Fourth Official: Yadel Martinez (CUB)
Referee Assessor: Brian Hall (USA)

Trinidad & Tobago – Honduras
Referee: Fernando Guerrero (MEX)
Assistant Referee 1: Marcos Quintero (MEX)
Assistant Referee 2: Andres Hernandez (MEX)
Fourth Official: Luis Santander (MEX)
Referee Assessor: Livingston Bailey (CAY)

FIFA World Cup 2018 Qualifiers – OFC (Final, First Leg)

1 September 2017

New Zealand – Solomon Islands
Referee: Norbert Hauata (TAH, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Philippe Revel (TAH)
Assistant Referee 2: Bertrand Brial (NCL)
Fourth Official: Joel Hopken (VAN)

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

31 August - 2 September 2017

Nigeria – Cameroon
Referee: Ghead Grisha (EGY, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Redouane Achik (MAR)
Assistant Referee 2: Waleed Ahmed (SDN)
Fourth Official: Mohammed Zakaria (EGY)
Referee Assessor: Felix Tangawarima (ZIM)

Uganda – Egypt
Referee: Ali Lemghaifry (MTN)
Assistant Referee 1: Aboubacar Doumbouya (GUI)
Assistant Referee 2: Abderahmane Warr (MTN)
Fourth Official: Sekou Toure (GUI)

Guinea – Libya
Referee: Souleiman Ahmed (DJI)
Assistant Referee 1: Abdillahi Mahamoud (DJI)
Assistant Referee 2: Moriba Diakite (MLI)
Fourth Official: Hassan Mohamed (SOM)

Ghana – Congo
Referee: Youssef Essrayri (TUN)
Assistant Referee 1: Faouzi Jridi (TUN)
Assistant Referee 2: Marwene Saad (TUN)
Fourth Official: Nasrallah Jaouadi (TUN)

Cape Verde Islands – South Africa
Referee: Mehdi Abid Charef (ALG)
Assistant Referee 1: Abdelhak Etchiali (ALG)
Assistant Referee 2: Anouar Hmila (TUN)
Fourth Official: Mustapha Ghorbal (ALG)

Morocco – Mali
Referee: Alioum Alioum (CMR)
Assistant Referee 1: Evarist Menkouande (CMR)
Assistant Referee 1: Elvis Noupue (CMR)
Fourth Official: Henry Mouandjo (CMR)

Tunisia – Congo DR
Referee: Eric Otogo-Castane (GAB)
Assistant Referee 1: Yahaya Mahamadou (NIG)
Assistant Referee 2: Issa Yaya (CHA)
Fourth Official: Marc Mihindou (GAB)

Zambia – Algeria
Referee: Helder Martins (ANG)
Assistant Referee 1: Ivanildo Lopes (ANG)
Assistant Referee 2: Julio Da Silva (ANG)
Fourth Official: Joao Goma (ANG)

Gabon – Cote d’Ivoire
Referee: Bamlak Tessema (ETH)
Assistant Referee 1: Hassan Egueh (DJI)
Assistant Referee 2: Mark Ssonko (UGA)
Fourth Official: Haileyesus Bazezew (ETH)

Senegal – Burkina Faso
Referee: Joshua Bondo (BOT)
Assistant Referee 1: Arsenio Marengula (MOZ)
Assistant Referee 2: Souru Phatsoane (LES)
Fourth Official: Kutlwano Leso (BOT)

FIFA World Cup 2018 Qualifiers – AFC (Round 3, Matchday 9)

29-31 August 2017

UAE – Saudi Arabia
Referee: Kim Jong-Hyeok (KOR, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Yoon Kwang-Yeol (KOR) 
Assistant Referee 2: Kim Young-Ha (KOR)
Fourth Official: Ko Hyung-Jin (KOR)

Japan – Australia
Referee: Alireza Faghani (IRN)
Assistant Referee 1: Reza Sokhandan (IRN)
Assistant Referee 2: Mohammadreza Mansouri (IRN)
Fourth Official: Mooud Bonyadifard (IRN)

China – Uzbekistan
Referee: Hettikamkanamge Perera (SRI)
Assistant Referee 1: Priyanga Palliya (SRI)
Assistant Referee 2: Palitha Hemathunga (SRI)
Fourth Official: Kuttiappa Prashanthrajakrishna (SRI)

Syria – Qatar
Referee: Ali Al Qaysi (IRQ)
Assistant Referee 1: Ameer Hussein (IRQ)
Assistant Referee 2: Hayder Ubaydee (IRQ)
Fourth Official: Zaid Mohammed (IRQ)

Thailand – Iraq
Referee: Nawaf Shukralla (BHR)
Assistant Referee 1: Yaser Tulefat (BHR)
Assistant Referee 2: Ebrahim Saleh (BHR)
Fourth Official: Isa Ali (BHR)

Korea – Iran
Referee: Peter Green (AUS)
Assistant Referee 1: David Walsh (AUS)
Assistant Referee 2: Nathan MacDonald (AUS)
Fourth Official: Dmitri Mashentsev (KGZ)

Copa Sudamericana – Round of 16 (Second Leg)

12 September 2017
Independiente – Atletico Tucuman
Referee: Andres Cunha (URU, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Miguel Nievas (URU)
Assistant Referee 2: Horacio Ferreiro (URU)
Fourth Official: Cristian Ferreyra (URU)
Referee Assessor: Angel Sanchez (ARG)

14 September 2017
Santa Fe – Libertad
Referee: Diego Haro (PER)
Assistant Referee 1: Jonny Bossio (PER)
Assistant Referee 2: Coty Carrera (PER)
Fourth Official: Joel Alarcon (PER)
Referee Assessor: Rodolfo Otero (ARG)

19 September 2017
Estudiantes – Nacional
Referee: Raphael Claus (BRA)
Asistente 1Bruno Boschilia (BRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Kleber Gil (BRA)
Fourth Official: Wagner Reway (BRA)
Referee Assessor: Dario Ubriaco (URU)

Junior – Cerro Porteño
Referee: Dario Herrera (ARG)
Assistant Referee 1: Diego Bonfa (ARG)
Assistant Referee 2: Cristian Navarro (ARG)
Fourth Official: Fernando Espinoza (ARG)
Referee Assessor: Sandro Vera (ECU)

20 September 2017
Racing Club – Corinthians
Referee: Leodan Gonzalez (URU)
Assistant Referee 1: Mauricio Espinosa (URU)
Assistant Referee 2: Nicolas Taran (URU)
Fourth Official: Oscar Rojas (URU)
Referee Assessor: Jorge Jaimes (PER)

Flamengo – Chapecoense 
Referee: Michael Espinoza (PER)
Assistant Referee 1: Stephen Atoche (PER)
Assistant Referee 2: Michael Orue (PER)
Fourth Official: Luis Garay (PER)
Referee Assessor: Claudio Cerdeira (BRA)

Ponte Preta – Sport Recife
Referee: Roddy Zambrano (ECU)
Assistant Referee 1: Byron Romero (ECU)
Assistant Referee 2: Juan Macias (ECU)
Fourth Official: Omar Ponce (ECU)
Referee Assessor: Ednilson Corona (BRA)

21 September 2017
LDU Quito – Fluminense
Referee: Fernando Rapallini (ARG)
Assistant Referee 1: Gabriel Chade (ARG)
Assistant Referee 2: Ariel Scime (ARG)
Fourth Official: Diego Abal (ARG)
Referee Assessor: Candelario Andarcia (VEN)

Brazilian referee filed lawsuit against ex-chairman of referees committee

Used, as any referee, to listening to provocations and curses from fans, former FIFA referee Marcelo de Lima Henrique (Brazil) did not swallow the offenses of the former chairman of the Pernambuco Referees Committee, Salmo Valentim, and the current mayor of Belo Horizonte, Alexandre Kalil, former president of Atletico-MG. The referee filed actions of moral damages against the pair, asking for $25,000 in each of them.

