FIFA will have automatised offside

FIFA president Gianni Infantino described referees as "heroes" and urged Premier League officials to start using pitch-side monitors before making key decisions involving VAR. Infantino told Sky Sports News he was unaware that Premier League referees have not been making the final call on VAR decisions.
The FIFA chief lauded the "difficult" work of referees on the pitch but encouraged them to "accept the help" of pitch-side monitors to enable them to play a more active role in the VAR process. Infantino told SSN chief reporter Bryan Swanson: "The job of the referee is so difficult, these guys are heroes, we are all criticising them so let's help them and they have to accept the help. They have a safety net when they are not sure or when somebody who sees the images telling them to go and check. They should go and check." Despite VAR's controversial start in the Premier League, Infantino says the system is helping football and as the technology improves, so too will the game. "VAR is making [football] more just and clean and if we have to wait one minute or two minutes, we have a game-changing decision which is taken correctly instead of wrongly. Of course, VAR will improve, will develop, and will have automatised offside because that's what technology will give us today or tomorrow. Offside and handball are these two situations which we need to constantly analyse and see how we can and if we can, these are difficult topics." 

Source: SkySports

Kochkarov: “It was not easy to stop!”

AFC recently honoured World Cup assistant referee Bakhadyr Kochkarov with the Referees Memento Awards 2020. Kochkarov ended his career at 49, after 23 years on the FIFA List. “Such a decision was not easy, but my career had to come to an end. I must get back to my normal life. I will see what the future will offer”, said Kochkarov. 
He began his international career in 1997, at the FIFA World Youth Championship, while his last international match was on 10 November 2019. Bakhadyr Kochkarov participated as an assistant referee in 9 World Cup matches, as part of Irmatov’s team, in 2010 and 2014. 

Source: TMG

FIFA Club World Cup Final 2019: Al Jassim (QAT)

21 December 2019

Final
Liverpool – Flamengo
Referee: Abdulrahman Al Jassim (QAT, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Taleb Al Marri (QAT)
Assistant Referee 2: Saoud Al-Maqaleh (QAT)
Fourth Official: Mustapha Ghorbal (ALG)
Reserve AR: Mokrane Gourari (ALG)
VAR: Juan Martinez Munuera (ESP)
AVAR 1: Kyle Atkins (USA)
AVAR 2: Esteban Ostojich (URU)
AVAR 3: Bakary Gassama (GAM)


Match for Third Place
CF Monterrey – Al Hilal
Referee: Ovidiu Hațegan (ROU)
Assistant Referee 1: Octavian Şovre (ROU)
Assistant Referee 2: Sebastian Gheorghe (ROU)
Fourth Official: Abdelkader Zitouni (TAH)
Reserve AR: Claudio Rios (CHI)
VAR: Benoît Millot (FRA)
AVAR 1: Mahmoud Ahmed (EGY)
AVAR 2: Fu Ming (CHN)
AVAR 3: Alan Kelly (USA)

Referees' tales of El Clasico

“El Clasico” between Barcelona and Real Madrid attracts the eyes of the whole world including the referees. It is not easy refereeing a match between Barcelona and Real Madrid. The tension of either fighting for the title or even just wanting to beat your biggest rival is always present. Sometimes, off the field issues occurs. 
Some of the referees in charge talked to 'Marca'. Urizar Azpitarte still recalls the game Stoichkov stepped on him. That is when a nice friendship began. "He invited to me to Sofia and he apologised to me in front of many people. He even gave me the boots he stamped on me with as a present!," he recalled. Azpitarte took charge of 12 Clasicos and he even had to slap one of his assistants in one of them. "He later thanked me for that slap," the ex-referee confessed, who also sent off Schuster the day he returned to the Camp Nou after signing for Real Madrid.
Diaz Vega was in charge on the night that Raul Gonzalez scored at Barcelona and put his finger to his lips. "Of course I remember it," he added. "I would leave it go again without a booking, it's not a yellow card!" But another of his Clasico chapters involved strong words about Johan Cruyff. In his press conference, he expressed his opinion that the Dutchman always "pisses his pants" at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu. "Afterwards we saw each other and fixed everything. We even went to Istanbul together where his son Jordi played, and we were together without any problems. I don't miss anything about that life."
But without doubt, one of the most famous games was when two people chained themselves to the post. Alfonso Perez Burrull spoke to 'AS' about that encounter in 2002. There were anti-globalisation protests in Barcelona and it was also complex. Suddenly, Puyol came up to me to let me know that two people had chained themselves to the goal and I couldn't believe it. I didn't know what he was telling me, but when I turned, I had to stop the game because it was true, two guys had chained themselves to the upright," he recalled.

