UEFA Champions League 2026/2027 – Group Stage (Matchday 3)

20 October 2026

Sabah FK – Borussia Dortmund
Referee: Javier Alberola Rojas ESP (photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Alfredo Rodríguez Moreno ESP
Assistant Referee 2: Carlos Álvarez Fernández ESP
Fourth Official: Víctor García Verdura ESP
VAR: César Soto Grado ESP
AVAR: Valentín Pizarro Gómez ESP
Referee Observer: Michael Riley ENG

Fenerbahce – Slavia Praha
Referee: Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea ESP
Assistant Referee 1: Iker De Francisco Grijalba ESP
Assistant Referee 2: Iván Massó Granado ESP
Fourth Official: Adrián Cordero Vega ESP
VAR: Guillermo Cuadra Fernández ESP
AVAR: Javier Iglesias Villanueva ESP
Referee Observer: Aleksandar Stavrev MKD

Paris St. Germain – FC Barcelona
Referee: Michael Oliver ENG
Assistant Referee 1: Stuart Burt ENG
Assistant Referee 2: James Mainwaring ENG
Fourth Official: Robert Jones ENG
VAR: Marco Di Bello ITA
AVAR: Daniele Chiffi ITA
Referee Observer: Rune Pedersen NOR

Liverpool FC – Villarreal CF
Referee: Szymon Marciniak POL
Assistant Referee 1: Tomasz Listkiewicz POL
Assistant Referee 2: Adam Kupsik POL
Fourth Official: Wojciech Myc POL
VAR: Piotr Lasyk POL
AVAR: Benjamin Brand GER
Referee Observer: Itchko Lozev BUL

Manchester City – AEK Athens
Referee: Willy Delajod FRA
Assistant Referee 1: Erwan Finjean FRA
Assistant Referee 2: Valentin Evrard FRA
Fourth Official: Bastien Dechepy FRA
VAR: Bram Van Driessche BEL
AVAR: Christian Dingert GER
Referee Observer: Carlos Velasco Carballo ESP

AS Roma – Slovan Bratislava
Referee: Sandro Schärer SUI
Assistant Referee 1: Stéphane De Almeida SUI
Assistant Referee 2: Jonas Erni SUI
Fourth Official: Anojen Kanagasingam SUI
VAR: Fedayi San SUI
AVAR: Tomasz Kwiatkowski POL
Referee Observer: Peter Sippel GER

FC Porto – PSV Eindhoven
Referee: Daniel Siebert GER
Assistant Referee 1: Jan Seidel GER
Assistant Referee 2: Rafael Foltyn GER
Fourth Official: Max Burda GER
VAR: Sören Storks GER
AVAR: Robert Schröder GER
Referee Observer: Alain Hamer LUX

SSC Napoli – Bodo Glimt
Referee: José Sánchez Martínez ESP
Assistant Referee 1: Raúl Cabañero Martínez ESP
Assistant Referee 2: Íñigo Prieto López ESP
Fourth Official: Juan Martínez Munuera ESP
VAR: Tiago Martins POR
AVAR: Carlos del Cerro Grande ESP
Referee Observer: Leslie Irvine NIR

VfB Stuttgart – Atletico de Madrid
Referee: Serdar Gözübüyük NED
Assistant Referee 1: Patrick Inia NED
Assistant Referee 2: Rogier Honig NED
Fourth Official: Jeroen Manschot NED
VAR: Dennis Higler NED
AVAR: Stuart Attwell ENG 

Referee Observer: Martin Atkinson ENG

FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup 2026 – Group Stage (Matches 9-16)

19 October 2026

Kenya – China
Referee: Fabienne Michel GER (photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Amina Gutschi AUT
Assistant Referee 2: Anne Uersfeld GER
Fourth Official: Miriama Bockova SVK
Reserve AR: Tilde Hedberg SWE

Spain – Mexico

Referee: Paula Fernandez COL

Assistant Referee 1: Nataly Arteaga COL

Assistant Referee 2: Carolina Vicuna COL

Fourth Official: Vimarest Diaz DOM

Reserve AR: Santa Medina DOM

USA – Samoa
Referee: Zoulaikha Harmasse MAR
Assistant Referee 1: Sakina Alfa NIG
Assistant Referee 2: Ihassane Ennouajeli MAR
Fourth Official: Lara Lee AUS
Reserve AR: Nuannid Donjangreed THA

