Rocchi resigns from AIA to continue with DAZN

Former Serie A and Serie B referee chief Gianluca Rocchi has resigned from the Italian Referees' Association (AIA). According to GianlucaDiMarzio.com, citing Calvar.it, the ex-designator submitted his resignation on Saturday. His new role as a regular pundit on DAZN is incompatible with AIA rules, which strictly limit what members can say publicly about active officials. Rocchi had previously needed individual permission from the association for each television appearance. He made his debut on DAZN's Sunday night show earlier this month, analysing refereeing decisions, and has chosen to continue with that role rather than remain within the AIA.

The decision comes just weeks after Rocchi was cleared in an investigation that had threatened to rock Italian football. He had been placed under investigation by prosecutors in Milan for alleged complicity in sporting fraud, linked to claims of interference in the VAR room at Lissone. Rocchi suspended himself from his role while the case was ongoing. However, the criminal investigation was dropped. On October 1, the FIGC's federal prosecutor also closed the sporting case, with the backing of CONI's sports prosecutor general. Reports in Italy said there was no evidence of any direct contact, even by phone, between the former referee and club officials.

Source: Yahoo

FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup 2026 – Round of 16 (Matches 37-44)

28 October 2026

Korea DPR – Morocco
Referee: Karen Hernandez MEX (photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Mayra Mora MEX
Assistant Referee 2: Karla Flores MEX
Fourth Official: Miriama Bockova SVK
Reserve AR: Linda Schmid SUI

Germany – Venezuela
Referee: Deily Gomez CRC
Assistant Referee 1: Iris Vail GUA
Assistant Referee 2: Daiana Milone ARG
Fourth Official: Lara Lee AUS
Reserve AR: Maria Bevilacqua ARG

Argentina – Ghana
Referee: Emanuela Rusta ALB
Assistant Referee 1: Ivona Pejić CRO
Assistant Referee 2: Marilena Nan ROU
Fourth Official: Natalie Simon USA
Reserve AR: Camille Soriano FRA

Brazil – Poland
Referee: Carly Shaw-MacLaren CAN
Assistant Referee 1: Melissa Snedden CAN
Assistant Referee 2: Stephanie Yee Sing JAM
Fourth Official: Fabienne Michel GER
Reserve AR: Amina Gutschi AUT

29 October 2026
China – France
Referee: Alejandra Quisbert BOL
Assistant Referee 1: Elizabeth Blanco BOL
Assistant Referee 2: Maria Cabezas BOL
Fourth Official: Vimarest Diaz DOM
Reserve AR: Santa Medina DOM

Nigeria – Mexico
Referee: Miriama Bockova SVK
Assistant Referee 1: Anita Vad HUN
Assistant Referee 2: Tilde Hedberg SWE
Fourth Official: Lara Lee AUS
Reserve AR: Nuannid Donjangreed THA

Japan – Kenya
Referee: Paula Fernandez COL
Assistant Referee 1: Nataly Arteaga COL
Assistant Referee 2: Carolina Vicuna COL
Fourth Official: Natalie Simon USA
Reserve AR: Stasa Spur SVN

Spain – USA
Referee: Dong Fangyu CHN
Assistant Referee 1: Xie Lijun CHN
Assistant Referee 2: Bao Mengxiao CHN
Fourth Official: Oh Hyeon-Jeong KOR 

Reserve AR: Suwida Wongkraisorn THA

IFAB: "Daylight" offside trial unlikely to be extended

Arsene Wenger's "daylight" offside trial is unlikely to be extended after receiving a lack of support at the International Football Association Board's (IFAB) assessment panels on Tuesday. The trial, which sees a player ruled to be onside if any part of the body is level with the second-last opponent, has been operating in the Canadian Premier League (CPL) throughout the year. The regular CPL season finished on Sunday, with mixed results. The IFAB's football and technical panels, made up of former players, coaches and referees, were told that the trial had led to a 54% reduction in offside decisions and 13 additional goals across the 112 matches. But it also resulted in the defensive line retreating three metres across the course of the season. The CPL also trialled Football Video Support - a version of VAR which allows coaches to challenge decisions twice a game. This helped limit the impact of the trial, which would not be possible in most leagues. The biggest impact appeared to be on set-pieces, with defences having to compensate for the advantage of the "daylight" offside.

