Remembering former FIFA World Cup referee Mikkelsen

Peter Mikkelsen, one of world football’s leading referees in the 1980s and 1990s passed away on Tuesday at the age of 58 following a long illness. Mikkelsen made his officiating debut in the Danish Super League in 1985 and became a FIFA referee the same year. He finished his international career in 1996 and officiated at his last game in Denmark in 1998. He refereed at five FIFA World Cup matches, two in Italy in 1990 and three in the USA in 1994. He also refereed at two UEFA European Football Championship tournaments, 1992 in Sweden and 1996 in England. Mikkelsen won the World Referee of the Year Award in 1991 and 1993. He was a UEFA referee observer and took care of young Danish referees. Mikkelsen was a valued member of the FIFA Referees Committee for many years. 

Speaking about Mikkelsen’s death, Chairman of FIFA’s Referees Committee Pierluigi Collina said: “Peter was passionate about football and a highly respected sportsman throughout his career. He truly lived football and his skill in refereeing was acknowledged far beyond Danish borders. We will remember him fondly in particular for his commitment to instilling the same passion in young referees that so distinguished him on the pitch. He was probably Denmark’s best referee and was a true role model for all of us. His many colleagues in Denmark, FIFA and the global football community will remember him with much affection and admiration.” 

Source: FIFA

AFC Asian Cup Final 2019: Irmatov (UZB)

Ravshan Irmatov, widely regarded as one of the best match officials in the world of refereeing, has been appointed to oversee the eagerly-anticipated final between Japan and Qatar at the Zayed Sports City Stadium on Friday. The 41-year-old from Uzbekistan, who is no stranger to high-profile encounters, will be officiating in his second AFC Asian Cup final, having managed the 2011 final between Japan and Australia in Qatar. Ravshan Irmatov will be assisted by compatriots Abdukhamidullo Rasulov and Jakhongir Saidov (UZB) with Ma Ning from China PR named as the fourth official. Italian Paolo Valeri has been appointed as the VAR and will be supported by assistants Muhammad Taqi bin Jahari from Singapore and Australia’s Christopher Beath. At the age of 32, Irmatov was the youngest referee at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa before going to set the record for managing the highest number of matches at the FIFA World Cup when he officiated his eleventh encounter last June in Russia 2018. The five-time AFC Referee of the Year award recipient has also taken charge of the AFC Champions League final on five occasions in his illustrious career. His other notable highlights include appointments at the 2014 FIFA World Cup, the 2017 and 2008 FIFA Club World Cups, the 2015 AFC Asian Cup, and the 2012 Olympic Games Football Tournament. (Source: AFC)

1 February 2019

Japan – Qatar

Referee: Ravshan Irmatov (UZB)

Assistant Referee 1: Abdukhamidullo Rasulov (UZB)

Assistant Referee 2: Jakhongir Saidov (UZB)

Fourth Official: Ma Ning (CHN)

VAR: Paolo Valeri (ITA)

AVAR 1: Muhammad Bin Jahari (SIN)

AVAR 2: Christopher Beath (AUS)

FIFA Futsal World Cup 2020 Qualifiers – UEFA (Preliminary Round)

29 January – 3 February 2019

Group A
1. Besart Ismajli (KVX)
2. Kirill Naishouler (FIN)
3. Jacob Pawlowski (GER)
4. Lukas Pesko (SVK)

Group B
1. Victor Berg-Audic (FRA, photo)
2. Eduards Fatkulins (LVA)
3. Shota Kukhilava (GEO)
4. Daniel Matkovic (SUI)

Group C
1. Moshe Bohbot (ISR)
2. Viktor Bugenko (MDA)
3. Grigori Osomkov (EST)
4. Dario Pezzuto (ITA)

Group D
1. Vladimir Kadykov (RUS)
2. Kaloyan Kirilov (BUL)
3. Fredric Nilholt (SWE)
4. Slawomir Steczko (POL)

Group E
1. Alem Bajrovic (BIH)
2. Hennadiy Hora (UKR)
3. Alessandro Malfer (ITA)
4. Jacob Van Dijke (NED)

Group F
1. Vlad Ciobanu (ROU)
2. Maksim Dzeikala (BLR)
3. Alejandro Martinez Flores (ESP)
4. Stefan Vrijens (BEL)