Australia – Chile
Referee: Josphine Wanjiru KEN
Assistant Referee 1: Nancy Kasitu ZAM
Assistant Referee 2: Tabara Mbodji SEN
Fourth Official: Natalie Simon USA
Reserve AR: Kali Smith USA

20 October 2026
Argentina – New Zealand
Referee: Natalie Simon USA
Assistant Referee 1: Katarzyna Wasiak USA
Assistant Referee 2: Kali Smith USA
Fourth Official: Carly Shaw-MacLaren CAN
Reserve AR: Melissa Snedden CAN

Morocco – Germany
Referee: Lara Lee AUS
Assistant Referee 1: Nuannid Donjangreed THA
Assistant Referee 2: Nicoleta Bria ENG
Fourth Official: Dong Fangyu CHN
Reserve AR: Xie Lijun CHN

Korea DPR – Poland
Referee: Emanuela Rusta ALB
Assistant Referee 1: Ivona Pejić CRO
Assistant Referee 2: Marilena Nan ROU
Fourth Official: Vimarest Diaz DOM
Reserve AR: Melissa Nicholas TRI

Nigeria – Puerto Rico
Referee: Adriana Alvarez ARG
Assistant Referee 1: Daiana Milone ARG
Assistant Referee 2: Maria Bevilacqua ARG
Fourth Official: Karen Hernandez MEX
Reserve AR: Mayra Mora MEX

UEFA Youth League 2026/2027 – Group Stage (Matchday 3)

20 October 2026

Paris St. Germain – FC Barcelona
Referee: Oğuzhan Çakir TUR (photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Furkan Ürün TUR
Assistant Referee 2: Anıl Usta TUR
Fourth Official: Gabriel Henry FRA

FC Porto – PSV Eindhoven
Referee: Thomas Owen WAL
Assistant Referee 1: Lewiss Edwards WAL
Assistant Referee 2: Johnathon Bryant WAL
Fourth Official: Flávio Jesus POR

Fenerbahce – Slavia Praha
Referee: Joakim Sars SWE
Assistant Referee 1: Simon Kristensson SWE
Assistant Referee 2: Max Wilde SWE
Fourth Official: Melih Aldemir TUR

Sabah FK – Borussia Dortmund
Referee: Giorgi Avazashvili GEO
Assistant Referee 1: Giorgi Gogokhia GEO
Assistant Referee 2: Gocha Taruashvili GEO
Fourth Official: Cavid Calilov AZE

AS Roma – Slovan Bratislava
Referee: Robin Hensgens NED
Assistant Referee 1: Stefan de Groot NED
Assistant Referee 2: Marco Ribbink NED
Fourth Official: Francesco Fourneau ITA

SSC Napoli – Bodo Glimt
Referee: Olatz Rivera Olmedo ESP
Assistant Referee 1: Iragartze Fernández Esesúmaga ESP
Assistant Referee 2: Eliana Fernández González ESP
Fourth Official: Mario Perri ITA

VfB Stuttgart – Atletico de Madrid
Referee: Mohammad Aslam NOR
Assistant Referee 1: Aleksander Jaeger NOR
Assistant Referee 2: Henrik Sunde NOR
Fourth Official: Marc Eckermann GER

Liverpool FC – Villarreal CF
Referee: Dovydas Švėgžda LTU
Assistant Referee 1: Benas Kikutis LTU
Assistant Referee 2: Vytenis Kazlauskas LTU
Fourth Official: Scott Jackson ENG

Manchester City – AEK Athens
Referee: Marek Radina CZE
Assistant Referee 1: Adam Beneš CZE
Assistant Referee 2: Pavel Pospíšil CZE
Fourth Official: John Baines ENG

Uruguay tests electronic cards

A referee raised a phone-sized electronic device to caution a player during a Uruguayan cup match this week, replacing the familiar flash of a yellow card with a digital screen in a ​trial aimed at modernising one of football's oldest rituals. Match official Eduardo Varela used the device ‌during Nacional's Copa Uruguay match against Rentistas on Thursday, testing a system designed to simplify referees' administrative work by recording disciplinary decisions digitally. "We are looking to bring technology to the only thing in football that is still analogue," said Mauro ​Sacco, director of REFe, the company behind the project, in an interview with Uruguayan radio El ​Espectador Deportes on Friday. The idea emerged more than three years ago when Sacco ⁠and fellow director Diego de la Pena watched a match in rainy conditions and considered how referees ​recorded cautions by hand before transferring the information to digital systems. The new device logs match incidents with timestamps, ​with developers aiming to streamline the submission of official records to the Uruguayan Football Association's COMET platform.

