Video Assistant Referees for FIFA Women’s World Cup 2019

AFC
1. Christopher Beath (AUS, 1984, photo)
2. Abdulla Mohammed (UAE, 1978)

CONCACAF
1. Drew Fischer (CAN, 1980)

CONMEBOL
1. Mauro Vigliano (ARG, 1975)

UEFA
1. Bastian Dankert (GER, 1980)
2. Carlos Del Cerro Grande (ESP, 1976)
3. Michael Fabbri (ITA, 1983)
4. Pawel Gil (POL, 1976)
5. Massimiliano Irrati (ITA, 1979)
6. Danny Makkelie (NED, 1983)
7. Tiago Martins (POR, 1980)
8. Jose Sanchez Martínez (ESP, 1983)
9. Sascha Stegemann (GER, 1984)
10. Clement Turpin (FRA, 1982)
11. Paolo Valeri (ITA, 1978)
12. Felix Zwayer (GER, 1976)

CAF Super Cup 2019: Tessema (ETH)

29 March 2019

ES Tunis – Raja Casablanca
Referee: Bamlak Tessema (ETH, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Zakhele Siwela (RSA)
Assistant Referee 2: Waleed Ahmed (SDN)
Fourth Official: Janny Sikazwe (ZAM)

CONMEBOL Copa Libertadores – Group Stage (Matchday 3)

2-4 April 2019

San Lorenzo – Palmeiras
Referee: Julio Bascunan (CHI, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Claudio Rios (CHI)
Assistant Referee 2: Jose Retamal (CHI)
Fourth Official: Eduardo Gamboa (CHI)
Referee Assessor: Dario Ubriaco (URU)

Cerro Porteno – Nacional
Referee: Nestor Pitana (ARG)
Assistant Referee 1: Hernan Maidana (ARG)
Assistant Referee 2: Julio Fernandez (ARG)
Fourth Official: Silvio Trucco (ARG)
Referee Assessor: Ana Perez (PER)

San Jose – LDU Quito
Referee: Arnaldo Samaniego (PAR)
Assistant Referee 1: Dario Gaona (PAR)
Assistant Referee 2: Roberto Cañete (PAR)
Fourth Official: Mario Diaz de Vivar (PAR)
Referee Assessor: Rodolfo Otero (ARG)

Melgar – Junior
Referee: Jesus Valenzuela (VEN)
Assistant Referee 1: Luis Murillo (VEN)
Assistant Referee 2: Franchescoly Chacon (VEN)
Fourth Official: Marlon Escalante (VEN)
Referee Assessor: Claudio Puga (CHI)

Palestino – Alianza Lima
Referee: Eber Aquino (PAR)
Assistant Referee 1: Eduardo Cardozo (PAR)
Assistant Referee 2: Milciades Saldivar (PAR)
Fourth Official: Ulises Mereles (PAR)
Referee Assessor: Jose Buitrago (COL)

Atletico Paranaense – Boca Juniors
Referee: Roberto Tobar (CHI)
Assistant Referee 1: Christian Schiemann (CHI)
Assistant Referee 2: Raul Orellana (CHI)
Fourth Official: Cesar Deischler (CHI)
Referee Assessor: Martin Vazquez (URU)

Universided Concepcion – Godoy Cruz
Referee: Braulio Machado (BRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Marcelo Van Gasse (BRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Rodrigo Correa (BRA)
Fourth Official: Wagner Magalhaes (BRA)
Referee Assessor: Mauricio Espinosa (URU)

Internacional – River Plate
Referee: Esteban Ostojich (URU)
Assistant Referee 1: Nicolas Taran (URU)
Assistant Referee 2: Richard Trinidad (URU)
Fourth Official: Christian Ferreyra (URU)
Referee Assessor: Manuel Bernal (PAR)

Atletico Mineiro – Zamora
Referee: Gery Vargas (BOL)
Assistant Referee 1: Jose Antelo (BOL)
Assistant Referee 2: Edwar Saavedra (BOL)
Fourth Official: Luis Yrusta (BOL)
Referee Assessor: Angel Sanchez (ARG)

Deportivo Lara – Huracan
Referee: Leodan Gonzalez (URU)
Assistant Referee 1: Miguel Nievas (URU)
Assistant Referee 2: Carlos Barreiro (URU)
Fourth Official: Andres Matonte (URU)
Referee Assessor: Miguel Buitrago (VEN)

Emelec – Cruzeiro
Referee: Victor Carrillo (PER)
Assistant Referee 1: Jonny Bossio (PER)
Assistant Referee 2: Victor Raez (PER)
Fourth Official: Joel Alarcon (PER)
Referee Assessor: Hebert Aguilera (BOL)

Flamengo – Penarol
Referee: Patricio Loustau (ARG)
Assistant Referee 1: Juan Belatti (ARG)
Assistant Referee 2: Diego Bonfa (ARG)
Fourth Official: Facundo Tello (ARG)
Referee Assessor: Joel Ruiz (PAR)

Deportes Tolima – Jorge Wilstermann
Referee: Alexis Herrera (VEN)
Assistant Referee 1: Jorge Urrego (VEN)
Assistant Referee 2: Tulio Moreno (VEN)
Fourth Official: Orlando Bracamonte (VEN)
Referee Assessor: Fredy Arellanos (PER)

Universidad Catolica – Gremio
Referee: Wilmar Roldan (COL)
Assistant Referee 1: John Leon (COL)
Assistant Referee 2: Dionisio Ruiz (COL)
Fourth Official: Gustavo Murillo (COL)
Referee Assessor: Juan Cardellino (URU)

Libertad – Rosario Central
Referee: Carlos Orbe (ECU)
Assistant Referee 1: Christian Lescano (ECU)
Assistant Referee 2: Juan Macias (ECU)
Fourth Official: Roberto Sanchez (ECU)
Referee Assessor: Carlos Pastorino (URU)

Sporting Cristal – Olimpia
Referee: Andres Rojas (COL)
Assistant Referee 1: Alexander Guzman (COL)
Assistant Referee 2: Wilmar Navarro (COL)
Fourth Official: Nicolas Gallo (COL)
Referee Assessor: Roberto Perassi (BRA)

CONMEBOL Copa Sudamericana – First Round (First Leg, IV)

2-4 April 2019

Mineiros – Sol de America
Referee: Dario Herrera (ARG, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Ezequiel Brailovsky (ARG)
Assistant Referee 2: Lucas Germanotta (ARG)
Fourth Official: Fernando Echenique (ARG)
Referee Assessor: Candelario Andarcia (VEN)

Universidad Catolica – Colo Colo
Referee: Wilton Sampaio (BRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Emerson Carvalho (BRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Kleber Gil (BRA)
Fourth Official: Luiz Oliveira (BRA)
Referee Assessor: Wilson Lamouroux (COL)

UTC Cajamarca – Atletico Cerro
Referee: Guillermo Guerrero (ECU)
Assistant Referee 1: Byron Romero (ECU)
Assistant Referee 2: Ricardo Baren (ECU)
Fourth Official: Roddy Zambrano (ECU)
Referee Assessor: Jose Carpio (ECU)

Independiente – Deportivo Binacional
Referee: Raphael Claus (BRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Danilo Manis (BRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Bruno Pires (BRA)
Fourth Official: Wagner Reway (BRA)
Referee Assessor: Roberto Silvera (URU)

Argentinos Juniors – Estudiantes de Merida
Referee: Raul Orosco (BOL)
Assistant Referee 1: Juan Montano (BOL)
Assistant Referee 2: Reluy Vallejos (BOL)
Fourth Official: Jose Jordan (BOL)
Referee Assessor: Patricio Polic (CHI)

Deportivo Cali – Guarani
Referee: Diego Haro (PER)
Assistant Referee 1: Michael Orue (PER)
Assistant Referee 2: Raul Lopez (PER)
Fourth Official: Michael Espinoza (PER)
Referee Assessor: Juan Corozo (ECU)

Listkiewicz: “There is no point in lying; we made a mistake”

Polish assistant referee Tomasz Listkiewicz spoke about the controversial penalty kick situation in the Portugal - Serbia match. The players and the coach of Portugal were very upset that referee Szymon Marciniak changed his penalty kick decision. “There is no point in lying; we made a mistake”, said Marciniak’s assistant in an interview with Onet. 

In the 73rd minute, Antonio Rukavina played the ball with his hand in his penalty area. Szymon Marciniak initially awarded a penalty kick, but then he changed his decision. The referee was criticized, among others, by Cristiano Ronaldo, who said “It was annoying, because the team did everything to win: created situations, played better, but the goal would not come. In my opinion, the referee should have awarded a penalty kick. For God's sake! The assistant referee is 40 meters away from the situation and makes the decision for the main referee? It seems strange to me. Unfortunately, such situations happen in football, but they should not happen”.

Marciniak's assistant, Listkiewicz, explained in an interview with Onet: “We made a mistake; it was necessary to award a penalty kick, because in accordance with the rules that was a handball offence. When attempting to cross, the hand set at such an angle is to widen the body surface and cover the space. The difficulty consisted in the fact that the ball deflected from the head, which in some situations changes the interpretation, but here the hand was in this position from the beginning. The fact that the ball hit the head first does not change the interpretation”. Did Marciniak change his decision due to the "intervention" of one of the assistants? “I cannot reveal all the details, but I can say that it was Szymon's decision. It does not matter, however, who would take it; the final result counts, as we always win as a team and we lose as a team. Marciniak is fully responsible for this decision, he told us, the observer and coach Fernando Santos. I know it is easy to say, but it is the life of referees that mistakes sometimes happen. There are no referees who never make mistakes. We saw the error right after the match. In the locker room there was a TV set, when we entered, we watched replays”, says Listkiewicz. After the match there was a conversation between Marciniak and the coach Fernando Santos. "They have their analysis, Santos knew right away we were wrong, so there was no point in hiding the error. It was a normal verbal exchange, not an argument with screams or insults. We are always ready for a sincere, substantive conversation, the more so because we are for footballers, coaches and fans, so that the matches take place in a specific order. We do not have problems with acknowledging the error, we will not lie to reality. We analyzed the match for several hours and this is not the end. We will try to draw conclusions, so that such situations will not happen again”, emphasized Listkiewicz. “Everyone wants to make as few mistakes as possible. We managed to reach a high level, we are on the candlestick, so mistakes hurt twice, after such situations a lot of criticism falls on us. We were mad when we saw right after the match that we have made a clear mistake. For a few days, everyone is experiencing it”, said Marciniak’s assistant. In the Euro 2020 qualifiers, the referees do not have the VAR system to help. “It is normal that various support is provided in various competitions. We judge on the pitch as if it was not VAR. The system is, however, a great protection in this type of disputable situations”, finished Listkiewicz. 

