CONMEBOL Women’s Libertadores 2024

Paraguay, 3-19 October 2024

Referee: Roberta Echeverria (ARG, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Gisela Trucco (ARG)
Assistant Referee 2: Carla Lopez (ARG)

Referee: Adriana Farfan (BOL)
Assistant Referee 1: Elizabeth Blanco (BOL)
Assistant Referee 2: Maria Cabezas (BOL)

Referee: Charly Straud (BRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Anne Gomes (BRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Brigida Cirilo (BRA)

Referee: Dione Rissios (CHI)
Assistant Referee 1: Marcia Castillo (CHI)
Assistant Referee 2: Yomara Salazar (CHI)

Referee: Jenny Arias (COL)
Assistant Referee 1: Mayra Sanchez (COL)
Assistant Referee 2: Jenny Torres (COL)

Referee: Marcelly Zambrano (ECU)
Assistant Referee 1: Viviana Segura (ECU)
Assistant Referee 2: Stefania Paguay (ECU)

Referee: Zulma Quinonez (PAR)
Assistant Referee 1: Laura Miranda (PAR)
Assistant Referee 2: Nadia Weiler (PAR)

Referee: Elizabeth Tintaya (PER)
Assistant Referee 1: Mariana Aquino (PER)
Assistant Referee 2: Diana Ruiz (PER)

Referee: Nadia Fuques (URU)
Assistant Referee 1: Adela Sanchez (URU)
Assistant Referee 2: Sofia Sarzay (URU)

Referee: Stefani Escobar (VEN)
Assistant Referee 1: Elibith Higuera (VEN)
Assistant Referee 2: Thaity Dugarte (VEN)

Support Match Officials
Referee: Alejandra Quisbert (BOL)
Assistant Referee: Francis Garcia (VEN)

FIFA Futsal World Cup 2024 – Round of 16 (Matches 41-44)

26 September 2024

Iran – Morocco
Referee 1: Daniel Matkovic SUI (photo)
Referee 2: Nikola Jelic CRO
Third Official: Anelize Schulz BRA
Fourth Official: Oriana Zambrano VEN
Timekeeper: Eduardo Coelho POR

Referee Assessor: Massimo Cumbo ITA

Portugal – Kazakhstan

Referee 1: Lautaro Romero ARG

Referee 2: Roberto Lopez PAN

Third Official: Ricardo Lay PAN

Fourth Official: Josh Wilkens USA

Timekeeper: Reinier Fiss CUB

Referee Assessor: Shane Butler USA

27 September 2024
Thailand – France
Referee 1: Antony Riley NZL
Referee 2: Chris Sinclair NZL
Third Official: Damian Grabowski POL

Fourth Official: Fahad Al-Hosani UAE

Timekeeper: Nicola Manzione ITA

Referee Assessor: Massimo Cumbo ITA

Argentina – Croatia

Referee 1: Anatoliy Rubakov UZB

Referee 2: Ryan Shepheard AUS

Third Official: Ebrahim Mehrabi IRN

Fourth Official: Pornnarong Grairod THA

Timekeeper: Truong Quoc Dung VIE

Referee Assessor: Yasuhiro Matsuzaki JPN

UEFA Europa League 2024/2025 – Group Stage (Matchday 1)

25 September 2024

Alkmaar – Elfsborg
Referee: Juxhin Xhaja ALB (photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Arbër Pema ALB
Assistant Referee 2: Rejdi Avdo ALB
Fourth Official: Albert Doda ALB
VAR: Stuart Attwell ENG
AVAR: Peter Bankes ENG
Referee Observer: Matteo Trefoloni ITA

Bodo Glimt – FC Porto
Referee: Orel Grinfeld ISR
Assistant Referee 1: Roi Hassan ISR
Assistant Referee 2: Idan Yarkoni ISR
Fourth Official: Gal Leibovitz ISR
VAR: Ziv Adler ISR
AVAR: Eli Hakmon ISR
Referee Observer: Helmut Fleischer GER

Manchester United – FC Twente
Referee: Simone Sozza ITA
Assistant Referee 1: Giovanni Baccini ITA
Assistant Referee 2: Davide Imperiale ITA
Fourth Official: Matteo Marcenaro ITA
VAR: Daniele Chiffi ITA
AVAR: Luca Pairetto ITA
Referee Observer: Carlos Clos Gómez ESP

Galatasaray – PAOK
Referee: Alejandro Hernández Hernández ESP
Assistant Referee 1: José Naranjo Pérez ESP
Assistant Referee 2: Diego Sánchez Rojo ESP
Fourth Official: José Munuera Montero ESP
VAR: Carlos del Cerro Grande ESP
AVAR: Guillermo Cuadra Fernández ESP
Referee Observer: Alan Sant MLT

Dynamo Kyiv – Lazio
Referee: Anastásios Sidirópoulos GRE
Assistant Referee 1: Polychrónis Kostarás GRE
Assistant Referee 2: Lázaros Dimitriádis GRE
Fourth Official: Vasílios Fotiás GRE
VAR: Ángelos Evangélou GRE
AVAR: Bram Van Driessche BEL
Referee Observer: Michal Beneš CZE

PFK Ludogorets – Slavia Praha
Referee: Jérôme Brisard FRA
Assistant Referee 1: Alexis Auger FRA
Assistant Referee 2: Aurélien Drouet FRA
Fourth Official: Marc Bollengier FRA
VAR: Éric Wattellier FRA
AVAR: Jérémie Pignard FRA
Referee Observer: John Ward IRL

Midtjylland – Hoffenheim
Referee: Nenad Minaković SRB
Assistant Referee 1: Nikola Borović SRB
Assistant Referee 2: Boško Božović SRB
Fourth Official: Milan Mitić SRB
VAR: Momčilo Marković SRB
AVAR: Nejc Kajtazovič SVN
Referee Observer: David Fernández Borbalán ESP

OGC Nice – Real Sociedad
Referee: Morten Hansen DEN
Assistant Referee 1: Dennis Rasmussen DEN
Assistant Referee 2: Steffen Bramsen DEN
Fourth Official: Mikkel Redder DEN
VAR: Jonas Hansen DEN
AVAR: Tiago Martins POR
Referee Observer: Boško Jovanetić SRB

RSC Anderlecht – Ferencvarosi TC
Referee: Julian Weinberger AUT
Assistant Referee 1: Andreas Heidenreich AUT
Assistant Referee 2: Maximilian Kolbitsch AUT
Fourth Official: Stefan Ebner AUT
VAR: Alan Kijas AUT
AVAR: Benoît Millot FRA
Referee Observer: Edward Foley IRL

26 September 2024
Fenerbahce – Union St. Gilloise
Referee: Benoît Bastien FRA
Assistant Referee 1: Hicham Zakrani FRA
Assistant Referee 2: Aurélien Berthomieu FRA
Fourth Official: Mathieu Vernice FRA
VAR: Bastien Dechepy FRA
AVAR: Romain Lissorgue FRA
Referee Observer: Gediminas Mažeika LTU

Malmo FF – Rangers FC
Referee: Luís Godinho POR
Assistant Referee 1: Rui Teixeira POR
Assistant Referee 2: Pedro Mota POR
Fourth Official: André Narciso POR
VAR: Tiago Martins POR
AVAR: Jonas Hansen DEN
Referee Observer: Paweł Gil POL

AS Roma – Athletic Bilbao
Referee: Georgi Kabakov BUL
Assistant Referee 1: Martin Margaritov BUL
Assistant Referee 2: Diyan Valkov BUL
Fourth Official: Radoslav Gidzhenov BUL
VAR: Dragomir Draganov BUL
AVAR: Momčilo Marković SRB
Referee Observer: Haim Yaakov ISR

AFC Ajax – Besiktas
Referee: John Brooks ENG
Assistant Referee 1: Simon Bennett ENG
Assistant Referee 2: Daniel Robathan ENG
Fourth Official: Tim Robinson ENG
VAR: Stuart Attwell ENG
AVAR: Peter Bankes ENG
Referee Observer: Markus Strömbergsson SWE

Eintracht Frankfurt – Viktoria Plzen
Referee: Mykola Balakin UKR
Assistant Referee 1: Oleksandr Berkut UKR
Assistant Referee 2: Viktor Matyash UKR
Fourth Official: Vitaliy Romanov UKR
VAR: Luca Pairetto ITA
AVAR: Ángelos Evangélou GRE
Referee Observer: Stefan Johannesson SWE

Tottenham Hotspur – Qarabag FK
Referee: Willy Delajod FRA
Assistant Referee 1: Erwan Finjean FRA
Assistant Referee 2: Philippe Jeanne FRA
Fourth Official: Thomas Léonard FRA
VAR: Benoît Millot FRA
AVAR: Alan Kijas AUT
Referee Observer: Lucílio Batista POR

SC Braga – Maccabi Tel Aviv
Referee: Matej Jug SVN
Assistant Referee 1: Matej Žunič SVN
Assistant Referee 2: Manuel Vidali SVN
Fourth Official: Aleksandar Matkovič SVN
VAR: Nejc Kajtazovič SVN
AVAR: Asmir Sagrkovič SVN
Referee Observer: Augustus Constantin ROU

Olympique Lyonnais – Olympiakos SFP
Referee: Lawrence Visser BEL
Assistant Referee 1: Rien Vanyzere BEL
Assistant Referee 2: Thibaud Nijssen BEL
Fourth Official: Simon Bourdeaud’hui BEL
VAR: Bram Van Driessche BEL
AVAR: Daniele Chiffi ITA
Referee Observer: Stefan Messner AUT

FCSB – RFS
Referee: Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea ESP
Assistant Referee 1: Iker de Francisco Grijalba ESP
Assistant Referee 2: Alfredo Rodríguez Moreno ESP
Fourth Official: Javier Alberola Rojas ESP
VAR: César Soto Grado ESP
AVAR: Valentín Pizarro Gómez ESP
Referee Observer: Thomas Einwaller AUT

Euro 2024: UEFA assessed Cucurella handball as missed penalty kick

More than two months after Euro 2024, the UEFA Referees Committee has told their international referees attending the Summer Course that the Cucurella handball in the quarter-final Germany-Spain should have resulted in a penalty kick. This instruction has been included in the latest review by the referees’ body, which periodically analyses European matches - whether at national team or club level – to uniformize the criteria and ensure that referees make the same decisions on similar plays. In the document, to which Relevo has had access, UEFA is blunt in its explanations: there was an error both for referee Anthony Taylor, who did not award the penalty kick after the Spanish player's handball, and for the VAR, for not intervening and suggesting a video review to the referee.