Source: BeSoccer

Former South American top referees recognized by CONMEBOL

Juan Carlos Loustau, Jose Roberto Wright, Gaston Castro, Jose Torres Cadena, Ubaldo Aquino, Alberto Tejada, Ernesto Filippi and Silvia Regina de Oliveira were recognized by CONMEBOL for the work, delivery and contribution to South American and world football in all the years of refereeing matches in high-level CONMEBOL and FIFA competitions. Wilson Seneme, president of the Referees Committee, said that "In CONMEBOL we are doing many things for the first time and this also has no record. It is a night of happiness for refereeing. The South American referees were always among the world's leading referees and we have today are a sample of what we had in the past. Being a South American referee is a pride and it is a great responsibility for current referees to see the past of such good referees”, he said.
- Juan Carlos Loustau is an Argentine former referee. He participated in the 1990 FIFA World Cup, 1987 FIFA U-20 World Cup and also the 1989 and 1991 Copa Americas.
- Jose Roberto Wright, also known as Jose Roberto Wright or Jose Ramiz Wright, is a former Brazilian referee. He was a referee in four matches of the 1990 FIFA World Cup that took place in Italy.
- Gaston Castro is a former Chilean referee who directed matches of all tournaments organized by CONMEBOL and some games at the 1982 FIFA World Cup. 
- Jose Torres Cadena, also known as J.J. Torres, is a former Colombian referee. Torres Cadena was a FIFA referee in several international tournaments, including 4 matches at the 1994 FIFA World Cup, the 1989 FIFA U-20 World Cup and the 1992 Olympic football tournament.
- Ubaldo Aquino is a former Paraguayan referee. Throughout his career he directed numerous matches, both in South America and international, including two matches of the 2002 FIFA World Cup.
- Alberto Tejada is a doctor and professional referee of Peru. He debuted as a first division referee in 1983, became a FIFA referee in 1986 and is standing out for being the only South American appointed consecutively to referee in the 1994 FIFA World Cup in the United States and then in the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France.
- Ernesto Filippi Cavani is a former Uruguayan referee known for supervising a match during the 1994 FIFA World Cup in the United States.
- Silvia Regina de Oliveira is a former referee from Brazil. In 2001, she joined the FIFA international referees level. In 2003, she was the first woman referee to whistle the Brazilian Serie A Championship, a fact that has never happened in professional men's football worldwide and until today she is the only woman who refereed in the CONMEBOL South American Cup. 

Source: CONMEBOL

FIFA Club World Cup 2019 – Semi-finals

17-18 December 2019

Flamengo – Al Hilal
Referee: Ismail Elfath (USA, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Kyle Atkins (USA)
Assistant Referee 2: Corey Parker (USA)
Fourth Official: Mustapha Ghorbal (ALG)
Reserve AR: Taleb Al Marri (QAT)
VAR: Alan Kelly (USA)
AVAR 1: Saoud Al-Maqaleh (QAT)
AVAR 2: Bakary Gassama (GAM)

Monterrey – Liverpool
Referee: Roberto Tobar (CHI)
Assistant Referee 1: Christian Schiemann (CHI)
Assistant Referee 2: Claudio Rios (CHI)
Fourth Official: Ovidiu Hațegan (ROU)
Reserve AR: Saoud Al-Maqaleh (QAT)
VAR: Esteban Ostojich (URU)
AVAR 1: Taleb Al-Marri (QAT)
AVAR 2: Juan Martinez Munuera (ESP)

