Top African referee Sikazwe suspended over corruption allegations

CAF have provisionally suspended Zambian referee Janny Sikazwe on suspicion of corruption following the way he handled the CAF Champions League match that Esperance won 4-2 in Rades. It is not yet clear if Sikazwe has filed an appeal with the CAF Appeals Board.

“The chairman of the CAF Disciplinary Board decided that there is good ground to hold a hearing regarding allegations of corruption made against Mr. Janny Sikazwe”, reads the ruling of the Disciplinary Board. “Janny Sikazwe is provisionally suspended from all football activities related to CAF pending a hearing before the Disciplinary Board”.

Sikazwe, who refereed at the 2018 FIFA World Cup, awarded a controversial penalty kick which led to Esperance’s first goal after adjudging Algerian forward Mohamed Belaili to have been fouled by Agosto defender Jose Macaia. In the second half, Agosto thought they had buried the contest but Bobo Ungenda’s goal was disallowed after Esperance goalkeeper Rami Jridi was ruled to have been pushed by Mingo Bille in the process. The Tunisians’ winning goal came as scorer Anice Badri appeared to have had infringed on an Agosto defender attempting to clear danger.

Source: SportingNews

Third UEFA VAR Seminar 2018

The third UEFA seminar for VAR is taking place in Istanbul (Turkey), from 20 to 23 November 2018. UEFA selected 12 out of the 24 referees who attended the first two VAR seminars in Netherlands and Spain.

VAR Instructors
1. Massimiliano Irrati (ITA)
2. Juan Martinez Munuera (ESP)
3. Jose Sanchez Martinez (ESP)
4. Huseyin Gocek (TUR)

Referees
1. Aleksei Kulbakov (BLR)
2. Georgi Kabakov (BUL)
3. Petr Ardeleanu (CZE)
4. Stuart Attwell (ENG)
5. Anthony Taylor (ENG)
6. Orel Grinfeeld (ISR)
7. Andris Treimanis (LVA)
8. Ovidiu Hategan (ROU)
9. Istvan Kovacs (ROU)
10. Robert Madden (SCO)
11. Ivan Kruzliak (SVK)
12. Slavco Vincic (SVN)

Assistant Referees
1. Aleh Maslianka (BLR)
2. Dzmitry Zhuk (BLR)
3. Martin Margaritov (BUL)
4. Diyan Valkov (BUL)
5. Gary Beswick (ENG)
6. Adam Nunn (ENG)
7. Roy Hassan (ISR)
8. Idan Yarkoni (ISR)
9. Haralds Gudermanis (LVA)
10. Aleksejs Spasjonnikovs (LVA)
11. Sebastian Gheorghe (ROU)
12. Octavian Sovre (ROU)
13. Ovidiu Artene (ROU)
14. Vasile Marinescu (ROU)
15. Francis Connor (SCO)
16. Douglas Ross (SCO)
17. Branislav Hancko (SVK)
18. Tomas Somolani (SVK)
19. Tomas Klancnik (SVN)
20. Andraz Kovacic (SVN)

Source: TFF

FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup 2018 – Group Stage (Matches 21-24)

21 November 2018

Spain – Canada
Referee: Anastasia Pustovoitova (RUS, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Ekaterina Kurochkina (RUS)
Assistant Referee 2: Nicolet Bakker (NED)
Fourth Official: Maria Carvajal (CHI)

Colombia – Korea
Referee: Sandra Braz (POR)
Assistant Referee 1: Rocio Puente Pino (ESP)
Assistant Referee 2: Oleksandra Ardasheva (UKR)
Fourth Official: Lucila Venegas (MEX)

Germany – USA
Referee: Laura Fortunato (ARG)
Assistant Referee 1: Mariana Almeida (ARG)
Assistant Referee 2: Nilda Gamarra (PAR)
Fourth Official: Maria Carvajal (CHI)

Cameroon – Korea DPR
Referee: Marie-Soleil Beaudoin (CAN)
Assistant Referee 1: Princess Brown (JAM)
Assistant Referee 2: Stephanie Yee Sing (JAM)
Fourth Official: Lucila Venegas (MEX)

