FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup 2018 – Group Stage (Matches 9-16)

8 August 2018
Brazil – England
Referee: Melissa Borjas (HON, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Shirley Perello (HON)
Assistant Referee 2: Yudilia Briones (MEX)
Fourth Official: Kate Jacewicz (AUS)

Netherlands – Ghana
Referee: Ri Hyang Ok (PRK)
Assistant Referee 1: Hong Kum Nyo (PRK)
Assistant Referee 2: Kim Kyoung Min (KOR)
Fourth Official: Qin Liang (CHN)

Korea DPR – Mexico
Referee: Claudia Umpierrez (URU)
Assistant Referee 1: Luciana Mascarana (URU)
Assistant Referee 2: Tatiane Sacilotti (BRA)
Fourth Official: Kateryna Monzul (UKR)

France – New Zealand
Referee: Lidya Abebe (ETH)
Assistant Referee 1: Mary Njoroge (KEN)
Assistant Referee 2: Bernadettar Kwimbira (MWI) 
Fourth Official: Esther Staubli (SUI)

9 August 2018
Haiti – Nigeria
Referee: Jana Adamkova (CZE)
Assistant Referee 1: Sanja Rodjak (CRO)
Assistant Referee 2: Petruta Iugulescu (ROU)
Fourth Official: Edina Alves (BRA)

China – Germany
Referee: Carol Anne Chenard (CAN)
Assistant Referee 1: Kathryn Nesbitt (USA)
Assistant Referee 2: Chantal Boudreau (CAN)
Fourth Official: Gladys Lengwe (ZAM)

USA – Paraguay
Referee: Qin Liang (CHN)
Assistant Referee 1: Cui Yongmei (CHN)
Assistant Referee 2: Fang Yan (CHN)
Fourth Official: Bibiana Steinhaus (GER)

Spain – Japan
Referee: Kateryna Monzul (UKR)
Assistant Referee 1: Maryna Striletska (UKR)
Assistant Referee 2: Sian Massey (ENG)
Fourth Official: Stephanie Frappart (FRA)

UEFA referees encouraged to set high standards

Europe's leading male and female referees are primed for the new UEFA club and national-team competition season, and have been given a crystal clear instruction by UEFA to take into the campaign – "We expect nothing but the best". Ninety-four referees from UEFA's elite and first categories – 73 male and 21 female officials – came to Nyon for the annual UEFA summer gathering. Over the three days, a review took place of last season's club competition knockout phase, and UEFA Referees Committee members were on hand to give the officials crucial guidance and advice for the months to come. The referees – now considered athletes in their own right in the modern high-pace top-level game – also underwent stringent fitness testing.

"Our message to the referees is that we won't settle for anything less than the best," said UEFA deputy chief refereeing officer Hugh Dallas (photo). "We have always prided ourselves on high-quality performances as far as European refereeing is concerned. We accept that referees make mistakes – just like players and coaches, they are human," he added, "But our job as referee coaches is to teach our referees to keep these errors to a minimum, and to ensure that they have little or no impact on the final outcome of matches. Honest and open dialogue is a feature of our discussions with the referees – they are committed to reaching the highest standards, and our role is to prepare them and help them maintain the high standards previously set." Dallas reflected that a major source of motivation for Europe's referees in the coming season should be the clear development of refereeing in other continental confederations, as witnessed in the recent FIFA World Cup in Russia. "I think we've witnessed over the years that European referees have always taken the lead on the world stage," he said. "But now we are clearly seeing that the quality of refereeing elsewhere in the world is continuing to rise. Other confederations have learned from UEFA and have followed our educational programmes – new benchmarks are being set, and it's now up to our referees to keep themselves at the top of the pile." The referees have also been reminded of their duty to protect both the players and football’s image. "One of the tasks of the referee is to guide, manage and keep all 22 players on the field of play," said Dallas. "That is where their man-management skills come into play – talking to players, establishing relationships and trying to make players understand the referee's role. We don't want it to be a case of ‘them and us’, as our aim is to work together with the players and help deliver a successful product. In addition, they need to protect players from serious injury on the field," he continued. "We don't want to see players only in the early part of our competitions – we want to see them throughout the length of the competitions. The referees have also been reminded to take strong action to protect the image of our game, and deal appropriately with players who are guilty of mobbing/protesting against their decision-making”.