There was support for a change to the coin toss before a penalty shootout. At present there is a toss to decide which end a penalty is taken from, and then a captain makes a call for choice of first spot-kick. It means the same team can get the advantage of both decisions on a shootout. The planned change would see the captain who wins the toss the choice of ends or first kick, with the opposition skipper automatically getting to decide the other.

There was little support for extending the five-second countdown for throw-ins and goal-kicks to other situations such as free-kicks and corners.

The goalkeeper injury trial currently being using in English football was viewed as a success so far. This sees an outfield player leave the field of play if a goalkeeper goes down for treatment, to try to end the tactical timeout which had become prevalent. It has only been enforced twice in 80 Premier League games so far. One suggestion was a player who claims a head injury in the penalty area and gets up quickly after the referee stops play should not have up stay off the field for one minute.

The technical panels meetings on Tuesday were the first step to potential law changes for the 2027-28 season. Footballs lawmakers are eager not to make too many changes after so many modifications in the summer ahead of the World Cup.

Source: Yahoo

UEFA Women’s Champions League 2026/27 – Group Stage (Matchday 3)

28 October 2026

Bayern München – Real Madrid
Referee: Eleni Antoniou GRE (photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Zoi Papadopoulou GRE
Assistant Referee 2: Vasilia Tsiklitari GRE
Fourth Official: Eirini Pingiou GRE
VAR: Athanasios Tzilos GRE
AVAR: Elisa Daupeux FRA
Referee Observer: Lilach Asulin ISR

Servette CH – OH Leuven
Referee: Rasa Grigone LTU
Assistant Referee 1: Irina Pozdejeva LTU
Assistant Referee 2: Ieva Ramanauskiene LTU
Fourth Official: Olivia Tschon AUT
VAR: Donatas Šimenas LTU
AVAR: Riem Hussein GER
Referee Observer: Stéphanie Frappart FRA

Chelsea FCW – AS Roma
Referee: Olatz Rivera Olmedo ESP
Assistant Referee 1: Iragartze Fernández Esesúmaga ESP
Assistant Referee 2: Eliana Fernández González ESP
Fourth Official: Elisabeth Calvo Valentín ESP
VAR: Guillermo Cuadra Fernández ESP
AVAR: Judit Romano Garcia ESP
Referee Observer: Blaženka Logarušić CRO

Arsenal WFC – SL Benfica
Referee: Ivana Projkovska MKD
Assistant Referee 1: Elena Soklevska-Ilievski MKD
Assistant Referee 2: Alexandra Vargová SVK
Fourth Official: Sabina Bolic CRO
VAR: Momčilo Marković SRB
AVAR: Déborah Anex SUI
Referee Observer: Hilda McDermott IRL

Olympique Lyonnais – Inter Milano
Referee: Lotta Vuorio FIN
Assistant Referee 1: Laura Koskinen FIN
Assistant Referee 2: Heini Hyvönen FIN
Fourth Official: Hanna Laajanen SWE
VAR: Michèle Schmölzer SUI
AVAR: Anojen Kanagasingam SUI
Referee Observer: Emilia Wnuk POL

29 October 2026
Austria Wien – Juventus FC
Referee: Ewa Augustyn POL
Assistant Referee 1: Paulina Baranowska POL
Assistant Referee 2: Julia Bukarowicz POL
Fourth Official: Anna Adamska POL
VAR: Bartosz Frankowski POL
AVAR: Victoria Beyer FRA
Referee Observer: Elke Günther GER

Paris FC – BK Hacken
Referee: Hristiyana Guteva BUL
Assistant Referee 1: Pavleta Rashkova BUL
Assistant Referee 2: Maria-Yoanna Vasileva BUL
Fourth Official: Kristina Georgieva BUL
VAR: Dimitar Dimitrov BUL
AVAR: Jana Adámková CZE
Referee Observer: Svetlana Cebanu MDA

Manchester City – Paris St. Germain
Referee: Alina Peşu ROU
Assistant Referee 1: Daniela Constantinescu ROU
Assistant Referee 2: Bianca Florea ROU
Fourth Official: Roxana Timiş ROU
VAR: Radu Petrescu ROU
AVAR: Cristina Trandafir ROU
Referee Observer: Sofia Karagiorgi CYP

