Eiriz: from FIFA referee to athletic champion

In recent years we got used to see Spanish referees in the First and Second Division in a very good physical shape. Referees train like professional athletes and must pass fitness tests at various times during the season. This is the case of Ruben Eiriz, one of the best-known referees from Coruna. This summer he ended his refereeing career, but his passion for the sport has not diminished. He has always liked to be in shape and has switched to athletics, obtaining excellent results in the past Galician championships, in the veterans category. Eiriz won the 200 and 400 metre sprint titles, and a silver medal in the 100 metres. His next challenge will be the Spanish Championships.

Ruben Eiriz, 40, spent four seasons in the Second Division and 10 years as a FIFA Beach Soccer referee. In this role, he was appointed to five FIFA World Cups, where in four of them he was in charge of directing the grand final of the tournament. This summer he finished his career in Second Division B due to age. Now, after a few months a little further away from refereeing, he will once again carry out different collaborations with the local committees. He has also been an instructor of game rules at the Galician School of Coaches and has brought the world of refereeing closer to the students of the Liceo La Paz, where he studied. 

Ruben has always liked challenges. After becoming one of the best referees in the beach soccer world, now it is his turn for athletics. In Galicia he already reigns in several disciplines. His next stop will be to try to be champion of Spain. He trains every day to arrive in the best possible shape. He has changed the grass of the soccer fields for the athletics track. Always linked to sports. Before running behind players as a referee and now running against the timer. Different challenges, but the same passion. 

Source: Cope.es

Passion undiminished by serious health scare

Cui Yongmei has proved there is nothing in this world which can deprive her of the love for refereeing. Not even a life-threatened event. 

One of the best regarded female assistant referees China PR have ever seen, Cui was announced to join the match officials’ team for the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup France. Just as she was working against the clock to prepare herself for her second women's football extravaganza - she worked as an assistant referee at Canada 2015 – Cui was urgently taken to hospital at the start of last year after an unexpected heart attack. It proved to be an extremely dangerous heart problem which left her family and friends despairing. Despite that Cui had things on her mind, other than just her health. When she recovered consciousness from a coma, the first question she threw at the doctor was: "Can I continue my referee work? Will I be fit to go to the Women's World Cup? This happened just under five months before the Women's World Cup," the 40-year-old physical education teacher of Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine told FIFA.com. "I was expecting to work at my second Women's World Cup. I had spent three years training hard and living a self-disciplined life. So I really didn't want to let the chance slip away and see my efforts be in vain. The doctor asked me to rest for at least three months. But I couldn't wait. Just nine days after I returned home from hospital, I flew to Doha for a Women's World Cup referees' seminar. Then I began my daily routine training. But again the doctor sent a warning note - I must put France 2019 aside for safety reasons. As a result, I had to quit my job at France 2019," she continued, the anguish and disappointment still evident in her voice. "My Women's World Cup hopes were devastated. But my colleagues from FIFA, AFC and CFA encouraged me and I was aware it was what I must bravely face up to." 

Born in Tianjin, Cui's passion for the game was inherited from her father, a fervent supporter of the local team. "My father took me to the stadiums for football matches when I was very young,” she said. "That was how I started my love affair with the game. As a little girl, I played football with neighbouring boys. When I went to school, I kept playing football with boys' teams because there were no girls teams.” As a teenager Cui enrolled at Tianjin Sports University, and didn't hesitate in choosing football as her major. It was a decision which left her teacher puzzled. I was the only girl majoring in football - all the other 40 students were boys. My football teacher asked me to change to other sports because he couldn't organise a girls' football team with me as the sole player. I begged him to allow me to stay. So I continued my football development. I played as a forward and scored a lot of goals against the boys." Cui's career took an unexpected divergence in her second university year when Mr. Zhao Gong, a renowned referee, took over as their football teacher. Instead of encouraging Cui to play, he advised her to learn refereeing. He instilled the basic referee knowledge into Cui and sent her to referees courses. "Mr. Zhao taught me refereeing because he didn't want to see me get injured by competing against boys. My interest in refereeing great fast and I made consistent progress." Cui's rise to fame was meteoric. She became a national referee in 2005 and in three years was an international assistant referee. She joined AFC's referee team for a series of continental competitions before officiating matches in her first FIFA tournament - the 2012 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup in Japan. She went on to work as an assistant referee at Canada 2015, before another career high at the Women's Olympic Football Tournament at Rio 2016. 