The issues with Salmo began in February 2017, when Marcelo left the Pernambuco Federation, to which he was affiliated since 2014, to return to Rio de Janeiro. The then president of the referees committee of Pernambuco raised suspicions against the referee in an interview with Blog Extracampo, among other publications. At that time, Salmo stated that he would ask CBF that Marcelo did not referee any more games involving Nautical, Santa Cruz and Sport in national competitions. "We do not know what he can do against the clubs in Pernambuco", he said. The problem with Kalil comes from 2015, when the current mayor of the mining capital was still a leader of Atletico-MG. “I awarded a penalty kick against Atletico-MG in a game against Atletico-PR and I sent off Marco Rocha. Kalil cursed me as a hobo and thief on Twitter”, remembers Marcelo, still hurt, “in 23 years of football, I had never been cursed by public people. To this day, I still receive threats when I referee an Atletico game”. The lawsuits are filed in the Special Criminal Court of Itaboraí. As the accused did not attend the hearing, Marcelo's lawyer asked for the case to be tried in absentia. This may happen next week. "It is now in the hands of the Justice", says Marcelo de Lima Henrique.

Source: Extra

CONCACAF Futsal Club Championship Final 2017: Flores (SLV) & Fiss (CUB)

26 August 2017

Grupo Line – Elite Futsal
Referee 1: Jorge Flores (SLV, photo)
Referee 2: Reinier Fiss (CUB)
Third Official: Carlos Berroa (DOM)
Timekeeper: Francisco Rivera (MEX)

EPL: The highest average age of referees in Europe

A unique situation occurred last weekend in the English Premier League: seven of the referees appointed for matchday 2 were older than 45! Although FIFA recently removed the mandatory age limit for international referees, the average age (43) of the Premier League referees is very uncommon, especially for the top European leagues. The oldest English referee is Roger East (photo), who will celebrate his 53rd birthday next year! Last weekend he refereed his 63rd match in the Premier League (Bournemouth – Watford). This week, on matchday 3, the average age of the referees will be 42.5 years.

The current list of active Premier League Select Group referees:
1. Martin Atkinson (46 years, FIFA) – EPL since 2004, 321 matches
2. Robert Madley (31 years, FIFA) – EPL since 2013, 74 matches
3. Andre Marriner (46 years, FIFA) – EPL since 2004, 256 matches
4. Jonathan Moss (46 years) – EPL since 2010, 145 matches
5. Craig Pawson (38 years, FIFA) – EPL since 2012, 86 matches
6. Anthony Taylor (38 years, FIFA) – EPL since 2009, 169 matches
7. Mike Dean (49 years, ex-FIFA) – EPL since 2000, 430 matches
8. Roger East (52 years) – EPL since 2012, 63 matches
9. Kevin Friend (46 years) – EPL since 2009, 159 matches
10. Mike Jones (49 years) – EPL since 2008, 191 matches
11. Lee Mason (45 years, ex-FIFA) – EPL since 2005, 224 matches
12. Michael Oliver (32 years, FIFA) – EPL since 2010, 174 matches
13. Lee Probert (45 years, ex-FIFA) – EPL since 2006, 152 matches
14. Neil Swarbrick (47 years) – EPL since 2010, 111 matches
15. Graham Scott (47 years) – EPL since 2014, 13 matches
16. Stuart Attwell (31 years, ex-FIFA) – EPL since 2008, 59 matches
17. Chris Kavanagh (32 years) – EPL since 2017, 1 match

Other countries

In Germany, the average age of the 24 Bundesliga referees is 34.5 years. They are required to retire from active refereeing at 47, after which they could only continue as VARs, as it happened this summer with Stark, Drees and Perl.

The average age of Ligue 1 referees is 36 years. After the recent retirement of Lannoy, Fautrel, Kalt, Ennjimi and Jaffredo, only Chapron is still active from their generation. Although there is no official age limit, French referees between the ages of 43-46 are encouraged to retire through a special severance pay offered for voluntary retirement.

Spanish La Liga is the strictest with their referees, imposing mandatory retirement at 45. In 2016, Velasco Carballo had to end his domestic career one month before refereeing at Euro in France. The average age of the current first division referees in 34.5 years.

Source: Arbitrage57

UEFA Futsal Cup – Preliminary Round

23-25 August 2017

Group A, Berne (SUI)
1. Josip Barton (MKD)
2. Sarunas Tamulynas (LTU)
3. Andrej Topić (CRO, photo)
4. Irina Velikanova (RUS)

Group B, Oberkorn (LUX)
1. Moshe Bohbot (ISR)
2. Ovidiu Curta (ROU)
3. Grigori Ošomkov (EST)
4. Patrik Porkert (AUT)

Group C, Linz (AUT)
1. Besar Beqiri (KOS)
2. Daniele D'Adamo (SMR)
3. Hennadiy Hora (UKR)
4. Lukáš Peško (SVK)

Group D, Udevalla (SWE)
1. Veljko Bošković (MNE)
2. Vasilios Christodoulis (GRE)
3. Daniel Matkovic (SUI)
4. Matthew Vella (MLT)

Group E, Mostar (BIH)
1. Gerd Bylois (BEL)
2. Miguel Castilho (POR)
3. Gerard Ramirez (AND)
4. Dejan Veselic (SVN)

Group F, Larnaca (CYP)
1. David Glavonjic (SWE)
2. Iurii Neverov (RUS)
3. Fred Sheriff (GIB)
4. Barry Weijers (NED)

Group G, Svendborg (DEN)
1. Victor Berg-Audic (FRA)
2. Christos Christou (CYP)
3. Trayan Enchev (BUL)
4. Chiara Perona (ITA)

Group H, Tromso (NOR)
1. Raquel Gonzalez (ESP)
2. Carl Hughes (WAL)
3. Vladan Radulović (SRB)
4. Elchin Samadli (AZE)

UEFA Europa League – Play-offs (Second Leg)

24 August 2017

AEK Larnaca – Viktoria Plzeň
Referee: Artur Soares Dias (POR, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Rui Barbosa (POR)
Assistant Referee 2: Paulo Santos (POR)
Fourth Official: Joao Pinheiro (POR)
Referee Observer: Darko Čeferin (SVN)

Dynamo Kyiv – Marítimo
Referee: Liran Liany (ISR)
Assistant Referee 1: David Bitton (ISR)
Assistant Referee 2: Dvir Shimon (ISR)
Fourth Official: Alon Yefet (ISR)
Referee Observer: Fredy Fautrel (FRA)

Östersunds – PAOK
Referee: Pawel Raczkowski (POL)
Assistant Referee 1: Michał Obukowicz (POL)
Assistant Referee 2: Tomasz Listkiewicz (POL)
Fourth Official: Tomasz Kwiatkowski (POL)
Referee Observer: Laurent Duhamel (FRA)

FC Sheriff – Legia Warszawa
Referee: Ivan Bebek (CRO)
Assistant Referee 1: Tomislav Petrović (CRO)
Assistant Referee 2: Miro Grgić (CRO)
Fourth Official: Mario Zebec (CRO)
Referee Observer: Morgan Norman (SWE)

Zenit – Utrecht
Referee: Carlos Del Cerro Grande (ESP)
Assistant Referee 1: Juan Yuste Jiménez (ESP)
Assistant Referee 2: Abrahám Álvarez Cantón (ESP)
Fourth Official: Santiago Jaime Latre (ESP)
Referee Observer: Miroslav Tulinger (CZE)

Olexandriya – Bate Borisov
Referee: Miroslav Zelinka (CZE)
Assistant Referee 1: Jan Paták (CZE)
Assistant Referee 2: Ondřej Pelikán (CZE)
Fourth Official: Radek Příhoda (CZE)
Referee Observer: Boško Jovanetić (SRB)

Maccabi Tel Aviv – SCR Altach
Referee: Aleksei Eskov (RUS)
Assistant Referee 1: Dmitri Mosiakin (RUS)
Assistant Referee 2: Igor Demeshko (RUS)
Fourth Official: Vladimir Moskalev (RUS)
Referee Observer: Costas Kapitanis (CYP)