Source: Onet

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

27 March 2019

LSK Kvinner – FC Barcelona
Referee: Stephanie Frappart (FRA, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Manuela Nicolosi (FRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Michelle O'Neill (IRL)
Fourth Official: Maika Vanderstichel (FRA)
Referee Observer: Antonía Kokotou (GRE)

VfL Wolfsburg – Olympique Lyonnais
Referee: Lina Lehtovaara (FIN)
Assistant Referee 1: Kylie Cockburn (SCO)
Assistant Referee 2: Lisa Rashid (ENG)
Fourth Official: Rebecca Welch (ENG)
Referee Observer: Silvia Spinelli (ITA)

Paris Saint Germain – Chelsea FC
Referee: Sandra Braz Bastos (POR)
Assistant Referee 1: Chrysoula Kourompylia (GRE)
Assistant Referee 2: Olga Martins Almeida (POR)
Fourth Official: Diana Soares Henriques (POR)
Referee Observer: Caroline De Boeck (BEL)

Bayern München – Slavia Praha
Referee: Monika Mularczyk (POL)
Assistant Referee 1: Kinga Seniuk-Mikulska (POL)
Assistant Referee 2: Aleksandra Ulanowska (POL)
Fourth Official: Michalina Diakow (POL)
Referee Observer: Snježana Fočić (CRO)

UEFA Euro 2020 Qualifiers (Matchday 2)

24 March 2019
Netherlands – Germany
Referee: Jesus Gil Manzano (ESP, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Angel Nevado Rodríguez (ESP)
Assistant Referee 2: Diego Barbero Sevilla (ESP)
Fourth Official: Juan Martínez Munuera (ESP)
Referee Observer: Vítor Melo Pereira (POR)

Wales – Slovakia
Referee: Felix Zwayer (GER)
Assistant Referee 1: Thorsten Schiffner (GER)
Assistant Referee 2: Marco Achmüller (GER)
Fourth Official: Marco Fritz (GER)
Referee Observer: Bernardino González Vázquez (ESP)

Kazakhstan – Russia
Referee: Slavko Vinčič (SVN)
Assistant Referee 1: Tomaž Klančnik (SVN)
Assistant Referee 2: Andraž Kovačič (SVN)
Fourth Official: Rade Obrenovič (SVN)
Referee Observer: Stephen Lodge (ENG)

Hungary – Croatia
Referee: William Collum (SCO)
Assistant Referee 1: David McGeachie (SCO)
Assistant Referee 2: Graeme Stewart (SCO)
Fourth Official: Robert Madden (SCO)
Referee Observer: Sergey Zuev (RUS)

Israel – Austria
Referee: Yevhen Aranovskyy (UKR)
Assistant Referee 1: Andriy Skrypka (UKR)
Assistant Referee 2: Volodymyr Volodin (UKR)
Fourth Official: Vitaliy Romanov (UKR)
Referee Observer: Tomasz Mikulski (POL)

San Marino – Scotland
Referee: Manuel Schüttengruber (AUT)
Assistant Referee 1: Roland Brandner (AUT)
Assistant Referee 2: Stefan Kühr (AUT)
Fourth Official: Christopher Jäger (AUT)
Referee Observer: Zbigniew Przesmycki (POL)

Northern Ireland – Belarus
Referee: Paweł Raczkowski (POL)
Assistant Referee 1: Michał Obukowicz (POL)
Assistant Referee 2: Radosław Siejka (POL)
Fourth Official: Krzysztof Jakubik (POL)
Referee Observer: Manuel Díaz Vega (ESP)

Poland – Latvia
Referee: Aliyar Ağayev (AZE)
Assistant Referee 1: Rza Mammadov (AZE)
Assistant Referee 2: Namiq Hüseynov (AZE)
Fourth Official: Rahim Hasanov (AZE)
Referee Observer: Edgar Steinborn (GER)

Slovenia – FYR Macedonia
Referee: Xavier Estrada Fernández (ESP)
Assistant Referee 1: Javier Aguilar Rodríguez (ESP)
Assistant Referee 2: Teodoro Sobrino Magán (ESP)
Fourth Official: Alejandro Hernández Hernández (ESP)
Referee Observer: Yuri Baskakov (RUS)

Cyprus – Belgium
Referee: François Letexier (FRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Cyril Mugnier (FRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Mehdi Rahmouni (FRA)
Fourth Official: Jérôme Brisard (FRA)
Referee Observer: Nicolae Grigorescu (ROU)

25 March 2019
Turkey – Moldova
Referee: Serhiy Boyko (UKR)
Assistant Referee 1: Semen Shlonchak (UKR)
Assistant Referee 2: Ihor Alokhin (UKR)
Fourth Official: Mykola Balakin (UKR)
Referee Observer: John Ferry (NIR)

Kosovo – Bulgaria
Referee: Gediminas Mažeika (LTU)
Assistant Referee 1: Vytautas Šimkus (LTU)
Assistant Referee 2: Vytenis Kazlauskas (LTU)
Fourth Official: Manfredas Lukjančukas (LTU)
Referee Observer: Andreas Schluchter (SUI)

Montenegro – England
Referee: Aleksei Kulbakou (BLR)
Assistant Referee 1: Dzmitrj Žuk (BLR)
Assistant Referee 2: Alieh Maslianka (BLR)
Fourth Official: Dzianis Ščarbakoŭ (BLR)
Referee Observer: Sándor Piller (HUN)

Luxembourg – Ukraine
Referee: Mattias Gestranius (FIN)
Assistant Referee 1: Jan-Peter Aravirta (FIN)
Assistant Referee 2: Mikko Alakare (FIN)
Fourth Official: Petri Viljanen (FIN)
Referee Observer: Ferenc Székely (HUN)

Portugal – Serbia
Referee: Szymon Marciniak (POL)
Assistant Referee 1: Paweł Sokolnicki (POL)
Assistant Referee 2: Tomasz Listkiewicz (POL)
Fourth Official: Tomasz Musiał (POL)
Referee Observer: Peter Fröjdfeldt (SWE)

Andorra – Albania
Referee: Filip Glova (SVK)
Assistant Referee 1: František Ferenc (SVK)
Assistant Referee 2: Peter Kováč (SVK)
Fourth Official: Boris Marhefka (SVK)
Referee Observer: Michális Koukoulákis (GRE)

France – Iceland
Referee: István Kovács (ROU)
Assistant Referee 1: Vasile Marinescu (ROU)
Assistant Referee 2: Mihai Artene (ROU)
Fourth Official: Marius Avram (ROU)
Referee Observer: Frank De Bleeckere (BEL)

26 March 2019
Armenia – Finland
Referee: Nikola Dabanović (MNE)
Assistant Referee 1: Milutin Đukić (MNE)
Assistant Referee 2: Jovica Tatar (MNE)
Fourth Official: Milovan Milačić (MNE)
Referee Observer: Shmuel Shteif (ISR)

Ireland – Georgia
Referee: Serdar Gözübüyük (NED)
Assistant Referee 1: Charles Schaap (NED)
Assistant Referee 2: Jan de Vries (NED)
Fourth Official: Dennis Higler (NED)
Referee Observer: Matteo Trefoloni (ITA)

Switzerland – Denmark
Referee: Damir Skomina (SVN)
Assistant Referee 1: Jure Praprotnik (SVN)
Assistant Referee 2: Robert Vukan (SVN)
Fourth Official: Matej Jug (SVN)
Referee Observer: Bertrand Layec (FRA)

Malta – Spain
Referee: Andrew Dallas (SCO)
Assistant Referee 1: Francis Connor (SCO)
Assistant Referee 2: Daniel McFarlane (SCO)
Fourth Official: Kevin Clancy (SCO)
Referee Observer: Zoran Petrović (SRB)

Norway – Sweden
Referee: Gianluca Rocchi (ITA)
Assistant Referee 1: Alberto Tegoni (ITA)
Assistant Referee 2: Giorgio Peretti (ITA)
Fourth Official: Daniele Doveri (ITA)
Referee Observer: William Young (SCO)

Romania – Faroe Islands
Referee: Halil Umut Meler (TUR)
Assistant Referee 1: Esat Sancaktar (TUR)
Assistant Referee 2: İbrahim Uyarcan (TUR)
Fourth Official: Mete Kalkavan (TUR)
Referee Observer: Igor Pristovnik (CRO)

Bosnia and Herzegovina – Greece
Referee: Danny Makkelie (NED)
Assistant Referee 1: Mario Diks (NED)
Assistant Referee 2: Hessel Steegstra (NED)
Fourth Official: Pol van Boekel (NED)
Referee Observer: Christer Fällström (SWE)

Italy – Liechtenstein
Referee: Kirill Levnikov (RUS)
Assistant Referee 1: Dmitri Mosyakin (RUS)
Assistant Referee 2: Aleksei Vorontsov (RUS)
Fourth Official: Vladimir Moskalev (RUS)
Referee Observer: Terje Hauge (NOR)

CONMEBOL Copa America 2019

Brazil, 14 June – 7 July 2019

Referee: Nestor Pitana (ARG, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Hernan Maidana (ARG)
Assistant Referee 2: Juan Belatti (ARG)

Referee: Patricio Loustau (ARG)
Assistant Referee 1: Juan Belatti (ARG)
Assistant Referee 2: Ezequiel Brailovsky (ARG)

Referee: Fernando Rapallini (ARG)
Assistant Referee 1: Hernan Maidana (ARG)
Assistant Referee 2: Ezequiel Brailovsky (ARG)

Referee: Gery Vargas (BOL)
Assistant Referee 1: Jose Antelo (BOL)
Assistant Referee 2: Edwar Saavedra (BOL)

Referee: Raphael Claus (BRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Marcelo Van Gasse (BRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Kleber Gil (BRA)

