FIFA World Cup 2022 Qualifiers – UEFA (Matchday 10)

13-14 November 2021

Portugal – Serbia
Referee: Daniele Orsato (ITA, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Ciro Carbone (ITA)
Assistant Referee 2: Giorgio Peretti (ITA)
Fourth Official: Marco Di Bello (ITA)
VAR: Massimiliano Irrati (ITA)
AVAR: Paolo Valeri (ITA)
Referee Assessor: Herbert Fandel (GER)

Croatia – Russia
Referee: Danny Makkelie (NED)
Assistant Referee 1: Hessel Steegstra (NED)
Assistant Referee 2: Jan de Vries (NED)
Fourth Official: Dennis Higler (NED)
VAR: Pol van Boekel (NED)
AVAR: Clay Ruperti (NED)
Referee Assessor: Matteo Trefoloni (ITA)

Spain – Sweden
Referee: Felix Brych (GER)
Assistant Referee 1: Mark Borsch (GER)
Assistant Referee 2: Stefan Lupp (GER)
Fourth Official: Harald Lechner (AUT)
VAR: Marco Fritz (GER)
AVAR: Sascha Stegemann (GER)
Referee Assessor: Nikolai Levnikov (RUS)

Bosnia and Herzegovina – Finland
Referee: Michael Oliver (ENG)
Assistant Referee 1: Stuart Burt (ENG)
Assistant Referee 2: Simon Bennett (ENG)
Fourth Official: Darren England (ENG)
VAR: Christopher Kavanagh (ENG)
AVAR: Neil Davies (ENG)
Referee Assessor: Darko Čeferin (SVN)

Norway – Latvia
Referee: Lawrence Visser (BEL)
Assistant Referee 1: Rien Vanyzere (BEL)
Assistant Referee 2: Thibaud Nijssen (BEL)
Fourth Official: Nathan Verboomen (BEL)
VAR: Erik Lambrechts (BEL)
AVAR: Alexandre Boucaut (BEL)
Referee Assessor: Elmir Pilav (BIH)

Turkey – Gibraltar
Referee: Sergii Boiko (UKR)
Assistant Referee 1: Volodymyr Volodin (UKR)
Assistant Referee 2: Viktor Nyzhnyk (UKR)
Fourth Official: Viktor Kopiievskyi (UKR)
VAR: Yevhenii Aranovskyi (UKR)
AVAR: Viktor Matyash (UKR)
Referee Assessor: Thomas Einwaller (AUT)

France – Kazakhstan
Referee: Glenn Nyberg (SWE)
Assistant Referee 1: Mahbod Beigi (SWE)
Assistant Referee 2: Andreas Söderkvist (SWE)
Fourth Official: Kaspar Sjöberg (SWE)
VAR: Jochem Kamphuis (NED)
AVAR: Sander van der Eijk (NED)
Referee Assessor: Costas Kapitanis (CYP)

Wales – Belarus
Referee: Maurizio Mariani (ITA)
Assistant Referee 1: Alessandro Costanzo (ITA)
Assistant Referee 2: Matteo Passeri (ITA)
Fourth Official: Daniele Chiffi (ITA)
VAR: Michael Fabbri (ITA)
AVAR: Daniele Doveri (ITA)
Referee Assessor: Jon Skjervold (NOR)

Belgium – Estonia
Referee: Halil Umut Meler (TUR)
Assistant Referee 1: Mustafa Eyisoy (TUR)
Assistant Referee 2: İbrahim Uyarcan (TUR)
Fourth Official: Ümit Öztürk (TUR)
VAR: Mete Kalkavan (TUR)
AVAR: Abdulkadir Bitigen (TUR)
Referee Assessor: Stavros Tritsonis (GRE)

Montenegro – Netherlands
Referee: Carlos Del Cerro Grande (ESP)
Assistant Referee 1: Pau Cebrian Devis (ESP)
Assistant Referee 2: Roberto Alonso Fernandez (ESP)
Fourth Official: Juan Martinez Munuera (ESP)
VAR: Jose Sanchez Martinez (ESP)
AVAR: Jose Munuera Montero (ESP)
Referee Assessor: Vladimir Antonov (MDA)

Malta – Slovakia
Referee: Fran Jović (CRO)
Assistant Referee 1: Hrvoje Radić (CRO)
Assistant Referee 2: Bojan Zobenica (CRO)
Fourth Official: Dario Bel (CRO)
VAR: Duje Strukan (CRO)
AVAR: Mario Zebec (CRO)
Referee Assessor: Stephen Lodge (ENG)