For Varela, the new tool was comfortable to use and its software responded quickly, although he acknowledged that it lacked the drama of ​the traditional gesture. "You lose a little of the magic of the quick card, but I think it ​is something that will help us a lot, especially with the administrative side," he said. The first real-world tests have also ‌exposed ⁠a problem: visibility. An earlier trial was abandoned because sunlight made the screen difficult to see, while spectators and television viewers struggled to distinguish some decisions during Thursday's match. "It's a project with room for improvement. It looked much better live than it did on TV. The challenge we face now is to improve ​it for the whole audience," ​De la Pena said. "The ⁠yellow card has to be yellow, the red card has to be red, and it has to be visible to people at the ground and on ​television." The developers are exploring changes, including LED lighting around the device, to make ​the colours ⁠clearer to spectators. Sacco said the brand had been registered and the hardware and software patented, with the developers based in China. The trial has drawn mixed reactions online. "We have seen all kinds of comments, positive and negative. We ⁠have even ​laughed at the memes," he said. "The important thing is that ​people are talking about it. Any innovation takes time." REFe hopes to refine the technology and eventually see it adopted by CONMEBOL and FIFA.

Source: Reuters

CONMEBOL Libertadores 2026 – Semi-finals (Second Leg)

21-22 October 2026

Palmeiras – Fluminense
Referee: Esteban Ostojich URU (photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Martin Soppi URU
Assistant Referee 2: Horacio Ferreiro URU
Fourth Official: Alberto Feres URU
VAR: Andres Cunha URU
AVAR: Hector Bergalo URU
SVAR: Christian Ferreyra URU
Referee Assessor: Manuel Bernal PAR
VAR Supervisor: Cesar Escano PER

Flamengo – Estudiantes
Referee: Gustavo Tejera URU
Assistant Referee 1: Nicolas Taran URU
Assistant Referee 2: Carlos Barreiro URU
Fourth Official: Jose Burgos URU
VAR: Antonio Garcia URU
AVAR: Santiago Fernandez URU
SVAR: Leodan Gonzalez URU
Referee Assessor: Roberto Silvera URU 

VAR Supervisor: Oswaldo Segura ECU

CONMEBOL Sudamericana 2026 – Semi-finals (Second Leg)

20-21 October 2026

Vasco da Gama – Boca Juniors
Referee: Jesus Valenzuela VEN (photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Jorge Urrego VEN
Assistant Referee 2: Tulio Moreno VEN
Fourth Official: Yender Herrera VEN
VAR: Juan Soto VEN
AVAR: Alberto Ponte VEN
SVAR: Angel Arteaga VEN
Referee Assessor: Miguel Nievas URU
VAR Supervisor: Claudio Rios CHI

Montevideo Torque – Atletico Mineiro
Referee: Cristian Garay CHI
Assistant Referee 1: Claudio Urrutia CHI
Assistant Referee 2: Miguel Rocha CHI
Fourth Official: Diego Flores CHI
VAR: Rodrigo Carvajal CHI
AVAR: Alejandro Molina CHI
SVAR: Miguel Araos CHI
Referee Assessor: Abraham Gonzalez COL
VAR Supervisor: Sergio Viola ARG

Spanish referees earn more money from audiovisual broadcasts

Starting this season and running until 30 June 2030, LaLiga will make annual payments of €500,000 to referees for their involvement in audiovisual broadcasts. Mundo Deportivo previously reported the details of the pay increase agreed upon by the RFEF and the new referees' union, AESAF. That agreement included a raise of approximately 2.1% for the 2025-2026 season, to which an additional percentage for audiovisual rights would be added. We noted at the time that the total increase could approach 3%, as the referees' share of revenue from audiovisual broadcasts had yet to be determined. We subsequently confirmed this in August during an interview that CTA President Fran Soto. These improvements were negotiated in August during the referees' pre-season and have been incorporated into the current collective agreement—set to be signed imminently—which will be in effect from the 2026–2027 season through 2030. This agreement explicitly recognizes the referee's role within the overall football product.

