Referees for 2024 UEFA finals

The UEFA Referees Committee has announced the referee team appointments for the 2024 UEFA club competition finals which, with Slavko Vinčić, Istvan Kovacs and Artur Soares Dias, also features three of the referees nominated for UEFA Euro 2024.

The UEFA Referees Committee has appointed Slavko Vinčić from Slovenia to referee the 2024 UEFA Champions League final between Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid CF, which takes place at Wembley Stadium in London, England, on Saturday 1 June at 21:00 CEST (20:00 local time). The 44-year-old, an international referee since 2010, will be officiating his second UEFA club competition final after his appointment as the referee for the 2022 UEFA Europa League final in Seville, Spain, between Eintracht Frankfurt and Rangers FC. He has refereed seven UEFA Champions League matches this season, including the quarter-final second leg between Borussia Dortmund and Club Atlético de Madrid.

1 June 2024

Borussia Dortmund – Real Madrid

Referee: Slavko Vinčić (SVN)

Assistant Referee 1: Tomaž Klančnik (SVN)

Assistant Referee 2: Andraž Kovačič (SVN)

Fourth Official: François Letexier (FRA)

Reserve AR: Cyril Mugnier (FRA)

VAR: Nejc Kajtazović (SVN)

AVAR: Rade Obrenović (SVN)

SVAR: Massimiliano Irrati (ITA)

Istvan Kovacs will referee the 2024 UEFA Europa League final between Atalanta BC and Bayer 04 Leverkusen, to be played at Dublin Arena in the Republic of Ireland, on Wednesday 22 May at 21:00 CEST (20:00 local time). An international referee since 2010, the 39-year-old Romanian has taken charge of eight UEFA Champions League matches and one UEFA Europa League match this season. This will be his second European club competition final as a referee after having officiated AS Roma against Feyenoord in the 2022 UEFA Europa Conference League final in Tirana, Albania.

22 May 2024

Atalanta – Bayer Leverkusen

Referee: Istvan Kovacs (ROU)

Assistant Referee 1: Vasile Marinescu (ROU)

Assistant Referee 2: Ovidiu Artene (ROU)

Fourth Official: Ivan Kruzliak (SVK)

Reserve AR: Branislav Hancko (SVK)

VAR: Pol van Boekel (NED)

AVAR: Catalin Popa (ROU)

SVAR: Rob Dieperink (NED)

The UEFA Referees Committee has revealed that Artur Soares Dias of Portugal will referee the 2024 UEFA Europa Conference League final between Olympiakos FC and ACF Fiorentina, to be played at the AEK Arena in Athens, Greece on Wednesday 29 May at 21:00 CEST (22:00 local time). The Portuguese has been an international referee since 2010 and will be taking charge of his first UEFA club competition final. This season the 44-year-old has officiated four UEFA Champions League matches and two UEFA Europa League matches, including the UEFA Europa League quarter-final first leg between Bayer 04 Leverkusen and West Ham United FC.

29 May 2024

Olympiakos FC – ACF Fiorentina

Referee: Artur Soares Dias (POR)

Assistant Referee 1: Paulo Soares (POR)

Assistant Referee 2: Pedro Ribeiro (POR)

Fourth Official: Glenn Nyberg (SWE)

Reserve AR: Mahbod Beigi (SWE)

VAR: Tiago Martins (POR)

AVAR: Christian Dingert (GER)

SVAR: Marco Fritz (GER)

The UEFA Referees Committee has also announced that Rebecca Welch will referee the 2024 UEFA Women’s Champions League final between FC Barcelona and Olympique Lyonnais, to be played at San Mames Stadium in Bilbao, Spain, on Saturday 25 May at 18:00 CEST. An international referee since 2015, the 40-year-old, from England, will take charge of her first UEFA Women’s Champions League final. This season, she has refereed six UEFA Women’s Champions League matches, including the quarter-final second leg between Paris Saint-Germain and BK Häcken FF. She was also appointed as 4th official at last season’s UEFA Women’s Champions League final between FC Barcelona and VfL Wolfsburg in Eindhoven, Netherlands.

25 May 2024

FC Barcelona – Olympique Lyonnais

Referee: Rebecca Welch (ENG)

Assistant Referee 1: Natalie Aspinall (ENG)

Assistant Referee 2: Emily Carney (ENG)

Fourth Official: Ivana Martinčić (CRO)

Reserve AR: Sanja Rodjak-Karšić (CRO)

VAR: Stuart Attwell (ENG)

AVAR: Katrin Rafalski (GER)

SVAR: Katalin Kulcsar (HUN)

Football technologies at Euro 2024

Video Assistant Referees (VAR)

There will be a VAR, together with two assistant video assistant referees (AVAR) and three video operators at all UEFA European Football Championship games. Four Video Operations Rooms (VOR) have been built in the Football Technologies HUB (FTECH HUB) at the International Broadcast Centre in Leipzig to service this. The VAR team will check all match-changing situations but will only intervene for clear and obvious mistakes. The referee can hold up play while a decision is being reviewed. If the VAR review provides clear evidence of what appears to be a serious mistake in a game-changing situation, the VAR can then ask the referee to conduct an on-field review. The final decision can only be taken by the referee. The VAR is also able to consider any infringement that could have taken place in the immediate build-up to the incident (the attacking phase of play). For 'factual' decisions (e.g. offsides, fouls in or outside the penalty area), the VAR can simply inform the referee of those facts and the on-field view screen isn't needed, but it is always the referee who takes the final decision. The information of the review process will be communicated within the stadium using the stadium screens.

Connected Ball Technology

For the first time at the UEFA European Football Championship, the official match ball will feature adidas Connected Ball Technology - which sends precise ball data to video match officials in real time. Combining player position data with AI, the innovation contributes to UEFA’s semi-automated offside technology (SAOT) and will be key to supporting faster in-match decisions. Connected Ball Technology can also help VAR officials to identify every individual touch of the ball, reducing time spent resolving handball and penalty incidents.

Semi-automated offside technology (SAOT)

SAOT enables VAR teams to determine offside situations quickly and more accurately, thanks to ten specialised cameras installed at the stadium which track 29 different body points per player. Introduced to the UEFA Champions League in 2022, the system integrates with the EURO Connected Ball to immediately identify the point of ball contact for the offside situations analysed.

