Marco Rodriguez retires after World Cup semi-final

After officiating the 7-1 German onslaught of the host nation in the 2014 World Cup semi-finals, Mexican referee Marco Rodriguez has called it quits, although he would have been age-eligible for a fourth World Cup in 2018. The Mexican federation officially announced the retirement of the man known as “Chiquidracula” due to his resemblance to an actor that played Count Dracula, but asked instead to be called “Chiquimarco”.

“I dreamed of working three World Cups and I’m satisfied,” Rodriguez, 40, said in a press conference from Mexico. “I am satisfied by the achievements in my 25-year career. Brazil was the place where I showed all that I acquired over my career.” Including the 7-1 drubbing of Brazil, Rodriguez officiated a total of seven World Cup matches over three different tournaments, with the Brazil vs. Germany semi-final match his first outside of the group stage. Rodriguez has been a referee in the Mexican Liga MX since 1997 and a FIFA referee since 2000. He quickly picked up a reputation as a strict referee not afraid to pull cards out of his pocket. Australia’s Tim Cahill learned this the hard way, earning a controversial straight red card in the 2010 World Cup in an eventual 4-0 loss. Rodriguez also handed Chile’s Marco Estrada a second yellow in the same tournament, falling for a clear dive by Fernando Torres. Other incidents Rodriguez was known for included the famous “double yellow” in the 2012 Mexican Apertura finals between Tigres and Santos, where he produced two yellow cards at once, holding each hand. Overall, he sent off three players from that match and issued seven yellows, and was suspended for five matches following the incident. Despite this incident, Liga MX refereeing official Marco Trejo at the time still called him “one of our top referees.” The 40-year-old also refereed the group stage match between Uruguay and Italy in this year’s World Cup that saw Luis Suarez eventually banned for biting Giorgio Chiellini. Rodriguez missed the incident and did not punish Suarez during play. In that match he also correctly sent off Italy’s Claudio Marchisio with a straight red for a dangerous tackle. Rodriguez was most recently at the center of controversy in the United States (not entirely of his own doing) when he was assigned to referee a World Cup qualifier last September between Costa Rica and the United States. The match was just four days before the US took on Mexico in Columbus, and Jurgen Klinsmann spoke publicly about having to deal with a strict referee so close to an important match with eight of his players facing a yellow card suspension. Matt Besler, Geoff Cameron, and Jozy Altidore were all shown yellows during the eventual 3-1 loss to Costa Rica and were forced to miss the next match, but the US beat Mexico 2-0 anyways to secure a berth in the 2014 World Cup. "I know that everything in this life has a time. Everything in life has a beginning and an end. I have taken the decision with great conviction, great joy, great peace in my heart in a very clear way that Marco Rodriguez closed his cycle as an active referee after the World Cup", said Rodriguez, who is a protestant priest outside of refereeing.

Source: NBC Sports

Djamel Haimoudi announces international retirement

Following his participation at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, the Algerian referee Djamel Haimoudi announces his international retirement. "I am glad to have made ​​such a career. I think that it cannot be a better end. Taking my international retirement after a World Cup where I refereed four games, including the third place match, will remain a very important moment in my career", said Haimoudi, according to several news sites.

Djamel Haimoudi officiated four matches at the 2014 World Cup. He does not hide his pride at having been appointed by FIFA to the match for third place. "It allowed me to leave my international career through the front door. Appointing me for the third place match means that the FIFA Referee Committee trusts me and it honors me greatly. It is also a great honor for the African refereeing", said Haimoudi. He does not rule out the possibility of, one day, joining the referees committee of the Algerian Football Federation, if they want to use his services.

Source: TSA

Recopa Sudamericana 2014 (First Leg)

16 July 2014

Lanus – Atletico Mineiro 
Referee: Antonio Arias (PAR, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Carlos Caceres (PAR)
Assistant Referee 2: Dario Gaona (PAR)
Fourth Official: Julio Quintana (PAR)
Referee Observer: Abel Gnecco (ARG)

UEFA Europa League – Second Qualifying Round (First Leg)

17 July 2014

Kosice – Slovan Liberec
Referee: Jesús Gil Manzano (ESP, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Angel Nevado Rodriguez (ESP)
Assistant Referee 2: Marcos Alvarez Moreno (ESP)
Fourth Official: Inaki Vicandi Garrido (ESP)
Referee Observer: Athanassios Briakos (GRE)

Luzern – St. Johnstone
Referee: Benoît Bastien (FRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Nicolas Danos (FRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Frédéric Haquette (FRA)
Fourth Official: Mikael Lesage (FRA)
Referee Observer: Stephen Lodge (ENG)

Kairat – Esbjerg
Referee: Oleksandr Derdo (UKR)
Assistant Referee 1: Semen Shlonchak (UKR)
Assistant Referee 2: Mykola Levko (UKR)
Fourth Official: Yaroslav Kozyk (UKR)
Referee Observer: Drazenko Kovacic (CRO)