Salzburg – Viitorul
Referee: Stefan Johannesson (SWE)
Assistant Referee 1: Fredrik Nilsson (SWE)
Assistant Referee 2: Mehmet Culum (SWE)
Fourth Official: Andreas Ekberg (SWE)
Referee Observer: Haim Jakov (ISR)

Sūduva – Ludogorets
Referee: Halis Özkahya (TUR)
Assistant Referee 1: Cem Satman (TUR)
Assistant Referee 2: Hakan Yemişken (TUR)
Fourth Official: Arda Kardeşler (TUR)
Referee Observer: Nuno Castro (POR)

Fenerbahçe – Vardar
Referee: Daniel Stefanski (POL)
Assistant Referee 1: Marcin Boniek (POL)
Assistant Referee 2: Dawid Golis (POL)
Fourth Official: Zbigniew Dobrynin (POL)
Referee Observer: Kristinn Jakobsson (ISL)

Videoton – Partizan
Referee: Andre Marriner (ENG)
Assistant Referee 1: Stephen Child (ENG)
Assistant Referee 2: Constantine Hatzidakis (ENG)
Fourth Official: Paul Tierney (ENG)
Referee Observer: Oguz Sarvan (TUR)

Skënderbeu – Dinamo
Referee: István Vad (HUN)
Assistant Referee 1: István Albert (HUN)
Assistant Referee 2: Peter Berettyán (HUN)
Fourth Official: Ferenc Karakó (HUN)
Referee Observer: Luc Wilmes (LUX)

Midtjylland – Apollon Limassol
Referee: Robert Schörgenhofer (AUT)
Assistant Referee 1: Markus Gutschi (AUT)
Assistant Referee 2: Roland Riedel (AUT)
Fourth Official: Christopher Jäger (AUT)
Referee Observer: Michael Ross (NIR)

AEK Athens – Club Brugge
Referee: Jesús Gil Manzano (ESP)
Assistant Referee 1: Ángel Nevado Rodríguez (ESP)
Assistant Referee 2: Javier Martínez Nicolás (ESP)
Fourth Official: Juan Martínez Munuera (ESP)
Referee Observer: Nikolai Levnikov (RUS)

Olympique Marseille – NK Domžale
Referee: Orel Grinfeeld (ISR)
Assistant Referee 1: Danny Krasikow (ISR)
Assistant Referee 2: Roy Hassan (ISR)
Fourth Official: Menashe Masiah (ISR)
Referee Observer: Vítor Melo Pereira (POR)

Rosenborg – Ajax
Referee: Ruddy Buquet (FRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Guillaume Debart (FRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Frédéric Cano (FRA)
Fourth Official: Amaury Delerue (FRA)
Referee Observer: Eugen Strigel (GER)

SC Braga – Hafnarfjödur
Referee: Pawel Gil (POL)
Assistant Referee 1: Konrad Sapela (POL)
Assistant Referee 2: Marcin Borkowski (POL)
Fourth Official: Bartosz Frankowski (POL)
Referee Observer: Vladimir Medved (SVK)

Athletic Club – Panathinaikos
Referee: Benoît Bastien (FRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Frédéric Haquette (FRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Hicham Zakrani (FRA)
Fourth Official: Benoît Millot (FRA)
Referee Observer: Hans Reijgwart (NED)

Shkëndija – AC Milan
Referee: István Kovács (ROU)
Assistant Referee 1: Vasile Marinescu (ROU)
Assistant Referee 2: Mihai Artene (ROU)
Fourth Official: Marius Avram (ROU)
Referee Observer: Marinus Koopman (NED)

Hajduk Split – Everton
Referee: Sergei Karasev (RUS)
Assistant Referee 1: Anton Averyanov (RUS)
Assistant Referee 2: Tikhon Kalugin (RUS)
Fourth Official: Sergey Lapochkin (RUS)
Referee Observer: Iain Robertson Brines (SCO)

Crvena Zvezda – FC Krasnodar
Referee: Tobias Stieler (GER)
Assistant Referee 1: Jan Sidel (GER)
Assistant Referee 2: Christian Gittelmann (GER)
Fourth Official: Robert Kampka (GER)
Referee Observer: Kyros Vassaras (GRE)

Austria Wien – NK Osijek
Referee: Vladislav Bezborodov (RUS)
Assistant Referee 1: Valeri Danchenko (RUS)
Assistant Referee 2: Maksim Gavrilin (RUS)
Fourth Official: Igor Fedotov (RUS)
Referee Observer: Tomasz Mikulski (POL)

Copa Sudamericana – Round of 16 (First Leg)

22 August 2017
Atletico Tucuman – Independiente
Referee: Anderson Daronco (BRA, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Alessandro Rocha (BRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Fabricio Vilarinho (BRA)
Fourth Official: Wagner Reway (Brasil)
Referee Assessor: Rodolfo Otero (ARG)

23 August 2017
Club Nacional – Estudiantes
Referee: Wilson Lamouroux (COL)
Assistant Referee 1: Eduardo Diaz (COL)
Assistant Referee 2: Dionisio Ruiz (COL)
Fourth Official: Luis Sanchez (COL)
Referee Assessor: Juan Cardellino (URU)

24 August 2017
Libertad – Santa Fe
Referee: Dario Herrera (ARG)
Assistant Referee 1: Gustavo Rossi (ARG)
Assistant Referee 2: Ivan Nunez (ARG)
Fourth Official: Jorge Balino (ARG)
Referee Assessor: Hugo Munoz (CHI)

12 September 2017
Cerro Porteño – Junior
Referee: Ricardo Marques (BRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Bruno Pires (BRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Danilo Manis (BRA)
Fourth Official: Rodolpho Toski (BRA)
Referee Assessor: Carlos Torres (PAR)

13 September 2017
Chapecoense – Flamengo
Referee: Gery Vargas (BOL)
Assistant Referee 1: Juan Montaño (BOL)
Assistant Referee 2: Jose Antelo (BOL)
Fourth Official: Ivo Mendez (BOL)
Referee Assessor: Nilson Monção (BRA)

Sport Recife – Ponte Preta
Referee: Gustavo Murillo (COL)
Assistant Referee 1: Humberto Clavijo (COL)
Assistant Referee 2: Wilmar Navarro (COL)
Fourth Official: Harold Perilla (COL)
Referee Assessor: Sergio Cristiano (BRA)

Corinthians – Racing Club
Referee: Eber Aquino (PAR)
Assistant Referee 1: Milciades Saldivar (PAR)
Assistant Referee 2: Dario Gaona (PAR)
Fourth Official: Arnaldo Samaniego (PAR)
Referee Assessor: Cesar Escano (PER)

14 September 2017
Fluminense – LDU Quito
Referee: Julio Quintana (PAR)
Assistant Referee 1: Rodney Aquino (PAR)
Assistant Referee 2: Roberto Cañete (PAR)
Fourth Official: Ulises Mereles (PAR)
Referee Assessor: Imer Machado (COL)

Gräfe: "It was too often based on preference, not on performance"

German referee Manuel Gräfe talked to Der Taggespiegel about his former bosses, relationships, the Hoyzer scandal and the video assistant referee system.

- Mr. Gräfe, the new Bundesliga season begins for you with the match between SC Freiburg and Eintracht Frankfurt. This sounds very relaxed after the storms you had to overcome at the end of the past season.

- Sorry, I must correct you. Freiburg - Frankfurt was a very hot game last season. But you surely mean the story with the HSV. It was half as wild. There has been a lot of exaggeration in the public.

- Your position for the relegation game between Hamburg and Wolfsburg has not been clear to everyone after you have already refereed HSV two years ago in the relegation match in Karlsruhe. A free kick from you and not quite unchallenged before the end helped HSV to prevent the already almost safe descent once more.