Although her flourishing career was brought to an abrupt end, Cui's passion for the game remained undiminished. Instead, she locked her target on a new role as a referee assessor. "I reluctantly had to call time to my refereeing career. But having worked as a referee for the past twenty years, I hope I can pass on my experiences to a younger generation. I want to find a new place where I can help unearth and develop young referees.” The kind of person who lets her actions do the talking, Cui embarked on the new adventure and recently became a qualified CFA referee assessor. She announced her return to the game after 606 days when she worked in her new role in the 2020 Chinese Women’s Football League last month. "My passion for the game never ebbs away. I may have quitted refereeing, but I can continue my football passion in the referee assessor role and even my job in the university is teaching football. My next goal is to become a referee instructor. I took the FIFA Futuro III Instructor Course in July and I think it is a job where I can better help the young referees. Of course, there are difficulties when you try something new. But whatever challenges face me, I will take them and move forward.” 

Source: FIFA

Gavillucci loves the “third half” in England

A former Serie A referee sacked after suspending a game for racist abuse insists he would do the exact same thing again - as he revives his career in England's non-league. Claudio Gavillucci lost his dream job as a top flight Italian official in 2018 just weeks after he called a game between Sampdoria and Napoli to a halt due to vile taunts from the crowd. In doing so, he became the first-ever Serie A referee to take such action against racism. On the record, Gavillucci's sacking was for ‘technical performances’, but he disputes the fact and claims it was down to his hard stance against racism and vehemently appealed the decision. 

With no future in football in Italy, the 40-year-old moved to England and set up base on the Wirral in order to link up with associates of the food company he founded - and swiftly put a call into Cheshire FA over getting back out onto the pitch. He has now been spending his weekends officiating the likes of Widnes FC and Nantwich Town before being promoted to the National League North this summer. On Monday night, he oversaw Curzon Ashton and Alfreton Town's 1-1 draw, the season opener and his first game at the level. But if he is faced with racism again, just as he was in Italy, he insists he would do the exact same thing. “I wouldn't hesitate for a minute and I'd take exactly the same decision,” Gavillucci said. “Racism is evil and it must be eradicated no matter which country it is in. I made the decision to temporarily suspend the game following discriminatory chants directed towards the Neapolitans and the player Kalidou Koulibaly. It was the first time a referee had halted a match in Italy for discriminatory chanting. The reasons given by the Italian Football Association for my dismissal following that season was that the decision was based on the technical results of my overall performances. Unfortunately, I will never have clarity as, up until last season, there was no transparency around the marks and performances of referees in Serie A like there is in England.” 

As disappointing as his dismissal was, Gavillucci has since immersed himself in the culture of English non-league football as he balanced his business with getting back out onto the pitch. Communication was an initial hiccup, but his games now flow more than they ever did in Italy. And the joy of the post-match pint is a new tradition he has got completely on board with. He said: “Being back refereeing in leagues where football is purely about fun - and doing so in the homeland where the Laws of the Game were born - is certainly a unique experience for somebody like me who loves the game. As an example, it may not be Juventus, but refereeing the oldest team in the world, Sheffield FC, will remain among the best memories of my career. I love English football and especially the fact that in the lower levels of the game you can still feel the true essence of football. The fact that the players on the pitch think about playing football and don’t ask for a foul at every contact, like players do in Italy, is fantastic. In England, I sometimes end matches with only 10 to 15 fouls in total, which is unthinkable in Italy where the average is about 30 fouls per match. I like that the stadiums have no barriers and that fans are very close to the pitch, and that this is not a risk for the referees. In Italy, this would not be possible, especially in the lower leagues, where there are around 300 acts of violence towards referees each year. I also love the ‘third half’ after the match in the social room with both teams - it is a habit that I would have liked to have when I was refereeing in Italy!” 