Lac – Zorya
Referee: Peter Kralovic (SVK)
Assistant Referee 1: Ondrej Brendza (SVK)
Assistant Referee 2: Erik Weiss (SVK)
Fourth Official: Miroslav Jaska (SVK)
Referee Observer: Konrad Plautz (AUT)

Neftci – Koper
Referee: Dzianis Shcharbakou (BLR)
Assistant Referee 1: Dmitry Zhuk (BLR)
Assistant Referee 2: Andrei Hetsikau (BLR)
Fourth Official: Aleksei Kulbakov (BLR)
Referee Observer: Sergey Zuev (RUS)

Dinamo Minsk – MYPA
Referee: Ivaylo Stoyanov (BUL)
Assistant Referee 1: Krum Stoilov (BUL)
Assistant Referee 2: Georgi Todorov (BUL)
Fourth Official: Georgi Davidov (BUL)
Referee Observer: Sigurdur Hannesson (ISL)

Buducnost Podgorica – Omonia
Referee: Bart Vertenten (BEL)
Assistant Referee 1: Frank Bleyen (BEL)
Assistant Referee 2: Yves de Neve (BEL)
Fourth Official: Laurent Colemonts (BEL)
Referee Observer: Donald McVicar (SCO)

Trencin – Vojvodina
Referee: Michael Lerjeus (SWE)
Assistant Referee 1: Magnus Sjöblom (SWE)
Assistant Referee 2: Joakim Flink (SWE)
Fourth Official: Mohammed Al-Hakim (SWE)
Referee Observer: Dragutin Poljak (CRO)

Sillamäe – Kuban Krasnodar
Referee: Bojan Pandzic (SWE)
Assistant Referee 1: Per Brogevik (SWE)
Assistant Referee 2: Stefan Hallberg (SWE)
Fourth Official: Glenn Nyberg (SWE)
Referee Observer: Siegfried Kirschen (GER)

Ruch – Vaduz
Referee: Radek Prihoda (CZE)
Assistant Referee 1: Ondrej Pelikan (CZE)
Assistant Referee 2: Radek Kotik (CZE)
Fourth Official: Pavel Orel (CZE)
Referee Observer: Vencel Tóth (HUN)

Atlantas – Shakhter Karagandy
Referee: Ognjen Valjic (BIH)
Assistant Referee 1: Haris Bakovic (BIH)
Assistant Referee 2: Dalibor Draskovic (BIH)
Fourth Official: Irfan Peljto (BIH)
Referee Observer: Ilkka Koho (FIN)

Kalju – Lech Poznán
Referee: Domagoj Vuckov (CRO)
Assistant Referee 1: Goran Perica (CRO)
Assistant Referee 2: Ivica Modric (CRO)
Fourth Official: Marin Vidulin (CRO)
Referee Observer: Jan Fasung (SVK)

Astana – Hapoel Tel Aviv
Referee: Sergei Ivanov (RUS)
Assistant Referee 1: Vyacheslav Semenov (RUS)
Assistant Referee 2: Aleksei Vorontsov (RUS)
Fourth Official: Igor Fedotov (RUS)
Referee Observer: Levan Paniashvili (GEO)

Zestafoni – Spartak Trnava
Referee: Alexandr Aliyev (KAZ)
Assistant Referee 1: Serik Zhappasbayev (KAZ)
Assistant Referee 2: Sanzhar Iskakov (KAZ)
Fourth Official: Artyom Kuchin (KAZ)
Referee Observer: Uno Tutk (EST)

Elfsborg – Inter Baki
Referee: Davide Massa (ITA)
Assistant Referee 1: Riccardo Di Fiore (ITA)
Assistant Referee 2: Andrea Crispo (ITA)
Fourth Official: Sebastiano Peruzzo (ITA)
Referee Observer: William Young (SCO)

RoPS – Asteras
Referee: Milenko Vukadinovic (SRB)
Assistant Referee 1: Uros Stojkovic (SRB)
Assistant Referee 2: Goran Miletic (SRB)
Fourth Official: Marko Popovic (SRB)
Referee Observer: John Ward (IRL)

Petrolul – Flamurtari
Referee: Ken Henry Johnsen (NOR)
Assistant Referee 1: Frank Andas (NOR)
Assistant Referee 2: Sven Erik Midthjell (NOR)
Fourth Official: Ole Hobber Nilsen (NOR)
Referee Observer: Michael Ross (NIR)

Botev Plovdiv – St. Pölten
Referee: Marco Guida (ITA)
Assistant Referee 1: Alessandro Costanzo (ITA)
Assistant Referee 2: Giacomo Paganessi (ITA)
Fourth Official: Carmine Russo (ITA)
Referee Observer: Juan Fernández Marín (ESP)

Rosenborg – Sligo Rovers
Referee: Michael Tykgaard (DEN)
Assistant Referee 1: Jakob Bille (DEN)
Assistant Referee 2: Henrik Kristensen (DEN)
Fourth Official: Jens Maae (DEN)
Referee Observer: Günter Benkö (AUT)