- And what is to be done now? Shall I not go with an open mind into the game? Sorry, but this is disrespectful! In particular, against me, but generally also against the institution of the referee. What do some people actually think a referee brings into a game? For us, every game starts at 0-0, with no history. If I do not treat each player fairly, I would have to hang my whistle right away. When it comes to the players, no one is interested in such ideas. Mo Dahoud has just moved from Gladbach to Dortmund. Cannot he play now against his old team-mates because he is biased? A referee wants the same as a player: to always bring an error-free performance!

- If you had a controversial penalty for or against HSV, the shouting would have been very loud. 

- Anyone who had decided something controversial or wrong in this game would have had a problem. There were a few weeks before I refereed HSV - Wolfsburg, but no one has said a word. The DFB has clearly communicated this before the last matchday: a man with a sense of acceptance and a lot of experience had to referee and we do not have so many of that. Deniz Aytekin and Felix Brych were out of the question because one was to referee the DFB Cup final and the other the Champions League final. These are career highlights in which one should not go with any negative experience. And that can easily happen with such an explosive pairing. 

- Has your position been controversially discussed within the DFB? 

- No, why should it be? To put it bluntly, the game was HSV - Wolfsburg, not about the referee. I had some explosive games in the weeks before, including the Cup semi-final between Bayern and Dortmund, and it was generally confirmed that I did well. Otherwise, our referee boss Lutz Fröhlich would not have entrusted me with the management of this game. Since he has the responsibility, it is exclusively based on performance. 

- That was not the case when Hellmut Krug had a say at the German Football League and Herbert Fandel at the DFB? 

- I do not think that we were very positive at that time. There was no transparency, no willingness to discuss open. It was too often based on preference and not on performance. There were people in positions for which they were simply not good or far enough. This is a good thing for a while, if you protect it internally and externally, but at some point it falls. Other, better referees, in turn, were not used or promoted according to their possibilities, I think, for example, of Marco Fritz, which, for me, has the potential to lead games as formerly referee Knut Kircher did. Also, Bibiana Steinhaus remained in the second league for years. Now, after only one year under the new leadership, she is allowed to referee in the first league. This is only an example.

- Are the referees judged subjectively?

- Yes, but referees really have a good sense of what their assessment of their performance is. And if the referees think almost all the same, whether positive or negative, but the old committee contrary, then it speaks volumes. And it is noticeable that in the past years, all those who were not fully on a wavelength with the leadership, so they did not always say yes and amen, were worked on different levels. Like Babak Rafati, for example, and he was not the only one.

- Rafati has sharply criticized the leadership at that time, he felt bullied and wrote a much-respected book about it.

- Babak may not have been right in everything, but he was correct in many points. He felt the atmosphere so oppressive and stressful that he wanted to take his own life. Do I have to ask myself after such a drastic and shocking incident to draw the line at least once? Cannot it be that I did something wrong? I believe that bad leadership automatically leads to poor performance. Just compare the last two seasons. 2015/16 was the negative peak of a poor development, 2016/17 under new leadership went very well except for very few exceptions. Lutz Fröhlich, who took over the office as head of refereeing in the summer of 2016, lets people do what they can do and he has an eye for talent. Benjamin Cortus and Harm Osmers had a very good first league season as newly promoted referees. Osmers was on the team for the match Ingolstadt - Leverkusen. A game in which there was a lot for both teams. He did it very well because he felt the confidence of Lutz Fröhlich. It was exactly this trust he gave me for the game HSV - Wolfsburg.

- The referees under Fandel and Krug did not feel this confidence?

- The two have made their list of referees as they wanted. It was not primarily based on performance and therefore to the detriment of football, as one also noticed on the power drop until the summer of 2016. There are sufficient documents for various interventions in recent years.

- How do you know?

- It would be sufficient to examine the reports of certain observers for certain referees. Believe me; that would surprise you very much!

- Who do you mean, specifically?

- Interestingly, Herbert Fandel and Hellmut Krug tried, among other things, very hard to promote Felix Zwayer...

- ... your Berlin colleague, who once you supported in the clarification of the affair around Robert Hoyzer.

- I can see that now because of the facts. At the beginning, I defended him against Hoyzer's accusations, because I thought he was innocent. In the court records, however, it was later stated that Zwayer was involved in a game manipulation by Hoyzer as a referee and had previously accepted money from him. The criminal proceedings brought against him by the Berlin prosecutor's office were suspended because of low guilt, but even a legally small guilt in connection with manipulated games is too much for me. Zwayer has been suspended for six months by the DFB due to grossly unlawful conduct because he accepted this money and did not immediately report the known manipulations of Hoyzer to the DFB. Now I ask you: how can he get to the top of the German referees? Can it be that Fandel and Krug wanted a man who was bound to unconditional loyalty?

- Hellmut Krug has just returned from the DFL to the DFB. He now reigns under Fröhlich's leadership as chief instructor.

- I cannot understand that personally, but I do not have to find every decision right. Just recently, Krug has told that the German referees would handle the VAR better than it was observed at the Confederations Cup. This has put pressure on us nationally and has certainly not helped our international referees. This has been criticized as typical German arrogance. You must not forget, for example, that the Dutch have practiced the VAR a bit longer. Just wait and see how it works. In an anonymous survey among all referees, two-thirds of them had a problem with Krug and his style.

- And the DFB is to blame?

- No, you cannot generalize. I am very grateful to the DFB leaders for what they started in early 2015. At that time, Wolfgang Niersbach and Helmut Sandrock ensured that the refereeing can no longer be self-sufficient in the DFB. Since then, the DFB has been closely monitoring the situation and sending high-ranking representatives to each course. Reinhard Grindel and Friedrich Curtius also do the same. Mr. Grindel has recently attended both summer courses and gave an impressive open speech in which he critically noted what was not going well and needs to get better, but also what is now obviously on a good path. Since the acquisition of Lutz Fröhlich, professionalization, modernization and transparency in the field of referees have been consistently advanced. But it will be hard for one to be alone. Personally, I have nothing against Hellmut Krug and Herbert Fandel. I only measure them by what they have done and how they have managed. I hope the two of them question themselves, self-critically, and will go with the new way. That would be in the interest of refereeing and, more importantly, in the interest of football. (Source: Der Taggespiegel)

The DFB has reacted to the interview of the Bundesliga referee Manuel Gräfe. The new chief of the referees, Lutz Fröhlich, announced that he will have a conversation with the Berliner, who needs to explain himself "It is the start of the new Bundesliga season and every referee should focus on it", said the new boss of the referees, who had taken over the job of Fandel and Krug. Gräfe had expressly praised the ex-referee (200 Bundesliga assignments) for his competence. But he had no time for nice words. "With an understanding of public opinion, it is decidedly too far for a referee to attack a colleague publicly and in this form,"the 59-year-old said. Even the criticism of Fandel and Krug could "not be left behind", continued Fröhlich, who ended his active career in 2005. On Sunday, Gräfe said "I personally have nothing against Fandel and Krug, I definitely have no personal motives and I am very satisfied with myself and my career. I am concerned about the matter. This “vetternwirtschaft” should stop. We, as referees, must be fair". (Source: Sportbuzzer)

Hellmut Krug has rejected the criticism of referee Manuel Gräfe in the selection and evaluation of the referees. "This has irritated us all, especially regarding the timing and the content," said the DFL referee adviser at Sky 90. Gräfe's accusations are not comprehensible, according to Krug. "It is unacceptable and unforgivable for an active referee to attack, defame and discredit another active colleague", Krug continued. He was referring to Gräfe’s statement, which attacked Felix Zwayer: "How could anyone possibly get to the top of the German referees? Can it be that Fandel and Krug wanted a man who was committed to unconditional loyalty?" Zwayer was promoted to FIFA by the former referee bosses of the DFB, although he was once involved in the scandal around Robert Hoyzer. "Manuel can criticize, but the form has to be respected. We meet with the referees several times a year, so the criticism surprised us completely, we will get together and work it out", said Krug. The Sky referee expert Markus Merk: "This is unimaginable. All this is what makes me most angry: the discrediting of a referee colleague. This is a top referee who, over the last few years, overtook Grafe in the FIFA ranking, which may scratch and bite him, but that does not justify his public approach", said Merk. (Source: Sport1.de)