Source: Daily Star

New Zealand: Keighley chosen best referee in both football and futsal

New Zealand Referees of the Year 2020

Men’s Referee of the Year: Matt Conger
Women’s Referee of the Year: Anna-Marie Keighley
Men’s Assistant Referee of the Year: Mark Rule
Women’s Assistant Referee of the Year: Sarah Jones
Men’s Futsal Referee of the Year: Antony Riley
Women’s Futsal Referee of the Year: Anna-Marie Keighley

Source: OFC

UEFA Euro 2020 Qualifiers – Play-offs (Semi-finals)

8 October 2020

Georgia – Belarus
Referee: Cüneyt Çakir (TUR, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Bahattin Duran (TUR)
Assistant Referee 2: Tarik Ongun (TUR)
Fourth Official: Mete Kalkavan (TUR)
VAR: Abdulkadir Bitigen (TUR)
AVAR: Hüseyin Göçek (TUR)
Referee Observer: Michael Riley (ENG)

North Macedonia – Kosovo
Referee: Danny Makkelie (NED)
Assistant Referee 1: Mario Diks (NED)
Assistant Referee 2: Hessel Steegstra (NED)
Fourth Official: Allard Lindhout (NED)
VAR: Jochem Kamphuis (NED)
AVAR: Kevin Blom (NED)
Referee Observer: Alexandru Deaconu (ROU)

Norway – Serbia
Referee: Daniele Orsato (ITA)
Assistant Referee 1: Filippo Meli (ITA)
Assistant Referee 2: Ciro Carbone (ITA)
Fourth Official: Daniele Doveri (ITA)
VAR: Massimiliano Irrati (ITA)
AVAR: Giorgio Peretti (ITA)
Referee Observer: Uno Tutk (EST)

Scotland – Israel
Referee: Ovidiu Haţegan (ROU)
Assistant Referee 1: Octavian Șovre (ROU)
Assistant Referee 2: Sebastian Gheorghe (ROU)
Fourth Official: Sebastian Colţescu (ROU)
VAR: Marco Guida (ITA)
AVAR: Marco Di Bello (ITA)
Referee Observer: Miroslav Tulinger (CZE)

Slovakia – Ireland
Referee: Clement Turpin (FRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Nicolas Danos (FRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Cyril Gringore (FRA)
Fourth Official: Frank Schneider (FRA)
VAR: François Letexier (FRA)
AVAR: Jerôme Brisard (FRA)
Referee Observer: Markus Nobs (SUI)

Bosnia and Herzegovina – Northern Ireland
Referee: Antonio Mateu Lahoz (ESP)
Assistant Referee 1: Pau Cebrian Devis (ESP)
Assistant Referee 2: Roberto Diaz Perez (ESP)
Fourth Official: Ricardo de Burgos Bengoechea (ESP)
VAR: Alejandro Hernandez Hernandez (ESP)
AVAR: Javier Estrada Fernandez (ESP)
Referee Observer: Alfredo Trentalange (ITA)

Bulgaria – Hungary
Referee: Szymon Marciniak (POL)
Assistant Referee 1: Pawel Sokolnicki (POL)
Assistant Referee 2: Tomasz Listkiewicz (POL)
Fourth Official: Pawel Raczkowski (POL)
VAR: Pawel Gil (POL)
AVAR: Tomasz Kwiatkowski (POL)
Referee Observer: Lucilio Batista (POR)

Iceland – Romania
Referee: Damir Skomina (SVN)
Assistant Referee 1: Jure Praprotnik (SVN)
Assistant Referee 2: Robert Vukan (SVN)
Fourth Official: Rade Obrenovič (SVN)
VAR: Juan Martinez Munuera (ESP)
AVAR: Slavko Vinčić (SVN)
Referee Observer: Karen Nalbandyan (ARM)

