UEFA Champions League – Round of 16 (First Leg)

21 February 2012
CSKA Moskow – Real Madrid
Referee: Bjorn Kuipers (NED, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Sander van Roekel (NED)
Assistant Referee 2: Erwin Zeinstra (NED)
Additional AR 1: Pol van Boekel (NED)
Additional AR 2: Richard Liesveld (NED)
Fourth Official: Danny Makkelie (NED)

Napoli – Chelsea
Referee: Carlos Velasco Carballo (ESP)
Assistant Referee 1: Roberto Alonso Fernandez (ESP)
Assistant Referee 2: Juan Yuste Jimenez (ESP)
Additional AR 1: David Fernandez Borbalan (ESP)
Additional AR 2: Carlos Clos Gomez (ESP)
Fourth Official: Fernando Teixeira Vitienes (ESP)

22 February 2012
Olympique Marseille – Inter Milano
Referee: Cuneyt Cakir (TUR)
Assistant Referee 1: Bahattin Duran (TUR)
Assistant Referee 2: Tarik Ongun (TUR)
Additional AR 1: Huseyin Gocek (TUR)
Additional AR 2: Bulent Yildirim (TUR)
Fourth Official: Tolga Ozkalfa (TUR)

FC Basel – Bayern Munchen
Referee: Nicola Rizzoli (ITA)
Assistant Referee 1: Renato Faverani (ITA)
Assistant Referee 2: Andrea Stefani (ITA)
Additional AR 1: Gianluca Rocchi (ITA)
Additional AR 2: Paolo Tagliavento (ITA)
Fourth Official: Mauro Bergonzi (ITA)

FIFA AR Joao Santos suffered an unusual head injury

Joao Ferreira Dos Santos (44) started his refereeing career in 1991 and became FIFA AR in 2003. He was the victim of an unusual accident during the Portuguese first division match Uniao Leiria – Beira Mar, played yesterday afternoon at the Municipal Stadium in Marinha Grande. In the 18th minute of the first half, when player John Ogu (Uniao Leiria) was preparing to return to the field of play after receiving medical attention, the AR Joao Santos made a sprint to follow the play and violently hit the Nigerian player getting both lying on the field. The player was able to recover and returned to play, but Joao Santos was removed on a stretcher and taken to the changing room immediately. He was later transported to the hospital in Leiria.

Uniao Leiria’s medical doctor, Amilcar Silva, who provided first aid, said: "He suffered a head injury, lost his consciousness and had a seizure, but always maintained a palpable pulse. He was referred to the Hospital Centre Leiria-Pombal, where he is being evaluated. When he left the stadium, he was already conscious, but agitated. Now they must perform a CT scan so they can tell if it is just a bruise or something else".
"Joao Santos had the misfortune of hitting a rock in motion", explained Leiria’s coach, Manuel Cajuda, alluding to the strong physique of the Nigerian Ogu. “I worry much more about the AR’s health than the fact that we did not win the game", he assured at the end of the match.

Source: Record

Copa Libertadores – Group Stage (Matchday 5)

21 February 2012
Arsenal – Zamora
Referee: Enrique Osses (CHI, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Carlos Astroza (CHI)
Assistant Referee 2: Juan Maturana (CHI)
Fourth Official: Nestor Pitana (ARG)

Penarol – Atletico Nacional
Referee: Carlos Amarilla (PAR)
Assistant Referee 1: Nicolas Yegros (PAR)
Assistant Referee 2: Carlos Caceres (PAR)
Fourth Official: Hector Martinez (URU)

Bolivar – Union Espanola
Referee: Enrique Caceres (PAR)
Assistant Referee 1: Dario Gaona (PAR)
Assistant Referee 2: Cesar Franco (PAR)
Fourth Official: Johnny Cuellar (BOL)

Cruz Azul – Deportivo Tachira
Referee: Imer Machado (COL)
Assistant Referee 1: Humberto Clavijo (COL)
Assistant Referee 2: Wilmar Navarro (COL)
Fourth Official: Jorge Gasso Flores (MEX)