Slovenia – Cyprus
Referee: Sergei Ivanov (RUS)
Assistant Referee 1: Roman Usachev (RUS)
Assistant Referee 2: Valeri Danchenko (RUS)
Fourth Official: Vladislav Bezborodov (RUS)
VAR: Vitali Meshkov (RUS)
AVAR: Igor Demeshko (RUS)
Referee Assessor: Bernardino Gonzalez Vazquez (ESP)

Liechtenstein – Romania
Referee: Matej Jug (SVN)
Assistant Referee 1: Matej Zunic (SVN)
Assistant Referee 2: Manuel Vidali (SVN)
Fourth Official: David Smajc (SVN)
VAR: Nejc Kajtazovic (SVN)
AVAR: Alen Borosak (SVN)
Referee Assessor: Petteri Kari (FIN)

Armenia – Germany
Referee: François Letexier (FRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Cyril Mugnier (FRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Mehdi Rahmouni (FRA)
Fourth Official: Jeremy Stinat (FRA)
VAR: Jeremie Pignard (FRA)
AVAR: Eric Wattellier (FRA)
Referee Assessor: Leslie Irvine (NIR)

North Macedonia – Iceland
Referee: Davide Massa (ITA)
Assistant Referee 1: Daniele Bindoni (ITA)
Assistant Referee 2: Stefano Alassio (ITA)
Fourth Official: Simone Sozza (ITA)
VAR: Sandro Schärer (SUI)
AVAR: Fedayi San (SUI)
Referee Assessor: Marinus Koopman (NED)

Luxembourg – Ireland
Referee: Tamas Bognar (HUN)
Assistant Referee 1: Balazs Buzas (HUN)
Assistant Referee 2: Peter Kobor (HUN)
Fourth Official: Balazs Berke (HUN)
VAR: Katalin Kulcsar (HUN)
AVAR: Istvan Vad (HUN)
Referee Assessor: Zoran Petrović (SRB)

Greece – Kosovo
Referee: Aleksei Kulbakov (BLR)
Assistant Referee 1: Dzmitry Zhuk (BLR)
Assistant Referee 2: Aleh Maslianka (BLR)
Fourth Official: Dzmitry Dzmitryieu (BLR)
VAR: Sergei Karasev (RUS)
AVAR: Aleksei Lunev (RUS)
Referee Assessor: Raymond Ellingham (WAL)

Kuipers appointed UEFA Refereeing Officer and member of the Referees Committee

Former international referee Björn Kuipers has been appointed by the UEFA Executive Committee as one of the five UEFA Refereeing Officers. He replaces current UEFA Refereeing Officer Marc Batta (France), who is standing down at the end of November after eleven years of excellent service supporting and developing young international referees. Kuipers, who took up his duties last week, will continue this important and challenging work. Kuipers rose through the ranks in his native Netherlands, refereeing his first professional match in 2002. His prestigious international career saw him take charge of the 2014 UEFA Champions League final and two UEFA Europa League finals in 2013 and 2018. He was a key member of the referee teams at UEFA EUROs 2012, 2016 and finally 2020, where he was appointed for the final between Italy and England at Wembley Stadium in London. (Source: UEFA)

Chairman

Roberto Rosetti (ITA)

Deputy Chairman

Hugh Dallas (SCO)

Members

Bjorn Kuipers (NED)

Vladimir Sajn (SVN)

Dagmar Damkova (CZE)

FIFA World Cup 2022 Qualifiers – UEFA (Matchday 9)

11-12 November 2021

Greece – Spain
Referee: Szymon Marciniak (POL, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Pawel Sokolnicki (POL)
Assistant Referee 2: Adam Kupsik (POL)
Fourth Official: Tomasz Musial (POL)
VAR: Tomasz Kwiatkowski (POL)
AVAR: Marcin Borkowski (POL)
Referee Assessor: Frank De Bleeckere (BEL)

Ireland – Portugal
Referee: Jesus Gil Manzano (ESP)
Assistant Referee 1: Inigo Prieto Lopez (ESP)
Assistant Referee 2: Angel Nevado Rodriguez (ESP)
Fourth Official: Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea (ESP)
VAR: Alejandro Hernandez Hernandez (ESP)
AVAR: Guillermo Cuadra Fernandez (ESP)
Referee Assessor: Fredy Fautrel (FRA)