International Friendly Matches – October 2020

7-13 October 2020

Portugal – Spain
Referee: Paolo Valeri (ITA, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Matteo Passeri (ITA)
Assistant Referee 2: Alessandro Costanzo (ITA)
Fourth Official: Fabio Verissimo (POR) 

Germany – Turkey
Referee: Benoît Bastien (FRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Hicham Zakrani (FRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Frederic Haquette (FRA)
Fourth Official: Benoît Millot (FRA) 

France – Ukraine
Referee: Andris Treimanis (LVA)
Assistant Referee 1: Haralds Gudermanis (LVA)
Assistant Referee 2: Aleksejs Spasjonņikovs (LVA)
Fourth Official: Aleksandrs Golubevs (LVA)

Netherlands – Mexico
Referee: Srdjan Jovanović (SRB)
Assistant Referee 1: Uroš Stojković (SRB)
Assistant Referee 2: Milan Mihajlović (SRB)
Fourth Official: Milos Milanovic (SRB)

Armenia – Albania
Referee: Dzmitry Dzmitryieu (BLR)
Assistant Referee 1: Denis Emelyanchikov (BLR)
Assistant Referee 2: Anton Ihnatsiuk (BLR)
Fourth Official: Zaven Hovhannisyan (ARM)

Cyprus – Czech Republic
Referee: Lionel Tschudi (SUI)
Assistant Referee 1: Sladjan Josipović (SUI)
Assistant Referee 2: Matthias Sbriss (SUI)
Fourth Official: Vasilis Dimitriou (CYP)

Denmark – Faroe Islands
Referee: Glenn Nyberg (SWE)
Assistant Referee 1: Mahbod Beig (SWE)
Assistant Referee 2: Andreas Söderqvist (SWE)
Fourth Official: Michael Tykgaard (DEN)

Estonia – Lithuania
Referee: Antti Munukka (FIN)
Assistant Referee 1: Mika Lamppu (FIN)
Assistant Referee 2: Riku Vihreävuori (FIN)
Fourth Official: Kristo Tohver (EST)

Luxembourg – Liechtenstein
Referee: Alexandre Boucaut (BEL)
Assistant Referee 1: Mathias Hillaert (BEL)
Assistant Referee 2: Pieter Becquet (BEL)
Fourth Official: Jasmin Sabotic (LUX)

Austria – Greece
Referee: Matej Jug (SVN)
Assistant Referee 1: Matej Žunič (SVN)
Assistant Referee 2: Manuel Vidali (SVN)
Fourth Official: Nejc Kajtazovic (SVN)

Slovenia – San Marino
Referee: Sebastian Gishamer (AUT)
Assistant Referee 1: Roland Riedel (AUT)
Assistant Referee 2: Santino Schreiner (AUT)
Fourth Official: Dejan Balažič (SVN)

Andorra – Cabo Verde
Referee: Jose Munuera Montero (ESP)
Assistant Referee 1: Inigo Prieto Lopez (ESP)
Assistant Referee 2: Diego Barbero Sevilla (ESP)
Fourth Official: Mario Melero Lopez (ESP)

Italy – Moldova
Referee: Daniel Siebert (GER)
Assistant Referee 1: Jan Seidel (GER)
Assistant Referee 2: Rafael Foltyn (GER)
Fourth Official: Marco Piccinini (ITA)

Switzerland – Croatia
Referee: Tiago Martins (POR)
Assistant Referee 1: Luis Campos (POR)
Assistant Referee 2: Pedro Almeida (POR)
Fourth Official: Urs Schnyder (SUI)

Poland – Finland
Referee: Michal Ocenaš (SVK)
Assistant Referee 1: Tomaš Vorel (SVK)
Assistant Referee 2: Michal Tomčík (SVK)
Fourth Official: Peter Kralović (SVK)

Malta – Gibraltar
Referee: Nikola Popov (BUL)
Assistant Referee 1: Martin Venev (BUL)
Assistant Referee 2: Miroslav Maksimov (BUL)
Fourth Official: Matthew De Gabriele (MLT)