Referee: Anderson Daronco (BRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Marcelo Van Gasse (BRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Kleber Gil (BRA)

Referee: Wilton Sampaio (BRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Marcelo Van Gasse (BRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Rodrigo Correa (BRA)

Referee: Julio Bascunan (CHI)
Assistant Referee 1: Christian Schiemann (CHI)
Assistant Referee 2: Claudio Rios (CHI)

Referee: Roberto Tobar (CHI)
Assistant Referee 1: Christian Schiemann (CHI)
Assistant Referee 2: Claudio Rios (CHI)

Referee: Wilmar Roldan (COL)
Assistant Referee 1: Alexander Guzman (COL)
Assistant Referee 2: John Leon (COL)

Referee: Andres Rojas (COL)
Assistant Referee 1: Alexander Guzman (COL)
Assistant Referee 2: Wilmar Navarro (COL)

Referee: Roddy Zambrano (ECU)
Assistant Referee 1: Christian Lescano (ECU)
Assistant Referee 2: Byron Romero (ECU)

Referee: Mario Diaz de Vivar (PAR)
Assistant Referee 1: Eduardo Cardozo (PAR)
Assistant Referee 2: Dario Gaona (PAR)

Referee: Victor Carrillo (PER)
Assistant Referee 1: Jonny Bossio (PER)
Assistant Referee 2: Victor Raez (PER)

Referee: Diego Haro (PER)
Assistant Referee 1: Jonny Bossio (PER)
Assistant Referee 2: Victor Raez (PER)

Referee: Esteban Ostojich (URU)
Assistant Referee 1: Nicolas Taran (URU)
Assistant Referee 2: Richard Trinidad (URU)

Referee: Alexis Herrera (VEN)
Assistant Referee 1: Luis Murillo (VEN)
Assistant Referee 2: Carlos Lopez (VEN)

Referee: Jesus Valenzuela (VEN)
Assistant Referee 1: Luis Murillo (VEN)
Assistant Referee 2: Carlos Lopez (VEN)

Support Referees
1. Piero Maza (CHI)
2. Nicolas Gallo (COL)
3. Carlos Orbe (ECU)
4. Arnaldo Samaniego (PAR)
5. Leodan Gonzalez (URU)

Referee Assessors
1. Ubaldo Aquino (PAR)
2. Carlos Astroza (CHI)
3. Hector Baldassi (ARG)
4. Enrique Caceres (PAR)
5. Sergio Correa (BRA)
6. Mauricio Espinosa (URU)
7. Jorge Larrionda (URU)
8. Rodolfo Otero (ARG)
9. Claudio Puga (CHI)
10. Oscar Ruiz (COL)
11. Wilson Seneme (BRA)
12. Pablo Silva (ARG)
13. Martin Vazquez (URU)

CAF Africa Cup of Nations Qualifiers (Matchday 6)

22-24 March 2019

Malawi – Morocco
Referee: Helder Martins (ANG, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Jerson Dos Santos (ANG)
Assistant Referee 2: Ivanildo Lopes (ANG)

Sudan – Equatorial Guinea
Referee: Ahmed Toure (GUI)
Assistant Referee 1: Sidiki Sidibe (GUI)
Assistant Referee 2: Mamady Tere (GUI)

Nigeria – Seychelles
Referee: Fabricio Duarte (CPV)
Assistant Referee 1: Jose Pina (CPV)
Assistant Referee 2: Delgado Wilson (CPV)

Burkina Faso – Mauritania
Referee: Jean-Jacques Ngambo (COD)
Assistant Referee 1: Olivier Safari (COD)
Assistant Referee 2: Soulaimane Amaldine (COM)

Botswana – Angola
Referee: Amin Mohamed (EGY)
Assistant Referee 1: Youssef Wahid (EGY)
Assistant Referee 2: Ahmed Teleb (EGY)

Tunisia – Eswatini
Referee: Georges Gatogato (BDI)
Assistant Referee 1: Herve Kakunze (BDI)
Assistant Referee 2: Willy Habimana (BDI)

Algeria – Gambia
Referee: Alioum Alioum (CMR)
Assistant Referee 1: Elvis Noupue (CMR)
Assistant Referee 2: Ernest Ekokobe (CMR)

Burundi – Gabon
Referee: Gehad Grisha (EGY)
Assistant Referee 1: Mahmoud Abo (EGY)
Assistant Referee 2: Ahmed Hossam (EGY)

Cameroon – Comoros
Referee: Bakary Gassama (GAM)
Assistant Referee 1: Abdul Jawo (GAM)
Assistant Referee 2: Omar Darboe (GAM)

Guinea Bissau – Mozambique
Referee: Sadok Selmi (TUN)
Assistant Referee 1: Attia Amsaad (LBY)
Assistant Referee 2: Aymen Ismail (TUN)

Niger – Egypt
Referee: Ring Malong (SSD)
Assistant Referee 1: Gasim Dehiya (SSD)
Assistant Referee 2: George Olibom (SSD)

Cote d’Ivoire – Rwanda
Referee: Tsegay Teklu (ERI)
Assistant Referee 1: Berhe Tesfagiorghis (ERI)
Assistant Referee 2: Michael Bereket (ERI)

Ghana – Kenya
Referee: Joshua Bondo (BOT)
Assistant Referee 1: Meshack Medupi (BOT)
Assistant Referee 2: Moemedi Monakwane (BOT)

Zambia – Namibia
Referee: Bernard Camille (SEY)
Assistant Referee 1: Gilbert Lista (SEY)
Assistant Referee 2: James Emile (SEY)

Senegal – Madagascar
Referee: Youssef Essrayri (TUN)
Assistant Referee 1: Anouar Hmila (TUN)
Assistant Referee 2: Yamen Melloulchi (TUN)

Mali – South Sudan
Referee: Alex Nsulumbi (UGA)
Assistant Referee 1: Dick Okello (UGA)
Assistant Referee 2: Isa Masembe (UGA)

DR Congo – Liberia
Referee: Maguette N’Diaye (SEN)
Assistant Referee 1: Djibril Camara (SEN)
Assistant Referee 2: El Hadji Samba (SEN)

Cape Verde – Lesotho
Referee: Mahamadou Keita (MLI)
Assistant Referee 1: Baba Yomboliba (MLI)
Assistant Referee 2: Nouhoum Bamba (MLI)

Central Africa – Guinea
Referees: Juste Zio (BFA)
Assistant Referee 1: Seydou Tiama (BFA)
Assistant Referee 2: Habib Sanou (BFA)

Zimbabwe – Congo
Referees: El Fadil Hussein (SDN)
Assistant Referee 1: Waleed Ahmed (SDN)
Assistant Referee 2: Omer Ahmed (SDN)

Benin – Togo
Referee: Bamlak Tessema (ETH)
Assistant Referee 1: Temesgin Atango (ETH)
Assistant Referee 2: Tigle Belachew (ETH)

Lybia – South Africa
Referees: Noureddine El Jaafari (MAR)
Assistant Referee 1: Hicham Abbou (MAR)
Assistant Referee 2: Youssef Mabrouk (MAR)

Tanzania – Uganda
Referee: Eric Otogo-Castane (GAB)
Assistant Referee 1: Moussounda Montel (GAB)
Assistant Referee 2: Marlaise Ditsoga (GAB)

Concacaf Nations League Qualifiers (Matchday 4)

21-24 March 2019

El Salvador – Jamaica
Referee: Juan Calderon (CRC, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Juan Mora (CRC)
Assistant Referee 2: Henri Pupiro (NCA)
Fourth Official: Mario Escobar (GUA)

Surinam – St. Kitts & Nevis
Referee: Erick Lezama (NCA)
Assistant Referee 1: Jose Ojeda (NCA)
Assistant Referee 2: Emmanuel Aguirre (NCA)
Fourth Official: Nitzar Sandoval (NCA)
Referee Assessor: Carlos Gonzalez (MEX)

Canada – French Guyana 
Referee: Diego Montano (MEX)
Assistant Referee 1: Andres Hernandez (MEX)
Assistant Referee 2: Pablo Hernandez (MEX)
Fourth Official: Oscar Macías (MEX)
Referee Assessor: Ronald Gutierrez (CRC)

British Virgin Islands – Turks & Caicos
Referee: Moeth Gaymes (SKN)

St. Vincent & Grenadines – Bonaire
Referee: Jose Torres (PUR)

Anguilla – US Virgin Islands
Referee: Tristle Bassue (SKN)

Santa Lucia – Aruba
Referee: Sherwin Johnson (GUY)

Cayman Islands – Montserrat 
Referee: Sergio Reyna (GUA)

Dominica – Bahamas
Referee: Raul Castro (HON)

St. Maarten – St. Martin
Referee: Charvis Delsol (DMA)

Antigua & Barbuda – Curacao
Referee: Randy Solano (DOM)

Guyana – Belize
Referee: Dane Ritchie (TCA)

Guadeloupe – Martinique
Referee: Ismael Cornejo (SLV)

British Virgin Islands – Bonaire
Referee: Kevin Morrison (JAM)

Puerto Rico – Granada
Referee: Trevester Richards (SKN)

Dominican Republic – Bermuda
Referee: Patrick Senecharles (HAI)

Haiti – Cuba
Referee: Walter Lopez (GUA)

Barbados – Nicaragua
Referee: Reon Radix (GRN)

International Friendly Matches

March 2019

Germany – Serbia
Referee: Robert Madden (SCO, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Francis Connor (SCO)
Assistant Referee 2: Alan Mulvanny (SCO)
Fourth Official: Nicolas Walsh (SCO)

Wales – Trinidad & Tobago
Referee: Tim Marshall (NIR)
Assistant Referee 1: Paul Robinson (NIR)
Assistant Referee 2: David Anderson (NIR)
Fourth Official: Robert Jenkins (WAL)

Kosovo – Denmark
Referee: Ali Palabıyık (TUR)
Assistant Referee 1: Serkan Olguncan (TUR)
Assistant Referee 2: Cevdet Kömürcüoğlu (TUR)
Fourth Official: Besfort Kasumi (KVX)

Argentina – Venezuela
Referee: Jose Sanchez Martínez (ESP)
Assistant Referee 1: Raul Cabañero Martínez (ESP)
Assistant Referee 2: Roberto Alonso Fernández (ESP)
Fourth Official: Ricardo De Burgos Bengoechea (ESP)

