Chapron: “I was probably the only one saying no to Ibrahimovic”

A tumble to the turf, a rush of blood, a lashing out, and a long career unravels in an instant. Tony Chapron speaks calmly now, as he looks back on the "nightmare" moment that essentially cost him his job as a referee in the French top flight. But he still has regrets. It all happened back in January, during a Ligue 1 fixture between Nantes and Paris St-Germain. Kylian Mbappe was breaking clear and everyone was racing back behind him, including Chapron. He and Nantes player Diego Carlos collided. Chapron was inadvertently knocked over. Staggering to his feet, Chapron swung a boot at the defender. Then he sent the defender off. Most likely you will have seen the clip - Chapron says it feels like the whole world saw it. The footage went viral and he was heavily criticised on social media. He was banned for six months by the French Football Federation and then decided to end his career as referee.

"I didn't want to kick him", he tells the BBC's World Football Podcast. "It's a pity because I finished my career on this game, on this situation. It's difficult to accept after being a referee for 1,500 matches because in the moment it was just reflex. I'm a human and I felt a pain and I was scared. I was tired. It was not aggressive. I just fell down, someone pushed me and as a reflex I put my foot out and said, 'Hey guy, take care!' In fact, the reaction of the players and the coaches was, 'OK, this guy made a mistake, so what? But for the media and social media it was a big affair. Because the referee should not act like this and I agree and apologize for my reaction". He says he was treated more harshly than players who have instinctively lashed out, however. "Just remember when Zinedine Zidane gave a headbutt in the 2006 World Cup final. He was a fantastic player, maybe one of the best in the world for many years. And the reaction in this situation with Zidane was not so big if you compare with my situation".

Chapron now works for French media and is free to say what he really thinks about the players he used to referee. One story stands out. "Zlatan Ibrahimovic is a very annoying guy", Chapron begins. "Not only with referees, he was always blaming his team-mates, always trying to cause some trouble with the opponents. He was a crazy guy. I think he's a fantastic player, but on the pitch he's someone else. And it was very difficult as a referee. I hope for him that he's a kind of actor, because he says so many things, crazy things, I hope he doesn't think what he says". In 2015, Chapron was in charge when Ibrahimovic scored a hat-trick for PSG in a victory over Lorient. After the match, the striker approached him. Chapron had the ball in his hands. "He arrived close to me he just clicked his fingers and said; 'The ball!'" Chapron says. "I have four daughters and when we're together and they ask something, if we don't have the word 'please' at the end of the sentence, there is no reaction. So, it's the same, it's a kind of education. I think it was a kind of disrespect. There is something wrong with society if we forget the simple things such as 'please' and 'thank you'. "It was the beginning of the Ibrahimovic show, because nobody says no to Zlatan. I was probably the only one". Having given up his life as a referee, Tony Chapron remains philosophical when he looks back at his headline-making career. "Winston Churchill once said, 'Success is to go from failure to failure and to keep smiling'," he says. "I think this is the way we must think as referees!" 

Source: BBC

UEFA Futsal Champions League – Elite Round

14-18 November 2018

Group A, Alytus
1. Marc Birkett (ENG, photo)
2. Kamil Çetin (TUR)
3. Nikola Jelić (CRO)
4. Saša Tomić (CRO)

Group B, Barcelona
1. Miguel Castilho (POR)
2. Eduardo Fernandes (POR)
3. Angelo Galante (ITA)
4. Alessandro Malfer (ITA)

Group C, Lisbon
1. Ondřej Černý (CZE)
2. Juan Cordero Gallardo (ESP)
3. Alejandro Martinez Flores (ESP)
4. Cédric Pelissier (FRA)

Group D, Chrudim
1. Balázs Farkas (HUN)
2. Gábor Kovács (HUN)
3. Vladimir Kadykov (RUS)
4. Ivan Shabanov (RUS)

VAR at AFC Asian Cup 2019

The decisive matches in the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 are to be enhanced by the introduction of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system after the AFC Referees Committee approved its use from the quarter-finals onward.