Group G 
1. Daniele D'Adamo (SMR)
2. Javier Moreno Reina (ESP)
3. Costas Nicolaou (CYP)
4. Hikmat Qafarli (AZE)

Group H
1. Josip Barton (MKD)
2. Norbert Szilagyi (HUN)
3. Dejan Veselic (SVN)
4. Grigori Zelentsov (RUS)

FIFA AR Bekker spends 3 months at Greek hospital after suffering stroke

Ukrainian assistant referee Serhiy Bekker has been staying at a hospital in Greece for three months in a row. In October 2018, Bekker was appointed AR in a game in this country; however, on the eve of the match, they found him at a hotel suite, suffering consequences of a stroke. Kostyantyn Andriyuk, a sports journalist, posted that on Facebook. Serhiy Bekker received no financial aid from the national football federation of Ukraine

"Assistant referee Serhiy Bekker was assigned 21 or 22 top games between Dynamo and Shakhtar in Ukraine. On October 24, the day before a European competition game in Greece, he was found at a hotel suite with the stroke. They saved him, but that entailed a long-lasting treatment. The UEFA insurance policy allowed to allocate 80,000 Euros and the Greek football federation gave some more money. The Football Federation of Ukraine gave 0 Euros, 00 percent. Serhiy Bekker is still at a Greek hospital. One month of treatment costs some 10,000 Euros", said Andriyuk. According to him, the referee's father sold his own car to save his son. Ukrainian football referees also joined in. In total, they collected some 6,000 dollars. I wonder how much Luciano Lucci, the head of the Referees Committee, and the leaders of the Ukrainian federation donated for that purpose? There are the people who came here to develop football and care about it. But what about caring about the life and health of their own employee?', Andriyuk wrote. He turned to the teams' owners, presidents and club managers, asking to help treat the referee and bring him home.

Source: 112

CAF U-20 Africa Cup of Nations 2019

Niger, 2-17 February 2019

Referees
1. Pacifique Ndabihawenimana (BDI)
2. Antoine Effa (CMR, photo)
3. Souleiman Djama (DJI)
4. Mohamed Omar (EGY)
5. Peter Waweru (KEN)
6. Boubou Traoré (MLI)
7. Imtehaz Heeralall (MRI)
8. Mohamed Moussa (NIG)
9. Jean Ishimwe (RWA)
10. Hassan Mohamed (SOM)
11. Kokou Ntale (TOG)
12. Haythem Guirat (TUN)

Assistant Referees
1. Luis Barbosa (CPV)
2. Jospin Malonga (CTA)
3. Gamal Samir (EGY)
4. Firmino Bassafim (GNB)
5. Lionel Hasinjarasoa (MAD)
6. Fabien Cauvelet (MRI)
7. Mustapha Akerkad (MAR)
8. Mathew Kanyanga (NAM)
9. Abdoul Saley (NIG)
10. Hamza Abdi (SOM)
11. Dick Okello (UGA)
12. Samuel Atango (ETH)

Copa Libertadores – First Round

First Leg, 22-23 January 2019

Delfin – Nacional
Referee: Julio Bascunan (CHI, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Raul Orellana (CHI)
Assistant Referee 2: Edson Cisternas (CHI)
Fourth Official: Eduardo Gamboa (CHI)
Referee Assessor: Wilson Lamouroux (COL)

Deportivo La Guaira – Real Garcilaso
Referee: Cesar Deischler (CHI)
Assistant Referee 1: Alejandro Molina (CHI)
Assistant Referee 2: Claudio Urrutia (CHI)
Fourth Official: Felipe Gonzalez (CHI)
Referee Assessor: Miguel Buitrago (VEN)

Bolívar – Defensor Sporting
Referee: Diego Haro (PER)
Assistant Referee 1: Jonny Bossio (PER)
Assistant Referee 2: Stephen Atoche (PER)
Fourth Official: Kevin Ortega (PER)
Referee Assessor: Jose Carpio (ECU)

Second Leg, 29-30 January 2019

Real Garcilaso – Deportivo La Guaira
Referee: Mauro Vigliano (ARG)
Assistant Referee 1: Diego Bonfa (ARG)
Assistant Referee 2: Julio Fernandez (ARG)
Fourth Official: Dario Herrera (ARG)
Referee Assessor: Juan Corozo (ECU)