Source: UEFA

UEFA Europa League – Third Qualifying Round (First Leg)

7-9 August 2018

İstanbul Başakşehir – Burnley FC
Referee: Srdjan Jovanović (SRB, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Uroš Stojković (SRB)
Assistant Referee 2: Milan Mihajlović (SRB)
Fourth Official: Ilija Brdar (SRB)
Referee Observer: Vítor Melo Pereira (POR)

FC Pyunik – Maccabi Tel Aviv
Referee: Pol van Boekel (NED)
Assistant Referee 1: Davie Goossens (NED)
Assistant Referee 2: Joost van Zuilen (NED)
Fourth Official: Edwin van de Graaf (NED)
Referee Observer: Geórgios Bíkas (GRE)

FC Ufa – Progrès Niederkorn
Referee: Stephan Klossner (SUI)
Assistant Referee 1: Marco Zürcher (SUI)
Assistant Referee 2: Jean-Yves Wicht (SUI)
Fourth Official: Urs Schnyder (SUI)
Referee Observer: Vadims Direktorenko (LVA)

Hapoel Haifa – Atalanta BC
Referee: Harald Lechner (AUT)
Assistant Referee 1: Andreas Heidenreich (AUT)
Assistant Referee 2: Maximilian Kolbitsch (AUT)
Fourth Official: Julian Weinberger (AUT)
Referee Observer: Sokol Jareci (ALB)

Alashkert FC – CFR Cluj
Referee: Serhiy Boyko (UKR)
Assistant Referee 1: Viktor Matyash (UKR)
Assistant Referee 2: Oleksandr Voytyuk (UKR)
Fourth Official: Mykola Balakin (UKR)
Referee Observer: Miroslav Vitković (CRO)

Spartaks Jūrmala – FK Sūduva
Referee: Thorvaldur Árnason (ISL)
Assistant Referee 1: Gunnar Gudmundsson (ISL)
Assistant Referee 2: Birkir Sigurdarson (ISL)
Fourth Official: Thóroddur Hjaltalín (ISL)
Referee Observer: Karel Bohuněk (CZE)

RB Leipzig – U Craiova
Referee: Paweł Gil (POL)
Assistant Referee 1: Konrad Sapela (POL)
Assistant Referee 2: Marcin Borkowski (POL)
Fourth Official: Krzysztof Jakubik (POL)
Referee Observer: Raymond Ellingham (WAL)

Dinamo Minsk – FC Zenit
Referee: Anastásios Papapétrou (GRE)
Assistant Referee 1: Trýfon Petrópoulos (GRE)
Assistant Referee 2: Vasílios Kamboúris (GRE)
Fourth Official: Ángelos Evángelou (GRE)
Referee Observer: Tomasz Mikulski (POL)

Sturm Graz – AEK Larnaca
Referee: Mohammed Al-Hakim (SWE)
Assistant Referee 1: Peter Magnusson (SWE)
Assistant Referee 2: Fredrik Klyver (SWE)
Fourth Official: Magnus Lindgren (SWE)
Referee Observer: Emil Božinovski (MKD)

Sigma Olomouc – Kairat Almaty
Referee: Massimiliano Irrati (ITA)
Assistant Referee 1: Fabiano Preti (ITA)
Assistant Referee 2: Stefano Liberti (ITA)
Fourth Official: Gianpaolo Calvarese (ITA)
Referee Observer: Rune Pedersen (NOR)