Asia already boasts some of the world’s leading referees and now they will be given the additional support of VAR for the tournament quarter-finals, semi-finals and the final. The VAR system will therefore be used in seven matches at four venues: Zayed Sports City Stadium and Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi, Hazza bin Zayed Stadium in Al Ain and the Al Maktoum Stadium in Dubai. After the AFC Referees Committee met in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Dato’ Windsor John, the AFC General Secretary, said: “The decision to include VAR was only made on September 26 and that has meant a tremendous amount of work has been required to ensure that it can play a role at the tournament from the quarter-final stages. We are fortunate in Asia that our referees are among the best in the world of football. Alireza Faghani, from Iran, officiated the third and fourth place match at the FIFA World Cup in Russia 2018 and has also controlled a FIFA Club World Cup final". The inclusion of VAR at the quarter-final stage is in line with CAF, the Confederation of African Football who introduced VAR at the same stage of the African Cup of Nations while CONMEBOL, the South American Confederation, included VAR at the quarter finals of the Copa Libertadores, their Continental club competition.

The AFC Referees Committee has also approved the criteria for the appointment of Women’s officials in the preliminary and group stages of the 2019 AFC Cup season. Prospective candidates must be a candidate for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2019, achieve a high-performance grading level and pass the official FIFA international men’s fitness test. The Committee also noted the progress of the AFC Referee Academy, which marked its first anniversary of operations on Wednesday. The first-of-its-kind Academy at the Confederation level saw an 86% pass rate at the introductory level, with 74.5% of the AFC’s Member Associations now represented in the program. Members of the committee also approved the changes to the age criteria for AFC Elite referees, which now requires FIFA registered referees who are 45 and above to be in the AFC Elite Category 1 – the highest classification – in order to remain in the panel, as part of efforts to provide more opportunities for younger referees.

Source: AFC

CONMEBOL Copa Libertadores Final 2018 (Second Leg)

24 November 2018

River Plate – Boca Juniors
Referee: Andres Cunha (URU, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Nicolas Taran (URU)
Assistant Referee 2: Mauricio Espinosa (URU)
Fourth Official: Victor Carrillo (PER)
VAR: Leodan Gonzalez (URU)
AVAR 1: Esteban Ostojich (URU)
AVAR 2: Richard Trinidad (URU)
VAR Observer: Martin Vazquez (URU)
Referee Assessor: Carlos Torres (PAR)

CONMEBOL Copa Sudamericana – Semi-finals (Second Leg)

28-29 November 2018

Fluminense – Atletico Paranaense
Referee: Julio Bascuñan (CHI, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Christian Schiemann (CHI)
Assistant Referee 2: Jose Retamal (CHI)
Fourth Official: Piero Maza (CHI)
VAR: Raphael Claus (BRA)
AVAR 1: Gery Vargas (BOL)
AVAR 2: Carlos Astroza (CHI)
VAR Observer: Alicio Pena (BRA)
Referee Assessor: Nilson Moncao (BRA)

Atletico Junior – Santa Fe
Referee: Patricio Loustau (ARG)
Assistant Referee 1: Hernan Maidana (ARG)
Assistant Referee 2: Juan Belatti (ARG)
Fourth Official: Dario Herrera (ARG)
VAR: Mauro Vigliano (ARG)
AVAR 1: Jesus Valenzuela (VEN)
AVAR 2: Diego Bonfa (ARG)
VAR Observer: Pablo Silva (ARG)
Referee Assessor: Imer Machado (COL)

FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup 2018 – Group Stage (Matches 9-12)

16 November 2018

Japan – South Africa
Referee: Marie-Soleil Beaudoin (CAN, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Princess Brown (JAM)
Assistant Referee 2: Stephanie Yee Sing (JAM)
Fourth Official: Maria Carvajal (CHI)

Finland – Ghana
Referee: Laura Fortunato (ARG)
Assistant Referee 1: Mariana Almeida (ARG)
Assistant Referee 2: Mary Blanco (COL)
Fourth Official: Yoshimi Yamashita (JPN)

Mexico – Brazil
Referee: Sara Persson (SWE)
Assistant Referee 1: Julia Magnusson (SWE)
Assistant Referee 2: Lisa Rashid (ENG)
Fourth Official: Maria Carvajal (CHI)

Uruguay – New Zealand
Referee: Salima Mukansanga (RWA)
Assistant Referee 1: Fanta Kone (MLI)
Assistant Referee 2: Bielignin Some (BFA)
Fourth Official: Yoshimi Yamashita (JPN)

UEFA Nations League – Group Stage (Matchday 5)