22 February 2012
Universidad Chile – Godoy Cruz
Referee: Wilson Seneme (BRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Emerson Carvalho (BRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Marcelo Van Gasse (BRA)
Fourth Official: Claudio Puga (CHI)

Velez Sarsfield – Chivas Guadalajara
Referee: Leandro Vuaden (BRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Roberto Braatz (BRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Rodrigo Joia (BRA)
Fourth Official: Sergio Pezzotta (ARG)

23 February 2012
Olimpia – Lanus
Referee: Dario Ubriaco (URU)
Assistant Referee 1: Mauricio Espinosa (URU)
Assistant Referee 2: Miguel Nievas (URU)
Fourth Official: Antonio Arias (PAR)

The Strongest – Juan Aurich
Referee: Federico Beligoy (ARG)
Assistant Referee 1: Ernesto Uziga (ARG)
Assistant Referee 2: Ivan Nunez (ARG)
Fourth Official: Oscar Maldonado (BOL)

Universidad Catolica – Atletico Junior
Referee: Pablo Lunati (ARG)
Assistant Referee 1: Gustavo Rossi (ARG)
Assistant Referee 2: Ariel Bustos (ARG)
Fourth Official: Jorge Osorio (CHI)

Attwell: out from the Select Group, kept on the FIFA List

Stuart Attwell has lost his place on the list of Select Group of referees and will return to Football League duty on the National List of England. Attwell, 30, will maintain his FIFA Referee badge obtained in 2009. The move, which is said to come by mutual consent, comes after Attwell made a string of high-profile errors after being promoted to the elite group of referees at the start of the 2008-09 season, aged just 25. He spent only one year on the national list and made his Premier League debut as a referee in the 1-1 draw between Blackburn and Hull in August 2008. Only weeks into that season, Attwell attracted heavy criticism for awarding Reading a goal against Watford when John Eustace had kicked the ball over the goal line four yards wide of the goal before it was put back into play by Noel Hunt. Attwell's assistant Nigel Bannister signalled for a goal. Further controversies followed when he was accused of "losing control" of a Derby-Nottingham Forest match, having disallowed two Derby goals in the final stages, booking eight players and sending off Forest's Lewis McGugan. He has also attracted the ire of Wigan manager Roberto Martinez, who accused the referee of lying about his reasons for sending off Gary Caldwell in April 2010, while Stoke's Danny Higginbotham claimed Attwell could be too easily influenced by players. Later that year, he awarded Liverpool a highly controversial goal against Sunderland. He had awarded the Black Cats a free-kick inside their own half and Michael Turner touched the ball back to Simon Mignolet, apparently for the goalkeeper to take the set-piece, but Attwell ruled the ball active, allowing Fernando Torres to steal it and set up Dirk Kuyt to finish into an empty net. More recently in December, Attwell sent off Gary Cahill, then of Bolton, for fouling Scott Parker only yards over the halfway line, saying he had denied Tottenham a clear goal-scoring opportunity. The red card was overturned on appeal.

"I have learned a great deal from my involvement in the Select Group over the last four years and I am now looking forward to building on that valuable experience. I strongly believe I have a lot to offer refereeing and I now look forward with commitment and enthusiasm to the new challenge that I am undertaking. This is supported by a determination to continue my career development and return to the Select Group as soon as possible", said Attwell.
Professional Game Match Officials Limited general manager Michael Riley backed Attwell to improve as a referee and return to the top level. "Throughout his career in the Select Group, Stuart has demonstrated great courage and mental strength in responding to the challenges that he has faced," Riley said. "He has shown many of the attributes of a top flight official, but the Premier League is an exacting standard with huge demands. It is imperative that PGMOL deliver the best officiating possible to the English game at all levels. This is not the end for Stuart. There are several match officials who have returned to the National List and benefited from it. Stuart has a high level of maturity and responsibility and I am convinced that he has a long-term future as a referee at the very highest level. PGMOL sincerely hopes to be welcoming Stuart back to the Select Group in the future".

