CAF Africa Cup of Nations 2023

Cote d’Ivoire, 13 January - 11 February 2024

Referees

1. Mustapha Ghorbal (ALG, photo)
2. Youcef Gamouh (ALG)
3. Louis Houngnandande (BEN)
4. Pacifique Ndabihawenimana (BDI)
5. Mahamat Alhadi (CHA)
6. Jean Ndala (COD)
7. Ibrahim Traore (CIV)
8. Amin Omar (EGY)
9. Mohamed Adel (EGY)
10. Mohamed Maarouf (EGY)
11. Bamlak Tessema (ETH)
12. Pierre Atcho (GAB)
13. Patrice Tanguy (GAB)
14. Peter Waweru (KEN)
15. Ibrahim Mutaz (LBY)
16. Boubou Traore (MLI)
17. Dahane Beida (MTN)
18. Abdel Bouh (MTN)
19. Samir Guezzaz (MAR)
20. Jalal Jayed (MAR)
21. Bouchra Karboubi (MAR)
22. Samuel Uwikunda (RWA)
23. Issa Sy (SEN)
24. Omar Artan (SOM)
25. Abongile Tom (RSA)
26. Mahmoud Ismail (SDN)

Assistant Referees
1. Mokrane Gourari (ALG)
2. Abbes Zerhuouni (ALG)
3. Jerson Dos Santos (ANG)
4. Ivanildo Lopes (ANG)
5. Eric Ayimavo (BEN)
6. Seydou Tiama (BFA)
7. Elvis Noupue (CMR)
8. Carine Atezambong (CMR)
9. Steven Moutsassi (CGO)
10. Ngoh Hermann (CIV)
11. Nouho Ouattara (CIV)
12. Liban Abdourazak (DJI)
13. Mahmoud El-Regal (EGY)
14. Ahmed Hossam (EGY)
15. Boris Ditsoga (GAB)
16. Gilbert Cheruiyot (KEN)
17. Stephen Yiembe (KEN)
18. Souru Phatsoane (LES)
19. Attia Amsaaed (LBY)
20. Dimbinaina Andriatianarivelo (MAD)
21. Modibo Samake (MLI)
22. Mostafa Akarkad (MAR)
23. Lahcen Azgaou (MAR)
24. Arsenio Marengula (MOZ)
25. Abelmiro Dos Reis (STP)
26. Nouha Bangoura (SEN)
27. Djibril Camara (SEN)
28. Jonathan Ahonto (TOG)
29. Khalil Hassani (TUN)
30. Diana Chicotesha (ZAM)

Video Assistant Referees
1. Lahlou Benbraham (ALG)
2. Mahmoud Ashour (EGY)
3, Mahmoud El-Banna (EGY)
4. Daniel Laryea (GHA)
5. Ahmad Heeralall (MRI)
6. Maria Rivet (MRI)
7. Zakaria Brinsi (MAR)
8. Redouane Jiyed (MAR)
9. Salima Mukansanga (RWA)
10. Akhona Makalima (RSA)
11. Mohamed Ibrahim (SDN)
12. Haythem Guirat (TUN)

Technical Instructors
1. Malang Diedhiou (SEN)
2. Mohammed Guezzaz (MAR)
3. Felix Tangawarima (ZIM)
4. Jean Birumushahu (BDI)

UEFA Referee Categories - second half of the season 2023/2024

Men

Elite (33)

Irfan Peljto (BIH), Aleksei Kulbakov (BLR), Michael Oliver (ENG), Anthony Taylor (ENG), Jesus Gil Manzano (ESP), Alejandro Hernandez Hernandez (ESP), Jose Sanchez Martinez (ESP), Benoît Bastien (FRA), Francois Letexier (FRA), Clement Turpin (FRA), Daniel Siebert (GER), Tobias Stieler (GER), Felix Zwayer (GER), Anastasios Sidiropoulos (GRE), Orel Grinfeeld (ISR), Marco Guida (ITA), Davide Massa (ITA), Daniele Orsato (ITA), Serdar Gözübüyük (NED), Danny Makkelie (NED), Espen Eskas (NOR), Szymon Marciniak (POL), Artur Dias (POR), Ovidiu Hategan (ROU), Istvan Kovacs (ROU), Sergei Karasev (RUS), William Collum (SCO), Srdjan Jovanovic (SRB), Sandro Schärer (SUI), Ivan Kruzliak (SVK), Slavko Vincic (SVN), Glenn Nyberg (SWE), Halil Meler (TUR).

First Category (55)

Enea Jorgji (ALB), Juxhin Xhaja (ALB), Sebastian Gishamer (AUT), Harald Lechner (AUT), Julian Weinberger (AUT), Aliyar Aghayev (AZE), Erik Lambrechts (BEL), Lawrence Visser (BEL), Georgi Kabakov (BUL), Igor Pajac (CRO), Duje Strukan (CRO), Jakob Kehlet (DEN), Morten Krogh (DEN), Christopher Kavanagh (ENG), Craig Pawson (ENG), Ricardo De Burgos Bengoechea (ESP), Juan Martinez Munuera (ESP), Kristo Tohver (EST), Jerome Brisard (FRA), Willy Delajod (FRA), Stephanie Frappart (FRA), Giorgi Kruashvili (GEO), Harm Osmers (GER), Sascha Stegemann (GER), Anastasios Papapetrou (GRE), Balazs Berke (HUN), Tamas Bognar (HUN), Roi Reinshreiber (ISR), Marco Di Bello (ITA), Maurizio Mariani (ITA), Manfredas Lukjancukas (LTU), Donatas Rumsas (LTU), Andris Treimanis (LVA), Aleksandar Stavrev (MKD), Nikola Dabanovic (MNE), Allard Lindhout (NED), Rohit Saggi (NOR), Bartosz Frankowski (POL), Pawel Raczkowski (POL), Daniel Stefanski (POL), Tiago Martins (POR), Antonio Nobre (POR), Joao Pinheiro (POR), Horatiu Fesnic (ROU), Radu Petrescu (ROU), Sergei Ivanov (RUS), John Beaton (SCO), Nicholas Walsh (SCO), Urs Schnyder (SUI), Filip Glova (SVK), Matej Jug (SVN), Rade Obrenovic (SVN), Mohammed Al-Hakim (SWE), Andreas Ekberg (SWE), Mykola Balakin (UKR).

Second Category (207)