FIFA Club World Cup 2019 – Match for Fifth Place

17 December 2019

Al Sadd SC – ES Tunis
Referee: Abdelkader Zitouni (TAH, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Octavian Şovre (ROU)
Assistant Referee 2: Sebastian Gheorghe (R)
Fourth Official: Ovidiu Hațegan (ROU)
Reserve AR: Mokrane Gourari (ALG)
VAR: Benoît Millot (FRA)
AVAR 1: Mahmoud Ahmed (EGY)
AVAR 2: Fu Míng (CHN)

UEFA Referee Categories – second half of the season 2019/2020

Men 

Elite 
Aleksei Kulbakov (BLR), Pavel Kralovec (CZE), Michael Oliver (ENG), Anthony Taylor (ENG), Orel Grinfeeld (ISR), Carlos Del Cerro Grande (ESP), Jesus Gil Manzano (ESP), Antonio Mateu Lahoz (ESP), Benoit Bastien (FRA), Clement Turpin (FRA), Deniz Aytekin (GER), Felix Brych (GER), Felix Zwayer (GER), Anastasios Sidiropoulos (GRE), Daniele Orsato (ITA), Björn Kuipers (NED), Danny Makkelie (NED), Szymon Marciniak (POL), Artur Soares Dias (POR), Ovidiu Hategan (ROU), Istvan Kovacs (ROU), Sergei Karasev (RUS), William Collum (SCO), Ivan Kruzliak (SVK), Damir Skomina (SVN), Slavko Vincic (SVN), Cüneyt Cakir (TUR).

First Category 
Harald Lechner (AUT), Manuel Schüttengruber (AUT), Aliyar Aghayev (AZE), Irfan Peljto (BIH), Georgi Kabakov (BUL), Ivan Bebek (CRO), Petr Ardeleanu (CZE), Jakob Kehlet (DEN), Craig Pawson (ENG), Javier Estrada Fernandez (ESP), Jose Sanchez Martinez (ESP), Kristo Tohver (EST), Mattias Gestranius (FIN), Ruddy Buquet (FRA), Francois Letexier (FRA), Daniel Siebert (GER), Tobias Stieler (GER), Tamas Bognar (HUN), Istvan Vad (HUN), Marco Guida (ITA), Davide Massa (ITA), Gediminas Mazeika (LTU), Andris Treimanis (LVA), Aleksandar Stavrev (MKD), Nikola Dabanovic (MNE), Serdar Gözübüyük (NED), Bas Nijhuis (NED), Pawel Gil (POL), Pawel Raczkowski (POL), Daniel Stefanski (POL), Tiago Martins (POR), Radu Petrescu (ROU), Aleksei Eskov (RUS), Sergei Ivanov (RUS), John Beaton (SCO), Robert Madden (SCO), Srdjan Jovanovic (SRB), Sandro Schärer (SUI), Matej Jug (SVN), Andreas Ekberg (SWE), Halis Özkahya (TUR), Ali Palabiyik (TUR), Ievgenii Aranovskyi (UKR), Sergii Boiko (UKR).