Mariupol – Girondins de Bordeaux
Referee: Ivan Bebek (CRO)
Assistant Referee 1: Tomislav Petrović (CRO)
Assistant Referee 2: Miro Grgić (CRO)
Fourth Official: Marin Vidulin (CRO)
Referee Observer: David Malcolm (NIR)

AS Trenčín – Feyenoord
Referee: Robert Schörgenhofer (AUT)
Assistant Referee 1: Markus Gutschi (AUT)
Assistant Referee 2: Andreas Staudinger (AUT)
Fourth Official: Walter Altmann (AUT)
Referee Observer: Alieh Čykun (BLR)

Apollon Limassol – Dinamo Brest
Referee: Carlos Xistra (POR)
Assistant Referee 1: Nuno Pereira (POR)
Assistant Referee 2: Álvaro Mesquita (POR)
Fourth Official: João Capela (POR)
Referee Observer: Vasyl Melnychuk (UKR)

PFC Ludogorets – HŠK Zrinjski
Referee: Vitaliy Meshkov (RUS)
Assistant Referee 1: Anton Averyanov (RUS)
Assistant Referee 2: Rashid Abusuyev (RUS)
Fourth Official: Sergey Lapochkin (RUS)
Referee Observer: Drago Kos (SVN)

Sheriff Tiraspol – Valur Reykjavík
Referee: Arnold Hunter (NIR)
Assistant Referee 1: Richard Storey (NIR)
Assistant Referee 2: David Anderson (NIR)
Fourth Official: Tim Marshall (NIR)
Referee Observer: Marco Borg (MLT)

Hapoel Beer Sheva – Apoel FC
Referee: Aleksey Eskov (RUS)
Assistant Referee 1: Dmitriy Mosyakin (RUS)
Assistant Referee 2: Dmitriy Safyan (RUS)
Fourth Official: Vladimir Moskalev (RUS)
Referee Observer: Ján Fašung (SVK)

Torpedo Kutaisi – FK Kukësi
Referee: Alan Sant (MLT)
Assistant Referee 1: Edward Spiteri (MLT)
Assistant Referee 2: Roberto Vella (MLT)
Fourth Official: Matthew De Gabriele (MLT)
Referee Observer: Aleksey Spirin (RUS)

Jagiellonia Białystok – KAA Gent
Referee: Ali Palabıyık (TUR)
Assistant Referee 1: Kerem Ersoy (TUR)
Assistant Referee 2: Serkan Olguncan (TUR)
Fourth Official: Koray Gençerler (TUR)
Referee Observer: Alexandru Deaconu (ROU)

Nordsjaelland – Partizan
Referee: Alejandro Hernández Hernández (ESP)
Assistant Referee 1: Teodoro Sobrino Magán (ESP)
Assistant Referee 2: José Naranjo Pérez (ESP)
Fourth Official: José Munuera Montero (ESP)
Referee Observer: António Almeida (POR)

CSKA Sofia – FC København
Referee: Bart Vertenten (BEL)
Assistant Referee 1: Rien Vanyzere (BEL)
Assistant Referee 2: Thibaud Nijssen (BEL)
Fourth Official: Bram Van Driessche (BEL)
Referee Observer: Manuel Díaz Vega (ESP)

KRC Genk – Lech Poznań
Referee: Marius Avram (ROU)
Assistant Referee 1: Valentin Avram (ROU)
Assistant Referee 2: Mircea Orbuleț (ROU)
Fourth Official: Horațiu Feșnic (ROU)
Referee Observer: Zoran Petrović (SRB)

Vitesse – Basel
Referee: Georgi Kabakov (BUL)
Assistant Referee 1: Martin Margaritov (BUL)
Assistant Referee 2: Diyan Valkov (BUL)
Fourth Official: Nikola Popov (BUL)
Referee Observer: László Vágner (HUN)