HB Koge – FC Barcelona
Referee: Olga Blotskaya BLR
Assistant Referee 1: Nargis Magau KAZ
Assistant Referee 2: Rachel Greer NIR
Fourth Official: Marina Višnjić-Živković SRB
VAR: Jelena Cvetković SRB
AVAR: Pavle Tomić SRB
Referee Observer: Olga Tanschi MDA

UEFA Women's Europa Cup 2026/27 – Round of 16 (First Leg)

28 October 2026

PSV Eindhoven – Eintracht Frankfurt

Referee: Katalin Kulcsár HUN (photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Noemi Hegedus-Barath HUN
Assistant Referee 2: Nikolett Bizderi HUN
Fourth Official: Réka Molnar HUN
Referee Observer: Gitte Holm DEN

SK Brann – Czarni Sosnowiec
Referee: Maika Vanderstichel FRA
Assistant Referee 1: Melissa Rossignol FRA
Assistant Referee 2: Elodie Coppola FRA
Fourth Official: Romy Fournier FRA
Referee Observer: Ana Minić SRB

Spartak Myjava – Hammarby IF
Referee: Eugenia Gil Soriano ESP
Assistant Referee 1: Rita Cabañero Mompó ESP
Assistant Referee 2: Mariona Peralta Geis ESP
Fourth Official: Beatriz Cuesta Arribas ESP
Referee Observer: Kirsi Heikkinen FIN

Real Sociedad – Fenerbahce
Referee: Martina Molinaro ITA
Assistant Referee 1: Veronica Martinelli ITA
Assistant Referee 2: Silvia Scipione ITA
Fourth Official: Maria Marotta ITA
Referee Observer: Anri Saarivainio FIN

VfL Wolfsburg – Feyenoord Rotterdam
Referee: Karoline Jensen NOR
Assistant Referee 1: Helle Reiten NOR
Assistant Referee 2: Victoria Nilsen NOR
Fourth Official: Maren Hatletvedt NOR
Referee Observer: Pernilla Larsson SWE

AFC Ajax – Malmo FF
Referee: Milica Milovanović SRB
Assistant Referee 1: Aleksandra Kostić SRB
Assistant Referee 2: Andrea Mijailović SRB
Fourth Official: Mima Stanković SRB
Referee Observer: Gyöngyi Gaál HUN

29 October 2026
Sparta Praha – SCU Torreense
Referee: Sofiya Prychyna UKR
Assistant Referee 1: Oleksandra Vdovina UKR
Assistant Referee 2: Maryna Striletska UKR
Fourth Official: Liudmyla Telbukh UKR
Referee Observer: Carina Vitulano ITA

Rosenborg BK – Brondby IF
Referee: Shona Shukrula NED
Assistant Referee 1: Isabelle van Gilst NED
Assistant Referee 2: Hannah McLean SCO
Fourth Official: Abbie Hendry SCO
Referee Observer: Petra Pavlíková SVK

Concacaf Central American Cup 2026 – Semi-finals (Second Leg)

28 October 2026

CD Olimpia – CS Cartagines
Referee: Adonis Carrasco DOM (photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Jose Bare DOM
Assistant Referee 2: Ydekel Capellan DOM
Fourth Official: Oliver Vergara PAN
VAR: Oscar Mejia MEX
AVAR: Lizzet Garcia MEX

29 October 2026
LD Alajuelense – FC Motagua
Referee: Guido Gonzalez USA
Assistant Referee 1: Jeremy Kieso USA
Assistant Referee 2: Ryan Graves USA
Fourth Official: Rosendo Mendoza USA
VAR: Diana Perez MEX
AVAR: Diego Ojer GUA

UEFA Youth League 2026/2027 – Domestic Champions Path, Round 2 (First Leg)

27-28 October 2026

Legia Warszawa – Clermont Foot

Referee: Oscar Johnson SWE (photo)

Assistant Referee 1: Runo Robertsson SWE

Assistant Referee 2: Alexander Milovanovic SWE

Fourth Official: Piotr Urban POL
Referee Observer: Robert Malek POL

AZ Alkmaar – Goztepe
Referee: Andreu Simarro AND
Assistant Referee 1: Heitor Viana POR
Assistant Referee 2: Eithan Martínez AND
Fourth Official: Erwin Blank NED
Referee Observer: René Temmink NED

Qarabag FK – GNK Dinamo
Referee: Karl Koppel EST
Assistant Referee 1: Riivo Stolts EST
Assistant Referee 2: Thor Vaas EST
Fourth Official: Ali Aliyev AZE
Referee Observer: Asim Xudiyev AZE