IFAB to clarify handball by removing the word “deliberately”

A surprising proposal is expected to be put up for discussion which would mean that penalty kicks are “one shot” – and that there will be no rebounds if the kick is saved or strikes the goal-frame and bounces back into play. If such a change was made it would mean that the ball would be deemed “dead” once the keeper had blocked the penalty and a goal kick would be awarded. It would be the same as in kicks from the penalty mark and would do away with the problem of players encroaching. The change would be controversial and comes under the second category of proposals to be discussed. The IFAB panel comprises the four home associations, which have one vote each, and FIFA, which has four votes. Law changes require at least six votes, but this meeting is only to decide what to take forward to the IFAB’s annual general meeting in March.

There appears to be a far greater consensus that the handball law is unsatisfactory. In the Laws of the Game under Law 12, Fouls and Misconduct, it is stated that a free kick or penalty kick is awarded if a player “handles the ball deliberately (except for the goalkeeper within his own penalty area)”. What counts as “deliberately” has continually stirred up debate. There is no description of what constitutes deliberate handball, which places the responsibility on the referee and his assistants. The wording in the FA’s rules ads that “distance between the opponent and ball” should be taken into consideration, but the onus on what constitutes deliberate still lies with the officials. It appears that the change, if put forward, would remove the word “deliberately” and define handball as to do with the hand or arm being in an unnatural position at the point of contact. Agreeing what is an unnatural position might also be tricky, but one proposal is for it to be defined as if the ball strikes the arm above shoulder height. It would also be an offence if the ball hits the arm below shoulder height but in an unnatural position, which could be defined as more than eight o’clock or four o’clock from the body. Any goal scored after striking the arm of an attacking player would be disallowed. One issue that will be raised is the concern that attacking players could aim the ball at the arm of a defender to gain an advantage.

There are two IFAB advisory panels – one football and one technical. The football panel is made up of former players, former and current coaches, technical directors, the Federation of Professional Footballers (FIFPro) and experts from confederations. The technical panel is formed by former referees from all the confederations. It has already been revealed that the IFAB advisory panels will discuss whether substitutions during injury time should be stopped or limited to try to avoid time-wasting. There is a fear that it has almost become a tactic for managers. Another measure under consideration is that any player who is substituted has to leave the pitch via the closest touchline rather than walk to the technical area. Some managers waste time by telling players to go as far away as possible from the technical area before they are taken off and then to head for the bench as slowly as possible.

Source: Telegraph

FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup 2018 – Group Stage (Matches 17-20)

20 November 2018

South Africa – Brazil
Referee: Riem Hussein (GER, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Kylie Cockburn (SCO)
Assistant Referee 2: Mihaela Tepusa (ROU)
Fourth Official: Ekaterina Koroleva (USA)

Japan – Mexico
Referee: Salima Mukansanga (RWA)
Assistant Referee 1: Fanta Kone (MLI)
Assistant Referee 2: Bielignin Some (BFA)
Fourth Official: Katalin Kulcsar (HUN)

Ghana – New Zealand
Referee: Sara Persson (SWE)
Assistant Referee 1: Julia Magnusson (SWE)
Assistant Referee 2: Lisa Rashid (ENG)
Fourth Official: Ekaterina Koroleva (USA)

Finland – Uruguay
Referee: Casey Reibelt (AUS)
Assistant Referee 1: Lee Seul Gi (KOR)
Assistant Referee 2: Sarah Jones (NZL)
Fourth Official: Katalin Kulcsar (HUN)

CAF Africa Cup of Nations Qualifiers

16-18 November 2018

Egypt – Tunisia
Referee: Victor Gomes (RSA, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Zakhele Siwela (RSA)
Assistant Referee 2: Johannes Moshidi (RSA)

South Africa – Nigeria
Referee: Bakary Gassama (GAM)
Assistant Referee 1: Sulayman Sosseh (GAM)
Assistant Referee 2: Omar Darboe (GAM)