15-17 November 2018

League A
Croatia – Spain
Referee: Aleksei Kulbakov (BLR, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Dmitri Zhuk (BLR)
Assistant Referee 2: Aleh Maslianka (BLR)
Fourth Official: Yury Khomchenko (BLR)
Additional AR 1: Denis Scherbakov (BLR)
Additional AR 2: Dzmitry Dzmitryieu (BLR)
Referee Observer: Alfredo Trentalange (ITA)

Belgium – Iceland
Referee: Orel Grinfeld (ISR)
Assistant Referee 1: Dvir Shimon (ISR)
Assistant Referee 2: Roi Hassan (ISR)
Fourth Official: Idan Yarkoni (ISR)
Additional AR 1: Eitan Shmuelevitz (ISR)
Additional AR 2: Ziv Adler (ISR)
Referee Observer: Manuel Díaz Vega (ESP)

Netherlands – France
Referee: Anthony Taylor (ENG)
Assistant Referee 1: Gary Beswick (ENG)
Assistant Referee 2: Adam Nunn (ENG)
Fourth Official: Lee Betts (ENG)
Additional AR 1: Stuart Attwell (ENG)
Additional AR 2: Martin Atkinson (ENG)
Referee Observer: Jørn West Larsen (DEN)

Italy – Portugal
Referee: Danny Makkelie (NED)
Assistant Referee 1: Mario Diks (NED)
Assistant Referee 2: Hessel Steegstra (NED)
Fourth Official: Erwin Zeinstra (NED)
Additional AR 1: Kevin Blom (NED)
Additional AR 2: Pol van Boekel (NED)
Referee Observer: Vladimir Antonov (MDA)

League B
Austria – Bosnia and Herzegovina
Referee: Andrew Dallas (SCO)
Assistant Referee 1: Graeme Stewart (SCO)
Assistant Referee 2: David McGeachie (SCO)
Fourth Official: Sean Carr (SCO)
Additional AR 1: Donald Robertson (SCO)
Additional AR 2: Euan Anderson (SCO)
Referee Observer: Kýros Vassáras (GRE)

Slovakia – Ukraine
Referee: Nikola Dabanović (MNE)
Assistant Referee 1: Milutin Djukić (MNE)
Assistant Referee 2: Aleksandar Djikanović (MNE)
Fourth Official: Vladan Todorović (MNE)
Additional AR 1: Milovan Milačić (MNE)
Additional AR 2: Miloš Bošković (MNE)
Referee Observer: Konrad Plautz (AUT)

Wales – Denmark
Referee: Ivan Kružliak (SVK)
Assistant Referee 1: Tomáš Somoláni (SVK)
Assistant Referee 2: Branislav Hancko (SVK)
Fourth Official: Tomáš Mókoš (SVK)
Additional AR 1: Peter Kráľovič (SVK)
Additional AR 2: Filip Glova (SVK)
Referee Observer: Alain Hamer (LUX)

Turkey – Sweden
Referee: István Kovács (ROU)
Assistant Referee 1: Vasile Marinescu (ROU)
Assistant Referee 2: Ovidiu Artene (ROU)
Fourth Official: Alexandru Cerei (ROU)
Additional AR 1: Marius Avram (ROU)
Additional AR 2: Horațiu Feșnic (ROU)
Referee Observer: Stefan Messner (AUT)

League C
Greece – Finland
Referee: Luca Banti (ITA)
Assistant Referee 1: Mauro Tonolini (ITA)
Assistant Referee 2: Alberto Tegoni (ITA)
Fourth Official: Alessandro Lo Cicero (ITA)
Additional AR 1: Paolo Valeri (ITA)
Additional AR 2: Michael Fabbri (ITA)
Referee Observer: Patrițiu Abrudan (ROU)

Hungary – Estonia
Referee: Enea Jorgji (ALB)
Assistant Referee 1: Ridiger Çokaj (ALB)
Assistant Referee 2: Ermal Barushi (ALB)
Fourth Official: Rejdi Avdo (ALB)
Additional AR 1: Eldorjan Hamiti (ALB)
Additional AR 2: Kridens Meta (ALB)
Referee Observer: Christer Fällström (SWE)

Slovenia – Norway
Referee: Ruddy Buquet (FRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Guillaume Debart (FRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Julien Pacelli (FRA)
Fourth Official: Cyril Mugnier (FRA)
Additional AR 1: Amaury Delerue (FRA)
Additional AR 2: François Letexier (FRA)
Referee Observer: Gevorg Hovhannisyan (ARM)