Goal-line technology (GLT)

UEFA has installed the Goal-Line Technology (GLT) system in all the venues in use for the tournament. The system, in use in UEFA's elite club and national team competitions since 2016, deploys seven cameras per goal, using control software to track the ball within the goal area. Using vision-processing techniques and software, the GLT indicates if a goal was scored within one second of the action courtesy of a vibration and visual signal on each match official's watch.

The Football Technologies HUB

The FTECH HUB is the epicentre of all technological operations for EURO 2024. Video match officials (VARs and AVARs) will be present and operational for all matches from the four VORs inside the FTECH HUB. The HUB receives and collates all the data collected by the various technologies via optical cameras (Goal Line Technology and Electronic Performance Tracking System) or sensors (Connected Ball). All the data is quality controlled live and distributed to the different applications (e.g. SAOT, Performance Analysis portal, etc.).

Source: UEFA

CONMEBOL Libertadores 2024 – Group Stage (Matchday 5)

14-16 May 2024

Talleres – Cobresal
Referee: Augusto Menendez (PER, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Leonard Soto (PER)
Assistant Referee 2: Coty Carrera (PER)
Fourth Official: Michael Espinoza (PER)
VAR: Milagros Arruela (PER)
AVAR: Jonny Bossio (PER)
Referee Assessor: Ricardo Casas (ARG)
VAR Supervisor: Emerson de Carvalho (BRA)

Liga de Quito – Junior
Referee: Esteban Ostojich (URU)
Assistant Referee 1: Nicolas Taran (URU)
Assistant Referee 2: Agustin Berisso (URU)
Fourth Official: Jose Burgos (URU)
VAR: Mauro Vigliano (ARG)
AVAR: Lucas Novelli (ARG)
Referee Assessor: Jose Lara (ECU)
VAR Supervisor: Juan Cardellino (URU)

Penarol – Atletico Mineiro
Referee: Wilmar Roldan (COL)
Assistant Referee 1: Alexander Guzman (COL)
Assistant Referee 2: John Gallego (COL)
Fourth Official: Carlos Betancur (COL)
VAR: Leonard Mosquera (COL)
AVAR: John Leon (COL)
Referee Assessor: Roberto Silvera (URU)
VAR Supervisor: Barbra Bastias (CHI)

River Plate – Libertad
Referee: Piero Maza (CHI)
Assistant Referee 1: Claudia Urrutia (CHI)
Assistant Referee 2: Miguel Rocha (CHI)
Fourth Official: Manuel Vergara (CHI)
VAR: Yadir Acuna (COL)
AVAR: Edson Cisternas (CHI)
Referee Assessor: Hector Baldassi (ARG)
VAR Supervisor: Victor Carrillo (PER)

Millonarios – Palestino
Referee: Nicolas Ramirez (ARG)
Assistant Referee 1: Paulo Gonzalez (ARG)
Assistant Referee 2: Gisela Trucco (ARG)
Fourth Official: Paulo Echavarria (ARG)
VAR: German Delfino (ARG)
AVAR: Paulo Dovalo (ARG)
Referee Assessor: Luzmila Gonzalez (COL)
VAR Supervisor: Pericles Cortes (BRA)

The Strongest – Huachipato
Referee: Gustavo Tejera (URU)
Assistant Referee 1: Martin Soppi (URU)
Assistant Referee 2: Paulo Llarena (URU)
Fourth Official: Alberto Feres (URU)
VAR: Andres Cunha (URU)
AVAR: Santiago Fernandez (URU)
Referee Assessor: Oscar Maldonado (BOL)
VAR Supervisor: Wilson Avila (ECU)

Deportivo Tachira – Nacional
Referee: John Ospina (COL)
Assistant Referee 1: Richard Ortiz (COL)
Assistant Referee 2: Mary Blanco (COL)
Fourth Official: Bismarks Santiago (COL)
VAR: David Rodriguez (COL)
AVAR: Mauricio Perez (COL)
Referee Assessor: Candelario Andarcia (VEN)
VAR Supervisor: Rodney Aquino (PAR)

Alianza Lima – Colo Colo
Referee: Yael Falcon (ARG)
Assistant Referee 1: Juan Belatti (ARG)
Assistant Referee 2: Jose Savorani (ARG)
Fourth Official: Andres Merlos (ARG)
VAR: Cristian Ferreyra (URU)
AVAR: Richard Trinidad (URU)
Referee Assessor: Ana Perez (URU)
VAR Supervisor: Gustavo Rossi (ARG)

Flamengo – Bolivar
Referee: Andres Matonte (URU)
Assistant Referee 1: Carlos Barreiro (URU)
Assistant Referee 2: Horacio Ferreiro (URU)
Fourth Official: Anahi Fernandez (URU)
VAR: Carlos Orbe (ECU)
AVAR: Juan Andrade (ECU)
Referee Assessor: Giulliano Bozzano (BRA)
VAR Supervisor: Luis Vera (ECU)

Palmeiras – Independiente del Valle
Referee: Alexis Herrera (VEN)
Assistant Referee 1: Lubin Torrealba (VEN)
Assistant Referee 2: Alberto Ponte (VEN)
Fourth Official: Yender Herrera (VEN)
VAR: Fernando Vejar (CHI)
AVAR: Benjamin Saravia (CHI)
Referee Assessor: Silvia Regina (BRA)
VAR Supervisor: Patricio Polic (CHI)

Rosario Central – Caracas
Referee: Roberto Perez (PER)
Assistant Referee 1: Michael Orue (PER)
Assistant Referee 2: Enrique Pinto (PER)
Fourth Official: Manuel Vergara (CHI)
VAR: Francisco Gilabert (CHI)
AVAR: Juan Sepulveda (CHI)
Referee Assessor: Angel Sanchez (ARG)
VAR Supervisor: Wilson Lamouroux (COL)