Source: ESPN

Former World Cup referee Lu Jun jailed for match-fixing

A Chinese court sentenced four top football referees to up to seven years in prison after convicting them of corruption and match-fixing.

The best Chinese referee, Lu Jun, has been sentenced to five years and six months in prison by a court in Liaoning Province after accepting $128,000 to fix seven matches in China's national league from 1999 to 2003. He was the first Chinese official to referee at a World Cup, when South Korea and Japan hosted the showpiece event in 2002. Prior to that, he had taken charge of matches at the Sydney Olympics of 2000 and he was twice voted Referee of the Year by the Asian Football Confederation. But the court in the city of Dandong, near the border with North Korea, found that Lu had altered the outcome of seven games that involved four clubs including Shanghai Shenhua. The court ordered the confiscation of Lu's personal property worth 100,000 yuan.
Huang Junjie was convicted of accepting $247,975 for fixing several matches from 2005 to 2009, including two friendly games pitting Chinese teams against English giants Manchester United and Australia's Sydney FC. He was sentenced to seven years in prison and will have his personal property worth 200,000 yuan confiscated. Huang had refereed for more than 20 years and was certified as a FIFA referee in 1998.
Zhou Weixin was proved to have taken $77,829 to fix eight games and was sentenced to three years and six months in prison. In 2004 he awarded a penalty in a Chinese Super League match that prompted seven clubs to protest against the Chinese Football Association.
Wan Daxue was convicted of accepting $149,306 to influence games and was sentenced to six years in prison. Wan was known as a "patriotic whistle" because he appeared to favour China when he refereed international friendly matches.
Ex-director of the CFA referee committee, Zhang Jianqiang was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment for bribery and non-state staff bribery, and was confiscated personal assets worth 250,000 yuan. Zhang took $378,071 in bribes from eight clubs and two local football administrative centers. Zhang was also convicted of non-state staff bribery by accepting $111,197 to ask referee Lu Jun to help Shanghai Shenhua beat Shanghai International in a crucial 2003 season top division league game and win the title of the league, after which Zhang and Lu split the money.
Yang Yimin, former Chinese Football Association (CFA) vice president, was sentenced to 10 years and 6 months for taking $199,202 for bribery by using his position as the CFA deputy director between 1997 and the end of 2009, to get the money from more than 20 companies and individuals. Yang also had personal property worth 200,000 yuan confiscated.
Dozens of other former players, coaches and officials also face trial or have already been tried for match-fixing and corruption.
The CFA have made some changes in their supervision system and disciplinary rules and regulations after the large-scale action. A number of CFA staff have been changed, and the decision-making mechanism, the financial control of the professional leagues have become more transparent and democratic.

 Source: Xinhua

Leleu's climbing to the FIFA Referees Committee

For a small town like Rockhampton (Australia) it always seems that we are the over achievers when it comes to sport. Jacqueline Leleu knows all about the lime light as her football career has taken her to some of the highest profile events in world sport. Now she is set to climb to the next level of the game.