Eldorjan Hamiti (ALB), Florian Lata (ALB), Antoine Chiaramonti (AND), Luis Teixeira (AND), Ashot Ghaltakhchyan (ARM), Zaven Hovhannisyan (ARM), Henrik Nalbandyan (ARM), Walter Altmann (AUT), Christian Ciochirca (AUT), Stefan Ebner (AUT), Alan Kijas (AUT), Elchin Masiyev (AZE), Kamal Umudlu (AZE), Lothar D’Hondt (BEL), Jonathan Lardot (BEL), Bram Van Driessche (BEL), Nathan Verboomen (BEL), Jasper Vergoote (BEL), Antoni Bandic (BIH), Luka Bilbija (BIH), Milos Gigovic (BIH), Dzmitry Dzmitryieu (BLR), Amine Kourgheli (BLR), Viktar Shymusik (BLR), Volen Chinkov (BUL), Dragomir Draganov (BUL), Radoslav Gidzhenov (BUL), Georgi Ginchev (BUL), Nikola Popov (BUL), Dario Bel (CRO), Ante Culina (CRO), Fran Jovic (CRO), Patrik Kolaric (CRO), Ivana Martincic (CRO), Menelaos Antoniou (CYP), Andreas Argyrou (CYP), Kyriakos Athanasiou (CYP), Chrysovalantis Theouli (CYP), Ondrej Berka (CZE), Dalibor Černy (CZE), Jan Petrik (CZE), Marek Radina (CZE), Dominik Stary (CZE), Ladislav Szikszay (CZE), Jakob Carlsen (DEN), Mads-Kristoffer Kristoffersen (DEN), Sandi Putros (DEN), Mikkel Redder (DEN), Jakob Sundberg (DEN), Stuart Attwell (ENG), John Brooks (ENG), Darren England (ENG), Jarred Gillett (ENG), Robert Jones (ENG), Andrew Madley (ENG), Javier Alberola Rojas (ESP), Guillermo Cuadra Fernandez (ESP), Alejandro Muniz Ruiz (ESP), Jose Munuera Montero (ESP), Cesar Soto Grado (ESP), Juri Frischer (EST), Joonas Jaanovits (EST), Mohammed Al-Emara (FIN), Joni Hyytia (FIN), Oliver Reitala (FIN), Peiman Simani (FIN), Bastien Dechepy (FRA), Ruddy Buquet (FRA), Pierre Gaillouste (FRA), Jeremie Pignard (FRA), Eric Wattellier (FRA), Johan Ellefsen (FRO), Heini Vidoy (FRO), Goga Kikacheishvili (GEO), Irakli Kvirikashvili (GEO), Bastian Dankert (GER), Christian Dingert (GER), Sven Jablonski (GER), Daniel Schlager (GER), Robert Schroder (GER), Jason Barcelo (GIB), Aristotelis Diamantopoulos (GRE), Vasileios Fotias (GRE), Evangelos Manouchos (GRE), Ioannis Papadopoulos (GRE), Christos Vergetis (GRE), Gergo Bogar (HUN), Bence Csonka (HUN), Mihaly Kapraly (HUN), Istvan Vad (HUN), Robert Harvey (IRL), Robert Hennessy (IRL), Paul McLaughlin (IRL), Kevin O'Sullivan (IRL), Thorvaldur Arnason (ISL), Helgi Jonasson (ISL), Ivar Kristjansson (ISL), Vilhjalmur Thorarinsson (ISL), Yigal Frid (ISR), David Fuxman (ISR), Gal Leibovitz (ISR), Snir Levi (ISR), Daniele Chiffi (ITA), Andrea Colombo (ITA), Maria Ferrieri Caputi (ITA), Fabio Maresca (ITA), Luca Pairetto (ITA), Simone Sozza (ITA), Sayat Karabayev (KAZ), Rustam Omarov (KAZ), Daniyar Sakhi (KAZ), Bulat Sariev (KAZ), Mervan Bejtullahu (KOS), Visar Kastrati (KOS), Genc Nuza (KOS), Robertas Valikonis (LTU), Jeremy Muller (LUX), Jasmin Sabotic (LUX), Ivo Torres (LUX), Edgars Malcevs (LVA), Vitalijs Spasjonnikovs (LVA), Roman Jitari (MDA), Dumitru Muntean (MDA), Ion Orlic (MDA), Jovan Kachevski (MKD), Ivana Projkovska (MKD), Igor Stojčevski (MKD), Ishmael Barbara (MLT), Matthew De Gabriele (MLT), Philip Farrugia (MLT), Trustin Farrugia Cann (MLT), Miloš Bošković (MNE), Miloš Savovic (MNE), Dennis Higler (NED), Joey Kooij (NED), Marc Nagtegaal (NED), Sander van der Eijk (NED), Tim Marschall (NIR), Benjamin McMaster (NIR Ian McNabb (NIR), Jamie Robinson (NIR), Sivert Amland (NOR), Mohammad Aslam (NOR), Kristoffer Hagenes (NOR), Sigurd Kringstad (NOR), Kai Steen (NOR), Damian Kos (POL), Lukasz Kuzma (POL), Damian Sylwestrzak (POL), Gustavo Correia (POR), Luis Godinho (POR), Miguel Nogueira (POR), Claudio Pereira (POR), Fabio Verissimo (POR), Marian Barbu (ROU), Marcel Bîrsan (ROU), Andrei Chivulete (ROU), Iuliana Demetrescu (ROU), Vladislav Bezborodov (RUS), Evgeni Kukuliak (RUS), Kirill Levnikov (RUS), Artem Liubimov (RUS), Vitali Meshkov (RUS), Vladimir Moskalev (RUS), Pavel Shadykhanov (RUS), David Dickinson (SCO), Matthew MacDermid (SCO), David Munro (SCO), Donald Robertson (SCO), Michele Beltrano (SMR), Pavle Ilić (SRB), Milos Milanovic (SRB), Nenad Minakovic (SRB), Danilo Nikolić (SRB), Novak Simovic (SRB), Luca Cibelli (SUI), Alessandro Dudic (SUI), Lukas Fähndrich (SUI), Fedayi San (SUI), Esther Staubli (SUI), Lionel Tschudi (SUI), Martin Dohal (SVK), Peter Kralovic (SVK), Michal Ocenas (SVK), Martin Matoša (SVN), David Šmajc (SVN), Kristoffer Karlsson (SWE), Adam Ladeback (SWE), Granit Maqedonci (SWE), Joakim Östling (SWE), Abdulkadir Bitigen (TUR), Attila Karaoglan (TUR), Arda Kardesler (TUR), Zorbay Küçük (TUR), Kadir Saglam (TUR), Bahattin Şimşek (TUR), Oleksii Derevinskyi (UKR), Viktor Kopiievskyi (UKR), Dmytro Kubriak (UKR), Kateryna Monzul (UKR), Dmytro Panchyshyn (UKR), Vitaly Romanov (UKR), Denys Shurman (UKR), Cheryl Foster (WAL), Iwan Griffith (WAL), Robert Jenkins (WAL), Thomas Owen (WAL).

Women

Elite (24)

Ivana Martincic (CRO), Jana Adamkova (CZE), Frida Klarlund (DEN), Rebecca Welch (ENG), Marta Huerta De Aza (ESP), Lina Lehtovaara (FIN), Stephanie Frappart (FRA), Riem Hussein (GER), Eleni Antoniou (GRE), Katalin Kulcsar (HUN), Maria Ferrieri Caputi (ITA), Ivana Projkovska (MKD), Ewa Augustyn (POL), Monika Mularczyk (POL), Sandra Bastos (POR), Catarina Campos (POR), Iuliana Demetrescu (ROU), Alina Pesu (ROU), Lorraine Watson (SCO), Jelena Cvetkovic (SRB), Esther Staubli (SUI), Tess Olofsson (SWE), Kateryna Monzul (UKR), Cheryl Foster (WAL).

First Category (48)

Emanuela Rusta (ALB), Merima Celik (BIH), Volha Blotskaya (BLR), Galiya Echeva (BUL), Kristina Georgieva (BUL), Hristiana Guteva (BUL), Sabina Bolic (CRO), Jelena Pejkovic (CRO), Veronika Kovarova (CZE), Lucie Sulcova (CZE), Abigail Byrne (ENG), Kirsty Dowle (ENG), Ainara Acevedo Dudley (ESP), Zulema Gonzalez Gonzalez (ESP), Olatz Rivera Olmedo (ESP), Reelika Turi (EST), Minka Vekkeli (FIN), Victoria Beyer (FRA), Alexandra Collin (FRA), Fabienne Michel (GER), Angelika Soeder (GER), Karoline Wacker (GER), Franziska Wildfeuer (GER), Reka Molnar (HUN), Katalin Sipos (HUN), Eszter Urban (HUN), Deborah Bianchi (ITA), Silvia Gasperotti (ITA), Maria Marotta (ITA), Elvira Nurmustafina (KAZ), Rasa Grigone (LTU), Justina Lavrenovaite-Perez (LTU), Viola Raudzina (LVA), Shona Shukrula (NED), Lizzy van der Helm (NED), Henrikke Nervik (NOR), Michalina Diakow (POL), Katarzyna Lisiecka-Sek (POL), Silvia Domingos (POR), Ana Terteleac (ROU), Vera Opeikina (RUS), Jelena Medjedovic (SRB), Marina Živković (SRB), Deborah Anex (SUI), Desiree Grundbacher (SUI), Michele Schmolzer (SUI), Zuzana Valentova (SVK), Aleksandra Cesen (SVN), Gamze Durmuş (TUR).

Second Category (68)

Eglantina Pjetrushaj (ALB), Araksya Saribekyan (ARM), Sofik Torosyan (ARM), Kathrin Huber (AUT), Olivia Tschon (AUT), Marina Zechner (AUS), Farida Lutfaliyeva (AZE), Caroline Lanssens (BEL), Jana Van Laere (BEL), Vesna Miletic (BIH), Jelena Kumer (CRO), Ioanna Allaylotou (CYP), Zoe Stavrou (CYP), Michaela Pachtova (CZE), Nanna Andersen (DEN), Frederikke Sokjaer (DEN), Emily Heaslip (ENG), Stacey Pearson (ENG), Eugenia Gil Soriano (ESP), Triinu Vaher (EST), Ifeoma Kulmala (FIN), Lotta Vuorio (FIN), Audrey Gerbel (FRA), Maika Vanderstichel (FRA), Mzevinari Sharashanidze (GEO), Teona Sturua (GEO), Anastasia Mylopoulou (GRE), Eirini Pingiou (GRE), Andromachi Tsiofliki (GRE), Briet Bragadottir (ISL), Meitar Shemesh (ISR), Martina Molinaro (ITA), Tatiana Sorokopudova (KAZ), Rita Vehapi (KOS), Jurgita Macikunyte (LTU), Ugne Smitaite (LTU), Jeļena Jermolajeva (LVA), Oxana Cruc (MDA), Elena Gobjila (MDA), Irena Velevackoska-Ristevski (MKD), Joanna Vassallo (MLT), Wendy Gijsbers (NED), Marisca Overtoom (NED), Louise Thompson (NIR), Karoline Jensen (NOR), Emilie Torkelsen (NOR), Sarah Zangeneh (NOR), Filipa Cunha (POR), Teresa Oliveira (POR), Roxana Timis (ROU), Karina Afanaseva (RUS), Nadezhda Gorinova (RUS), Marina Krupskaya (RUS), Alexandra Ponomareva (RUS), Milica Milovanović (SRB), Laura Mauricio (SUI), Miriama Bockova (SVK), Vanja Jankovic (SVN), Tjasa Misja (SVN), Lovisa Johansson (SWE), Maral Mirzai (SWE), Melek Dakan (TUR), Melis Ozcigdem (TUR), Cansu Tiryaki (TUR), Kristina Kozoroh (UKR), Sofiya Prychyna (UKR), Anastasiya Romanyuk (UKR), Charlotte Carpenter (WAL).

Futsal

Elite (40)

Stefan Vrijens (BEL), Vedran Babic (CRO), Nikola Jelic (CRO), Yiangos Yiangou (CYP), Ondrej Cerny (CZE), David Nissen (DEN), Marc Birkett (ENG), Peter Nurse (ENG), Juan Cordero Gallardo (ESP), Pablo Delgado Sastre (ESP), Alejandro Martinez Flores (ESP), David Urdanoz Apezteguia (ESP), Grigori Osomkov (EST), Kirill Naishouler (FIN), Victor Chaix (FRA), Julien Lang (FRA), Cedric Pelissier (FRA), Gabor Kovacs (HUN), Nicola Manzione (ITA), Chiara Perona (ITA), Dominykas Norkus (LTU), Viktor Bugenko (MDA), Lars Van Leeuwen (NED), Telmen Undrakh (NOR), Damian Grabowski (POL), Miguel Castilho (POR), Eduardo Coelho (POR), Cristiano Santos (POR), Ruben Santos (POR), Vlad Ciobanu (ROU), Bogdan Hanceariuc (ROU), Vladimir Kadykov (RUS), Irina Velikanova (RUS), Petar Radojcic (SRB), Daniel Matkovic (SUI), David Schaerli (SUI), Ales Mocnik Peric (SVN), Dejan Veselic (SVN), Kamil Cetin (TUR), Denys Kutsyi (UKR).