Mladá Boleslav – Siroki Brijeg
Referee: Said Ennjimi (FRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Frédéric Cano (FRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Cédric Schurra (FRA)
Fourth Official: Wilfried Bien (FRA)
Referee Observer: Michael Argyrou (CYP)

Brommapojkarna – Crusaders
Referee: Christos Nicolaides (CYP)
Assistant Referee 1: Aristides Christou (CYP)
Assistant Referee 2: Ioannis Lazarou (CYP)
Fourth Official: Marios Tsangaris (CYP)
Referee Observer: Jean Lemmer (LUX)

Neman – FH
Referee: Nerijus Dunauskas (LTU)
Assistant Referee 1: Dovydas Suzieledis (LTU)
Assistant Referee 2: Vytenis Kazlauskas (LTU)
Fourth Official: Jurij Paskovskij (LTU)
Referee Observer: Leif Lindberg (SWE)

CFR Cluj – Jagodina
Referee: Aleksei Nikolaev (RUS)
Assistant Referee 1: Tikhon Kalugin (RUS)
Assistant Referee 2: Valeriy Danchenko (RUS)
Fourth Official: Timur Arslanbekov (RUS)
Referee Observer: Raymond Ellingham (WAL)

CSKA Sofia – Zimbru
Referee: Baris Simsek (TUR)
Assistant Referee 1: Orkun Aktas (TUR)
Assistant Referee 2: Kemal Yilmaz (TUR)
Fourth Official: Bülent Birincioglu (TUR)
Referee Observer: Patrick Kelly (IRL)

Litex Lovech – Diósgyor
Referee: Marios Panayi (CYP)
Assistant Referee 1: Sotiris Viktoros (CYP)
Assistant Referee 2: Nikolas Kalisperas (CYP)
Fourth Official: Charalambos Skapoullis (CYP)
Referee Observer: Andrejs Sipailo (LVA)

Zulte Wagerem – Zawisza
Referee: Alejandro Hernández Hernández (ESP)
Assistant Referee 1: Teodoro Sobrino Magán (ESP)
Assistant Referee 2: Jon Nunez Fernández (ESP)
Fourth Official: Mario Melero López (ESP)
Referee Observer: Zdravko Jokic (SRB)

Vikingur – Tromsö
Referee: Radu Petrescu (ROU)
Assistant Referee 1: Aurel Onita (ROU)
Assistant Referee 2: Mihai Artene (ROU)
Fourth Official: Marcel Birsan (ROU)
Referee Observer: Emil Bozhinovski (MKD)

Split – Hapoel Beer Sheva
Referee: Ilias Spathas (GRE)
Assistant Referee 1: Lazaros Dimitriadis (GRE)
Assistant Referee 2: Polychronis Kostaras (GRE)
Fourth Official: Tasos Sidiropoulos (GRE)
Referee Observer: Michel Piraux (BEL)

Molde – Gorica
Referee: Padraigh Sutton (IRL)
Assistant Referee 1: Allen Lynch (IRL)
Assistant Referee 2: Emmett Dynan (IRL)
Fourth Official: Robert Harvey (IRL)
Referee Observer: Bertrand Layec (FRA)

Metalurg Skopje – Zeljeznicar
Referee: Eli Hacmon (ISR)
Assistant Referee 1: Nissan Davidy (ISR)
Assistant Referee 2: Rami Ben-Itshak (ISR)
Fourth Official: Zvi Levi (ISR)
Referee Observer: Kostadin Gerginov (BUL)

Bursaspor – Chikhura
Referee: Roy Reinshreiber (ISR)
Assistant Referee 1: Danny Krasikow (ISR)
Assistant Referee 2: Mahmud Mahanga (ISR)
Fourth Official: Liran Liany (ISR)
Referee Observer: Ryszard Wójcik (POL)

Rijeka – Ferencváros
Referee: Tobias Stieler (GER)
Assistant Referee 1: Christoph Bornhorst (GER)
Assistant Referee 2: Sascha Thielert (GER)
Fourth Official: Robert Hartmann (GER)
Referee Observer: Murat Ilgaz (TUR)

Derry – Shakhtyor
Referee: Danilo Grujic (SRB)
Assistant Referee 1: Milan Minic (SRB)
Assistant Referee 2: Srdan Milutinovic (SRB)
Fourth Official: Ninoslav Spasic (SRB)
Referee Observer: Niklas A Lídarenda (FRO)

Motherwell FC – Stjarnan
Referee: Michael Johansen (DEN)
Assistant Referee 1: Lars Hummelgaard (DEN)
Assistant Referee 2: Derya Oguz (DEN)
Fourth Official: Anders Poulsen (DEN)
Referee Observer: Bernardino González Vazquez (ESP)

Aberdeen – Groningen
Referee: Hugo Miguel (POR)
Assistant Referee 1: Ricardo Santos (POR)
Assistant Referee 2: António Godinho (POR)
Fourth Official: Bruno Esteves (POR)
Referee Observer: Kjell Alseth (NOR)