Having handed back her official FIFA Assistant Referee badge, Jacqueline Leleu (here, pictured with Sarah Ho at the 2008 Olympic Games) was set for the "quiet life" of work, study and looking after a growing family. Then, out of the blue, Leleu found out that her years of dedication to refereeing had been recognized in a very special way. "I have been chosen for the FIFA Referees Committee," she said excitedly. Leleu said the high powered committee was divided into two sub-committees and she had been offered a place on the development committee. "It is the first time they have had women on the committee and they have chosen four from around the world," she said. "I will miss my refereeing because that is hands-on and physical. However, this position is in administration and involves the development of referees." Leleu said the committee reviewed rules and rulings while evaluating a performance at an elite level as observers. "I will still be working at a high level and with some of the girls I have refereed with before," she said. The appointment of women on a FIFA committee is something of a break-through. "It is still a male dominated sport," she said. "It is good to be promoting women in sport." Leleu said her nomination, which she believes is the first for an Australian, was a bit unusual as the normal path is through the Asian or Australian Football Federations. Leleu was recommended by Sonia Denoncourt, who holds a post with FIFA organizing the appointments of female referees in Europe. "They needed four women for the committee and she nominated me," she said. "The committee requires people who have been at the top." Leleu said women's football was progressing around the world with more females playing the sport in America then males. In Australia the quality of the W-league continues to grow and this is assisting in the development of the women's game. A massive bonus for Leleu is she will still have an opportunity to attend top level football events. "It will be great as I will still get the chance to go to the World Cup and the Olympics”, she said. With the FIFA headquarters at Zurich, Leleu may have to travel regularly to Switzerland, as meetings of her committee are held there twice a year.

Source: The Morning Bulletin

UEFA Europa League – Round of 32 (First Leg)

14 February 2012
Rubin Kazan – Olympiacos

Referee: Milorad Mazic (SRB, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Milovan Ristic (SRB)
Assistant Referee 2: Igor Radojcic (SRB)
Additional AR 1: Bosko Jovanetic (SRB)
Additional AR 2: Vlado Glodjovic (SRB)
Fourth Official: Milenko Vukadinovic (SRB)

Braga – Besiktas
Referee: Kevin Blom (NED)
Assistant Referee 1: Sander van Roekel (NED)
Assistant Referee 2: Berry Simons (NED)
Additional AR 1: Reinold Wiedemeijer (NED)
Additional AR 2: Ed Janssen (NED)
Fourth Official: Tom van Sichem (NED)

16 February 2012
Lokomotiv Moskow – Athletic Bilbao
Referee: Ovidiu Hategan (ROU)
Assistant Referee 1: Zoltan Szekely (ROU)
Assistant Referee 2: Octavian Sovre (ROU)
Additional AR 1: Alexandru Tudor (ROU)
Additional AR 2: Cristian Balaj (ROU)
Fourth Official: Sebastian Coltescu (ROU)

RB Salzburg – Metalist Harkov
Referee: Marijo Strahonja (CRO)
Assistant Referee 1: Sinisa Premuzaj (CRO)
Assistant Referee 2: Igor Krmar (CRO)
Additional AR 1: Igor Pristovnik (CRO)
Additional AR 2: Damir Batinic (CRO)
Fourth Official: Ante Vucemilovic-Simunovic (CRO)

Ajax Amsterdam – Manchester United
Referee: Gianluca Rocchi (ITA)
Assistant Referee 1: Andrea Stefani (ITA)
Assistant Referee 2: Gianluca Cariolato (ITA)
Additional AR 1: Christian Brighi (ITA)
Additional AR 2: Gabriele Gava (ITA)
Fourth Official: Andrea Gervasoni (ITA)

Viktoria Plzen – Schalke
Referee: Stephane Lannoy (FRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Eric Dansault (FRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Frederic Cano (FRA)
Additional AR 1: Fredy Fautrel (FRA)
Additional AR 2: Ruddy Buquet (FRA)
Fourth Official: Antony Gautier (FRA)

Lazio Roma – Atletico Madrid
Referee: Pavel Kralovec (CZE)
Assistant Referee 1: Martin Wilczek (CZE)
Assistant Referee 2: Antonin Kordula (CZE)
Additional AR 1: Miroslav Zelinka (CZE)
Additional AR 2: Radek Prihoda (CZE)
Fourth Official: Libor Kovarik (CZE)

AZ Alkmaar – Anderlecht
Referee: Florian Meyer (GER)
Assistant Referee 1: Jan-Hendrik Salver (GER)
Assistant Referee 2: Mark Borsch (GER)
Additional AR 1: Deniz Aytekin (GER)
Additional AR 2: Tobias Welz (GER)
Fourth Official: Peter Sippel (GER)