“Following the latest UEFA guidelines, a handball contact that stops a shot on goal should be penalized more strictly, and in most cases a penalty kick should be awarded, unless the defender's arm is very close to the body or across the body”, the comment said. “In this case, the defender stops the shot on goal with his arm, which is not very close to the body, making it bigger, so a penalty kick should have been awarded”, UEFA added. However, the European refereeing authorities do not consider that Marc Cucurella should have been given a yellow card: “No disciplinary action is required”, they concluded. The same criteria should have been included in the match report that the appointed UEFA observer, in this case the chairman of the Referees Committee, Roberto Rosetti, prepared after the game and which the referees involved in the match received, as usual, along with their marks for the match. That match between the recent European champions and the tournament hosts in Stuttgart resulted in key match incidents for both referee and the VAR, reflected in their marks.

Source: Relevo

FIFA Futsal World Cup 2024 – Round of 16 (Matches 37-40)

24 September 2024

Brazil – Costa Rica
Referee 1: Juan Cordero Gallardo ESP (photo)
Referee 2: Nicola Manzione ITA
Third Official: Damian Grabowski POL
Fourth Official: Ondrej Cerny CZE
Timekeeper: Alejandro Martinez Flores ESP

Referee Assessor: Massimo Cumbo ITA

Netherlands – Ukraine

Referee 1: Daniel Rodriguez URU 

Referee 2: Daniel Manrique COL

Third Official: Diego Molina CRC

Fourth Official: Jorge Flores SLV

Timekeeper: Rolly Rojas PER

Referee Assessor: Yasuhiro Matsuzaki JPN

25 September 2024

Spain – Venezuela

Referee 1: An Ran CHN

Referee 2: Hiroyuki Kobayashi JPN

Third Official: Cristiano Santos POR

Fourth Official: Lautaro Romero ARG

Timekeeper: Liu Jianqiao CHN

Referee Assessor: Shane Butler USA

Paraguay – Afghanistan

Referee 1: Mohamed Hassan EGY

Referee 2: Tarek El-Khataby EGY

Third Official: Aymen Kammoun TUN

Fourth Official: Khalid Hnich MAR

Timekeeper: Dejan Veselic SVN

Referee Assessor: Perry Gautier BEL

CONMEBOL Libertadores 2024 – Quarter-finals (Second Leg)

24-26 September 2024

River Plate – Colo Colo
Referee: Andres Matonte URU (photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Nicolás Taran URU
Assistant Referee 2: Carlos Barreiro URU
Fourth Official: José Burgos URU
VAR: Leodan González URU
AVAR 1: Christian Ferreyra URU
AVAR 2: Richard Trinidad URU
Referee Assessor: Victor Carrillo PER
VAR Supervisor: Roberto Silvera URU

Atletico Mineiro – Fluminense
Referee: Wilmar Roldan COL
Assistant Referee 1: John León COL
Assistant Referee 2: John Gallego COL
Fourth Official: Carlos Ortega COL
VAR: John Perdomo COL
AVAR 1: Mauricio Perez COL
AVAR 2: Heider Castro COL
Referee Assessor: Hector Baldassi ARG
VAR Supervisor: Claudio Rios CHI

Sao Paulo – Botafogo
Referee: Darío Herrera ARG
Assistant Referee 1: Ezequiel Brailovsky ARG
Assistant Referee 2: Cristian Navarro ARG
Fourth Official: Maximiliano Ramírez ARG
VAR: Mauro Vigliano ARG
AVAR 1: Jorge Balino ARG
AVAR 2: Nicolás Lamolina ARG
Referee Assessor: Julio Bascunan CHI
VAR Supervisor: Sebastian Restrepo COL

Penarol – Flamengo
Referee: Facundo Tello ARG
Assistant Referee 1: Juan Belatti ARG
Assistant Referee 2: Gabriel Chade ARG
Fourth Official: Pablo Echavarría ARG
VAR: Silvio Trucco ARG
AVAR 1: Héctor Paletta ARG
AVAR 2: Hernán Mastrangelo ARG
Referee Assessor: Jose Carpio ECU
VAR Supervisor: Angel Sanchez ARG

CONMEBOL Sudamericana 2024 – Quarter-finals (Second Leg)

24-26 September 2024

Corinthians – Fortaleza
Referee: Piero Maza CHI (photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Claudio Urrutia CHI
Assistant Referee 2: Miguel Rocha CHI
Fourth Official: Manuel Vergara CHI
VAR: Juan Lara CHI
AVAR 1: José Cabero CHI
AVAR 2: Edson Cisternas CHI
Referee Assessor: Manuel Bernal PAR
VAR Supervisor: Wilson Lamouroux COL

Independiente Medellin – Lanus
Referee: Alexis Herrera VEN
Assistant Referee 1: Jorge Urrego VEN
Assistant Referee 2: Tulio Moreno VEN
Fourth Official: Yender Herrera VEN
VAR: Juan Soto VEN
AVAR 1: Andrés Cunha URU
AVAR 2: Santiago Fernández URU
Referee Assessor: Jorge Mercado PAR
VAR Supervisor: Emerson de Carvalho BRA

Cruzeiro – Libertad
Referee: Felipe Gonzalez CHI
Assistant Referee 1: José Retamal CHI
Assistant Referee 2: Juan Serrano CHI
Fourth Official: Fernando Vejar CHI
VAR: Rodrigo Carvajal CHI
AVAR 1: Francisco Gilabert CHI
AVAR 2: Alan Sandoval CHI
Referee Assessor: Pedro Saucedo BOL
VAR Supervisor: Carlos Pastorino URU

Racing – Atletico Paranaense
Referee: Andres Rojas COL
Assistant Referee 1: Alexander Guzman COL
Assistant Referee 2: David Fuentes COL
Fourth Official: Bismarks Santiago COL
VAR: John Ospina COL
AVAR 1: Yadir Acuna COL
AVAR 2: Leonard Mosquera COL
Referee Assessor: Miguel Nievas URU 

VAR Supervisor: Wilson Avila ECU

UEFA Women’s Champions League 2024/2025 – Second Round (Second Leg)

25-26 September 2024

VfL Wolfsburg – ACF Fiorentina
Referee: Stephanie Frappart FRA (photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Melissa Rossignol FRA
Assistant Referee 2: Elodie Coppola FRA
Fourth Official: Emeline Rochebiliere FRA
Referee Observer: Galina Doneva BUL

Slavia Praha – Galatasaray
Referee: Hristiyana Guteva BUL
Assistant Referee 1: Anita Vad HUN
Assistant Referee 2: Pavleta Rashkova BUL
Fourth Official: Kristina Georgieva BUL
Referee Observer: Silvia Tea Spinelli ITA

Valerenga – Anderlecht
Referee: Alina Peşu ROU
Assistant Referee 1: Daniela Constantinescu ROU
Assistant Referee 2: Catalina Nan ROU
Fourth Official: Roxana Recorean ROU
Referee Observer: Jenny Palmqvist SWE

SL Benfica – Hammarby IF
Referee: Désirée Grundbacher SUI
Assistant Referee 1: Susann Küng SUI
Assistant Referee 2: Belinda Brem SUI
Fourth Official: Franziska Wildfeuer GER
Referee Observer: Rhona Daly IRL

Paris St. Germain – Juventus FC
Referee: Frida Klarlund DEN
Assistant Referee 1: Fie Bruun DEN
Assistant Referee 2: Monica Lokkeberg NOR
Fourth Official: Nanna Andersen DEN
Referee Observer: Blaženka Logarušić CRO

ŽNK Mura – SKN St. Pölten
Referee: Eleni Antoniou GRE
Assistant Referee 1: Georgia Komisopoulou GRE
Assistant Referee 2: Zoi Papadopoulou GRE
Fourth Official: Eirini Pingiou GRE
Referee Observer: Teodora Albon ROU

Servette FC Chênois – AS Roma
Referee: Jelena Cvetković SRB
Assistant Referee 1: Ivana Jovanović SRB
Assistant Referee 2: Aleksandra Kostić SRB
Fourth Official: Milica Milanović SRB
Referee Observer: Antonia Kokotou GRE