Brazil – Panama
Referee: João Pinheiro (POR)
Assistant Referee 1: Bruno Rodrigues (POR)
Assistant Referee 2: Álvaro Mesquita (POR)
Fourth Official: João Capela (POR)

Japan – Colombia
Referee: Peter Green (AUS)
Assistant referee 1: Nathan MacDonald (AUS)
Assistant referee 2: Lance Greenshields (AUS)
Fourth Official: Kurt Ams (AUS)

Kuwait – Nepal 
Referee: Tihomir Pejin (CRO)
Assistant Referee 1: Ivica Modrić (CRO)
Assistant Referee 2: Marjan Tomas (CRO)
Fourth Official: Mario Zebec (CRO)

China – Thailand
Referee: Salman Fallahi (QAT)
Assistant Referee 1: Muhammad Dharman (QAT)
Assistant Referee 2: Yusif Al-Shammari (QAT)
Fourth Official: Muhammad Al-Shammari (QAT)

Guatemala – Costa Rica
Referee: Jaime Herrera (SLV)
Assistant Referee 1: Pablo Hernandez (MEX)
Assistant Referee 2: Christian Espinosa (MEX)
Fourth Official: Joel Aguilar (SLV)

USA – Ecuador 
Referee: David Gantar (CAN)
Assistant Referee 1: Philippe Briere (CAN)
Assistant Referee 2: Michael Barwegen (CAN)
Fourth Official: Adonai Escobedo (MEX)

Peru – Paraguay
Referee: Jair Marrufo (USA)
Assistant Referee 1: Frank Anderson (USA)
Assistant Referee 2: Corey Rockwell (USA)
Fourth Official: Armando Villarreal (USA)

Mexico – Chile
Referee: Ted Unkel (USA)
Assistant Referee 1: Eduardo Mariscal (USA)
Assistant Referee 2: Apolinar Mariscal (USA)

Czech Republic – Brazil
Referee: Ovidiu Hategan (ROU)
Assistant Referee 1: Octavian Sovre (ROU)
Assistant Referee 2: Sebastian Gheorghe (ROU)
Fourth Official: Sebastian Coltescu (ROU)

Morocco – Argentina
Referee: Janny Sikazwe (ZAM)

Uzbekistan – Uruguay
Referee: Milorad Mazic (SRB)

Saudi Arabia – Equatorial Guinea
Referee: Abdullah Jamali (KUW)

Azerbaijan –Lithuania
Referee: Horatiu Fesnic (ROU)
Assistant Referee 1: Valentin Avram (ROU)
Assistant Referee 2: Alexandru Cerei (ROU)
Fourth Official: Orxan Mammadov (AZE)

Gibraltar – Estonia
Referee: Nick Walsh (SCO)
Assistant Referee 1: Sean Carr (SCO)
Assistant Referee 2: David Roome (SCO)

USA – Chile
Referee: Daneon Parchment (JAM)
Assistant Referee 1: Nicholas Andersson (JAM)
Assistant Referee 2: Joseph Bertrand (TRI)
Fourth Official: Kevin Morrison (JAM)

UEFA Euro 2020 Qualifiers (Matchday 1)

21 March 2019
Netherlands – Belarus
Referee: Davide Massa (ITA, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Filippo Meli (ITA)
Assistant Referee 2: Alessandro Costanzo (ITA)
Fourth Official: Daniele Doveri (ITA)
Referee Observer: Stefan Messner (AUT)

Northern Ireland – Estonia
Referee: Ivan Bebek (CRO)
Assistant Referee 1: Goran Pataki (CRO)
Assistant Referee 2: Bojan Zobenica (CRO)
Fourth Official: Igor Pajač (CRO)
Referee Observer: Stefano Podeschi (SMR)

Croatia – Azerbaijan
Referee: Georgi Kabakov (BUL)
Assistant Referee 1: Martin Margaritov (BUL)
Assistant Referee 2: Diyan Valkov (BUL)
Fourth Official: Nikola Popov (BUL)
Referee Observer: Nikolai Ivanov (RUS)

Slovakia – Hungary
Referee: Vladislav Bezborodov (RUS)
Assistant Referee 1: Valeriy Danchenko (RUS)
Assistant Referee 2: Maksim Gavrilin (RUS)
Fourth Official: Aleksey Eskov (RUS)
Referee Observer: Niklas Lídarenda (FRO)

Austria – Poland
Referee: Anastásios Sidirópoulos (GRE)
Assistant Referee 1: Polychrónis Kostarás (GRE)
Assistant Referee 2: Lázaros Dimitriádis (GRE)
Fourth Official: Ioánnis Papadópoulos (GRE)
Referee Observer: Haim Jakov (ISR)

FYR Macedonia – Latvia
Referee: Halis Özkahya (TUR)
Assistant Referee 1: Kemal Yılmaz (TUR)
Assistant Referee 2: Kerem Ersoy (TUR)
Fourth Official: Hüseyin Göçek (TUR)
Referee Observer: Kaj Ostergaard (DEN)

Israel – Slovenia
Referee: Tiago Martins (POR)
Assistant Referee 1: Luís Campos (POR)
Assistant Referee 2: Pedro Almeida (POR)
Fourth Official: João Capela (POR)
Referee Observer: Boško Jovanetić (SRB)

Kazakhstan – Poland
Referee: Srdjan Jovanović (SRB)
Assistant Referee 1: Uroš Stojković (SRB)
Assistant Referee 2: Milan Mihajlović (SRB)
Fourth Official: Novak Simović (SRB)
Referee Observer: Igor Șațchii (MDA)

Cyprus – San Marino
Referee: Juri Frischer (EST)
Assistant Referee 1: Silver Kõiv (EST)
Assistant Referee 2: Aron Härsing (EST)
Fourth Official: Kristo Tohver (EST)
Referee Observer: Albano Janku (ALB)

Belgium – Russia
Referee: Ovidiu Hațegan (ROU)
Assistant Referee 1: Octavian Șovre (ROU)
Assistant Referee 2: Sebastian Gheorghe (ROU)
Fourth Official: Sebastian Colțescu (ROU)
Referee Observer: Miroslav Liba (CZE)

22 March 2019
Bulgaria – Montenegro
Referee: Ruddy Buquet (FRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Frédéric Haquette (FRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Julien Pacelli (FRA)
Fourth Official: Amaury Delerue (FRA)
Referee Observer: Marinus Koopman (NED)

England – Czech Republic
Referee: Artur Soares Dias (POR)
Assistant Referee 1: Rui Tavares (POR)
Assistant Referee 2: Paulo Santos (POR)
Fourth Official: Hugo Miguel (POR)
Referee Observer: Hugh Dallas (SCO)

Luxembourg – Lithuania
Referee: Roi Reinshreiber (ISR)
Assistant Referee 1: David Biton (ISR)
Assistant Referee 2: Matityahu Yakobov (ISR)
Fourth Official: Eitan Shmuelevitz (ISR)
Referee Observer: Fredy Fautrel (FRA)

Portugal – Ukraine
Referee: Clement Turpin (FRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Nicolas Danos (FRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Cyril Gringore (FRA)
Fourth Official: Benoît Millot (FRA)
Referee Observer: Markus Nobs (SUI)

Albania – Turkey
Referee: Tobias Stieler (GER)
Assistant Referee 1: Mike Pickel (GER)
Assistant Referee 2: Christian Gittelmann (GER)
Fourth Official: Christian Dingert (GER)
Referee Observer: Kristinn Jakobsson (ISL)

Andorra – Iceland
Referee: Sandro Schärer (SUI)
Assistant Referee 1: Stéphane Almeida (SUI)
Assistant Referee 2: Bekim Zogaj (SUI)
Fourth Official: Alain Bieri (SUI)
Referee Observer: Asim Xudiyev (AZE)

Moldova – France
Referee: Aleksandar Stavrev (MKD)
Assistant Referee 1: Marjan Kirovski (MKD)
Assistant Referee 2: Dejan Kostadinov (MKD)
Fourth Official: Dimitar Mečkarovski (MKD)
Referee Observer: Gevorg Hovhannisyan (ARM)

23 March 2019
Georgia – Switzerland
Referee: Craig Pawson (ENG)
Assistant Referee 1: Lee Betts (ENG)
Assistant Referee 2: Gary Beswick (ENG)
Fourth Official: Anthony Taylor (ENG)
Referee Observer: Andrejs Sipailo (LVA)

Gibraltar – Ireland
Referee: Anastásios Papapétrou (GRE)
Assistant Referee 1: Trýfon Petrópoulos (GRE)
Assistant Referee 2: Iordánis Aptósoglou (GRE)
Fourth Official: Aristotélis Diamantópoulos (GRE)
Referee Observer: Guy Goethals (BEL)

Malta – Faroe Islands
Referee: Vilhjálmur Thórarinsson (ISL)
Assistant Referee 1: Gylfi Sigurdsson (ISL)
Assistant Referee 2: Birkir Sigurdarson (ISL)
Fourth Official: Ívar Kristjánsson (ISL)
Referee Observer: Jari Maisonlahti (FIN)

Sweden – Romania
Referee: Michael Oliver (ENG)
Assistant Referee 1: Stuart Burt (ENG)
Assistant Referee 2: Simon Bennett (ENG)
Fourth Official: Paul Tierney (ENG)
Referee Observer: Jan Carlsen (DEN)

Spain – Norway
Referee: Andris Treimanis (LVA)
Assistant Referee 1: Haralds Gudermanis (LVA)
Assistant Referee 2: Aleksejs Spasjonņikovs (LVA)
Fourth Official: Aleksandrs Golubevs (LVA)
Referee Observer: Erol Ersoy (TUR)

Bosnia and Herzegovina – Armenia
Referee: Jakob Kehlet (DEN)
Assistant Referee 1: Lars Hummelgaard (DEN)
Assistant Referee 2: Heine Sørensen (DEN)
Fourth Official: Jens Grabski Maae (DEN)
Referee Observer: Drago Kos (SVN)

Italy – Finland
Referee: Orel Grinfeld (ISR)
Assistant Referee 1: Dvir Shimon (ISR)
Assistant Referee 2: Roi Hassan (ISR)
Fourth Official: Erez Papir (ISR)
Referee Observer: Luc Wilmes (LUX)