Cyprus – Bulgaria
Referee: Mohammed Al-Hakim (SWE)
Assistant Referee 1: Daniel Wärnmark (SWE)
Assistant Referee 2: Joakim Nilsson (SWE)
Fourth Official: Fredrik Klyver (SWE)
Additional AR 1: Andreas Ekberg (SWE)
Additional AR 2: Kaspar Sjöberg (SWE)
Referee Observer: László Vágner (HUN)

Serbia – Montenegro
Referee: Alberto Undiano Mallenco (ESP)
Assistant Referee 1: Roberto Alonso Fernández (ESP)
Assistant Referee 2: Juan Yuste Jiménez (ESP)
Fourth Official: Íñigo Prieto López (ESP)
Additional AR 1: Juan Martínez Munuera (ESP)
Additional AR 2: José Sánchez Martínez (ESP)
Referee Observer: Marinus Koopman (NED)

Albania – Scotland
Referee: Vladislav Bezborodov (RUS)
Assistant Referee 1: Valeri Danchenko (RUS)
Assistant Referee 2: Maksim Gavrilin (RUS)
Fourth Official: Aleksei Lunev (RUS)
Additional AR 1: Aleksei Eskov (RUS)
Additional AR 2: Sergei Ivanov (RUS)
Referee Observer: Kaj Natri (FIN)

Romania – Lithuania
Referee: Marco Guida (ITA)
Assistant Referee 1: Matteo Passeri (ITA)
Assistant Referee 2: Filippo Meli (ITA)
Fourth Official: Ciro Carbone (ITA)
Additional AR 1: Daniele Doveri (ITA)
Additional AR 2: Marco Di Bello (ITA)
Referee Observer: Robert Sedlacek (AUT)

League D
Kazakhstan – Latvia
Referee: Jens Maae (DEN)
Assistant Referee 1: Lars Hummelgaard (DEN)
Assistant Referee 2: Heine Sørensen (DEN)
Fourth Official: Jesper Dahl (DEN)
Additional AR 1: Jørgen Daugbjerg (DEN)
Additional AR 2: Morten Krogh (DEN)
Referee Observer: Ferenc Székely (HUN)

Andorra – Georgia
Referee: Radu Petrescu (ROU)
Assistant Referee 1: Radu Ghinguleac (ROU)
Assistant Referee 2: Mircea Grigoriu (ROU)
Fourth Official: Vladimir Urzică (ROU)
Additional AR 1: Sebastian Colțescu (ROU)
Additional AR 2: Marcel Bîrsan (ROU)
Referee Observer: Paulius Malžinskas (LTU)

San Marino – Moldova
Referee: Georgios Komínis (GRE)
Assistant Referee 1: Chrysoúla Kourompýlia (GRE)
Assistant Referee 2: Chasán Koúla (GRE)
Fourth Official: Chrístos Baltás (GRE)
Additional AR 1: Ioánnis Papadópoulos (GRE)
Additional AR 2: Emmanouíl Skoulás (GRE)
Referee Observer: Pascal Garibian (FRA)

Luxembourg – Belarus
Referee: Serdar Gözübüyük (NED)
Assistant Referee 1: Rob van de Ven (NED)
Assistant Referee 2: Davie Goossens (NED)
Fourth Official: Bas van Dongen (NED)
Additional AR 1: Siemen Mulder (NED)
Additional AR 2: Allard Lindhout (NED)
Referee Observer: Niklas Lídarenda (FRO)

Liechtenstein – FYR Macedonia
Referee: Petr Ardeleanu (CZE)
Assistant Referee 1: Ivo Nádvorník (CZE)
Assistant Referee 2: Petr Blažej (CZE)
Fourth Official: Jan Paták (CZE)
Additional AR 1: Zbyněk Proske (CZE)
Additional AR 2: Karel Hrubeš (CZE)
Referee Observer: Johan Verbist (BEL)

Gibraltar – Armenia
Referee: Kai Erik Steen (NOR)
Assistant Referee 1: Jan Erik Engan (NOR)
Assistant Referee 2: Jon Michael Knutsen (NOR)
Fourth Official: Øystein Ytterland (NOR)
Additional AR 1: Espen Eskås (NOR)
Additional AR 2: Kristoffer Hagenes (NOR)
Referee Observer: Marco Borg (MLT)