Fluminense – Cerro Porteno
Referee: Dario Herrera (ARG)
Assistant Referee 1: Cristian Navarro (ARG)
Assistant Referee 2: Maximiliano Del Yesso (ARG)
Fourth Official: Leandro Rey (ARG)
VAR: Silvio Trucco (ARG)
AVAR: Hector Paletta (ARG)
Referee Assessor: Hilton Moutinho (BRA)
VAR Supervisor: Luis Vera (ECU)

San Lorenzo – Liverpool
Referee: Angel Arteaga (VEN)
Assistant Referee 1: Jorge Urrego (VEN)
Assistant Referee 2: Tulio Moreno (VEN)
Fourth Official: Jesus Valenzuela (VEN)
VAR: Juan Soto (VEN)
AVAR: Carlos Lopez (VEN)
Referee Assessor: Sergio Viola (ARG)
VAR Supervisor: Joel Ruiz (PAR)

Sao Paulo – Barcelona
Referee: Kevin Ortega (PER)
Assistant Referee 1: Stephen Atoche (PER)
Assistant Referee 2: Jesus Sanchez (PER)
Fourth Official: Edwin Ordonez (PER)
VAR: Heider Castro (COL)
AVAR: Kenner Jimenez (COL)
Referee Assessor: Marcelo Rogerio (BRA)
VAR Supervisor: Patricio Polic (CHI)

Universitario – Botafogo
Referee: Cristian Garay (CHI)
Assistant Referee 1: Alejandro Molina (CHI)
Assistant Referee 2: Gabriel Ureta (CHI)
Fourth Official: Andres Merlos (ARG)
VAR: Cristian Ferreyra (URU)
AVAR: Richard Trinidad (URU)
Referee Assessor: Cesar Mongrut (PER)
VAR Supervisor: Gustavo Rossi (ARG)

CONMEBOL Sudamericana 2024 – Group Stage (Matchday 5)

14-16 May 2024

Racing – Nacional
Referee: Gery Vargas (BOL, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Jose Antelo (BOL)
Assistant Referee 2: Juan Montano (BOL)
Fourth Official: Adriana Farfan (BOL)
VAR: Miguel Araos (CHI)
AVAR: Marcia Castillo (CHI)
Referee Assessor: Marcelo de Leon (URU)
VAR Supervisor: Wilson Lamouroux (COL)

Defensa y Justicia – Independiente Medellin
Referee: Braulio Machado (BRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Bruno Boschilia (BRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Fabricio Vilarinho (BRA)
Fourth Official: Edina Alves (BRA)
VAR: Daiane Muniz (BRA)
AVAR: Rodrigo Guarizo (BRA)
Referee Assessor: Sergio Viola (ARG)
VAR Supervisor: Joel Ruiz (PAR)

Sportivo Ameliano – Rayo Zuliano
Referee: Joel Alarcon (PER)
Assistant Referee 1: Alberth Alarcon (PER)
Assistant Referee 2: Jose Castillo (PER)
Fourth Official: Jesus Cartagena (PER)
VAR: Franklin Congo (ECU)
AVAR: Jefferson Macias (ECU)
Referee Assessor: Ubaldo Aquino (PAR)
VAR Supervisor: Oswaldo Segura (ECU)

Corinthians – Argentinos Juniors
Referee: Felipe Gonzalez (CHI)
Assistant Referee 1: Jose Retamal (CHI)
Assistant Referee 2: Carlos Poblete (CHI)
Fourth Official: Edwin Ordonez (PER)
VAR: Fernando Vejar (CHI)
AVAR: Benjamin Saravia (CHI)
Referee Assessor: Ednilson Corona (BRA)
VAR Supervisor: Carlos Pastorino (URU)

Nacional Potosi – Sportivo Trinidense
Referee: Bryan Loayza (ECU)
Assistant Referee 1: David Vacacela (ECU)
Assistant Referee 2: Monica Amboya (ECU)
Fourth Official: Guillermo Guerrero (ECU)
VAR: Mathias de Armas (URU)
AVAR: Hector Bergalo (URU)
Referee Assessor: Pedro Saucedo (BOL)
VAR Supervisor: Cesar Escano (PER)

Lanus – Metropolitanos
Referee: John Hinestroza (COL)
Assistant Referee 1: Miguel Roldan (COL)
Assistant Referee 2: Mayra Sanchez (COL)
Fourth Official: Andres Rojas (COL)
VAR: Nicolas Gallo (COL)
AVAR: Jenny Arias (COL)
Referee Assessor: Sabrina Lois (ARG)
VAR Supervisor: Jorge Mercado (PAR)

Belgrano – Real Tomayapo
Referee: Michael Espinoza (PER)
Assistant Referee 1: Leonard Soto (PER)
Assistant Referee 2: Coty Carrera (PER)
Fourth Official: Augusto Menendez (PER)
VAR: Milagros Arruela (PER)
AVAR: Jonny Bossio (PER)
Referee Assessor: Ricardo Casas (ARG)
VAR Supervisor: Emerson de Carvalho (BRA)

Athletico Paranaense – Danubio
Referee: Carlos Ortega (COL)
Assistant Referee 1: David Fuentes (COL)
Assistant Referee 2: Javier Patino (COL)
Fourth Official: Robert Cabrera (ECU)
VAR: Susanna Corella (ECU)
AVAR: Edson Vasquez (ECU)
Referee Assessor: Cleidy Riveiro (BRA)
VAR Supervisor: Claudio Rios (CHI)

Cuiaba – Deportivo Garcilaso
Referee: Juan Lara (CHI)
Assistant Referee 1: Juan Serrano (CHI)
Assistant Referee 2: Alan Sandoval (CHI)
Fourth Official: Dione Rissios (CHI)
VAR: Jose Cabero (CHI)
AVAR: Leslie Vazquez (CHI)
Referee Assessor: Paulo Conceicao (BRA)
VAR Supervisor: Juan Lugones (BOL)

Boca Juniors – Fortaleza
Referee: Jesus Valenzuela (VEN)
Assistant Referee 1: Jorge Urrego (VEN)
Assistant Referee 2: Tulio Moreno (VEN)
Fourth Official: Angel Arteaga (VEN)
VAR: Juan Soto (VEN)
AVAR: Carlos Lopez (VEN)
Referee Assessor: Hector Baldassi (ARG)
VAR Supervisor: Victor Carrillo (PER)