Liechtenstein – Greece
Referee: Alexandre Boucaut (BEL)
Assistant Referee 1: Laurent Conotte (BEL)
Assistant Referee 2: Jimmy Cremers (BEL)
Fourth Official: Jonathan Lardot (BEL)
Referee Observer: Marco Borg (MLT)

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

20-21 March 2019

Slavia Praha – Bayern München
Referee: Rebecca Welch (ENG, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Lisa Rashid (ENG)
Assistant Referee 2: Natalie Aspinall (ENG)
Fourth Official: Amy Fearn (ENG)
Referee Observer: María Villa Gutiérrez (ESP)

FC Barcelona – LSK Kvinner
Referee: Riem Hussein (GER)
Assistant Referee 1: Petruta Iugulescu (ROU)
Assistant Referee 2: Mihaela Tepusa (ROU)
Fourth Official: Angelika Söder (GER)
Referee Observer: Ilonka Dzhaleva (BUL)

Olympique Lyonnais – VfL Wolfsburg
Referee: Kateryna Monzul (UKR)
Assistant Referee 1: Maryna Striletska (UKR)
Assistant Referee 2: Oleksandra Ardasheva (UKR)
Fourth Official: Anastasiya Romanyuk (UKR)
Referee Observer: Katarzyna Wierzbowska (POL)

Chelsea FCW – Paris Saint Germain
Referee: Ivana Martinčić (CRO)
Assistant Referee 1: Sanja Rodjak-Karšić (CRO)
Assistant Referee 2: Maja Petravić (CRO)
Fourth Official: Vesna Budimir (CRO)
Referee Observer: Hilda McDermott (IRL)

CONMEBOL U-17 Championship

Peru, 21 March – 14 April 2019

Referee: Fernando Espinoza (ARG, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Maximiliano Del Yesso (ARG)
Assistant Referee 2: Pablo Gonzalez (ARG)

Referee: Ivo Mendez (BOL)
Assistant Referee 1: Reluy Vallejos (BOL)
Assistant Referee 2: Ariel Guizada (BOL)

Referee: Rodolpho Toski (BRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Fabricio Vilarinho (BRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Guilherme Camilo (BRA)

Referee: Cristian Garay (CHI)
Assistant Referee 1: Alejandro Molina (CHI)
Assistant Referee 2: Claudio Urrutia (CHI)

Referee: Carlos Herrera (COL)
Assistant Referee 1: Sebastian Vela (COL)
Assistant Referee 2: John Gallego (COL)

Referee: Luis Quiroz (ECU)
Assistant Referee 1: Edwin Bravo (ECU)
Assistant Referee 2: Flavio Nall (ECU)

Referee: Juan Benitez (PAR)
Assistant Referee 1: Rodney Aquino (PAR)
Assistant Referee 2: Carlos Caceres (PAR)

Referee: Kevin Ortega (PER)
Assistant Referee 1: Coty Carrera (PER)
Assistant Referee 2: Jesus Sanchez (PER)

Referee: Gustavo Tejera (URU)
Assistant Referee 1: Horacio Ferreiro (URU)
Assistant Referee 2: Martin Soppi (URU)

Referee: Angel Arteaga (VEN)
Assistant Referee 1: Lubin Torrealba (VEN)
Assistant Referee 2: Alberto Ponte (VEN)

Support Referees
1. Franklin Congo (ECU)
2. Derlis Lopez (PAR)

CONMEBOL Copa Sudamericana – First Round (First Leg, III)

19-21 March 2019

Union Espanola – Mushuc Runa
Referee: Wagner Reway (BRA, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Bruno Boschilia (BRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Alessandro Rocha (BRA)
Fourth Official: Ricardo Marques (BRA)
Referee Assessor: Angel Sanchez (ARG)

Deportivo Municipal – Colon
Referee: Braulio Machado (BRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Emerson Carvalho (BRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Bruno Pires (BRA)
Fourth Official: Dewson Freitas (BRA)
Referee Assessor: Jorge Osorio (CHI)

Nacional Potosí – Zulia
Referee: Guillermo Guerrero (ECU)
Assistant Referee 1: Byron Romero (ECU)
Assistant Referee 2: Luis Vera (ECU)
Fourth Official: Roberto Sanchez (ECU)
Referee Assessor: Mauricio Espinoza (URU)

Union – Independiente Del Valle
Referee: Gustavo Murillo (COL)
Assistant Referee 1: Dionisio Ruiz (COL)
Assistant Referee 2: Miguel Roldan (COL)
Fourth Official: Bismark Santiago (COL)
Referee Assessor: Ana Perez (PER)

Independiente – La Equidad
Referee: Raul Orosco (BOL)
Assistant Referee 1: Jose Antello (BOL)
Assistant Referee 2: Reluy Vallejos (BOL)
Fourth Official: Juan Garcia (BOL)
Referee Assessor: Francisco Mondria (CHI)

Deportivo Antofagasta – Fluminense
Referee: Wilmar Roldan (COL)
Assistant Referee 1: Alexander Guzman (COL)
Assistant Referee 2: John Leon (COL)
Fourth Official: John Ospina (COL)
Referee Assessor: Martin Vazquez (URU)

Montevideo Wanderers – Sporting Huancayo
Referee: Felipe Gonzalez (CHI)
Assistant Referee 1: Raul Orellana (CHI)
Assistant Referee 2: Edson Cisternas (CHI)
Fourth Official: Cesar Deischler (CHI)
Referee Assessor: Rodolfo Otero (ARG)

Rio Negro Aguilas – Oriente Petrolero
Referee: Dario Herrera (ARG)
Assistant Referee 1: Juan Belatti (ARG)
Assistant Referee 2: Gabriel Chade (ARG)
Fourth Official: Fernando Echenique (ARG)
Referee Assessor: Carlos Herrera (ECU)

Chinese FIFA referee in spotlight for "underhand dealings"

A referee who has taken charge of World Cup qualifiers is the latest high-profile figure to be accused of plagiarism in China, joining a slew of top Communist Party officials. A former vice president and a Supreme Court judge were among a half-dozen officials who borrowed from other people's work without citing them for their university theses, a recent AFP review found. 

Top Chinese football referee Fu Ming has now been dragged into the scandal, triggered by his controversial performance during a top-flight match which saw state media accuse him of "bias". The 36-year-old's decisions in the Chinese Super League game between Shandong Luneng and Henan Jianye were criticised by fans of both sides and threw him into the spotlight. In the aftermath Fu, one of five professional referees in Chinese football, was accused on social media of plagiarising parts of an academic paper he wrote about the sport. Nanhang Jincheng College said in a statement on Weibo, China's version of Twitter, that it was monitoring the claims against Fu, who has been an international referee since 2014. It later deleted the post and Fu has not responded publicly to the accusations, which were a major theme of discussion on Weibo. Fu was a sports teacher at the institution in Nanjing, near Shanghai, from 2005 to 2016. Fu, who officiated Asian qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup and was at the Asian Cup earlier this year, was the subject of scathing criticism in the state media. The English-language version of the China Daily accused him of "favouritism" in the controversial 2-2 draw, "which tarnishes sportsmanship and the image of Chinese soccer. The case should prompt the Chinese Football Association to do more to uphold a good image of Chinese football," the newspaper said. "It should investigate the decisions and disclose the results in a timely manner to quell the public's suspicions that there were some underhand dealings behind Fu's performance". 

Source: Daily Mail

FIFA Women's World Cup 2019 will use VAR for the first time

The video assistant referee system will be used at the Women's World Cup in France this summer, FIFA has confirmed. It will be the first time VAR has been used at the tournament, having made its debut in the men's World Cup last year in Russia. No senior women's domestic or international competitions use VAR. 

The 27 referees and 48 assistant referees selected for the Women's World Cup took part in VAR training at a camp in Qatar last month. The training was to gauge whether to use the technology at the tournament, with world football's governing body approving its use at a FIFA Council meeting in Miami on Friday. The Women's World Cup runs from 7 June to 7 July and features 24 teams, including England, Scotland and defending champions USA. 

Source: BBC

CAF appoints first ever women referees for men's tournament

A trailblazing decision will for the first time see women referees handling games of the opposite sex on the continent, debuting at the U-17 Africa Cup of Nations Tanzania 2019. The landmark conclusion was the highlight of the CAF Referees Committee meeting held on 26 February 2019 at the CAF Headquarters in Cairo, and had in attendance CAF President Ahmad Ahmad.

The historic decision is a testament to CAF’s commitment to developing the women’s football. It will also give women match officials a bigger platform to expose their talents and also gain experience at the competitive level considering the limited matches and competitions, which often affects their progress and development. In line with that, the trailblazers consist of Tanzanian referee Jonesia Rukyaa Kabakama and assistant referees Mary Wanjiru Njoroge (Kenya) and Lidwine Rakotozafinoro (Madagascar), who are among the preselected 29-match officials to undergo a training course in Rabat, Morocco, from 31 March to 4 April 2019, to fine-tune for the tournament. 15 referees and 14 assistant referees from 25 Member Associations will undergo medical, physical and theoretical test to select the conclusive list of match officials for the final tournament scheduled for 14-28 April 2019 in Tanzania. For the final tournament, host Tanzania, Nigeria, Angola and Uganda are in Group A, whilst Guinea, Cameroon, Morocco and Senegal constitute Group B. The semi-finalists will qualify to represent the continent at the FIFA U-17 World Cup.

