Layec quits as general manager of French elite referees

It is a departure that will make noise. After nine years at the Technical Direction of the Refereeing (DTA), Bertrand Layec decided to leave his functions. An essential figure in the Batta era, of which he is still a faithful, Bertrand Layec recently left his position as general manager of the French elite referees. Hired in 2009 by Jean-Pierre Escalettes, then President of the FFF, Layec has often crystallized tensions and criticism, some seeing him as a dictator, but who has developed the elite referees with whom he had good relationships. His departure from the DTA is explained in particular by the cold relations he had with Pascal Garibian, the Technical Director of Refereeing. A similar situation occurred between Layec and Alain Sars, current Deputy Technical Director of Refereeing, to which Layec no longer speaks for several years, being upset with Sars for his media interventions at the time.

While still holding the whistle in Ligue 1 during the 2008/2009 season, Bertrand Layec was found guilty of defamation and public insults against Bruno Derrien by the Criminal Court of Paris. Layec was accused of forwarding an anonymous email that was violently attacking Bruno Derrien, following the release of Bruno Derrien's book “A bas l’arbitre”, in which Bertrand Layec is quoted several times. While he was announced as possible successor of Eric Poulat at the position of Regional Technical Advisor of Refereeing (CTRA) in the Ligue de Bretagne, a function he had already occupied in the past, Bertrand Layec will not return to his region. A foreign federation could acquire his services.

Source: Arbitage57

UEFA Women’s Champions League – Round of 16 (Second Leg)

31 October – 1 November 2018

Olympique Lyonnais – AFC Ajax
Referee: Katalin Kulcsár (HUN, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Katalin Török (HUN)
Assistant Referee 2: Anita Vad (HUN)
Fourth Official: Katalin Sipos (HUN)
Referee Observer: Hilda McDermott (IRL)

Brøndby IF – LSK Kvinner
Referee: Melis Özçiğdem (TUR)
Assistant Referee 1: Deybet Gök (TUR)
Assistant Referee 2: Betül Yılmaz (TUR)
Fourth Official: Neslihan Muratdağı (TUR)
Referee Observer: Jenny Palmqvist (SWE)

Bayern München – FC Zürich Frauen
Referee: Petra Pavlíková (SVK)
Assistant Referee 1: Mária Súkeníková (SVK)
Assistant Referee 2: Lucie Ratajová (CZE)
Fourth Official: Zuzana Valentová (SVK)
Referee Observer: Blaženka Logarušić (CRO)

Fiorentina Women FC – Chelsea FC Women
Referee: Lina Lehtovaara (FIN)
Assistant Referee 1: Tonja Paavola (FIN)
Assistant Referee 2: Jenni Mahlamäki (FIN)
Fourth Official: Ifeoma Kulmala (FIN)
Referee Observer: Carolina De Boeck (BEL)

Atlético de Madrid Féminas – VfL Wolfsburg
Referee: Anastasiya Pustovoytova (RUS)
Assistant Referee 1: Ekaterina Kurochkina (RUS)
Assistant Referee 2: Sabina Valiyeva (RUS)
Fourth Official: Vera Opeykina (RUS)
Referee Observer: Irina Mîrț (ROU)

Paris St. Germain – Linköping FC
Referee: Riem Hussein (GER)
Assistant Referee 1: Kylie Cockburn (SCO)
Assistant Referee 2: Mihaela Țepușă (ROU)
Fourth Official: Angelika Söder (GER)
Referee Observer: Marina Mamayeva (RUS)

Slavia Praha – FC Rosengard
Referee: Cheryl Foster (WAL)
Assistant Referee 1: Laura Griffiths (WAL)
Assistant Referee 2: Lindsey Brown (WAL)
Fourth Official: Paula Brady (IRL)
Referee Observer: Christine Frai (GER)

Glasgow City – FC Barcelona
Referee: Désirée Grundbacher (SUI)
Assistant Referee 1: Linda Schmid (SUI)
Assistant Referee 2: Sabrina Keinersdorfer (SUI)
Fourth Official: Esther Staubli (SUI)
Referee Observer: Miroslava Migalová (SVK)

CONMEBOL Copa Libertadores – Semi-finals (Second Leg)

30-31 October 2018

Gremio – River Plate
Referee: Andres Cunha (URU, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Nicolas Taran (URU)
Assistant Referee 2: Richard Trinidad (URU)
Fourth Official: Jonathan Fuentes (URU)
VAR: Leodan Gonzalez (URU)
AVAR 1: Esteban Ostojich (URU)
AVAR 2: Mauricio Espinosa (URU)
Referee Assessor: Ana Perez (PER)
VAR Assessor: Enrique Osses (CHI)

Palmeiras – Boca Juniors
Referee: Wilmar Roldan (COL)
Assistant Referee 1: Alexander Guzman (COL)
Assistant Referee 2: Alexander Leon (COL)
Fourth Official: Andres Rojas (COL)
VAR: Julio Bascunan (CHI)
AVAR1: Piero Maza (CHI)
AVAR2: Carlos Astroza (CHI)
Referee Assessor: Dario Ubriaco (URU)
VAR Assessor: Martin Vazquez (URU)

CONMEBOL Copa Sudamericana – Quarter-finals (Second Leg)

30-31 October 2018

Deportivo Cali – Santa Fe
Referee: Víctor Carrillo (PER, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Víctor Raez (PER)
Assistant Referee 2: Raul Lopez (PER)
Fourth Official: Michael Espinoza (PER)
VAR: Mauro Vigliano (ARG)
AVAR 1: Jose Argote (VEN)
AVAR 2: Jorge Urrego (VEN)
Referee Assessor: Imer Machado (COL)
VAR Assessor: Carlos Torres (PAR)

Nacional – Fluminense
Referee: Robert Tobar (CHI)
Assistant Referee 1: Christian Schiemann (CHI)
Assistant Referee 2: Claudio Rios (CHI)
Fourth Official: Cesar Deischler (CHI)
VAR: Gery Vargas (BOL)
AVAR 1: Nicolas Gallo (COL)
AVAR 2: Hernan Maidana (ARG)
Referee Assessor: Jose Buitrago (COL)
VAR Assessor: Paulo Silva (ARG)

Atletico Paranaense – Bahia
Referee: Diego Haro (PER)
Assistant Referee 1: Jonny Bossio (PER)
Assistant Referee 2: Coty Carrera (PER)
Fourth Official: Miguel Santivanez (PER)
VAR: Jesus Valenzuela (PER)
AVAR 1: Alexis Herrera (COL)
AVAR 2: Juan Belatti (ARG)
Referee Assessor: Sergio Cristiano (BRA)
VAR Assessor: Alicio Pena (BRA)

Defensa & Justicia – Junior
Referee: Raphael Claus (BRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Kleber Gil (BRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Guilherme Camilo (BRA)
Fourth Official: Dewson Freitas (BRA)
VAR: Rodolpho Toski (BRA)
AVAR 1: Luis de Oliveira (BRA)
AVAR 2: Rodrigo Correa (BRA)
Referee Assessor: Jorge Haimes (PER)
VAR Assessor: Ubaldo Aquino (PAR)

IFAB proposal to reduce time-wasting

Rule-makers at the International FA Board (IFAB) are hoping to crack down on intentional time-wasting tactics and the actual playing time of games. In the proposed scheme, players would be forced to leave the pitch via the nearest touchline, rather than slowly trudge to their technical area.

At present, Premier League matches average just 55 minutes and nine seconds of footballing action per 90 minutes. On top of that, nearly a quarter of matches are now seeing subs made after the 90-minute mark in a clear time-wasting strategy - a three per cent increase over seven seasons ago. Now law-makers are considering drastic measures to boost that number, according to The Times. One IFAB board member: “Looking at ways to cut down on time-wasting, speed up the game and increase playing time is one of our priorities. A rule to say there should be no substitutions during added-on time is an interesting one and could work well. Referees add on 30 seconds for a substitution but in practice it can eat up a lot more time than that." However, the IFAB member did claim there would be potential problems with the law-change. The member added: "There would need to be trials to see if there are any unforeseen ramifications. Would it be fair, for example, if a player suffered a broken leg in injury time and couldn’t be replaced? But you already have the case where they couldn’t be replaced anyway if the three substitutes had already been used.”

In another bid to speed up the game, IFAB are considering allowing goalkeepers to pass to players in their own area. On top of that, free-kicks may be allowed to be taken with the ball still moving rather than at a complete standstill to boost the pace of the match. All proposals will be discussed at IFAB's advisory panels next month ahead of March's annual meeting.

Source: The Sun

Iturralde: “El Clasico can take more away than it gives you"

La Liga's Clasico is the most watched domestic club game on the planet and nobody at the Camp Nou on Sunday will be more alone, in the unforgiving spotlight, than the referee. Clasico officials must be prepared to take monumental flak before, during and after the 90 minutes, receiving it from players, coaches, fans and pundits leaning towards either Real Madrid or Barcelona, and while trying to make split-second decisions that potentially have long-lasting consequences. Few referees know more about this atmosphere than former top La Liga ref Eduardo Iturralde Gonzalez, who both enjoyed and suffered in Clasicos during his 17 years in charge of La Liga games. 

"You always have nerves before such a high-profile game," Iturralde says in an exclusive interview with ESPN FC. "All that happens before, you cannot control, people stopping you on the street, all the calls you keep getting in the weeks before the game. So you want the game to start that is where you are in control. Once the ball is moving your stomach calms down and you are where you like to be, out on the pitch. Referees always like to whistle these type of games. But it's curious: it is a game that can take more away than it gives you. There are many very good referees who have been very good in Clasicos and it has not helped their careers." A first big call was not long in coming in Iturralde's debut Clasico in February 1999 at the Camp Nou. The game was goal-less with 20 minutes gone when Madrid left-back Roberto Carlos chopped down his future teammate, Luis Figo. Iturralde immediately reached for his red card and Barca went on to win 3-0 against the 10 men of Madrid. "I always say that a referee cannot think, he has to act," he explains. "As when he starts to think, he is not refereeing any more. If you see something, you whistle. If you start to think about whether to send this player off or not, he is from Madrid or Barcelona, you cannot do that." 