Olympiakos – Luzern
Referee: François Letexier (FRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Cyril Mugnier (FRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Mehdi Rahmouni (FRA)
Fourth Official: Thomas Léonard (FRA)
Referee Observer: Eugen Strigel (GER)

Beşiktaş JK – LASK Linz
Referee: Bartosz Frankowski (POL)
Assistant Referee 1: Marcin Boniek (POL)
Assistant Referee 2: Jakub Winkler (POL)
Fourth Official: Zbigniew Dobrynin (POL)
Referee Observer: Matteo Trefoloni (ITA)

Olimpija Ljubljana – HJK Helsinki
Referee: Benoît Millot (FRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Frédéric Haquette (FRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Stephan Luzi (FRA)
Fourth Official: Éric Wattellier (FRA)
Referee Observer: Robert Małek (POL)

Zorya Luhansk – SC Braga
Referee: Tobias Welz (GER)
Assistant Referee 1: Eduard Beitinger (GER)
Assistant Referee 2: Martin Thomsen (GER)
Fourth Official: Sören Storks (GER)
Referee Observer: Edward Foley (IRL)

Sarpsborg – Rijeka
Referee: Kevin Clancy (SCO)
Assistant Referee 1: David McGeachie (SCO)
Assistant Referee 2: Douglas Ross (SCO)
Fourth Official: Donald Robertson (SCO)
Referee Observer: Bo Karlsson (SWE)

Hibernian – Molde
Referee: Ádám Farkas (HUN)
Assistant Referee 1: Péter Kóbor (HUN)
Assistant Referee 2: Balázs Szert (HUN)
Fourth Official: Ferenc Karakó (HUN)
Referee Observer: Cyril Zimmermann (SUI)

Hajduk Split – FCSB
Referee: Tiago Martins (POR)
Assistant Referee 1: Luís Campos (POR)
Assistant Referee 2: Pedro Almeida (POR)
Fourth Official: Hugo Miguel (POR)
Referee Observer: Nikolay Ivanov (RUS)

Rangers – Maribor
Referee: Roy Reinshreiber (ISR)
Assistant Referee 1: Danny Krasikow (ISR)
Assistant Referee 2: David Biton (ISR)
Fourth Official: Eitan Shmuelevitz (ISR)
Referee Observer: Jaap Uilenberg (NED)

Spartak Subotica – Brøndby IF
Referee: Kevin Blom (NED)
Assistant Referee 1: Rob van de Ven (NED)
Assistant Referee 2: Charles Schaap (NED)
Fourth Official: Siemen Mulder (NED)
Referee Observer: Gaetano De Gabriele (MLT)

Cork City – Rosenborg
Referee: Petr Ardeleánu (CZE)
Assistant Referee 1: Tomáš Mokrusch (CZE)
Assistant Referee 2: Jakub Hrabovský (CZE)
Fourth Official: Karel Hrubeš (CZE)
Referee Observer: Ioánnis Tsachilídis (GRE)

The New Saints – FC Midtjylland
Referee: Peter Královič (SVK)
Assistant Referee 1: Miroslav Benko (SVK)
Assistant Referee 2: Erik Weiss (SVK)
Fourth Official: Boris Marhefka (SVK)
Referee Observer: Helmut Fleischer (GER)

Legia Warszawa – Dudelange
Referee: Halis Özkahya (TUR)
Assistant Referee 1: Ekrem Kan (TUR)
Assistant Referee 2: Hakan Yemişken (TUR)
Fourth Official: Alper Ulusoy (TUR)
Referee Observer: Jari Maisonlahti (FIN)

Slovan Bratislava – Rapid Wien
Referee: Paweł Raczkowski (POL)
Assistant Referee 1: Michał Obukowicz (POL)
Assistant Referee 2: Radosław Siejka (POL)
Fourth Official: Tomasz Musiał (POL)
Referee Observer: Jens Larsen (DEN)