Second Category 
Enea Jorgji (ALB), Alexandre Boucaut (BEL), Jonathan Lardot (BEL), Lawrence Visser (BEL), Ivaylo Stoyanov (BUL), Fran Jovic (CRO), Duje Strukan (CRO), Pavel Orel (CZE), Miroslav Zelinka (CZE), Jörgen Burchardt (DEN), Mads-Kristoffer Kristoffersen (DEN), Jens Maae (DEN), Michael Tykgaard (DEN), Stuart Attwell (ENG), David Coote (ENG), Christopher Kavanagh (ENG), Andrew Madley (ENG), Paul Tierney (ENG), Guillermo Cuadra Fernandez (ESP), Ricardo De Burgos Bengoechea (ESP), Alejandro Hernandez Hernandez (ESP), Juan Martinez Munuera (ESP), Jose Munuera Montero (ESP), Juri Frischer (EST), Antti Munukka (FIN), Karim Abed (FRA), Jerome Brisard (FRA), Willy Delajod (FRA), Amaury Delerue (FRA), Benoît Millot (FRA), Frank Schneider (FRA), Giorgi Kruashvili (GEO), Bastian Dankert (GER), Christian Dingert (GER), Marco Fritz (GER), Harm Osmers (GER), Sascha Stegemann (GER), Georgios Kominis (GRE), Anastasios Papapetrou (GRE), Adam Farkas (HUN), Neil Doyle (IRL), Robert Harvey (IRL), Robert Hennessy (IRL), Thorvaldur Arnason (ISL), Vilhjalmur Thorarinsson (ISL), Roi Reinshreiber (ISR), Eitan Shmuelevitz (ISR), Marco Di Bello (ITA), Daniele Doveri (ITA), Michael Fabbri (ITA), Massimiliano Irrati (ITA), Fabio Maresca (ITA), Maurizio Mariani (ITA), Paolo Valeri (ITA), Artyom Kuchin (KAZ), Donatas Rumsas (LTU), Alain Durieux (LUX), Dumitru Muntean (MDA), Dimitar Meckarovski (MKD), Trustin Farrugia Cann (MLT), Alan Sant (MLT), Dennis Higler (NED), Espen Eskas (NOR), Tore Hansen (NOR), Svein Oddvar Moen (NOR), Bartosz Frankowski (POL), Krzysztof Jakubik (POL), Fabio Costa Verissimo (POR), Manuel Sousa (POR), Joao Pinheiro (POR), Marius Avram (ROU), Horatiu Fesnic (ROU), Vladislav Bezborodov (RUS), Sergei Lapochkin (RUS), Kirill Levnikov (RUS), Vitaly Meshkov (RUS), Kevin Clancy (SCO), Donald Robertson (SCO), Alain Bieri (SUI), Adrien Jaccottet (SUI), Filip Glova (SVK), Peter Kralovic (SVK), Mohammed Al-Hakim (SWE), Glenn Nyberg (SWE), Bojan Pandzic (SWE), Martin Strömbergsson (SWE), Hüseyin Göcek (TUR), Mete Kalkavan (TUR), Halil Meler (TUR), Mykola Balakin (UKR), Iwan Griffith (WAL).