Romania – Iceland
Referee: Sergei Karasev (RUS)
Assistant Referee 1: Igor Demeshko (RUS)
Assistant Referee 2: Maksim Gavrilin (RUS)
Fourth Official: Kirill Levnikov (RUS)
VAR: Vitali Meskov (RUS)
AVAR: Sergei Ivanov (RUS)
Referee Assessor: Markus Nobs (SUI)

Azerbaijan – Luxembourg
Referee: Manuel Schüttengruber (AUT)
Assistant Referee 1: Roland Brandner (AUT)
Assistant Referee 2: Robert Steinacher (AUT)
Fourth Official: Julian Weinberger (AUT)
VAR: Harald Lechner (AUT)
AVAR: Sebastian Gishamer (AUT)
Referee Assessor: Milan Karadžić (SRB)

Georgia – Sweden
Referee: Serdar Gözübüyük (NED)
Assistant Referee 1: Joost van Zuilen (NED)
Assistant Referee 2: Johan Balder (NED)
Fourth Official: Jeroen Manschot (NED)
VAR: Jochem Kamphuis (NED)
AVAR: Sander van der Eijk (NED)
Referee Assessor: Vitor Melo Pereira (POR)

Russia – Cyprus
Referee: Daniel Stefanski (POL)
Assistant Referee 1: Dawid Golis (POL)
Assistant Referee 2: Michal Obukowicz (POL)
Fourth Official: Damian Sylwestrzak (POL)
VAR: Pawel Raczkowski (POL)
AVAR: Krzysztof Myrmus (POL)
Referee Assessor: Oleg Harlamov (EST)

Armenia – North Macedonia
Referee: Jose Sanchez Martinez (ESP)
Assistant Referee 1: Raul Cabanero Martinez (ESP)
Assistant Referee 2: Roberto Alonso Fernandez (ESP)
Fourth Official: Juan Martinez Munuera (SP)
VAR: Paolo Valeri (ITA)
AVAR: Luca Pairetto (ITA)
Referee Assessor: Tomasz Mikulski (POL)

Malta – Croatia
Referee: Deniz Aytekin (GER)
Assistant Referee 1: Christian Dietz (GER)
Assistant Referee 2: Dominik Schaal (GER)
Fourth Official: Florian Badstübner (GER)
VAR: Christian Dingert (GER)
AVAR: Günter Perl (GER)
Referee Assessor: Laurent Duhamel (FRA)

Slovakia – Slovenia
Referee: Mattias Gestranius (FIN)
Assistant Referee 1: Jan-Peter Aravirta (FIN)
Assistant Referee 2: Mikko Alakare (FIN)
Fourth Official: Antti Munukka (FIN)
VAR: Mete Kalkavan (TUR)
AVAR: Hüseyin Göçek (TUR)
Referee Assessor: Jan Carlsen (DEN)

Germany – Liechtenstein
Referee: Ivana Martinčić (CRO)
Assistant Referee 1: Goran Pataki (CRO)
Assistant Referee 2: Sanja Rodjak-Karšić (CRO)
Fourth Official: Igor Pajač (CRO)
VAR: Duje Strukan (CRO)
AVAR: Bojan Zobenica (CRO)
Referee Assessor: Vladimir Medved (SVK)

Moldova – Scotland
Referee: Srdjan Jovanović (SRB)
Assistant Referee 1: Uroš Stojković (SRB)
Assistant Referee 2: Milan Mihajlović (SRB)
Fourth Official: Novak Simović (SRB)
VAR: Marco Fritz (GER)
AVAR: Katrin Rafalski (GER)
Referee Assessor: Alain Hamer (LUX)

Northern Ireland – Lithuania
Referee: Istvan Vad (HUN)
Assistant Referee 1: Vencel Toth (HUN)
Assistant Referee 2: Istvan Albert (HUN)
Fourth Official: Ferenc Karako (HUN)
VAR: Tamas Bognar (HUN)
AVAR: Katalin Kulcsar (HUN)
Referee Assessor: Vlado Svilokos (CRO)

Italy – Switzerland
Referee: Anthony Taylor (ENG)
Assistant Referee 1: Gary Beswick (ENG)
Assistant Referee 2: Adam Nunn (ENG)
Fourth Official: Craig Pawson (ENG)
VAR: Stuart Attwell (ENG)
AVAR: Paul Tierney (ENG)
Referee Assessor: Terje Hauge (NOR)

Denmark – Faroe Islands
Referee: Radu Petrescu (ROU)
Assistant Referee 1: Mircea Grigoriu (ROU)
Assistant Referee 2: Alexandru Cerei (ROU)
Fourth Official: Andrei Antonie (ROU)
VAR: Fabio Maresca (ITA)
AVAR: Filippo Meli (ITA)
Referee Assessor: Jan Wegereef (NED)