UEFA Champions League – Play-offs (Second Leg)

22 August 2017
Nice – Napoli
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 Vinčić (SVN)
Fourth Official: Tomaž Klančnik (SVN)
Referee Observer: Levan Paniashvili (GEO)

Astana – Celtic
Referee: Pavel Královec (CZE)
Assistant Referee 1: Roman Slyško (SVK)
Assistant Referee 2: Ivo Nádvorník (CZE)
Additional AR 1: Petr Ardeleánu (CZE)
Additional AR 2: Karel Hrubeš (CZE)
Fourth Official: Martin Wilczek (CZE)
Referee Observer: Neale Barry (ENG)

Sevilla FC – İstanbul Başakşehir
Referee: William Collum (SCO)
Assistant Referee 1: David McGeachie (SCO)
Assistant Referee 2: Francis Connoer (SCO)
Additional AR 1: Robert Madden (SCO)
Additional AR 2: John Beaton (SCO)
Fourth Official: Graeme Stewart (SCO)
Referee Observer: Carmel Agius (MLT)

NK Maribor – Hapoel Beer Sheva
Referee: Gianluca Rocchi (ITA)
Assistant Referee 1: Elenito Di Liberatore (ITA)
Assistant Referee 2: Mauro Tonolini (ITA)
Additional AR 1: Paolo Valeri (ITA)
Additional AR 2: Daniele Doveri (ITA)
Fourth Official: Alessandro Giallatini (ITA)
Referee Observer: Mehmet Ilgaz (TUR)

HNK Rijeka – Olympiacos
Referee: Danny Makkelie (NED)
Assistant Referee 1: Mario Diks (NED)
Assistant Referee 2: Hessel Steegstra (NED)
Additional AR 1: Kevin Blom (NED)
Additional AR 2: Jochem Kamphuis (NED)
Fourth Official: Bas van Dongen (NED)
Referee Observer: William Young (SCO)

23 August 2017
FC Kobenhavn – Qarabağ Ağdam
Referee: Alberto Undiano Mallenco (ESP)
Assistant Referee 1: Roberto Alonso Fernández (ESP)
Assistant Referee 2: Raúl Cabañero Martínez (ESP)
Additional AR 1: Alejandro Hernández Hernández (ESP)
Additional AR 2: José Sánchez Martínez (ESP)
Fourth Official: Diego Barbero Sevilla (ESP)
Referee Observer: Alfredo Trentalange (ITA)

Steaua – Sporting
Referee: Cüneyt Çakır (TUR)
Assistant Referee 1: Bahattin Duran (TUR)
Assistant Referee 2: Tarik Ongun (TUR)
Additional AR 1: Hüseyin Göçek (TUR)
Additional AR 2: Baris Şimşek (TUR)
Fourth Official: Esat Sancaktar (TUR)
Referee Observer: Uno Tutk (EST)

Liverpool – Hoffenheim
Referee: Daniele Orsato (ITA)
Assistant Referee 1: Riccardo Di Fiore (ITA)
Assistant Referee 2: Lorenzo Manganelli (ITA)
Additional AR 1: Luca Banti (ITA)
Additional AR 2: Massimiliano Irrati (ITA)
Fourth Official: Andrea Crispo (ITA)
Referee Observer: Bertrand Layec (FRA)

Slavia Praha – Apoel
Referee: Milorad Mažić (SRB)
Assistant Referee 1: Milovan Ristić (SRB)
Assistant Referee 2: Dalibor Djurdjević (SRB)
Additional AR 1: Nenad Djokić (SRB)
Additional AR 2: Danilo Grujić (SRB)
Fourth Official: Nemanja Petrović (SRB)
Referee Observer: Jorn West Larsen (DEN)

CSKA Moskva – Young Boys
Referee: Anastasios Sidiropoulos (GRE)
Assistant Referee 1: Polychronis Kostaras (GRE)
Assistant Referee 2: Lazaros Dimitriadis (GRE)
Additional AR 1: Charalambos Kalogeropoulos (GRE)
Additional AR 2: Alexandros Aretopoulos (GRE)
Fourth Official: Damianos Efthimiadis (GRE)
Referee Observer: Ichko Lozev (BUL)

CONMEBOL launched “Young Talents”

The "Young Talents" program of the CONMEBOL Referee Committee lasted five days and was held at the APF High Performance Center in Ypané, south of the capital Asunción (Paraguay).

"The selection of referees was conducted under various criteria, such as refereeing in the First Division of their respective leagues, as well as demonstrate potential to become FIFA Referees in the coming years," explained Wilson Seneme, the chairman of the organizing committee.

There were theoretical and practical sessions, where the referees were subjected to demanding physical tests that were passed with satisfaction. "This course gives a new impetus to the development of refereeing on our continent," affirmed the president of the CONMEBOL Referees Committee, Wilson Seneme.

CONMEBOL will always support this kind of initiatives, which serve to train and always aim for excellence at the continental level. This was the culmination of five successful training days for top referees and assistants, "Young Talents" from across the continent, who aspire to the FIFA badge and who after this workshop have all the tools and will know the demands of a potential international match official.

Source: CONMEBOL

UEFA Women’s U-19 Euro Final 2017: Tsiareshka (BLR)

Volha Tsiareshka says she is surprised and delighted at her appointment to take charge of Sunday's WU19 final in Belfast - and the referee from Belarus intends to enjoy the big occasion. “I just want to wave my arms in the air, I am so happy. I can’t express the emotion I feel to have been chosen. It’s a dream come true.” Volha Tsiareshka says that putting into words the significance of her appointment as referee for Sunday’s UEFA European Women’s Under-19 Championship final is not easy. Yet the smile of the 28-year-old teacher from Belarus says it all. Tsiareshka is surprised and delighted to have been named in charge of the encounter between France and Spain. “I couldn’t sleep at all,” she recalls of the hours after she was told of her appointment. “I think it must have been two o’clock in the morning before I finally went to sleep. And I was wide awake three hours later, unable to think of anything else apart from this point, which I have been working towards for years.” Tsiareshka has been in refereeing for more than half of her life, and while her job as a high school physical education teacher takes up much of her time, she devotes any available moment she can to developing as an official. “I love being with my friends,” she says, “but refereeing is my real passion, so I have always been dedicated to it.” She is proud of the positive reactions she has received about her assignment from many quarters. “I’ve been overwhelmed by how many colleagues in refereeing have called me…the phone has been ringing non-stop.” Tsiareshka immediately told one special person about her appointment. “My mother always inspires me and supports me,” she emphasises. “I told her first, and we both got very emotional.”

Accompanying Tsiareshka in the showpiece occasion at Belfast’s National Stadium will be assistant referees Iuliia Petrova (Russia), Elena Soklevska-Ilievski (FYR Macedonia) and fourth official Silvia Domingos (Portugal). The quartet have knitted together perfectly within an excellent team of match officials in Northern Ireland. “There is a very close bond between us” Tsiareshka confirms. “I am very lucky to have such an excellent team working with me for the final.”  At the WU19 finals, Tsiareshka has taken charge of two group stage matches - Germany’s 3-0 success over Scotland, and France's 6-1 defeat of Italy. She has closely followed the tournament’s other games, and singles out the dramatic semi-final between Germany and France in Belfast as a highlight. “It was a fantastic game played at a high tempo,” she reflects. Sunday’s big game is a crucial step on Tsiareshka's career path – and she intends to savour the occasion, particularly in terms of gathering experience. “There’s always lot of learning involved,” she explains, “and I think that’s what I enjoy the most. I am very proud of the appointment, and want to give it everything I can - that’s what’s really important to me”. (Source: UEFA)

20 August 2017
France – Spain
Referee: Volha Tsiareshka (BLR)
Assistant Referee 1: Iuliia Petrova (RUS)
Assistant Referee 2: Elena Soklevska-Ilievski (MKD)
Fourth Official: Silvia Domingos (POR)