Nacional – Delfin
Referee: Andres Rojas (COL)
Assistant Referee 1: Alexander Guzman (COL)
Assistant Referee 2: Dionisio Ruiz (COL)
Fourth Official: Gustavo Murillo (COL)
Referee Assessor: Carlos Pastorino (URU)

Defensor Sporting – Bolívar
Referee: Jose Argote (VEN)
Assistant Referee 1: Luis Murillo (VEN)
Assistant Referee 2: Franchescoly Chacon (VEN)
Fourth Official: Juan Soto (VEN)
Referee Assessor: Freddy Arellanos (PER)

AFC Asian Cup 2019 – Semi-finals

28 January 2019

Iran – Japan
Referee: Christopher Beath (AUS)
Assistant Referee 1: Matthew Cream (AUS)
Assistant Referee 2: Anton Shchetinin (AUS)
Fourth Official: Kim Dong-Jin (KOR)
VAR: Paolo Valeri (ITA)
AVAR 1: Muhammad Bin Jahari (SIN)
AVAR 2: Ko Hyung-Jin (KOR)

29 January 2019
Qatar – UAE
Referee: Cesar Ramos (MEX)
Assistant Referee 1: Miguel Hernandez (MEX)
Assistant Referee 2: Alberto Morín (MEX)
Fourth Official: Ravshan Irmatov (UZB)
VAR: Paolo Valeri (ITA)
AVAR 1: Muhammad Bin Jahari (SIN)
AVAR 2: Christopher Beath (AUS)

Africa: FIFA issues life time ban to Chaibou, CAF lifts suspensions of Charef and Sikazwe

One of world's most infamous match-fixing cases was settled Thursday when a referee notorious for corrupt calls was banned for life. The corrupt games in Ibrahim Chaibou's career were key to revealing how easily international friendlies could be manipulated for betting scams, forced FIFA to change the rules for appointing referees, and helped expose the influence of convicted fixer Wilson Perumal. "Chaibou was probably the most corrupt referee the game of football has seen," former FIFA investigator Chris Eaton told The Associated Press on Thursday. Still, it took more than eight years to confirm his life ban from any involvement in soccer. FIFA ethics committee judges found the referee from Niger guilty of taking bribes to corrupt international friendly games in 2010 and 2011, soccer's world governing body said. Chaibou was fined 200,000 Swiss francs ($201,000), though it is unclear what power FIFA has to make the long-retired referee pay. He can appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

The Niger official was paid bribes to influence the outcome of national-team games played in Africa, the Middle East and South America. His favoured tactic was awarding questionable penalty kicks - often for real and imagined handball offences - to help increase the number of goals scored. FIFA did not specify which games its ethics committee took into account when judging Chaibou. However, his most suspect games are well established. In May 2010, a warm-up game for World Cup host South Africa in Polokwane ended in a 5-0 win over Guatemala. Chaibou awarded three penalties for handball and South Africa scored two of them. Betting monitoring agencies noted a spike in wagers on at least three goals being scored in the game. In September 2010, Bahrain won 3-0 against a team making itself out to be Togo's national team but which was actually a group of impostor players. Chaibou's job that time was to limit the number of goals scored, according to evidence from Perumal after his arrest. Both games in 2010 were organized by Perumal from Singapore, whose agency could be hired by national soccer federations to organize a game and provide the referee. FIFA leadership was then not alert to the spreading risk of match-fixing. Its official line immediately after the Bahrain-Togo fiasco was not to investigate because neither member federation had complained. Chaibou was then appointed for national team games in Bolivia and Ecuador, and oversaw another notorious incident when Nigeria hosted Argentina in June 2011. With Nigeria leading 4-0 late on, Chaibou allowed the game to continue beyond the allotted stoppage time and then awarded Argentina a penalty for a non-existent handball against defender Efe Ambrose. A 4-1 result paid out bets of five goals to be scored. "I judged it to be a penalty, so I gave a penalty ... to make everyone happy. That's it," Chaibou told the AP in a telephone interview for an article published in February 2013. Eaton, who opened FIFA's investigation of Chaibou before leaving in 2012, said Perumal described his favoured referee as courageous for awarding suspect penalties late in games. "It wasn't courage, it was pure unadulterated corrupt greed," said Eaton, a former detective and Interpol official. He praised FIFA for pursuing the referee long after Chaibou's mandatory retirement from the international list of approved referees after turning 45 in 2011. "It's a well-deserved shaming of the man who disgraced African football more than any other", Eaton said. (Source: CTV)