FC Twente – ŽNK Osijek
Referee: Olatz Rivera Olmedo ESP
Assistant Referee 1: Ainhoa Fernández AND
Assistant Referee 2: Iragartze Fernández Esesúmaga ESP
Fourth Official: Amy Peñalver Pearce ESP
Referee Observer: Ingrid Jonsson SWE

Real Madrid – Sporting CP
Referee: Shona Shukrula NED
Assistant Referee 1: Martina Boer NED
Assistant Referee 2: Ashley de Haan NED
Fourth Official: Julia Van Es NED
Referee Observer: Dagmar Damková CZE

Manchester City WFC – Paris FC
Referee: Ewa Augustyn POL
Assistant Referee 1: Paulina Baranowska POL
Assistant Referee 2: Julia Bukarowicz POL
Fourth Official: Anna Adamska POL
Referee Observer: Eleni Kiriou GRE

Celtic FCW – Vorskla Poltava
Referee: Lina Lehtovaara FIN
Assistant Referee 1: Heini Hyvönen FIN
Assistant Referee 2: Karolin Kaivoja EST
Fourth Official: Minka Vekkeli FIN
Referee Observer: Snježana Fočić CRO

Arsenal WFC – BK Häcken
Referee: Catarina Campos POR
Assistant Referee 1: Sandrine Santos POR
Assistant Referee 2: Raquel Pinho POR
Fourth Official: Ines Andrada POR
Referee Observer: Elke Günther GER

FIFA Futsal World Cup 2024 – Group Stage (Matches 33-36)

22 September 2024

Panama – Tajikistan
Referee 1: Damian Grabowski POL (photo)
Referee 2: Alejandro Martinez Flores ESP
Third Official: Nicola Manzione ITA
Fourth Official: Ondrej Cerny CZE

Timekeeper: Mohamed Hassan EGY

Referee Assessor: Massimo Cumbo ITA

Morocco – Portugal
Referee 1: Rafael Villalba PAR
Referee 2: Cristian Espindola CHI
Third Official: Daniel Rodriguez URU
Fourth Official: Oriana Zambrano VEN
Timekeeper: Anelize Schulz BRA
Referee Assessor: Yasuhiro Matsuzaki JPN

Venezuela – Guatemala
Referee 1: Daniel Matkovic SUI
Referee 2: Cristiano Santos POR
Third Official: Dejan Veselic SVN
Fourth Official: Nikola Jelic CRO
Timekeeper: Eduardo Coelho POR

Referee Assessor: Perry Gautier BEL

France – Iran

Referee 1: Tarek El-Khataby EGY

Referee 2: Aymen Kammoun TUN

Third Official: Reinier Fiss CUB

Fourth Official: Diego Molina CRC

Timekeeper: Juan Cordero Gallardo ESP

Referee Assessor: Massimo Cumbo ITA

FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Final 2024: Ferrieri Caputi (ITA)

22 September 2024

Final
Korea DPR – Japan
Referee: Maria Ferrieri Caputi ITA (photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Tiziana Trasciatti ITA
Assistant Referee 2: Vanessa Gomes POR
Fourth Official: Casey Reibelt AUS
Reserve AR: Daiana Fernandez URU

Match for Third Place
USA – Netherlands
Referee: Shahenda El-Maghrabi EGY
Assistant Referee 1: Soukaina Hamdi MAR
Assistant Referee 2: Asma Ouahab ALG
Fourth Official: Vincentia Amedome TOG
Reserve AR: Kim Kyoung-Min KOR

Women's Champions League referee says she's sick of being referred to as 'the sexy ref' after closing her social media due to sexist messages

Female referee Emanuela Rusta has revealed she is fed up of being referred to as 'the sexy ref' after officiating in the Women's Champions League.

Rusta, 30, hails from Albania, and after becoming the first woman to referee a men's Albanian SuperLiga match she has made the step up to the European stage in recent months. She has previously been active on social media, posting glamorous photos of herself in a bikini and working out at the gym, but has now shut down her Instagram account due to receiving sexist messages on the platform.

Rusta, who recently refereed the Champions League women's match between Sporting Lisbon and Real Madrid, believes media coverage of her appearance has made it difficult for her to reach the same level as her male counterparts. 'They should focus more on my professionalism than on other things,' she told AFP, as quoted by Marca. Rusta has had to put up with headlines such as 'The sexy referee who raises the temperature' in her homeland, while another report in 2022 claimed she 'stole the show' in a Champions League match, despite only being the fourth official. Rusta added: 'You have to fight hard to be accepted. You have to blow the glass ceiling to pieces'. Despite having to deal with off-field comments about her physical appearance, Rusta feels she is respected on the pitch, and hopes to receive more exciting opportunities in her chosen profession. 'Refereeing is not a question of gender, but of competence,' she stated. 'The (Albanian) Referees Association has always focused on promoting women, so my case is not a coincidence or the end of the process. I hope that the day is not far off when there are four women refereeing a match in the top men's category. Although it is apparently a predominantly male environment, I feel respected and appreciated for the work I do on the field.'

Source: Daily Mail

FIFA Intercontinental Cup – Match 1 (African-Asian-Pacific Cup Play-Off)

22 September 2024

Al Ain – Auckland City
Referee: Mustapha Ghorbal ALG (photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Mokrane Gourari ALG
Assistant Referee 2: Abbes Zerhouni ALG
Fourth Official: Bamlak Tessema ETH
VAR: Ivan Bebek CRO
AVAR: Ovidiu Hategan ROU

Chilean referee Chandia favoured Argentina to get Messi's jersey

Two months after Lionel Messi lifted his second Copa America trophy with Argentina, former FIFA referee Carlos Chandia admitted favoring the Inter Miami icon in the 2007 Copa America semifinals in exchange of his jersey. Argentina had a great run in 2007. With Messi surrounded by stars such as Carlos Tevez, Juan Sebastian Veron and Juan Roman Riquelme, La Albiceleste were looking for their first continental trophy in 14 years. With 16 goals scored and only 3 goals allowed during the competition, Messi and company set up a meeting against Mexico in the semi-final, officiated by Chilean referee Carlos Chandia. Many years later, the official revealed he benefited Argentina in a controversial play involving the 8x Ballon d’Or winner.

“Out of nowhere, Messi lifts a ball and touches it with his hand, but it’s at midfield. There was no goal-scoring chance for the Mexican team or anything like that. So, I told him: ‘This play is a yellow card, but it will cost you your jersey.’ And I didn’t show him the yellow card; there were two and a half minutes left, and the score was 3-0,” Chandia told ESPN F Show in Chile. Later on, the Chilean referee explained the reason behind his controversial decision: “Showing him the yellow card would have taken away his chance to play in the Copa America final. In the end, that yellow card cost me the opportunity to referee the 2007 Copa America final in Venezuela.” According to Chandia, Messi granted the ref’s wish and gifted him his jersey after the game: “He went to leave the jersey in the dressing room afterward. In fact, he wanted to take it off on the field, and I told him: ‘No, no, no; take it to the dressing room.’ And he came to the dressing room with the jersey and left it there for me.” After this episode, Messi was able to play in the Copa America final against Brazil. However, the outcome wasn’t the expected for the Argentine team: La Albiceleste lost 3-0 against the Selecao, leaving Messi trophyless.

Source: Bola VIP

FIFA Futsal World Cup 2024 – Group Stage (Matches 25-32)

20 September 2024

Cuba – Croatia
Referee 1: Nicola Manzione ITA (photo)
Referee 2: Roberto Lopez PAN
Third Official: Rafael Villalba PAR
Fourth Official: Cristian Espindola CHI
Timekeeper: Ricardo Lay PAN

Referee Assessor: Yasuhiro Matsuzaki JPN

Thailand – Brazil

Referee 1: Diego Molina CRC

Referee 2: Ondrej Cerny CZE

Third Official: Alejandro Martinez Flores ESP

Fourth Official: Daniel Matkovic SUI

Timekeeper: Dejan Veselic SVN

Referee Assessor: Massimo Cumbo ITA

Costa Rica – Uzbekistan

Referee 1: Anelize Schulz BRA

Referee 2: Nikola Jelic CRO

Third Official: Eduardo Coelho POR

Fourth Official: Damian Grabowski POL

Timekeeper: Oriana Zambrano VEN

Referee Assessor: Perry Gautier BEL

Netherlands – Paraguay

Referee 1: Hiroyuki Kobayashi JPN

Referee 2: Ryan Shepheard AUS

Third Official: Reinier Fiss CUB

Fourth Official: Juan Cordero Gallardo ESP

Timekeeper: Cristiano Santos POR

Referee Assessor: Massimo Cumbo ITA

21 September 2024
Kazakhstan – New Zealand
Referee 1: Ricardo Lay PAN
Referee 2: Daniel Manrique COL
Third Official: Lautaro Romero ARG
Fourth Official: Roberto Lopez PAN
Timekeeper: Daniel Rodriguez URU

Referee Assessor: Yasuhiro Matsuzaki JPN

Libya – Spain

Referee 1: Fahad Al-Hosani UAE

Referee 2: Ebrahim Mehrabi IRN

Third Official: Anatoliy Rubakov UZB

Fourth Official: An Ran CHN

Timekeeper: Liu Jianqiao CHN

Referee Assessor: Shane Butler USA

Angola – Argentina

Referee 1: Chris Sinclair NZL

Referee 2: Antony Riley NZL

Third Official: Truong Quoc Dung VIE

Fourth Official: Pornnarong Grairod THA

Timekeeper: Nikola Jelic CRO

Referee Assessor: Perry Gautier BEL

Ukraine – Afghanistan

Referee 1: Jorge Flores SLV

Referee 2: Khalid Hnich MAR

Third Official: Josh Wilkens USA

Fourth Official: Liu Jianqiao CHN

Timekeeper: Rolly Rojas PER

Referee Assessor: Shane Butler USA

Supreme Court issues ruling in English referees’ employment status

The Supreme Court has issued its ruling in HMRC v Professional Game Match Officials Ltd (PGMOL), more than a year on from the 2023 hearing, dismissing the refereeing body’s appeal and sending the case back to a First Tier Tribunal (FTT) for the original decision to be remade.

