FIFA Club World Cup Final 2018: Marrufo (USA)

22 December 2018

Final
Real Madrid – Al Ain
Referee: Jair Marrufo (USA, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Frank Anderson (USA)
Assistant Referee 2: Corey Rockwell (USA)
Fourth Official: Wilton Sampaio (BRA)
Reserve AR: Zakhele Siwela (RSA)
VAR: Danny Makkelie (NED)
AVAR 1: Mark Geiger (USA)
AVAR 2: Bruno Boschilia (BRA)
AVAR 3: Mauro Vigliano (ARG)

Match for Third Place
Kashima Antlers – River Plate
Referee: Gianluca Rocchi (ITA)
Assistant Referee 1: Elenito Di Liberatore (ITA)
Assistant Referee 2: Mauro Tonolini (ITA)
Fourth Official: Matthew Conger (NZL)
Reserve AR: Waleed Ahmed (SDN)
VAR: Massimiliano Irrati (ITA)
AVAR 1: Abdulla Mohammed (UAE)
AVAR 2: Rodrigo Figueiredo (BRA)
AVAR 3: Pawel Gil (POL)

Referee Tzilos victim of disgraceful attack in Greece

The unwanted side of Greek football has reared its ugly head again, with referee Athanasios Tzilos assaulted in Larissa on Wednesday morning. 

At approximately 09:00 on Wednesday morning, 35-year old Super League referee Tzilos arrived at his office where he works as a civil engineer in Larissa, however before he stepped out of his car, he was set upon by four hooded individuals. Tzilos was dragged out from his car, beaten by the attackers, and police and ambulance services promptly arrived on the scene after members of the public had made the relevant telephone calls. Tzilos was transported to the General University Hospital of Larissa after he had received blows to the head and legs. He’s said to be in a stable condition physically, however reports revealed that he is state of shock after the brutal attack. Photos published online display blood on the street from the assault and the broken window on the left side of Tzilos’ car:

The act of despicable violence against Tzilos has widely been condemned by the Greek footballing community and all matches which run under the guidance of the Larissa Football Clubs Association have been postponed. It is believed that Tzilos was attacked because of ‘footballing reasons’. Following this incident, Evangelos Grammenos and Vitor Melo Pereira asked Super League referees to officiate as normal in the upcoming championship matches scheduled for round 15, however they have declined. As a result, there is a real threat that the 15th round of the 2018/2019 Super League won’t go ahead this weekend, and the Super League organization revealed that it won’t use Football League referees instead. It remains to be seen whether Super League referees change their minds, or if they stick by their decision not to work over league matches. 

So far, Tzilos has refereed the Olympiacos - Asteras Tripolis (2:1), Panathinaikos - PAS Giannina (2:1), AEK - Aris (4:0), Atromitos - PAOK (1:1), OFI - Aris (1:2) and Xanthi - Olympiacos (1:1) Super League matches in the 2018/2019 campaign. He also took charge of AEK’s 2:1 victory against Lamia in the Greek Cup. 

Source: AgonaSport

Unfair Labour Practices by PRO

Last week, the Professional Soccer Referees Association (“PSRA”) members covered by the collective bargaining agreement (“CBA”) with the Professional Referee Organization (“PRO”) voted overwhelmingly in favor of a strike authorization. This vote comes on the heels of the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) ruling in favor of PSRA regarding a recent Unfair Labor Practice charge, and provides the PSRA Executive Board with the authority to call a strike to protest PRO’s unfair labor practices and unlawful bargaining tactics.