First Category (40)

Juan Boelen (BEL), Volha Pauliuts (BLR), Trayan Enchev (BUL), Mislav Dzeko (CRO), Jan Kresta (CZE), Martin Koster (DEN), Javier Moreno Reina (ESP), Arttu Kyynaeraeinen (FIN), Maximilian Alkofer (GER), Vasileios Christodoulis (GRE), Norbert Szilagyi (HUN), Giulio Colombin (ITA), Dario Pezzuto (ITA), Aslan Galayev (KAZ), Talgat Kosmukhambetov (KAZ), Besar Beqiri (KOS), Besart Ismajli (KOS), Ingus Purins (LVA), Josip Barton (MKD), Marjan Mladenovski (MKD), Stephen Vella (MLT), Ibrahim El Jilali (NED), Joern Te Kloeze (NED), Dag Tangvik (NOR), Monica Czudzinovicz (POL), Filipe Duarte (POR), Grigori Zelentsov (RUS), Daniele D’Adamo (SMR), Darko Boskovic (SUI), Rastislav Behancin (SVK), Lukas Pesko (SVK), Admir Zahovic (SVN), Ademir Avdic (SWE), David Glavonjic (SWE), George Jansizian (SWE), Ugur Cakmak (TUR), Ozan Soykan (TUR), Fatma Tursun (TUR), Mariia Myslovska (UKR).

Second Category (87)

Arlind Subashi (ALB), Gevorg Yeghoyan (ARM), Daniel Stauber (AUT), Manuel Wolf (AUT), Knyaz Amiraslanov (AZE), Ali Jabrayilov (AZE), Hikmat Qafarli (AZE), Yasin Alageyik (BEL), Jiri Bergs (BEL), Farik Keco (BIH), Aliaksandr Auramau (BLR), Maryia Kacheyeva (BLR), Yahueni Zhalabkou (BLR), Ivan Ivanov (BUL), Kaloyan Kirilov (BUL), Ivo Tsenov (BUL), Dino Kramar (CRO), Marijana Orešić (CRO), Larisa Avramidou (CYP), Michalis Christofides (CYP), Georgios Kozakos (CYP), Nicolas Nicolaou (CYP), Radim Cep (CZE), Filip Nesnera (CZE), Alice Vevodova (CZE), Daniel Sorensen (DEN), Oliver Ballinger (ENG), Sara Gutierrez Echeverria (ESP), Noelia Gutierrez Munoz (ESP), Jagnar Jakobson (EST), Paavo Kompaa (FIN), Maria Tuomi (FIN), Jordan Faltesse (FRA), Zviad Bliadze (GEO), Christian Gundler (GER), Jacob Pawlowski (GER), Zyl Sheriff (GIB), Antonios Adamopoulos (GRE), Panagiotis Ntalas (GRE), Adam Czene-Joo (HUN), Annamaria Tolnay (HUN), Peter Zimonyi (HUN), David Berry (IRL), Raafat Al Hamola (ISR), Idan Berenshtein (ISR), Ofer Grosfeld (ISR), Martina Piccolo (ITA), Simone Zanfino (ITA), Giovanni Zannola (ITA), Nurlybek Kalimaganbetov (KAZ), Turekhan Tursumbayev (KAZ), Florentina Kallaba (KOS), Irmantas Kaprasovas (LTU), Mantas Pomeckis (LTU), Sergejs Sacmans (LVA), Andrea Naudi (MLT), Drazen Vuckevic (MNE), Jacob Van Dijke (NED), Dominik Cipinski (POL), Slawomir Steczko (POL), Pawel Tokarewicz (POL), Filipa Prata (POR), Liviu Chita (ROU), Laurentiu Deaconu (ROU), Tatiana Boltneva (RUS), Vitali Groshev (RUS), Ilya Pogonin (RUS), Gordon McCabe (SCO), Laurentiu Ilie (SMR), Jasmina Mickoska (SRB), Srdjan Mihajlovic (SRB), Oliver Nikolic (SRB), Nikola Rabrenovic (SRB), Marco Rothenfluh (SUI), Peter Budac (SVK), Martin Matula (SVK), Doroteja Music (SVN), Jernej Petek (SVN), Kastriot Gerxhaliu (SWE), Hakan Tezcan (TUR), Orest Dutsiak (UKR), Yevhen Hordiienko (UKR), Sviatoslav Kliuchnyk (UKR), Vasilica Ciuplea (WAL), Elwyn Parry (WAL).

UEFA: Referees Eskas and Guida promoted to Elite

The UEFA Referees Committee approved the referee categories for the second half of the season 2023/2024. The changes take effect on 1 January 2024.

Men

Promoted from First Category to Elite: Marco Guida (ITA), Espen Eskas (NOR, photo).

Promoted from Second Category to First Category: Urs Schnyder (SUI).

Retired/removed from Second Category: Manuel Schüttengruber (AUT), Rauf Jabarov (AZE), Georgi Davidov (BUL), Tomaš Klima (CZE), Jan Machalek (CZE), Peter Kjaersgaard (DEN), Antti Munukka (FIN), Petri Viljanen (FIN), Karim Abed (FRA), Benoît Millot (FRA), Kari a Hovdanum (FRO), Stefanos Koumparakis (GRE), Adam Farkas (HUN), Ferenc Karako (HUN), Neil Doyle (IRL), Michael Fabbri (ITA), Artyom Kuchin (KAZ), Jochem Kamphuis (NED), Andrew Davey (NIR), Krzysztof Jakubik (POL), Tomasz Musial (POL), Vitor Ferreira (POR), Kevin Clancy (SCO), Lazar Lukic (SRB), Milan Stefanovic (SRB), Nejc Kajtazovic (SVN), Bojan Pandzic (SWE), Kaspar Sjöberg (SWE), Erkan Ozdamar (TUR), Ali Palabiyik (TUR), Yasar Ugurlu (TUR), Sergii Boiko (UKR).

Women referees added to men’s Second Category: Maria Ferrieri Caputi (ITA), Ivana Projkovska (MKD), Iuliana Demetrescu (ROU), Esther Staubli (SUI).

New FIFA referees entered into Second Category: Florian Lata (ALB), Alan Kijas (AUT), Kamal Umudlu (AZE), Georgi Ginchev (BUL), Dalibor Černy (CZE), Ladislav Szikszay (CZE), Jakob Carlsen (DEN), Javier Alberola Rojas (ESP), Alejandro Muniz Ruiz (ESP), Peiman Simani (FIN), Bastien Dechepy (FRA), Eric Wattellier (FRA), Heini Vidoy (FRO), Christos Vergetis (GRE), Bence Csonka (HUN), Mihaly Kapraly (HUN), Kevin O'Sullivan (IRL), Andrea Colombo (ITA), Rustam Omarov (KAZ), Marc Nagtegaal (NED), Benjamin McMaster (NIR), Damian Kos (POL), Lukasz Kuzma (POL), Claudio Pereira (POR), Matthew MacDermid (SCO), Michele Beltrano (SMR), Pavle Ilić (SRB), Danilo Nikolić (SRB), Martin Matoša (SVN), Granit Maqedonci (SWE), Joakim Östling (SWE), Zorbay Küçük (TUR), Kadir Saglam (TUR), Bahattin Şimşek (TUR), Dmytro Kubriak (UKR), Dmytro Panchyshyn (UKR).

Women

Retired/removed from Elite: Anastasia Pustovoitova (RUS).

Retired/removed from First Category: Maria Martinez Madrona (ESP).

Demoted from First Category to Second Category: Triinu Vaher (EST).

Promoted from Second Category to First Category: Kirsty Dowle (ENG), Fabienne Michel (GER), Franziska Wildfeuer (GER), Silvia Gasperotti (ITA).

Retired/removed from Second Category: Mirela Cemeri (ALB), Maria Ennsgraber (AUT), Viki De Cremer (BEL), Tanja Racic (BIH), Maryia Buiko (BLR), Lisa Benn (ENG), Claire Purcell (IRL), Vivian Peeters (NED), Cristina Trandafir (ROU), Simona Ghisletta (SUI), Neslihan Muratdagi (TUR), Liudmyla Telbukh (UKR), Kateryna Usova (UKR).

New FIFA referees entered into Second Category: Eglantina Pjetrushaj (ALB), Kathrin Huber (AUT), Vesna Miletic (BIH), Emily Heaslip (ENG), Eugenia Gil Soriano (ESP), Mzevinari Sharashanidze (GEO), Ugne Smitaite (LTU), Joanna Vassallo (MLT), Wendy Gijsbers (NED), Karoline Jensen (NOR), Roxana Timis (ROU), Karina Afanaseva (RUS), Milica Milovanović (SRB), Laura Mauricio (SUI), Melek Dakan (TUR), Kristina Kozoroh (UKR), Sofiya Prychyna (UKR), Charlotte Carpenter (WAL).

Futsal

Demoted from Elite to First Category: Lukas Pesko (SVK), Admir Zahovic (SVN).

Promoted from First Category to Elite: Pablo Delgado Sastre (ESP), Julien Lang (FRA), Dominykas Norkus (LTU), Viktor Bugenko (MDA), Telmen Undrakh (NOR), Ruben Santos (POR), Bogdan Hanceariuc (ROU).

Retired/removed from First Category: Tomasz Frak (POL), Iuri Neverov (RUS).

Promoted from Second Category to First Category: Mislav Dzeko (CRO), Maximilian Alkofer (GER), Besar Beqiri (KOS), Besart Ismajli (KOS), Dag Tangvik (NOR), Monica Czudzinovicz (POL), Ademir Avdic (SWE), David Glavonjic (SWE), George Jansizian (SWE), Mariia Myslovska (UKR).