Austria – Israel
Referee: Ovidiu Hategan (ROU)
Assistant Referee 1: Radu Ghinguleac (ROU)
Assistant Referee 2: Sebastian Gheorghe (ROU)
Fourth Official: Marcel Birsan (ROU)
VAR: Massimiliano Irrati (ITA)
AVAR: Marco Guida (ITA)
Referee Assessor: Uno Tutk (EST)

Andorra – Poland
Referee: John Beaton (SCO)
Assistant Referee 1: David Roome (SCO)
Assistant Referee 2: Alan Mulvanny (SCO)
Fourth Official: Nicolas Walsh (SCO)
VAR: Kevin Blom (NED)
AVAR: Allard Lindhout (NED)
Referee Assessor: Ichko Lozev (BUL)

Hungary – San Marino
Referee: Filip Glova (SVK)
Assistant Referee 1: Daniel Polacek (SVK)
Assistant Referee 2: Peter Bednar (SVK)
Fourth Official: Michal Ocenas (SVK)
VAR: Fedayi San (SUI)
AVAR: Sandro Schärer (SUI)
Referee Assessor: Markus Strömbergsson (SWE)

England – Albania
Referee: Felix Zwayer (GER)
Assistant Referee 1: Marco Achmüller (GER)
Assistant Referee 2: Jan Seidel (GER)
Fourth Official: Sven Jablonski (GER)
VAR: Bastian Dankert (GER)
AVAR: Mike Pickel (GER)
Referee Assessor: Nicola Rizzoli (ITA)

FIFA World Cup 2022 Qualifiers – CONMEBOL (Matchday 13)

11-12 November 2021

Brazil – Colombia
Referee: Roberto Tobar (CHI, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Christian Schiemann (CHI)
Assistant Referee 2: Claudio Rios (CHI)
Fourth Official: Nicolas Gamboa (CHI)
VAR: German Delfino (ARG)
AVAR: Juan Lara (CHI)
Referee Assessor: Mauricio Espinosa (URU)

Paraguay – Chile
Referee: Patricio Loustau (ARG)
Assistant Referee 1: Ezequiel Brailovsky (ARG)
Assistant Referee 2: Maximiliano del Yesso (ARG)
Fourth Official: Nicolas Lamolina (ARG)
VAR: Victor Carrillo (PER)
AVAR: Christian Lescano (ECU)
Referee Assessor: Ana Perez (PER)

Peru – Bolivia
Referee: Eber Aquino (PAR)
Assistant Referee 1: Eduardo Cardozo (PAR)
Assistant Referee 2: Milciades Saldivar (PAR)
Fourth Official: Carlos Benitez (PAR)
VAR: Leodan Gonzalez (URU)
AVAR: Juan Benitez (PAR)
Referee Assessor: Jose Buitrago (COL)

Ecuador – Venezuela
Referee: Christian Ferreyra (URU)
Assistant Referee 1: Martin Soppi (URU)
Assistant Referee 2: Andres Nievas (URU)
Fourth Official: Gustavo Tejera (URU)
VAR: Nicolas Gallo (COL)
AVAR: John Leon (COL)
Referee Assessor: Manuel Bernal (PAR)

Uruguay – Argentina
Referee: Alexis Herrera (VEN)
Assistant Referee 1: Carlos Lopez (VEN)
Assistant Referee 2: Jorge Urrego (VEN)
Fourth Official: Piero Maza (CHI)
VAR: Julio Bascunan (CHI)
AVAR: Raul Orellana (CHI)
Referee Assessor: Ubaldo Aquino (PAR)

FIFA World Cup 2022 Qualifiers – Concacaf (Round 3, Matchday 7)

12 November 2021

USA – Mexico
Referee: Ivan Barton (SLV, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: David Moran (SLV)
Assistant Referee 2: Zachari Zeegelaar (SUR)
Fourth Official: Selvin Brown (HON)

Canada – Costa Rica
Referee: Ismail Elfath (USA)
Assistant Referee 1: Corey Parker (USA)
Assistant Referee 2: Kyle Atkins (USA)
Fourth Official: Nima Saghafi (USA)

El Salvador – Jamaica
Referee: Jose Torres (PUR)
Assistant Referee 1: Jairo Morales (PUR)
Assistant Referee 2: Walter Cid (DOM)
Fourth Official: William Anderson (PUR)