Malta – Kosovo
Referee: Bartosz Frankowski (POL)
Assistant Referee 1: Marcin Boniek (POL)
Assistant Referee 2: Dawid Golis (POL)
Fourth Official: Adam Kupsik (POL)
Additional AR 1: Daniel Stefański (POL)
Additional AR 2: Krzysztof Jakubik (POL)
Referee Observer: Jon Skjervold (NOR)

Azerbaijan – Faroe Islands
Referee: Dimítris Masiás (CYP)
Assistant Referee 1: Mários Kalogírou (CYP)
Assistant Referee 2: Ioánnis Lazárou (CYP)
Fourth Official: Ómiros Tziortzís (CYP)
Additional AR 1: Vasílis Dimitríou (CYP)
Additional AR 2: Loúkas Sotiríou (CYP)
Referee Observer: Volodymyr Petrov (UKR)

International Friendly Matches

November 2018

Switzerland – Qatar
Referee: Kevin Blom (NED, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Charles Schaap (NED)
Assistant Referee 2: Jan de Vries (NED)
Fourth Official: Urs Schnyder (SUI)

Germany – Russia
Referee: Sandro Schärer (SUI)
Assistant Referee 1: Bekim Zogaj (SUI)
Assistant Referee 2: Jean-Yves Wicht (SUI)
Fourth Official: Alain Bieri (SUI)

England – USA
Referee: Jesus Gil Manzano (ESP)
Assistant Referee 1: Angel Nevado Rodríguez (ESP)
Assistant Referee 2: Diego Barbero Sevilla (ESP)
Fourth Official: Carlos Del Cerro Grande (ESP)

Brazil – Uruguay
Referee: Craig Pawson (ENG)
Assistant Referee 1: Stephen Child (ENG)
Assistant Referee 2: Ian Hussin (ENG)

Ireland – Northern Ireland
Referee: Slavko Vinčič (SVN)
Assistant Referee 1: Tomaž Klančnik (SVN)
Assistant Referee 2: Andraž Kovačič (SVN)
Fourth Official: Robert Harvey (IRL)

Poland – Czech Republic
Referee: Stephan Klossner (SUI)
Assistant Referee 1: Alain Heiniger (SUI)
Assistant Referee 2: Jan Köbeli (SUI)

Israel – Guatemala
Referee: Jerôme Brisard (FRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Bertrand Jouannaud (FRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Benjamin Pages (FRA)
Fourth Official: Frank Schneider (FRA)

Italy – USA
Referee: Cüneyt Çakir (TUR)
Assistant Referee 1: Bahattin Duran (TUR)
Assistant Referee 2: Tarik Ongun (TUR)
Fourth Official: Alper Ulusoy (TUR)
VAR: Halis Özkahya (TUR)
AVAR: Barış Şimşek (TUR)

France – Uruguay
Referee: Damir Skomina (SVN)
Assistant Referee 1: Jure Praprotnik (SVN)
Assistant Referee 2: Robert Vukan (SVN)
Fourth Official: Matej Jug (SVN)

Spain – Bosnia and Herzegovina
Referee: Carlos Xistra (POR)

Turkey – Ukraine 
Referee: Genc Nuza (KVX)
Assistant Referee 1: Fatlum Berisha (KVX)
Assistant Referee 2: Bujar Selimaj (KVX)
Fourth Official: Besfort Kasumi (KVX)

Argentina – Mexico
Referee: Esteban Ostojich (URU)
Assistant Referee 1: Gabriel Popovits (URU)
Assistant Referee 2: Carlos Barreiro (URU)
Fourth Official: Patricio Loustau (ARG)

Peru – Ecuador
Referee: Leodan Gonzalez (URU)
Assistant Referee 1: Miguel Nievas (URU)
Assistant Referee 2: Carlos Pastorino (URU)
Fourth Official: Joel Alarcon (PER)

Chile – Costa Rica
Referee: German Delfino (ARG)
Assistant Referee 1: Gustavo Rossi (ARG)
Assistant Referee 2: Julio Fernandez (ARG)
Fourth Official: Marcelo Garay (CHI)

Honduras – Panama
Referee: Hugo Cruz (CRC)
Assistant Referee 1: Juan Mora (CRC)
Assistant Referee 2: Osvaldo Luna (CRC)
Fourth Official: Hector Rodríguez (HON)