Linfield – AIK Solna
Referee: Rene Eisner (AUT)
Assistant Referee 1: Andreas Witschnigg (AUT)
Assistant Referee 2: Richard Hübler (AUT)
Fourth Official: Andreas Kollegger (AUT)
Referee Observer: Ferenc Székely (HUN)

Dundalk – Hajduk Split
Referee: Markus Hameter (AUT)
Assistant Referee 1: Maximilian Kolbitsch (AUT)
Assistant Referee 2: Roland Riedel (AUT)
Fourth Official: Gerhard Grobelnik (AUT)
Referee Observer: Ichko Lozev (BUL)

Gyor – Göteborg
Referee: Anatoliy Abdula (UKR)
Assistant Referee 1: Oleksandr Korniyko (UKR)
Assistant Referee 2: Volodymyr Volodin (UKR)
Fourth Official: Sergii Lysenchuk (UKR)
Referee Observer: Miroslav Vitkovic (CRO)

Sarajevo – Haugesund
Referee: Anatolii Zhabchenko (UKR)
Assistant Referee 1: Oleksandr Voytyuk (UKR)
Assistant Referee 2: Ievgenii Khalamendyk (UKR)
Fourth Official: Vitaliy Romanov (UKR)
Referee Observer: Nicolae Grigorescu (ROU)

Cukaricki – Grödig
Referee: Sergejus Slyva (LTU)
Assistant Referee 1: Vytautas Simkus (LTU)
Assistant Referee 2: Vladimir Gerasimov (LTU)
Fourth Official: Darius Petraska (LTU)
Referee Observer: John Fleming (SCO)

UEFA Champions League – Second Qualifying Round (First Leg)

15-16 July 2014

GNK Dinamo – VMFD Žalgiris
Referee: Anthony Taylor (ENG, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Stuart Burt (ENG)
Assistant Referee 2: John Brooks (ENG)
Fourth Official: Craig Pawson (ENG)
Referee Observer: Manuel Díaz Vega (ESP)

Valletta FC – Qarabağ Ağdam
Referee: Adrien Jaccottet (SUI)
Assistant Referee 1: Johannes Vogel (SUI)
Assistant Referee 2: Stephane De Almeida (SUI)
Fourth Official: Sandro Schärer (SUI)
Referee Observer: Alain Hamer (LUX)

ŠK Slovan Bratislava – The New Saints FC
Referee: Pavle Radovanović (MNE)
Assistant Referee 1: Veslin Radunović (MNE)
Assistant Referee 2: Đorđe Ražnatović (MNE)
Fourth Official: Aleksandar Marković (MNE)
Referee Observer: Sokol Jareci (ALB)

FC Sheriff – FK Sutjeska
Referee: Clayton Pisani (MLT)
Assistant Referee 1: Ingmar Spiteri (MLT)
Assistant Referee 2: Edward Spiteri (MLT)
Fourth Official: Mario Apap (MLT)
Referee Observer: Jan Carlsen (DEN)

FC Bate Borisov – KS Skënderbeu
Referee: Georgi Kabakov (BUL)
Assistant Referee 1: Ivan Valchev (BUL)
Assistant Referee 2: Martin Margaritov (BUL)
Fourth Official: Nikola Popov (BUL)
Referee Observer: Matteo Trefoloni (ITA)

HŠK Zrinjski Mostar – NK Maribor
Referee: Carlos Del Cerro Grande (ESP)
Assistant Referee 1: Pau Cebrián Devis (ESP)
Assistant Referee 2: Abraham Álvarez Cantón (ESP)
Fourth Official: Juan Martínez Munuera (ESP)
Referee Observer: Markus Nobs (SUI)

FC Santa Coloma – Maccabi Tel Aviv FC
Referee: Lasha Silagava (GEO)
Assistant Referee 1: Besik Chichinadze (GEO)
Assistant Referee 2: Zaza Menteshashvili (GEO)
Fourth Official: George Vadachkoria (GEO)
Referee Observer: Kyros Georgiou (CYP)

FK Rabotnicki – HJK Helsinki
Referee: Tamás Bognar (HUN)
Assistant Referee 1: Istvan Albert (HUN)
Assistant Referee 2: Robert Kispal (HUN)
Fourth Official: Zsolt Szabo (HUN)
Referee Observer: Dani Koren (ISR)

Cliftonville FC – Debreceni VSC
Referee: Artur Soares Dias (POR)
Assistant Referee 1: Rui Barbosa Tavares (POR)
Assistant Referee 2: Alvaro Carvalho Mesquita (POR)
Fourth Official: Paulo Lourenço Batista (POR)
Referee Observer: Marcel Vanelshocht (BEL)

FK Partizan – HB Tórshavn
Referee: Sven Bindels (LUX)
Assistant Referee 1: Joao Paulo Vivas (LUX)
Assistant Referee 2: Ricardo Morais (LUX)
Fourth Official: Franc Bourgnon (LUX)
Referee Observer: Costas Kapitanis (CYP)