The improvement entails an overall annual increase of nearly €500,000, reflecting the referees' participation in audiovisual broadcasts starting this season. This includes pre-match interviews with broadcasters holding television rights, camera access to dressing rooms before kick-off, and the use of the "RefCam" worn by the referees during matches. This represents an annual increase of approximately €7,000 for each official, bringing the total annual salary of a First Division referee to nearly €300,000 when all components of their remuneration are combined.

Source: Mundo Deportivo

FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup 2026 – Group Stage (Matches 1-8)

17 October 2026

Germany – Argentina
Referee: Vimarest Diaz DOM (photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Santa Medina DOM
Assistant Referee 2: Melissa Nicholas TRI
Fourth Official: Josphine Wanjiru KEN
Reserve AR: Nancy Kasitu ZAM

Korea DPR – Puerto Rico
Referee: Alejandra Quisbert BOL
Assistant Referee 1: Elizabeth Blanco BOL
Assistant Referee 2: Daiana Milone ARG
Fourth Official: Paula Fernandez COL
Reserve AR: Nataly Arteaga COL

Morocco – New Zeeland
Referee: Carly Shaw-MacLaren CAN
Assistant Referee 1: Melissa Snedden CAN
Assistant Referee 2: Stephanie Yee Sing JAM
Fourth Official: Natalie Simon USA
Reserve AR: Kali Smith USA

Poland – Nigeria
Referee: Dong Fangyu CHN
Assistant Referee 1: Xie Lijun CHN
Assistant Referee 2: Bao Mengxiao CHN
Fourth Official: Miriama Bockova SVK
Reserve AR: Tilde Hedeberg SWE

18 October 2026
Canada – Brazil
Referee: Oh Hyeon-Jeong KOR
Assistant Referee 1: Suwida Wongkraisorn THA
Assistant Referee 2: Ramina Tsoi KGZ
Fourth Official: Miriama Bockova SVK
Reserve AR: Camille Soriano FRA

Japan – Zambia
Referee: Caroline Lanssens BEL
Assistant Referee 1: Stasa Spur SVN
Assistant Referee 2: Linda Schmid SUI
Fourth Official: Emanuela Rusta ALB
Reserve AR: Amina Gutschi AUT

Norway – Ghana
Referee: Karen Hernandez MEX
Assistant Referee 1: Mayra Mora MEX
Assistant Referee 2: Karla Flores MEX
Fourth Official: Natalie Simon USA
Reserve AR: Katarzyna Wasiak USA

France – Venezuela
Referee: Deily Gomez CRC
Assistant Referee 1: Iris Vail GUA
Assistant Referee 2: Maria Bevilacqua ARG
Fourth Official: Paula Fernandez COL
Reserve AR: Carolina Vicuna COL

World Cup semi-final referee Elfath announced his retirement

A familiar face in Major League Soccer has refereed his final match. Ismail Elfath, who had been with MLS since 2011 and an international referee since 2016, announced his retirement after this past weekend’s slate of games. Born in Morocco, Elfath moved to Austin, Texas as a teenager, and called it a career after one final match in his adopted hometown - Austin losing 4-1 to Nashville SC at Q2 Stadium.

Elfath has long wanted to be one of the top officials in the sport, and his resume certainly shows that he’s been recognized as such. He is a two-time MLS Referee of the Year, and veteran of some of the top domestic and international matches in the sport. “The standard that I set for myself when I started my international referee career in 2016 is that I want to be the best in the world, and I want to go to tournaments and win them,” Elfath told USA TODAY Sports’ Jon Arnold. “In refereeing, you win tournaments by doing finals and semifinals, which is something that male American referees have not been able to do.” It’s those high standards that contributed to his decision to retire. It was a somewhat unexpected announcement - but the 44-year-old couldn’t keep up with his younger self after battling injuries. He notably suffered a knee injury at the 2024 Copa America that took over a year to recover from but was still able to return to the highest level.

Elfath refereed the feisty World Cup semi-final between Argentina and England this summer, the first American to do so at that stage of a men’s World Cup. He also did the Round of 16 clash between Norway and Brazil, and a pair of major group stage games: Spain-Uruguay and Japan-Netherlands. He also did three games at the 2022 World Cup including Japan-Croatia in the Round of 16, as well as serving as the fourth official for the World Cup final. Elfath said that the Argentina-England game was the pinnacle of his career, but that he also looks back fondly on memories of every region or competition he participated in. Whether it was the World Cup final, Concacaf Champions Cup final, or a friendly on a bumpy pitch in the weeds of Concacaf, he enjoyed it all. “Doing World Cup qualifiers, seeing small nations in Concacaf that are dreaming of going to the World Cup I’ve been part of many players’ biggest game in their life,” Elfath said. “It might be a small nation in Central America or the Caribbean, but to them that’s what they’ll talk about for 20 or 30 years, the whole country. I made sure that I treated that just like I treated the World Cup semi-final between Argentina and England.”