Montenegro – Latvia
Referee: Admir Šehović (BIH)
Assistant Referee 1: Amer Macić (BIH)
Assistant Referee 2: Goran Dujak (BIH)
Fourth Official: Mileta Šćepanović (MNE)

Belgium – Cote d’Ivoire
Referee: Serdar Gözübüyük (NED)
Assistant Referee 1: Johan Balder (NED)
Assistant Referee 2: Rogier Honig (NED)
Fourth Official: Bas Nijhuis (NED)

England – Wales
Referee: Robert Madden (SCO)
Assistant Referee 1: Douglas Ross (SCO)
Assistant Referee 2: Francis Connor (SCO)
Fourth Official: John Beaton (SCO)

Russia – Sweden
Referee: Halis Ozkahya (TUR)
Assistant Referee 1: Ceyhun Sesiguzel (TUR)
Assistant Referee 2: Kerem Ersoy (TUR)

Japan – Cameroon
Referee: Bas Nijhuis (NED)
Assistant Referee 1: Charles Schaap (NED)
Assistant Referee 2: Joost van Zuilen (NED)
Fourth Official: Jeroen Manschot (NED)

Mali – Ghana
Referee: Halil Meler (TUR)
Assistant Referee 1: Cevdet Kömürcüoğlu (TUR)
Assistant Referee 2: Mustafa Eyisoy (TUR)
Fourth Official: Melis Özçiğdem (TUR)

Nigeria – Algeria
Referee: Manuel Schüttengruber (AUT)
Assistant Referee 1: Roland Brandner (AUT)
Assistant Referee 2: Sara Telek (AUT)

Gambia – Congo
Referee: Nuno Almeida (POR)
Assistant Referee 1: Rui Cidade (POR)
Assistant Referee 2: Pedro Sancho (POR)

Mauritania – Sierra Leone
Referee: Adalbert Diouf (SEN)
Assistant Referee 1: Djibril Camara (SEN)
Assistant Referee 2: Abdoul Gueye (SEN)

Burkina Faso – Congo DR
Referee: Redouane Jiyed (MAR)
Assistant Referee 1: Mustapha Akerkad (MAR)
Assistant Referee 2: Lahsen Azgaou (MAR)
Fourth Official: Karim Sabri (MAR)

Zambia – Malawi
Referee: Audrick Nkole (ZAM)
Assistant Referee 1: Diana Chikotesha (ZAM)
Assistant Referee 2: Mercy Zulu (ZAM)
Fourth Official: Mathews Hamalila (ZAM)

Nicaragua – Guatemala
Referee: Nitzar Sandoval (NIC)
Assistant Referee 1: Henry Pupiro (NIC)
Assistant Referee 2: Keytzell Corrales (NIC)
Fourth Official: Erick Lezama (NIC)

Qatar – Ghana
Referee: Hüseyin Göçek (TUR)
Assistant Referee 1: Esat Sancaktar (TUR)
Assistant Referee 2: Kerem Ersoy (TUR)
Fourth Official: Neslihan Muratdağı (TUR)

UAE – Uzbekistan
Referee: Ali Al Samaheeji (BHR)
Assistant Referee 1: Sayed Alawi (BHR)
Assistant Referee 2: Faisal Sayed (BHR)
Fourth Official: Omar Al Ali (UAE)

Madagascar – Burkina Faso
Referee: Noureddine El Jaafari (MAR)
Assistant Referee 1: Hicham Abbou (MAR)
Assistant Referee 2: Zakaria Brinsi (MAR)
Fourth Official: Jalal Jayed (MAR)

Japan – Cote d’Ivoire
Referee: Jochem Kamphuis (NED)
Assistant Referee 1: Bas van Dongen (NED)
Assistant Referee 2: Jan de Vries (NED)
Fourth Official: Erwin Blank (NED)

Nigeria – Tunisia
Referee: Sebastian Gishamer (AUS)
Assistant Referee 1: Roland Riedel (AUS)
Assistant Referee 2: Andreas Witschnigg (AUS)
Fourth Official: Ermin Garanovic (AUS)