Third Category 
Eldorjan Hamiti (ALB), Juxhin Xhaja (ALB), Luis Teixeira (AND), Suren Baliyan (ARM), Zaven Hovhannisyan (ARM), Walter Altmann (AUT), Christian Ciochirca (AUT), Sebastian Gishamer (AUT), Christopher Jäger (AUT), Julian Weinberger (AUT), Rahim Hasanov (AZE), Rauf Jabarov (AZE), Nicolas Laforge (BEL), Erik Lambrechts (BEL), Bram Van Driessche (BEL), Nathan Verboomen (BEL), Dragan Petrovic (BIH), Admir Sehovic (BIH), Dzmitry Dzmitryieu (BLR), Amine Kourgheli (BLR), Viktar Shymusik (BLR), Stefan Apostolov (BUL), Volen Chinkov (BUL), Dragomir Draganov (BUL), Nikola Popov (BUL), Igor Pajac (CRO), Tihomir Pejin (CRO), Mario Zebec (CRO), Timotheos Christofí (CYP), Vasilis Dimitriou (CYP), Nikolas Neokleous (CYP), Loukas Sotiriou (CYP), Ondrej Pechanec (CZE), Pavel Rejzek (CZE), Morten Hansen (DEN), Peter Kjaersgaard (DEN), Roomer Tarajev (EST), Kaarlo Hämäläinen (FIN), Ville Nevalainen (FIN), Petri Viljanen (FIN), Kari a Hovdanum (FRO), Alex Troleis (FRO), Goga Kikacheishvili (GEO), George Vadachkoria (GEO), Jason Barcelo (GIB), Aristotelis Diamantopoulos (GRE), Ioannis Papadopoulos (GRE), Emmanouil Skoulas (GRE), Athanasios Tzilos (GRE), Balazs Berke (HUN), Ferenc Karako (HUN), Paul McLaughlin (IRL), Helgi Jonasson (ISL), Ivar Kristjansson (ISL), Yigal Frid (ISR), David Fuxman (ISR), Gal Leibovitz (ISR), Furkat Atazhanov (KAZ), Arman Ismuratov (KAZ), Daniyar Sakhi (KAZ), Visar Kastrati (KVX), Besfort Kasumi (KVX), Genc Nuza (KVX), Manfredas Lukjancukas (LTU), Laurent Kopriwa (LUX), Jasmin Sabotic (LUX), Aleksandrs Anufrijevs (LVA), Aleksandrs Golubevs (LVA), Veaceslav Banari (MDA), Alexandru Tean (MDA), Dejan Jakimovski (MKD), Matthew De Gabriele (MLT), Fyodor Zammit (MLT), Jovan Kaludjerovic (MNE), Milovan Milacic (MNE), Jochem Kamphuis (NED), Allard Lindhout (NED), Keith Kennedy (NIR), Tim Marshall (NIR), Ian McNabb (NIR), Jamie Robinson (NIR), Kristoffer Hagenes (NOR), Sigurd Kringstad (NOR), Rohit Saggi (NOR), Kai Steen (NOR), Tomasz Musial (POL), Luis Branco Godinho (POR), Antonio Carvalho Nobre (POR), Vitor Ferreira (POR), Hugo Miguel (POR), Marcel Bîrsan (ROU), Sebastian Coltescu (ROU), Aleksei Matiunin (RUS), Vladimir Moskalev (RUS), David Munro (SCO), Nick Walsh (SCO), Luca Barbeno (SMR), Milos Djordjic (SRB), Danilo Grujic (SRB), Lazar Lukic (SRB), Novak Simovic (SRB), Lukas Fähndrich (SUI), Fedayi San (SUI), Urs Schnyder (SUI), Lionel Tschudi (SUI), Boris Marhefka (SVK), Michal Ocenas (SVK), Nejc Kajtazovic (SVN), Rade Obrenovic (SVN), Kristoffer Karlsson (SWE), Kaspar Sjöberg (SWE), Arda Kardesler (TUR), Viktor Kopiievskyi (UKR), Yaroslav Kozyk (UKR), Vitaly Romanov (UKR), Denys Shurman (UKR), Robert Jenkins (WAL), Bryn Markham-Jones (WAL).

Women 

Elite 
Ivana Martincic (CRO), Jana Adamkova (CZE), Olga Zadinova (CZE), Lina Lehtovaara (FIN), Stephanie Frappart (FRA), Florence Guillemin (FRA), Riem Hussein (GER), Bibiana Steinhaus (GER), Katalin Kulcsar (HUN), Sandra Braz Bastos (POR), Anastasia Pustovoitova (RUS), Lorraine Watson (SCO), Esther Staubli (SUI), Pernilla Larsson (SWE), Sara Persson (SWE), Kateryna Monzul (UKR).

First Category 
Rebecca Welch (ENG), Marta Frias Acedo (ESP), Marta Huerta De Aza (ESP), Eleni Antoniou (GRE), Eszter Urban (HUN), Elvira Nurmustafina (KAZ), Ivana Projkovska (MKD), Ewa Augustyn (POL), Monika Mularczyk (POL), Silvia Rosa Domingos (POR), Desiree Grundbacher (SUI), Petra Pavlikova (SVK), Tess Olofsson (SWE), Melis Ozcigdem (TUR), Cheryl Foster (WAL).