Morocco – Cameroon
Referee: Eric Otogo-Castane (GAB)
Assistant Referee 1: Moussounda Montel (GAB)
Assistant Referee 2: Theophile Vinga (GAB)

South Sudan – Burundi
Referee: Souleiman Djamal (DJI)
Assistant Referee 1: Farhan Salime (DJI)
Assistant Referee 2: Salah Abdi (DJI)

Comoros – Malawi
Referee: Louis Hakizimana (RWA)
Assistant Referee 1: Ambroise Hakizimana (RWA)
Assistant Referee 2: Zephanie Niyonkuru (RWA)

Uganda – Cape Verde
Referee: Youssef Essrayri (TUN)
Assistant Referee 1: Yamen Malloulchi (TUN)
Assistant Referee 2: Jridi Faouzi (TUN)

Gabon – Mali
Referees: El Fadil Hussein (SDN)
Assistant Referee 1: Waleed Ahmed (SDN)
Assistant Referee 2: Mohammed Ibrahim (SDN)

Namibia – Guinea Bissau
Referees: Noureddine El Jaafari (MAR)
Assistant Referee 1: Lahcen Azgaou (MAR)
Assistant Referee 2: Mustapha Akerkad (MAR)

Equatorial Guinea – Senegal
Referee: Mahmoud Zakaria (EGY)
Assistant Referee 1: Mahmoud Abo (EGY)
Assistant Referee 2: Gamal Saad (EGY)

Gambia – Benin
Referee: Sadok Selmi (TUN)
Assistant Referee 1: Attia Amsaad (LBY)
Assistant Referee 2: Aymen Ismail (TUN)

Seychelles – Libya
Referee: Ali Adelaid (COM)
Assistant Referee 1: Soulaimane Amaldine (COM)
Assistant Referee 2: Hamadi Ibrahim (COM) |

Madagascar – Sudan
Referee: Bamlak Tessema (ETH)
Assistant Referee 1: Temesgin Atango (ETH)
Assistant Referee 2: Tigle Belachew (ETH)

Congo – RD Congo
Referee: Alioum Alioum (CMR)
Assistant Referee 1: Evarist Menkouande (CMR)
Assistant Referee 2: Elvis Noupue (CMR)

Mozambique – Zambia
Referee: Joshua Bondo (BOT)
Assistant Referee 1: Souru Phatsoane (LES)
Assistant Referee 2: Oamogetse Godisamang (BOT)

Eswatini – Niger
Referee: Ahmad Heeralall (MRI)
Assistant Referee 1: Louis Fabien (MRI)
Assistant Referee 2: Akhtar Rossaye (MRI)

Rwanda – Central African Republic
Referee: Boubou Traore (MLI)
Assistant Referee 1: Baba Yomboliba (MLI)
Assistant Referee 2: Drissa Niare (MLI)

Ethiopia – Ghana
Referee: Mustapha Ghorbal (ALG)
Assistant Referee 1: Mokrane Gourari (ALG)
Assistant Referee 2: Bouabdallah Omari (ALG)

Togo – Algeria
Referee: Davies Omweno (KEN)
Assistant Referee 1: Gilbert Cheruiyot (KEN)
Assistant Referee 2: Tony Kidiya (KEN)

Angola – Burkina Faso
Referee: Jean-Jacques Ngambo (COD)
Assistant Referee 1: Olivier Safari (COD)
Assistant Referee 2: Yahaya Mahamadou (NIG)

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

Lesotho – Tanzania
Referee: Thierry Nkurunziza (BDI)
Assistant Referee 1: Jean Birumushahu (BDI)
Assistant Referee 2: Pascal Ndimunzigo (BDI)

Mauritania – Botswana
Referee: Hassan Mohamed (SOM)
Assistant Referee 1: Hamza Abdi (SOM)
Assistant Referee 2: Bashir Suleiman (SOM)

Guinea – Cote d'Ivoire
Referee: Redouane Jiyed (MAR)
Assistant Referee 1: Youssef Mabrouk (MAR)
Assistant Referee 2: Yahya Nouali (MAR)

CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations 2018

Ghana, 17 November – 1 December 2018

Referees

1. Adia Cisse (SEN)
2. Bernadettar Kwimbira (MWI)
3. Bouchra Karboubi (MAR)
4. Diana Chikotesha (ZAM)
5. Fatiha Jermoumi (MAR)
6. Fatou Thioune (SEN)
7. Gladys Lengwe (ZAM, photo)
8. Jonesia Kabakama (TAN)
9. Mireille Mujanayi (COD)
10. Denise Akoua (CIV)
11. Lettitia Viana (EFA)
12. Lidwine Rakotozafinoro (MAD)
13. Lidya Tafesse (ETH)
14. Mary Njoroge (KEN)
15. Mimisen Iyorhe (NGA)
16. Mona Mahmoud (EGY)

UEFA Nations League – Group Stage (Matchday 6)

18-20 November 2018

League A
England – Croatia
Referee: Anastasios Sidiropoulos (GRE, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Polychronis Kostaras (GRE)
Assistant Referee 2: Lázaros Dimitriadis (GRE)
Fourth Official: Damianos Efthymiadis (GRE)
Additional AR 1: Anastasios Papapetrou (GRE)
Additional AR 2: Ioannis Papadopoulos (GRE)
Referee Observer: Herbert Fandel (GER)

Switzerland – Belgium
Referee: Daniele Orsato (ITA)
Assistant Referee 1: Lorenzo Manganelli (ITA)
Assistant Referee 2: Fabiano Preti (ITA)
Fourth Official: Giorgio Peretti (ITA)
Additional AR 1: Paolo Mazzoleni (ITA)
Additional AR 2: Piero Giacomelli (ITA)
Referee Observer: Miroslav Liba (CZE)

Germany – Netherlands
Referee: Ovidiu Hațegan (ROU)
Assistant Referee 1: Octavian Șovre (ROU)
Assistant Referee 2: Sebastian Gheorghe (ROU)
Fourth Official: Radu Ghinguleac (ROU)
Additional AR 1: Radu Petrescu (ROU)
Additional AR 2: Sebastian Colțescu (ROU)
Referee Observer: Marcel Vanelshocht (BEL)

Portugal – Poland
Referee: Sergey Karasev (RUS)
Assistant Referee 1: Igor Demeshko (RUS)
Assistant Referee 2: Aleksey Lunev (RUS)
Fourth Official: Valery Danchenko (RUS)
Additional AR 1: Sergey Ivanov (RUS)
Additional AR 2: Vladimir Moskalev (RUS)
Referee Observer: Michael Ross (NIR)

League B
Northern Ireland – Austria
Referee: Jonathan Lardot (BEL)
Assistant Referee 1: Frédéric Godelaine (BEL)
Assistant Referee 2: Laurent Conotte (BEL)
Fourth Official: Vito Di Vincenzo (BEL)
Additional AR 1: Alexandre Boucaut (BEL)
Additional AR 2: Nathan Verboomen (BEL)
Referee Observer: David Elleray (ENG)

Czech Republic – Slovakia
Referee: Alejandro Hernández Hernández (ESP)
Assistant Referee 1: Teodoro Sobrino Magán (ESP)
Assistant Referee 2: Raúl Cabañero Martínez (ESP)
Fourth Official: Roberto Díaz Pérez (ESP)
Additional AR 1: Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea (ESP)
Additional AR 2: José Munuera Montero (ESP)
Referee Observer: Frank De Bleeckere (BEL)

Denmark – Ireland
Referee: Aliyar Agayev (AZE)
Assistant Referee 1: Zeynal Zeynalov (AZE)
Assistant Referee 2: Rza Mammadov (AZE)
Fourth Official: Mübariz Haşımov (AZE)
Additional AR 1: Rahim Hasanov (AZE)
Additional AR 2: Orxan Mammadov (AZE)
Referee Observer: Peter Sippel (GER)

Sweden – Russia
Referee: Benoît Bastien (FRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Hicham Zakrani (FRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Frédéric Haquette (FRA)
Fourth Official: Nicolas Danos (FRA)
Additional AR 1: François Letexier (FRA)
Additional AR 2: Jérôme Miguelgorry (FRA)
Referee Observer: Michális Koukoulákis (GRE)