Universidad Cesar Vallejo – Always Ready
Referee: Raphael Claus (BRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Danilo Manis (BRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Bruno Pires (BRA)
Fourth Official: Bruno Arleu (BRA)
VAR: Charly Straud (BRA)
AVAR: Diego Pombo (BRA)
Referee Assessor: Jorge Jaimes (PER)
VAR Supervisor: Sandra Zambrano (ECU)

Racing Club – Coquimbo Unido
Referee: Andres Rojas (COL)
Assistant Referee 1: Miguel Roldan (COL)
Assistant Referee 2: Mayra Sanchez (COL)
Fourth Official: John Hinestroza (COL)
VAR: Nicolas Gallo (COL)
AVAR: Jenny Arias (COL)
Referee Assessor: Sabrina Lois (ARG)
VAR Supervisor: Victor Martinez (PAR)

Sportivo Luqueno – Red Bull Bragantino
Referee: Augusto Aragon (ECU)
Assistant Referee 1: Christian Lescano (ECU)
Assistant Referee 2: Ricardo Baren (ECU)
Fourth Official: Antoni Diaz (ECU)
VAR: Franklin Congo (ECU)
AVAR: Jefferson Macias (ECU)
Referee Assessor: Manuel Bernal (PAR)
VAR Supervisor: Oswaldo Segura (ECU)

Cruzeiro – Union La Calera
Referee: Ivo Mendez (BOL)
Assistant Referee 1: Carlos Tapia (BOL)
Assistant Referee 2: Roger Orellana (BOL)
Fourth Official: Cristian Aleman (BOL)
VAR: Jorge Balino (ARG)
AVAR: Nicolas Lamolina (ARG)
Referee Assessor: Ricardo Marques (BRA)
VAR Supervisor: Carlos Pastorino (URU)

Universidad Catolica – Alianza
Referee: Fernando Espinoza (ARG)
Assistant Referee 1: Sebastian Raineri (ARG)
Assistant Referee 2: Mariana de Almeida (ARG)
Fourth Official: Sebastian Zunino (ARG)
VAR: Mauro Vigliano (ARG)
AVAR: Lucas Novelli (ARG)
Referee Assessor: Jose Carpio (ECU)
VAR Supervisor: Juan Cardellino (URU)

CAF Champions League Final 2024 (First Leg)

18 May 2024

ES Tunis – Al Ahly
Referee: Mustapha Ghorbal (ALG, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Mokrane Gourari (ALG)
Assistant Referee 2: Abbas Zerhouni (ALG)
Fourth Official: Mutaz Ibrahim (LBY)
VAR: Dahane Beida (MTN)
AVAR 1: Salima Mukansanga (RWA)
AVAR 2: Jerson Dos Santos (ANG)

CAF Confederation Cup Final 2024 (First Leg)

12 May 2024

RS Berkane – Zamalek
Referee: Peter Waweru (KEN, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Gilbert Cheruiyot (KEN)
Assistant Referee 2: Stephen Onyango (KEN)
Fourth Official: Pacifique Ndabihawenimana (BDI)
VAR: Haythem Guirat (TUN)
AVAR 1: Abongile Tom (RSA)
AVAR 2: Diana Chikotesha (ZAM) 

Referee Assessor: Ali Ahmed (SOM)

Referee Orsato in tears after UCL semi-final PSG – Borussia

Borussia Dortmund defeated Paris SG (1-0) in the second leg of the UEFA Champions League semi-final for the 2023/24 season, securing their spot in the final for the third time in their history. After the final whistle, Italian referee Daniele Orsato was unable to hold back tears, surprising many people. Later, it became known that this was Orsato's last match in the UEFA Champions League, as the renowned 48-year-old referee plans to retire after Euro 2024.

Throughout his career, Orsato refereed 55 UEFA Champions League matches, including the final of the 2019/20 season between PSG and Bayern Munich. He also refereed at the 2022 World Cup and Euro 2020.

AFC Champions League Final 2024 (First Leg)

11 May 2024

Yokohama Marinos – Al Ain
Referee: Salman Falahi (QAT, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Ramzan Al-Naemi (QAT)
Assistant Referee 2: Majid Al-Shammari (QAT)
Fourth Official: Mohamad Al-Shammari (QAT)
VAR: Khamis Al-Marri (QAT)
AVAR: Abdulla Al-Marri (QAT)

Olympic Games 2024 – Men’s Qualifiers Play-offs (AFC/CAF)

9 May 2024

Indonesia – Guinea
Referee: François Letexier FRA (photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Cyril Mugnier FRA
Assistant Referee 2: Mehdi Rahmouni FRA
Fourth Official: Pierre Gaillouste FRA
Referee Observer: Markus Nobs SUI

Bayern's offside 'goal' vs. Real Madrid

Video Assistant Referee causes controversy every week across Europe, and it even crops up in the Champions League. On Wednesday night, in the second leg of the semifinal between Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, the Bundesliga club were desperately searching for an equaliser. Real Madrid led 2-1, giving them a 3-2 aggregate lead, in the 13th minute of added time (only nine had been signalled). Bayern had to score, but they were thwarted by the offside flag and the referee blew his whistle. Bayern lost 2-1 and were eliminated.

Bayern manager Thomas Tuchel was raging, calling it a "a disastrous decision from the linesman and the referee." So, what happened, who was to blame, and how does this all work with VAR? The ball was played into the Real Madrid area, with Noussair Mazraoui challenging Ferland Mendy. The Los Blancos defender headed the ball away, and as the ball dropped into open space in the area, the assistant, Tomasz Listkiewicz, raised his flag. Referee Szymon Marciniak immediately blew the whistle. Thomas Müller nodded the ball to Matthijs de Ligt, and he fired into net past Andriy Lunin - though the goalkeeper made no attempt to make a save because of the whistle, so you cannot say Bayern were denied a goal. The Real Madrid defenders may have been affected, too. Play stopped at the whistle, so there was nothing the VAR could do. This is all about how and when the play should end from a delayed flag. As no goal was scored, there's no VAR offside situation to judged. So we won't get the semiautomated offside visualisation for this, and we will never know for certain. But it looks exceptionally close, and Mazraoui may well have been marginally onside to the boot of Antonio Rüdiger. Mazraoui's act of challenging Mendy for the aerial ball is an offside offence, even though he didn't touch it.