CAF has lifted the provisional suspension of top referee Janny Sikazwe after being accused of corruption in November last year. The top referee who has been flying the Zambian and African flags high has been handed a reprieve by the CAF Disciplinary Committee. “After having thoroughly checked the elements presented to them regarding the violation by Mr. Janny Sikazwe of CAF Regulations, in particular Arts. 82, 136, 152, of the CAF Disciplinary Code: The Disciplinary Board decided that there is no sufficient evidence to implicate the involvement of Mr. Janny Sikazwe regarding the allegations of corruption made against him. Therefore, the Disciplinary Board decides: The provisional suspension of Mr. Janny Sikazwe is lifted”, states correspondence from CAF. Sikazwe was suspended following corruption allegations – in violation of CAF Regulations Articles 82, 136 and 152 of the CAF disciplinary code – raised by Angolan Primeiro de Agosto in their 2018 CAF Champions League semi-final, second leg match with eventual champions Esperance de Tunis. Sikazwe officiated at the FIFA World Cup in Russia in 2018 making history as he became the first Zambian to achieve that feat, (Source: Zambia Reports)

The Algerian Football Federation announced that the CAF Disciplinary Committee decided to lift the sanctions imposed on the Algerian referee Mehdi Abid Charef after the CAF Champions League final. The international referee had been sanctioned for "poor performance" in that match, when Charef awarded two penalty kicks extremely generous to the Egyptians. In both cases, the VAR had been accessed without the decision being changed despite the images and the Tunisian club had cried foul. Abid Charef was interviewed on 15 December 2018 by the president of the FAF, Kheireddine Zetchi, and members of the Federal Bureau to hear his story after his temporary suspension by CAF. "Abid Charef, gave explanations and members of the Federal Bureau concluded there is no evidence regarding any allegations of corruption made against him, so CAF lifted his provisional suspension", informed the FAF. (Source:Africa Top Sports)

UEFA VAR Seminar 2019

In preparation for the knock-out stage of the Champions League, UEFA has invited 27 referees and 22 assistant referees to a VAR seminar in Malaga (Spain), between 4 and 7 February 2019.

Referees
1. Cüneyt Çakır (TUR)
2. William Collum (SCO)
3. Bastian Dankert (GER)
4. Carlos Del Cerro Grande (ESP)
5. Marco Fritz (GER)
6. Paweł Gil (POL)
7. Hüseyin Göçek (TUR)
8. Marco Guida (ITA)
9. Ovidiu Hațegan (ROU)
10. Alejandro Hernandez Hernandez (ESP)
11. Massimiliano Irrati (ITA)
12. Jochem Kamphuis (NED)
13. François Letexier (FRA)
14. Danny Makkelie (NED)
15. Szymon Marciniak (POL)
16. Juan Martínez Munuera (ESP)
17. Antonio Mateu Lahoz (ESP)
18. Milorad Mažić (SRB)
19. Michael Oliver (ENG)
20. Pawel Raczkowski (POL)
21. Nicolas Rainville (FRA)
22. Anastasios Sidiropoulos (GRE)
23. Barış Şimşek (TUR)
24. Damir Skomina (SVN)
25. Anthony Taylor (ENG)
26. Clement Turpin (FRA)
27. Pol van Boekel (NED)

Assistant Referees
1. Roberto Alonso Fernandez (ESP)
2. Simon Bennett (ENG)
3. Gary Beswick (ENG)
4. Stuart Burt (ENG)
5. Pau Cebrian Devis (ESP)
6. Nicolas Danos (FRA)
7. Roberto Diaz Perez (ESP)
8. Lazaros Dimitriadis (GRE)
9. Dalibor Djurdjević (SRB)
10. Bahattin Duran (TUR)
11. Sebastian Gheorghe (ROU)
12. Cyril Gringore (FRA)
13. Polychronis Kostaras (GRE)
14. David Mc Geachie (SCO)
15. Adam Nunn (ENG)
16. Tarik Ongun (TUR)
17. Jure Praprotnik (SVN)
18. Milovan Ristić (SRB)
19. Octavian Sovre (ROU)
20. Graeme Stewart (SCO)
21. Robert Vukan (SVN)
22. Juan Yuste Jimenez (ESP)

UEFA Advanced Course for Top Referees (Winter 2019)