League C
Greece – Estonia
Referee: Yevhen Aranovsky (UKR)
Assistant Referee 1: Serhiy Bekker (UKR)
Assistant Referee 2: Oleh Pluzhnyk (UKR)
Fourth Official: Semen Shlonchak (UKR)
Additional AR 1: Serhiy Boyko (UKR)
Additional AR 2: Anatoliy Abdula (UKR)
Referee Observer: Vlado Svilokos (CRO)

Hungary – Finland
Referee: Slavko Vinčič (SVN)
Assistant Referee 1: Tomaž Klančnik (SVN)
Assistant Referee 2: Andraž Kovačič (SVN)
Fourth Official: Grega Kordež (SVN)
Additional AR 1: Nejc Kajtazovič (SVN)
Additional AR 2: Roberto Ponis (SVN)
Referee Observer: Andreas Schluchter (SUI)

Bulgaria – Slovenia
Referee: Hüseyin Göçek (TUR)
Assistant Referee 1: Mustafa Eyisoy (TUR)
Assistant Referee 2: Kemal Yılmaz (TUR)
Fourth Official: Erdem Bayık (TUR)
Additional AR 1: Mete Kalkavan (TUR)
Additional AR 2: Suat Arslanboğa (TUR)
Referee Observer: Boško Jovanetić (SRB)

Cyprus – Norway
Referee: István Vad (HUN)
Assistant Referee 1: István Albert (HUN)
Assistant Referee 2: Péter Berettyán (HUN)
Fourth Official: Theodoros Georgiou (HUN)
Additional AR 1: Ferenc Karakó (HUN)
Additional AR 2: József Erdős (HUN)
Referee Observer: Stephen Lodge (ENG)

Scotland – Israel
Referee: Tobias Welz (GER)
Assistant Referee 1: Rafael Foltyn (GER)
Assistant Referee 2: Markus Häcker (GER)
Fourth Official: Mark Borsch (GER)
Additional AR 1: Marco Fritz (GER)
Additional AR 2: Patrick Ittrich (GER)
Referee Observer: Dušan Krchňák (SVK)

Montenegro – Romania
Referee: Felix Zwayer (GER)
Assistant Referee 1: Thorsten Schiffner (GER)
Assistant Referee 2: Marco Achmüller (GER)
Fourth Official: Christian Gittelmann (GER)
Additional AR 1: Tobias Stieler (GER)
Additional AR 2: Sascha Stegemann (GER)
Referee Observer: Rune Pedersen (NOR)

Serbia – Lithuania
Referee: Kristo Tohver (EST)
Assistant Referee 1: Silver Kõiv (EST)
Assistant Referee 2: Dmitri Vinogradov (EST)
Fourth Official: Jaan Roos (EST)
Additional AR 1: Joonas Jaanovits (EST)
Additional AR 2: Eiko Saar (EST)
Referee Observer: Yuriy Baskakov (RUS)

League D
Moldova – Luxembourg
Referee: Adrien Jaccottet (SUI)
Assistant Referee 1: Vital Jobin (SUI)
Assistant Referee 2: Jan Köbeli (SUI)
Fourth Official: Remy Zgraggen (SUI)
Additional AR 1: Alain Bieri (SUI)
Additional AR 2: Urs Schnyder (SUI)
Referee Observer: Asim Xudiyev (AZE)

San Marino – Belarus
Referee: Giorgi Kruashvili (GEO)
Assistant Referee 1: Zaza Menteshashvili (GEO)
Assistant Referee 2: Zaza Pipia (GEO)
Fourth Official: Levan Varamishvili (GEO)
Additional AR 1: Giorgi Vadachkoria (GEO)
Additional AR 2: Goga Kikacheishvili (GEO)
Referee Observer: Ladislav Gádoši (SVK)