PSRA’s existing CBA with PRO expires on January 15, 2019. PSRA commenced bargaining toward a new CBA in March of 2018 – starting early in order to provide the parties sufficient opportunity to reach a new and fair agreement before the existing CBA expires. To the extreme frustration of PSRA members, PRO significantly delayed the negotiations after they commenced, cancelled a multitude of scheduled bargaining dates, and refused to counter PSRA’s proposals in a timely fashion. PSRA expected nothing less than “fair play” from a refereeing company. Unfortunately, this did not occur. As a result, in September PSRA filed Unfair Labor Practice charges with Region 2 of the NLRB in response to PRO’s unlawful actions during negotiations toward a new CBA. PSRA’s charges, which alleged PRO “unlawfully delayed and canceled bargaining sessions,” were found to have merit by the NLRB. PSRA takes this matter very seriously and has no desire to cause unnecessary disruption to the negotiating process. However, the solidarity of the members is clear. We will not stand for the unlawful bargaining tactics by PRO and its main stakeholders – Major League Soccer and the United States Soccer Federation. For further clarity, PRO’s General Manager, Howard Webb, should not shoulder all the blame for PRO’s delay tactics. It is PSRA’s opinion that Mr. Webb, despite being PRO General Manager, does not control these negotiations on behalf of PRO. If he did, PSRA is confident the parties may have already reached agreement. PSRA is of the opinion that the PRO Board, which has yet to appear at the bargaining table, and PRO’s attorneys are controlling negotiations on behalf of PRO. PSRA wants nothing more than a fair and lawful playing field for collective bargaining so we may reach a timely agreement, the fruits of which both PSRA and our partner, PRO, can hopefully enjoy well in advance of the 2019 season. “Fair Play!”

The Professional Soccer Referees Association (PSRA) is the certified labor union representing Officials employed by PRO, and is an independent association of referees licensed to officiate the game of soccer by the Canadian Soccer Association (CSA) or the United States Soccer Federation (USSF). PSRA officials referee matches in Major League Soccer (MLS) and other professional soccer leagues within Canada and the United States.

Source: PSRA

EPL referee wages: How much do top flight officials earn in a season?

The referees are employed by PGMOL (Professional Game Match Officials Limited) which is run by managing director Mike Riley - a former Premier League referee himself. There are 17 full-time professional ‘Select Group’ referees in the Premier League, who meet for a training camp twice a
month, where they perform physical and technical training sessions and analyze matches. 

These referees are paid a basic yearly retainer of £38,500 to £42,000 for their Premier League duties, and earn an additional match fee of £1,150 per game. With cup games and potential European fixtures thrown in, top level referees can earn upwards of £70,000 a year. In the 2016/17 season, the likes of Martin Atkinson and Mark Clattenburg reportedly earned as much as £120,000. 

For the Champions League, elite tier referees get a whopping £5,500 per game, with ‘development tier’ referees picking up £3,800, but regular referees just earning £700 per game. Across the rest of Europe’s big leagues, match fees are much higher but there is no basic yearly retainer, making payments much less reliable. La Liga splash out £5,200 per match on referees, while in the Bundesliga officials get £3,150. In Serie A, the refs get £3,000, while in Ligue 1 the match fee is £2,400. The most lucrative earner for a referee can be selection for the World Cup - and according to Brazilian website UOL Esporte - those selected pocketed a massive £52,700 basic fee and then £2,260 per match. 

Back in England’s lower tiers, referees are paid £600 for Championship games - while for semi-professional matches fees are only around £80 plus expenses, and amateur referees get £20-£40 per game depending on regional football associations. 

Source: DailyStar

FIFA Club World Cup 2018 – Semi-finals

18-19 December 2018

River Plate – Al Ain
Referee: Gianluca Rocchi (ITA, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Elenito Di Liberatore (ITA)
Assistant Referee 2: Mauro Tonolini (ITA)
Fourth Official: Ryuji Sato (JPN)
Reserve AR: Toru Sagara (JPN)
VAR: Massimiliano Irrati (ITA)
AVAR 1: Pawel Gil (POL)
AVAR 2: Hiroshi Yamauchi (JPN)
AVAR 3: Mark Geiger (USA)