Sevilla FC – Žalgiris Vilnius
Referee: Bojan Pandzic (SWE)
Assistant Referee 1: Magnus Sjöblom (SWE)
Assistant Referee 2: Mikael Hallin (SWE)
Fourth Official: Kaspar Sjöberg (SWE)
Referee Observer: Miroslav Tulinger (CZE)

UEFA Champions League – Third Qualifying Round (First Leg)

7-8 August 2018

Standard de Liege – AFC Ajax
Referee: Tobias Stieler (GER, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Marco Achmüller (GER)
Assistant Referee 2: Christian Gittelmann (GER)
Fourth Official: Harm Osmers (GER)
Referee Observer: Luciano Luci (ITA)

FC Astana – GNK Dinamo
Referee: John Beaton (SCO)
Assistant Referee 1: Alastair Mather (SCO)
Assistant Referee 2: Sean Carr (SCO)
Fourth Official: Steven McLean (SCO)
Referee Observer: Vladimír Medved (SVK)

Qarabağ FK – Bate Borisov
Referee: Andreas Ekberg (SWE)
Assistant Referee 1: Mehmet Culum (SWE)
Assistant Referee 2: Stefan Hallberg (SWE)
Fourth Official: Kristoffer Karlsson (SWE)
Referee Observer: Robert Sedlacek (AUT)

Malmö FF – MOL Vidi
Referee: Matej Jug (SVN)
Assistant Referee 1: Matej Žunič (SVN)
Assistant Referee 2: Manuel Vidali (SVN)
Fourth Official: Dejan Balažič (SVN)
Referee Observer: Zbigniew Przesmycki (POL)

Slavia Praha – Dynamo Kyiv
Referee: Craig Pawson (ENG)
Assistant Referee 1: Lee Betts (ENG)
Assistant Referee 2: Ian Hussin (ENG)
Fourth Official: Christopher Kavanagh (ENG)
Referee Observer: Ichko Lozev (BUL)

Crvena Zvezda – Spartak Trnava
Referee: Carlos del Cerro Grande (ESP)
Assistant Referee 1: Juan Yuste Jiménez (ESP)
Assistant Referee 2: Abrahám Álvarez Cantón (ESP)
Fourth Official: Santiago Jaime Latre (ESP)
Referee Observer: Terje Hauge (NOR)

Benfica – Fenerbahçe
Referee: Aleksei Kuĺbakou (BLR)
Assistant Referee 1: Dmitrj Žuk (BLR)
Assistant Referee 2: Alieh Maslianka (BLR)
Fourth Official: Dzianis Ščarbakoŭ (BLR)
Referee Observer: Manuel Mejuto González (ESP)

Red Bull Salzburg – KF Shkëndija
Referee: Aliyar Ağayev (AZE)
Assistant Referee 1: Zeynal Zeynalov (AZE)
Assistant Referee 2: Rza Mammadov (AZE)
Fourth Official: Orxan Mammadov (AZE)
Referee Observer: Alfredo Trentalange (ITA)

PAOK FC – Spartak Moskva
Referee: Orel Grinfeld (ISR)
Assistant Referee 1: Idan Yarkoni (ISR)
Assistant Referee 2: Roy Hassan (ISR)
Fourth Official: Alon Yefet (ISR)
Referee Observer: Konrad Plautz (AUT)

Celtic – AEK Athens
Referee: Luca Banti (ITA)
Assistant Referee 1: Alessandro Costanzo (ITA)
Assistant Referee 2: Filippo Valeriani (ITA)
Fourth Official: Michael Fabbri (ITA)
Referee Observer: Rodger Gifford (WAL)

CONMEBOL Copa Libertadores – Round of 16 (First Leg)

7-9 August 2018

Estudiantes – Gremio
Referee: Andres Cunha (URU, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Nicolas Taran (URU)
Assistant Referee 2: Mauricio Espinosa (URU)
Fourth Official: Esteban Ostojich (URU)
Referee Assessor: Ubaldo Aquino (PAR)