Retired/removed from Second Category: Maksim Dzeikala (BLR), Anatol Ustsuizhanin (BLR), Mark Patchell (IRL), Idan Elmalem (ISR), Mariia Glekova (ISR), Vedran Marcinko (KOS), Nikola Tadic (KOS), Steve Ribeiro (LUX), Eduards Fatkulins (LVA), Done Ristovski (MKD), Nebojsa Panic (SRB), Carl Hughes (WAL).

New FIFA referees entered into Second Category: Aliaksandr Auramau (BLR), Maryia Kacheyeva (BLR), Yahueni Zhalabkou (BLR), Marijana Orešić (CRO), Sara Gutierrez Echeverria (ESP), Noelia Gutierrez Munoz (ESP), Adam Czene-Joo (HUN), Ofer Grosfeld (ISR), Simone Zanfino (ITA), Nurlybek Kalimaganbetov (KAZ), Sergejs Sacmans (LVA), Andrea Naudi (MLT), Dominik Cipinski (POL), Filipa Prata (POR), Ilya Pogonin (RUS), Laurentiu Ilie (SMR), Jasmina Mickoska (SRB), Srdjan Mihajlovic (SRB), Elwyn Parry (WAL).

Football leaders urged to stop violence against referees

Violence against referees is a cancer and football leaders need to set an example and act to stop it, FIFA President Gianni Infantino and Pierluigi Collina, Chairman of the FIFA Referees Committee, told delegates from FIFA Member Associations attending the FIFA Football Summit 2023.

In his concluding remarks to the Summit, held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on the eve of the FIFA Club World Cup 2023 final, the FIFA President emphasised that the referees were FIFA’s Team One. “Without referees, there’s no football,” he said. “We all have to fight…against any sort of abuse and violence against referees, but also to bring back respect and tolerance.” Reminding football’s leaders of their duty to set an example, he added: “This starts with us, this starts with you, with the leaders of football, with the way we speak, with the way we act…We have to take responsibility (as) what we do has an impact on many girls and boys - not just a positive one but also a negative one.”

In the latest incident to shock the football world this year, FIFA referee Halil Umut Meler was taken to hospital after he was attacked at the end of the Turkish Süper Lig match between MKE Ankaragücü and Çaykur Rizespor on Monday, 11 December. Pierluigi Collina, who refereed the FIFA World Cup 2002 final, said it was not just Türkiye’s problem, and that did not only affect top-level football – far from it. Speaking during a panel on refereeing, he said: “This (incident) was reported by (the) media but there are a lot of incidents which don’t capture the attention of the media, involving referees in amateur leagues, in grassroots football. Most of these referees are youngsters, boys and girls. Most of these referees face verbal or even physical assaults. They are verbally and physically abused. And those who abuse them, most of the time, are the parents of the boys and girls who are playing the match. This is not acceptable. Enough is enough. This is the cancer that can kill football. It’s true. I beg the leaders of football around the world to do something before it is too late. Enough is enough.”

Tori Penso, who refereed the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 final, and Szymon Marciniak, who took charge of the FIFA World Cup 2022 final, were also on the panel. Tori Penso said more people should try their hand at refereeing; “I encourage everyone to pick up a whistle and give it a try, you might just be surprised. And I encourage you all to invest in referees, make sure it's part of your strategic initiatives and your plans because if you invest in officials and give them the tools and the resources and the training and education that they need, I'm certain that they'll deliver for you.”

Szymon Marciniak appealed to the FIFA Member Associations to support their referees. “Of course, players are the most important, but we need to remember that there will be no game, there will be no fair play rules without referees. This is true. And that's why my huge request to all federations, to all associations, is to support referees as much as possible, to invite young people to become referees.”

Pierluigi Collina said FIFA, which ran 388 courses for referees in 2023, was committed to developing referees globally. “We are looking for a new generation of referees all over the world,” he said. “The objective is to help you, member associations, to [develop] the new Tori Penso and the new Szymon Marciniak of the future.”

Source: FIFA

FIFA Club World Cup Final 2023: Marciniak (POL)

22 December 2023

Final

Manchester City – Fluminense FC
Referee: Szymon Marciniak (POL, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Tomasz Listkiewicz (POL)
Assistant Referee 2: Adam Kupsik (POL)
Fourth Official: Jesus Valenzuela (VEN)
Reserve AR: Tulio Moreno (VEN)
VAR: Tomasz Kwiatkowski (POL)
AVAR: Juan Soto (VEN)
OVAR: Jorge Urrego (VEN)
SVAR: Juan Lara (CHI)

Match for Third Place
Urawa Red Diamonds – Al Ahly
Referee: Tori Penso (USA)
Assistant Referee 1: Brooke Mayo (USA)
Assistant Referee 2: Kathryn Nesbitt (USA)
Fourth Official: Jean Ndala (COD)
Reserve AR: Arsenio Marengula (MOZ)
VAR: Tatiana Guzman (NCA)
AVAR: Alejandro Hernandez Hernandez (ESP)
OVAR: Elvis Noupue (CMR)
SVAR: Adil Zourak (MAR)

CAF Confederation Cup 2023/2024 – Group Stage (Matchday 4)

20 December 2023

Stade Malien – Sekhukhune United
Referee: Mustapha Ghorbal (ALG, photo)

Modern Future – USM Alger
Referee: Abdel Bouh (MTN)

SuperSport United – Al Hilal
Referee: Patrice Tanguy (GAB)

Sagrada Esperanca – Zamalek
Referee: Issa Sy (SEN)

Academie SOAR – Abu Salim
Referee: Daniel Laryea (GHA)

Dreams FC – Academica do Lobito
Referee: Samir Guezzaz (MAR)

Club Africain – Rivers United
Referee: Mahmood Ismail (SDN)

Diables Noirs – RS Berkane
Referee: Ibrahim Traore (CIV)

CAF Champions League 2023/2024 – Group Stage (Matchday 4)

19 December 2023

Young Africans – Medeama
Referee: Redouane Jiyed (MAR, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Lahcen Azgaou (MAR)
Assistant Referee 2: Mustapha Akerkad (MAR)
Fourth Official: Karim Sabry (MAR)

Simba SC – Wydad AC
Referee: Pierre Atcho (GAB)
Assistant Referee 1: Boris Ditsoga (GAB)
Assistant Referee 2: Carine Atezambong (CMR)
Fourth Official: Antoine Effa (CMR)

TP Mazembe – FC Nouadhibou
Referee: Louis Houngnandande (BEN)
Assistant Referee 1: Eric Ayimavo (BEN)
Assistant Referee 2: Narcisse Kouton (BEN)
Fourth Official: Raphiou Ligali (BEN)

Pyramids FC – Mamelodi Sundowns
Referee: Alhadi Mahamat (CHA)
Assistant Referee 1: Bogola Issa (CHA)
Assistant Referee 2: Moussa Hafiz (CHA)
Fourth Official: Alfred Pousri (CHA)

ASEC Mimosas – Jwaneng Galaxy
Referee: Amin Omar (EGY)
Assistant Referee 1: Mahmoud El Regal (EGY)
Assistant Referee 2: Ahmed Hossam (EGY)
Fourth Official: Ahmed Al Ghandour (EGY)

Atletico Petroleos – Esperance
Referee: Dahane Beida (MTN)
Assistant Referee 1: Dimbiniaina Andriatianarivelo (MAD)
Assistant Referee 2: Jonathan Ahonto (TOG)
Fourth Official: Babacar Sarr (MTN)

Al Hilal – Etoile du Sahel
Referee: Imtehaz Heeralall (MRI)
Assistant Referee 1: Soulaimane Amaldine (COM)
Assistant Referee 2: Jeff Pithia (MRI)
Fourth Official: Ganesh Chutooree (MRI)

Marciniak revealed how the World Cup final changed his life

"I have changed. I am a different person and a different referee than in 2018. The final in Qatar also changed my life. It will be very difficult to get the next final matches. I already know what to expect. Now every semi-final will be like a final for me", says Szymon Marciniak in a special interview for TVPSport.pl at the 1 year anniversary of the World Cup final in Qatar. On the same day, he refereed the semi-final Fluminense-Al Ahly at the Club World Cup in Saudi Arabia.

Rafal Rostkowski: – After a year, how do you remember the moment when you found out that you will referee the final of the World Cup?

Szymon Marciniak: – Actually, it was probably the coolest moment at the World Cup! It was a ritual: every day at 6 p.m. we found out who will referee a given match in two-day time. Everyone had been waiting 10 or 15 minutes earlier at the entrance of this big hall to find out whether they would get a chance that day. And I must admit that it was a moment when I always felt pleasant adrenaline. Because, as we know, referees make some visualizations, some "predictions" during tournaments. They anticipate something, try to "reject" one match, and give themselves a better chance for another one. It is obvious that when it comes to the final, we knew that there were few names in the competition, I would even say: very few. Various sparrows chirped that it would be us. On the one hand, it was definitely some unknown, on the other hand, excitement. And I won't lie - I really expected it to be me. You could say that I gave myself 70-80%, so with such "appointments" it's a lot, because sometimes it's incredibly difficult to guess where you will go to the next match. When Collina started reading, it was such a nice, uplifting moment of a few minutes of speech that we worked hard... Really hard! 45 days together, 64 matches. "Everyone is waiting for this match: Argentina – France, Lusail Stadium." And he just read my name... Incredible joy, and certainly some slight emotion. You could say that it's even very strong with the boys, I immediately wanted to hug them. But they were so moved, so I didn't exaggerate because I didn't want tears to fall. It was truly one of the moments I will remember most in refereeing. And it was one of the most vulnerable moments. Which is not very common for me, but this moment caused lots of emotions. It happened after each reading of the names that when Pierluigi Collina or Massimo Busacca read the names for a given match, the whole room stood up, applauded, and congratulated them. Here, you know, it was the final, so everyone immediately congratulated us. There was incredible applause and uproar. Immediately afterwards, FIFA TV took me for an interview, there was a photo session, and there were a few duties. It was good because we immediately started doing something. There was no such, perhaps unnecessary, excessive euphoria. Then the emotions began to subside, and more congratulations began to arrive. But the moment of announcing the nominations for the final was certainly amazing. One of the two coolest ones at this World Cup. Apart from, of course, the last, final whistle, the whistle after the penalty shootout.