Source: CAF

FIFA U-20 World Cup 2019

Poland, 23 May – 15 June 2019

AFC
Referee: Ahmed Al Kaf (OMA, 1983, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Abu Al Amri (OMA, 1982)
Assistant Referee 2: Rashid Al Ghaithi (OMA, 1980)

Referee: Muhammad Bin Jahari (SIN, 1986)
Assistant Referee 1: Min Kiat Koh (SIN, 1979)
Assistant Referee 2: Abdul Bin Hasim (SIN, 1991)

Referee: Adham Makhadmeh (JOR, 1986)
Assistant Referee 1: Ahmad Al-Roalle (JOR, 1979)
Assistant Referee 2: Mohammad Al-Kalaf (JOR, 1980)

Video Assistant Referees
1. Ammar Al-Jeneibi (UAE, 1982)
2. Khamis Al Marri (QAT, 1984)
3. Fu Ming (CHN. 1983)

Support Referee
Ilgiz Tantashev (UZB, 1984)

CAF
Referee: Mustapha Ghorbal (ALG, 1985)
Assistant Referee 1: Mahmoud Ahmed (EGY, 1984)
Assistant Referee 2: Mokrane Gourari (ALG, 1982)

Referee: Maguette N'Diaye (SEN, 1986)
Assistant Referee 1: Elvis Noupue, (CMR, 1983)
Assistant Referee 2: Seydou Tiama (BFA, 1980)

Referee: Ndala Ngambo (COD, 1987)
Assistant Referee 1: Olivier Safari (COD, 1980)
Assistant Referee 2: Souleimane Amaldine (COM, 1985)

Video Assistant Referees
1. Bakary Gassama (GAM, 1979)
2. Ghead Grisha (EGY, 1976)
3. Bamkak Tessema (ETH, 1980)

Support Referee
Pacifique Ndabihawenimana (BDI, 1985)

CONCACAF
Referee: Ismail Elfath (USA, 1982)
Assistant Referee 1: Kyle Atkins (USA, 1986)
Assistant Referee 2: Corey Parker (USA, 1986)

Referee: Fernando Guerrero (MEX, 1981)
Assistant Referee 1: Pablo Hernandez (MEX, 1978)
Assistant Referee 2: Jose Martinez (MEX, 1985)

Referee: Hector Martinez (HON, 1991)
Assistant Referee 1: Walter Lopez (HON, 1978)
Assistant Referee 2: Helpys Feliz (DOM, 1989)

Video Assistant Referees
1. Adonai Escobedo (MEX, 1987)
2. Allan Kelly (USA, 1975, former FIFA referee)

Support Referee
Ivan Barton (SLV, 1991)

CONMEBOL
Referee: Raphael Claus (BRA, 1979)
Assistant Referee 1: Danilo Manis (BRA, 1981)
Assistant Referee 2: Bruno Pires (BRA, 1985)

Referee: Leodan Gonzalez (URU, 1983)
Assistant Referee 1: Richard Trinidad (URU, 1978)
Assistant Referee 2: Martin Soppi (URU, (1987)

Referee: Alexis Herrera (VEN, 1989)
Assistant Referee 1: Jorge Urrego (VEN, 1981)
Assistant Referee 2: Tulio Moreno (VEN, (1986)

Referee: Fernando Rapallini (ARG, 1978)
Assistant Referee 1: Diego Bonfa (ARG, 1977)
Assistant Referee 2: Gabriel Chade (ARG, 1980)

Video Assistant Referees
1. Julio Bascunan (CHI, 1978)
2. Andres Rojas (COL, 1984)
3. Wilton Sampaio (BRA, 1981)
4. Jesus Valenzuela (VEN, 1983)
5. Gery Vargas (BOL, 1981)

Support Referee
Joel Alarcon (PER, 1981)

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

Support Referee
David Yareboinen (PNG, 1990)

UEFA
Referee: Benoit Bastien (FRA,1983)
Assistant Referee 1: Hicham Zakrani (FRA, 1979)
Assistant Referee 2: Frederic Haquette (FRA, 1975)

Referee: Jesus Gil Manzano (ESP, 1984)
Assistant Referee 1: Angel Nevado Rodriguez (ESP, 1981)
Assistant Referee 2: Diego Barbero Sevilla (ESP, 1980)

Referee: Ivan Kruzliak (SVK, 1984)
Assistant Referee 1: Tomas Somolani (SVK, 1977)
Assistant Referee 2: Branislav Hancko (SVK, 1987)

Referee: Davide Massa (ITA, 1981)
Assistant Referee 1: Filippo Meli (ITA, 1977)
Assistant Referee 2: Fabiano Preti (ITA, 1978)

Referee: Michael Oliver (ENG, 1985)
Assistant Referee 1: Simon Bennett (ENG, 1985)
Assistant Referee 2: Stuart Burt (ENG, 1980)

Referee: Daniel Siebert (GER, 1984)
Assistant Referee 1: Jan Seidel (GER, 1984)
Assistant Referee 2: Rafael Foltyn (GER, 1985)

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

Video Assistant Referees
1. Marco Guida (ITA, 1981)
2. Alejandro Hernandez Hernandez (ESP, 1982)
3. Juan Martinez Munuera (ESP, 1982)
4. Benoit Millot (FRA, 1982)
5. Pawel Raczkowski (POL, 1983)
6. Artur Soares Dias (POR, 1979)
7. Paulus Van Boekel (NED, 1975)

Support Referee
Sandro Schaerer (SUI, 1988)

IFAB Laws of the Game 2019/20 (Summary of changes)

Law 3
• A player who is being substituted must leave the field at the nearest point on the boundary line, unless otherwise directed by the referee

Law 4
• Undershirts can be multi-coloured/patterned if exactly the same as the sleeve of the main shirt

Law 5
• Referee cannot change a restart decision after play has restarted but, in certain circumstances, may issue a YC/RC for a previous incident
• If the referee leaves the field for a VAR review or to call players back to the field at the end of a half, a decision can still be changed
• Team officials guilty of misconduct can be shown a YC/RC; if an offender cannot be identified, the senior coach in the technical area receives the YC/RC
• If a penalty kick is awarded, the team’s penalty taker can receive assessment or treatment and then stay on the field and take the kick

Law 7
• Clarification of the difference between ‘cooling’ and ‘drinks’ breaks Law 8
• The team that wins the toss may choose to take the kick-off
• Dropped ball – ball dropped for goalkeeper (if play stopped in penalty area) or for one player of team that last touched the ball at the location of the last touch; all other players (of both teams) must be at least 4m (4.5 yds) away

Law 9
• Dropped ball if the ball touches the referee (or other match official) and goes into the goal, possession changes or an attacking move starts

Law 10
• Goalkeeper cannot score by throwing the ball into the opponents’ goal

Law 12
• Handball text re-written for greater clarity/consistency with clear guidelines for when ‘non-deliberate’ handball should (and should not) be penalised
• Confirmation that an ‘illegal’ handball offence by a goalkeeper in their own penalty area is not sanctioned with a YC/RC
• If, after a throw-in or deliberate pass from a team-mate, the goalkeeper unsuccessfully kicks or tries to kick the ball to release it into play, the goalkeeper can then handle the ball
• Referee can delay issuing a YC/RC until the next stoppage if the non-offending team takes a quick free kick and creates a goal-scoring opportunity
• The YC for an ‘illegal’ goal celebration remains even if the goal is disallowed
• List of the warning/YC/RC offences for team officials
• All verbal offences are punished with an IDFK
• Kicking an object is punished in the same way as throwing an object

Law 13
• Once an IDFK has been taken, the referee can stop showing the IDFK signal if it is clear that goal cannot be scored directly (e.g. from most offside IDFKs)
• For defending team free kicks in their penalty area, the ball is in play once it is kicked and clearly moves; it does not have to leave the penalty area
• When there is a defensive ‘wall’ of at least 3 players, all attacking team players must be at least 1m from the ‘wall’; IDFK if they encroach

Law 14
• Goalposts, crossbar and nets must not be moving when a penalty is taken and the goalkeeper must not be touching them
• Goalkeeper must have at least part of one foot on, or in line with, the goal line when a penalty kick is taken; cannot stand behind the line
• If an offence occurs after the referee signals for a penalty kick to be taken but the kick is not taken, it must then be taken after any YC/RC is issued

Law 15
• Opponents must be at least 2m from the point on the touchline where a throw-in is to be taken, even if the thrower is back from the line

Law 16
• At goal kicks, the ball is in play once it is kicked and clearly moves; it does not have to leave the penalty area

Source: IFAB

UEFA Europa League – Round of 16 (Second Leg)

14 March 2019

Dynamo Kyiv – Chelsea
Referee: Tobias Stieler (GER, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Mike Pickel (GER)
Assistant Referee 2: Christian Gittelmann (GER)
Fourth Official: Jan Seidel (GER)
Additional AR 1: Marco Fritz (GER)
Additional AR 2: Harm Osmers (GER)
Referee Observer: Alain Hamer (LUX)

Red Bull Salzburg – SSC Napoli
Referee: Carlos Del Cerro Grande (ESP)
Assistant Referee 1: Juan Yuste Jiménez (ESP)
Assistant Referee 2: Roberto Alonso Fernández (ESP)
Fourth Official: Diego Barbero Sevilla (ESP)
Additional AR 1: Juan Martínez Munuera (ESP)
Additional AR 2: Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea (ESP)
Referee Observer: Herbert Fandel (GER)

Krasnodar – Valencia
Referee: Anthony Taylor (ENG)
Assistant Referee 1: Gary Beswick (ENG)
Assistant Referee 2: Adam Nunn (ENG)
Fourth Official: Lee Betts (ENG)
Additional AR 1: Stuart Attwell (ENG)
Additional AR 2: Martin Atkinson (ENG)
Referee Observer: Robert Sedlacek (AUT)

Inter Milano – Eintracht Frankfurt
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: Juan Fernández Marín (ESP)

SL Benfica – GNK Dinamo
Referee: Deniz Aytekin (GER)
Assistant Referee 1: Eduard Beitinger (GER)
Assistant Referee 2: Rafael Foltyn (GER)
Fourth Official: Markus Häcker (GER)
Additional AR 1: Christian Dingert (GER)
Additional AR 2: Benjamin Cortus (GER)
Referee Observer: Vladimir Antonov (MDA)

Slavia Praha – Sevilla FC
Referee: Aleksei Kulbakou (BLR)
Assistant Referee 1: Dzmitry Zhuk (BLR)
Assistant Referee 2: Aleh Maslianka (BLR)
Fourth Official: Yury Khomchanka (BLR)
Additional AR 1: Dzianis Shcharbakou (BLR)
Additional AR 2: Dzmitry Dzmitryeu (BLR)
Referee Observer: Levan Paniashvili (GEO)

Arsenal – Stade Rennais
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 Golubevs (LVA)
Additional AR 2: Edgars Maļcevs (LVA)
Referee Observer: Kostas Kapitanís (CYP)