Mexico – Algeria
Referee: Bas Nijhuis (NED)
Assistant Referee 1: Johan Balder (NED)
Assistant Referee 2: Joost van Zuilen (NED)
Fourth Official: Edwin van de Graaf (NED)

Niger – Sierra Leone
Referee: Clement Kpan (CIV)
Assistant Referee 1: Nouho Ouattara (CIV)
Assistant Referee 2: Koffi Ahonto (TGO)
Fourth Official: Zouwaira Souley (NIG)

Morocco – Congo DR
Referee: Alioune Sandigui (SEN)
Assistant Referee 1: Serigne Toure (SEN)
Assistant Referee 2: Amadou Ngom (SEN)
Fourth Official: Adil Zourak (MAR)

UEFA U-21 Euro 2021 Qualifying (Matchday 11)

7-9 October 2020

Lithuania – Greece
Referee: Kateryna Monzul (UKR, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Oleksandra Ardasheva (UKR)
Assistant Referee 2: Maryna Striletska (UKR)
Fourth Official: Anastasiya Romanyuk (UKR)
Referee Observer: Ichko Lozev (BUL) 

Andorra – England
Referee: David Fuxman (ISR)
Assistant Referee 1: Sagy Metzamber (ISR)
Assistant Referee 2: Tom Adi (ISR)
Fourth Official: Shalom Avraham (ISR)
Referee Observer: Laurent Duhamel (FRA)

Kazakhstan – North Macedonia
Referee: Lukas Fähndrich (SUI)
Assistant Referee 1: Marco Zürcher (SUI)
Assistant Referee 2: Bekim Zogaj (SUI)
Fourth Official: Alain Bieri (SUI)
Referee Observer: Albano Janku (ALB)

Slovakia – Azerbaijan
Referee: Kristoffer Hagenes (NOR)
Assistant Referee 1: Anders Dale (NOR)
Assistant Referee 2: Isaak Bashevkin (NOR)
Fourth Official: Rohit Saggi (NOR)
Referee Observer: Christos Nicolaides (CYP)

Croatia – San Marino
Referee: Ivar Kristjansson (ISL)
Assistant Referee 1: Birkir Sigurdarson (ISL)
Assistant Referee 2: Johann Gudmundsson (ISL)
Fourth Official: Thorvaldur Arnason (ISL)
Referee Observer: Adrian Azzopardi (MLT)

Montenegro – Israel
Referee: Denys Shurman (UKR)
Assistant Referee 1: Viktor Matyash (UKR)
Assistant Referee 2: Oleksandr Berkut (UKR)
Fourth Official: Dmytro Kryvushkin (UKR)
Referee Observer: Edgar Steinborn (GER)

Faroe Islands – Spain
Referee: David Munro (SCO)
Assistant Referee 1: Sean Carr (SCO)
Assistant Referee 2: Andrew Kirkland (SCO)
Fourth Official: Greg Aitken (SCO)
Referee Observer: Georgi Yordanov (BUL)

Netherlands – Gibraltar
Referee: Christopher Jäger (AUT)
Assistant Referee 1: Robert Steinacher (AUT)
Assistant Referee 2: Jasmin Sabanović (AUT)
Fourth Official: Alan Kijas (AUT)
Referee Observer: Stephane Lannoy (FRA)

France – Liechtenstein
Referee: Ian McNabb (NIR)
Assistant Referee 1: Georgios Argyropoulos (NIR)
Assistant Referee 2: Andrew Nethery (NIR)
Fourth Official: Lee Tavinder (NIR)
Referee Observer: Marco Borg (MLT)

Russia – Estonia
Referee: Antonio Nobre (POR)
Assistant Referee 1: Bruno Alves (POR)
Assistant Referee 2: Nuno Pereira (POR)
Fourth Official: Joao Pereira (POR)
Referee Observer: Vadims Direktorenko (LVA)

Belarus – Cyprus
Referee: Tihomir Pejin (CRO)
Assistant Referee 1: Marjan Tomas (CRO)
Assistant Referee 2: Kruno Šarić (CRO)
Fourth Official: Ante Culjak (CRO)
Referee Observer: Attila Abraham (HUN)