Iturralde was often in the headlines as he called games in La Liga's top flight from 1995 until 2012, showing more yellow cards (1,647) and awarding more penalties (104) than any other referee in Spanish football history. But the Metallica fan, who trained in dentistry, was generally popular with players and says that a referee cannot be star-struck by officiating the likes of Sergio Ramos or Lionel Messi. "They are the same as a player from Almeria or Getafe, just much more high-profile," he says. "A referee cannot let themselves be influenced by these things. Even more now that referees in Spain are earning a lot of money: €300,000 a year. In a Clasico, a player knows that hundreds of millions of people are watching him. And he has his pride, he knows this is the game when he really has to do well. So they do protest. But when the game ends, or if you see them in the airport, they treat you like another fellow professional, a comrade." To illustrate how players and officials can share a moment on the pitch, Iturralde recalls November 2010's famous victory by Pep Guardiola's Barcelona over Jose Mourinho's Madrid. "The Camp Nou was falling down as it was almost over, and the game was at 5-0," he says. "I remember it perfectly. [Lionel] Messi picked up the ball near the touchline, started to dribble and [Sergio] Ramos came from behind and hacked him down. I sent him off, and a terrible push and shove broke out. And [Andres] Iniesta just came over to me and said "Itu, relax, enjoy it.' I couldn't believe he was so calm, with all that was going on." The relationship with coaches can be less friendly, with Iturralde admitting he reacted when current Manchester United manager Mourinho tried some mind games ahead of that meeting. "The day of the game Marca published a conversation with Mourinho saying that 'Iturralde is very good for Barca,'" he says. "That was to try and make me give doubtful decisions in favour of Madrid? Referees are well used to that by now. They know very well where the messages are coming from and why. You just have to be very sure of what you do and the decisions you make. If that annoys someone, well, bad luck for them, but no problem. So when the game was over I told him 'Looks like you got it wrong, in this there is only one big man here, and that's me.'" Iturralde clearly enjoyed that evening at the Camp Nou, but it was to be the third and final Clasico of his career (the second was Madrid 0-3 Barca at the Bernabeu in November 2005). The Spanish authorities wanted him to take charge of the 2010-11 Copa del Rey final but the Bernabeu hierarchy vetoed his appointment. "The committee said 'we want Iturralde,'" he says. "But Madrid did not want me, and an alternative was chosen by consensus. But that is normal, not something that bothers me. I understand that [Madrid] had lost all their Clasicos with me in charge, so they wanted somebody else. It's only in such games, like the Copa final or the World Cup, when politics enters." 

Sunday's referee is Jose Maria Sanchez Martinez, just 35, who last season took charge of two Clasicos, Madrid's 2-0 stroll in August 2017's Supercopa second leg and Barca's 3-0 victory at Bernabeu last December. "He has done well, and everyone is happy," Iturralde says. "The more Clasicos he whistles, the more incidents will be looked at. With the veteran referees, people always talk about a decision from five or 10 years ago. If [Sanchez Martinez] does three or four more Clasicos, he will make a mistake - everyone does - and it will be just the same with him. That is how things work in Spain." Making things more interesting is the fact that Sunday's will be the first La Liga Clasico with the VAR (video assistant referee) system, which Iturralde says helps the officials. "VAR takes away that tension, when you wonder during a game if you have got a decision correct," he says. "Now you know you have got it right, if they have not told you. At this World Cup you saw it - as previously there were referees who could not even talk after a game, as they were still thinking they might have made a mistake, and would be sent home. Not any more, with VAR. Now you know you have this support." 

Iturralde says that a first Clasico in a decade without either Cristiano Ronaldo or Messi, and with relatively less combustible characters Ernesto Valverde and Julen Lopetegui on the bench, will not necessarily be easier to control. "It will be just the same," he says. "The game comes early in the season, week 10 of the season, but Madrid are not playing well, and if they lose... that means extra pressure. I believe it will be a physical game and the referee will whistle lots of fouls early. Then it depends on if the players relax and concentrate on playing. In the Clasicos, when the game is level, there is not too many problems for the referee. It is curious." No pressure, then, for Sanchez Martinez on Sunday: only the whole world will be watching, with his future career prospects on the line. 

Source: ESPN

CAF Champions League – Semi-finals

First Leg, 2 October 2018

Al Ahly – ES Setif
Referee: Bamlak Tessema (ETH, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Temesgin Atango (ETH)
Assistant Referee 2: Kindie Mussie (ETH)

1 Agosto – Esperance Tunis
Referee: Maguette N’Diaye (SEN)
Assistant Referee 1: El Hadji Samba (SEN)
Assistant Referee 2: Djibril Camara (SEN)

Second Leg, 23 October 2018

ES Setif – Al Ahly
Referee: Victor Gomes (RSA)
Assistant Referee 1: Zakhele Siwela (RSA)
Assistant Referee 2: Johannes Moshidi (RSA)

Esperance Tunis – 1 Agosto
Referee: Janny Sikazwe (ZAM)
Assistant Referee 1: Romeo Kasengele (ZAM)
Assistant Referee 2: Kabwe Chansa (ZAM)

CAF Confederation Cup – Semi-finals

First Leg, 3 October 2018

Al Masry – ASV Club
Referee: Bakary Gassama (GAM, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Sulayman Sosseh (GAM)
Assistant Referee 2: Omar Darboe (GAM)

Enyimba FC – Raja CA
Referee: Youssef Essrayri (TUN)
Assistant Referee 1: Yamen Malloulchi (TUN)
Assistant Referee 2: Aymen Ismail (TUN)

Second Leg, 24 October 2018

ASV Club – Al Masry
Referee: Bernard Camille (SEY)
Assistant Referee 1: Gilbert Lista (SEY)
Assistant Referee 2: James Fedrick (SEY)

Raja CA – Enyimba FC
Referee: Eric Otogo Castane (GAB)
Assistant Referee 1: Issa Yaya (CHA)
Assistant Referee 2: Moussounda Montel (GAB)

AFC Champions League – Semi-finals

First Leg, 2-3 October 2018

Kashima Antlers – Suwon Bluewings
Referee: Nawaf Shukralla (BHR, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Yaser Tulefat (BHR)
Assistant Referee 2: Nawaf Mousa (BHR)
Additional AR 1: Ali Sabah (IRQ)
Additional AR 2: Turki Al-Khudhayr (KSA)
Fourth Official: Mohd Muhamad (MAS)

Al Sadd – Persepolis
Referee: Hettikamkanamge Perera (SRI)
Assistant Referee 1: Priyanga Palliya (SRI)
Assistant Referee 2: Palitha Hemathunga (SRI)
Additional AR 1: Nivon Gamini (SRI)
Additional AR 2: Rowan Arumughan (SRI)
Fourth Official: Premalal Wellabada (SRI)

Second Leg, 23-24 October 2018

Persepolis – Al Sadd
Referee: Valentin Kovalenko (UZB)
Assistant Referee 1: Husniddin Shodmonov (UZB)
Assistant Referee 2: Timur Gaynullin (UZB)
Additional AR 1: Ilgiz Tantashev (UZB)
Additional AR 2: Aziz Asimov (UZB)
Fourth Official: Ruslan Serazitdinov (UZB)

Suwon Bluewings – Kashima Antlers
Referee: Mark Geiger (USA)
Assistant Referee 1: Joe Fletcher (CAN)
Assistant Referee 2: Frank Anderson (USA)
Additional AR 1: Mohanad Sarray (IRQ)
Additional AR 2: Adham Makhadmeh (JOR)
Fourth Official: Ahmad Al-Roalle (JOR)

UEFA Europa League – Group Stage (Matchday 3)

25 October 2018

Anderlecht – Fenerbahçe
Referee: Georgi Kabakov (BUL, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Martin Margaritov (BUL)
Assistant Referee 2: Diyan Valkov (BUL)
Fourth Official: Georgi Todorov (BUL)
Additional AR 1: Nikola Popov (BUL)
Additional AR 2: Stanislav Todorov (BUL)
Referee Observer: Milan Karadžić (SRB)

RB Leipzig – Celtic FC
Referee: Pavel Královec (CZE)
Assistant Referee 1: Ivo Nádvorník (CZE)
Assistant Referee 2: Kamil Hájek (CZE)
Fourth Official: Jakub Hrabovský (CZE)
Additional AR 1: Petr Ardeleánu (CZE)
Additional AR 2: Karel Hrubeš (CZE)
Referee Observer: Robert Sedlacek (AUT)

FC Zürich – Bayer Leverkusen
Referee: Aliyar Agayev (AZE)
Assistant Referee 1: Zeynal Zeynalov (AZE)
Assistant Referee 2: Rza Mammadov (AZE)
Fourth Official: Mübariz Haşımov (AZE)
Additional AR 1: Rəhim Hasanov (AZE)
Additional AR 2: Orxan Mammadov (AZE)
Referee Observer: Nuno Castro (POR)

AEK Larnaca – PFC Ludogorets
Referee: Enea Jorgji (ALB)
Assistant Referee 1: Denis Rexha (ALB)
Assistant Referee 2: Rejdi Avdo (ALB)
Fourth Official: Ridiger Çokaj (ALB)
Additional AR 1: Juxhin Xhaja (ALB)
Additional AR 2: Kridens Meta (ALB)
Referee Observer: Alfredo Trentalange (ITA)

Red Bull Salzburg – Rosenborg BK
Referee: Irfan Peljto (BIH)
Assistant Referee 1: Senad Ibrišimbegović (BIH)
Assistant Referee 2: Davor Beljo (BIH)
Fourth Official: Damir Lazić (BIH)
Additional AR 1: Dragan Petrović (BIH)
Additional AR 2: Haris Kaljanac (BIH)
Referee Observer: Michális Argyroú (CYP)

FC Zenit – Girondins de Bordeaux
Referee: Felix Brych (GER)
Assistant Referee 1: Mark Borsch (GER)
Assistant Referee 2: Stefan Lupp (GER)
Fourth Official: Markus Häcker (GER)
Additional AR 1: Bastian Dankert (GER)
Additional AR 2: Marco Fritz (GER)
Referee Observer: Dušan Krchňák (SVK)

FC København – Slavia Praha
Referee: Luca Banti (ITA)
Assistant Referee 1: Lorenzo Manganelli (ITA)
Assistant Referee 2: Matteo Passeri (ITA)
Fourth Official: Alessandro Costanzo (ITA)
Additional AR 1: Daniele Doveri (ITA)
Additional AR 2: Maurizio Mariani (ITA)
Referee Observer: Christer Fällström (SWE)

Spartak Trnava – GNK Dinamo
Referee: Jakob Kehlet (DEN)
Assistant Referee 1: Lars Hummelgaard (DEN)
Assistant Referee 2: Heine Sørensen (DEN)
Fourth Official: Christian Just Brixen (DEN)
Additional AR 1: Michael Tykgaard (DEN)
Additional AR 2: Jens Maae (DEN)
Referee Observer: Raymond Ellingham (WAL)