Kashima Antlers – Real Madrid
Referee: Wilton Sampaio (BRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Rodrigo Figueiredo (BRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Bruno Boschilia (BRA)
Fourth Official: Matthew Conger (NZL)
Reserve AR: Tevita Makasini (TGA)
VAR: Mauro Vigliano (ARG)
AVAR 1: Abdulla Mohammed (UAE)
AVAR 2: Elenito Di Liberatore (ITA)
AVAR 3: Danny Makkelie (NED)

FIFA Club World Cup 2018 – Match for Fifth Place

18 December 2018

ES Tunis – CD Guadalajara
Referee: Matthew Conger (NZL, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Tevita Makasini (TGA)
Assistant Referee 2: Mark Rule (NZL)
Fourth Official: Jair Marrufo (USA)
Reserve AR: Frank Anderson (USA)
VAR: Mauro Vigliano (ARG)
AVAR 1: Abdulla Mohammed (UAE)
AVAR 2: Corey Rockwell (USA)
AVAR 3: Danny Makkelie (NED)

CONMEBOL U-20 Championship 2019

Chile, 17 January – 10 February 2019

Referee: Fernando Rapallini (ARG, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Ezequiel Brailovsky (ARG)
Assistant Referee 2: Gabriel Chade (ARG)

Referee: Gery Vargas (BOL)
Assistant Referee 1: Jose Antelo (BOL)
Assistant Referee 2: Edwar Saavedra (BOL)

Referee: Raphael Claus (BRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Kleber Gil (BRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Bruno Pires (BRA)

Referee: Piero Maza (CHI)
Assistant Referee 1: Claudio Rios (CHI)
Assistant Referee 2: Jose Retamal (CHI)

Referee: Nicolas Gallo (COL)
Assistant Referee 1: Alexander Leon (COL)
Assistant Referee 2: Wilmar Navarro (COL)

Referee: Carlos Orbe (ECU)
Assistant Referee 1: Juan Macias (ECU)
Assistant Referee 2: Ricardo Baren (ECU)

Referee: Mario Diaz de Vivar (PAR)
Assistant Referee 1: Roberto Canete (PAR)
Assistant Referee 2: Dario Gaona (PAR)

Referee: Joel Alarcon (PER)
Assistant Referee 1: Victor Raez (PER)
Assistant Referee 2: Michael Orue (PER)

Referee: Leodan Gonzalez (URU)
Assistant Referee 1: Richard Trinidad (URU)
Assistant Referee 2: Carlos Barreiro (URU)

Referee: Alexis Herrera (VEN)
Assistant Referee 1: Carlos Lopez (VEN)
Assistant Referee 2: Jorge Urrego (VEN)

Support Referees
1. Facundo Tello (ARG)
2. Cristian Garay (CHI)

FIFA Club World Cup 2018 – Second Round

15 December 2018

Kashima Antlers – CD Guadalajara
Referee: Bamlak Tessema (ETH, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Zakhele Siwela (RSA)
Assistant Referee 2: Waleed Ahmed (SUD)
Fourth Official: Wilton Sampaio (BRA)
Reserve AR: Rodrigo Figueiredo (BRA)
VAR: Massimiliano Irrati (ITA)
AVAR 1: Abdulla Mohammed (UAE)
AVAR 2: Bruno Boschilia (BRA)
AVAR 3: Danny Makkelie (NED)

ES Tunis – Al Ain
Referee: Jair Marrufo (USA)
Assistant Referee 1: Frank Anderson (USA)
Assistant Referee 2: Corey Rockwell (USA)
Fourth Official: Ryuji Sato (JPN)
Reserve AR: Hiroshi Yamauchi (JPN)
VAR: Mark Geiger (USA)
AVAR 1: Paweł Gil (POL)
AVAR 2: Toru Sagara (JPN)
AVAR 3: Mauro Vigliano (ARG)

VAR at the Women’s World Cup?