Boca Juniors – Libertad
Referee: Wilton Sampaio (BRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Emerson de Carvalho (BRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Bruno Boschilia (BRA)
Fourth Official: Rodolpho Toski (BRA)
Referee Assessor: Jose Buitrago (COL)

Colo Colo – Corinthians
Referee: Wilmar Roldan (COL)
Assistant Referee 1: Alexander Guzman (COL)
Assistant Referee 2: Alexander Leon (COL)
Fourth Official: Nicolas Gallo (COL)
Referee Assessor: Rodolfo Otero (ARG)

Flamengo – Cruzeiro
Referee: Nestor Pitana (ARG)
Assistant Referee 1: Hernan Maidana (ARG)
Assistant Referee 2: Gustavo Rossi (ARG)
Fourth Official: Fernando Espinoza (ARG)
Referee Assessor: Francisco Mondria (CHI)

Racing – River Plate
Referee: Anderson Daronco (BRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Marcelo Van Gasse (BRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Rodrigo Correa (BRA)
Fourth Official: Luiz Oliveira (BRA)
Referee Assessor: Carlos Torres (PAR)

Cerro Porteño – Palmeiras
Referee: Fernando Rapallini (ARG)
Assistant Referee 1: Juan Belatti (ARG)
Assistant Referee 2: Gabriel Chade (ARG)
Fourth Official: German Delfino (ARG)
Referee Assessor: Martin Vazquez (URU)

Atlético Tucuman – Atlético Nacional
Referee: Eber Aquino (PAR)
Assistant Referee 1: Eduardo Cardozo (PAR)
Assistant Referee 2: Milciades Saldívar (PAR)
Fourth Official: Arnaldo Samaniego (PAR)
Referee Assessor: Roberto Perassi (BRA)

Independiente – Santos
Referee: Diego Haro (PER)
Assistant Referee 1: Jonny Bossio (PER)
Assistant Referee 2: Victor Raez (PER)
Fourth Official: Miguel Santivañez (PER)
Referee Assessor: Dario Ubriaco (URU)

FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup 2018 – Group Stage (Matches 1-8)

5 August 2018
Mexico – Brazil
Referee: Esther Staubli (SUI, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Belinda Pierre (SUI)
Assistant Referee 2: Susanne Kung (SUI)
Fourth Official: Anna-Marie Keighley (NZL)

Korea DPR – England
Referee: Stephanie Frappart (FRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Manuela Nicolosi (FRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Michelle O'Neill (IRL)
Fourth Official: Anna-Marie Keighley (NZL)

New Zealand – Netherlands
Referee: Jana Adamkova (CZE)
Assistant Referee 1: Sanja Rodjak (CRO)
Assistant Referee 2: Petruta Iugulescu (ROU)
Fourth Official: Claudia Umpierrez (URU)

France – Ghana
Referee: Kateryna Monzul (UKR)
Assistant Referee 1: Maryna Striletska (UKR)
Assistant Referee 2: Sian Massesy (ENG)
Fourth Official: Carol Anne Chenard (CAN)

6 August 2018
Nigeria – Germany
Referee: Anna-Marie Keighley (NZL)
Assistant Referee 1: Kathryn Nesbitt (USA)
Assistant Referee 2: Maria Salamasina (SAM)

Fourth Official: Carol Anne Chenard (CAN)

Haiti – China
Referee: Edina Alves (BRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Neuza Back (BRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Monica Amboya (ECU)
Fourth Official: Claudia Umpierrez (URU)

Paraguay – Spain
Referee: Kate Jacewicz (AUS)
Assistant Referee 1: Cui Yongmei (CHN)
Assistant Referee 2: Hong Kum Nyo (PRK)
Fourth Official: Qin Liang (CHN)

USA – Japan
Referee: Gladys Lengwe (ZAM)
Assistant Referee 1: Lidwine Rakotozafinoro (MAD)
Assistant Referee 2: Queency Victoire (MRI)
Fourth Official: Lidya Abebe (ETH)