Qarabağ FK – Vorskla Poltava
Referee: Roi Reinshreiber (ISR)
Assistant Referee 1: Danny Krasikow (ISR)
Assistant Referee 2: David Biton (ISR)
Fourth Official: Amihay Mozes (ISR)
Additional AR 1: Alon Yefet (ISR)
Additional AR 2: Daniel Natan (ISR)
Referee Observer: Sergey Zuyev (RUS)

Sporting Lisbon – Arsenal
Referee: Damir Skomina (SVN)
Assistant Referee 1: Jure Praprotnik (SVN)
Assistant Referee 2: Robert Vukan (SVN)
Fourth Official: Manuel Vidali (SVN)
Additional AR 1: Matej Jug (SVN)
Additional AR 2: Mitja Žganec (SVN)
Referee Observer: Miroslav Tulinger (CZE)

AC Milan – Real Betis
Referee: Bas Nijhuis (NED)
Assistant Referee 1: Rob van de Ven (NED)
Assistant Referee 2: Jan de Vries (NED)
Fourth Official: Davie Goossens (NED)
Additional AR 1: Serdar Gözübüyük (NED)
Additional AR 2: Martin van den Kerkhof (NED)
Referee Observer: Gevorg Hovhannisyan (ARM)

Dudelange – Olympiakos
Referee: Hüseyin Göçek (TUR)
Assistant Referee 1: Mustafa Eyisoy (TUR)
Assistant Referee 2: Kemal Yılmaz (TUR)
Fourth Official: Serkan Ok (TUR)
Additional AR 1: Mete Kalkavan (TUR)
Additional AR 2: Barış Şimşek (TUR)
Referee Observer: Iain Robertson Brines (SCO)

Rangers FC – Spartak Moskva
Referee: Kevin Blom (NED)
Assistant Referee 1: Charles Schaap (NED)
Assistant Referee 2: Joost van Zuilen (NED)
Fourth Official: Bas van Dongen (NED)
Additional AR 1: Jochem Kamphuis (NED)
Additional AR 2: Siemen Mulder (NED)
Referee Observer: Lucílio Batista (POR)

Villarreal CF – Rapid Wien
Referee: Halis Özkahya (TUR)
Assistant Referee 1: Ceyhun Sesigüzel (TUR)
Assistant Referee 2: Hakan Yemişken (TUR)
Fourth Official: Bahattin Duran (TUR)
Additional AR 1: Alper Ulusoy (TUR)
Additional AR 2: Ümit Öztürk (TUR)
Referee Observer: Vadims Direktorenko (LVA)

Eintracht Frankfurt – Apollon Limassol
Referee: Sergei Ivanov (RUS)
Assistant Referee 1: Igor Demeshko (RUS)
Assistant Referee 2: Aleksei Lunev (RUS)
Fourth Official: Anton Averyanov (RUS)
Additional AR 1: Sergei Karasev (RUS)
Additional AR 2: Mikhail Vilkov (RUS)
Referee Observer: Jens Larsen (DEN)

Olympique de Marseille – Lazio
Referee: Jesús Gil Manzano (ESP)
Assistant Referee 1: Ángel Nevado Rodríguez (ESP)
Assistant Referee 2: Diego Barbero Sevilla (ESP)
Fourth Official: Javier Aguilar Rodríguez (ESP)
Additional AR 1: Javier Estrada Fernández (ESP)
Additional AR 2: Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea (ESP)
Referee Observer: Erol Ersoy (TUR)

Sarpsborg – Malmö
Referee: Paweł Raczkowski (POL)
Assistant Referee 1: Michał Obukowicz (POL)
Assistant Referee 2: Tomasz Listkiewicz (POL)
Fourth Official: Radosław Siejka (POL)
Additional AR 1: Tomasz Musiał (POL)
Additional AR 2: Tomasz Kwiatkowski (POL)
Referee Observer: Lassin Isaksen (FRO)

Beşiktaş JK – KRC Genk
Referee: Daniel Stefański (POL)
Assistant Referee 1: Marcin Boniek (POL)
Assistant Referee 2: Dawid Golis (POL)
Fourth Official: Krzysztof Myrmus (POL)
Additional AR 1: Bartosz Frankowski (POL)
Additional AR 2: Zbigniew Dobrynin (POL)
Referee Observer: Nicolae Grigorescu (ROU)

Standard de Liège – FC Krasnodar
Referee: Marco Guida (ITA)
Assistant Referee 1: Mauro Tonolini (ITA)
Assistant Referee 2: Filippo Meli (ITA)
Fourth Official: Fabiano Preti (ITA)
Additional AR 1: Massimiliano Irrati (ITA)
Additional AR 2: Michael Fabbri (ITA)
Referee Observer: Herbert Fandel (GER)

Sevilla FC – Akhisarspor
Referee: Kevin Clancy (SCO)
Assistant Referee 1: Alastair Mather (SCO)
Assistant Referee 2: Sean Carr (SCO)
Fourth Official: Graeme Stewart (SCO)
Additional AR 1: Greg Aitken (SCO)
Additional AR 2: Euan Anderson (SCO)
Referee Observer: Dejan Filipović (SRB)

FK Jablonec – FC Astana
Referee: Robert Schörgenhofer (AUT)
Assistant Referee 1: Markus Gutschi (AUT)
Assistant Referee 2: Roland Riedel (AUT)
Fourth Official: Andreas Witschnigg (AUT)
Additional AR 1: Markus Hameter (AUT)
Additional AR 2: René Eisner (AUT)
Referee Observer: Plarent Kotherja (ALB)

Stade Rennais – Dynamo Kyiv
Referee: Tamás Bognár (HUN)
Assistant Referee 1: Balázs Buzás (HUN)
Assistant Referee 2: Péter Kóbor (HUN)
Fourth Official: Theodoros Georgiou (HUN)
Additional AR 1: Ádám Farkas (HUN)
Additional AR 2: Péter Solymosi (HUN)
Referee Observer: Marián Ružbarský (SVK)

Chelsea – Bate Borisov
Referee: Paolo Mazzoleni (ITA)
Assistant Referee 1: Elenito Di Liberatore (ITA)
Assistant Referee 2: Alberto Tegoni (ITA)
Fourth Official: Giorgio Peretti (ITA)
Additional AR 1: Davide Massa (ITA)
Additional AR 2: Piero Giacomelli (ITA)
Referee Observer: Luis Medina Cantalejo (ESP)

PAOK FC – MOL Vidi
Referee: Yevhen Aranovskyy (UKR)
Assistant Referee 1: Serhiy Bekker (UKR)
Assistant Referee 2: Oleh Pluzhnyk (UKR)
Fourth Official: Semen Shlonchak (UKR)
Additional AR 1: Mykola Balakin (UKR)
Additional AR 2: Anatoliy Abdula (UKR)
Referee Observer: Michael Ross (NIR)

UEFA Champions League – Group Stage (Matchday 3)

23 October 2018
AEK Athens – Bayern München
Referee: Aleksei Kulbakou (BLR, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Dzmitri Žuk (BLR)
Assistant Referee 2: Alieh Maslianka (BLR)
Fourth Official: Juri Chomčanka (BLR)
Additional AR 1: Dzianis Ščarbakoŭ (BLR)
Additional AR 2: Dzmitri Dzmitrieŭ (BLR)
Referee Observer: Kóstas Kapitanís (CYP)

Young Boys – Valencia CF
Referee: Andris Treimanis (LVA)
Assistant Referee 1: Haralds Gudermanis (LVA)
Assistant Referee 2: Aleksejs Spasjonņikovs (LVA)
Fourth Official: Raimonds Tatriks (LVA)
Additional AR 1: Aleksandrs Anufrijevs (LVA)
Additional AR 2: Edgars Maļcevs (LVA)
Referee Observer: Hans Reijgwart (NED)

AFC Ajax – SL Benfica
Referee: Ruddy Buquet (FRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Guillaume Debart (FRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Julien Pacelli (FRA)
Fourth Official: Cyril Gringore (FRA)
Additional AR 1: Amaury Delerue (FRA)
Additional AR 2: François Letexier (FRA)
Referee Observer: Manuel Mejuto González (ESP)

TSG Hoffenheim – Olympique Lyonnais
Referee: Alberto Undiano Mallenco (ESP)
Assistant Referee 1: Roberto Alonso Fernández (ESP)
Assistant Referee 2: Raúl Cabañero Martínez (ESP)
Fourth Official: Íñigo Prieto López (ESP)
Additional AR 1: José Sánchez Martínez (ESP)
Additional AR 2: José Munuera Montero (ESP)
Referee Observer: Levan Paniashvili (GEO)

Shakhtar Donetsk – Manchester City
Referee: Carlos Del Cerro Grande (ESP)
Assistant Referee 1: Juan Yuste Jiménez (ESP)
Assistant Referee 2: Roberto Díaz Pérez (ESP)
Fourth Official: Teodoro Sobrino Magán (ESP)
Additional AR 1: Juan Martínez Munuera (ESP)
Additional AR 2: Santiago Jaime Latre (ESP)
Referee Observer: Alexandru Deaconu (ROU)

AS Roma – CSKA Moskva
Referee: Anastásios Sidirópoulos (GRE)
Assistant Referee 1: Polychrónis Kostarás (GRE)
Assistant Referee 2: Lázaros Dimitriádis (GRE)
Fourth Official: Damianós Efthymiádis (GRE)
Additional AR 1: Anastásios Papapétrou (GRE)
Additional AR 2: Athanásios Tzílos (GRE)
Referee Observer: Miroslav Liba (CZE)

Real Madrid – Viktoria Plzeň
Referee: Orel Grinfeld (ISR)
Assistant Referee 1: Dvir Shimon (ISR)
Assistant Referee 2: Roi Hassan (ISR)
Fourth Official: Idan Yarkoni (ISR)
Additional AR 1: Eitan Shmuelevitz (ISR)
Additional AR 2: Ziv Adler (ISR)
Referee Observer: Leslie Irvine (NIR)

Manchester United – Juventus FC
Referee: Milorad Mažić (SRB)
Assistant Referee 1: Milovan Ristić (SRB)
Assistant Referee 2: Dalibor Djurdjević (SRB)
Fourth Official: Nemanja Petrović (SRB)
Additional AR 1: Nenad Djokić (SRB)
Additional AR 2: Danilo Grujić (SRB)
Referee Observer: Frank De Bleeckere (BEL)

24 October 2018
Club Brugge – AS Monaco
Referee: Michael Oliver (ENG)
Assistant Referee 1: Stuart Burt (ENG)
Assistant Referee 2: Simon Bennett (ENG)
Fourth Official: Lee Betts (ENG)
Additional AR 1: Paul Tierney (ENG)
Additional AR 2: Andre Marriner (ENG)
Referee Observer: Eugen Strigel (GER)