UEFA Europa League – Play-offs (First Leg)

16-17 August 2017

FC Utrecht – FC Zenit
Referee: Slavko Vinčić (SVN, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Tomaž Klančnik (SVN)
Assistant Referee 2: Andraž Kovačič (SVN)
Fourth Official: Roberto Ponis (SVN)
Referee Observer: László Vagner (HUN)

GNK Dinamo – KF Skënderbeu
Referee: Andris Treimanis (LVA)
Assistant Referee 1: Haralds Gudermanis (LVA)
Assistant Referee 2: Aleksejs Spasjonnikovs (LVA)
Fourth Official: Aleksandrs Golubevs (LVA)
Referee Observer: Jan Wegereef (NED)

Bate Borisov – FC Olexandriya
Referee: Tamás Bognár (HUN)
Assistant Referee 1: Balázs Buzás (HUN)
Assistant Referee 2: Theodoros Georgiou (HUN)
Fourth Official: Ádam Farkas (HUN)
Referee Observer: Robert Malek (POL)

Apollon Limassol – FC Midtjylland
Referee: Michael Oliver (ENG)
Assistant Referee 1: Simon Bennett (ENG)
Assistant Referee 2: Ian Hussin (ENG)
Fourth Official: Stuart Attwell (ENG)
Referee Observer: Sándor Piller (HUN)

FC Krasnodar – Crvena Zvezda
Referee: Gediminas Mažeika (LTU)
Assistant Referee 1: Vytautas Simkus (LTU)
Assistant Referee 2: Vytenis Kazlauskas (LTU)
Fourth Official: Jurij Paskovskij (LTU)
Referee Observer: Marián Ružbarský (SVK)

FH Hafnarfjördur – SC Braga
Referee: Kevin Blom (NED)
Assistant Referee 1: Charles Schaap (NED)
Assistant Referee 2: Jan de Vries (NED)
Fourth Official: Edwin van de Graaf (NED)
Referee Observer: Jon Skjervold (NOR)

PAOK – Östersunds
Referee: Bas Nijhuis (NED)
Assistant Referee 1: Rob van de Ven (NED)
Assistant Referee 2: Davie Goossens (NED)
Fourth Official: Allard Lindhout (NED)
Referee Observer: Nikolai Ivanov (RUS)

Vardar – Fenerbahçe
Referee: Luca Banti (ITA)
Assistant Referee 1: Matteo Passeri (ITA)
Assistant Referee 2: Fabiano Preti (ITA)
Fourth Official: Marco Guida (ITA)
Referee Observer: Drago Kos (SVN)

Viktoria Plzeň – AEK Larnaca
Referee: Matej Jug (SVN)
Assistant Referee 1: Matej Žunič (SVN)
Assistant Referee 2: Manuel Vidali (SVN)
Fourth Official: Nejc Kajtazović (SVN)
Referee Observer: Paulius Malzinskas (LTU)

Ludogorets – Sūduva
Referee: Sébastien Delferiere (BEL)
Assistant Referee 1: Yves De Neve (BEL)
Assistant Referee 2: Rien Vanyzere (BEL)
Fourth Official: Lawrence Visser (BEL)
Referee Observer: Peter Sippel (GER)

SCR Altach – Maccabi Tel Aviv
Referee: Alexei Kulbakov (BLR)
Assistant Referee 1: Dmitry Zhuk (BLR)
Assistant Referee 2: Aleh Maslianka (BLR)
Fourth Official: Dzianis Shcharbakou (BLR)
Referee Observer: Karen Nalbandyan (ARM)

Panathinaikos – Athletic Club
Referee: Manuel De Sousa (POR)
Assistant Referee 1: Alvaro Mesquita (POR)
Assistant Referee 2: Ricardo Santos (POR)
Fourth Official: Carlos Xistra (POR)
Referee Observer: Rodger Gifford (WAL)

Legia Warszawa – FC Sheriff
Referee: Aleksandar Stavrev (MKD)
Assistant Referee 1: Marjan Kirovski (MKD)
Assistant Referee 2: Dejan Kostadinov (MKD)
Fourth Official: Dimitar Meckarovski (MKD)
Referee Observer: Jouni Hyytiä (FIN)

NK Domžale – Olympique Marseille
Referee: Robert Madden (SCO)
Assistant Referee 1: Douglas Gordon Ross (SCO)
Assistant Referee 2: Alastair Mather (SCO)
Fourth Official: Nicolas Walsh (SCO)
Referee Observer: Martin Ingvarsson (SWE)

AFC Ajax – Rosenborg BK
Referee: Craig Thomson (SCO)
Assistant Referee 1: David McGeachie (SCO)
Assistant Referee 2: Alan Mulvanny (SCO)
Fourth Official: Steven McLean (SCO)
Referee Observer: Elmir Pilav (BIH)

FC Viitorul – FC Salzburg
Referee: Anthony Taylor (ENG)
Assistant Referee 1: Gary Beswick (ENG)
Assistant Referee 2: Adam Nunn (ENG)
Fourth Official: Robert Madley (ENG)
Referee Observer: Juan Fernandez Marín (ESP)

Club Brugge – AEK Athens
Referee: Viktor Kassai (HUN)
Assistant Referee 1: Vencel Tóth (HUN)
Assistant Referee 2: György Ring (HUN)
Fourth Official: Sándor Andó-Szabó (HUN)
Referee Observer: Sergey Zuev (RUS)

NK Osijek – Austria Wien
Referee: Deniz Aytekin (GER)
Assistant Referee 1: Guido Kleve (GER)
Assistant Referee 2: Eduard Beitinger (GER)
Fourth Official: Benjamin Cortus (GER)
Referee Observer: Patrick Kelly (IRL)

AC Milan – KF Shkëndija
Referee: Harald Lechner (AUT)
Assistant Referee 1: Andreas Heidenreich (AUT)
Assistant Referee 2: Maximilan Kolbitsch (AUT)
Fourth Official: Julian Weinberger (AUT)
Referee Observer: Sokol Jareci (ALB)

Partizan – Videoton
Referee: John Beaton (SCO)
Assistant Referee 1: Graeme Stewart (SCO)
Assistant Referee 2: Stuart Stevenson (SCO)
Fourth Official: Donald Robertson (SCO)
Referee Observer: Igor Ischenko (UKR)

Everton – Hajduk Split
Referee: Ivan Kružliak (SVK)
Assistant Referee 1: Martin Balko (SVK)
Assistant Referee 2: Branislav Hancko (SVK)
Fourth Official: Boris Marhefka (SVK)
Referee Observer: Luciano Luci (ITA)

CS Marítimo – Dynamo Kyiv
Referee: Jakob Kehlet (DEN)
Assistant Referee 1: Henrik Larsen (DEN)
Assistant Referee 2: Heine Sorensen (DEN)
Fourth Official: Jens Maae (DEN)
Referee Observer: Frank De Bleeckere (BEL)

Ronaldo suspended five games for pushing the referee

Cristiano Ronaldo has been suspended five games for his preposterous red card and subsequent push of a referee in Sunday’s Spanish Super Cup first leg. Ronaldo was sent off two minutes after scoring a screamer to put Real Madrid 2-1 up on Barcelona. He was shown a first yellow for taking off his shirt in celebration, then shown a second minutes later for diving. After a disbelieving Ronaldo saw the red card come out of the referee’s pocket, he threw his hands up in exasperation, then chased after the referee and he pushed him in the back.

The Spanish Football Federation hit Ronaldo with a typical one-match ban for the red card, but added an additional four games for the shove. Ronaldo, who has received 10 red cards in his career, was also fined $4,483. “The authority and the safety of the referee deserves the utmost respect and cannot be challenged”, the Spanish federation said in the judgment, “even in the hypothetical situation of having made a wrong decision”. Ronaldo has 10 days to appeal the suspension. Real Madrid has already said it will appeal the second yellow card, and thus the red, but a successful appeal would merely slash the length of the ban from five games to four. And Ronaldo has little grounds for a rescinding of the penalty for the shove. The Spanish federation’s disciplinary rules call for a ban of between four and 12 matches for anything that can be characterized as at least “slightly violent” behavior toward a referee, so Ronaldo’s suspension is as short as the by-laws allow for. Here is the portion article 96 from the Spanish federation’s disciplinary code, translated to English, which concerns “slight violence toward referees” by players: “Pulling, pushing or shaking, or a general attitude toward the officials, even if only slightly violent, without confirming an aggressive attitude on [the official’s] part, will be punished with a suspension of four to 12 games”.