AC Sparta Praha – FC Levadia Tallinn
Referee: Arnold Hunter (NIR)
Assistant Referee 1: Richard Storey (NIR)
Assistant Referee 2: Gareth Eakin (NIR)
Fourth Official: Raymond Crangle (NIR)
Referee Observer: Oguz Sarvan (TUR)

KR – Celtic FC
Referee: Andreas Pappas (GRE)
Assistant Referee 1: Ilias Alexeas (GRE)
Assistant Referee 2: Alexandros Grevenis (GRE)
Fourth Official: Athanasios Giachos (GRE)
Referee Observer: Tomasz Mikulski (POL)

Malmö FF – FK Ventspils
Referee: Antti Munukka (FIN)
Assistant Referee 1: Matti Heininen (FIN)
Assistant Referee 2: Jan-Peter Aravirta (FIN)
Fourth Official: Mattias Gestranius (FIN)
Referee Observer: Frank De Bleeckere (BEL)

PFC Ludogorets – F91 Dudelange
Referee: Richard Trutz (SVK)
Assistant Referee 1: Tomas Somolani (SVK)
Assistant Referee 2: Tomas Mokos (SVK)
Fourth Official: Pavol Chmura (SVK)
Referee Observer: Christos Skapoullis (CYP)

FC Dinamo Tbilisi – FC Aktobe
Referee: Pawel Raczkowski (POL)
Assistant Referee 1: Pawel Sokolnicki (POL)
Assistant Referee 2: Michał Obukowicz (POL)
Fourth Official: Tomasz Kwiatkowski (POL)
Referee Observer: Jørn West Larsen (DEN)

Legia Warszawa – Saint Patrick's Athletic
Referee: Marius Avram (ROU)
Assistant Referee 1: Miklos Nagy (ROU)
Assistant Referee 2: Vasile Marinescu (ROU)
Fourth Official: Adrian Comanescu (ROU)
Referee Observer: Edgar Steinborn (GER)

Strømsgodset – Steaua București
Referee: Serdar Gozubuyuk (NED)
Assistant Referee 1: Davie Goossens (NED)
Assistant Referee 2: Patrick Langkamp (NED)
Fourth Official: Jeroen Manschot (NED)
Referee Observer: Vaclav Krondl (CZE)

Vassaras removed from the UEFA Referees Committee

Former World Cup 2002 and Euro 2008 referee Kyros Vassaras (Greece) has been recently removed from the UEFA Referees Committee. He missed the 2006 World Cup in Germany due to one of his assistants failing the fitness test. He tried again for South Africa 2010, but got disappointed in the fall of 2009, when he quit refereeing and became a member of the UEFA Referees Committee, where he was mainly responsible for refereeing at UEFA's youth tournaments and futsal competitions. According to the Greek media, Vassaras was removed following an official request submitted by the Hellenic Football Federation to UEFA. Kyros Vassaras was a member of the Greek Refereeing Committee from 2010 until November 2012. In August 2012 he sent a letter to the HFF Board criticizing the referee selection for the Greek Super League and Football League. That letter was used by a member of the Board to make allegations about corrupted referee promotions on these lists, which started an inquiry by the Greek justice. After his dismissal from the UEFA Referees Committee, Kyros Vassaras was hired by the Romanian Football Federation, as their new Chairman of the Referees Committee.

UEFA Referees Committee 2014-2015

Chairman
Angel Villar Llona (ESP)

Deputy Chairman
Senes Erzik (TUR)

Chief Refereeing Officer
Pierluigi Collina (ITA)

Refereeing Officers
Marc Batta (FRA), Hugh Dallas (SCO)

Members
Dagmar Damkova (CZE), David Elleray (ENG), Herbert Fandel (GER), Bo Karlsson (SWE), Nikolai Levnikov (RUS), Jozef Marko (SVK), Vlado Sajn (SVN), Jaap Uilenberg (NED), Kurt Zuppinger (SUI).

Rizzoli: “Great satisfaction for the Italian refereeing”

Italian referee Nicola Rizzoli has revealed that he was proud to represent Italy at the World Cup final between Germany and Argentina on Sunday. The 42-year-old was the third Italian to officiate the tournament’s final game, following Sergio Gonella in 1978 and Pierluigi Collina in 2002, and he admits that being able to do so has been an incredible experience, as well as a great source of pride for all of Italy.

Rizzoli spoke to the official FIGC website about the difficulty of refereeing the World Cup final, which Germany won 1-0 after extra time, and praised assistants Renato Faverani and Andrea Stefani for helping him keep the match under control. “It was a great match and a great satisfaction, a source of pride for Italy and for the entire Italian football,” said the official. “The match was difficult, but I had been greatly helped by the players and especially by my assistants. A World Cup final is not an easy match, but perhaps the most psychologically complicated moment came when Higuain’s goal was disallowed, which inevitably created some tension. Fortunately, the high level of Italian refereeing is known in the international arena, players trust us, we talk and it helps make everything better. I am very proud to have represented the Italian referees here at the World Cup and at the final. I dedicate my succes to them and to my family”. 