As the men’s World Cup was winding down last summer in Russia, FIFA’s president, Gianni Infantino, used his final news conference to heap praise on the video assistant referee system, which had been used for the first time at the tournament. It had become, Infantino declared, “difficult to think about the World Cup without VAR”. It remains to be seen whether Infantino was referring only to the men’s game when he essentially called the technology indispensable.

To the dismay of some top players and coaches in the women’s game, FIFA, the governing body of international soccer, has not confirmed whether VAR will be used at the Women’s World Cup next summer in France. For some, the organization’s failure to take advantage of the technology - already widely used in men’s domestic leagues and coming soon to the UEFA Champions League, club soccer’s highest-profile competition - is yet another sign that the organization sees female players as second-class citizens. “The men had it at their World Cup,” said Becky Sauerbrunn, a veteran defender for the United States women’s team. “The women should have it at theirs”. Still, six months before the opening game of the World Cup, and days before the draw to set the field, the fact that FIFA had not revealed a decision on VAR for the tournament left some players rolling their eyes. The American coach Jill Ellis said she had been at a coaching seminar in Zurich in October when a FIFA official explained that the organization was focusing on March as a deadline to make a decision on whether it would implement the video technology at the women’s tournament.

In an email, a FIFA spokesman said, “We are still in an evaluation phase,” but declined to comment further on the process. The organization may, however, be quietly working on a solution. This week, FIFA named the 27 referees and 48 assistant referees - all of them women - slated to work at the World Cup next summer. This month in Abu Dhabi, those referees will take part in the first of several training seminars leading to the World Cup. The current program for the first seminar includes sessions focused on video review, according to a person familiar with the schedule. That suggests that FIFA will make an effort to begin training the referees to use the VAR system, though it offers no guarantee that it will be implemented next summer. FIFA’s video review system employs a video assistant referee — working either on site or in a video room at a remote location — in addition to the traditional crew of four officials on the field. The video assistant role requires the most specialized training, according to several referees experienced with the system, while the on-field referees would primarily need practice communicating with the system in live settings. That has led some to envision a hypothetical situation (among many hypothetical situations) in which a group of male assistant video referees - the great majority of international officials trained in the technology, at the moment, are men - could be added to the previously announced all-female refereeing roster. The move would be controversial - the Women’s World Cup has long been overseen only by female officials - but Ellis supports it. “Hire the men in the booth, then”, Ellis said about the idea that there might not be enough time to train the female officials. “I don’t care about gender. I want equality”.

Source: New York Times

UEFA Europa League – Group Stage (Matchday 6)

13 December 2018

Olympiakos – AC Milan
Referee: Benoît Bastien (FRA, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Hicham Zakrani (FRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Frédéric Haquette (FRA)
Fourth Official: Philippe Jeanne (FRA)
Additional AR 1: Benoît Millot (FRA)
Additional AR 2: Jérôme Miguelgorry (FRA)
Referee Observer: Jørn West Larsen (DEN)

Villarreal CF – Spartak Moskva
Referee: Andris Treimanis (LVA)
Assistant Referee 1: Haralds Gudermanis (LVA)
Assistant Referee 2: Aleksejs Spasjonņikovs (LVA)
Fourth Official: Raimonds Tatriks (LVA)
Additional AR 1: Aleksandrs Golubevs (LVA)
Additional AR 2: Edgars Maļcevs (LVA)
Referee Observer: Bo Karlsson (SWE)

Rapid Wien – Rangers FC
Referee: Paolo Mazzoleni (ITA)
Assistant Referee 1: Alessandro Costanzo (ITA)
Assistant Referee 2: Matteo Passeri (ITA)
Fourth Official: Alberto Tegoni (ITA)
Additional AR 1: Marco Guida (ITA)
Additional AR 2: Piero Giacomelli (ITA)
Referee Observer: Shmuel Shteif (ISR)

Olympique de Marseille – Apóllon Limassol
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: Guy Goethals (BEL)