Dynamo Kyiv – Rangers FC
Referee: Simon Bourdeaud’hui BEL
Assistant Referee 1: Michele Seeldraeyers BEL
Assistant Referee 2: Jonas Van Dyck BEL
Fourth Official: Patryk Świerczek POL
Referee Observer: Tomasz Mikulski POL

FK Partizani – Hradec Kralove
Referee: Patryk Gryckiewicz POL
Assistant Referee 1: Bartosz Kaszyński POL
Assistant Referee 2: Dawid Błażejczyk POL
Fourth Official: Dorjan Maletaj ALB
Referee Observer: Albano Janku ALB

Farul Constanta – Sheriff Tiraspol
Referee: Mervan Bejtullahu KOS
Assistant Referee 1: Bekim Rama KOS
Assistant Referee 2: Fatlum Jashari KOS
Fourth Official: Mihai Ene ROU
Referee Observer: Nicolae Grigorescu ROU

Brera Strumica – TSG Hoffenheim
Referee: Kevin O’Sullivan IRL
Assistant Referee 1: Thomas Joyce IRL
Assistant Referee 2: Niall McLoughlin IRL
Fourth Official: Benjamin Kerimi MKD
Referee Observer: Dejan Jakimovski MKD

AC Fiorentina – PFC Sofia
Referee: Luka Bilbija BIH
Assistant Referee 1: Amer Macić BIH
Assistant Referee 2: Damir Lazić BIH
Fourth Official: Valerio Crezzini ITA
Referee Observer: Paolo Dondarini ITA

KRC Genk – FC Salzburg
Referee: Mikkel Redder DEN
Assistant Referee 1: Deniz Yurdakul DEN
Assistant Referee 2: René Risum DEN
Fourth Official: Matonga Simonini BEL
Referee Observer: Luc Wouters BEL

Dinamo Tbilisi – FC Copenhagen
Referee: Matteo Marchetti ITA
Assistant Referee 1: Ayoub El Filali ITA
Assistant Referee 2: Giovanni Boato ITA
Fourth Official: Bakari Bregadze GEO
Referee Observer: Giorgi Vadachkoria GEO

Zrinjski Mostar – PAOK Salonic
Referee: Yura Mahtesyan ARM
Assistant Referee 1: Artur Gdlyan ARM
Assistant Referee 2: Vanik Simonyan ARM
Fourth Official: Frano Jelić BIH
Referee Observer: Rusmir Mrković BIH

SL Benfica – Pafos FC
Referee: Helgi Jónasson ISL
Assistant Referee 1: Eysteinn Hrafnkelsson ISL
Assistant Referee 2: Gudmundur Bjarnason ISL
Fourth Official: Bruno Vieira POR
Referee Observer: Lucílio Batista POR

Flora Tallinn – Chelsea FC
Referee: Aleko Aptsiauri GEO
Assistant Referee 1: Davit Chigogidze GEO
Assistant Referee 2: Boris Jvania GEO
Fourth Official: Kevin Kaivoja EST
Referee Observer: Hannes Kaasik EST

NK Bravo – Crvena Zvezda
Referee: Ashot Ghaltakhchyan ARM
Assistant Referee 1: Narek Poghosyan ARM
Assistant Referee 2: Arman Hakobjanyan ARM
Fourth Official: Aleksandra Česen SVN
Referee Observer: Igor Pristovnik CRO

HJK Helsinki – MSK Zilina
Referee: Michele Beltrano SMR
Assistant Referee 1: Ernesto Cristiano SMR
Assistant Referee 2: Matteo Colonna SMR
Fourth Official: Amir Hajizadeh FIN
Referee Observer: Mika Peltola FIN

Stabaek FC – Cardiff Met
Referee: Anton Lašuk BLR
Assistant Referee 1: Dzianis Jemieljančykaŭ BLR
Assistant Referee 2: Anton Husieŭ BLR
Fourth Official: Herman Holthe NOR
Referee Observer: Jon Skjervold NOR

MTK Budapest – Qairat FC
Referee: Jérémy Muller LUX
Assistant Referee 1: Dani Balsa LUX
Assistant Referee 2: Tiziano Glesener LUX
Fourth Official: Márió Zimmermann HUN
Referee Observer: László Vágner HUN