UEFA Super Cup 2018: Marciniak (POL)

Polish referee Szymon Marciniak has been appointed to take charge of the 2018 UEFA Super Cup match between Real Madrid CF and Club Atlético de Madrid, which will be played at the Lilleküla Stadium in Tallinn, Estonia on 15 August, kicking-off at 21.00CET (22.00 local time). The 37-year-old from Płock will be accompanied by five compatriots: assistant referees Pawel Sokolnicki and Tomasz Listkiewicz, additional assistant referees Pawel Raczkowski and Tomasz Musiał, and reserve official Radoslaw Siejka. Romania's Ovidiu Hategan will act as the fourth official.

An international referee since 2011, Marciniak has taken charge of 58 UEFA matches. He officiated four UEFA Champions League matches in the 2017/18 season, including the round of 16 second leg encounter between Tottenham Hotspur FC and Juventus. Last season, he was named as the fourth official for the UEFA Europa League final in Lyon, which saw Atlético de Madrid defeat Olympique de Marseille. He was also the fourth official for the 2016 UEFA Super Cup in Trondheim, where Real Madrid overcame Sevilla FC. (Source: UEFA)

15 August 2018

Real Madrid – Atletico de Madrid

Referee: Szymon Marciniak (POL)

Assistant Referee 1: Pawel Sokolnicki (POL)

Assistant Referee 2: Tomasz Listkiewicz (POL)

Additional AR 1: Pawel Raczkowski (POL)

Additional AR 2: Tomasz Musiał (POL)

Fourth Official: Ovidiu Hațegan (ROU)

Reserve AR: Radoslaw Siejka (POL)
Referee Observer: Uno Tutk (EST)

Collina succeeded by Rosetti as UEFA Chief Refereeing Officer

UEFA has announced that Roberto Rosetti is to replace Pierluigi Collina as its Chief Refereeing Officer, after Collina announced his decision to step down for personal reasons at the UEFA summer refereeing course in Nyon today. 

Pierluigi Collina, 58, was appointed as UEFA’s first ever Chief Refereeing Officer in 2010, following his retirement as a referee in 2005. In that time, he has achieved major advances in the professional handling of referees and overseen, among other important features, the establishment of the Centre of Refereeing Excellence (CORE). During his tenure, UEFA has created 360 degree monitoring and development programmes for officials to improve their technical, fitness and nutrition standards and ensure that tactical elements and knowledge of teams became part of the referees’ preparation for every match. 

In accepting his resignation, UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin said: “Pierluigi brought the same vision, understanding and flair to his role at UEFA that he demonstrated in the matches he refereed. I wish to thank him for his commitment during these years and for what he has brought to European football as Chief Refereeing Officer.” 

Pierluigi Collina said: “It has been a privilege to work as UEFA’s Chief Refereeing Officer during the last 8 years. I am very proud of the results achieved together with my fellow Refereeing Officers and the UEFA Referees’ Committee. I wish to thank UEFA for the strong support given to refereeing in these years and also all the match officials for their full commitment.”

Roberto Rosetti, 50, was an international referee from 2002 up to his retirement in 2010. The highlight of his career came during UEFA EURO 2008, where he refereed the opening match between Switzerland and the Czech Republic, as well as the final which saw Spain win the tournament against Germany. In 2008 he was awarded the honour of being named the World’s Best Referee by the International Federation of Football, History and Statistics. Rosetti was responsible for implementing Video Assistant Referees at the recent World Cup in Russia, having previously spent two years as the country’s head of refereeing. In accepting the post of Chief Refereeing Officer, Rosetti will also assume the position of the Chairman of the Referees Committee. 

Announcing his appointment, Aleksander Čeferin said: “Roberto was the natural choice for the job. His experience, knowledge and standing in the game are outstanding and I know he will chair the Committee with passion and enthusiasm.” 