Andorra – Latvia
Referee: Halil Umut Meler (TUR)
Assistant Referee 1: Kerem Ersoy (TUR)
Assistant Referee 2: İbrahim Uyarcan (TUR)
Fourth Official: Ceyhun Sesigüzel (TUR)
Additional AR 1: Yaşar Uğurlu (TUR)
Additional AR 2: Ümit Öztürk (TUR)
Referee Observer: Elmir Pilav (BIH)

Georgia – Kazakhstan
Referee: Tiago Martins (POR)
Assistant Referee 1: Luís Campos (POR)
Assistant Referee 2: Ricardo Santos (POR)
Fourth Official: António Godinho (POR)
Additional AR 1: Hugo Miguel (POR)
Additional AR 2: João Capela (POR)
Referee Observer: Igor Pristovnik (CRO)

Liechtenstein – Armenia
Referee: Alain Durieux (LUX)
Assistant Referee 1: Daniel Da Costa (LUX)
Assistant Referee 2: Gilles Becker (LUX)
Fourth Official: Claude Ries (LUX)
Additional AR 1: Christophe Pires (LUX)
Additional AR 2: Alex Krueger (LUX)
Referee Observer: Are Habicht (EST)

FYR Macedonia – Gibraltar
Referee: Daniyar Sakhi (KAZ)
Assistant Referee 1: Aydyn Tasybayev (KAZ)
Assistant Referee 2: Sergey Kalachev (KAZ)
Fourth Official: Evgeny Belskiy (KAZ)
Additional AR 1: Furkat Atazhanov (KAZ)
Additional AR 2: Arman Ismuratov (KAZ)
Referee Observer: Ingi Jónsson (ISL)

Kosovo – Azerbaijan
Referee: Benoît Millot (FRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Mehdi Rahmouni (FRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Bertrand Jouannaud (FRA)
Fourth Official: Benjamin Pagès (FRA)
Additional AR 1: Frank Schneider (FRA)
Additional AR 2: Karim Abed (FRA)
Referee Observer: Aleksander Gvardis (RUS)

Malta – Faroe Islands
Referee: Vitaly Meshkov (RUS)
Assistant Referee 1: Anton Averyanov (RUS)
Assistant Referee 2: Dmitry Mosyakin (RUS)
Fourth Official: Maksim Gavrilin (RUS)
Additional AR 1: Sergey Lapochkin (RUS)
Additional AR 2: Mikhail Vilkov (RUS)
Referee Observer: António Almeida (POR)

UEFA U-21 Euro 2019 Qualifiers – Play-off (Second Leg)

20 November 2018

Portugal – Poland
Referee: Davide Massa (ITA, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Mauro Tonolini (ITA)
Assistant Referee 2: Stefano Alassio (ITA)
Fourth Official: Fabio Maresca (ITA)
Referee Observer: Bertrand Layec (FRA)

Austria – Greece
Referee: Craig Pawson (ENG)
Assistant Referee 1: Lee Betts (ENG)
Assistant Referee 2: Ian Hussin (ENG)
Fourth Official: Christopher Kavanagh (ENG)
Referee Observer: Alexandru Deaconu (ROU)

FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup 2018 – Group Stage (Matches 13-16)

17 November 2018

Korea – Canada
Referee: Maria Carvajal (CHI, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Leslie Vásquez (CHI)
Assistant Referee 2: Loreto Toloza (CHI)
Fourth Official: Casey Reibelt (AUS)

USA – Korea DPR
Referee: Katalin Kulcsár (HUN)
Assistant Referee 1: Katalin Török (HUN)
Assistant Referee 2: Lucie Ratajová (CZE)
Fourth Official: Anastasia Pustovoitova (RUS)

Colombia – Spain
Referee: Yoshimi Yamashita (JPN)
Assistant Referee 1: Naomi Teshirogi (JPN)
Assistant Referee 2: Makoto Bozono (JPN)
Fourth Official: Casey Reibelt (AUS)

Germany – Cameroon
Referee: Lucila Venegas (MEX)
Assistant Referee 1: Mayte Chavez (MEX)
Assistant Referee 2: Enedina Caudillo (MEX)
Fourth Official: Anastasia Pustovoitova (RUS)