First heard in 2018, the PGMOL case – which carries a liability of around £584,000 – centres on the engagement of sole traders rather than limited company contractors, and so is a crucial litmus test of the application of employment status among the wider self-employed workforce. The ruling, issued on Monday 16th September, further extends a long-running saga which has already been heard at the FTT, the Upper Tier (UTT) of the tax chamber and at the Court of Appeal before reaching the Supreme Court. This case has focussed on the contracts held between PGMOL and its referees, and the overall issue is “whether the contracts formed each time that an offer of a match appointment was accepted by a referee, were contracts of employment” rather than self-employment. At the FTT, it was found that individual match contracts “were not contracts of employment, on the grounds that, first, the mutual obligations were insufficient… and second, PGMOL had insufficient control over the referees under the individual match contracts”. HMRC appealed, though the UTT upheld the original decision. At the Court of Appeal, the judges ruled in HMRC’s favour in relation to the individual contracts, but that the “overarching contracts were not to be treated as contracts of employment”. It also remitted the case to the FTT to reach a decision on whether the individual contracts should be treated as contracts of employment. However, PGMOL appealed against this, bringing the case to the Supreme Court. At the highest level of the legal system, the judges ruled that the individual match contracts contained “a sufficient framework of control exercisable by PGMOL to satisfy the element of control necessary for a contract of employment”. The Supreme Court remitted the case to the FTT for its decision, to be considered “on the basis of its original findings of fact” and in line with the guidance established by the Court of Appeal in Atholl House, and “the nature of the mutual obligations and the degree of control exercisable by PGMOL”.

Source: cbw

FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup 2024 – Semi-finals

18 September 2024

USA – Korea DPR
Referee: Ivana Martinčić CRO (photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Maja Petravić CRO
Assistant Referee 2: Staša Špur SVN
Fourth Official: Vincentia Amedome TOG
Reserve AR: Linda Schmid SUI

Japan – Netherlands
Referee: Karen Hernandez MEX
Assistant Referee 1: Jessica Morales MEX
Assistant Referee 2: Elva Gutierrez MEX
Fourth Official: Casey Reibelt AUS
Reserve AR: Ramina Tsoi KGZ

Women’s World Cup Final AR O'Neill announces her retirement

After an illustrious career spanning over 18 years, renowned FIFA International Assistant Referee, Michelle O’Neill has announced her retirement. Michelle O’Neill has long been a trailblazer in the world of sports, breaking barriers and setting new standards for women in the industry. She has officiated at the highest levels of the game, including multiple FIFA Women’s World Cups and the Olympic Games, earning respect and admiration on the global stage. Her expertise, commitment, and passion for football have left an indelible mark on the sport. In 2019, Michelle made history as the first Irish person to officiate at a FIFA World Cup Final, overseeing the clash between the United States and the Netherlands. Later that same year, she was part of the first-ever all-female refereeing team to officiate at a UEFA Men's Super Cup Final, held in Istanbul between Liverpool and Chelsea.

Michelle’s journey into refereeing began after a successful playing career in the local Wexford League and for her County Team. She turned to officiating in the 2007/2008 season, and through her dedication and talent, she advanced through the Football Association of Ireland’s School of Excellence and on to the League of Ireland's Men’s Panel in 2010. One year later, in 2011, she achieved the prestigious honour of becoming a FIFA Assistant Referee, a significant milestone for any official representing their country on an international level. Her first major appointment with UEFA came in 2012 when she officiated the UEFA Women’s U19 Championship Final in Turkey. She then went on to make notable appearances in the UEFA Women’s European Championship Finals, Netherlands in 2017 and England in 2022 topping it off with the UEFA Women’s Champions League Final in 2023. Michelle has also been appointed to Men’s UEFA Competitions such as the Europa League, the U21 Championship, and the UEFA Men’s Youth League matches. In the FIFA arena, Michelle's assignments were numerous and distinguished. She officiated in multiple World Cup qualifiers, the University Games in Kazan 2013, two FIFA Women’s U-20 World Cups (2016, 2018 Final), three FIFA Women’s World Cups (2015, 2019 Final, 2023 third place match), and the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2021. 

Reflecting on her career, the most decorated match official in Irish sporting history said: “It has been an incredible journey, one filled with unforgettable moments and immense pride. Officiating at World Cups and Olympic Games has been a dream come true, and I am grateful for the opportunities and experiences this career has given me. Now, it is time for the next chapter.” As she steps away from the pitch, Michelle O’Neill is excited to focus on pursuing various opportunities. She is particularly passionate about inspiring future generations, especially women in sports, through sharing her story and experiences. “I am eager to continue contributing to the world of sports in new ways,” Michelle added. “My journey isn’t over; it’s evolving. I look forward to helping the next generation of referees and athletes achieve their dreams.”

Source: FAI

FIFA Futsal World Cup 2024 – Group Stage (Matches 17-24)

18 September 2024

Libya – Kazakhstan
Referee 1: Daniel Rodriguez URU (photo)
Referee 2: Rafael Villalba PAR
Third Official: Cristian Espindola CHI
Fourth Official: Anelize Schulz BRA
Timekeeper: Oriana Zambrano VEN

Referee Assessor: Shane Butler USA

Angola – Ukraine

Referee 1: An Ran CHN

Referee 2: Hiroyuki Kobayashi JPN

Third Official: Ricardo Lay PAN

Fourth Official: Reinier Fiss CUB

Timekeeper: Anatoliy Rubakov UZB

Referee Assessor: Perry Gautier BEL

Argentina – Afghanistan

Referee 1: Eduardo Coelho POR

Referee 2: Nicola Manzione ITA

Third Official: Ondrej Cerny CZE

Fourth Official: Nikola Jelic CRO

Timekeeper: Josh Wilkens USA

Referee Assessor: Yasuhiro Matsuzaki JPN

Spain – New Zealand

Referee 1: Mohamed Hassan EGY

Referee 2: Tarek El-Khataby EGY

Third Official: Khalid Hnich MAR

Fourth Official: Liu Jianqiao CHN

Timekeeper: Damian Grabowski POL

Referee Assessor: Shane Butler USA

19 September 2024
Morocco – Panama
Referee 1: Daniel Manrique COL
Referee 2: Anatoliy Rubakov UZB
Third Official: Ebrahim Mehrabi IRN

Fourth Official: Fahad Al-Hosani UAE

Timekeeper: An Ran CHN

Referee Assessor: Perry Gautier BEL

Iran – Guatemala

Referee 1: Alejandro Martinez Flores ESP

Referee 2: Dejan Veselic SVN

Third Official: Ryan Shepheard AUS

Fourth Official: Daniel Matkovic SUI

Timekeeper: Juan Cordero Gallardo ESP

Referee Assessor: Massimo Cumbo ITA

Portugal – Tajikistan

Referee 1: Jorge Flores SLV

Referee 2: Aymen Kammoun TUN

Third Official: Rolly Rojas PER

Fourth Official: Lautaro Romero ARG

Timekeeper: Josh Wilkens USA

Referee Assessor: Yasuhiro Matsuzaki JPN

France – Venezuela

Referee 1: Truong Quoc Dung VIE

Referee 2: Pornnarong Grairod THA

Third Official: Chris Sinclair NZL

Fourth Official: Antony Riley NZL

Timekeeper: Diego Molina CRC

Referee Assessor: Massimo Cumbo ITA

UEFA Champions League 2024/2025 – Group Stage (Matchday 1)

17 September 2024

Juventus FC – PSV Eindhoven
Referee: Alejandro Hernández Hernández ESP
Assistant Referee 1: José Naranjo Pérez ESP
Assistant Referee 2: Diego Sánchez Rojo ESP
Fourth Official: José Munuera Montero ESP
VAR: Carlos del Cerro Grande ESP
AVAR: César Soto Grado ESP
Referee Observer: Viktor Kassai HUN

BSC Young Boys – Aston Villa
Referee: Georgi Kabakov BUL
Assistant Referee 1: Martin Margaritov BUL
Assistant Referee 2: Diyan Valkov BUL
Fourth Official: Radoslav Gidzhenov BUL
VAR: Willy Delajod FRA
AVAR: Jérôme Brisard FRA
Referee Observer: Bernardino González Vázquez ESP

Bayern München – GNK Dinamo
Referee: Juan Martínez Munuera ESP
Assistant Referee 1: Diego Barbero Sevilla ESP
Assistant Referee 2: Miguel Martínez Munuera ESP
Fourth Official: Guillermo Cuadra Fernández ESP
VAR: Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea ESP
AVAR: Tomasz Kwiatkowski POL
Referee Observer: Kyros Vassaras GRE