Lazio – Eintracht Frankfurt
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: Alper Ulusoy (TUR)
Additional AR 2: Ümit Öztürk (TUR)
Referee Observer: Manuel Mejuto González (ESP)

Beşiktaş JK – Malmö FF
Referee: Luca Banti (ITA)
Assistant Referee 1: Lorenzo Manganelli (ITA)
Assistant Referee 2: Gianluca Vuoto (ITA)
Fourth Official: Giorgio Peretti (ITA)
Additional AR 1: Daniele Doveri (ITA)
Additional AR 2: Maurizio Mariani (ITA)
Referee Observer: Ichko Lozev (BUL)

KRC Genk – Sarpsborg FF
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: Herbert Fandel (GER)

Sevilla FC – FC Krasnodar
Referee: Daniel Stefański (POL)
Assistant Referee 1: Marcin Boniek (POL)
Assistant Referee 2: Dawid Golis (POL)
Fourth Official: Krzysztof Myrmus (POL)
Additional AR 1: Bartosz Frankowski (POL)
Additional AR 2: Zbigniew Dobrynin (POL)
Referee Observer: Ilkka Koho (FIN)

Akhisarspor – Standard de Liège
Referee: Ádám Farkas (HUN)
Assistant Referee 1: Balázs Buzás (HUN)
Assistant Referee 2: Balázs Szert (HUN)
Fourth Official: Péter Kóbor (HUN)
Additional AR 1: Sándor Andó-Szabó (HUN)
Additional AR 2: Péter Solymosi (HUN)
Referee Observer: Lucílio Batista (POR)

Stade Rennais – FC Astana
Referee: Serdar Gözübüyük (NED)
Assistant Referee 1: Charles Schaap (NED)
Assistant Referee 2: Jan de Vries (NED)
Fourth Official: Davie Goossens (NED)
Additional AR 1: Kevin Blom (NED)
Additional AR 2: Siemen Mulder (NED)
Referee Observer: Sándor Piller (HUN)

Dynamo Kyiv – FK Jablonec
Referee: Vilhjálmur Thórarinsson (ISL)
Assistant Referee 1: Gylfi Sigurdsson (ISL)
Assistant Referee 2: Jóhann Gudmundsson (ISL)
Fourth Official: Birkir Sigurdarson (ISL)
Additional AR 1: Ívar Kristjánsson (ISL)
Additional AR 2: Thóroddur Hjaltalín (ISL)
Referee Observer: Murat Ilgaz (TUR)

PAOK FC – Bate Borisov
Referee: Tobias Welz (GER)
Assistant Referee 1: Rafael Foltyn (GER)
Assistant Referee 2: Markus Häcker (GER)
Fourth Official: Dominik Schaal (GER)
Additional AR 1: Marco Fritz (GER)
Additional AR 2: Christian Dingert (GER)
Referee Observer: Andrejs Sipailo (LVA)

MOL Vidi – Chelsea FC
Referee: Aleksandar Stavrev (MKD)
Assistant Referee 1: Marjan Kirovski (MKD)
Assistant Referee 2: Dejan Kostadinov (MKD)
Fourth Official: Nikola Karakolev (MKD)
Additional AR 1: Dimitar Mečkarovski (MKD)
Additional AR 2: Dejan Jakimovski (MKD)
Referee Observer: Michális Argyroú (CYP)

AEK Larnaca – Bayer Leverkusen
Referee: François Letexier (FRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Cyril Mugnier (FRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Mehdi Rahmouni (FRA)
Fourth Official: Huseyin Ocak (FRA)
Additional AR 1: Frank Schneider (FRA)
Additional AR 2: Mikaël Lesage (FRA)
Referee Observer: Matteo Trefoloni (ITA)

PFC Ludogorets – FC Zürich
Referee: Kirill Levnikov (RUS)
Assistant Referee 1: Valeriy Danchenko (RUS)
Assistant Referee 2: Maksim Gavrilin (RUS)
Fourth Official: Dmitriy Mosyakin (RUS)
Additional AR 1: Vladislav Bezborodov (RUS)
Additional AR 2: Aleksey Eskov (RUS)
Referee Observer: Jan Wegereef (NED)