PSV Eindhoven – Tottenham Hotspur
Referee: Slavko Vinčič (SVN)
Assistant Referee 1: Tomaž Klančnik (SVN)
Assistant Referee 2: Andraž Kovačič (SVN)
Fourth Official: Matej Žunič (SVN)
Additional AR 1: Rade Obrenovič (SVN)
Additional AR 2: Roberto Ponis (SVN)
Referee Observer: Matteo Trefoloni (ITA)

Borussia Dortmund – Atlético de Madrid
Referee: Anthony Taylor (ENG)
Assistant Referee 1: Gary Beswick (ENG)
Assistant Referee 2: Adam Nunn (ENG)
Fourth Official: Stephen Child (ENG)
Additional AR 1: Stuart Attwell (ENG)
Additional AR 2: Martin Atkinson (ENG)
Referee Observer: Rune Pedersen (NOR)

FC Barcelona – Internazionale Milano
Referee: Ovidiu Hațegan (ROU)
Assistant Referee 1: Octavian Șovre (ROU)
Assistant Referee 2: Sebastian Gheorghe (ROU)
Fourth Official: Radu Ghinguleac (ROU)
Additional AR 1: Radu Petrescu (ROU)
Additional AR 2: Sebastian Colțescu (ROU)
Referee Observer: Bertrand Layec (FRA)

Paris St. Germain – SSC Napoli
Referee: Felix Zwayer (GER)
Assistant Referee 1: Thorsten Schiffner (GER)
Assistant Referee 2: Marco Achmüller (GER)
Fourth Official: Eduard Beitinger (GER)
Additional AR 1: Tobias Stieler (GER)
Additional AR 2: Sascha Stegemann (GER)
Referee Observer: László Vágner (HUN)

Liverpool FC – Crvena Zvezda
Referee: Daniel Siebert (GER)
Assistant Referee 1: Jan Seidel (GER)
Assistant Referee 2: Rafael Foltyn (GER)
Fourth Official: Christian Gittelmann (GER)
Additional AR 1: Tobias Welz (GER)
Additional AR 2: Patrick Ittrich (GER)
Referee Observer: Jaap Uilenberg (NED)

Lokomotiv Moskva – FC Porto
Referee: Robert Madden (SCO)
Assistant Referee 1: Francis Connor (SCO)
Assistant Referee 2: Alan Mulvanny (SCO)
Fourth Official: Douglas Potter (SCO)
Additional AR 1: John Beaton (SCO)
Additional AR 2: Alan Muir (SCO)
Referee Observer: Bo Karlsson (SWE)

Galatasaray – Schalke
Referee: Benoît Bastien (FRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Hicham Zakrani (FRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Frédéric Haquette (FRA)
Fourth Official: Cyril Mugnier (FRA)
Additional AR 1: Benoît Millot (FRA)
Additional AR 2: Jérôme Miguelgorry (FRA)
Referee Observer: Gylfi Orrason (ISL)

UEFA Youth League – Group Stage (Matchday 3)

23-24 October 2018

Shakhtar Donetsk – Manchester City
Referee: Horațiu Feșnic (ROU, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Alexandru Cerei (ROU)
Assistant Referee 2: Valentin Avram (ROU)
Fourth Official: Dmytro Panchyshyn (UKR)
Referee Observer: Vasyl Melnychuk (UKR)

AEK Athens – Bayern München
Referee: Duje Strukan (CRO)
Assistant Referee 1: Mario Pepur (CRO)
Assistant Referee 2: Alen Jakšić (CRO)
Fourth Official: Emmanouíl Skoulás (GRE)
Referee Observer: Juan Fernández Marín (ESP)

AFC Ajax – SL Benfica
Referee: Jonathan Lardot (BEL)
Assistant Referee 1: Frédéric Godelaine (BEL)
Assistant Referee 2: Florian Lemaire (BEL)
Fourth Official: Jeroen Manschot (NED)
Referee Observer: John Ferry (NIR)

AS Roma – CSKA Moskva
Referee: Ivaylo Stoyanov (BUL)
Assistant Referee 1: Ivo Kolev (BUL)
Assistant Referee 2: Martin Venev (BUL)
Fourth Official: Valerio Marini (ITA)
Referee Observer: Edward Foley (IRL)

Young Boys – Valencia CF
Referee: Mads-Kristoffer Kristoffersen (DEN)
Assistant Referee 1: Dennis Wollenberg (DEN)
Assistant Referee 2: Victor Skytte (DEN)
Fourth Official: Alessandro Dudic (SUI)
Referee Observer: Francesco Bianchi (SUI)

TSG Hoffenheim – Olympique Lyonnais
Referee: Alain Bieri (SUI)
Assistant Referee 1: Jean-Yves Wicht (SUI)
Assistant Referee 2: Sertac Kurnazca (SUI)
Fourth Official: Tobias Reichel (GER)
Referee Observer: Edgar Steinborn (GER)

Real Madrid – Viktoria Plzeň
Referee: Luís Teixeira (AND)
Assistant Referee 1: Pedro Carvalho (AND)
Assistant Referee 2: Andreu Vilanova (AND)
Fourth Official: Miguel Ortiz Arias (ESP)
Referee Observer: Bernardino González Vázquez (ESP)

Manchester United – Juventus FC
Referee: Christian Dingert (GER)
Assistant Referee 1: Tobias Christ (GER)
Assistant Referee 2: Timo Gerach (GER)
Fourth Official: Anthony Backhouse (ENG)
Referee Observer: Peter Jones (ENG)

Borussia Dortmund – Atlético de Madrid
Referee: Manuel Schüttengruber (AUT)
Assistant Referee 1: Robert Steinacher (AUT)
Assistant Referee 2: Stefan Stangl (AUT)
Fourth Official: Sven Waschitzki (GER)
Referee Observer: Peter Sippel (GER)

Club Brugge – AS Monaco
Referee: Fran Jović (CRO)
Assistant Referee 1: Ivica Modrić (CRO)
Assistant Referee 2: Hrvoje Radić (CRO)
Fourth Official: Jasper Vergoote (BEL)
Referee Observer: Marcel Vanelshocht (BEL)

PSV Eindhoven – Tottenham Hotspur
Referee: Glenn Nyberg (SWE)
Assistant Referee 1: Mikael Hallin (SWE)
Assistant Referee 2: Mahbod Beigi (SWE)
Fourth Official: Allard Lindhout (NED)
Referee Observer: Jan Wegereef (NED)

Lokomotiv Moskva – FC Porto
Referee: Jérôme Brisard (FRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Benjamin Pagès (FRA)
Assistant Referee 2: François Boudikian (FRA)
Referee Observer: Yuri Baskakov (RUS)

FC Barcelona – Internazionale Milano
Referee: Dimítris Massiás (CYP)
Assistant Referee 1: Mários Dimitriádis (CYP)
Assistant Referee 2: Níkos Englézou (CYP)
Fourth Official: Rubén Ávalos Barrera (ESP)
Referee Observer: Ferenc Székely (HUN)

Paris St. Germain – SSC Napoli
Referee: Kirill Levnikov (RUS)
Assistant Referee 1: Vyacheslav Semenov (RUS)
Assistant Referee 2: Konstantin Shalamberidze (RUS)
Fourth Official: Bastien Dechepy (FRA)
Referee Observer: Pascal Garibian (FRA)

Liverpool FC – Crvena Zvezda
Referee: Iwan Griffith (WAL)
Assistant Referee 1: Ian Bird (WAL)
Assistant Referee 2: Ashley Davis (WAL)
Fourth Official: Peter Wright (ENG)
Referee Observer: Stephen Lodge (ENG)

Galatasaray – FC Schalke
Referee: Fyodor Zammit (MLT)
Assistant Referee 1: Jurgen Spiteri (MLT)
Assistant Referee 2: Mitchell Scerri (MLT)
Fourth Official: Abdullah Taşkınsoy (TUR)
Referee Observer: Oğuz Sarvan (TUR)

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

23-24 October 2018

Flyeralarm Admira – RSC Anderlecht
Referee: Zbyněk Proske (CZE, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Radek Kotík (CZE)
Assistant Referee 2: Petr Caletka (CZE)
Fourth Official: Alan Kijas (AUT)
Referee Observer: Stefan Messner (AUT)

Sheriff Tiraspol – Qabala İK
Referee: Timótheos Christofí (CYP)
Assistant Referee 1: Giórgos Sávva (CYP)
Assistant Referee 2: Andréas Michailídis (CYP)
Fourth Official: Ion Orlic (MDA)
Referee Observer: Vladimir Antonov (MDA)

GNK Dinamo – FC Viitorul
Referee: Vitaly Romanov (UKR)
Assistant Referee 1: Oleksandr Korniyko (UKR)
Assistant Referee 2: Valentyn Kutsev (UKR)
Fourth Official: Ivan Vučković (CRO)
Referee Observer: Miroslav Vitković (CRO)

Montpellier HSC – MŠK Žilina
Referee: Christophe Martins (LUX)
Assistant Referee 1: Gilles Becker (LUX)
Assistant Referee 2: Joaquim Gomes (LUX)
Fourth Official: Arnaud Baert (FRA)
Referee Observer: Laurent Duhamel (FRA)

Septemvri Sofia – Dynamo Kyiv
Referee: Michal Očenáš (SVK)
Assistant Referee 1: Michal Tomčík (SVK)
Assistant Referee 2: Peter Bednár (SVK)
Fourth Official: Hristiyana Guteva (BUL)
Referee Observer: Emil Božinovski (MKD)

Lech Poznań – Hertha BSC
Referee: George Găman (ROU)
Assistant Referee 1: George Neacșu (ROU)
Assistant Referee 2: Mihai Marica (ROU)
Fourth Official: Paweł Malec (POL)
Referee Observer: Zbigniew Przesmycki (POL)

Maccabi Tel Aviv – Anzhi Makhachkala
Referee: Krzysztof Jakubik (POL)
Assistant Referee 1: Marek Arys (POL)
Assistant Referee 2: Bartosz Heinig (POL)
Fourth Official: David Fuxman (ISR)
Referee Observer: Haim Jakov (ISR)

Szombathelyi Haladás – FC Minsk
Referee: Suren Baliyan (ARM)
Assistant Referee 1: Mesrop Ghazaryan (ARM)
Assistant Referee 2: Vanik Simonyan (ARM)
Fourth Official: Gergely Kovács (HUN)
Referee Observer: Vencel Tóth (HUN)