Honduras – Panama
Referee: Drew Fischer (CAN)
Assistant Referee 1: Christopher Wattam (CAN)
Assistant Referee 2: Chantal Boudreau (CAN)
Fourth Official: Adonai Escobedo (MEX)

FIFA World Cup 2022 Qualifiers – AFC (Round 3, Matchday 5)

11 November 2021

Korea – UAE
Referee: Ma Ning (CHN, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Xiang Shi (CHN)
Assistant Referee 2: Cao Yi (CHN)
Fourth Official: Shen Yinhao (CHN)
VAR: Adham Makhadmeh (JOR)
AVAR: Ahmed Al Ali (JOR)

Iraq – Syria
Referee: Nawaf Shukralla (BHR)
Assistant Referee 1: Mohamed Salman (BHR)
Assistant Referee 2: Abdulla Al-Rowaimi (BHR)
Fourth Official: Ahmad Al Ali (KUW)
VAR: Shaun Evans (AUS)
AVAR: Ahmed Al Kaf (OMA)

Lebanon – Iran
Referee: Abdulrahman Al Jassim (QAT)
Assistant Referee 1: Taleb Al Marri (QAT)
Assistant Referee 2: Saoud Al Maqaleh (QAT)
Fourth Official: Ali Al Adba (QAT)
VAR: Khamis Al Marri (QAT)
AVAR: Abdulla Al Marri (QAT)

Vietnam – Japan
Referee: Abdulla Mohammed (UAE)
Assistant Referee 1: Mohamed Al-Hammadi (UAE)
Assistant Referee 2: Hasan Al-Mahri (UAE)
Fourth Official: Adel Al-Naqbi (UAE)
VAR: Ammar Al-Jneibi (UAE)
AVAR: Hanna Hattab (SYR)

China – Oman
Referee: Sivakorn Pu-Udom (THA)
Assistant Referee 1: Rawut Nakrit (THA)
Assistant Referee 2: Ronnie Koh (SIN)
Fourth Official: Mongkolchai Pechsri (THA)
VAR: Muhammad Bin Jahari (SIN)
AVAR: Amirul Yaacob (MAS)

Australia – Saudi Arabia
Referee: Ko Hyung-jin (KOR)
Assistant Referee 1: Yoon Jae-yeol (KOR)
Assistant Referee 2: Park Sang-jun (KOR)
Fourth Official: Kim Woo-sung (KOR)
VAR: Kim Jong-hyeok (KOR)
AVAR: Kim Dae-yong (KOR)

FIFA World Cup 2022 Qualifiers – CAF (Round 2, Matchday 5)

11-13 November 2021

Rwanda – Mali
Referee: Helder Martins (ANG, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Ivanildo Lopes (ANG)
Assistant Referee 2: Evanildo Martins (ANG)
Fourth Official: Jose Alvaro (ANG)

Uganda – Kenya
Referee: Souleiman Djama (DJI)
Assistant Referee 1: Liban Ahmed (DJI)
Assistant Referee 2: Rachid Bouraleh (DJI)
Fourth Official: Mohamed Guedi (DJI)

Ethiopia – Ghana
Referee: Blaise Ngwa (CMR)
Assistant Referee 1: Elvis Noupue (CMR)
Assistant Referee 2: Rodrigue Mpele (CMR)
Fourth Official: Jeannot Bito (CMR)

Tanzania – Congo DR
Referee: Bernard Camille (SEY)
Assistant Referee 1: Hensley Petrousse (SEY)
Assistant Referee 2: Steve Marie (SEY)
Fourth Official: Nelson Fred (SEY)

Congo – Namibia
Referee: Samuel Uwikunda (RWA)
Assistant Referee 1: Dieudonne Mutuyimana (RWA)
Assistant Referee 2: Theogene Ndagijimana (RWA)
Fourth Official: Jean-Claude Ishimwe (RWA)

Benin – Madagascar
Referee: Bakary Gassama (GAM)
Assistant Referee 1: Abdul Jawo (GAM)
Assistant Referee 2: Omar Darboe (GAM)
Fourth Official: Lamin Jammeh (GAM)

South Africa – Zimbabwe
Referee: Sadok Selmi (TUN)
Assistant Referee 1: Khalil Hassani (TUN)
Assistant Referee 2: Faouzi Jridi (TUN)
Fourth Official: Yosri Bouali (TUN)

Togo – Senegal
Referee: Jalal Jiyed (MAR)
Assistant Referee 1: Yahya Nouali (MAR)
Assistant Referee 2: Hamza Nassiri (MAR)
Fourth Official: Redouane Jiyed (MAR)