Roberto Rosetti said: “It is a great honour to accept this job. UEFA has led the way in referee development in recent years and I am looking forward to the challenge of continuing and enhancing that progress, alongside the President, my fellow Refereeing Officers, the Committee and the rest of the organisation.” 

Source: UEFA

Referee Bennett could return after “unofficial suspension”

Daniel Bennett’s unofficial suspension from refereeing international matches could be at an end now that disgraced Ghana Football Association president Kwesi Nyantakyi has effectively been kicked out of the game. It was the Ghana FA boss‚ who was also a Confederation of African Football vice president‚ who insisted Bennett no longer be allowed to handle any games on the continent after his controversial handling of Ghana’s key World Cup qualifier against Uganda last year. The South African referee did have a stinker‚ disallowing a legitimate-looking last-gasp Ghanaian goal which would have kept alive slim hopes of toppling Egypt from first place in the group and going to the finals in Russia instead. The game in Kampala ended goalless - and with it went the Black Stars’ last hope of a fourth successive World Cup finals appearance. 

Ghana protested to FIFA about the incident and Nyantakyi make sure that Bennett was suspended from any other matches on the continent. “Mr Bennett and [his] assistants denied Ghana a perfect goal in the 93rd minute with television replays showing that it was a perfect goal‚" the Ghana Football Association wrote it is protest to world football’s governing body. He has not blown his whistle outside of South Africa’s borders since‚ having been pulled‚ just days later‚ from the African Champions League semi-final tie between Al Ahly and Etoile Sahel. Victor Gomes replaced him. But with Nyantakyi caught in a video sting accepting bribes earlier this year and facing a lifetime ban‚ the way is now clear for Bennett to be re-appointed. SAFA officials are said to be lobbying on his behalf to get him back on the CAF panel. Nyantakyi‚ a member of FIFA's decision-making council‚ has been provisionally suspended for 90 days and resigned from all his posts in the game after being shown in a documentary taking kickbacks. Nyantakyi‚ who had been GFA president since 2005 and was elected to the FIFA council in 2016‚ was filmed in a hotel room appearing to take a US$65‚000 bribe from a supposed businessman seeking to sponsor the Ghanaian football league. The incident led to Ghana’s FA being dissolved. A new committee will be discussed by CAF president Ahmad and Ghana government officials at a meeting in Madagascar next week. 

Source: TimesLive

England to trial yellow and red cards for managers

English football intends to start punishing managers who behave badly on the sidelines as severely as players on the field, the Football Association (FA) said on Tuesday. In the coming season, referees will be able to show red and yellow cards to coaching staff in England’s top professional competitions, with the exception of the Premier League, as part of a pilot project based on the FA’s existing “technical area code of conduct”. In the top flight, managers will not be shown cards but receive verbal warnings. Like cards for players, the warnings will be totted up and could lead to match bans. 

What the FA calls “stage one warning” will be issued for inappropriate language or gestures “which are an obvious show of dissent or an attempt to influence the decisions of the match officials”. These include kicking or throwing water bottles or clothing, sarcastic clapping or waving imaginary cards. Managers who receive four warnings will be banned for one match, eight warnings will result in a two-match ban, 12 warnings will bring a three-match ban and 16 will lead to a misconduct charge. Unlike cards for players, the warnings will not, in most cases, be wiped out after a fixed number of games. 

Shaun Harvey, the chief executive of the English Football League which runs the three divisions below the Premier League, said on Tuesday that rules for behaviour in the dugout or technical area are not new, but the idea is to make the disciplinary procedure clearer to fans. Referees have long been able to banish badly-behaved managers, but now a red card will make clear what is happening. “We thought it should add to the clarity and hopefully better behaviour in the technical areas,” said Harvey. He said that the referee can, if necessary, caution a team’s entire coaching staff. “This is not about creating a drama. It is about making sure behaviour doesn’t decline further.” 

Source: ESPN