KF Vllaznia – FC Astana
Referee: Trustin Farrugia Cann (MLT)
Assistant Referee 1: Roberto Vella (MLT)
Assistant Referee 2: Christopher Francalanza (MLT)
Fourth Official: Olsid Ferataj (ALB)
Referee Observer: Albano Janku (ALB)

HJK Helsinki – Altınordu
Referee: Roomer Tarajev (EST)
Assistant Referee 1: Egerd Pajustik (EST)
Assistant Referee 2: Sander Saga (EST)
Fourth Official: Mohammed Al-Emara (FIN)
Referee Observer: Kaj Natri (FIN)

IF Elfsborg – Knattspyrnufélag
Referee: Nicolas Walsh (SCO)
Assistant Referee 1: David Doig (SCO)
Assistant Referee 2: Calum Spence (SCO)
Fourth Official: Granit Maqedonci (SWE)
Referee Observer: Peter Fröjdfeldt (SWE)

Molde – Chelsea
Referee: Erik Lambrechts (BEL)
Assistant Referee 1: Rien Vanyzere (BEL)
Assistant Referee 2: Pieter Becquet (BEL)
Fourth Official: Sigurd Kringstad (NOR)
Referee Observer: Kjell Alseth (NOR)

PAOK FC – AEL Limassol
Referee: Sándor Andó-Szabó (HUN)
Assistant Referee 1: Tibor Csatári (HUN)
Assistant Referee 2: Norbert Bornemissza (HUN)
Fourth Official: Aristotélis Diamandópoulos (GRE)
Referee Observer: Geórgios Bíkas (GRE)

NK Maribor – Sigma Olomouc
Referee: Yigal Frid (ISR)
Assistant Referee 1: Nati Dotan (ISR)
Assistant Referee 2: Tom Adi (ISR)
Fourth Official: Alen Borošak (SVN)
Referee Observer: Igor Pristovnik (CRO)

Bohemian – Midtjylland
Referee: Lionel Tschudi (SUI)
Assistant Referee 1: Stéphane De Almeida (SUI)
Assistant Referee 2: Matthias Sbrissa (SUI)
Fourth Official: Alan Patchell (IRL)
Referee Observer: Gerard Perry (IRL)

Hamilton Academical – FC Basel
Referee: Rohit Saggi (NOR)
Assistant Referee 1: Geir Isaksen (NOR)
Assistant Referee 2: Runar Langseth (NOR)
Fourth Official: David Munro (SCO)
Referee Observer: William Young (SCO)

CONMEBOL Copa Sudamericana – Quarter-finals (First Leg)

23-25 October 2018

Santa Fe – Deportivo Cali
Referee: Roddy Zambrano (ECU, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Cristian Lescano (ECU)
Assistant Referee 2: Byron Romero (ECU)
Fourth Official: Carlos Orbe (ECU)
VAR: Raphael Claus (BRA)
AVAR 1: Rodolpho Toski (BRA)
AVAR 2: Bruno Boschilia (BRA)
Referee Assessor: Imer Machado (COL)
VAR Assessor: Carlos Torres (PAR)

Fluminense – Nacional
Referee: Patricio Loustau (ARG)
Assistant Referee 1: Juan Belatti (ARG)
Assistant Referee 2: Ezequiel Brailovsky (ARG)
Fourth Official: Silvio Trucco (ARG)
VAR: Mauro Vigliano (ARG)
AVAR 1: Jesus Valenzuela (VEN)
AVAR 2: Carlos Lopez (VEN)
Referee Assessor: Claudio Puga (CHI)
VAR Assessor: Ubaldo Aquino (PAR)

Bahía – Atletico Paranaense
Referee: Fernando Rapallini (ARG)
Assistant Referee 1: Diego Bonfa (ARG)
Assistant Referee 2: Gustavo Rossi (ARG)
Fourth Official: Jorge Balino (ARG)
VAR: Gerry Vargas (BOL)
AVAR 1: Nicolas Gallo (COL)
AVAR 2: Hernan Maidana (ARG)
Referee Assessor: Nelson Moncao (BRA)
VAR Assessor: Francisco Mondria (CHI)

Junior – Defensa & Justicia
Referee: Ricardo Marques (BRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Emerson de Carvalho (BRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Marcelo Van Gasse (BRA)
Fourth Official: Wagner Reway (BRA)
VAR: Raphael Claus (BRA)
AVAR 1: Rodolpho Toski (BRA)
AVAR 2: Bruno Boschilia (BRA)
Referee Assessor: Carlos Herrera (ECU)
VAR Assessor: Carlos Torres (PAR)

CONMEBOL Copa Libertadores – Semi-finals (First Leg)

23-24 October 2018

River Plate – Gremio
Referee: Víctor Carrillo (PER, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Jonny Bossio (PER)
Assistant Referee 2: Victor Raez (PER)
Fourth Official: Diego Haro (PER)
VAR: Leodan Gonzalez (URU)
AVAR1: Esteban Ostojich (URU)
AVAR2: Richard Trinidad (URU)
Referee Assessor: Jose Buitrago (COL)
VAR Assessor: Enrique Osses (CHI)

Boca Juniors – Palmeiras
Referee: Roberto Tobar (CHI)
Assistant Referee 1: Christian Schiemann (CHI)
Assistant Referee 2: Claudio Ríos (CHI)
Fourth Official: Eduardo Gamboa (CHI)
VAR: Julio Bascunan (CHI)
AVAR1: Piero Maza (CHI)
AVAR2: Carlos Astroza (CHI)
Referee Assessor: Alberto Tejada (PER)
VAR Assessor: Martin Vazquez (URU)

Concacaf referee for AFC Champions League Semi-final

The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (Concacaf) and The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) announced that Mark Geiger, two-time FIFA World Cup veteran and 2014 Concacaf Referee of the Year, will lead the Concacaf referee team assigned to the AFC Champions League return-leg semi-final in Suwon, Korea Republic on October 24, 2018, between Suwon Samsung Bluewings (KOR) and Kashima Antlers (JPN).

“Concacaf is proud to continue collaborating with the AFC in the development of football and, specifically, refereeing. The exchange of referee trios for each Confederation’s Champions League semifinal is a historic achievement for the sport, as it provides new challenges for referees from each Confederation,” said Concacaf Director of Refereeing Brian Hall. “We are certain that the Concacaf team will have an exemplary performance as the AFC referee team did on our Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League.” The reciprocal referee exchange, which earlier this year saw Ravshan Irmatov from Uzbekistan officiate a Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League semifinal, is part of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), established in 2017 to promote cooperation and continue the growth of the game across both regions. “The AFC is pleased to enhance our spirit of reciprocity with our sister Confederations and our MoU with Concacaf represent a valuable and strategic partnership to strengthen the refereeing standards in both Continents,” said AFC Director of Referees Shamsul Maidin. “The AFC’s Vision and Mission has underlined our ambitions to ensure our match officials excel on the biggest stages. This partnership plays an essential part in that process not only to increase the opportunities for our referees, but also to expose them in more diverse experiences, enabling a more holistic learning and development environment.” Mark Geiger, who has been a FIFA referee since 2008 and holds the honor of being the first US referee to officiate three matches and a knock-out stage match at a men’s FIFA World Cup (2014), will lead the Concacaf referee team alongside assistants Joe Fletcher (CAN) and Frank Anderson (USA).

Source: Concacaf

Youth Olympic Games 2018 – Futsal Tournament (Finals)

Sitting in a lounge on the 24th floor of a hotel in central Buenos Aires, Gelareh Nazemi conveys a certain shyness, which stands in contrast to the confidence she demonstrates when dealing with matters on a futsal court. But, contrary to being interviewed, refereeing is a passion for Nazemi, who is the first Iranian to officiate at a FIFA-run futsal tournament. A veritable trailblazer in her homeland, the 34-year-old is on the verge of reaping the rewards of choosing to break down barriers and exhibiting proficiency on the court: she has been selected to referee the final of the Women’s Youth Olympic Futsal Tournament Buenos Aires 2018 between Portugal and Japan, which takes place on Wednesday in the Main Futsal Hall. At these Youth Olympic Games in Argentina, she, as well as her five female colleagues – six of the 24 referees appointed were women – have overseen women’s and men’s matches. In fact, Nazemi was the woman in the middle during the crucial men’s Egypt-Slovakia group match which sealed the Africans’ passage to the semi-finals. FIFA.com chatted with the Iranian official to find out a little more about her career path, covering topics such as choosing futsal over football, the difficulties she encountered along the way, and her situation today, where she is one of many female referees working under the auspices of the Iran Football Federation.

FIFA.com: How are you enjoying your experience in Buenos Aires?

Nazemi: It’s a very important assignment: the best referees from each country are here and the level of competition is very high. I’m happy.

- Why did you want to become a referee?

- About 15 years back, I was playing football in Iran when my brother, who was a referee in the SuperLiga, urged me to give it a try. He said, “You can do it, you can be one of the first”. In Iran, the first group of female referees only got started 15 years ago.

- Why did you choose futsal over football?

- Because futsal in Iran is played to a really high standard, higher than football. To start off with, I refereed football matches, but it wasn’t enough for me. In futsal, we’re the number one team in the AFC; it’s a very good level. It was a way of improving – futsal enabled me to develop my refereeing.

- How difficult was it to break through?

- At the beginning it was hard, but just like in any other country, if you want something enough, you can do it. People, especially men, have often said that women aren’t good referees. But in order to stick with my decision, it was important to me to tell them and show them that I could do it. I used it as a motivating tool. And my brother and family were very supportive. That was very important.

- Did you ever think about giving up?

- Yes, it crossed my mind because I was worn out. I didn’t have any support in my country, but it made me stronger. You can and should do what you want to do. And I wanted to demonstrate, particularly to men, that I was able to do it. I did it alone, but I tried and succeeded.

- How did the careers of the women who started at the same time turn out?

- There were seven or eight other female referees, but they all gave up because of how difficult it was. Their families or husbands didn’t accept it, they didn’t understand why they wanted to travel around just to referee. In Iran, if you wanted to referee as a woman, you need your spouse’s permission and so many of them got left behind. Today, things have changed, and there are three different futsal divisions just for women. There are 50 referees in the top division and about 100 across the whole country.

- Do you feel like you’re a pioneer?