Assistants are told to keep the flag down on close offsides and only raise it when a goal is scored or at the end of the attacking move. Indeed, Real Madrid's winning goal in the 91st minute came through this route. Joselu scored from a pass by Rüdiger, and as soon as the ball crossed the line the flag went up. The goal was awarded through a VAR review, as the striker was behind the ball. That Bayern lost to a delayed flag when they were denied by a premature flag only adds to their frustration. The VAR Handbook states that the assistant "should delay the flag if an attacking player has a 'free run' or is in a very good scoring position moving directly to, or within, the penalty area." For Listkiewicz, Bayern never gained possession from the original pass. It's headed away by Mendy and the offside Mazraoui failed to continue the attack. Had Mazraoui collected the pass, or headed it to a teammate himself, the assistant may not have been so ready to raise the flag. So, the assistant has done nothing wrong here? Technically no, but in a game of such magnitude and at such a crucial stage, it would have made much more sense for Listkiewicz just to hold the flag for a little longer to see what developed. We see so many delayed flag situations that seem to be completely needless - for instance, when a player is running to the corner or is offside by a large margin. This is a Champions League semifinal, one of the biggest games of the season. You've got VAR, so just wait a few more seconds. However, Listkiewicz's flag doesn't control the game.

Does the referee share any of the blame? Absolutely. He is in charge of when the game is halted, so ultimately, the buck stops with Marciniak. We will see a number of examples across a season of an assistant raising the flag too early, and the referee takes the decision to hold the whistle just in case anything develops. Regardless of the flag, Marciniak should not have stopped the play when the ball first fell to Müller. It should have been clear to him there was still an attacking situation. The VAR Handbook says: "If the assistant flags for a tight/unclear offside and a player is about to score a goal, the referee should delay the whistle until the goal results so that if the AR has made a 'clear and obvious error' the goal can be allowed." Marciniak's role is about allowing the attacking phase to complete, not to judge how close the offside may have been. This is on Marciniak. It's not been a stellar season for Marciniak, who refereed the 2022 World Cup final and the 2023 Champions League final. Listkiewicz was also the assistant for both showpiece games. The delayed flag and the attacking phase (which the VAR can review) are two different considerations. If the assistant has identified an offside, the flag should go up at the quickest point when there's no clear attacking momentum. However, if the assistant doesn't spot an offside, the VAR can go back through the whole phase. A defender heading the ball away and it dropping to an opposition player doesn't count as a reset of the reviewable VAR phase.

Source: ESPN

UEFA Europa League 2023/2024 – Semi-finals (Second Leg)

9 May 2024

Bayer Leverkusen – AS Roma
Referee: Danny Makkelie NED (photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Hessel Steegstra NED
Assistant Referee 2: Jan de Vries NED
Fourth Official: Serdar Gözübüyük NED
VAR: Rob Dieperink NED
AVAR: Pol van Boekel NED
Referee Observer: Dejan Filipović SRB

Atalanta BC – Olympique de Marseille
Referee: Jesus Gil Manzano ESP
Assistant Referee 1: Diego Barbero Sevilla ESP
Assistant Referee 2: Angel Nevado Rodriguez ESP
Fourth Official: Mykola Balakin UKR
VAR: Juan Martinez Munuera ESP
AVAR: Alejandro Hernandez Hernandez ESP
Referee Observer: Karen Nalbandyan ARM

UEFA Europa Conference League 2023/24 – Semi-finals (Second Leg)

8 May 2024

Club Brugge – ACF Fiorentina
Referee: Halil Meler TUR (photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Mustafa Eyisoy TUR
Assistant Referee 2: Kerem Ersoy TUR
Fourth Official: Irfan Peljto BIH
VAR: Marco Fritz GER
AVAR: Alper Ulusoy TUR
Referee Observer: Bernardino Gonzalez Vazquez ESP

9 May 2024
Olympiakos – Aston Villa
Referee: Felix Zwayer GER
Assistant Referee 1: Stefan Lupp GER
Assistant Referee 2: Marco Achmüller GER
Fourth Official: Glenn Nyberg SWE
VAR: Bastian Dankert GER
AVAR: Tiago Martins POR
Referee Observer: Rune Pedersen NOR

UEFA Champions League 2023/2024 – Semi-finals (Second Leg)

7 May 2024

Paris St. Germain – Borussia Dortmund
Referee: Daniele Orsato ITA (photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Ciro Carbone ITA
Assistant Referee 2: Alessandro Giallatini ITA
Fourth Official: Davide Massa ITA
VAR: Massimiliano Irrati ITA
AVAR: Paolo Valeri ITA
Referee Observer: Leslie Irvine NIR

8 May 2024
Real Madrid – Bayern München
Referee: Szymon Marciniak POL
Assistant Referee 1: Tomasz Listkiewicz POL
Assistant Referee 2: Adam Kupsik POL
Fourth Official: Ivan Kružliak SVK
VAR: Tomasz Kwiatkowski POL
AVAR: Bartosz Frankowski POL
Referee Observer: Michael Riley ENG

AFC Cup Final 2024: Al-Ali (UAE)

5 May 2024

Al Ahed – Central Coast Mariners
Referee: Omar Al-Ali (UAE, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Mohamed Al-Hammadi (UAE)
Assistant Referee 2: Jasem Al-Ali (UAE)
Fourth Official: Sultan Al-Hammadi (UAE)
VAR: Adel Al-Naqbi (UAE)
AVAR: Ahmed Darwish (UAE)

CONMEBOL Libertadores 2024 – Group Stage (Matchday 4)

7-9 May 2024

Caracas – Penarol
Referee: Mario Diaz de Vivar (PAR, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Eduardo Cardozo (PAR)
Assistant Referee 2: Roberto Canete (PAR)
Fourth Official: Blas Romero (PAR)
VAR: Ulises Mereles (PAR)
AVAR: Jose Cuevas (PAR)
Referee Assessor: Candelario Andarcia (VEN)
VAR Supervisor: Victor Martinez (PAR)