– Some people say, or guess, speculate, that you knew about this nomination earlier. That the moment when it was announced by Pierluigi Collina was, let's say, an official part. Can you tell us what it was like?

– No, that's not true. To be 100% correct, I didn't know. I speak honestly and sincerely. I wouldn't have a problem saying that. There were, of course, some clues. I remember Pierluigi chasing me off the beach. He said: run away from the beach, because you need a lot of energy, and the sun takes away energy. Various things that appeared somewhere could prove this. Other "appointments" could also indicate this. This was already my seventh or eighth major tournament, FIFA or UEFA, so I knew what it looked like... Since my biggest - one could say - rival, the great referee Daniele Orsato, got the semi-final, a lot became clear on paper. There were also other experienced referees who had been predicting us since the quarter-finals: "Simon, Simon, you have the final, you have the final." It is obvious that on the one hand it was a bit of taking the pressure off yourself, because everyone was probably counting on this final... Well, maybe not everyone, but there were a few people who were counting on this final. There was pressure put on me that I was the main candidate. There was double joy, double reward - it appeared somewhere in the back of my mind. But there were a few people who, let's say, knew some things, were close there and also said that I was a candidate in such behind-the-scenes conversations very often. Various things pointed to this. But you know very well that there is a long way from such various premises or rumors to the final decision. Politics was also on our ears. We tried not to listen to it, but there was a rumor that since the United States would host the World Cup in four years, Ismail Elfath, the referee from the USA, has a very good chance of getting the final. There was certainly a small lobby, but we tried to distance ourselves from it. Besides, there were some of my older colleagues, Roberto Rosetti, and Nicola Rizzoli, whom I also talked to and who told me not to listen to these various rumors. And that we did everything we could do, and we look great. For some time, they watched us every day and saw how we worked with the players in training and what it looked like from different angles. We looked very good, but it must be admitted that we put a lot of effort into working with the players. We left nothing to chance. We didn't act half-heartedly. There was simply great behavior during those 10-12 minutes, because we spent so much time practicing every day with two teams that created different situations for us. We were “hungry” for these situations to always be at the highest level. These various premises gave us a really high percentage, but as I said, 70-80% is a lot, but still 20-30%, for such big decisions, is still a lot. This unknown caused a slight "stomach ache", especially in the hours and minutes before our names were read.

– How did you spend the time between being appointed for the final and the final? How did you prepare, how did you relax, how did you rest?

– First of all, Pierluigi Collina surprised us very much, because all the referees expected to hear the names of the referees for the final only 48 hours before the final, as he always used to do. But that day, when he was reading out the name of Al Jassim from Qatar for the third place match, he suddenly said that on the same day he would also read out the names of the referees for the final so that they could think about this decision, this appointment, so to speak... to spend these 24 hours talking to family and friends, and then leave 48 hours just to concentrate on the final. I think it was a great decision, because in those first hours, even the first day, there were a lot of wishes and congratulations... But then it was really about turning off the phone, a ritual. We didn't force anything to change. 48 hours before the final, we had a nice training session with the players, prepared especially for me. The players we had at our disposal as referees during these 45 days, together with two tactical coaches from Italy, prepared some nice situations for us, which we practiced for 10 minutes. These teams played very similarly to Argentina and France, i.e. when the action went to the right side, there was a player imitating Messi, and the opposing team immediately pressed, just like France. The FIFA staff and these teams prepared us incredibly well tactically. No matter what match awaited us, they were able to adapt to how a given team played and how it attacked. Two or three passes, a long ball for example, or tiki taka. Someone may say that 10 minutes is not enough. It's not true, because for 10 minutes, when you are focused only on the game and only on how they create the situation for you, you can visualize something. So, tactically we were well prepared. Later, the day before the final, it was such a relaxed time. We were literally on the pitch with the players for probably 5 or 6 minutes. A light warm-up, a few light accelerations. Tactical meeting with coaches about how they see the final. They always rely a lot on my experience, a bit of football experience, and we always find a golden median. Later, a bit of relaxation, but in a calm way. No sun, no beach, just collecting good energy. We tried to live everyday by doing what we have been doing before. Pawel Sokolnicki, who always liked ping-pong, went to play ping-pong with the boys. Tomek Listkiewicz read a book. Really chill. I sat down with Nicola Rizzoli, a great referee, who had the pleasure of refereeing both the World Cup final and the Champions League final. We were drinking coffee and I asked him what he thought, and he said: Szymon, you are in a place where you don't need pitch advice anymore. I can only tell you what to do "off the field". Turn off your phone, switch off completely, relax, do what you like to do, don't get too excited, because the adrenaline and stress will be enormous anyway. I think all of this together made a difference. You know best that in refereeing there is no golden rule on what to do to make it good. There is no silver bullet - someone will tell you something and the final will go great. There are many little things that make up refereeing. They all have to happen at the right time - and fortunately, that was the case with us. All this and the entire preparation for this final, just over the last 48 hours, was so well planned that everything fell into place. There were no injuries, no micro-injuries, and refereeing is different. I have refereed many matches with minor injuries, and I know what discomfort it is for the head, how a person tries and cheats both himself and his body. Everything worked out here, we were 100% fit and had a good mental approach. We were ready. Just the fact that when you are standing in the tunnel, seeing the teams, Messi comes up to you and says: we expected you to be in the final. Giroud did the same and said: Damn, we are glad you are refereeing the final. You have a lot of trust on both sides, you can feel it. It's just that all you think is what I said to my boys. "Gentlemen, let's just not fuck this up." That's really all I could think of. Everything else was prepared until the last moment and the only thought in my head before the anthems was: damn, just don't ruin it, everyone is watching you today, everyone will be watching. They certainly kept their fingers crossed, because we also felt a lot of sympathy and support from many Polish fans. And the fact that our Polish team is in the finals, so the great sympathy and faith in our players has transferred from them to us. And we felt that too. It was also a bit of a burden that we can come back and it might be nice, but we can come back and... I know what country I live in. We know that, unfortunately, everyone knows refereeing, including football, so everyone will judge us. Somewhere behind there was a concern about refereeing well. So as not to be unnecessarily criticized.

– What was the most difficult thing for you during the World Cup final? What situations?

– The beginning of the match was crucial. In the second or third minute, when Rabiot fouled Rodrigo De Paul, there was a re-match in two minutes. After playing the ball, Rodrigo ran in quite strongly with his elbow from the back to the hip. One pushed the other, he fell, jumped up and that was the moment when I ran up and had to react. I immediately compared it to the Argentina-Australia match in the Round of 16, when, at the end of the match, around the 80th minute, Rodrigo verbally attacked Tomek Listkiewicz for some "stupidity". Foul, quite obvious actually for Australians. Rodrigo didn't agree with it, and I had to run in and react very... differently. I don't know if I had to do that, but I reacted very strongly, and he backed off. He said to me: Simon, calma, calma, calm down. I wouldn't react so strongly, but I had to defend the assistant. And here there was a similar situation when I ran up and started to react loudly and quite sharply to Rodrigo De Paul. While in the first match between Australia and Argentina he was scared, withdrew, and was very docile - this time it was different. I saw fire in his eyes and immediately reacted sharply: didn't I see what he did just now? I said: what? and he said that he won't give up here. And this was a key moment that - when we analyzed it during the post-match talks - everyone assessed that if I would had lost the match there, it could have been completely different. People sometimes don't understand it. Even now, when the first episode of the second series of "Referees" has appeared, some people say: oh, you're screaming; and so on... People don't understand that, when you have tens of thousands of people in the stadium, and so many people are shouting, in order to say something to the player, for him to hear you, you have to shout to him. This is a normal thing. Sometimes I laugh that they make me look like a bit of a murderer or a guy who shouts on the pitch, but it's completely different. I discuss three-quarters of the things on the pitch with the players very calmly, in a nice, friendly way, sometimes I joke. And there are times when the referee has to take control and has to make the player understand. We are alone on the field. I'm alone in the middle. There are two of my colleagues on the sides, but they are always far from the situation. And there are 22 players. Now let's imagine that these 22 are shouting, or have some grudges and so on... The referee's job is to react the way I reacted in the final, or the way it was shown in the TV series "Referees". You have to grab such a guy, nastily speaking, by the neck and make him understand it. Just like it was in the final with De Paul, just like it was in the semi-final of the Champions League with Haaland, or as seen in the series "Referees" - with Karlstrom from Lech Poznan or Bejger from Slask Wrocław. When a referee reprimands one player, it is not just a reprimand to one player. It's a reprimand that all players see - 22 on the field and all off it. And they see that if a player loses the fight with the referee, then everyone has this respect, but they also have a positive, of course, "fear" for this referee and respect that he won this fight, to understand clearly: he "got" this player, but of course for a good cause. In order for these competitions to run well, so that the player doesn't shout at the referee, or the referee doesn't shout at the player - that's not the point, but sometimes someone has to take control. It's just like at home: the father sets the rules, and the referee is a bit of a father on the pitch. He has to make everything fair, so that both teams feel fair, safe and feel that the referee will step in and react appropriately at any given moment. Just like at home: some kids try to cross a certain line, and that's what the referee is for, to stop, to say: no, it's "enough". Sometimes you need to raise your voice, sometimes you need to tickle, sometimes you need to praise. And that was also the case in the final. After De Paul reacted quite sharply, in retaliation I put everything on one card: either me or Rodrigo. And I entered very strongly. Well, very strongly. But okay, I won the fight and Rodrigo immediately started calming me down. I also saw it in his eyes that when I got very close to him with my head and started to be quite aggressive, because he was aggressive too, he started to withdraw. Then I knew that this was my "space", my 15 seconds and it was either me or him. But it's nice because he accepted it with respect. After a moment I was running and I knocked him, I said: is it ok? "It's ok" - he replied. We also got a high five because it's not about me proving to everyone that I'm the most important. It's just that there are moments on the pitch and during the match when the referee has to really come in very strongly and take complete control. And if the players understand this, then there will be no mass confrontations or any unsporting behavior. That's what happened with Rodrigo, but it was probably the most difficult moment. Moreover, at the very beginning - it's also such a surprise that when you leave, you think that everything is prepared, but it's not. Suddenly you see that it's not only you who are under pressure, the players are also under enormous pressure, because they want to become world champions in 90 minutes. That initial moment was very difficult, but I'm glad Rodrigo understood it. Rabiot too, because he very quickly said: OK, Simon, I understand. And we moved on. And then those long minutes were very good. They "bought" my decisions. But the minutes that looked so good were because of what happened in that third minute.