Source: FIGC

FIFA World Cup Final 2014: Rizzoli (ITA)

Germany and Argentina contested the final of the 1990 FIFA World Cup Italy and an Italian referee will officiate as the same countries meet in the 2014 decider. Nicola Rizzoli, a 42-years-old an architect from Bologna, has already refereed three matches at the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil, taking charge of Spain-Netherlands and Nigeria-Argentina in the group stages and the quarter-final between Argentina and Belgium. 

Rizzoli started his international career in 2007, going on to referee the final in each of the two main European club competitions. He was the man in the middle for Atletico Madrid-Fulham at the climax of the 2010 UEFA Europa League, followed by the all-German decider between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund in the 2013 UEFA Champions League. In 2011, the Italian was selected for the FIFA Club World Cup, where he presided over two games. In 2012, Rizzoli was tasked with handling Spain-France in the quarter-finals of UEFA EURO 2012 and two more matches during the same competition. Last year, he was in Turkey for the FIFA U-20 World Cup, where he took charge of two fixtures. 

Nicola Rizzoli (photo) will be assisted by his compatriots Renato Faverani and Andrea Stefani, who are both 44 years old. The fourth official will be Carlos Vera from Ecuador. Nicola Rizzoli will be the third Italian referee in the history of the FIFA World Cup to officiate a final, following in the footsteps of Sergio Gonella in 1978 and Pierluigi Collina in 2002.

13 July 2014
Germany – Argentina
Referee: Nicola Rizzoli (ITA)
Assistant Referee 1: Renato Faverani (ITA)
Assistant Referee 2: Andrea Stefani (ITA)
Fourth Official: Carlos Vera (ECU)
Reserve AR: Christian Lescano (ECU)

FIFA World Cup 2014 – Third Place Match

Algeria’s Djamel Haimoudi has been confirmed as the referee for match 63 of the FIFA World Cup, the match for third place between Brazil and the Netherlands. During this tournament, the 43-year-old officiated the group-stage matches Australia-Netherlands and Costa Rica-England, as well as Belgium-USA in the Round of 16. In his career, Haimoudi oversaw two matches in last year’s FIFA Confederations Cup and he was selected for the FIFA Club World Cup 2012 and the FIFA U-20 World Cup 2011. Haimoudi also has notable experience in his confederation CAF taking charge of three editions of the Africa Cup of Nations - in 2008, 2012 and 2013. At the end of the most recent edition, he refereed Nigeria-Burkina Faso in the final. Finally, the Algerian officiated four more important final matches, including the deciders for the CAF Champions League 2008, 2012 and 2013 and the CAF Super Cup 2008. Djamel Haimoudi (photo) will become the first CAF referee to officiate a third place match of a FIFA World Cup.

12 July 2014
Brazil – Netherlands
Referee: Djamel Haimoudi (ALG)
Assistant Referee 1: Redouane Achik (MAR)
Assistant Referee 2: Abdelhak Etchiali (ALG)
Fourth Official: Yuichi Nishimura (JPN)
Reserve AR: Toru Sagara (JPN)

UEFA Europa League – First Qualifying Round (Second Leg)

Glenavon FC – FH

Referee: Sascha Amhof (SUI, photo)

Assistant Referee 1: Charles Helbling (SUI) 

Assistant Referee 2: Sladan Josipović (SUI)

Fourth Official: Fedayi San (SUI)

Referee Observer: Nuno Castro (POR)

Linfield – B36 Tórshavn

Referee: Thoroddur Hjaltalin (ISL)

Assistant Referee 1: Johann Gudmundsson (ISL)

Assistant Referee 2: Áskell Gíslason (ISL)

Fourth Official: Vilhjalmur Thorarinnsson (ISL)

Referee Observer: Zbigniew Przesmycki (POL)

FC Shakhter Karagandy – FC Shirak

Referee: Eitan Shmuelevitz (ISR)

Assistant Referee 1: Mahmud Mahagna (ISR) 

Assistant Referee 2: Kiril Balikin (ISR)

Fourth Official: Erez Papir (ISR)

Referee Observer: Milovan Nikolić (SVN)

FC Astana – FC Pyunik

Referee: Siarhei Tsynkevich (BLR)

Assistant Referees: Yauheni Ramanau (BLR), Vitali Maliutsin (BLR)

Fourth Official: Dzianis Shcharbakou (BLR)

Referee Observer: Asim Khudiyev (AZE)

FC Mika – RNK Split

Referee: Oliver Drachta (AUT)

Assistant Referees: Roland Brandner (AUT), Roland Braunschmidt (AUT)

Fourth Official: Dieter Muckenhammer (AUT)

Referee Observer: Manuel Mejuto González (ESP)

KF Laçi – NK Rudar Velenje (SVN)

Referee: Tamás Bognar (HUN)