Second Category 
Barbara Poxhofer (AUT), Lois Otte (BEL), Volha Tsiareshka (BLR), Galiya Echeva (BUL), Hristiana Guteva (BUL), Sabina Bolic (CRO), Vesna Budimir (CRO), Lucie Sulcova (CZE), Frida Klarlund Nielsen (DEN), Maria Martinez Madrona (ESP), Reelika Turi (EST), Angelika Soeder (GER), Paula Brady (IRL), Maria Marotta (ITA), Graziella Pirriatore (ITA), Justina Lavrenovaite (LTU), Viola Raudzina (LVA), Vivian Peeters (NED), Shona Shukrula (NED), Henrikke Nervik (NOR), Iuliana Demetrescu (ROU), Vera Opeikina (RUS), Simona Ghisletta (SUI), Zuzana Valentova (SVK), Aleksandra Cesen (SVN), Tanja Subotic (SVN).

Third Category 
Emanuela Rusta (ALB), Araksya Saribekyan (ARM), Sofik Torosyan (ARM), Marina Aufschnaiter (AUS), Olivia Tschon (AUT), Yuliya Gurbanova (AZE), Viki De Cremer (BEL), Merima Celik (BIH), Tanja Racic (BIH), Aliaksandra Yakushevich (BLR), Dimitrina Milkova (BUL), Jelena Pejkovic (CRO), Ioanna Allaylotou (CYP), Chryso Georgiou (CYP), Veronika Kovarova (CZE), Abigail Byrne (ENG), Kirsty Dowle (ENG), Stacey Pearson (ENG), Ainara Acevedo Dudley (ESP), Zulema Gonzalez Gonzalez (ESP), Triinu Vaher (EST), Ifeoma Kulmala (FIN), Victoria Beyer (FRA), Maika Vanderstichel (FRA), Karoline Wacker (GER), Andromachi Tsiofliki (GRE), Katalin Sipos (HUN), Briet Bragadottir (ISL), Meitar Shemesh (ISR), Maria Ferrieri Caputi (ITA), Valentina Finzi (ITA), Tatiana Sorokopudova (KAZ), Rasa Imanalijeva (LTU), Jurgita Macikunyte (LTU), Jeļena Jermolajeva (LVA), Natalia Clipca (MDA), Oxana Cruc (MDA), Irena Velevackoska (MKD), Lizzy van der Helm (NED), Louise Thompson (NIR), Emilie Dokset (NOR), Sarah Zangeneh (NOR), Michalina Diakow (POL), Katarzyna Lisiecka-Sek (POL), Catarina Ferreira Campos (POR), Teresa Pimenta Oliveira (POR), Alina Pesu (ROU), Ana Terteleac (ROU), Cristina Trandafir (ROU), Marina Krupskaya (RUS), Alexandra Ponomareva (RUS), Jelena Cvetkovic (SRB), Jelena Medjedovic (SRB), Marina Visnjic (SRB), Michele Schmolzer (SUI), Sandra Strub (SUI), Miriama Matulova (SVK), Laura Rapp (SWE), Neslihan Muratdagi (TUR), Cansu Tiryaki (TUR), Anastasiya Romanyuk (UKR), Liudmyla Telbukh (UKR), Kateryna Usova (UKR).

Futsal 

Elite 
Borislav Kolev (BUL), Nikola Jelic (CRO), Sasa Tomic (CRO), Ondrej Cerni (CZE), Marc Birkett (ENG), Juan Cordero Gallardo (ESP), Alejandro Martinez Flores (ESP), Cedric Pelissier (FRA), Gabor Kovacs (HUN), Angelo Galante (ITA), Alessandro Malfer (ITA), Eduardo Fernandes Coelho (POR), Vladimir Kadykov (RUS), Ivan Shabanov (RUS), Admir Zahovic (SVN), Kamil Cetin (TUR).

First Category 
Stefan Vrijens (BEL), Trayan Enchev (BUL), David Urdanoz Apezteguia (ESP), Kirill Naishouler (FIN), Victor Berg Audic (FRA), Vasileios Christodoulis (GRE), Balazs Farkas (HUN), Moshe Bohbot (ISR), Nicola Manzione (ITA), Josip Barton (MKD), Tomasz Frak (POL), Miguel Oliveira (POR), Grigori Zelentsov (RUS), Petar Radojcic (SRB), Daniel Matkovic (SUI), Lukas Pesko (SVK), Simon Todorovic (SVN), Ozan Soykan (TUR).