AC Milan – Liverpool FC
Referee: Espen Eskas NOR
Assistant Referee 1: Jan Engan NOR
Assistant Referee 2: Isaak Bashevkin NOR
Fourth Official: Kristoffer Hagenes NOR
VAR: Bastian Dankert GER
AVAR: Christian Dingert GER
Referee Observer: Marinus Koopman NED

Real Madrid – VfB Stuttgart
Referee: Halil Meler TUR
Assistant Referee 1: Kerem Ersoy TUR
Assistant Referee 2: İbrahim Uyarcan TUR
Fourth Official: Arda Kardeşler TUR
VAR: Rob Dieperink NED
AVAR: Pol van Boekel NED
Referee Observer: Darko Čeferin SVN

Sporting CP – LOSC Lille
Referee: Donatas Rumšas LTU
Assistant Referee 1: Aleksandr Radiuš LTU
Assistant Referee 2: Dovydas Sužiedėlis LTU
Fourth Official: Robertas Valikonis LTU
VAR: Aleandro Di Paolo ITA
AVAR: David Coote ENG
Referee Observer: Konrad Plautz AUT

18 September 2024
Bologna FC – Shakhtar Donetsk
Referee: Rohit Saggi NOR
Assistant Referee 1: Morten Jensen NOR
Assistant Referee 2: Anders Olav Dale NOR
Fourth Official: Sigurd Smehus Kringstad NOR
VAR: Jérôme Brisard FRA
AVAR: Willy Delajod FRA
Referee Observer: Hugh Dallas SCO

Sparta Praha – FC Salzburg
Referee: Rade Obrenovič SVN
Assistant Referee 1: Jure Praprotnik SVN
Assistant Referee 2: Grega Kordež SVN
Fourth Official: David Šmajc SVN
VAR: Nejc Kajtazovič SVN
AVAR: Alen Borošak SVN
Referee Observer: Alberto Undiano Mallenco ESP

Club Brugge – Borussia Dortmund
Referee: Irfan Peljto BIH
Assistant Referee 1: Senad Ibrišimbegović BIH
Assistant Referee 2: Davor Beljo BIH
Fourth Official: Miloš Gigović BIH
VAR: Tomasz Kwiatkowski POL
AVAR: Piotr Lasyk POL
Referee Observer: Martin Hansson SWE

Celtic FC – Slovan Bratislava
Referee: Danny Makkelie NED
Assistant Referee 1: Hessel Steegstra NED
Assistant Referee 2: Jan de Vries NED
Fourth Official: Marc Nagtegaal NED
VAR: Rob Dieperink NED
AVAR: Carlos del Cerro Grande ESP
Referee Observer: Gianluca Rocchi ITA

Manchester City – Inter Milano
Referee: Glenn Nyberg SWE
Assistant Referee 1: Mahbod Beigi SWE
Assistant Referee 2: Andreas Söderkvist SWE
Fourth Official: Adam Ladebäck SWE
VAR: Pol van Boekel NED
AVAR: Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea ESP
Referee Observer: Alexandru Deaconu ROU

Paris St. Germain – Girona FC
Referee: Daniel Siebert GER
Assistant Referee 1: Jan Seidel GER
Assistant Referee 2: Rafael Foltyn GER
Fourth Official: Daniel Schlager GER
VAR: Christian Dingert GER
AVAR: Bastian Dankert GER
Referee Observer: Ante Vučemilović CRO

19 September 2024
Crvena Zvezda – SL Benfica
Referee: Michael Oliver ENG
Assistant Referee 1: Stuart Burt ENG
Assistant Referee 2: Daniel Cook ENG
Fourth Official: Tony Harrington ENG
VAR: Stuart Attwell ENG
AVAR: Jarred Gillett ENG
Referee Observer: Stefano Podeschi SMR

Feyenoord Rotterdam – Bayer Lervekusen
Referee: Davide Massa ITA
Assistant Referee 1: Filippo Meli ITA
Assistant Referee 2: Stefano Alassio ITA
Fourth Official: Fabio Maresca ITA
VAR: Aleandro Di Paolo ITA
AVAR: Carlos del Cerro Grande ESP
Referee Observer: Leslie Irvine NIR

Atalanta BC – Arsenal FC
Referee: Clément Turpin FRA
Assistant Referee 1: Nicolas Danos FRA
Assistant Referee 2: Benjamin Pagès FRA
Fourth Official: Stéphanie Frappart FRA
VAR: Jérôme Brisard FRA
AVAR: Willy Delajod FRA
Referee Observer: Alain Hamer LUX

Atletico de Madrid – RB Leipzig
Referee: Ivan Kružliak SVK
Assistant Referee 1: Branislav Hancko SVK
Assistant Referee 2: Ján Pozor SVK
Fourth Official: Peter Královič SVK
VAR: Tomasz Kwiatkowski POL
AVAR: Piotr Lasyk POL
Referee Observer: Dejan Filipović SRB

AS Monaco – FC Barcelona
Referee: Allard Lindhout NED
Assistant Referee 1: Rogier Honig NED
Assistant Referee 2: Patrick Inia NED
Fourth Official: Joey Kooij NED
VAR: Dennis Higler NED
AVAR: Clay Ruperti NED
Referee Observer: Vladimir Šajn SVN

Stade Brestois – Sturm Graz
Referee: Nicolas Walsh SCO
Assistant Referee 1: Graeme Stewart SCO
Assistant Referee 2: Calum Spence SCO
Fourth Official: Donald Robertson SCO
VAR: David Coote ENG
AVAR: Alan Muir SCO
Referee Observer: Carlos Velasco Carballo ESP

Referee Brych sets Bundesliga record

The Matchday 3 fixture between Borussia Mönchengladbach and Stuttgart saw referee Felix Brych replace Wolfgang Stark as the referee with the most appearances in the league. Taking charge of VfB Stuttgart’s first win of the season against Borussia Mönchengladbach on Matchday 3, the game was Brych's 345th in the top flight, with his first coming all the way back in the 2004/05 season when he took charge of Hertha Berlin’s 1-1 draw at home to Jürgen Klopp’s Mainz.

The record-breaking appearance is well overdue, with Brych having been stuck on 344 appearances since last season. The 49-year-old Munich native was unable to break the record sooner due to a cruciate ligament injury picked up in last season's clash between Eintracht Frankfurt and Stuttgart. Not only did Brych witness a Stuttgart win on both occasions, but a Deniz Undav goal too.

Outside of the Bundesliga, Brych has also taken charge of numerous cup finals. He oversaw both the 2014/15 (Borussia Dortmund vs Wolfsburg) and 2020/21 (RB Leipzig vs Borussia Dortmund) DFB Cup finals, as well as the 2016/17 Champions League showpiece between Juventus and Real Madrid. Upon the conclusion of his record-making appearance, the experienced referee kindly gave away his jersey to a young fan, who now owns a small piece of Bundesliga history.

Source: Bundesliga

FIFA Futsal World Cup 2024 – Group Stage (Matches 9-16)

16 September 2024

Iran – Venezuela
Referee 1: Nikola Jelic CRO (photo)
Referee 2: Eduardo Coelho POR
Third Official: Juan Cordero Gallardo ESP
Fourth Official: Nicola Manzione ITA
Timekeeper: Ondrej Cerny CZE

Referee Assessor: Massimo Cumbo ITA

Portugal – Panama

Referee 1: Ryan Shepheard AUS

Referee 2: Truong Quoc Dung VIE

Third Official: Tarek El-Khataby EGY

Fourth Official: Mohamed Hassan EGY 

Timekeeper: Liu Jianqiao CHN

Referee Assessor: Yasuhiro Matsuzaki JPN

Tajikistan – Morocco

Referee 1: Oriana Zambrano VEN

Referee 2: Anelize Schulz BRA

Third Official: Rafael Villalba PAR

Fourth Official: Daniel Rodriguez URU

Timekeeper: Cristian Espindola CHI

Referee Assessor: Perry Gautier BEL

Guatemala – France

Referee 1: Aymen Kammoun TUN

Referee 2: Fahad Al-Hosani UAE

Third Official: An Ran CHN

Fourth Official: Alejandro Martinez Flores ESP

Timekeeper: Cristiano Santos POR

Referee Assessor: Massimo Cumbo ITA

17 September 2024
Costa Rica – Netherlands
Referee 1: Lautaro Romero ARG
Referee 2: Rolly Rojas PER
Third Official: Pornnarong Grairod THA
Fourth Official: Truong Quoc Dung VIE
Timekeeper: Daniel Manrique COL

Referee Assessor: Yasuhiro Matsuzaki JPN

Thailand – Cuba

Referee 1: Cristiano Santos POR

Referee 2: Juan Cordero Gallardo ESP

Third Official: Daniel Matkovic SUI 

Fourth Official: Fahad Al-Hosani UAE

Timekeeper: Dejan Veselic SVN

Referee Assessor: Massimo Cumbo ITA

Uzbekistan – Paraguay

Referee 1: Reinier Fiss CUB

Referee 2: Josh Wilkens USA

Third Official: Roberto Lopez PAN

Fourth Official: Ricardo Lay PAN

Timekeeper: Hiroyuki Kobayashi JPN

Referee Assessor: Perry Gautier BEL

Brazil – Croatia

Referee 1: Ebrahim Mehrabi IRN

Referee 2: Jorge Flores SLV

Third Official: Antony Riley NZL 

Fourth Official: Chris Sinclair NZL

Timekeeper: Aymen Kammoun TUN

Referee Assessor: Massimo Cumbo ITA

FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup 2024 – Quarter-finals

15 September 2024

Brazil – Korea DPR
Referee: Marta Huerta De Aza ESP (photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Guadalupe Porras Ayuso ESP
Assistant Referee 2: Eliana Fernandez Gonzalez ESP
Fourth Official: Natalie Simon USA
Reserve AR: Meghan Mullen USA