Assistant Referees: Peter Berettyán (HUN), Robert Horvath (HUN)

Fourth Official: Adam Farkas (HUN)

Referee Observer: Rusmir Mrković (BIH)

Daugava Daugavpils – Víkingur

Referee: Aleksander Gauzer (KAZ)

Assistant Referees: Alibek Aubakirov (KAZ), Samat Tergeussizov (KAZ)

Fourth Official: Alexandr Aliyev (KAZ)

Referee Observer: Alan Freeland (SCO)

FC Honka Espoo – JK Sillamäe Kalev

Referee: Raymond Crangle (NIR)

Assistant Referees: Gareth Eakin (NIR), James Eakin (NIR)

Fourth Official: Ross Dunlop (NIR)

Referee Observer: Lassin Isaksen (FRO)

FK Ekranas – Crusaders FC

Referee: Yaroslav Kozyk (UKR)

Assistant Referees: Mykola Levko (UKR), Ievgenii Khalamendyk (UKR)

Fourth Official: Anatoliy Abdula (UKR)

Referee Observer: Bernardino González Vázquez (ESP)

FK Lovćen – FK Željezničar

Referee: Christian Dingert (GER)

Assistant Referees: Holger Henschel (GER), Tobias Christ (GER)

Fourth Official: Sascha Stegemann (GER)

Referee Observer: Roberto Rosetti (ITA)

FK Budućnost Podgorica – S. S. Folgore

Referee: Tornike Gvantseladze (GEO)

Assistant Referees: Zaza Pipia (GEO), Davit Chigogidze (GEO)

Fourth Official: Giorgi Kruashvili (GEO)

Referee Observer: Tomasz Mikulski (POL)

FK Atlantas – FC Differdange

Referee: Ken Henry Johnsen (NOR)

Assistant Referees: Svein Erik Midthjell (NOR), Tom Harald Grønevik (NOR)

Fourth Official: Svein-Erik Edvartsen (NOR)

Referee Observer: Murat Ilgaz (TUR)

FC Chikhura Sachkhere – FK Turnovo

Referee: Manuel Schüttengruber (AUT)

Assistant Referees: Stefan Kühr (AUT), Roland Riedel (AUT)

Fourth Official: Dominik Ouschan (AUT)

Referee Observer: Miroslav Tulinger (CZE)

JK Nõmme Kalju – Fram

Referee: Anders Poulsen (DEN) 

Assistant Referees: Lars Rix (DEN),  Niels Christian Brixen (DEN)

Fourth Official: Michael Tykgaard (DEN)

Referee Observer: Jan Wegereef (NED)

FK Jelgava – Rosenborg BK

Referee: John Beaton (SCO)

Assistant Referees: Stuart Stevenson (SCO), David McGeachie (SCO)

Fourth Official: Brian Colvin (SCO)

Referee Observer: Alan Snoddy (NIR)

Inter Baku PIK – FC Tiraspol

Referee: Marios Panayi (CYP)

Assistant Referees: Charalambos Charalambous (CYP), Stelios Nikita (CYP)

Fourth Official: Ioannis Anastasiou (CYP)

Referee Observer: Aleh Chykun (BLR)

UE Sant Julià – FK Čukarički

Referee: Zaven Hovhannisyan (ARM)

Assistant Referees: Mesrop Ghazaryan (ARM), Arman Ghushchyan (ARM)

Fourth Official: Suren Baliyan (ARM)

Referee Observer: Plarent Kotherja (ALB)

FK Haugesund – AUK Broughton

Referee: Fran Jović (CRO)

Assistant Referees: Dario Vrabec (CRO), Hrvoje Radić (CRO)

Fourth Official: Marijo Strahonja (CRO)

Referee Observer: Wilfried Heitmann (GER)

FK Dugava Riga – Aberdeen FC

Referee: Mikhail Vilkov (RUS)

Assistant Referees: Aleksei Vorontsov (RUS), Valeriy Danchenko (RUS)

Fourth Official: Alexander Egorov (RUS)

Referee Observer: Shmuel Shteif (ISR)

Tromsø IL – Tartu FC Santos

Referee: Richard Trutz (SVK)

Assistant Referees: Tomas Vorel (SVK), Gabriel Adam (SVK)

Fourth Official:  Gabriel Michlian (SVK)

Referee Observer: Michel Vautrot (FRA)

FC Zimbru Chișinău – FK Škendija

Referee: Anatoliy Vishnichenko (KAZ)

Assistant Referees: Sergey Vassyutin (KAZ), Anatoliy Khodin (KAZ)

Fourth Official: Marat Iskakov (KAZ)

Referee Observer: Guy Goethals (BEL)

CS Fola Esch – IFK Göteborg

Referee: Jakob Kehlet (DEN)

Assistant Referees: Lars Hummelgaard (DEN), Henrik Larsen (DEN)

Fourth Official: Dennis Mogensen (DEN)

Referee Observer: Patrick Kelly (IRL)

IF Brommapojkarna – VPS Vaasa

Referee: Sergey Lapochkin (RUS)