Legia – Sporting
Referee: Matej Jug (SVN)
Assistant Referee 1: Marko Stancin (SVN)
Assistant Referee 2: Matej Zunic (SVN)
Additional AR 1: Dragoslav Peric (SVN)
Additional AR 2: Davor Drecnik (SVN)
Fourth Official: Darko Ceferin (SVN)

Udinese – PAOK
Referee: Alberto Undiano Mallenco (ESP)
Assistant Referee 1: Raul Cabanero Martinez (ESP)
Assistant Referee 2: Fermin Martinez Ibanez (ESP)
Additional AR 1: Carlos Clos Gomez (ESP)
Additional AR 2: Javier Estrada Fernandez (ESP)
Fourth Official: Jose Paradas Romero (ESP)

FC Porto – Manchester City
Referee: Cuneyt Cakir (TUR)
Assistant Referee 1: Bahattin Duran (TUR)
Assistant Referee 2: Emre Eyisoy (TUR)
Additional AR 1: Huseyin Gocek (TUR)
Additional AR 2: Bulent Yildirim (TUR)
Fourth Official: Suleyman Abay (TUR)

Steaua Bucuresti – FC Twente
Referee: Mark Clattenburg (ENG)
Assistant Referee 1: Darren Cann (ENG)
Assistant Referee 2: Jake Collin (ENG)
Additional AR 1: Lee Mason (ENG)
Additional AR 2: Michael Jones (ENG)
Fourth Official: Michael Oliver (ENG)

SC Hannover – FC Brugge
Referee: Manuel De Sousa (POR)
Assistant Referee 1: Jose Tiago Trigo (POR)
Assistant Referee 2: Ricardo Santos (POR)
Additional AR 1: Duarte Gomes (POR)
Additional AR 2: Vasco Santos (POR)
Fourth Official: Artur Soares Dias (POR)

Wisla Krakow – Standard Liege
Referee: David Fernandez Borbalan (ESP)
Assistant Referee 1: Juan Carlos Yuste Jimenez (ESP)
Assistant Referee 2: Jesus Calvo Guadamuro (ESP)
Additional AR 1: Fernando Teixeira Vitienes (ESP)
Additional AR 2: Cesar Muniz Fernandez (ESP)
Fourth Official: Javier Turienzo Alvarez (ESP)

Trabzonspor – PSV Eindhoven
Referee: Felix Brych (GER)
Assistant Referee 1: Mike Pickel (GER)
Assistant Referee 2: Stefan Lupp (GER)
Additional AR 1: Christian Dingert (GER)
Additional AR 2: Markus Wingenbach (GER)
Fourth Official: Guido Winkmann (GER)

Stoke City – Valencia CF
Referee: Peter Rasmussen (DEN)
Assistant Referee 1: Henrik Sonderby (DEN)
Assistant Referee 2: Niels Hog (DEN)
Additional AR 1: Jakob Kehlet (DEN)
Additional AR 2: Lars Christoffersen (DEN)
Fourth Official: Michael Tykgaard (DEN)

UEFA Champions League – Round of 16 (First Leg)

14 February 2012
Olympique Lyon – Apoel Nicosia
Referee: Paolo Tagliavento (ITA, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Renato Faverani (ITA)
Assistant Referee 2: Luca Maggiani (ITA)
Additional AR 1: Luca Banti (ITA)
Additional AR 2: Andrea De Marco (ITA)
Fourth Official: Paolo Valeri (ITA)

Bayer Leverkusen – FC Barcelona
Referee: Craig Thomson (SCO)
Assistant Referee 1: Alasdair Ross (SCO)
Assistant Referee 2: Derek Rose (SCO)
Additional AR 1: William Collum (SCO)
Additional AR 2: Euan Norris (SCO)
Fourth Official: Steven McLean (SCO)