Rosario Central – Atletico Mineiro
Referee: Piero Maza (CHI)
Assistant Referee 1: Claudio Urrutia (CHI)
Assistant Referee 2: Juan Serrano (CHI)
Fourth Official: Felipe Gonzalez (CHI)
VAR: Juan Lara (CHI)
AVAR: Edson Cisternas (CHI)
Referee Assessor: Sergio Viola (ARG)
VAR Supervisor: Carlos Pastorino (URU)

Nacional – River Plate
Referee: Anderson Daronco (BRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Danilo Manis (BRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Bruno Boschilia (BRA)
Fourth Official: Edina Alves (BRA)
VAR: Wagner Reway (BRA)
AVAR: Rodrigo D’Alonso (BRA)
Referee Assessor: Juan Cardellino (URU)
VAR Supervisor: Pericles Cortes (BRA)

Palestino – Flamengo
Referee: Esteban Ostojich (URU)
Assistant Referee 1: Nicolas Taran (URU)
Assistant Referee 2: Martin Soppi (URU)
Fourth Official: Jose Burgos (URU)
VAR: Andres Cunha (URU)
AVAR: Agustin Berisso (URU)
Referee Assessor: Christian Schiemann (CHI)
VAR Supervisor: Oscar Viera (PAR)

Deportivo Tachira – Libertad
Referee: Wilton Sampaio (BRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Bruno Pires (BRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Alex Ribeiro (BRA)
Fourth Official: Braulio Machado (BRA)
VAR: Pablo Goncalves (BRA)
AVAR: Diego Pombo (BRA)
Referee Assessor: Marlon Escalante (VEN)
VAR Supervisor: Ricardo Casas (ARG)

Universitario – Junior
Referee: Alexis Herrera (VEN)
Assistant Referee 1: Lubin Torrealba (VEN)
Assistant Referee 2: Tulio Moreno (VEN)
Fourth Official: Yorman Delgado (VEN)
VAR: Silvio Trucco (ARG)
AVAR: Paulo Dovalo (ARG)
Referee Assessor: Jorge Jaimes (PER)
VAR Supervisor: Angel Sanchez (ARG)

Huachipato – Gremio
Referee: John Ospina (COL)
Assistant Referee 1: Alexander Guzman (COL)
Assistant Referee 2: Richard Ortiz (COL)
Fourth Official: Wilmar Roldan (COL)
VAR: Leonard Mosquera (COL)
AVAR: John Leon (COL)
Referee Assessor: Julio Bascunan (CHI)
VAR Supervisor: Roberto Silvera (URU)

Talleres – Barcelona
Referee: Gustavo Tejera (URU)
Assistant Referee 1: Carlos Barreiro (URU)
Assistant Referee 2: Paulo Llarena (URU)
Fourth Official: Leodan Gonzalez (URU)
VAR: Christian Ferreyra (URU)
AVAR: Richard Trinidad (URU)
Referee Assessor: Hector Baldassi (ARG)
VAR Supervisor: Rodney Aquino (PAR)

Alianza Lima – Cerro Porteno
Referee: Jesus Valenzuela (VEN)
Assistant Referee 1: Jorge Urrego (VEN)
Assistant Referee 2: Tulio Moreno (VEN)
Fourth Official: Alexis Herrera (VEN)
VAR: Juan Soto (VEN)
AVAR: Carlos Lopez (VEN)
Referee Assessor: Luis Sanchez (VEN)
VAR Supervisor: Angel Sanchez (ARG)

Botafogo – LDU Quito
Referee: Dario Herrera (ARG)
Assistant Referee 1: Facundo Rodriguez (ARG)
Assistant Referee 2: Ezequiel Brailovsky (ARG)
Fourth Official: Paulo Echavarria (ARG)
VAR: Hernan Mastrangelo (ARG)
AVAR: Cristian Navarro (ARG)
Referee Assessor: Giulliano Bozzano (BRA)
VAR Supervisor: Gustavo Rossi (ARG)

Cobresal – Sao Paulo
Referee: Juan Lopez (PAR)
Assistant Referee 1: Eduardo Britos (PAR)
Assistant Referee 2: Jose Villagra (PAR)
Fourth Official: Zulma Quinonez (PAR)
VAR: Andres Cunha (URU)
AVAR: Agustin Berisso (URU)
Referee Assessor: Carlos Ulloa (CHI)
VAR Supervisor: Miryam Melgarejo (PAR)

Millonarios – Bolivar
Referee: Yael Falcon (ARG)
Assistant Referee 1: Juan Belatti (ARG)
Assistant Referee 2: Sebastian Rainieri (ARG)
Fourth Official: Fernando Espinoza (ARG)
VAR: Mauro Vigliano (ARG)
AVAR: Salome Di Iorio (ARG)
Referee Assessor: Oscar Ruiz (COL)
VAR Supervisor: Hernan Maidana (ARG)

San Lorenzo – Independiente Del Valle
Referee: Felipe Gonzalez (CHI)
Assistant Referee 1: Claudio Urrutia (CHI)
Assistant Referee 2: Juan Serrano (CHI)
Fourth Official: Piero Maza (CHI)
VAR: Juan Lara (CHI)
AVAR: Edson Cisternas (CHI)
Referee Assessor: Sabrina Lois (ARG)
VAR Supervisor: Carlos Pastorino (URU)

Liverpool – Palmeiras
Referee: Andres Rojas (COL)
Assistant Referee 1: John Gallego (COL)
Assistant Referee 2: Roberto Padilla (COL)
Fourth Official: Carlos Betancur (COL)
VAR: David Rodriguez (COL)
AVAR: Mauricio Perez (COL)
Referee Assessor: Fernando Falce (URU)
VAR Supervisor: Cesar Escano (PER)

Colo Colo – Fluminense
Referee: Wilmar Roldan (COL)
Assistant Referee 1: Alexander Guzman (COL)
Assistant Referee 2: Richard Ortiz (COL)
Fourth Official: John Ospina (COL)
VAR: Leonard Mosquera (COL)
AVAR: John Leon (COL)
Referee Assessor: Julio Bascunan (CHI)
VAR Supervisor: Roberto Silvera (URU)