Nigeria – Liberia
Referee: Youssef Essrayri (TUN)
Assistant Referee 1: Aymen Ismail (TUN)
Assistant Referee 2: Youssef Jami (TUN)
Fourth Official: Mehrez Melki (TUN)
Referee Assessor: Seli Zinko (CIV)

Burkina Faso – Niger
Referee: Samir Guezzaz (MAR)
Assistant Referee 1: Zakaria Brinsi (MAR)
Assistant Referee 2: Hicham Abbou (MAR)
Fourth Official: Karim Sabry (MAR)

Gabon – Libya
Referee: Mashood Ssali (UGA)
Assistant Referee 1: Dick Okello (UGA)
Assistant Referee 2: Ronald Katenya (UGA)
Fourth Official: Ali Sabilla (UGA)

Guinea – Guinea Bissau
Referee: Mohamed Marouf (EGY)
Assistant Referee 1: Mahmoud Ashour (EGY)
Assistant Referee 2: Ahmed El-Din (EGY)
Fourth Official: Mahmoud Mohamed (EGY)

Djibouti – Algeria
Referee: Louis Houngnandande (BEN)
Assistant Referee 1: Aymar Ayimavo (BEN)
Assistant Referee 2: Gbemassiandan Kouton (BEN)
Fourth Official: Issa Mouhamed (BEN)

Angola – Egypt
Referee: Jean Ndala (COD)
Assistant Referee 1: Olivier Safari (COD)
Assistant Referee 2: Daddy Diassiwa (COD)
Fourth Official: Kabanga Malala (COD)

Sudan – Morocco
Referee: Peter Waweru (KEN)
Assistant Referee 1: Gilbert Cheruiyot (KEN)
Assistant Referee 2: Samuel Kuria (KEN)
Fourth Official: Anthony Ogwayo (KEN)

Zambia – Mauritania
Referee: Mahmood Ismail (SDN)

Equatorial Guinea – Tunisia
Referee: Boubou Traore (MLI)

Cape Verde – Central African Republic
Referee: Daniel Laryea (GHA)

Malawi – Cameroon
Referee: Issa Sy (SEN)

Cote d’Ivoire – Mozambique
Referee: Ahmed El-Ghandour (EGY)

Rizzoli to become the new Head of Ukrainian referees

The head of the Ukrainian Football Association, Andriy Pavelko, said that he offered Nicola Rizzoli the role to train Ukrainian referees. According to Pavelko, his initiative to appoint Rizzoli should be supported by the UAF Executive Committee, which will be held on November 17. Rizzoli himself has already accepted the proposal of the President of the UAF. Italian Luciano Luci will remain the head of the UAF Referees Committee that he has chaired since 2015.

“Ukrainian referees will be able to gain knowledge and experience from one of the best referees of our time - Nicola Rizzoli. Today, the Italian specialist visited the House of Football together with the Chairman of the UAF Referees Committee Luciano Luci, whose contract was recently renewed, and our referees talked with Rizzoli about the prospects for our cooperation in the future. Rizzoli agreed to my offer to become the Head of Ukrainian referees, and, if this initiative is supported by the executive committee, whose meeting is tentatively scheduled for November 17, the UAF team will receive a new powerful strengthening soon. His high achievements speak about Rizzoli’s reputation in the refereeing world. Among other things, he was chosen as the best referee of the world, twice in a row. This means that, with the beginning of our cooperation, Ukrainian colleagues will receive wonderful opportunities for professional growth. I believe that they will successfully implement them. I am sure that the tandem of two such highly qualified specialists as Luciano Luci and Nicola Rizzoli will have a powerful impact for the further development of Ukrainian refereeing”, said Pavelko.

Rizzoli refereed the 2013 Champions League final between Bayern München and Borussia Dortmund. A year later, he was entrusted with the World Cup final between the national teams of Germany and Argentina. Rizzoli has worked Serie A matches since 2002 and was recognized as the best referee in Italy seven times. The International Federation of Football History and Statistics has named Rizzoli among the top 10 referees of the 21st century. He retired in 2017 and then served as the head of the Serie A refereeing in Italy.