Lisbon (Portugal), 27-31 January 2019

Men
1. Aliyar Aghayev (AZE, Cat. 1)
2. Alexei Kulbakov (BLR, Cat. 1)
3. Georgi Kabakov (BUL, Cat. 1)
4, Pavel Kralovec (CZE, Elite)
5. Michael Oliver (ENG, Elite, photo)
6. Anthony Taylor (ENG, Elite)
7. Craig Pawson (ENG, Cat. 1)
8. Mattias Gestranius (FIN, Cat. 1)
9. Clement Turpin (FRA, Elite)
10. Benoît Bastien (FRA, Elite)
11. Ruddy Buquet (FRA, Cat. 1)
12. Nicolas Rainville (FRA, Cat. 2, VAR)
13. Deniz Aytekin (GER, Elite)
14. Felix Brych (GER, Elite)
15. Felix Zwayer (GER, Elite)
16. Tobias Stieler (GER, Cat. 1)
17. Daniel Siebert (GER, Cat. 1)
18. Bastian Dankert (GER, Cat. 2, VAR)
19. Marco Fritz (GER, Cat. 2, VAR)
20. Anastasios Sidiropoulos (GRE, Elite)
21. Viktor Kassai (HUN, Elite)
22. Orel Grinfeeld (ISR, Cat. 1)
23. Daniele Orsato (ITA, Elite)
24. Gianluca Rocchi (ITA, Elite)
25. Davide Massa (ITA, Cat. 1)
26. Marco Guda (ITA, Cat. 2, VAR)

27. Massimiliano Irrati (ITA, Cat. 2, VAR)
28. Gediminas Mažeika (LTU, Cat. 1)
29. Andris Treimanis (LVA, Cat. 1)
30. Björn Kuipers (NED, Elite)
29. Danny Makkelie (NED, Elite)
30. Serdar Gözübüyük (NED, Cat. 1)
31. Pol van Boekel (NED, Cat. 2, VAR)
32. Jochem Kamphuis (NED, No FIFA, VAR)
33. Szymon Marciniak (POL, Elite)
34. Paweł Raczkowski (POL, Cat. 1)
35. Paweł Gil (POL, Cat. 1, VAR)
36. Artur Soares Dias (POR, Cat. 1)
37. Tiago Martins (POR, Cat. 2, VAR)
38. Ovidiu Haţegan (ROU, Elite)
39. István Kovács (ROU, Cat. 1)
40. Sergei Karasev (RUS, Elite)
41. William Collum (SCO, Elite)
42. Robert Madden (SCO, Cat. 1)
43. Milorad Mažić (SRB, Elite)
44. Srdjan Jovanović (SRB, Cat. 1)
45. Ivan Kružliak (SVK, Cat. 1)
46. Damir Skomina (SVN, Elite)
47. Matej Jug (SVN, Cat. 1)
48. Slavko Vinčić (SVN, Cat. 1)
49. Antonio Mateu Lahoz (ESP, Elite)
50. Alberto Undiano Mallenco (ESP, Elite)
51. Jesus Gil Manzano (ESP, Elite)
52. Carlos Del Cerro Grande (ESP, Elite)
53. Juan Martínez Munuera (ESP, Cat. 2, VAR)
54. Alejandro Hernandez Hernandez (ESP, Cat. 2, VAR)
55. Andreas Ekberg (SWE, Cat. 1)
56. Cüneyt Çakır (TUR, Elite)
57. Hüseyin Göçek (TUR, Cat. 1, VAR)
58. Barış Şimşek (TUR, No FIFA, VAR)

Women
1. Ivana Martinčić (CRO, Cat. 1)
2. Jana Adamkova (CZE, Elite)
3. Lina Lehtovaara (FIN, Elite)
4. Stephanie Frappart (FRA, Elite)
5. Florence Guillemin (FRA, Cat. 1)
6. Riem Hussein (GER, Elite)
7. Bibiana Steinhaus (GER, Elite)
8. Katalin Kulcsár (HUN, Elite)
9. Monika Mularczyk (POL, Elite)
10. Sandra Braz Bastos (POR, Elite)
11. Anastasia Pustovoitova (RUS, Elite)
12. Pernilla Larsson (SWE, Elite)
13. Sara Persson (SWE, Elite)
14. Esther Staubili (SUI, Elite)
15. Kateryna Monzul (UKR, Elite)

Guests
1. Lei Zhang (CHN)
2. Yinhao Shen (CHN)