Villarreal – Zenit
Referee: Artur Soares Dias (POR)
Assistant Referee 1: Rui Tavares (POR)
Assistant Referee 2: Paulo Santos (POR)
Fourth Official: Bruno Rodrigues (POR)
Additional AR 1: Tiago Martins (POR)
Additional AR 2: João Pinheiro (POR)
Referee Observer: Leslie Irvine (NIR)

Concacaf Champions League – Quarter-finals (Second Leg)

12-14 March 2019

Tigres UANL – Houston Dynamo
Referee: Yadel Martinez (CUB, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Gerson Lopez (GUA)
Assistant Referee 2: Yordanis Gomez (CUB)
Fourth Official: Walter Lopez (GUA)

Santos Laguna – New York Red Bulls
Referee: John Pitti (PAN)
Assistant Referee 1: Alejandro Camarena (PAN)
Assistant Referee 2: Henry Pupiro (NCA)
Fourth Official: Jose Kellys (PAN)

Atlanta United – CF Monterrey
Referee: Henry Bejarano (CRC)
Assistant Referee 1: Juan Mora (CRC)
Assistant Referee 2: Kedlee Powell (CAY)
Fourth Official: Juan Calderon (CRC)

Sporting Kansas City – CA Independiente
Referee: Joel Aguilar (SLV)
Assistant Referee 1: Juan Zumba (SLV)
Assistant Referee 2: Helpys Feliz (DOM)
Fourth Official: Daneon Parchment (JAM)

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

12 March 2019

Manchester City – FC Schalke
Referee: Clement Turpin (FRA, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Nicolas Danos (FRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Cyril Gringore (FRA)
Fourth Official: Ruddy Buquet (FRA)
VAR: Nicolas Rainville (FRA)
AVAR: François Letexier (FRA)
Referee Observer: Tomasz Mikulski (POL)

Juventus – Atletico de Madrid
Referee: Björn Kuipers (NED)
Assistant Referee 1: Sander van Roekel (NED)
Assistant Referee 2: Erwin Zeinstra (NED)
Fourth Official: Dennis Higler (NED)
VAR: Danny Makkelie (NED)
AVAR: Pol van Boekel (NED)
Referee Observer: Stefan Messner (AUT)

13 March 2019
Bayern München – Liverpool FC
Referee: Daniele Orsato (ITA)
Assistant Referee 1: Lorenzo Manganelli (ITA)
Assistant Referee 2: Fabiano Preti (ITA)
Fourth Official: Marco Di Bello (ITA)
VAR: Massimiliano Irrati (ITA)
AVAR: Marco Guida (ITA)
Referee Observer: Alexandru Deaconu (ROU)

FC Barcelona – Olympique Lyonnais
Referee: Szymon Marciniak (POL)
Assistant Referee 1: Pawel Sokolnicki (POL)
Assistant Referee 2: Tomasz Listkiewicz (POL)
Fourth Official: Tomasz Musiał (POL)
VAR: Pawel Raczkowski (POL)
AVAR: Pawel Gil (POL)
Referee Observer: Miroslav Liba (CZE)

CONMEBOL Copa Libertadores – Group Stage (Matchday 2)

12-14 March 2019

Olimpia - Universidad Concepcion
Referee: Wilton Sampaio (BRA, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Rodrigo Correa (BRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Kleber Gil (BRA)
Fourth Official: Dewson Freitas (BRA)
Referee Assessor: Pablo Silva (ARG)

Boca Juniors – Deportes Tolima
Referee: Esteban Ostojich (URU)
Assistant Referee 1: Nicolas Taran (URU)
Assistant Referee 2: Richard Trinidad (URU)
Fourth Official: Andres Matonte (URU)
Referee Assessor: Ubaldo Aquino (PAR)

Palmeiras – Melgar
Referee: Mario Diaz de Vivar (PAR)
Assistant Referee 1: Milciades Saldivar (PAR)
Assistant Referee 2: Roberto Cañete (PAR)
Fourth Official: Ulises Mereles (PAR)
Referee Assessor: Dario Ubriaco (URU)

Sporting Cristal – Godoy Cruz
Referee: Anderson Daronco (BRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Marcelo Van Gasse (BRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Danilo Manis (BRA)
Fourth Official: Luiz Oliveira (BRA)
Referee Assessor: Roberto Silvera (URU)

Gremio – Libertad
Referee: Diego Haro (PER)
Assistant Referee 1: Victor Raez (PER)
Assistant Referee 2: Michael Orue (PER)
Fourth Official: Miguel Santivañez (PER)
Referee Assessor: Juan Cardellino (URU)

Nacional – Atletico Mineiro
Referee: Roberto Tobar (CHI)
Assistant Referee 1: Christian Schiemann (CHI)
Assistant Referee 2: Alejandro Molina (CHI)
Fourth Official: Eduardo Gamboa (CHI)
Referee Assessor: Freddy Arellanos (PER)

San Lorenzo – Junior
Referee: Arnaldo Samaniego (PAR)
Assistant Referee 1: Juan Zorrilla (PAR)
Assistant Referee 2: Dario Gaona (PAR)
Fourth Official: Juan Benitez (PAR)
Referee Assessor: Mauricio Espinosa (URU)

Cerro Porteno – Zamora
Referee: Facundo Tello (ARG)
Assistant Referee 1: Julio Fernandez (ARG)
Assistant Referee 2: Lucas Germanotta (ARG)
Fourth Official: Fernando Espinoza (ARG)
Referee Assessor: Cesar Escano (PER)

Cruzeiro – Deportivo Lara
Referee: Piero Maza (CHI)
Assistant Referee 1: Jose Retamal (CHI)
Assistant Referee 2: Claudio Urrutia (CHI)
Fourth Official: Cristian Garay (CHI)
Referee Assessor: Sabrina Lois (ARG)

Internacional – Alianza Lima
Referee: Jesus Valenzuela (VEN)
Assistant Referee 1: Jorge Urrego (VEN)
Assistant Referee 2: Lubin Torrealba (VEN)
Fourth Official: Juan Soto (VEN)
Referee Assessor: Juan Corozo (ECU)

Flamengo – LDU Quito
Referee: German Delfino (ARG)
Assistant Referee 1: Diego Bonfa (ARG)
Assistant Referee 2: Ezequiel Brailovsky (ARG)
Fourth Official: Silvio Trucco (ARG)
Referee Assessor: Joel Ruiz (PAR)

Universidad Catolica – Rosario Central
Referee: Victor Carrillo (PER)
Assistant Referee 1: Jonny Bossio (PER)
Assistant Referee 2: Coty Carrera (PER)
Fourth Official: Luis Garay (PER)
Referee Assessor: Carlos Pastorino (URU)

River Plate – Palestino
Referee: Alexis Herrera (VEN)
Assistant Referee 1: Carlos Lopez (VEN)
Assistant Referee 2: Luis Murillo (VEN)
Fourth Official: Marlon Escalante (VEN)
Referee Assessor: Amelio Andino (PAR)

Penarol – San Jose
Referee: Jose Argote (VEN)
Assistant Referee 1: Franchescoly Chacon (VEN)
Assistant Referee 2: Alberto Ponte (VEN)
Fourth Official: Angel Arteaga (VEN)
Referee Assessor: Ricardo Casas (ARG)

Atletico Paranaense – Jorge Wilstermann
Referee: Carlos Orbe (ECU)
Assistant Referee 1: Christian Lescano (ECU)
Assistant Referee 2: Ricardo Baren (ECU)
Fourth Official: Roberto Sanchez (ECU)
Referee Assessor: Sergio Viola (ARG)

Emelec – Huracan
Referee: Eber Aquino (PAR)
Assistant Referee 1: Rodney Aquino (PAR)
Assistant Referee 2: Carlos Caceres (PAR)
Fourth Official: Derlis Lopez (PAR)
Referee Assessor: Jorge Jaimes (PER)

VAR decisions explained: UCL Round of 16 (Second Leg, I)

Following this week’s UEFA Champions League matches, UEFA provided additional information and elements that were taken into consideration by the VAR and referees in reaching various decisions. 

Real Madrid – AFC Ajax

Ball in/out of play - 62’ 

There was no conclusive evidence that the ball would have been entirely out of play from all video angles and images that were carefully analysed by the VAR. The assistant referee, who was perfectly positioned, had adjudged that the whole ball had not fully crossed the touchline. No on-field review was required. Consequently, the referee was right not to intervene and to allow the goal. 

FC Porto – AS Roma

Penalty award - 116’ 

The VAR, after checking the offside line - which confirmed the attacker to be onside - asked the referee if he had seen the holding offence committed by the AS Roma defender. The referee confirmed he was unaware of any holding during live play and he asked for the images to be prepared to allow him to conduct an on-field review (serious missed incident). The review convinced the referee that a penalty kick should be awarded for a holding offence. 

FC Porto – AS Roma

No VAR intervention - 121’ 

The referee was close to the action and had himself seen the potential incident in live play and judged that there was no foul. The referee nevertheless decided to delay the restart of play, to give more time to the VAR to review the different camera angles available. A VAR check was conducted, and the various images were studied carefully by the VAR, who did not find any clear evidence. The referee was then informed by the VAR that following the check no clear and obvious error had occurred and that there was no ground for a VAR intervention and an on-field review. 

Paris Saint Germain – Manchester United

Penalty award - 90' 

The VAR, after checking various different angles available to him, recommended to the referee an on-field review following the penalty area incident. Given that the referee did not recognise the incident clearly during live play (referred to as serious missed incident in the VAR protocol) an on-field review was conducted. Following the on-field review, the referee confirmed that the distance that the ball travelled was not short and the impact could therefore not be unexpected. The defender’s arm was not close to the body, which made the defender’s body bigger thus resulting in the ball being stopped from travelling in the direction of the goal. The referee, therefore, awarded a penalty kick. 

All the above-mentioned decisions were made in full compliance with the VAR protocol. 