By announcing his retirement now, Elfath gets to go out on his own terms. He won’t have to wait long for his next opportunity - he’s already been working at a software development company for years, promoted to Chief Revenue Officer in 2025. “I feel like I’ve given everything I can at the level that I hold myself to refereeing,” Elfath said. “I have achieved all that I had hoped for and more in terms of my domestic and international career. I would not be able to give it at the level that I have set my standards for. So that’s number one. Number two, I want to spend time with my family with my children, my boys, who are nine and 13”. Elfath’s international career also included taking charge of the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup final, the 2025 FIFA Intercontinental Cup final, and the 2026 CONCACAF Champions Cup final, capping off years of consistent performance at the pinnacle of global officiating. “Football has been much more generous to me than I could have ever imagined. I've blown my final whistle as an active referee. Thanks to my family, my mentors, and those in charge of officiating; to the medical and fitness teams; to my dream team, Corey and Kyle; and to all my fellow referees. Now I am your biggest fan. It will be an honor for me to give back everything I've received. For the love of this beautiful sport”.

Source: USA Today

FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup 2026 (Updated)

Morocco, 17 October - 7 November 2026

AFC 

Referee: Dong Fangyu CHN (photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Xie Lijun CHN
Assistant Referee 2: Bao Mengxiao CHN

Referee: Lara Lee AUS
Assistant Referee 1: Ramina Tsoi KGZ
Assistant Referee 2: Nuannid Donjangreed THA

Referee: Oh Hyeon-Jeong KOR
Assistant Referee 1: Suwida Wongkraisorn THA
Assistant Referee 2: Lee Soo-Bin KOR

CAF
Referee: Zoulaikha Harmasse MAR
Assistant Referee 1: Ihssane Ennouajeli MAR
Assistant Referee 2: Sakina Hamidou NIG

Referee: Josphine Wanjiru KEN
Assistant Referee 1: Nancy Kasitu ZAM
Assistant Referee 2: Tabara Mbodji SEN

Referee: Aline Guimbang Etong CMR
Assistant Referee: Queency Victoire MRI

CONCACAF
Referee: Carly Shaw-MacLaren CAN
Assistant Referee 1: Melissa Snedden CAN
Assistant Referee 2: Stephanie Yee Sing JAM

Referee: Deily Gomez CRC
Assistant Referee: Iris Vail GUA

Referee: Karen Hernandez MEX
Assistant Referee 1: Mayra Mora MEX
Assistant Referee 2: Karla Flores MEX

Referee: Natalie Simon USA
Assistant Referee 1: Katarzyna Wasiak USA
Assistant Referee 2: Kali Smith USA

Referee: Vimarest Diaz DOM
Assistant Referee 1: Santa Medina DOM
Assistant Referee 2: Melissa Nicholas TRI

CONMEBOL
Referee: Adriana Alvarez ARG
Assistant Referee 1: Daiana Milone ARG
Assistant Referee 2: Maria Bevilacqua ARG

Referee: Alejandra Quisbert BOL
Assistant Referee 1: Elizabeth Blanco BOL
Assistant Referee 2: Maria Cabezas BOL

Referee: Paula Fernandez COL
Assistant Referee 1: Nataly Arteaga COL
Assistant Referee 2: Carolina Vicuna COL

UEFA
Referee: Caroline Lanssens BEL
Assistant Referee 1: Stasa Spur SVN
Assistant Referee 2: Linda Schmid SUI

Referee: Fabienne Michel GER
Assistant Referee 1: Amina Gutschi AUT
Assistant Referee 2: Anne Uersfeld GER

Referee: Emanuela Rusta ALB
Assistant Referee 1: Ivona Pejic CRO
Assistant Referee 2: Marilena Nan ROU

Referee: Miriama Bockova SVK
Assistant Referee 1: Anita Vad HUN
Assistant Referee 2: Tilde Hedberg SWE

Assistant Referee Camille Soriano FRA
Assistant Referee Nicoleta Bria ENG