Australia – Korea
Referee: Jumpei Iida (JPN)
Assistant Referee 1: Toru Sagara (JPN)
Assistant Referee 2: Hiroshi Yamauchi (JPN)
Fourth Official: Ryuji Sato (JPN)
VAR: Nick Waldron (NZL)

Japan – Venezuela 
Referee: Ravshan Irmatov (UZB)
Assistant Referee 1: Abduxamidullo Rasulov (UZB)
Assistant Referee 2: Jahongir Saidov (UZB)
Fourth Official: Ilgiz Tantashev (UZB)

Uzbekistan – Lebanon
Referee: Shaun Evans (AUS)
Assistant Referee 1: Nathan McDonald (AUS)
Assistant Referee 2: George Lakrindis (AUS)
Fourth Official: Jarred Gillett (AUS)

Iran – Trinidad and Tobago
Referee: Saud Al-Athbah (QAT)
Assistant Referee 1: Jumaa Al-Burshaid (QAT)
Assistant Referee 2: Zahy Al-Shammari (QAT)
Fourth Official: Muud Bonyadifar (IRN)

Saudi Arabia – Yemen
Referee: Ahmad Ibrahim (JOR)
Assistant Referee 1: Mahmud Thahir (JOR)
Assistant Referee 2: Abdulrazaq Aqil (JOR)
Fourth Official: Murad Al-Zawahrah (JOR)

Oman – Syria
Referee: Khamis Al-Marri (QAT)
Assistant Referee 1: Rashad Al-Hakmani (OMA)
Assistant Referee 2: Nasir Ambusaidi (OMA)
Fourth Official: Mahmud Al-Majarafi (OMA)

FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup 2018 – Group Stage (Matches 1-8)

13 November 2018
Brazil – Japan
Referee: Katalin Kulcsár (HUN, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Katalin Török (HUN)
Assistant Referee 2: Lucie Ratajová (CZE)
Fourth Official: Laura Fortunato (ARG)

New Zealand – Finland
Referee: Yoshimi Yamashita (JPN)
Assistant Referee 1: Naomi Teshirogi (JPN)
Assistant Referee 2: Makoto Bozono (JPN)
Fourth Official: Marie-Soleil Beaudoin (CAN)

Mexico – South Africa
Referee: María Carvajal (CHI)
Assistant Referee 1: Leslie Vásquez (CHI)
Assistant Referee 2: Loreto Toloza (CHI)
Fourth Official: María Laura Fortunato (ARG)

Uruguay – Ghana
Referee: Lucila Venegas (MEX)
Assistant Referee 1: Mayte Chávez (MEX)
Assistant Referee 2: Enedina Caudillo (MEX)
Fourth Official: Marie-Soleil Beaudoin (CAN)

14 November 2018
USA – Cameroon
Referee: Casey Reibelt (AUS)
Assistant Referee 1: Lee Seul Gi (KOR)
Assistant Referee 2: Trương Thị (VIE)
Fourth Official: Sara Persson (SWE)

Korea – Spain
Referee: Ekaterina Koroleva (USA)
Assistant Referee 1: Felisha Mariscal (USA)
Assistant Referee 2: Deleana Quan (USA)
Fourth Official: Salima Mukansanga (RWA)

Korea DPR – Germany
Referee: Anastasia Pustovoitova (RUS)
Assistant Referee 1: Ekaterina Kurochkina (RUS)
Assistant Referee 2: Mária Súkeníková (SVK)
Fourth Official: Sara Persson (SWE)

Canada – Colombia
Referee: Riem Hussein (GER)
Assistant Referee 1: Kylie Cockburn (SCO)
Assistant Referee 2: Mihaela Țepușă (ROU)
Fourth Official: Salima Mukansanga (RWA)

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

16 November 2018

Greece – Austria

Referee: Andris Treimanis (LVA, photo)

Assistant Referee 1: Haralds Gudermanis (LVA)

Assistant Referee 2: Aleksejs Spasjonņikovs (LVA)

Fourth Official: Aleksandrs Golubevs (LVA)

Referee Observer: Haim Jakov (ISR)

Poland – Portugal

Referee: Georgi Kabakov (BUL)

Assistant Referee 1: Martin Margaritov (BUL)

Assistant Referee 2: Diyan Valkov (BUL)

Fourth Official: Stanislav Todorov (BUL)

Referee Observer: Levan Paniashvili (GEO)