- I do see myself – and the other female referees back home – in that way, yes. There are a lot of them who are keen to develop. When I was called up to this tournament, perhaps at the beginning it wasn’t looked upon as a positive thing, especially by men. But after this appointment, and others within the AFC, my countrymen saw the progress I was making and accepted it. Now they believe in me and trust me. (Source: FIFA)

Finals

Boys (U-18)
Brazil – Russia
Referee 1: Mohamed Hassan (EGY)
Referee 2: Hiroyuki Kobayashi (JPN)
Third Official: Lance VanHaitsma (USA)
Timekeeper: Jose Barrera (SLV)
Reserve Official: Victor Berg Audic (FRA)

Girls (U-18)
Portugal – Japan
Referee 1: Gelareh Nazemi (IRN)
Referee 2: Chiara Perona (ITA)
Third Official: Tayana Moreno (VEN)
Timekeeper: Liang Qingyun (CHN)

Concacaf Women’s Championship Final 2018: Venegas (MEX)

17 October 2018

Final
USA – Canada
Referee: Lucila Venegas (MEX, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Princess Brown (JAM)
Assistant Referee 2: Mijensa Rensch (SUR)
Fourth Official: Tatiana Guzman (NCA)

Match for Third Place
Jamaica – Panama
Referee: Carol Anne Chenard (CAN)
Assistant Referee 1: Chantal Boudreau (CAN)
Assistant Referee 2: Kathryn Nesbitt (USA)

FIFA Club World Cup 2018

UAE, 12-22 December 2018

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

VAR: Abdulla Mohammed (UAE, 1978)

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

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

VAR: Mark Geiger (USA, 1974)

CONMEBOL
Referee: Wilton Sampaio (BRA, 1981)
Assistant Referee 1: Rodrigo Figueiredo (BRA, 1983)
Assistant Referee 2: Bruno Boschilia (BRA, 1983)

VAR: Mauro Vigliano (ARG, 1975)

OFC
Referee: Matthew Conger (NZL, 1978)
Assistant Referee 1: Tevita Makasini (TGA, 1976)
Assistant Referee 2: Mark Rule (NZL, 1981)

UEFA
Referee: Gianluca Rocchi (ITA, 1973)
Assistant Referee 1: Elenito Di Liberatore (ITA, 1973)
Assistant Referee 2: Mauro Tonolini (ITA, 1973)

VAR 1: Pawel Gil (POL, 1976)
VAR 2: Massimiliano Irrati (ITA, 1979)
VAR 3: Danny Makkelie (NED, 1983)

Youth Olympic Games 2018 – Futsal Tournament (Semi-finals)

Boys (U-18)

Egypt – Russia
Referee 1: Khalid Hnich (MAR)
Referee 2: Victor Berg Audic (FRA, photo)
Third Official: Rafael Villalba (PAR)
Timekeeper: Diego Molina (CRC)

Brazil – Argentina
Referee 1: Nikola Jelic (CRO)
Referee 2: Po Fu Lee (TPE)
Third Official: Ovidiu Curta (ROU)
Timekeeper: Miguel Oliveira (POR)

Girls (U-18)

Portugal – Bolivia
Referee 1: Roberto Sanchez (CUB)
Referee 2: Hussain Al Bahhar (BHR)
Third Official: Mohamed Hassan (EGY)
Timekeeper: Qingyun Liang (CHN)

Spain – Japan
Referee 1: Lance VanHaitsma (USA)
Referee 2: Anthony Riley (NZL)
Third Official: Tayana Moreno (VEN)
Timekeeper: Jose Barrera (SLV)

Concacaf Nations League – Qualifying Stage (Matchday 2)

11-16 October 2018

Puerto Rico – Martinique
Referee: Hector Rodriguez (HON, photo)

Suriname – British Virgin Islands
Referee: Walter Lopez (GUA)

French Guyana – St. Vincent & Grenadines
Referee: Ismael Cornejo (SLV)

US Virgin Islands – Curacao
Referee: Jamar Springer (BRB)

Bahamas – Antigua & Barbuda
Referee: Raul Castro (HON)

Bermuda – St. Marteen
Referee: Daneon Parchment (JAM)

Dominican Republic – Cayman Islands
Referee: Carl Elie (HAI)

Grenada – Cuba
Referee: Juan Calderon (CRC)

Turks & Caicos – Guyana
Referee: Oliver Vergara (PAN)

El Salvador – Barbados
Referee: Gladwin Johnson (GUY)

St. Martin – St. Kitts & Nevis
Referee: William Anderson (PUR)

Montserrat – Belize
Referee: Edgar Rangel (MEX)

Bonaire – Jamaica
Referee: Sherwin Moore (GUY)

Nicaragua – Anguilla
Referee: German Martínez (SLV)

Martinique – British Virgin Islands
Referee: Jorge Perez (MEX)

Canada – Dominica
Referee: Oscar Macias (MEX)

Guadeloupe – Aruba
Referee: Nima Saghafi (USA)

Santa Lucia – Haiti
Referee: Trevester Richards (SKN)

UEFA U-21 Euro 2019 Qualifiers (Matchday 16)

15-16 October 2018

Czech Republic – Moldova
Referee: Glenn Nyberg (SWE, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Daniel Wärnmark (SWE)
Assistant Referee 2: Mahbod Beigi (SWE)
Fourth Official: Victor Wolf (SWE)
Referee Observer: Boško Jovanetić (SRB)

Greece – Belarus
Referee: Nejc Kajtazovič (SVN)
Assistant Referee 1: Manuel Vidali (SVN)
Assistant Referee 2: Tomislav Pospeh (SVN)
Fourth Official: Mitja Žganec (SVN)
Referee Observer: Brian Lawlor (WAL)

San Marino – Croatia
Referee: Juxhin Xhaja (ALB)
Assistant Referee 1: Ermal Barushi (ALB)
Assistant Referee 2: Denis Agaraj (ALB)
Fourth Official: Klajdi Kola (ALB)
Referee Observer: Are Habicht (EST)

FYR Macedonia – Gibraltar
Referee: Christophe Martins (LUX)
Assistant Referee 1: David Santos (LUX)
Assistant Referee 2: Gilles Becker (LUX)
Fourth Official: Alex Krueger (LUX)
Referee Observer: Volodymyr Petrov (UKR)

Montenegro – Kazakhstan
Referee: Petri Viljanen (FIN)
Assistant Referee 1: Riku Vihreävuori (FIN)
Assistant Referee 2: Mika Lamppu (FIN)
Fourth Official: Joni Hyytiä (FIN)
Referee Observer: António Almeida (POR)

Israel – Kosovo
Referee: Michal Očenáš (SVK)
Assistant Referee 1: Michal Tomčík (SVK)
Assistant Referee 2: Peter Kováč (SVK)
Fourth Official: Pavol Chmura (SVK)
Referee Observer: Marco Borg (MLT)

Malta – Cyprus
Referee: Admir Šehović (BIH)
Assistant Referee 1: Senad Ibrišimbegović (BIH)
Assistant Referee 2: Sreten Udovičić (BIH)
Fourth Official: Irfan Peljto (BIH)
Referee Observer: Yuri Baskakov (RUS)

Estonia – Albania
Referee: Yigal Frid (ISR)
Assistant Referee 1: Matityahu Yakobov (ISR)
Assistant Referee 2: Rotem Waizman (ISR)
Fourth Official: Daniel Bar Natan (ISR)
Referee Observer: Lassin Isaksen (FRO)

Denmark – Faroe Islands
Referee: Christopher Jäger (AUT)
Assistant Referee 1: Roland Brandner (AUT)
Assistant Referee 2: Stefan Kühr (AUT)
Fourth Official: Sebastian Gishamer (AUT)
Referee Observer: Luc Wilmes (LUX)

Poland – Georgia
Referee: Arnold Hunter (NIR)
Assistant Referee 1: Gareth Eakin (NIR)
Assistant Referee 2: Georgios Argyropoulos (NIR)
Fourth Official: Steven Gregg (NIR)
Referee Observer: Kristinn Jakobsson (ISL)

Finland – Lithuania
Referee: Ioánnis Papadópoulos (GRE)
Assistant Referee 1: Trỳfon Petrópoulos (GRE)
Assistant Referee 2: Konstantínos Nikolaidis (GRE)
Fourth Official: Athanássios Tzílos (GRE)
Referee Observer: Manuel López Fernández (ESP)

Serbia – Armenia
Referee: Espen Eskås (NOR)
Assistant Referee 1: Kim Haglund (NOR)
Assistant Referee 2: Øystein Ytterland (NOR)
Fourth Official: Kai Steen (NOR)
Referee Observer: Jiří Ulrich (CZE)

Austria – Russia
Referee: Juri Frischer (EST)
Assistant Referee 1: Silver Kõiv (EST)
Assistant Referee 2: Veiko Mõtsnik (EST)
Fourth Official: Kristo Külljastinen (EST)
Referee Observer: Erol Ersoy (TUR)

Germany – Ireland
Referee: Karim Abed (FRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Cyril Gringore (FRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Mikaël Berchebru (FRA)
Fourth Official: Florent Batta (FRA)
Referee Observer: Martin Ingvarsson (SWE)

Norway – Azerbaijan
Referee: Volen Chinkov (BUL)
Assistant Referee 1: Deniz Sokolov (BUL)
Assistant Referee 2: Miroslav Maksimov (BUL)
Fourth Official: Nikolay Yordanov (BUL)
Referee Observer: Miroslav Vitković (CRO)

Andorra – Latvia
Referee: Vitaliy Romanov (UKR)
Assistant Referee 1: Ihor Alokhin (UKR)
Assistant Referee 2: Andriy Skrypka (UKR)
Fourth Official: Yaroslav Kozyk (UKR)
Referee Observer: Kevin Azzopardi (MLT)

Netherlands – Ukraine
Referee: Marius Avram (ROU)
Assistant Referee 1: Valentin Avram (ROU)
Assistant Referee 2: Mircea Orbuleț (ROU)
Fourth Official: Iulian Călin (ROU)
Referee Observer: Andrejs Sipailo (LVA)

Scotland – England
Referee: Marco Di Bello (ITA)
Assistant Referee 1: Alessandro Costanzo (ITA)
Assistant Referee 2: Pasquale De Meo (ITA)
Fourth Official: Fabrizio Pasqua (ITA)
Referee Observer: Luis Medina Cantalejo (ESP)

Sweden – Belgium
Referee: Frank Schneider (FRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Bertrand Jouannaud (FRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Djemel Zitouni (FRA)
Fourth Official: Thomas Léonard (FRA)
Referee Observer: Matteo Trefoloni (ITA)

Hungary – Turkey
Referee: Duje Strukan (CRO)
Assistant Referee 1: Goran Perica (CRO)
Assistant Referee 2: Mario Pepur (CRO)
Fourth Official: Marin Vidulin (CRO)
Referee Observer: Nikolai Ivanov (RUS)