Second Category 
Juan Boelen (BEL), Vitali Rakutski (BLR), Vedran Babic (CRO), Michalis Christofides (CYP), Jan Kresta (CZE), David Nissen (DEN), Peter Nurse (ENG), Raquel Gonzalez Ruano (ESP), Javier Moreno Reina (ESP), Grigori Osomkov (EST), Julien Lang (FRA), Arsen Nonikashvili (GEO), Chiara Perona (ITA), Dario Pezzuto (ITA), Ingus Purins (LVA), Viktor Bugenko (MDA), Marjan Mladenovski (MKD), Veljko Boskovic (MNE), Ibrahim El Jilali (NED), Omar Rafiq (NOR), Slawomir Steczko (POL), Cristiano Cardoso (POR), Ruben Cardoso (POR), Filipe Santos (POR), Vlad Ciobanu (ROU), Iuri Neverov (RUS), Irina Velikanova (RUS), David Schaerli (SUI), Adrian Tschopp (SUI), Ales Mocnik (SVN), Yaroslav Vovchok (UKR).

Third Category 
Arman Alaberkyan (ARM), Daniel Stauber (AUT), Manuel Wolf (AUT), Hikmat Qafarli (AZE), Yasin Alageyik (BEL), Jiri Bergs (BEL), Alem Bajrovic (BIH), Farik Keco (BIH), Igor Puzovic (BIH), Maksim Dzeikala (BLR), Volha Pauliuts (BLR), Kaloyan Kirilov (BUL), Ivo Tsenov (BUL), Josip Dujmic (CRO), Georgios Kozakos (CYP), Nicolas Nicolaou (CYP), Yiangos Yiangou (CYP), Radim Cep (CZE), Filip Nesnera (CZE), Martin Koster (DEN), Jagnar Jakobson (EST), Paavo Kompaa (FIN), Arttu Kyynaeraeinen (FIN), Aurelien Uzan (FRA), Shota Khukhilava (GEO), Franziska Bruckner (GER), Christian Gundler (GER), Ingo Heemsoth (GER), Jacob Pawlowski (GER), Antonios Adamopoulos (GRE), Panagiotis Ntalas (GRE), Norbert Szilagyi (HUN), Annamaria Tolnay (HUN), David Berry (IRL), Raafat Al Hamola (ISR), Idan Berenshtein (ISR), Aslan Galayev (KAZ), Talgat Kosmukhambetov (KAZ), Turekhan Tursumbayev (KAZ), Besar Beqiri (KVX), Ekrem Franca (KVX), Besart Ismajli (KVX), Mantas Pomeckis (LTU), Sarunas Tamulynas (LTU), Michael Lima (LUX), Eduards Fatkulins (LVA), Done Ristovski (MKD), David Balzan (MLT), Clinton Cassar (MLT), Sylvester Rodrigues (NED), Jacob Van Dijke (NED), Lars Van Leeuwen (NED), Telmen Undrakh (NOR), Dominik Cipinski (POL), Damian Grabowski (POL), Katarzyna Netkowska (POL), Liviu Chita (ROU), Daniel Deca (ROU), Bogdan Hanceariuc (ROU), Tatiana Boltneva (RUS), Gordon McCabe (SCO), Daniele D’Adamo (SMR), Nebojsa Panic (SRB), Djordje Petrovic (SRB), Nikola Rabrenovic (SRB), Marco Rothenfluh (SUI), Rastislav Behancin (SVK), Peter Budac (SVK), Martin Matula (SVK), Dejan Veselic (SVN), Ademir Avdic (SWE), Haris Curovac (SWE), David Glavonjic (SWE), George Jansizian (SWE), Ugur Cakmak (TUR), Murat Colak (TUR), Fatma Tursun (TUR), Yevhen Hordiienko (UKR), Sviatoslav Kliuchnyk (UKR), Denys Kutsyi (UKR), Vasilica Ciuplea (WAL), Carl Hughes (WAL).