– This match is considered the best World Cup final in history. It may also have been the hardest to referee. It was probably the best refereed World Cup final in history. But you know, fans don't care much about praise, it's already been given. I wonder what mistakes you admit yourself in this final. There are some mistakes in every match. What are Szymon Marciniak's comments about this match?

– Throughout all my career, I have never had a perfect match. Never! Whenever you do a self-assessment, you always find something. It's a bad advantage, it's a bad foul. There are many such events during the match. Normally, if we had a video test in a seminar, we would call it a foul. But for the sake of the match, for the needs of the match, this foul is not whistled to show the teams that "I'll let you play, don't knock me down, I don't accept it." I found a few things like that in the final. Either a foul that I didn't whistle, or vice versa: I whistled something that was soft, but needed to balance the fouls and balance the emotions. Because sometimes, when emotions run high, you have to find a small foul to give yourself some time, to calm down the players, to then approach them and say: no, calm down, I saw there, why are you getting excited, why are you nervous - I saw it, I'm keeping an eye on it. These are emotions that a referee must manage at some stage. Of course, I understand that sometimes fans, even some players at a certain level, simply do not understand it, because they have not played at such a high level and may never play at such a high level. These things are not written in the "Laws of the Game" or in the guidelines, but managing emotions is something incredibly important. And also very difficult, because sometimes one bad decision can cause a series of subsequent decisions that happen because of this one decision of the referee... The referee's work and management of the match must be discussed at the end of the match. Then we see whether his decision in the 13th or 20th minute meant that the remaining minutes were good. Maybe he didn't give a yellow card or he gave a card that is "soft" and someone will say "he gave a soft card" or a card that is undeserved. Maybe, but with this one decision he made other decisions very good. The first decision that immediately comes to my mind was somewhere towards the end of the match. I had a situation where Acuna fouled Coman quite badly, it was after some Argentinian loss, and for me the same "in" was a "yellow plus", to be honest. When I saw Coman jumping up, I was afraid... I was very close, I started the action, I whistled immediately, because Coman breaking up seemed to me like a desire for revenge, that he was about to do something. And there I read the game wrong, because I should have used the advantage for the French and after the action had finished, I should have definitely shown the yellow card to Acuna. Even though, as many people say, there would have been a successful advantage, and this foul would supposedly have been stopping of a promising action. But it wasn't a SPA, just a rude and inconsiderate entry just to get fouled. I could have easily used the advantage and returned to Acuna with a yellow card after the action. I whistled very quickly because I was afraid that something bigger was about to happen. This is what these choices I'm talking about are sometimes like. Sometimes you can ignore something and avoid something. Or, as here, I thought that if I blew the whistle, I would avoid something bigger, retaliation, perhaps a red card. That in a moment it would be yellow for Acuna, red for Coman, because Acuna's foul was really bad. And as it turned out, I forgot that Coman is a player who wants to play football. He's not a player who fouls, he just plays forward. Rather, it is his opponents who foul. And here I read the game wrong and that was my biggest garden pebble when it comes to this match. I know it wasn't a perfect match. Of course, I am happy that the main decisions were correct. But, as you said, we will always find something in every match, especially with such emotions, with such football giants. They can create something out of nothing, and the opponent will do everything to stop such a player. So, it wasn't perfect, but it was good plus or very good minus. Either way, you can be satisfied.

– And what did you say to Mbappe after the final? The TV showed you talking to him. It seemed like quite a close conversation.

– Kylian surprised me. The director arranged us in such a way after the final that, as referees, we were supposed to be on the right side of the tunnel entrance, i.e. next to the Argentine reserve bench. And, of course, it was a bit awkward to stand near Argentines who were having fun, dancing and celebrating. Many of them came up to us and thanked us for the match. Then the French started to come. I was standing with Pierluigi Collina and Didier Deschamps was the first to approach us. He offered his hand and congratulated the very difficult final. He said that "it was a very difficult final, I have no complaints." Later, others came: Olivier Giroud, with whom I always had a great contact and we also talked for a while, Hugo Lloris, and the last one was Kylian Mbappe. I saw him heading towards me. I could sense that he wanted to approach me, but he was depressed - and I approached him. Of course, I won't say what we said, but I can say that he surprised me. When we held hands, he put his head on my chest and also said two words to me. I saw that it was a difficult moment for him. He played an amazing match, scoring three goals, including a penalty kick. He played phenomenally; he encouraged France to play. I took him and hugged him. There are moments when you don't think - it's just instinct that works. Two guys: him - a giant in football, me - after the match. I didn't expect it, I just wanted to give him a high five, congratulate him on his game and tell him that this is how it is in football - someone wins, someone loses. But when he actually got emotional and put his head down, I didn't know how to behave. I just instinctively hugged him and said two words to him, two words in his ear. And I'm glad he remembered it, because now, when we met in Paris in the tunnel before the match against Newcastle, he came up to me. It was very nice. He said they watched the final later and it was a brilliantly refereed match. This is also nice because a losing team doesn't always have good memories. This is normal, even though the referee may not have made any major mistakes. But you think: we played, he refereed, we lost. It stands to reason that he certainly didn't have to say it. But I will probably remember it for the rest of our careers. It was nice of him and said with great respect.

– In Saudi Arabia, at the Club World Cup, you probably will not referee the final. What do you think are your chances for another grand final: the Olympic Games, the European Championships or the Club World Cup, but in 2025, expanded to 32 teams?

– This may sound a bit funny, but a certain transformation has taken place here. I have had some great conversations with people I respect a lot and who respect me a lot. Also, with those people who helped me a lot in my career. People who know me know this: I am morbidly ambitious. It's always been a bit of a curse for me. I was over motivated many times. Hence the failed World Cup in Russia – on my part and from my point of view. I went there with huge ambitions. I allowed myself to inflate the balloon completely wrongly, because I was one of the youngest referees, with absolutely no chance for anything big, and from the very beginning I started to think that I was going for some big matches. Sometimes you need a bucket of cold water. As you can see, today I am a completely different referee, a different person. I have much more empathy, sensitivity, but above all humility because refereeing teaches you humility. And here in Saudi Arabia, when I was waiting for my matches, I thought that I would have another match some other time, another pair of teams. It turned out that I was in the semi-final. I had these cool conversations later. An interesting statement was made. "Szymon, do you think that you will have all the finals? It doesn't look like that. These are tournaments that are a great test for many other referees who may be able to referee something big in a few years. It's a big dose of adrenaline, this is a large dose of experience. You have achieved everything in refereeing, you already have everything, you can't have anything greater. What you have experienced, what you have received from life and, in fact, from us - because they selected me for the final of the world cup - this is something so incredible and so few people in the world have it, that for you going forward the finals may be... the semi-finals." It's good that such words were said. I think I need to change my mind a bit and change my thinking. We know in our refereeing community that semi-finals are often the most difficult and unpleasant matches. Someone is eliminated, someone enters the final, someone loses hope for something great, and someone gains hope for something even greater. This is an amazing thing. Secondly, being in the semi-finals is also amazing. And, as they told me here, I can't have all the finals in all the competitions. Initially, I felt my sports anger and I couldn't come to terms with it. After a while, 15 minutes, maybe a little later, when we were talking about it, I realized: Damn, they're so right! My finals were and are very important for me and my career. Thanks to them, I gained many fans, also in Arab countries. The final in Saudi Arabia or other finals may be very important for other referees. Build them, develop them, help them achieve higher goals, maybe even reach the finals of bigger tournaments... That's how I look at it now. The semi-final of the Club World Cup was absolutely the most important for me now and was like a final for me. Then I will share my experiences and try to help other referees. I will referee for as long as I can feel the adrenaline in it. We'll see what life shows.

– What did the World Cup final in Qatar change in your life?