Iceland – Italy
Referee: Ioannis Papadopoulos (GRE)
Assistant Referee 1: Konstantinos Nikolaidis (GRE)
Assistant Referee 2: Vasileios Nikolakakis (GRE)
Fourth Official: Athanasios Tzilos (GRE)
Referee Observer: Jan Carlsen (DEN)

Ukraine – Romania
Referee: Furkat Atazhanov (KAZ)
Assistant Referee 1: Samat Tergeussizov (KAZ)
Assistant Referee 2: Darkhan Tulegenov (KAZ)
Fourth Official: Grigoriy Moskovchenko (KAZ)
Referee Observer: Fredy Fautrel (FRA)

Bulgaria – Latvia
Referee: Viktor Shimusik (BLR)
Assistant Referee 1: Evgeni Romanov (BLR)
Assistant Referee 2: Anton Gusev (BLR)
Fourth Official: Denis Scherbakov (BLR)
Referee Observer: Mark Whitby (WAL)

Georgia – Switzerland
Referee: Jonathan Lardot (BEL)
Assistant Referee 1: Laurent Conotte (BEL)
Assistant Referee 2: Florian Lemaire (BEL)
Fourth Official: Jasper Vergoote (BEL)
Referee Observer: Aleh Chykun (BLR)

Serbia – Poland
Referee: Bram Van Driessche (BEL)
Assistant Referee 1: Yves De Neve (BEL)
Assistant Referee 2: Kevin Monteny (BEL)
Fourth Official: Kevin Van Damme (BEL)
Referee Observer: Michal Beneš (CZE)

Malta – Denmark
Referee: Aristotelis Diamantopoulos (GRE)
Assistant Referee 1: Reinhart Buxbaoum (GRE)
Assistant Referee 2: Konstantinos Psarris (GRE)
Fourth Official: Evangelos Manouchos (GRE)
Referee Observer: Shmuel Shteif (ISR)

Moldova – Germany
Referee: Ferenc Karako (HUN)
Assistant Referee 1: Theodoros Georgiou (HUN)
Assistant Referee 2: Gergo Vigh-Tarsonyi (HUN)
Fourth Official: Adam Farkas (HUN)
Referee Observer: Sergey Zuev (RUS)

Sweden – Luxembourg
Referee: Christian Ciochirca (AUT)
Assistant Referee 1: Andreas Witschnigg (AUT)
Assistant Referee 2: Martin Höfler (AUT)
Fourth Official: Alexander Harkam (AUT)
Referee Observer: Sergejus Slyva (LTU)

Scotland – Czech Republic
Referee: Guillermo Cuadra Fernandez (ESP)
Assistant Referee 1: Teodoro Sobrino Magan (ESP)
Assistant Referee 2: Gonzalo Garcia Gonzalez (ESP)
Fourth Official: Cesar Soto Grado (ESP)
Referee Observer: Alain Hamer (LUX)

Kosovo – Austria
Referee: Laurent Kopriwa (LUX)
Assistant Referee 1: Daniel Da Costa (LUX)
Assistant Referee 2: David Santos (LUX)
Fourth Official: Laurent Wilmes (LUX)
Referee Observer: Plarent Kotherja (ALB)

Northern Ireland – Finland
Referee: Vitor Ferreira (POR)
Assistant Referee 1: Bruno Rodrigues (POR)
Assistant Referee 2: Paulo Bras (POR)
Fourth Official: Iancu Vasilica (POR)
Referee Observer: Gerard Perry (IRL)

Belgium – Wales
Referee: Emmanouil Skoulas (GRE)
Assistant Referee 1: Chasan Koula (GRE)
Assistant Referee 2: Andreas Meintanas (GRE)
Fourth Official: Evangelos Gratsanis (GRE)
Referee Observer: Marinus Koopman (NED)

Portugal – Norway
Referee: Vilhjalmur Thorarinsson (ISL)
Assistant Referee 1: Gylfi Sigurdsson (ISL)
Assistant Referee 2: Oddur Gudmundsson (ISL)
Fourth Official: Helgi Jonasson (ISL)
Referee Observer: Miroslav Vitković (CRO)

Messi caught clashing with referee in tunnel after Barcelona red card

Barcelona captain Lionel Messi confronted referee Del Cerro Grande in the tunnel to protest Clement Lenglet's red card against Celta Vigo. 