Source: The Times Hub

UEFA U-21 Euro 2023 Qualifiers (Matchday 6)

11-12 November 2021

England – Czech Republic
Referee: Michael Fabbri (ITA, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Alberto Tegoni (ITA)
Assistant Referee 2: Marco Bresmes (ITA)
Fourth Official: Gianluca Manganiello (ITA)
Referee Observer: Carlos Clos Gomez (ESP)

North Macedonia – Ukraine
Referee: Sigurd Kringstad (NOR)
Assistant Referee 1: Runar Langseth (NOR)
Assistant Referee 2: Ole Andreas Haukåsen (NOR)
Fourth Official: Kristoffer Hagenes (NOR)
Referee Observer: Michael Johansen (DEN)

Croatia – Estonia
Referee: Ishmael Barbara (MLT)
Assistant Referee 1: Roberto Vella (MLT)
Assistant Referee 2: Duncan Sultana (MLT)
Fourth Official: Emanuel Grech (MLT)
Referee Observer: Mika Peltola (FIN)

San Marino – Israel
Referee: Henrik Nalbandyan (ARM)
Assistant Referee 1: Mesrop Ghazaryan (ARM)
Assistant Referee 2: Erik Arevshatyan (ARM)
Fourth Official: Zaven Hovhannisyan (ARM)
Referee Observer: Ian Stokes (IRL)

France – Armenia
Referee: Andrei Chivulete (ROU)
Assistant Referee 1: Vladimir Urzica (ROU)
Assistant Referee 2: Andrei Constantinescu (ROU)
Fourth Official: Sebastian Coltescu (ROU)
Referee Observer: Sokol Jareci (ALB)

Northern Ireland – Lithuania
Referee: Joonas Jaanovits (EST)
Assistant Referee 1: Aron Härsing (EST)
Assistant Referee 2: Jaan Roos (EST)
Fourth Official: Martti Pukk (EST)
Referee Observer: Alon Yefert (ISR)

Greece – Belarus
Referee: Irakli Kvirikashvili (GEO)
Assistant Referee 1: Giorgi Elikashvili (GEO)
Assistant Referee 2: Davit Akhvlediani (GEO)
Fourth Official: Goga Kikacheishvili (GEO)
Referee Observer: Stephane Lannoy (FRA)

Liechtenstein – Iceland
Referee: Joni Hyytiä (FIN)
Assistant Referee 1: Sami Nykänen (FIN)
Assistant Referee 2: Veli Leppänen (FIN)
Fourth Official: Kaarlo Hämäläinen (FIN)
Referee Observer: Martin Hansson (SWE)

Cyprus – Portugal
Referee: Jeremie Pignard (FRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Aurelien Drouet (FRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Laurent Coniglio (FRA)
Fourth Official: Florent Batta (FRA)
Referee Observer: Georgi Yordanov (BUL)

Hungary – Latvia
Referee: Sandi Putros (DEN)
Assistant Referee 1: Lars Hummelgaard (DEN)
Assistant Referee 2: Steffen Bramsen (DEN)
Fourth Official: Jakob Sundberg (DEN)
Referee Observer: Eyjolfur Olafsson (ISL)

Azerbaijan – Austria
Referee: Miloš Milanović (SRB)
Assistant Referee 1: Jovan Grujić (SRB)
Assistant Referee 2: Matija Olajoš (SRB)
Fourth Official: Marko Srećković (SRB)
Referee Observer: Sergei Zuev (RUS)

Norway – Finland
Referee: Mads-Kristoffer Kristoffersen (DEN)
Assistant Referee 1: Dennis Rasmussen (DEN)
Assistant Referee 2: Ole Kronlykke (DEN)
Fourth Official: Jorgen Daugbjerg (DEN)
Referee Observer: Albano Janku (ALB)

Russia – Slovakia
Referee: Peter Kjaersgaard (DEN)
Assistant Referee 1: Victor Skytte (DEN)
Assistant Referee 2: Jesper Dahl (DEN)
Fourth Official: Jens Maae (DEN)
Referee Observer: Rusmir Mrković (BIH)

Sweden – Bosnia and Herzegovina
Referee: Dumitru Muntean (MDA)
Assistant Referee 1: Andrei Bodean (MDA)
Assistant Referee 2: Victor Mardari (MDA)
Fourth Official: Veaceslav Banari (MDA)
Referee Observer: Tony Asumaa (FIN)

Slovenia – Albania
Referee: Robert Hennessy (IRL)
Assistant Referee 1: Allen Lynch (IRL)
Assistant Referee 2: Emmett Dynan (IRL)
Fourth Official: Graham Kelly (IRL)
Referee Observer: Alain Sars (FRA)

Serbia – Faroe Islands
Referee: Adam Ladebäck (SWE)
Assistant Referee 1: Daniel Yng (SWE)
Assistant Referee 2: Christian Tennstedt (SWE)
Fourth Official: Granit Maqedonci (SWE)
Referee Observer: Michalis Argyrou (CYP)