Iceland – Spain
Referee: George Găman (ROU)
Assistant Referee 1: Vladimir Urzică (ROU)
Assistant Referee 2: Daniel Mitruți (ROU)
Fourth Official: Sebastian Colțescu (ROU)
Referee Observer: Michel Piraux (BEL)

France – Slovenia
Referee: Kristoffer Karlsson (SWE)
Assistant Referee 1: Mikael Hallin (SWE)
Assistant Referee 2: Andreas Söderqvist (SWE)
Fourth Official: Robert Daradic (SWE)
Referee Observer: Vladimir Antonov (MDA)

Wales – Switzerland
Referee: Erik Lambrechts (BEL)
Assistant Referee 1: Karel De Rocker (BEL)
Assistant Referee 2: Rien Vanyzere (BEL)
Fourth Official: Nathan Verboomen (BEL)
Referee Observer: Miroslav Tulinger (CZE)

Luxembourg – Bulgaria
Referee: Nicolas Walsh (SCO)
Assistant Referee 1: Alan Mulvanny (SCO)
Assistant Referee 2: Sean Carr (SCO)
Fourth Official: Steven Reid (SCO)
Referee Observer: Ferenc Székely (HUN)

Romania – Liechtenstein
Referee: Besfort Kasumi (KVX)
Assistant Referee 1: Edmond Zeqiri (KVX)
Assistant Referee 2: Fatmir Sekiraqa (KVX)
Fourth Official: Genc Nuza (KVX)
Referee Observer: Aleksandr Gvardis (RUS)

Portugal – Bosnia and Herzegovina
Referee: Paul Tierney (ENG)
Assistant Referee 1: Harry Lennard (ENG)
Assistant Referee 2: Daniel Robathan (ENG)
Fourth Official: Simon Hooper (ENG)
Referee Observer: Charles Agius (MLT)

Northern Ireland – Slovakia
Referee: Eitan Shmuelevitz (ISR)
Assistant Referee 1: Sagy Metzamber (ISR)
Assistant Referee 2: Dan Ucenic (ISR)
Fourth Official: Idan Leiba (ISR)
Referee Observer: Peter Fröjdfeldt (SWE)

UEFA Nations League – Group Stage (Matchday 4)

14-16 October 2018

League A
Poland – Italy
Referee: Damir Skomina (SVN, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Jure Praprotnik (SVN)
Assistant Referee 2: Robert Vukan (SVN)
Fourth Official: Grega Kordež (SVN)
Additional AR 1: Matej Jug (SVN)
Additional AR 2: Rade Obrenovič (SVN)
Referee Observer: Stephen Lodge (ENG)

Iceland – Switzerland
Referee: Andreas Ekberg (SWE)
Assistant Referee 1: Mehmet Culum (SWE)
Assistant Referee 2: Stefan Hallberg (SWE)
Fourth Official: Fredrik Nilsson (SWE)
Additional AR 1: Kaspar Sjöberg (SWE)
Additional AR 2: Magnus Lindgren (SWE)
Referee Observer: Guy Goethals (BEL)

Spain – England
Referee: Szymon Marciniak (POL)
Assistant Referee 1: Paweł Sokolnicki (POL)
Assistant Referee 2: Tomasz Listkiewicz (POL)
Fourth Official: Krzysztof Myrmus (POL)
Additional AR 1: Bartosz Frankowski (POL)
Additional AR 2: Zbigniew Dobrynin (POL)
Referee Observer: Kýros Vassáras (GRE)

France – Germany
Referee: Milorad Mažić (SRB)
Assistant Referee 1: Milovan Ristić (SRB)
Assistant Referee 2: Dalibor Djurdjević (SRB)
Fourth Official: Nemanja Petrović (SRB)
Additional AR 1: Danilo Grujić (SRB)
Additional AR 2: Igor Stojilković (SRB)
Referee Observer: Luciano Luci (ITA)

League B
Russia – Turkey
Referee: Paweł Raczkowski (POL)
Assistant Referee 1: Michał Obukowicz (POL)
Assistant Referee 2: Radosław Siejka (POL)
Fourth Official: Marcin Boniek (POL)
Additional AR 1: Tomasz Kwiatkowski (POL)
Additional AR 2: Jarosław Przybył (POL)
Referee Observer: Terje Hauge (NOR)

Bosnia and Herzegovina – Northern Ireland
Referee: Mattias Gestranius (FIN)
Assistant Referee 1: Jan-Peter Aravirta (FIN)
Assistant Referee 2: Mikko Alakare (FIN)
Fourth Official: Jukka Honkanen (FIN)
Additional AR 1: Antti Munukka (FIN)
Additional AR 2: Dennis Antamo (FIN)
Referee Observer: Herbert Fandel (GER)

Ukraine – Czech Republic
Referee: Gediminas Mažeika (LTU)
Assistant Referee 1: Vytautas Šimkus (LTU)
Assistant Referee 2: Vytenis Kazlauskas (LTU)
Fourth Official: Dovydas Sužiedėlis (LTU)
Additional AR 1: Donatas Rumšas (LTU)
Additional AR 2: Robertas Valikonis (LTU)
Referee Observer: Fritz Stuchlik (AUT)

Ireland – Wales
Referee: Björn Kuipers (NED)
Assistant Referee 1: Sander van Roekel (NED)
Assistant Referee 2: Erwin Zeinstra (NED)
Fourth Official: Jan de Vries (NED)
Additional AR 1: Dennis Higler (NED)
Additional AR 2: Pol van Boekel (NED)
Referee Observer: Gylfi Þór Orrason (ISL)

League C
Romania – Serbia
Referee: Kevin Blom (NED)
Assistant Referee 1: Rob van de Ven (NED)
Assistant Referee 2: Charles Schaap (NED)
Fourth Official: Bas van Dongen (NED)
Additional AR 1: Allard Lindhout (NED)
Additional AR 2: Siemen Mulder (NED)
Referee Observer: Kaj Østergaard (DEN)

Israel – Albania
Referee: Paolo Mazzoleni (ITA)
Assistant Referee 1: Fabiano Preti (ITA)
Assistant Referee 2: Matteo Passeri (ITA)
Fourth Official: Giorgio Peretti (ITA)
Additional AR 1: Davide Massa (ITA)
Additional AR 2: Piero Giacomelli (ITA)
Referee Observer: Drago Kos (SVN)

Lithuania – Montenegro
Referee: Robert Schörgenhofer (AUT)
Assistant Referee 1: Markus Gutschi (AUT)
Assistant Referee 2: Roland Riedel (AUT)
Fourth Official: Andreas Witschnigg (AUT)
Additional AR 1: René Eisner (AUT)
Additional AR 2: Dieter Muckenhammer (AUT)
Referee Observer: Dragutin Poljak (CRO)

Estonia – Hungary
Referee: Halis Özkahya (TUR)
Assistant Referee 1: Ceyhun Sesigüzel (TUR)
Assistant Referee 2: Hakan Yemişken (TUR)
Fourth Official: Kerem Ersoy (TUR)
Additional AR 1: Ümit Öztürk (TUR)
Additional AR 2: Koray Gençerler (TUR)
Referee Observer: Vasyl Melnychuk (UKR)

Finland – Greece
Referee: Paweł Gil (POL)
Assistant Referee 1: Konrad Sapela (POL)
Assistant Referee 2: Marcin Borkowski (POL)
Fourth Official: Adam Kupsik (POL)
Additional AR 1: Krzysztof Jakubik (POL)
Additional AR 2: Piotr Lasyk (POL)
Referee Observer: Stefano Podeschi (SMR)

Norway – Bulgaria
Referee: John Beaton (SCO)
Assistant Referee 1: Francis Connor (SCO)
Assistant Referee 2: Douglas Potter (SCO)
Fourth Official: Stuart Stevenson (SCO)
Additional AR 1: Steven McLean (SCO)
Additional AR 2: Alan Newlands (SCO)
Referee Observer: Jørn West Larsen (DEN)

Slovenia – Cyprus
Referee: Mads-Kristoffer Kristoffersen (DEN)
Assistant Referee 1: Dennis Rasmussen (DEN)
Assistant Referee 2: Lars Hummelgaard (DEN)
Fourth Official: Christian Brixen (DEN)
Additional AR 1: Jørgen Daugbjerg (DEN)
Additional AR 2: Morten Krogh (DEN)
Referee Observer: Alfredo Trentalange (ITA)

League D
Faroe Islands – Kosovo
Referee: Miroslav Zelinka (CZE)
Assistant Referee 1: Jan Paták (CZE)
Assistant Referee 2: Ondřej Pelikán (CZE)
Fourth Official: Kamil Hájek (CZE)
Additional AR 1: Radek Příhoda (CZE)
Additional AR 2: Emanuel Marek (CZE)
Referee Observer: Igor Șațchii (MDA)

Azerbaijan – Malta
Referee: Ivan Bebek (CRO)
Assistant Referee 1: Tomislav Petrović (CRO)
Assistant Referee 2: Miro Grgić (CRO)
Fourth Official: Goran Pataki (CRO)
Additional AR 1: Mario Zebec (CRO)
Additional AR 2: Goran Gabrilo (CRO)
Referee Observer: Ioánnis Tsachilídis (GRE)

Belarus – Moldova
Referee: Kevin Clancy (SCO)
Assistant Referee 1: David McGeachie (SCO)
Assistant Referee 2: Graeme Stewart (SCO)
Fourth Official: Alastair Mather (SCO)
Additional AR 1: Donald Robertson (SCO)
Additional AR 2: David Munro (SCO)
Referee Observer: Joeri Van De Velde (BEL)

Luxembourg – San Marino
Referee: Aleksandrs Golubevs (LVA)
Assistant Referee 1: Jevgeņijs Morozovs (LVA)
Assistant Referee 2: Raimonds Tatriks (LVA)
Fourth Official: Aleksejs Spasjonņikovs (LVA)
Additional AR 1: Andris Treimanis (LVA)
Additional AR 2: Edgars Maļcevs (LVA)
Referee Observer: Rusmir Mrković (BIH)

Kazakhstan – Andorra
Referee: Serhiy Boyko (UKR)
Assistant Referee 1: Serhiy Bekker (UKR)
Assistant Referee 2: Oleksandr Voytyuk (UKR)
Fourth Official: Semen Shlonchak (UKR)
Additional AR 1: Yevhen Aranovskyy (UKR)
Additional AR 2: Anatoliy Abdula (UKR)
Referee Observer: Edward Foley (IRL)