The French defender was shown a second yellow card three minutes before half-time during Thursday night's LaLiga fixture for putting an arm across Celta midfielder Denis Suarez. 

Messi argued with referee Carlos Del Cerro Grande on the field and, as tunnel cam TV footage from Movistar has revealed, didn't let the debate rest during half-time. Messi, Gerard Pique and manager Ronald Koeman all stood around Del Cerro Grande and demanded an explanation. 

The official explains his decision and twice demonstrates the move Lenglet made with his arm. Koeman looks distinctly unimpressed with something Del Cerro Grande said and Pique was also determined to get his views across. 

Eventually the group make their way back onto the field for the second half with the referee again reproducing Lenglet's raised arm for Messi. 

In the end, Barcelona's numerical disadvantage counted for little. Already ahead thanks to Ansu Fati's 11th-minute strike, they went 2-0 up thanks to a Lucas Olaza own goal and completed a 3-0 win thanks to Sergi Roberto late on. "You can debate whether it was a yellow or not,' said Koeman afterwards. 'It was a tough punishment. It's difficult being a referee. It's a decision we don't have to discuss. It was more important to talk about how to play with a man down than to discuss that. I'm very proud of this team in today's match. We worked very well and played with a lot of discipline in the team, with one man down." Barcelona have won both their opening LaLiga matches and host Sevilla in their next fixture on Sunday evening. 

Source: Daily Mail

AFC Champions League 2020 – Semi-final (West Region)

3 October 2020

 
Al Nassr – Persepolis
Referee: Muhammad Bin Jahari (SIN)
Assistant Referee 1: Ronnie Min Kiat (SIN)
Assistant Referee 2: Abdul Hasim (SIN)
Fourth Official: Ali Al-Qaysi (IRQ)
Reserve AR: Mohd Muhamad (MAS)
VAR: Sivakorn Pu-Udom (THA)
AVAR 1: Adham Makhadmeh (JOR)
AVAR 2: Mohd Yaacob (MAS)

EPL will lobby IFAB to change the handball laws

The Premier League will lobby the rule-making International Football Association Board to change the handball laws following the controversial penalty awarded against Tottenham’s Eric Dier last Sunday. Dier was adjudged to have handled illegally, even though his back was turned, when an Andy Carroll header struck his raised arm against Newcastle. The referee, Peter Bankes, awarded a penalty, which Newcastle scored to equalise in second-half added time. The rule that a player must be found to have handled the ball if their arm is raised above their shoulder – as was the case with Dier – will have to be followed until the end of the season but it is the Premier League’s hope that IFAB will review the law at that point. 

The development comes as the referees’ body, Professional Game Match Officials Limited, plans to roll out an overhauled version of the handball law at Premier League matches this weekend. Changes will include allowing referees greater leniency in interpreting a player’s body shape during handball incidents. In the first three match days of the season, the PGMOL instructed referees to follow the letter of IFAB’s ruling that handball should be given if a player’s arm was in an “unnatural” position. That has been changed to acknowledge that, depending on a player’s momentum or body position, an “unnatural” shape could also be “expected”. Referees will be encouraged to award a free kick or penalty kick only if the shape is unexpected. Other tweaks to the rules include consideration of the time a player has had to respond before handling. If a referee judges that the distance was insufficient for a player to react and move out of the way, a penalty will not be given. The Premier League acknowledges that this is not only a change to the rules weeks after implementing them but a change in emphasis too. After FIFA took control over the use of VAR technology this summer, it placed emphasis on a consistency of decision making across different countries. These tweaks will add subjectivity to the process in England, with all the controversies and debates that will likely ensue. 

Source: The Guardian