The Strongest – Estudiantes
Referee: Roberto Perez (PER)
Assistant Referee 1: Stephen Atoche (PER)
Assistant Referee 2: Diego Jaimes (PER)
Fourth Official: Edwin Ordonez (PER)
VAR: Diego Haro (PER)
AVAR: Johnny Bossio (PER)
Referee Assessor: Jorge Antequera (BOL)
VAR Supervisor: Marcio Santiago (BRA)

CONMEBOL Sudamericana 2024 – Group Stage (Matchday 4)

7-9 May 2024

Racing – Argentinos Juniors
Referee: Carlos Betancur (COL, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: John Gallego (COL)
Assistant Referee 2: Roberto Padilla (COL)
Fourth Official: Andres Rojas (COL)
VAR: David Rodriguez (COL)
AVAR: Mauricio Perez (COL)
Referee Assessor: Miguel Nievas (URU)
VAR Supervisor: Cesar Escano (PER)

Nacional – Corinthians
Referee: Angel Arteaga (VEN)
Assistant Referee 1: Alberto Ponte (VEN)
Assistant Referee 2: Freiker Colmenares (VEN)
Fourth Official: Yender Herrera (VEN)
VAR: Carlos Orbe (ECU)
AVAR: Dennys Guerrero (ECU)
Referee Assessor: Ubaldo Aquino (PAR)
VAR Supervisor: Victor Carrillo (PER)

Universidad Cesar Vallejo – Independiente Medellin
Referee: Paulo Zanovelli (BRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Rafael Alves (BRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Luanderson Lima (BRA)
Fourth Official: Ramon Abatti (BRA)
VAR: Rodolpho Toski (BRA)
AVAR: Jose Rocha (BRA)
Referee Assessor: Cesar Mongrut (PER)
VAR Supervisor: Wilson Avila (ECU)

Real Tomayapo – Internacional
Referee: Mathias De Armas (URU)
Assistant Referee 1: Andres Nievas (URU)
Assistant Referee 2: Horacio Ferreiro (URU)
Fourth Official: Javier Feres (URU)
VAR: Joel Alarcon (PER)
AVAR: Coty Carrera (PER)
Referee Assessor: Pedro Saucedo (BOL)
VAR Supervisor: Joel Ruiz (PAR)

Alianza – Cruzeiro
Referee: Andres Merlos (ARG)
Assistant Referee 1: Miguel Savorani (ARG)
Assistant Referee 2: Paulo Acevedo (ARG)
Fourth Official: Nasareno Arasa (ARG)
VAR: German Delfino (ARG)
AVAR: Nicolas Lamolina (ARG)
Referee Assessor: Abraham Gonzalez (COL)
VAR Supervisor: Juan Lugones (BOL)

Sportivo Ameliano – Danubio
Referee: Jose Cabero (CHI)
Assistant Referee 1: Jose Retamal (CHI)
Assistant Referee 2: Miguel Rocha (CHI)
Fourth Official: Cristian Garay (CHI)
VAR: Yadir Acuna (COL)
AVAR: Heider Castro (COL)
Referee Assessor: Manuel Bernal (PAR)
VAR Supervisor: Sandra Zambrano (ECU)

Always Ready – Defensa y Justicia
Referee: Rafael Klein (BRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Guilherme Camilo (BRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Nailton Sousa (BRA)
Fourth Official: Rodrigo Pereira (BRA)
VAR: Daniel Nobre (BRA)
AVAR: Rodrigo Guarizo (BRA)
Referee Assessor: Jorge Antequera (BOL)
VAR Supervisor: Marcio Santiago (BRA)

Rayo Zuliano – Athletico Paranaense
Referee: Bryan Loayza (ECU)
Assistant Referee 1: Christian Lescano (ECU)
Assistant Referee 2: David Vacacela (ECU)
Fourth Official: Yerson Zambrano (ECU)
VAR: Jorge Balino (ARG)
AVAR: Lucas Novelli (ARG)
Referee Assessor: Jairo Romero (VEN)
VAR Supervisor: Victor Martinez (PAR)

Sportivo Luqueno – Coquimbo Unido
Referee: Yender Herrera (VEN)
Assistant Referee 1: Alberto Ponte (VEN)
Assistant Referee 2: Freiker Colmenares (VEN)
Fourth Official: Angel Arteaga (VEN)
VAR: Carlos Orbe (ECU)
AVAR: Dennys Guerrero (ECU)
Referee Assessor: Cynthia Franco (PAR)
VAR Supervisor: Sandra Zambrano (ECU)

Nacional Potosi – Fortaleza
Referee: Alex Cajas (ECU)
Assistant Referee 1: Danny Avila (ECU)
Assistant Referee 2: Mauricio Lozada (ECU)
Fourth Official: Robert Cabrera (ECU)
VAR: Juan Andrade (ECU)
AVAR: Edson Vasquez (ECU)
Referee Assessor: Oscar Madonado (BOL)
VAR Supervisor: Patricio Polic (CHI)

Cuiaba – Metropolitanos
Referee: Derlis Lopez (PAR)
Assistant Referee 1: Milciades Saldivar (PAR)
Assistant Referee 2: Nadia Weiler (PAR)
Fourth Official: Giancarlo Juliadoza (PAR)
VAR: Antonio Garcia (URU)
AVAR: Santiago Fernandez (URU)
Referee Assessor: Cleydi Riveiro (BRA)
VAR Supervisor: Wilson Lamouroux (COL)

Sportivo Trinidense – Boca Juniors
Referee: Cristian Garay (CHI)
Assistant Referee 1: Jose Retamal (CHI)
Assistant Referee 2: Miguel Rocha (CHI)
Fourth Official: Jose Cabero (CHI)
VAR: Yadir Acuna (COL)
AVAR: Heider Castro (COL)
Referee Assessor: Manuel Bernal (PAR)
VAR Supervisor: Victor Carrillo (PER)