Source: Yahoo Sports

Referees achieved World Record status

Two Scottish female FIFA referees have achieved Guinness World Record status after officiating at the highest-ever football match at the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro. Morag Pirie and Vicki Allan were part of a team of match officials who refereed a 90-minute women’s match between Volcano FC and Glacier FC, as part of an Equal Playing Fields initiative. A total of 37 players representing 20 nationalities completed an 11-a-side match at 5729 metres – an altitude never attempted before. After a rigorous training regime, the group scaled the Tanzanian mountain with a team of medics over a seven-day period. They used flour to mark the pitch and trekking poles as corner flags with the fixture taking place on a volcanic ash pitch. The match may have ended in a 0-0 draw, but the group achieved their goal of highlighting the inequality women face in sport.

Referee Morag Pirie said: “I’m hugely proud to have been a part of the climb – it was an absolutely amazing experience. I only had three weeks’ notice that I was going whereas some of the other participants had known for over a year. I missed the vast majority of the 12-week training programme but I think my referee training helped and I climbed a number of hills close to where I live to help prepare. It was hugely challenging – even things like tying my shoelaces was difficult at that altitude. We warmed up for the match by simply walking around the pitch because it was so hard to breath. It’s something few people have achieved and everyone is proud to have played their part – there was a real sense of achievement and relief at the end of the match. As a female referee in a male-dominated sport, I can understand where Equal Playing Fields are coming from and what they are trying to achieve. I was more than willing to help their cause and I hope it can help make a difference to women and girls around the world.” They were joined by former FIFA referee Jacqui Hurford from Australia. “The playing field isn’t equal, so we wanted to highlight the issues and get people thinking about women’s sport,” she said. “Women in sport just want to be treated the same as men do. Many people think of women in sport, as butch lesbians, but that’s absolutely not the case.” Hurford has refereed some of the biggest games in the sport, including the 2011 Women’s World Cup quarter-final between the USA and Brazil. She retired as a FIFA referee in 2013 and since then she has be an instructor, assessor and recruiter for the Asian Football Confederation and the Football Federation Australia. The 38-year-old’s role with the Equal Playing Field project was to source FIFA officials and to ensure the game meets the Guinness World Record criteria.

Sources: SFA, Quest

UEFA Champions League – Play-offs (First Leg)

15 August 2017
Hoffenheim – Liverpool
Referee: Björn Kuipers (NED, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Sander van Roekel (NED)
Assistant Referee 2: Erwin Zeinstra (NED)
Additional AR1: Pol van Boekel (NED)
Additional AR2: Dennis Higler (NED)
Fourth Official: Mario Diks (NED)
Referee Observer: Georgios Bikas (GRE)

Qarabağ Ağdam – FC Kobenhavn
Referee: Paolo Tagliavento (ITA)
Assistant Referee 1: Alessandro Giallatini (ITA)
Assistant Referee 2: Alessandro Costanzo (ITA)
Additional AR1: Massimiliano Irrati (ITA)
Additional AR2: Antonio Damato (ITA)
Fourth Official: Filippo Meli (ITA)
Referee Observer: Fritz Stuchlik (AUT)

Sporting – Steaua
Referee: Felix Brych (GER)
Assistant Referee 1: Mark Borsch (GER)
Assistant Referee 2: Stefan Lupp (GER)
Additional AR1: Bastian Dankert (GER)
Additional AR2: Marco Fritz (GER)
Fourth Official: Christian Gittelmann (GER)
Referee Observer: Alain Hamer (LUX)

Apoel – Slavia Praha
Referee: Antonio Mateu Lahoz (ESP)
Assistant Referee 1: Pau Cebrián Devís (ESP)
Assistant Referee 2: Roberto Díaz Pérez (ESP)
Additional AR1: Jesús Gil Manzano (ESP)
Additional AR2: Carlos Del Cerro Grande (ESP)
Fourth Official: Teodoro Sobrino Magán (ESP)
Referee Observer: Matteo Trefoloni (ITA)

Young Boys – CSKA Moskva
Referee: David Fernández Borbalan (ESP)
Assistant Referee 1: Roberto Alonso Fernández (ESP)
Assistant Referee 2: Diego Barbero Sevilla (ESP)
Additional AR1: Javier Estrada Fernández (ESP)
Additional AR2: Juan Martínez Munuera (ESP)
Fourth Official: Juan Yuste Jiménez (ESP)
Referee Observer: Gylfi Orrason (ISL)

16 August 2017
Napoli – Nice
Referee: Szymon Marciniak (POL)
Assistant Referee 1: Paweł Sokolnicki (POL)
Assistant Referee 2: Tomasz Listkiewicz (POL)
Additional AR1: Paweł Raczkowski (POL)
Additional AR2: Tomasz Musiał (POL)
Fourth Official: Radosław Siejka (POL)
Referee Observer: Francesco Bianchi (SUI)

İstanbul Başakşehir – Sevilla FC
Referee: Clément Turpin (FRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Nicolas Danos (FRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Cyril Gringore (FRA)
Additional AR1: Ruddy Buquet (FRA)
Additional AR2: Nicolas Rainville (FRA)
Fourth Official: Hicham Zakrani (FRA)
Referee Observer: Rune Pedersen (NOR)

Hapoel Beer Sheva – NK Maribor
Referee: Jonas Eriksson (SWE)
Assistant Referee 1: Mathias Klasenius (SWE)
Assistant Referee 2: Daniel Wärnmark (SWE)
Additional AR1: Stefan Johannesson (SWE)
Additional AR2: Andreas Ekberg (SWE)
Fourth Official: Joakim Nilsson (SWE)
Referee Observer: Leslie Irvine (NIR)

Celtic – Astana
Referee: Ovidiu Haţegan (ROU)
Assistant Referee 1: Octavian Șovre (ROU)
Assistant Referee 2: Sebastian Gheorghe (ROU)
Additional AR1: István Kovács (ROU)
Additional AR2: Sebastian Colţescu (ROU)
Fourth Official: Radu Ghinguleac (ROU)
Referee Observer: Herbert Fandel (GER)

Olympiacos – Rijeka
Referee: Felix Zwayer (GER)
Assistant Referee 1: Marco Achmüller (GER)
Assistant Referee 2: Jan Seidel (GER)
Additional AR1: Daniel Siebert (GER)
Additional AR2: Patrick Ittrich (GER)
Fourth Official: Rafael Foltyn (GER)
Referee Observer: Manuel Mejuto Gonzalez (ESP)

FIFA U-17 World Cup 2017

With only two months to go before the FIFA U-17 World Cup India 2017 kicks off, the FIFA Referees Committee has appointed 21 trios of match officials, representing all six confederations. For FIFA, it is essential to ensure that the best match officials from all around the world are selected for FIFA competitions. For some of the selected match officials, India 2017 will be another important step in their preparations for FIFA’s flagship competition, the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia. At the same time, this competition in India will give other ambitious FIFA referees the opportunity to show their quality while taking another step forward in their career. FIFA has also selected seven support referees, but with a twist: for the first-ever time, FIFA has selected female referees for a men’s tournament. The results and improvements seen in the joint preparations have shown that the time has come for elite female referees to officiate in men’s competitions together with their male colleagues. “We think it’s time for elite female referees to be involved in a FIFA men’s competition. They worked together with male match officials last year and now we want to see them working together in a competition”, said FIFA Head of Refereeing Massimo Busacca. The referees have completed a host of activities together in several seminars, including theoretical sessions in the classroom and practical sessions on the field of play. The match officials have also discussed and practiced various game situations to achieve consistency and uniformity. The FIFA U-17 World Cup 2017 will take place in India between 6 and 28 October 2017. (Source: FIFA)