RB Leipzig – Rosenborg BK
Referee: Serhiy Boyko (UKR)
Assistant Referee 1: Volodymyr Volodin (UKR)
Assistant Referee 2: Ihor Alokhin (UKR)
Fourth Official: Semen Shlonchak (UKR)
Additional AR 1: Mykola Balakin (UKR)
Additional AR 2: Anatoliy Abdula (UKR)
Referee Observer: Goran Mihaljević (MNE)

Celtic FC – Red Bull Salzburg
Referee: Ruddy Buquet (FRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Guillaume Debart (FRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Julien Pacelli (FRA)
Fourth Official: Benjamin Pagès (FRA)
Additional AR 1: Jérôme Brisard (FRA)
Additional AR 2: Olivier Thual (FRA)
Referee Observer: Darko Čeferin (SVN)

FC København – Girondins de Bordeaux
Referee: Hüseyin Göçek (TUR)
Assistant Referee 1: Mustafa Eyisoy (TUR)
Assistant Referee 2: Kemal Yılmaz (TUR)
Fourth Official: Serkan Ok (TUR)
Additional AR 1: Mete Kalkavan (TUR)
Additional AR 2: Barış Şimşek (TUR)
Referee Observer: Volodymyr Petrov (UKR)

Slavia Praha – FC Zenit
Referee: Andrew Dallas (SCO)
Assistant Referee 1: Francis Connor (SCO)
Assistant Referee 2: Douglas Potter (SCO)
Fourth Official: Stuart Stevenson (SCO)
Additional AR 1: Greg Aitken (SCO)
Additional AR 2: Euan Anderson (SCO)
Referee Observer: Jaap Uilenberg (NED)

Spartak Trnava – Fenerbahçe SK
Referee: José Sánchez Martínez (ESP)
Assistant Referee 1: Raúl Cabañero Martínez (ESP)
Assistant Referee 2: Javier Aguilar Rodríguez (ESP)
Fourth Official: Diego Barbero Sevilla (ESP)
Additional AR 1: Alejandro Hernández Hernández (ESP)
Additional AR 2: Juan Martínez Munuera (ESP)
Referee Observer: Iain Robertson Brines (SCO)

GNK Dinamo – RSC Anderlecht
Referee: Sandro Schärer (SUI)
Assistant Referee 1: Stéphane De Almeida (SUI)
Assistant Referee 2: Bekim Zogaj (SUI)
Fourth Official: Raffael Zeder (SUI)
Additional AR 1: Alain Bieri (SUI)
Additional AR 2: Lukas Fähndrich (SUI)
Referee Observer: Michális Koukoulákis (GRE)

Sporting CP – Vorskla Poltava
Referee: Manuel Schüttengruber (AUT)
Assistant Referee 1: Roland Brandner (AUT)
Assistant Referee 2: Robert Steinacher (AUT)
Fourth Official: Stefan Kühr (AUT)
Additional AR 1: Oliver Drachta (AUT)
Additional AR 2: Dieter Muckenhammer (AUT)
Referee Observer: Elmir Pilav (BIH)

Arsenal FC – Qarabağ FK
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 Burchardt (DEN)
Additional AR 2: Morten Krogh (DEN)
Referee Observer: Stávros Tritsónis (GRE)

F91 Dudelange – Real Betis Balompié
Referee: Peter Královič (SVK)
Assistant Referee 1: Miroslav Benko (SVK)
Assistant Referee 2: Erik Weiss (SVK)
Fourth Official: Tomáš Mókoš (SVK)
Additional AR 1: Michal Očenáš (SVK)
Additional AR 2: Boris Marhefka (SVK)
Referee Observer: Petteri Kari (FIN)