– It changed a lot, no doubt, in terms of popularity. I don't like this word because a referee should always be in the shadow. But today, you know, it's a little different. We are very recognizable. Invited everywhere. It is very nice. Of course, there are many more responsibilities. In previous years, I was a dozen, maybe several dozen times, in places such as orphanages, hospitals, schools, universities and prisons. This year, well over 150 times. This is simply a new obligation that has appeared. Someone will say: It's not an obligation, you don't have to... As I said, life has taught me a bit of humility. Until 2018 I was at the top, but I fell off that peak and then I almost ended my career. It was not known whether I would be able to continue it. Today I am at the absolute top, so you can say that I have touched everything and, paradoxically, I am much humbler today, when I am where I am, than at the time when I was climbing, when I was proud. Youth is sometimes nice, but it's also kind of thankless. It pushes us to places we probably shouldn't be. It puts words on our tongues that we sometimes shouldn't say. But each of us was young. Each of us has made mistakes somewhere. Today it's a little different. Szymon Marciniak is a mature referee, a mature husband and father. But also a referee with two grand finals. After many matches in which he should have made a different decision. And all these new responsibilities that I have - meetings with children, with young people, whether for people who have made a mistake and are in prisons, or for people in social homes and similar places - this is a form of my debt repayment toward a life that has actually given me a lot. I have already received so much from life that I have no right to want even a little more. My path will definitely change. A bit toward the desire to teach, toward giving others from my experience. Besides, I think people have noticed how often in the Polish league, in Ekstraklasa, I go with younger referees. Just to advise them, help them develop, and sometimes bring them down to earth. Because I wouldn't want others to make the mistakes I made. I try to show them what is good and what is bad. Of course, everyone will choose their own path anyway. Everyone is the architect of their own fate and I think we learn best from our mistakes. Yes, I think that these finals, the World Cup or the Champions League final in Istanbul, changed me a lot. On the other hand, people who know me think - and I am happy about it - that I am still the same Szymon. Even cooler than the one I was before these finals. Back then it was a rat race all the time. I always wanted to be the best. I just wanted to grow all the time. Training, training, clips, clips, training, matches... Today, I think I am, above all, a fulfilled referee. But I still want to be the one who is on top. I don't use the word "best" on purpose because it's hard to say who is the best. One day this referee may have a very difficult match, officiate it brilliantly and be the best for many, while for others the best is someone else. But I would like to remain at the forefront and show that Polish referees are a very cool brand. I am also glad that we managed to attract so many referees. Today, some international training camps have 8 or 9 people from Poland. I remember years, for example 2011, when I was completely alone on such courses. And I know what it feels like today when there are almost 10 people. This year it is an incredibly strong group. Two more people are joining: Lukasz Kuzma and Damian Kos, who will become FIFA referees. It's cool because there will be many of us again at the UEFA training camp in Cyprus in January. These are the things that make me happy today. Some might say it's a bit strange, but that's how it is sometimes. Once you reach the top, you start to enjoy other, slightly smaller things. And I still find something in refereeing that gives me satisfaction.

Source: TVP Sport/Rafal Rostkowski

UEFA Women’s Champions League 2023/24 – Group Stage (Matchday 4)

20 December 2023 

AFC Ajax – Bayern München
Referee: Cheryl Foster WAL (photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Ceri Williams WAL
Assistant Referee 2: Victoria Finlay NIR
Fourth Official: Rebecca Welch ENG
Referee Observer: Sandra Renon FRA

AS Roma – Paris St. Germain
Referee: Ivana Martinčić CRO
Assistant Referee 1: Sanja Rodjak-Karšić CRO
Assistant Referee 2: Maja Petravić CRO
Fourth Official: Sabina Bolić CRO
Referee Observer: Rhona Daly IRL

BK Häcken – Chelsea FCW
Referee: Ewa Augustyn POL
Assistant Referee 1: Paulina Baranowska POL
Assistant Referee 2: Aleksandra Ulanowska POL
Fourth Official: Monika Mularczyk POL
Referee Observer: Sofia Karagiorgi CYP

Real Madrid – Paris FC
Referee: Alina Peşu ROU
Assistant Referee 1: Daniela Constantinescu ROU
Assistant Referee 2: Mihaela Tepusa ROU
Fourth Official: Cristina Trandafir ROU
Referee Observer: Carina Vitulano ITA

21 December 2023
Eintracht Frankfurt – SL Benfica
Referee: Frida Klarlund DEN
Assistant Referee 1: Katrine Wulff DEN
Assistant Referee 2: Amina Gutschi AUT
Fourth Official: Nanna Andersen DEN
Referee Observer: Katarzyna Wierzbowska POL

SK Brann – Olympique Lyonnais
Referee: Volha Blotskaya BLR
Assistant Referee 1: Anastasiya Danchenko BLR
Assistant Referee 2: Nargis Magau KAZ
Fourth Official: Elvira Nurmustafina KAZ
Referee Observer: Silvia Spinelli ITA

FC Barcelona – FC Rosengard
Referee: Eleni Antoniou GRE
Assistant Referee 1: Georgia Komisopoulou GRE
Assistant Referee 2: Zoi Papadopoulou GRE
Fourth Official: Eirini Pingiou GRE
Referee Observer: Aneliya Sinabova BUL

Slavia Praha – Sankt Pölten 

Referee: Ivana Projkovska MKD
Assistant Referee 1: Vjolca Izeiri MKD
Assistant Referee 2: Ainhoa Fernandez AND
Fourth Official: Irena Velevačkoska MKD
Referee Observer: Anri Hänninen FIN

FIFA cancelled the referee debrief after Marciniak's performance

We have nothing to talk about - said the FIFA refereeing authorities after Szymon Marciniak's performance in the match Fluminense - Al Ahly (2-0), the first semi-final of the Club World Cup. FIFA cancelled the meeting at which the Pole's officiating was to be discussed because... he did not make any mistakes and did not make any important decision that would arouse controversy among experts. In FIFA and UEFA, the standards are such that the observer discusses their work with the referees most often right after the match, if there is time, possibly after dinner, or the next morning. During tournaments, observers and possibly members of the FIFA or UEFA Referees' Committees come to the referee's locker room right after the match to congratulate them or say something briefly, but errors, controversies or particularly interesting situations are usually discussed during so-called debriefings. They are meetings attended by all or almost all referees appointed to the tournament to learn from their own or their colleagues' mistakes, discuss controversies based on video clips and try to find the best possible course of action in future similar situations. Usually, several to a dozen different situations are discussed, because in fact, this is how many referees make incorrect, controversial, or simply interesting decisions during one match. Fans usually do not know about them, because they are often decisions about details that are difficult for non-refereeing people to notice, or because most of these mistakes do not have much significance or impact on the result or course of the match. However, they are important for the assessment and development of the referees. 

The decision made by the FIFA refereeing authorities after the Fluminense-Al Ahly match is an absolute exception. Matches are extremely rare in which experts, referee instructors or members of referee authorities do not find any significant error or important controversial situation that should be discussed at a meeting with all referees. Such a unique situation happened to Szymon Marciniak. The semi-final of the Club World Cup in Saudi Arabia led in such a way that the FIFA refereeing authorities decided that it was impossible to make interesting clips from this match with decisions that were wrong, controversial, or simply interesting for other reasons, because there were no such decisions in this match. There have been situations that can be shown to beginner and intermediate referees, perhaps those aspiring to promotion to national, level, but certainly not to professional, international referees or even top referees in the world, and only such referees participate in this tournament. The Club World Championship is a tournament for candidates to referee the 2026 World Cup in the USA, Mexico and Canada. Therefore, FIFA - in order not to waste the time of judges and instructors on meetings about situations that were simple for them and obvious decisions - canceled the debriefing after the first semi-final. This, however, does not mean that Marciniak had nothing to do in this match. On the contrary - he made a decisive decision for the match. With the score 0-0, in the 67th minute of the game, he gave a penalty kick to Fluminense, from which John Arias scored a goal to make it 1-0. Egyptian Al Ahly fans protested but replays of the situation from various cameras confirm that the foul was obvious and any decision other than a self-imposed penalty kick would expose the referee to a downgrade for his work. Also, the possible awarding of a penalty kick after VAR intervention would have an adverse impact on Marciniak's assessment because he was not covered in this situation, the foul did not happen behind his back, and he did not have to deal with something more important at the same time, and therefore: responsibility for making the right decision it was 100 percent his. Marcelo was winning the battle for position - although he was at a similar distance from the ball as Pau, the Brazilian was the first to put his foot to the ball and in front of the opponent. When most of Marcelo's leg was in front of Pau, when the Brazilian was already placing his foot near the ball, the Al Ahly player nudged his leg, pushing it in such a way that Marcelo's foot on the pitch twisted, which could have caused pain and certainly caused him to fall, i.e. interruption of the action in a careless manner. This is best seen in the replays from the slow-motion camera placed behind the goal line of Al Ahly's goal, in front of the scene of the incident.

Source: TVP/Rafal Rostkowski

Ligue 1 referee salaries in France

Ligue 1 referees receive a fixed monthly remuneration plus match fees. The first amount is a preparation allowance that pays to €6,497 for federal referees, €4,188 for “Elite” assistants and €2,291 for “non-Elite” assistants. Match fees vary, depending on the roles of the match officials. The referee receives €3,029 per match, the assistant referees receive €1,478 and a video assistant referee (VAR) is paid €1,000. In France, the budget allocated for refereeing is more than 25 million euros.

There are 20 Federal 1 referees operating in Ligue 1 for the 2023/24 season. They are assigned about 15 first division matches per season as referees. Based on the above amounts, it is estimated that F1 referees would receive around €50,000 in match fees per season. Adding this to the €58,473 annual allowance will lead to an average salary of around €108,000 per season for a Ligue 1 referee.