AFC
Referee: Muhammad Bin Jahari (SIN, 1977)
Assistant Referee 1: Tzu Liang Lee (SIN, 1976)
Assistant Referee 2: Min Kiat Koh (SIN, 1979)

Referee: Ryuji Sato (JPN, 1983, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Toru Sagara (JPN, 1976)
Assistant Referee 2: Hiroshi Yamauchi (JPN, 1979)

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

Support Referee
Ri Hyang Ok (PRK, 1977)

CAF 

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

Referee: Hamada Nampiandraza (MAD, 1984)
Assistant Referee 1: Arsenio Marengula (MOZ, 1986)
Assistant Referee 2: Yahaya Mahamadou (NIG, 1983)

Referee: Bamlak Tessema (ETH, 1980)
Assistant Referee 1: Olivier Safari (COD, 1980)
Assistant Referee 2: Mark Ssonko (UGA, 1978)

Support Referee
Gladys Lengwe (ZAM, 1978)

CONCACAF
Referee: Jair Marrufo (USA, 1977)
Assistant Referee 1: Frank Anderson (USA, 1975)
Assistant Referee 2: Corey Rockwell (USA, 1974)

Referee: Ricardo Montero (CRC, 1986)
Assistant Referee 1: Juan Mora (CRC, 1989)
Assistant Referee 2: Carlos Fernandez (CRC, 1987)

Referee: John Pitti (PAN, 1978)
Assistant Referee 1: Gabriel Victoria (PAN, 1973)
Assistant Referee 2: Christian Ramirez (HON, 1988)

Support Referee
Carol Anne Chenard (CAN, 1977)

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

Referee: Gery Vargas (BOL, 1981)
Assistant Referee 1: Juan Montano (BOL, 1988)
Assistant Referee 2: Jose Antelo (BOL, 1984)

Support Referee
Claudia Umpierrez URU, 1983)

OFC
Referee: Abdelkader Zitouni (TAH, 1981)
Assistant Referee 1: Folio Moeaki (TGA, 1982)
Assistant Referee 2: Bernard Mutukera (SOL, 1991)

Support Referee
Anna-Marie Keighley (NZL, 1982)

UEFA
Referee: Ovidiu Hategan (ROU, 1980)
Assistant Referee 1: Octavian Sovre (ROU, 1973)
Assistant Referee 2: Sebastian Gheorghe (ROU, 1976)

Referee: Robert Madden (SCO, 1978)
Assistant Referee 1: David McGeachie (SCO, 1986)
Assistant Referee 2: Alastair Mather (SCO, 1977)

Referee: Anastasios Sidiropoulos (GRE, 1979)
Assistant Referee 1: Polichronis Kostaras (GRE, 1983)
Assistant Referee 2: Lazaros Dimitriadis (GRE, 1982)

Referee: Artur Soares Dias (POR, 1979)
Assistant Referee 1: Rui Barbosa (POR, 1974)
Assistant Referee 2: Paulo Santos (POR, 1976)

Referee: Anthony Taylor (ENG, 1978)
Assistant Referee 1: Gary Beswick (ENG, 1977)
Assistant Referee 2: Adam Nunn (ENG, 1985)

Referee: Clement Turpin (FRA, 1982)
Assistant Referee 1: Nicolas Danos (FRA, 1980)
Assistant Referee 2: Cyril Gringore (FRA, 1972)

Referee: Slavko Vincic (SVN, 1979)
Assistant Referee 1: Tomaz Klancnik (SVN, 1982)
Assistant Referee 2: Andraz Kovacic (SVN, 1985)

Support Referees
Kateryna Monzul (UKR, 1981)
Esther Staubli (SUI, 1979)

CONCACAF Futsal Club Championship 2017

Honduras, 21-26 August 2017

Referees
1. Victor Prendas (CRC, 1989)
2. Yeraldin Araya (CRC, 1988)
3. Dunia Aguilera (CUB, 1990)
4. Roberto Sanchez (CUB, 1979)
5. Reinier Fiss (CUB, 1987)
6. Carlos Berroa (DOM, 1990)
7. Jorge Flores (SLV, 1981)
8. Jose Barrera (SLV, 1989)
9. Carlos Gonzalez (GUA, 1982, photo)
10. Oscar Urias (GUA, 1980)
11. Francisco Rivera (MEX, 1977)
12. Francisco Lopez (NCA, 1980)
13. Luis Aguilar (PAN, 1980)
14. Roberto Lopez (PAN, 1989)
15. Shane Butler (USA, 1975)*
16. Lance VanHaitsma (USA, 1982)

*replaced by Ronny Castro (CRC, 1978)

Rocchi: "I hope to be thought of as a good person, not just as a good referee"

"Referees wait for this moment", says Italian official Gianluca Rocchi of his appointment to take charge of Tuesday's UEFA Super Cup match between Real Madrid and Manchester United in Skopje. Top referees relish the big occasion as much as players, especially if a packed stadium provides an exciting atmosphere for a showpiece match such as the UEFA Super Cup game that heralds the start of each new club competition season.

Italy’s Gianluca Rocchi is delighted at his selection to take charge of Tuesday’s encounter between Real Madrid and Manchester United in Skopje. The full house awaiting last season’s UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europe League winners will hold no fears for the 43-year-old match official. “I find it easier to referee a match in front of a big crowd than in an empty stadium,” says Florence-born Rocchi, a married father of two young boys. “If no one is in the stadium, you hear everything that everyone says...” Rocchi will be accompanied in Skopje by five compatriots: assistant referees Elenito Di Liberatore and Mauro Tonolini, additional assistant referees Davide Massa and Massimiliano Irrati, and reserve official Riccardo Di Fiore. France's Clément Turpin will act as the fourth official. “If you receive an assignment for a final, it is a surprise, and a pleasant one,” says Rocchi, who has been on the international list since 2008. “Referees wait for this moment, and certainly I feel proud that UEFA appointed me for this big game.” One major final is already behind Rocchi, who acted as fourth official at May’s UEFA Europa League final between Manchester United and Ajax in Stockholm. He follows in the footsteps of another Italian referee, the late Stefano Farina, who took charge of the 2006 Super Cup match between Barcelona and Sevilla. 

Rocchi started refereeing at 15 and progressed through the ranks in Italy to join the Serie A and B list in 2003. “I wasn’t a very good footballer to be honest, but I enjoyed playing,” he reflects. “The decision to change wasn’t that easy, but I wanted to do something else within football.” Finding the right balance between focus and relaxation is key to Rocchi’s preparations for any assignment. He is a keen fan of the British band Coldplay, and attended a recent concert in Milan. “Music is never far away in my life,” he says, “and I like music in the dressing room and to relax when I have a free moment.” Rocchi describes the time when the referees and teams line up before a big game as “the best moment of a match in some ways. You realise the importance of what is to come, and you have a short time to appreciate the occasion – but it is only a short time, because you then return to being fully concentrated on the match.” Good positioning in the early minutes – helped by diligent pre-match preparation about teams, their tactics and their players – gives Rocchi confidence for the match ahead. “If I’m positioned well, it means that I’m understanding how the teams and players are playing,” he explains. “I also like my colleagues in the referee team to tell me if I need to improve anything – you can’t referee well without teamwork, and I feel that it’s good to be honest with each other.” Rocchi finds it easy to get away from the pressures of refereeing. “My wife Paola actually doesn’t like football that much! So I’m able to spend quality time outside football with her, my family and friends – we find lots of other things to talk about, rather than football!” With the Super Cup match the latest key moment in a distinguished career, Rocchi’s ambitions for the future are simple. “I just think about refereeing the next match. I try not to think too much about the future, because you can’t predict what is around the corner. But I do have one hope for the future – that I will be thought of as a good person and not just as a good referee". 

Source: UEFA