Hammarby IF – Super Nova
Referee: Ryan Lee SCO
Assistant Referee 1: Jonathan Bell SCO
Assistant Referee 2: Christopher Gentles SCO
Fourth Official: Fredrik Alknäs SWE
Referee Observer: Markus Strömbergsson SWE

FC Zurich – Maccabi Tel Aviv
Referee: Karel Rouček CZE
Assistant Referee 1: Michal Volf CZE
Assistant Referee 2: Pavel Pospíšil CZE
Fourth Official: Hajrim Qovanaj SUI
Referee Observer: Andreas Schluchter SUI

St. Patrick AFC – FK Zalgiris
Referee: Benjamin Brand GER
Assistant Referee 1: Thomas Stein GER
Assistant Referee 2: Marco Achmüller GER
Fourth Official: Mark Patchell IRL
Referee Observer: David Fernández Borbalán ESP

FIFA Women’s Champions Cup 2027 – Round 1

25 October 2026

Naegohyang WFC – Auckland United
Referee: Silvia Gasperotti ITA (photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Giulia Tempestilli ITA
Assistant Referee 2: Almira Spahic SWE
Fourth Official: Alina Pesu ROU
VAR: Catarina Campos POR
AVAR: Eszter Urban HUN

CONMEBOL Women’s Libertadores Futsal 2026

Argentina, 7-14 November 2026

Referees

1. Aldana Arrieta ARG
2. Estefania Pinto ARG (photo)
3. Marta Quispe BOL
4. Aline Santos BRA
5. Anelize Schultz BRA
6. Lady Munoz CHI
7. Valeria Palma CHI
8. Nataly Giraldo COL
9. Yendis Montalvo COL
10. Jackeline Santacruz COL
11. Jennifer Moran ECU
12. Gema Villavicencio ECU
13. Adriana Barrios PAR
14. Fany Martinez PAR
15. Astrid Mendoza PAR
16. Mercedes Guzman PER
17. Ingrid Rodriguez PER
18. Paula Lopez URU
19. Malena Rios URU
20. Rosa Carvalho VEN
21. Tayana Moreno VEN 

22. Oriana Zambrano VEN

FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup 2026 – Group Stage (Matches 29-36)

24 October 2026

Ghana – Canada
Referee: Paula Fernandez COL (photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Nataly Arteaga COL
Assistant Referee 2: Carolina Vicuna COL
Fourth Official: Deily Gomez CRC
Reserve AR: Iris Vail GUA

Brazil – Norway
Referee: Vimarest Diaz DOM
Assistant Referee 1: Santa Medina DOM
Assistant Referee 2: Melissa Nicholas TRI
Fourth Official: Lara Lee AUS
Reserve AR: Nicoleta Bria ENG

Venezuela – Japan
Referee: Natalie Simon USA
Assistant Referee 1: Katarzyna Wasiak USA
Assistant Referee 2: Kali Smith USA
Fourth Official: Caroline Lanssens BEL
Reserve AR: Stasa Spur SVN

Zambia – France
Referee: Miriama Bockova SVK
Assistant Referee 1: Anita Vad HUN
Assistant Referee 2: Tilde Hedberg SWE
Fourth Official: Carly Shaw-MacLaren CAN
Reserve AR: Melissa Snedden CAN

25 October 2026
China – USA
Referee: Lara Lee AUS
Assistant Referee 1: Nuannid Donjangreed THA
Assistant Referee 2: Nicoleta Bria ENG
Fourth Official: Fabienne Michelle GER
Reserve AR: Anne Uersfield GER

Samoa – Kenya
Referee: Adriana Alvarez ARG
Assistant Referee 1: Daiana Milone ARG
Assistant Referee 2: Maria Cabezas BOL
Fourth Official: Karen Hernandez ARG
Reserve AR: Maria Bevilacqua ARG

Chile – Spain
Referee: Aline Guimbang CMR
Assistant Referee 1: Camille Soriano FRA
Assistant Referee 2: Queency Victoire MRI
Fourth Official: Carly Shaw-MacLaren CAN
Reserve AR: Stephanie Yee Sing JAM

Mexico – Australia
Referee: Emanuela Rusta ALB
Assistant Referee 1: Ivona Pejić CRO
Assistant Referee 2: Marilena Nan ROU
Fourth Official: Dong Fangyu CHN
Reserve AR: Xie Lijun CHN