Germany – Poland
Referee: Luis Godinho (POR)
Assistant Referee 1: Rui Teixeira (POR)
Assistant Referee 2: Valter Rufo (POR)
Fourth Official: Andre Narciso (POR)
Referee Observer: Vencel Toth (HUN)

Switzerland – Moldova
Referee: Jonathan Lardot (BEL)
Assistant Referee 1: Kevin Monteny (BEL)
Assistant Referee 2: Vito Di Vincenzo (BEL)
Fourth Official: Jasper Vergoote (BEL)
Referee Observer: Gevorg Hovhanesian (ARM)

Ireland – Italy
Referee: Horatiu Fesnic (ROU)
Assistant Referee 1: Valentin Avram (ROU)
Assistant Referee 2: Mihai Marica (ROU)
Fourth Official: Iulian Calin (ROU)
Referee Observer: Milorad Mažić (SRB)

Netherlands – Bulgaria
Referee: Sascha Stegemann (GER)
Assistant Referee 1: Rafael Foltyn (GER)
Assistant Referee 2: Frederick Assmuth (GER)
Fourth Official: Daniel Schlager (GER)
Referee Observer: Pavle Radovanović (MNE)

Gibraltar – Wales
Referee: Marian Barbu (ROU)
Assistant Referee 1: Cristian Orbulet (ROU)
Assistant Referee 2: Laszlo Bucsi (ROU)
Fourth Official: Horia Mladinovici (ROU)
Referee Observer: John Ferry (NIR)

Belgium – Turkey
Referee: Robert Harvey (IRL)
Assistant Referee 1: Robert Clarke (IRL)
Assistant Referee 2: Michelle O'Neill (IRL)
Fourth Official: Adriano Reale (IRL)
Referee Observer: Karel Vidlak (CZE)

Scotland – Kazakhstan
Referee: Snir Levy (ISR)
Assistant Referee 1: Nati Dotan (ISR)
Assistant Referee 2: Tom Adi (ISR)
Fourth Official: Erez Papir (ISR)
Referee Observer: Alberto Undiano Mallenco (ESP)

Malta – Spain
Referee: Dario Bel (CRO)
Assistant Referee 1: Marjan Tomas (CRO)
Assistant Referee 2: Kruno Šarić (CRO)
Fourth Official: Zdenko Lovrić (CRO)
Referee Observer: Robert Schörgenhofer (AUT)

Asian referees in major FIFA finals

Asia’s continued rise as global leaders in world refereeing was hailed by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Referees Committee at its fourth meeting held virtually. The Committee, led by Chairperson H.E. Du Zhaocai, was pleased to recognise the appointment of Asia’s match officials in three major finals since August this year, which reinforced the AFC’s ambitions to ensure the success of the Continent’s teams and match officials on the world’s biggest stages.

Most recently, Kyrgyz Republic’s Nurdin Bukuev continued Asia’s proud legacy when he became the first from the AFC to officiate as the referee in the final of the FIFA Futsal World Cup, which saw Portugal defeat Argentina in Lithuania last month. Just weeks prior, Malaysia’s Suhaimi Mat Hassan was appointed to officiate the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Russia 2021 Final between the Russian Football Union and Japan, while Australia’s Chris Beath alongside assistant referees Anton Shchetinin and George Lakrindis also oversaw the gold medal match at the Tokyo Olympics Men’s Football Tournament between Brazil and Spain.

To further underline its commitment to enhance the capabilities of the AFC’s match officials in determining the AFC Elite Referees Panel, the Committee agreed to transition from the existing AFC Referees Recruitment system to a new development pathway through the AFC Referee Academy from 2025 onwards. The Committee recognised the success of the AFC Referees Recruitment system but agreed that the growing demands in today’s modern era of officiating required the AFC to implement a more stringent selection process in its focus to remain at the forefront of world refereeing. Some of the latest measures added to the criteria include a minimum of three years of officiating at the highest national league level as well as the introduction of a grading system which will see Asia’s match officials evaluated by both the AFC and external experts. Additionally, through the AFC Referee Academy, Asia’s promising match officials will also be given the opportunity to access the latest resources and best practices, while being guided by some of the world’s leading experts and educators. The Committee was also provided with an overview of the essential role of the AFC’s match officials in ensuring the safe and successful resumption of the AFC’s Competitions in 2021 as well as the comprehensive suite of online courses, webinars and activities – all designed with the aim of further strengthening the Continent’s world-class refereeing standards.

Source: AFC