Netherlands – Colombia
Referee: Dong Fangyu CHN
Assistant Referee 1: Xie Lijun CHN
Assistant Referee 2: Bao Mengxiao CHN
Fourth Official: Casey Reibelt AUS
Reserve AR: Ramina Tsoi KGZ

Japan – Spain
Referee: Anahi Fernandez URU
Assistant Referee 1: Daiana Fernandez URU
Assistant Referee 2: Belen Clavijo URU
Fourth Official: Astrid Gramajo GUA
Reserve AR: Sherly Socop GUA

USA – Germany
Referee: Oh Hyeon-Jeong KOR
Assistant Referee 1: Kim Kyoung-Min KOR
Assistant Referee 2: Supawan Hinthong THA
Fourth Official: Vincentia Amedome TOG
Reserve AR: Linda Schmid SUI

Referee signal for racist incidents introduced in Spain

LaLiga and the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) have agreed to introduce FIFA's new "No Racism" gesture for referees, which will be used by officials to signal that a racist incident has been reported. The "cross-arm" gesture was approved at FIFA's congress in Bangkok in May 2024 and will now be adopted in Spain, the two governing bodies said on Thursday. Racism in Spanish football has come under the spotlight with a number of high-profile incidents of fans insulting players, many involving the Real Madrid forward Vinícius Júnior, who has led calls for more action on the issue. Earlier this year, three fans received prison sentences for racially abusing the Brazil international at Valencia's Mestalla Stadium in May 2023, in the first guilty verdict of its kind in Spain.

In May, FIFA announced the introduction of a "global standard gesture" for referees "to signal the implementation of the three-step procedure to halt, suspend and ultimately abandon matches" in the event of a racist incident. LaLiga and the RFEF said on Thursday that the "cross-arm" gesture would now be incorporated into their existing anti-racism protocols. If a referee sees or is made aware of a racist incident, the gesture will be used, the game will be paused and an announcement made over the stadium public address system warning that a match suspension will follow if the behaviour is repeated. The second step sees the official suspend the game temporarily, with the teams being sent to the dressing rooms, while step three involves the game being suspended definitively, after consultation with security and club officials.

Vinícius said in a CNN interview last month that Real Madrid would be prepared to walk off the pitch if faced with more racist abuse. The player has repeatedly been targeted by opposition fans, and after the Mestalla incident he criticised the league's failure to tackle the problem, saying "racism is normal in LaLiga." The league and its president Javier Tebas have denied that claim, and called on the Spanish government to grant them new powers to be able to penalise racist offenders directly. In the same interview, Vinícius said that Spain should lose the right to host the 2030 World Cup if more progress isn't made on the issue. "If by 2030 things don't improve, I think we have to move the location, because if a player doesn't feel comfortable and safe playing in a country where they can suffer racism, it's a bit difficult," he said. "There are a lot of people in Spain, the majority, that aren't racist. It's a small group that ends up affecting the image of a country ... We hope things can evolve more."

Source: ESPN

CONMEBOL Libertadores 2024 – Quarter-finals (First Leg)

17-19 September 2024

Colo Colo – River Plate
Referee: Raphael Claus BRA (photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Bruno Pires BRA
Assistant Referee 2: Rodrigo Correa BRA
Fourth Official: Paulo Zanovelli BRA
VAR: Rodolpho Toski BRA
AVAR 1: Pablo Gonçalves BRA
AVAR 2: Jose Rocha BRA
Referee Assessor: Ednilson Corona BRA
VAR Supervisor: Marcio Santiago BRA

Fluminense – Atletico Mineiro
Referee: Facundo Tello ARG
Assistant Referee 1: Juan Belatti ARG
Assistant Referee 2: Maximiliano Del Yesso ARG
Fourth Official: Maximiliano Ramirez ARG
VAR: Silvio Trucco ARG
AVAR 1: Hernan Mastrangelo ARG
AVAR 2: German Delfino ARG
Referee Assessor: Carlos Ulloa CHI
VAR Supervisor: Carlos Pastorino URU

Botafogo – Sao Paulo
Referee: Esteban Ostojich URU
Assistant Referee 1: Nicolas Taran URU
Assistant Referee 2: Carlos Barreiro URU
Fourth Official: Mathias De Armas URU
VAR: Leodan Gonzalez URU
AVAR 1: Christian Ferreyra URU
AVAR 2: Richard Trinidad URU
Referee Assessor: Sergio Viola ARG
VAR Supervisor: Gustavo Rossi ARG

Flamengo – Penarol
Referee: Jesus Valenzuela VEN
Assistant Referee 1: Jorge Urrego VEN
Assistant Referee 2: Tulio Moreno VEN
Fourth Official: Alexis Herrera VEN
VAR: Juan Soto VEN
AVAR 1: Michael Espinoza PER
AVAR 2: Jonny Bossio PER
Referee Assessor: Ricardo Casas ARG 

VAR Supervisor: Victor Carrillo PER

CONMEBOL Sudamericana 2024 – Quarter-finals (First Leg)

17-19 September 2024

Fortaleza – Corinthians
Referee: Dario Herrera ARG (photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Ezequiel Brailovsky ARG
Assistant Referee 2: Facundo Rodriguez ARG
Fourth Official: Pablo Echavarria ARG
VAR: Mauro Vigliano ARG
AVAR 1: Nicolas Lamolina ARG
AVAR 2: Lucas Novelli ARG
Referee Assessor: Juan Zorrilla PAR
VAR Supervisor: Juan Cardellino URU

Lanus – Independiente Medellin
Referee: Wilton Sampaio BRA
Assistant Referee 1: Danilo Manis BRA
Assistant Referee 2: Bruno Boschilia BRA
Fourth Official: Braulio Machado BRA
VAR: Daniel Nobre BRA
AVAR 1: Rodrigo Guarizo BRA
AVAR 2: Rodrigo Nunes BRA
Referee Assessor: Ana Perez PER
VAR Supervisor: Rodney Aquino PAR

Libertad – Cruzeiro
Referee: Gustavo Tejera URU
Assistant Referee 1: Martin Soppi URU
Assistant Referee 2: Pablo Llarena URU
Fourth Official: Alberto Feres URU
VAR: Andres Cunha URU
AVAR 1: Antonio Garcia URU
AVAR 2: Agustin Berisso URU
Referee Assessor: Cesar Escano PER
VAR Supervisor: Patricio Polic CHI

Athletico Paranaense – Racing
Referee: Cristian Garay CHI
Assistant Referee 1: Jose Retamal CHI
Assistant Referee 2: Miguel Rocha CHI
Fourth Official: Jose Cabero CHI
VAR: Rodrigo Carvajal CHI
AVAR 1: Benjamin Saravia CHI
AVAR 2: Alejandro Molina CHI
Referee Assessor: Abraham Gonzalez COL 

VAR Supervisor: Luis Vera ECU

UEFA Women’s Champions League 2024/2025 – Second Round (First Leg)

18-22 September 2024

Paris FC – Manchester City WFC
Referee: Sandra Bastos POR (photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Sandrine Santos POR
Assistant Referee 2: Cátia Tavares POR
Fourth Official: Raquel Correia POR
Referee Observer: Ana Minić SRB

ŽNK Osijek – FC Twente
Referee: Michalina Diakow POL
Assistant Referee 1: Paulina Baranowska POL
Assistant Referee 2: Aleksandra Mostowska POL
Fourth Official: Anna Adamska POL
Referee Observer: Kirsi Heikkinen FIN

AS Roma – Servette FC Chênois
Referee: Abigail Byrne ENG
Assistant Referee 1: Emily Carney ENG
Assistant Referee 2: Ceri Williams WAL
Fourth Official: Kirsty Dowle ENG
Referee Observer: Pernilla Larsson SWE

Juventus FC – Paris St. Germain
Referee: Fabienne Michel GER
Assistant Referee 1: Daniela Göttlinger GER
Assistant Referee 2: Jessica Bergmann GER
Fourth Official: Franziska Wildfeuer GER
Referee Observer: Sharon Sluyts BEL

BK Häcken – Arsenal WFC
Referee: Riem Hussein GER
Assistant Referee 1: Sabrina Keinersdorfer SUI
Assistant Referee 2: Silke Fritzius GER
Fourth Official: Angelika Soeder GER
Referee Observer: Katarzyna Wierzbowska POL

Hammarby IF – SL Benfica
Referee: Miriama Bočková SVK
Assistant Referee 1: Irina Pozdejeva LTU
Assistant Referee 2: Miroslava Pastoreková SVK
Fourth Official: Rasa Grigonė LTU
Referee Observer: Marta Frias Acedo ESP

RSC Anderlecht – Valerenga
Referee: Deborah Bianchi ITA
Assistant Referee 1: Francesca Di Monte ITA
Assistant Referee 2: Veronica Martinelli ITA
Fourth Official: Maria Marotta ITA
Referee Observer: Wendy Toms ENG