15 February 2012
Zenit St. Petersburg – Benfica Lisbon
Referee: Jonas Eriksson (SWE)
Assistant Referee 1: Stefan Wittberg (SWE)
Assistant Referee 2: Fredrik Nilsson (SWE)
Additional AR 1: Markus Strombergsson (SWE)
Additional AR 2: Stefan Johannesson (SWE)
Fourth Official: Daniel Stalhammar (SWE)

AC Milan – Arsenal London
Referee: Viktor Kassai (HUN)
Assistant Referee 1: Gabor Eros (HUN)
Assistant Referee 2: Gyorgy Ring (HUN)
Additional AR 1: Istvan Vad (HUN)
Additional AR 2: Mihaly Fabian (HUN)
Fourth Official: Tamas Bognar (HUN)

Copa Libertadores – Group Stage (Matchday 4)

14 February 2012
Defensor Sporting – Deportivo Quito
Referee: Heber Lopes (BRA, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Altemir Hausmann (BRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Rodrigo Joia (BRA)
Fourth Official: Daniel Fedorczuk (URU)

Zamora – Boca Juniors
Referee: Jose Buitrago (COL)
Assistant Referee 1: Alexander Guzman (COL)
Assistant Referee 2: Eduardo Díaz (COL)
Fourth Official: Candelario Andaracia (VEN)

Atletico Nacional – Universidad de Chile
Referee: Víctor Carrillo (PER)
Assistant Referee 1: Jonny Bossio (PER)
Assistant Referee 2: Cesar Escano (PER)
Fourth Official: Adrian Velez (COL)

15 February 2012
The Strongest – Santos
Referee: Carlos Vera (ECU)
Assistant Referee 1: Christian Lescano (ECU)
Assistant Referee 2: Luis Alavardo (ECU)
Fourth Official: Johnny Cuellar (BOL)

Deportivo Tachira – Corinthians
Referee: Wilmar Roldan (COL)
Assistant Referee 1: Humberto Clavijo (COL)
Assistant Referee 2: Wilmar Navarro (COL)
Fourth Official: Marlon Escalante (VEN)

CA Lanus – Flamengo
Referee: Roberto Silvera (URU)
Assistant Referee 1: Mauricio Espinosa (URU)
Assistant Referee 2: Nicolas Taran (URU)
Fourth Official: German Delfino (ARG)

16 February 2012
Nacional Montevideo – Libertad
Referee: Saul Laverni (ARG)
Assistant Referee 1: Gustavo Rossi (ARG)
Assistant Referee 2: Ernesto Uziga (ARG)
Fourth Official: Liber Prudente (URU)

Godoy Cruz – Penarol
Referee: Raul Orosco (BOL)
Assistant Referee 1: Arol Valda (BOL)
Assistant Referee 2: Wilson Arellano (BOL)
Fourth Official: Federico Beligoy (ARG)

CAF Africa Cup of Nations 2012 – Final

12 February 2012
Final
Zambia – Cote d'Ivoire
Referee: Badara Diatta (SEN, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Bechir Hassani (TUN)
Assistant Referee 2: Evarist Menkouande (CAM)
Fourth Official: Eddy Maillet (SEY)

Badara Diatta was born on 2 August 1969 and became a FIFA referee in 1999. This is his fourth consecutive Africa Cup of Nations, after he previously refereed at CAN 2006, 2008 and 2010. Diatta was pre-selected for the 2010 FIFA World Cup and attended the 2008 Olympic Games, but did not make the final list for South Africa. Both assistant referees, Bechir Hassani and Evarist Menkouande went to the 2010 FIFA World Cup along with referee Eddy Maillet, who will be fourth official in the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations final.

Match for Third Place
Ghana – Mali
Referee: Gehad Grisha (EGY)
Assistant Referee 1: Moffat Champiti (MWI)
Assistant Referee 2: Peter Edibe (NGA)
Fourth Official: Bakary Gassama (GAM)