Armenia – FYR Macedonia
Referee: Martin Strömbergsson (SWE)
Assistant Referee 1: Daniel Gustavsson (SWE)
Assistant Referee 2: Joakim Amri Nilsson (SWE)
Fourth Official: Magnus Sjöblom (SWE)
Additional AR 1: Bojan Pandzic (SWE)
Additional AR 2: Johan Hamlin (SWE)
Referee Observer: David Malcolm (NIR)

Latvia – Georgia
Referee: Petr Ardeleanu (CZE)
Assistant Referee 1: Ivo Nádvorník (CZE)
Assistant Referee 2: Jakub Hrabovský (CZE)
Fourth Official: Tomáš Mokrusch (CZE)
Additional AR 1: Zbyněk Proske (CZE)
Additional AR 2: Karel Hrubeš (CZE)
Referee Observer: Jaap Uilenberg (NED)

Gibraltar – Liechtenstein
Referee: Vasílis Dimitríou (CYP)
Assistant Referee 1: Charalambos Charalambous (CYP)
Assistant Referee 2: Pavlos Georgiou (CYP)
Fourth Official: Stelios Nikita (CYP)
Additional AR 1: Timotheos Christofi (CYP)
Additional AR 2: Kostas Psevdiotis (CYP)
Referee Observer: Gaetano De Gabriele (MLT)

UEFA VAR Seminar 2018

Preparing the referees for the introduction of VAR in UEFA competitions, the first VAR seminar for took place at the KNVB Replay Center in Netherlands, from 8-11 October 2018. UEFA selected 7 instructors and 24 referees for this VAR seminar. "It's perfect for our training, the technology is really great and we would like to thank KNVB for the opportunity to be here. This is very important, not just for referees, but for all football; our goal is to eliminate obvious mistakes from football and this training will help us to speak a better technical language", said Roberto Rosetti, UEFA Chief Refereeing Officer.

VAR Instructors

1. David Elleray (ENG)

2. Jaap Uilenberg (NED)

3. Werner Helsen (BEL)

4. Carlos Velasco Carballo (ESP)

5. Nicola Rizzoli (ITA)

6. Murat Ilgaz (TUR)

7. Gianvito Piglionica (ITA)

Participants

- Referees with limited VAR experience:

1. Aliyar Aghayev (AZE)

2. Aleksei Kulbakov (BLR)

3. Georgi Kabakov (BUL)

4. Mattias Gestranius (FIN)

5. Anastasios Sidiropoulos (GRE)

6. Orel Grinfeeld (ISR)

7. Gediminas Mazeika (LTU)

8. Andris Treimanis (LVA)

9. Ovidiu Hategan (ROU)

10. Istvan Kovacs (ROU)

11. William Collum (SCO)

12. Robert Madden (SCO)

13. Srdjan Jovanovic (SRB)

14. Ivan Kruzliak (SVK)

15. Matej Jug (SVN)

16. Slavco Vincic (SVN)

17. Andreas Ekberg (SWE)

- Referees with some VAR experience:

18. Craig Pawson (ENG)

19. Carlos Del Cerro Grande (ESP)

20. Ruddy Buquet (FRA)

21. Tobias Stieler (GER)

22. Davide Massa (ITA)

23. Serdar Gozubuyuk (TUR)

24. Pawel Raczkowski (POL)

Source: KNVB/TFF

FIFA Futsal and Beach Soccer referee roles become gender neutral

The deadline to nominate international referees for the upcoming year was 1 October 2018. In the circular no. 1648 that was sent to the member associations on 5 September 2018, FIFA indicated, for the first time ever, that "the futsal and beach soccer referee roles are now gender neutral. Both men and women can be nominated to these roles since separate roles for women no longer exist in these categories. The futsal and beach soccer fitness test applies equally to both men and women.” 

Requirements for 2019 nominations:

1. The proposed referees shall be at least 25 years old (23 years old in the case of assistant referees) on 1 January of the year for which they have been nominated. For 2019, referees must be born no later than 31 December 1993 and assistant referees must be born no later than 31 December 1995 in order to ensure a minimum level of experience. FIFA reserves the right to require referees over the age of 45 (born in 1974 or before) to undergo additional technical assessments as well as specific medical examinations and fitness testing on a case-by-case basis. 

2. Each candidate must be ranked based on the marks obtained for officiating games at the national level during the 12 months prior to being nominated to the list of international referees; not in alphabetical order. 

3. At a minimum, all nominated referees must pass a FIFA-approved fitness test and a medical examination on or after 2 June 2018. 

The FIFA Referees Committee will carefully consider all nominations submitted by each member association before deciding who will be named on the upcoming international lists. 

Source: FIFA

UEFA U-21 Euro 2019 Qualifiers (Matchday 15)

11-12 October 2018

Israel – Ireland
Referee: Lawrence Visser (BEL, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Karel De Rocker (BEL)
Assistant Referee 2: Rien Vanyzere (BEL)
Fourth Official: Wesley Alen (BEL)
Referee Observer: Laurent Duhamel (FRA)

Belarus – Czech Republic
Referee: Anders Poulsen (DEN)
Assistant Referee 1: Daniel Nørgaard (DEN)
Assistant Referee 2: Elvis Boric (DEN)
Fourth Official: Mads-Kristoffer Kristoffersen (DEN)
Referee Observer: Vladimír Medved (SVK)

Liechtenstein – Portugal
Referee: Aleksey Matyunin (RUS)
Assistant Referee 1: Aleksey Vorontsov (RUS)
Assistant Referee 2: Nikolay Yeremin (RUS)
Fourth Official: Yevgeniy Turbin (RUS)
Referee Observer: Jari Maisonlahti (FIN)

Iceland – Northern Ireland
Referee: Jens Maae (DEN)
Assistant Referee 1: Lars Hummelgaard (DEN)
Assistant Referee 2: Heine Sørensen (DEN)
Fourth Official: Jakob Kehlet (DEN)
Referee Observer: Robert Sedlacek (AUT)

Albania – Spain
Referee: João Pinheiro (POR)
Assistant Referee 1: Bruno Rodrigues (POR)
Assistant Referee 2: Álvaro Mesquita (POR)
Fourth Official: Vítor Ferreira (POR)
Referee Observer: Kostadin Gerginov (BUL)

England – Andorra
Referee: Urs Schnyder (SUI)
Assistant Referee 1: Raffael Zeder (SUI)
Assistant Referee 2: Jan Köbeli (SUI)
Fourth Official: Nikolaj Hänni (SUI)
Referee Observer: Michális Koukoulákis (GRE)

Montenegro – Luxembourg
Referee: Lionel Tschudi (SUI)
Assistant Referee 1: Stéphane Almeida (SUI)
Assistant Referee 2: Vital Jobin (SUI)
Fourth Official: Stefan Horisberger (SUI)
Referee Observer: Rodger Gifford (WAL)

Malta – Hungary
Referee: Eldorjan Hamiti (ALB)
Assistant Referee 1: Egin Doda (ALB)
Assistant Referee 2: Ilir Tartaraj (ALB)
Fourth Official: Olsid Ferataj (ALB)
Referee Observer: Kaj Natri (FIN)

Finland – Georgia
Referee: Milovan Milačić (MNE)
Assistant Referee 1: Milutin Djukić (MNE)
Assistant Referee 2: Ivan Bogdanović (MNE)
Fourth Official: Miloš Novović (MNE)
Referee Observer: Kjell Alseth (NOR)

Croatia – Greece
Referee: José Sánchez Martínez (ESP)
Assistant Referee 1: Raúl Cabañero Martínez (ESP)
Assistant Referee 2: José Gallego García (ESP)
Fourth Official: Eduardo Prieto Iglesias (ESP)
Referee Observer: László Vágner (HUN)

Faroe Islands – Lithuania
Referee: Rohit Saggi (NOR)
Assistant Referee 1: Morten Jensen (NOR)
Assistant Referee 2: Isaak Bashevkin (NOR)
Fourth Official: Tore Hansen (NOR)
Referee Observer: Patrițiu Abrudan (ROU)

Denmark – Poland
Referee: Mete Kalkavan (TUR)
Assistant Referee 1: Esat Sancaktar (TUR)
Assistant Referee 2: Süleyman Özay (TUR)
Fourth Official: Serkan Çınar (TUR)
Referee Observer: Haim Jakov (ISR)

Ukraine – Scotland
Referee: Bojan Pandzic (SWE)
Assistant Referee 1: Peter Allheim (SWE)
Assistant Referee 2: Daniel Ekman (SWE)
Fourth Official: Patrik Eriksson (SWE)
Referee Observer: Alexandru Deaconu (ROU)

Serbia – Austria
Referee: Stuart Attwell (ENG)
Assistant Referee 1: Constantine Hatzidakis (ENG)
Assistant Referee 2: Daniel Cook (ENG)
Fourth Official: David Coote (ENG)
Referee Observer: Jan Wegereef (NED)

Russia – FYR Macedonia
Referee: Kristoffer Hagenes (NOR)
Assistant Referee 1: Reidar Gundersen (NOR)
Assistant Referee 2: Geir Isaksen (NOR)
Fourth Official: Trygve Kjensli (NOR)
Referee Observer: Asim Khudiyev (AZE)

Romania – Wales
Referee: Boris Marhefka (SVK)
Assistant Referee 1: Tomáš Vorel (SVK)
Assistant Referee 2: Andrej Hrmo (SVK)
Fourth Official: Patrik Hrčka (SVK)
Referee Observer: Tomasz Mikulski (POL)

Slovenia – Bulgaria
Referee: Ádám Farkas (HUN)
Assistant Referee 1: Zsolt Varga (HUN)
Assistant Referee 2: Oszkár Lémon (HUN)
Fourth Official: Balázs Berke (HUN)
Referee Observer: Ján Fašung (SVK)

Latvia – Netherlands
Referee: Nicolas Laforge (BEL)
Assistant Referee 1: Laurent Conotte (BEL)
Assistant Referee 2: Florian Lemaire (BEL)
Fourth Official: Wim Smet (BEL)
Referee Observer: Gerard Perry (IRL)

Germany – Norway
Referee: Kirill Levnikov (RUS)
Assistant Referee 1: Viacheslav Semenov (RUS)
Assistant Referee 2: Andrei Vereteshkin (RUS)
Fourth Official: Roman Galimov (RUS)
Referee Observer: Lucílio Batista (POR)

Slovakia – Estonia
Referee: Igor Pajač (CRO)
Assistant Referee 1: Ivica Modrić (CRO)
Assistant Referee 2: Bojan Zobenica (CRO)
Fourth Official: Fran Jović (CRO)
Referee Observer: Fredy Fautrel (FRA)