Source: Arbitrez-Vous

FIFA Club World Cup 2023 – Semi-finals

18 December 2023
Fluminense FC – Al Ahly
Referee: Szymon Marciniak (POL, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Tomasz Listkiewicz (POL)
Assistant Referee 2: Adam Kupsik (POL)
Fourth Official: Tori Penso (USA)
Reserve AR: Brooke Mayo (USA)
VAR: Tomasz Kwiatkowski (POL)
AVAR: Alejandro Hernandez Hernandez (ESP)
OVAR: Jorge Urrego (VEN)
SVAR: Khamis Al-Marri (QAT)

19 December 2023
Urawa Red Diamonds – Manchester City
Referee: Mohammed Al Hoish (KSA)
Assistant Referee 1: Khalaf Al Shammari (KSA)
Assistant Referee 2: Yasir Al Sultan (KSA)
Fourth Official: Campbell-Kirk Kawana-Waugh (NZL)
Reserve AR: Arsenio Marengula (MOZ)
VAR: Adil Zourak (MAR)
AVAR: Ivan Bebek (CRO)
OVAR: Kathryn Nesbitt (USA)
SVAR: Tatiana Guzman (NCA)

FIFA Futsal World Cup 2024 – Candidate Referees

Uzbekistan, 14 September - 6 October 2024

AFC

1. Andrew Best (AUS, 1984)
2. Ryan Shepheard (AUS, 1977)
3. Hussain Al Bahhar (BHR, 1980)
4. An Ran (CHN, 1980)
5. Liu Jianqiao (CHN, 1984)
6. Zari Fathi (IRN, 1988)
7. Ebrahim Mehrabi (IRN, 1982)
8. Gelareh Nazemi (IRN, 1984, photo)
9. Hasan Mussa (IRQ, 1980)
10. Hiroyuki Kobayashi (JPN, 1980)
11. Eisa Abdulhoussain (KUW, 1985)
12. Abdulaziz Alsarraf (KUW, 1989)
13. Pornnarong Grairod (THA, 1984)
14. Fahad Al-Hosani (UAE, 1979)
15. Nikita Afinogenov (UZB, 1993)
16. Anatoli Rubakov (UZB, 1986)

CAF
1. Ammar Balahouane (ALG, 1985)
2. Eric Elingui (CMR, 1982)
3. Abel Kouame (CIV, 1986)
4. Tarek El-Khataby (EGY, 1977)
5. Mohamed Hassan (EGY, 1977)
6. Khalid Hnich (MAR, 1981)
7. Dung Musa (NGA, 1985)
8. Aymen Kammoun (TUN, 1984)

CONCACAF
1. Chris Grabas (CAN, 1982)
2. Diego Molina (CRC, 1986)
3. Adrian Martinez (CUB, 1989)
4. Ricardo Lay (PAN, 1987)
5. Roberto Lopez (PAN, 1989)
6. Jose Barrera (SLV, 1989)
7. Jorge Flores (SLV, 1981)
8. Josh Wilkens (USA, 1982)

CONMEBOL
1. Lautaro Romero (ARG, 1991)
2. Andres Pena (ARG, 1984)
3. Maria Pinto (ARG, 1986)
4. Henry Gutierrez (BOL, 1981)
5. Ricardo Amaral (BRA, 1983)
6. Anelize Schulz (BRA, 1985)
7. Cristian Espindola (CHI, 1979)
8. Valeria Palma (CHI, 1990)
9. Yuri Garcia (COL, 1985)
10. Daniel Manrique (COL, 1994)
11. Jonathan Herbas (ECU, 1988)
12. Rafael Villalba (PAR, 1992)
13. Rolly Rojas (PER, 1980)
14. Ulises Ureta (PER, 1991)
15. Daniel Rodriguez (URU, 1979)
16. Oriana Zambrano (VEN, 1995)

OFC
1. Antony Riley (NZL, 1985)
2. Chris Sinclair (NZL, 1986)
3. Rex Kamusu (SOL, 1984)
4. Philip Mana (SOL, 1984)

UEFA
1. Nikola Jelic (CRO, 1982)
2. Vedran Babic (CRO, 1987)
3. Ondrej Cerny (CZE, 1979)
4. David Nissen (DEN, 1986)
5. Marc Birkett (ENG, 1978)
6. Grigori Osomkov (EST, 1985)
7. Victor Berg-Chaix (FRA, 1985)
8. Cedric Pelissier (FRA, 1976)
9. Nicola Manzione (ITA, 1983)
10. Damian Grabowski (POL, 1991)
11. Eduardo Coelho (POR, 1979)
12. Cristiano Santos (POR, 1989)
13. Petar Radojcic (SRB, 1981)
14. Juan Cordero Gallardo (ESP, 1978)
15. Alejandro Martinez Flores (ESP, 1977)
16. Ales Mocnik Peric (SVN, 1986)
17. Dejan Veselic (SVN, 1986)
18. Daniel Matkovic (SUI, 1989)
19. Kamil Cetin (TUR, 1984)
20. Denys Kutsyi (UKR, 1986)

CONMEBOL Olympic Qualifiers 2024

Venezuela, 20 January - 11 February 2024

Argentina
Referee: Yael Falcon (photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Cristian Navarro
Assistant Referee 2: Facundo Rodriguez

Bolivia
Referee: Gery Vargas
Assistant Referee 1: Jose Antelo
Assistant Referee 2: Edwar Saavedra

Brazil
Referee: Flavio de Souza
Assistant Referee 1: Nailton Souza
Assistant Referee 2: Luanderson de Lima

Chile
Referee: Cristian Garay
Assistant Referee 1: Miguel Rocha
Assistant Referee 2: Juan Serrano

Colombia
Referee: John Ospina
Assistant Referee 1: John Leon
Assistant Referee 2: John Gallego

Ecuador
Referee: Augusto Aragon
Assistant Referee 1: Ricardo Baren
Assistant Referee 2: Andres Tola

Paraguay
Referee: Derlis Lopez
Assistant Referee 1: Roberto Canete
Assistant Referee 2: Jose Cuevas

Peru
Referee: Roberto Perez
Assistant Referee 1: Enrique Pinto
Assistant Referee 2: Stephen Atoche

Uruguay
Referee: Gustavo Tejera
Assistant Referee 1: Carlos Barreiro
Assistant Referee 2: Andres Nievas

Venezuela
Referee: Alexis Herrera
Assistant Referee 1: Lubin Torrealba
Assistant Referee 2: Alberto Ponte

Support Referee
Felipe Gonzalez (CHI)

Support Assistant Referees
Carlos Tapia (BOL)
Pablo Llarena (URU)

FIFA Futsal World Cup 2024 Qualifiers (UEFA) – Elite Round (Matchday 6)

20 December 2023

Italy – Spain
Referee 1: Nikola Jelić CRO (photo)
Referee 2: Mislav Džeko CRO
Third Referee: Dino Kramar CRO
Timekeeper: Giovanni Zannola ITA
Referee Observer: Pascal Fritz FRA

Poland – Ukraine
Referee 1: Juan Cordero Gallardo ESP
Referee 2: David Urdanoz Apezteguia ESP
Third Referee: Javier Moreno Reina ESP
Timekeeper: Dominik Cipinski POL
Referee Observer: Edi Sunjić CRO

Belgium – Serbia
Referee 1: Ondrej Černy CZE
Referee 2: Jan Kresta CZE
Third Referee: Radim Cep CZE
Timekeeper: Juan Boelen BEL
Referee Observer: Gabriel Gherman ROU

Slovakia – Croatia
Referee 1: Nicola Manzione ITA
Referee 2: Chiara Perona ITA
Third Referee: Martina Piccolo ITA
Timekeeper: Ladislav Angyal SVK
Referee Observer: Stefan Tivold SVN

Georgia – Portugal
Referee 1: Stefan Vrijens BEL
Referee 2: Yasin Alageyik BEL
Third Referee: Jiri Bergs BEL
Timekeeper: Grigol Bliadze GEO
Referee Observer: Sebastian Stawicki POL

Romania – Kazakhstan
Referee 1: David Glavonjic SWE
Referee 2: George Jansizian SWE
Third Referee: Kastriot Gerxhaliu SWE
Timekeeper: Bogdan Hanceariuc ROU
Referee Observer: Stefan Weber GER

Netherlands – Azerbaijan
Referee 1: Dominykas Norkus LTU
Referee 2: Mantas Pomeckis LTU
Third Referee: Irmantas Kaprasovas LTU
Timekeeper: Joern Te Kloeze NED
Referee Observer: Karel Henych CZE

Germany – France
Referee 1: Denys Kutsyi UKR
Referee 2: Mariia Myslovska UKR
Third Referee: Orest Dutsiak UKR
Timekeeper: Jacob Pawlowski GER
Referee Observer: Darren Coombes IRL

Czechia – Slovenia
Referee 1: Vasilios Christodoulis GRE
Referee 2: Antonios Adamopoulos GRE
Third Referee: Panagiotis Ntalas GRE
Timekeeper: Filip Nesnera CZE
Referee Observer: Romuald Bourgois FRA

Finland – Armenia
Referee 1: Marjan Mladenovski MKD
Referee 2: Josip Barton MKD
Third Referee: Done Ristovski MKD
Timekeeper: Janne Määttänen FIN
Referee Observer: Igor Babovic SWE

FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup 2024

UAE, 15-25 February 2024

Referees

AFC

1. Abdulaziz Abdullah (KUW, 1975)
2. Yuichi Hatano (JPN, 1981)
3. Turki Al Salehi (OMA, 1976, photo)
4. Ibrahim Al-Raeesi (UAE, 1984)

CAF
1. Said Hachim (MAD, 1979)
2. Louis Siave (MRI, 1988)
3. Jelili Ogunmuyima (NGA, 1979)

CONCACAF
1. Juan Angeles (DOM, 1979)
2. Gumercindo Batista (PAN, 1980)
3. Gonzalo Carballo (SLV, 1982)

CONMEBOL
1. Mariano Romo (ARG, 1981)
2. Lucas Estevao (BRA, 1985)
3. Jorge Gomez (COL, 1986)
4. Micke Palomino (PER, 1981)
5. Aecio Fernandez (URU, 1983)

OFC
1. Aurelien Planchais-Godefroy (TAH, 1981)

UEFA
1. Ingilab Mammadov (AZE, 1983)
2. Vladimir Tashkov (BUL, 1987)
3. Francisco De Oses Bumedien (ESP, 1992)
4. Saverio Bottalico (ITA, 1981)
5. Eduards Borisevics (LVA, 1982)
6. Vitali Gomolko (LTU, 1989)
7. Lukasz Ostrowski (POL, 1985) 

8. Sergio Gomes (POR, 1979)