ACF Fiorentina – VfL Wolfsburg
Referee: Minka Vekkeli FIN
Assistant Referee 1: Heini Hyvönen FIN
Assistant Referee 2: Alisa Levalampi FIN
Fourth Official: Lotta Vuorio FIN
Referee Observer: Miroslava Migalova SVK

Sporting CP – Real Madrid
Referee: Emanuela Rusta ALB
Assistant Referee 1: Erinda Kume ALB
Assistant Referee 2: Mirjeta Salla ALB
Fourth Official: Eglantina Pjetrushaj ALB
Referee Observer: Gitte Holm DEN

Galatasaray – Slavia Praha
Referee: Ana Terteleac ROU
Assistant Referee 1: Mihaela Țepușă ROU
Assistant Referee 2: Roxana Ivanov ROU
Fourth Official: Roxana Recorean ROU
Referee Observer: Caroline De Boeck BEL

SKN St. Pölten – ŽNK Mura
Referee: Volha Blotskaya BLR
Assistant Referee 1: Anastasiya Danchenko BLR
Assistant Referee 2: Hanna Nalivaika BLR
Fourth Official: Valiantsina Sakalovich BLR
Referee Observer: Lilach Asulin ISR

 
Vorskla Poltava – Celtic FCW
Referee: Michaela Pachtová CZE
Assistant Referee 1: Lucie Ratajová CZE
Assistant Referee 2: Sanja Rodjak-Karšić CRO
Fourth Official: Katka Hrušková CZE
Referee Observer: Carina Vitulano ITA

UEFA Youth League 2024/2025 – Group Stage (Matchday 1)

17-19 September 2024

Juventus – PSV Eindhoven
Referee: Gustavo Correia POR (photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Tiago Costa POR
Assistant Referee 2: Nélson Pereira POR
Fourth Official: Kevin Bonacina ITA

Sporting CP – LOSC Lille
Referee: Danilo Nikolić SRB
Assistant Referee 1: Miloš Mitić SRB
Assistant Referee 2: Andreja Piljak SRB
Fourth Official: Flávio Lima POR

BSC Young Boys – Aston Villa
Referee: Mohammad Aslam NOR
Assistant Referee 1: Jorgen Valstadsve NOR
Assistant Referee 2: Alf Rossland NOR
Fourth Official: Maxime Odiet SUI

AC Milan – Liverpool FC
Referee: Granit Maqedonci SWE
Assistant Referee 1: Simon Kristensson SWE
Assistant Referee 2: Anton Sjöberg SWE
Fourth Official: Paride Tremolada ITA

Real Madrid – VfB Stuttgart
Referee: Henrik Nalbandyan ARM
Assistant Referee 1: Atom Sevgulyan ARM
Assistant Referee 2: Khachatur Hovhannisyan ARM
Fourth Official: Álvaro Rodríguez Recio ESP

Bayern München – GNK Dinamo
Referee: Dmytro Panchyshyn UKR
Assistant Referee 1: Volodymyr Vysotskyy UKR
Assistant Referee 2: Oleksandr Korniyko UKR
Fourth Official: Michael Bacher GER

Bologna FC – Shakhtar Donetsk
Referee: Peiman Simani FIN
Assistant Referee 1: Christian De Casseres FIN
Assistant Referee 2: Samu Koskinen FIN
Fourth Official: Ermanno Feliciani ITA

Sparta Praha – FC Salzburg
Referee: Martin Matoša SVN
Assistant Referee 1: Tomaž Černe SVN
Assistant Referee 2: Matic Mežnar SVN
Fourth Official: Marek Radina CZE

Paris St. Germain – Girona FC
Referee: Helgi Jónasson ISL
Assistant Referee 1: Egill Gudlaugsson ISL
Assistant Referee 2: Eysteinn Hrafnkelsson ISL
Fourth Official: Aurélien Petit FRA

Celtic FC – Slovan Bratislava
Referee: Jacob Karlsen DEN
Assistant Referee 1: Martin Markus DEN
Assistant Referee 2: Daniel Cortzen DEN
Fourth Official: Lloyd Wilson SCO

Club Brugge – Borussia Dortmund
Referee: Heini Vidoy FRO
Assistant Referee 1: Jorleif Djurhuus FRO
Assistant Referee 2: Jógvan Klakstein FRO
Fourth Official: Matonga Simonini BEL

Manchester City – Inter Milano
Referee: Ishmael Barbara MLT
Assistant Referee 1: James Muscat MLT
Assistant Referee 2: Duncan Spencer MLT
Fourth Official: Benjamin Speedie ENG

Crvena Zvezda – SL Benfica
Referee: Damian Kos POL
Assistant Referee 1: Bartosz Heinig POL
Assistant Referee 2: Marek Arys POL
Fourth Official: Predrag Janjuš SRB

Feyenoord Rotterdam – Bayer Leverkusen
Referee: James Robinson NIR
Assistant Referee 1: Andrew Nethery NIR
Assistant Referee 2: Shane Geary NIR
Fourth Official: Erwin Blank NED

Stade Brestois – Sturm Graz
Referee: Chrístos Vergétis GRE
Assistant Referee 1: Andréas Fotópoulos GRE
Assistant Referee 2: Konstantínos Stáikos GRE
Fourth Official: Pierre Legat FRA

Atalanta BC – Arsenal FC
Referee: Joonas Jaanovits EST
Assistant Referee 1: Aron Härsing EST
Assistant Referee 2: Riivo Stolts EST
Fourth Official: Luca Zufferli ITA

AS Monaco – FC Barcelona
Referee: Bence Csonka HUN
Assistant Referee 1: Balázs Szert HUN
Assistant Referee 2: Norbert Bornemissza HUN
Fourth Official: Faouzi Benchabane FRA

Atletico de Madrid – RB Leipzig
Referee: Ion Orlic MDA
Assistant Referee 1: Ghenadie Lisița MDA
Assistant Referee 2: Victor Luchița MDA
Fourth Official: Alvaro Rodríguez Recio ESP

UEFA Youth League 2024/2025 – Domestic Champions Path, Round 1 (First Leg)

17-22 September 2024

Dinamo Tbilisi – Buducnost Podgorica
Referee: Stefan Ebner AUT (photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Mattias Hartl AUT
Assistant Referee 2: Thomas Kaplan AUT
Fourth Official: Koba Revazashvili GEO

Qairat FK – AF Radu Rebeja

Referee: Georgi Ginchev BUL

Assistant Referee 1: Georgi Doynov BUL

Assistant Referee 2: Martin Venev BUL

Fourth Official: Elvira Nurmustafina KAZ

Brera Strumica – FK Sarajevo
Referee: Kyriákos Athanasíou CYP
Assistant Referee 1: Geórgios Charalámbous CYP
Assistant Referee 2: Lámbros Lámbrou CYP
Fourth Official: Marjan Dejanoski MKD

KF Bylis – KF Korriku
Referee: Éric Wattellier FRA
Assistant Referee 1: Brice Parinet-Le Tellier FRA
Assistant Referee 2: Thomas Luczynski FRA
Fourth Official: Olsion Yzeiraj ALB

BFC Daugavpils – Cliftonville FC
Referee: Mihály Káprály HUN
Assistant Referee 1: Gergő Vígh-Tarsonyi HUN
Assistant Referee 2: Bence Belicza HUN
Fourth Official: Aleksandrs Anufrijevs LVA

FC Honka – Valletta FC
Referee: Jasmin Sabotic LUX
Assistant Referee 1: Rafael Morim LUX
Assistant Referee 2: Kevin Stammet LUX
Fourth Official: Joona Kontinen FIN

Zalgiris Vilnius – The New Saints
Referee: Rüstem Omarov KAZ
Assistant Referee 1: Sergei Vasiutin KAZ
Assistant Referee 2: Samat Tergeusizov KAZ
Fourth Official: Vilius Paulauskas LTU

Dinamo Minsk – FA Pyunik
Referee: Florian Lata ALB
Assistant Referee 1: Elvis Gjoka ALB
Assistant Referee 2: Taulant Kasa ALB
Fourth Official: Vardan Vardumyan ARM

Lincoln Red Imps – NK Maribor
Referee: Edgars Malcevs LVA
Assistant Referee 1: Martiņnš Svipsts LVA
Assistant Referee 2: Deniss Ševčenko LVA
Fourth Official: Seth Galia GIB

Tallinn Kalev – Santa Coloma
Referee: Dalibor Černý CZE
Assistant Referee 1: Lukáš Machač CZE
Assistant Referee 2: Pavel Pospíšil CZE
Fourth Official: Rasmus Maalin EST

HB Torshavn – Progres Niederkorn
Referee: Pavle Ilić SRB
Assistant Referee 1: Goran Šain SRB
Assistant Referee 2: Marko Hrutka SRB
Fourth Official: Aki Hansen FRO

Dublin AFC – Stjarnan
Referee: Lukasz Kuźma POL
Assistant Referee 1: Piotr Podbielski POL
Assistant Referee 2: Maciej Kosarzecki POL
Fourth Official: Aaron O’Dowd IRL

FIFA Futsal World Cup 2024 – Group Stage (Matches 1-8)

14 September 2024

Croatia – Thailand
Referee 1: Cristian Espindola CHI (photo)
Referee 2: Daniel Rodriguez URU
Third Official: Cristiano Santos POR
Fourth Official: Oriana Zambrano VEN
Timekeeper: Rafael Villalba PAR