Belgrano – Delfin
Referee: Leodan Gonzalez (URU)
Assistant Referee 1: Carlos Barreiro (URU)
Assistant Referee 2: Paulo Llarena (URU)
Fourth Official: Gustavo Tejera (URU)
VAR: Christian Ferreyra (URU)
AVAR: Richard Trinidad (URU)
Referee Assessor: Hector Baldassi (ARG)
VAR Supervisor: Rodney Aquino (PAR)

Red Bull Bragantino – Racing Club
Referee: Kevin Ortega (PER)
Assistant Referee 1: Michael Orue (PER)
Assistant Referee 2: Jesus Sanchez (PER)
Fourth Official: Jesus Cartagena (PER)
VAR: Augusto Menendez (PER)
AVAR: Milagros Arruela (PER)
Referee Assessor: Ednilson Corona (BRA)
VAR Supervisor: Claudio Rios (CHI)

Deportivo Garcilaso – Lanus
Referee: Gery Vargas (BOL)
Assistant Referee 1: Carlos Tapia (BOL)
Assistant Referee 2: Edwar Saavedra (BOL)
Fourth Official: Hostin Prado (BOL)
VAR: Francisco Gilabert (CHI)
AVAR: Alejandro Molina (CHI)
Referee Assessor: Jorge Jaimes (PER)
VAR Supervisor: Wilson Avila (ECU)

Universidad Catolica – Union La Calera
Referee: Facundo Tello (ARG)
Assistant Referee 1: Gabriel Chade (ARG)
Assistant Referee 2: Maximiliano Del Yesso (ARG)
Fourth Official: Laura Fortunato (ARG)
VAR: Hector Paletta (ARG)
AVAR: Paulo Gonzalez (ARG)
Referee Assessor: Jose Carpio (ECU)
VAR Supervisor: Jorge Mercado (PAR)

UEFA Women’s U-17 Euro 2024

Sweden, 5-18 May 2024

Referees
1. Michaela Pachtova CZE
2. Lotta Vuorio FIN
3. Fabienne Michel GER (photo)
4. Martina Molinaro ITA
5. Oxana Cruc MDA
6. Deborah Anex SUI
7. Miriama Bočkova SVK
8. Cansu Tiryaki TUR

Assistant Referees
1. Edjena Kapxhiu ALB
2. Ainhoa Fernandez AND
3. Ivona Pejić CRO
4. Katrine Stensholm DEN
5. Daniela Göttlinger GER
6. Nikolett Bizderi HUN
7. Ana Ciobotaru MDA
8. Martina Boer NED
9. Roxana Ivanov ROU

CONMEBOL Libertadores Futsal 2024

Argentina, 19-26 May 2024

Referees

1. Andres Pena (ARG)
2. Estefania Pinto (ARG, photo)
3. Lautaro Romero (ARG)
4. Alfredo Gutierrez (BOL)
5. Henry Gutierrez (BOL)
6. Ricardo Messa (BRA)
7. Anelize Schultz (BRA)
8. Alfredo Wagner (BRA)
9. Christian Espindola (CHI)
10. Valeria Palma (CHI)
11. Yuri Garcia (COL)
12. Daniel Manrique (COL)
13. Jonathan Herbas (ECU)
14. Jaime Jativa (ECU)
15. Bill Villalba (PAR)
16. Feliciano Farina (PAR)
17. Rolly Rojas (PER)
18. Ulises Ureta (PER)
19. Federico Picardo (URU)
20. Daniel Rodriguez (URU)
21. Felix Rumbos (VEN)
22. Oriana Zambrano (VEN)

Referee Assessors
1. Leandro Lorenzo (ARG)
2. Renata Leite (BRA)
3. Nestor Valiente (PAR)
4. Cesar Figueredo (URU)

AFC U-23 Asian Cup Final 2024: Bonyadifard (IRN)

3 May 2024

Final
Japan – Uzbekistan
Referee: Mooud Bonyadifard IRN (photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Saeid Ghasemi IRN
Assistant Referee 2: Alireza Ildorom IRN
Fourth Official: Abdulla Al-Marri QAT
Reserve AR: Zahy Al-Shammari QAT
VAR: Shaun Evans AUS
AVAR: Shen Yinhao CHN
Referee Assessor: Ali Al-Traifi KSA

Match for Third Place
Iraq – Indonesia
Referee: Majed Al-Shamrani KSA
Assistant Referee 1: Hesham Al-Refaei KSA
Assistant Referee 2: Omar Al-Jamal KSA
Fourth Official: Hanna Hattab SYR
Reserve AR: Mohamad Kazzaz SYR
VAR: Abdullah Al-Shehri KSA
AVAR: Sivakorn Pu-Udom THA
Referee Assessor: Vladislav Tseytlin UZB

UEFA Europa Conference League 2023/24 – Semi-finals (First Leg)

2 May 2024

ACF Fiorentina – Club Brugge
Referee: Michael Oliver ENG (photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Stuart Burt ENG
Assistant Referee 2: Daniel Cook ENG
Fourth Official: Andrew Madley ENG
VAR: Christopher Kavanagh ENG
AVAR: Jarred Gillett ENG
Referee Observer: Alexandru Deaconu ROU

Aston Villa – Olympiakos
Referee: Marco Guida ITA
Assistant Referee 1: Filippo Meli ITA
Assistant Referee 2: Giorgio Peretti ITA
Fourth Official: Donatas Rumšas LTU
VAR: Paolo Valeri ITA
AVAR: Massimiliano Irrati ITA 

Referee Observer: Herbert Fandel GER

UEFA Europa League 2023/2024 – Semi-finals (First Leg)

2 May 2024

Olympique de Marseille – Atalanta BC
Referee: Daniel Siebert GER (photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Jan Seidel GER
Assistant Referee 2: Rafael Foltyn GER
Fourth Official: Sven Jablonski GER
VAR: Marco Fritz GER
AVAR: Christian Dingert GER
Referee Observer: Stefan Johannesson SWE

AS Roma – Bayer Leverkusen
Referee: François Letexier FRA
Assistant Referee 1: Cyril Mugnier FRA
Assistant Referee 2: Mehdi Rahmouni FRA
Fourth Official: Rade Obrenovič SVN
VAR: Jerôme Brisard FRA
AVAR: Willy Delajod FRA
Referee Observer: Stefan Messner AUT