Source: UEFA

Algarve Cup 2019

Portugal, 27 February - 6 March 2019

AFC
Referee: Kate Jacewicz (AUS, 1985, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Lee Seul Gi (KOR, 1980)
Assistant Referee 1: Maiko Hagio (JPN, 1979)

CAF
Referee: Lidya Tafesse Abebe (ETH, 1980)
Assistant Referee 1: Queency Victoire (MRI, 1987)
Assistant Referee 2: Mary Njoroge (KEN, 1985)

CONCACAF
Referee: Marie-Soleil Beaudoin (CAN, 1982)
Assistant Referee 1: Stephanie Yee Sing (JAM, 1988)
Assistant Referee 2: Princess Brown (JAM, 1986)

Referee: Lucila Venegas (MEX, 1981)
Assistant Referee 1: Mayte Chavez (MEX, 1979)
Assistant Referee 2: Enedina Caudillo (MEX, 1984)

CONMEBOL
Referee: Maria Carvajal (CHI, 1983)
Assistant Referee 1: Leslie Vasquez (CHI, 1987)
Assistant Referee 2: Loreto Toloza (CHI, 1984)

Referee: Laura Fortunato (ARG, 1985)
Assistant Referee 1: Mariana Almeida (ARG, 1982)
Assistant Referee 2: Mary Blanco (COL, 1984)

OFC
Referee: Anna-Marie Keighley (NZL, 1982)
Assistant Referee 1: Sarah Jones (NZL, 1990)
Assistant Referee 2: Maria Salamasina (SAM, 1989)

UEFA
Referee: Sandra Braz Bastos (POR, 1978)
Assistant Referee 1: Julia Magnusson (SWE, 1985)
Assistant Referee 2: Lisa Rashid (ENG, 1987)

Referee: Anastasia Pustovoitova (RUS, 1981)
Assistant Referee 1: Ekaterina Kurochkina (RUS, 1986)
Assistant Referee 2: Petruta Iugulescu (ROU, 1979)

UEFA Europa League – Round of 16 (First Leg)

7 March 2019

Eintracht Frankfurt – Inter Milano
Referee: William Collum (SCO, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: David McGeachie (SCO)
Assistant Referee 2: Francis Connor (SCO)
Fourth Official: Graeme Stewart (SCO)
Additional AR 1: Andrew Dallas (SCO)
Additional AR 2: Nicolas Walsh (SCO)
Referee Observer: Manuel Díaz Vega (ESP)

GNK Dinamo – SL Benfica
Referee: Michael Oliver (ENG)
Assistant Referee 1: Stuart Burt (ENG)
Assistant Referee 2: Simon Bennett (ENG)
Fourth Official: Ian Hussin (ENG)
Additional AR 1: Christopher Kavanagh (ENG)
Additional AR 2: Andre Marriner (ENG)
Referee Observer: Darko Čeferin (SVN)

Sevilla FC – Slavia Praha
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: Francesco Bianchi (SUI)

Stade Rennais – Arsenal FC
Referee: Ivan Kružliak (SVK)
Assistant Referee 1: Tomáš Somoláni (SVK)
Assistant Referee 2: Branislav Hancko (SVK)
Fourth Official: Ján Pozor (SVK)
Additional AR 1: Peter Královič (SVK)
Additional AR 2: Filip Glova (SVK)
Referee Observer: Alfredo Trentalange (ITA)

Zenit – Villarreal
Referee: Gianluca Rocchi (ITA)
Assistant Referee 1: Filippo Meli (ITA)
Assistant Referee 2: Matteo Passeri (ITA)
Fourth Official: Giorgio Peretti (ITA)
Additional AR 1: Paolo Valeri (ITA)
Additional AR 2: Maurizio Mariani (ITA)
Referee Observer: Karen Nalbandyan (ARM)

Chelsea FC – Dynamo Kyiv
Referee: Slavko Vinčič (SVN)
Assistant Referee 1: Tomaž Klančnik (SVN)
Assistant Referee 2: Andraž Kovačič (SVN)
Fourth Official: Grega Kordež (SVN)
Additional AR 1: Rade Obrenovič (SVN)
Additional AR 2: Nejc Kajtazovič (SVN)
Referee Observer: Sándor Piller (HUN)

SSC Napoli – Red Bull Salzburg
Referee: Aleksei Kulbakou (BLR)
Assistant Referee 1: Dzmitry Zhuk (BLR)
Assistant Referee 2: Aleh Maslianka (BLR)
Fourth Official: Yury Khomchanka (BLR)
Additional AR 1: Dzianis Shcharbakou (BLR)
Additional AR 2: Dzmitry Dzmitryeu (BLR)
Referee Observer: Guy Goethals (BEL)

Valencia – Krasnodar
Referee: Orel Grinfeld (ISR)
Assistant Referee 1: Dvir Shimon (ISR)
Assistant Referee 2: Roi Hassan (ISR)
Fourth Official: Idan Yarkoni (ISR)
Additional AR 1: Erez Papir (ISR)
Additional AR 2: Ziv Adler (ISR)
Referee Observer: Stavros Tritsonis (GRE)

AFC Champions League – Group Stage (Matchday 1)

4-6 March 2019

Al Wasl – An Nassr
Referee: Peter Green (AUS, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Nathan McDonald (AUS)
Assistant Referee 2: Ashley Beecham (AUS)
Fourth Official: Jarred Gillett (AUS)

Zob Ahan Isfahan – Al Zawra
Referee: Fu Ming (CHN)
Assistant Referee 1: Huo Weiming (CHN)
Assistant Referee 2: Wang Dexin (CHN)
Fourth Official: Shen Yinhao (CHN)

Lokomotiv Toshkent – Al Wahda
Referee: Ko Hyung-Jin (KOR)
Assistant Referee 1: Yoon Kwang-Yeol (KOR)
Assistant Referee 2: Park Sang-Jun (KOR)
Fourth Official: Kim Hee-Gon (KOR)

Al Ittihad – Al Rayyan
Referee: Minoru Tojo (JPN)
Assistant Referee 1: Shinji Ochi (JPN)
Assistant Referee 2: Takumi Takagi (JPN)
Fourth Official: Yudai Yamamoto (JPN)

Ad Duhail – Esteghlal
Referee: Ravshan Irmatov (UZB)
Assistant Referee 1: Abdukhamidullo Rasulov (UZB)
Assistant Referee 2: Jakhongir Saidov (UZB)
Fourth Official: Hanna Hattab (SYR)

Al Ain – Al Hilal
Referee: Nawaf Shukralla (BHR)
Assistant Referee 1: Mohamed Salman (BHR)
Assistant Referee 2: Yaser Tulefat (BHR)
Fourth Official: Ismail Ismail (BHR)

Persepolis – Paxtakor
Referee: Adham Makhadmeh (JOR)
Assistant Referee 1: Ahmad Al-Roalle (JOR)
Assistant Referee 2: Muhammad Al-Kalaf (JOR)
Fourth Official: Qasim Al-Hatmi (OMA)

Al Ahli – Al Sadd
Referee: Ryuji Sato (JPN)
Assistant Referee 1: Hiroshi Yamauchi (JPN)
Assistant Referee 2: Jun Mihara (JPN)
Fourth Official: Jumpei Iida (JPN)

Kashima Antlers – Johor Darul Tazim
Referee: Turki Al-Khudhayr (KSA)
Assistant Referee 1: Mohammed Al-Abakry (KSA)
Assistant Referee 2: Khalaf Al-Shammari (KSA)
Fourth Official: Omar Al-Yaquobi (OMA)

Gyeongnam – Shandong Luneng
Referee: Ammar Al-Jneibi (UAE)
Assistant Referee 1: Ahmad Al-Rashidi (UAE)
Assistant Referee 2: Jasim Al-Ali (UAE)
Fourth Official: Yaqoob Al-Hammadi (UAE)

Melbourne Victory – Daegu FC
Referee: Alireza Faghani (IRN)
Assistant Referee 1: Reza Sokhandan (IRN)
Assistant Referee 2: Mohammadreza Mansouri (IRN)
Fourth Official: Seyed Kazemi (IRN)

Guangzhou Evergrande – Sanfrecce Hiroshima
Referee: Abdulrahman Al-Jassim (QAT)
Assistant Referee 1: Talib Al-Marri (QAT)
Assistant Referee 2: Saud Al-Maqallah (QAT)
Fourth Official: Saud Al-Athbah (QAT)

Jeonbuk Hyundai – Beijing Sinobo
Referee: Aziz Asimov (UZB)
Assistant Referee 1: Ruslan Serazetdinov (UZB)
Assistant Referee 2: Alisher Usmonov (UZB)
Fourth Official: Mohammad Al-Huwaish (KSA)

Urawa Red Diamonds – Buriram United
Referee: Yaqoob Abdul Baki (OMA)
Assistant Referee 1: Abdullah Al-Jardani (OMA)
Assistant Referee 2: Abdullah Al-Shammakhi (OMA)
Fourth Official: Khalid Al-Shaqsi (OMA)

Sydney FC – Ulsan Hyundai
Referee: Khamis Al-Kuwari (QAT)
Assistant Referee 1: Yousuf Al-Shamari (QAT)
Assistant Referee 2: Zahy Al-Shammari (QAT)
Fourth Official: Abdulla Al-Marri (QAT)

Shanghai SIPG – Kawasaki Frontale
Referee: Mohammed Abdulla (UAE)
Assistant Referee 1: Mohamed Al-Hammadi (UAE)
Assistant Referee 2: Hasan Al-Mahri (UAE)
Fourth Official: Omar Al-Ali (UAE)

Concacaf Champions League – Quarter-finals (First Leg)

5-6 March 2019

Houston Dynamo – Tigres UANL
Referee: Ivan Barton (SLV, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: David Moran (SLV)
Assistant Referee 2: Joseph Bertrand (TRI)
Fourth Official: Oshane Nation (JAM)

CA Independiente – Sporting Kansas City
Referee: Fernando Guerrero (MEX)
Assistant Referee 1: Pablo Hernandez (MEX)
Assistant Referee 2: Jose Martinez (MEX)
Fourth Official: Luis Santander (MEX)
Referee Assessor: Leonel Leal (CRC)

New York Red Bulls – Santos Laguna
Referee: Hector Martinez (HON)
Assistant Referee 1: Christian Ramirez (HON)
Assistant Referee 2: Walter Lopez (HON)
Fourth Official: Kimbell Ward (SKN)

CF Monterrey – Atlanta United
Referee: Ismael Cornejo (SLV)
Assistant Referee 1: Jose Mangandi (SLV)
Assistant Referee 2: Douglas Bermudez (SLV)
Fourth Official: Jaime Herrera (SLV)