Referee Assessor: Massimo Cumbo ITA

Paraguay – Costa Rica

Referee 1: Pornnarong Grairod THA

Referee 2: An Ran CHN

Third Official: Ebrahim Mehrabi IRN

Fourth Official: Liu Jianqiao CHN

Timekeeper: Ryan Shepheard AUS

Referee Assessor: Yasuhiro Matsuzaki JPN

Brazil – Cuba

Referee 1: Ondrej Cerny CZE

Referee 2: Damian Grabowski POL

Third Official: Alejandro Martinez Flores ESP

Fourth Official: Eduardo Coelho POR

Timekeeper: Nicola Manzione ITA

Referee Assessor: Massimo Cumbo ITA

Uzbekistan – Netherlands

Referee 1: Khalid Hnich MAR

Referee 2: Mohamed Hassan EGY

Third Official: Aymen Kammoun TUN

Fourth Official: Tarek El-Khataby EGY

Timekeeper: Fahad Al-Hosani UAE

Referee Assessor: Perry Gautier BEL

15 September 2024
New Zealand – Libya
Referee 1: Anatoliy Rubakov UZB
Referee 2: Diego Molina CRC
Third Official: Josh Wilkens USA
Fourth Official: Hiroyuki Kobayashi JPN
Timekeeper: Reinier Fiss CUB

Referee Assessor: Shane Butler USA

Afghanistan – Angola

Referee 1: Dejan Veselic SVN

Referee 2: Daniel Matkovic SUI

Third Official: Anelize Schulz BRA

Fourth Official: Khalid Hnich MAR

Timekeeper: Jorge Flores SLV

Referee Assessor: Yasuhiro Matsuzaki JPN

Spain – Kazakhstan

Referee 1: Roberto Lopez PAN

Referee 2: Ricardo Lay PAN

Third Official: Daniel Manrique COL

Fourth Official: Rolly Rojas PER

Timekeeper: Lautaro Romero ARG

Referee Assessor: Shane Butler USA

Argentina – Ukraine

Referee 1: Antony Riley NZL

Referee 2: Chris Sinclair NZL

Third Official: Pornnarong Grairod THA

Fourth Official: Ryan Shepheard AUS

Timekeeper: Truong Quoc Dung VIE

Referee Assessor: Perry Gautier BEL

FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup 2024 – Round of 16

11 September 2024

Brazil – Cameroon
Referee: Maria Ferrieri Caputi ITA (photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Tiziana Trasciatti ITA
Assistant Referee 2: Vanessa Gomes POR
Fourth Official: Karen Hernandez MEX
Reserve AR: Jessica Morales MEX

Spain – Canada
Referee: Oh Hyeon-Jeong KOR
Assistant Referee 1: Kim Kyoung-Min KOR
Assistant Referee 2: Supawan Hinthong THA
Fourth Official: Vincentia Amedome TOG
Reserve AR: Fides Bangurambona BDI

Colombia – Korea
Referee: Marta Huerta De Aza ESP
Assistant Referee 1: Guadalupe Porras Ayuso ESP
Assistant Referee 2: Eliana Fernandez Gonzalez ESP
Fourth Official: Lizzet Garcia MEX
Reserve AR: Nuannid Donjangreed THA

Mexico – USA
Referee: Iuliana Demetrescu ROU
Assistant Referee 1: Svitlana Grushko UKR
Assistant Referee 2: Amina Gutschi AUT
Fourth Official: Casey Reibelt AUS
Reserve AR: Camille Soriano FRA

12 September 2024
Germany – Argentina
Referee: Shahenda El-Maghrabi EGY
Assistant Referee 1: Soukaina Hamdi MAR
Assistant Referee 2: Asma Ouahab ALG
Fourth Official: Casey Reibelt AUS
Reserve AR: Xie Lijun CHN

Korea DPR – Austria
Referee: Dione Rissios CHI
Assistant Referee 1: Marcia Castillo CHI
Assistant Referee 2: Leslie Vazquez CHI
Fourth Official: Astird Gramajo GUA
Reserve AR: Iris Vail GUA

Japan – Nigeria
Referee: Natalie Simon USA
Assistant Referee 1: Meghan Mullen USA
Assistant Referee 2: Kali Smith USA
Fourth Official: Anahi Fernandez URU
Reserve AR: Daiana Fernandez URU

France – Netherlands
Referee: Ivana Martinčić CRO
Assistant Referee 1: Maja Petravić CRO
Assistant Referee 2: Staša Špur SVN
Fourth Official: Veronika Bernatskaia KGZ
Reserve AR: Ramina Tsoi KGZ

FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifiers – AFC (Round 3, Matchday 2)

10 September 2024

Korea DPR – Qatar

Referee: Nazmi Bin Nasaruddin MAS (photo)

Assistant Referee 1: Mohamad Bin Khalil MAS

Assistant Referee 2: Mohd Bin Rasid MAS 

Fourth Official: Tuan Yasin MAS
VAR: Muhammad Bin Jahari SIN
AVAR: Ryo Tanimoto JPN

Kyrgyzstan – Uzbekistan
Referee: Ahmad Al-Ali KUW
Assistant Referee 1: Abdulhadi Al-Anezi KUW
Assistant Referee 2: Ahmad Abbas KUW
Fourth Official: Ammar Ashkanani KUW
VAR: Abdullah Jamali KUW
AVAR: Hashem Al Ibrahim KUW

UAE – Iran
Referee: Kim Jong-Hyeok KOR
Assistant Referee 1: Park Kyun-Yong KOR
Assistant Referee 2: Jang Jong-Pil KOR
Fourth Official: Chae Sang-Hyeop KOR
VAR: Kim Hee-Gon KOR
AVAR: Kim Dae-Yong KOR

Palestine – Jordan
Referee: Meshal Al Shamary KSA
Assistant Referee 1: Hesham Al Refaei KSA
Assistant Referee 2: Omar Al Jamel KSA
Fourth Official: Shukri Al Hanfosh KSA
VAR: Abdullah Al Shehri KSA
AVAR: Ibrahim Al Dakheel KSA

Oman – Korea
Referee: Ma Ning CHN

Assistant Referee 1: Zhou Fei CHN

Assistant Referee 2: Zhang Cheng CHN

Fourth Official: Di Wang CHN
VAR: Fu Ming CHN
AVAR: Shen Yinhao CHN

Kuwait – Iraq
Referee: Hiroyuki Kimura JPN
Assistant Referee 1: Takeshi Asada JPN
Assistant Referee 2: Yosuke Takabe JPN
Fourth Official: Hiroki Kasahara JPN
VAR: Jumpei Iida JPN
AVAR: Yusuke Araki JPN

Bahrain – Japan
Referee: Rustam Lutfullin UZB
Assistant Referee 1: Andrey Tsapenko UZB
Assistant Referee 2: Timur Gaynulin UZB
Fourth Official: Aziz Asymov UZB
VAR: Firdavs Norsafarov UZB
AVAR: Ilgiz Tantashev UZB

China – Saudi Arabia
Referee: Nasrullo Kabirov TJK
Assistant Referee 1: Hasan Karimov TJK
Assistant Referee 2: Vafo Karaev TJK
Fourth Official: Sadullo Gulmurodi TJK
VAR: Sivakorn Pu-Udom THA
AVAR: Torpong Somsingha THA

Indonesia – Australia
Referee: Salman Falahi QAT
Assistant Referee 1: Ramzan Al-Naemi QAT
Assistant Referee 2: Majid Al-Shammari QAT
Fourth Official: Abdulhadi Al-Ruaile QAT
VAR: Khamis Al-Marri QAT 

AVAR: Mohammed Ahmed QAT

Concacaf Nations League 2024/2025 – Group Stage (Matchday 2)

8-10 September 2024

League A

Honduras – Jamaica
Referee: Victor Caceres (MEX, photo)

Guatemala – Costa Rica
Referee: Daniel Quintero (MEX)

Guadeloupe – Suriname
Referee: Reon Radix (GRN)

Martinique – Guyana
Referee: Kwinsi Williams (TRI)

Cuba – Nicaragua
Referee: Pierre-Luc Lauziere (CAN)

Trinidad and Tobago – French Guiana
Referee: Adonis Carrasco (DOM)

League B

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines – Montserrat
Referee: Rubiel Vazquez (USA)

El Salvador – Bonaire
Referee: Steven Madrigal (CRC)

Curaçao – Saint Martin
Referee: Jose Corporan (DOM)

Grenada – Saint Lucia
Referee: Josue Ugalde (CRC)

Haiti – Sint Maarten
Referee: Carly Shaw-MacLaren (CAN)

Aruba – Puerto Rico
Referee: Kimbell Ward (SKN)

Dominican Republic – Dominica
Referee: Okeito Nicholson (JAM)

Antigua and Barbuda – Bermuda
Referee: Tristley Bassue (SKN)

League C

Cayman Islands – Saint Kitts and Nevis
Referee: Moeth Gaymes (SVG)

Turks and Caicos Islands – Belize
Referee: Cleon Culley (BRB)

Barbados – US Virgin Islands
Referee: Sergio Rozenhout (SUR)

Saint Kitts and Nevis – British Virgin Islands
Referee: Andrew Samuel (PUR)

Belize – Anguilla
Referee: Steffon Dewar (JAM)