Assistant Referees: Aleksei Lebedev (RUS), Maksim Gavrilin (RUS)

Fourth Official: Sergey Ivanov (RUS)

Referee Observer: Peter Jones (ENG)

KS Flamurtari – FC Sioni Bolnisi

Referee: Clayton Pisani (MLT)

Assistant Referees: Ingmar Spiteri (MLT), Duncan Sultana (MLT)

Fourth Official: Philip Farrugia (MLT)

Referee Observer: Robert Sedlacek (AUT)

FC Spartak Trnava – Hibernians FC

Referee: Nerijus Dunauskas (LTU)

Assistant Referees: Dovydas Suziedelis (LTU), Aleksandr Radius (LTU)

Fourth Official: Audruis Žuta (LTU)

Referee Observer: Luciano Luci (ITA)

FK Kukësi – FC Kairat Almaty

Referee: Neil Doyle (IRL)

Assistant Referees: Wayne McDonnell (IRL), Robert Clarke (IRL)

Fourth Official: Graham Kelly (IRL)

Referee Observer: Vladimir Antonov (MDA)

Birkirkara FC – Diósgyőri VTK

Referee: Pavle Radovanović (MNE)

Assistant Referees: Milutin Đukić (MNE), Dejan Šaković (MNE)

Fourth Official: Milovan Milačić (MNE)

Referee Observer: Uno Tutk (EST)

PFC Litex Lovech – FC Veris Chisinau

Referee: Petr Ardeleanu (CZE)

Assistant Referees: Jiri Molacek (CZE), Jakub Hrabovsky (CZE)

Fourth Official: Michal Patak (CZE)

Referee Observer: Gaetano De Gabriele (MLT)

Bangor City FC – Stjarnan

Referee: Dag Vidar Hafsås (NOR)

Assistant Referees: Leif Opland (NOR), Jan Engan (NOR)

Fourth Official: Martin Lundby (NOR)

Referee Observer: Drago Kos (SVN)

Aberystwyth Town FC – Derry City FC

Referee: Jérome Efong-Nzolo (BEL)

Assistant Referees:  Danny Huens (BEL), Frederick Stalport (BEL)

Fourth Official: Christof Dierick (BEL)

Referee Observer: Dragutin Poljak  (CRO)

ÍF Fuglafjørdur – Myllykosken Pallo

Referee: Boško Jovanetic (SRB)

Assistant Referees: Nemanja Petrović (SRB), Vladimir Čađenović (SRB)

Fourth Official: Nenad Đokić (SRB)

Referee Observer: Leif Sundell (SWE)

Sligo Rovers FC – FK Banga

Referee: Bardhyl Pashaj (ALB)

Assistant Referees: Ermal Barushi (ALB), Denis Rexha (ALB)

Fourth Official: Andi Koçi (ALB)

Referee Observer: Martin Iseli (SUI)

College Europa FC – FC Vaduz

Referee: Laurent Kopriwa (LUX)

Assistant Referees: Steven Curfs (LUX), Ricardo Fernandes (LUX)

Fourth Official: Alain Duriex (LUX)

Referee Observer: Jon Skjervold (NOR)

NK Široki Brijeg – Qabala IK

Referee: Vladimir Vnuk (SVK) 

Assistant Referees: Miroslav Benko (SVK), Michal Tomcik (SVK)

Fourth Official: Boris Marhefka (SVK)

Referee Observer: Jouni Hyytiä (FIN)

A.C. Libertas – PFC Botev Plovdiv

Referee: Alexandru Tean (MDA)

Assistant Referees: Anatolie Bodean (MDA), Victor Mardari (MDA)

Fourth Official: Victor Gheciu (MDA)

Referee Observer: Emil Bozhinovski (MKD)

Ferencvárosi TC – Sliema Wanderers

Referee: Ognjen Valjić (BIH)

Assistant Referees: Hrvoje Turudić (BIH), Goran Dujak (BIH)

Fourth Official: Edin Jakupović (BIH)

Referee Observer: Vasily Melnychuk (UKR)

FC Koper – FK Čelik Nikšić

Referee: Anatolii Zhabchenko (UKR)

Assistant Referees: Oleg Pluzhnyk (UKR), Oleksii Andrieiev (UKR)

Fourth Official: Oleksandr Derdo (UKR)

Referee Observer: Haim Jakov (ISR)

Dundalk FC – AS Jeunesse Esch

Referee: Tsvetan Krastev (BUL) 

Assistant Referees: Diyan Valkov (BUL), Aleksandar Atanasov (BUL)

Fourth Official: Radan Miryanov (BUL)

Referee Observer: Cyril Zimmermann (SUI) 

FK Metalurg Skopje – UE Santa Coloma

Referee: Ville Nevalaine (FIN)

Assistant Referees: Matti Heininen (FIN), Ville Koskiniemi (FIN)

Fourth Official: Jari Järvinen (FIN)

Referee Observer: Kaj Østergaard (DEN)