UEFA: Referees Grinfeeld, Kovacs and Vincic promoted to Elite

The UEFA Referees Committee approved the referee categories for the second half of the season 2019/2020. The changes will take effect on 1 January 2020.

Men

Retired from Elite: Viktor Kassai (HUN), Gianluca Rocchi (ITA).

Promoted from First Category to Elite: Orel Grinfeeld (ISR), Istvan Kovacs (ROU), Slavko Vincic (SVN, photo).

Retired from First Category: Kevin Blom (NED).

Retired/removed from Second Category: Alexander Harkam (AUT), Robert Schorgenhofer (AUT), Siarhei Tsynkevich (BLR), Tobias Welz (GER), Pol van Boekel (NED), Arnold Hunter (NIR), Ola Hobber Nilsen (NOR), Stephan Klossner (SUI).

New FIFA referees entered into Second Category: David Coote (ENG), Andrew Madley (ENG), Willy Delajod (FRA), Harm Osmers (GER), Fabio Maresca (ITA), Guillermo Cuadra Fernandez (ESP).

Retired/removed from Third Category: Dzianis Shcharbakou (BLR), Stanislav Todorov (BUL), Zbynek Proske (CZE), Nicolas Rainville (FRA), Irakli Kvirikashvili (GEO), Erez Papir (ISR), Christophe Pires (LUX), Joao Capela (POR), Umit Ozturk (TUR), Mykola Kryvonosov (UKR).

New FIFA referees entered into Third Category: Walter Altmann (AUT), Christian Ciochirca (AUT), Dzmitry Dzmitryieu (BLR), Amine Kourgheli (BLR), Viktar Shymusik (BLR), Dragomir Draganov (BUL), Pavel Rejzek (CZE), Goga Kikacheishvili (GEO), David Fuxman (ISR), Visar Kastrati (KVX), Jasmin Sabotic (LUX), Jochem Kamphuis (NED), Allard Lindhout (NED), Jamie Robinson (NIR), Sigurd Kringstad (NOR), Vitor Ferreira (POR), David Munro (SCO), Lazar Lukic (SRB), Lukas Fähndrich (SUI), Arda Kardesler (TUR), Viktor Kopiievskyi (UKR).

Women

Retired/removed from First Category: Amy Fearn (ENG), Zuzana Kovacova (SVK).

Retired/removed from Second Category: Tinna Christensen (DEN), Sarah Garratt (ENG).

Retired/removed from Third Category: Ruzanna Petrosyan (ARM), Hannelore Onsea (BEL), Irina Turovskaya (BLR), Minna Maenpaa (FIN), Vera Onica (MDA), Tamara Petric (SRB).

New FIFA referees entered into Third Category: Sofik Torosyan (ARM), Olivia Tschon (AUT), Aliaksandra Yakushevich (BLR), Kirsty Dowle (ENG), Stacey Pearson (ENG), Maika Vanderstichel (FRA), Alexandra Deligianni (GRE), Natalia Clipca (MDA), Oxana Cruc (MDA), Louise Thompson (NIR), Teresa Oliveira (POR), Ana Terteleac (ROU), Jelena Medjedovic (SRB), Miriama Matulova (SVK).

Futsal 

Retired/removed from First Category: Gerd Bylois (BEL), Costas Nicolaou (CYP).

Retired/removed from Second Category: Gerald Bauernfeind (AUT), Patrik Porkert (AUT), Yusif Nurullayev (AZE), Damian Jaruchiewicz (POL), Vladan Radulovic (SRB), Fredric Nilholt (SWE), Hennadiy Hora (UKR).

New FIFA referees entered into Second Category: Ruben Cardoso (POR).

Retired/removed from Third Category: Kreshnik Hakrama (ALB), Gerard Roure (AND), Mihran Kudoyan (ARM), Ramil Namazov (AZE), Christos Christou (CYP), Olli Niemela (FIN), Danijel Darandik (GER), Ovidiu Curta (ROU), Mario Belavy (SVK), Mario Bohun (SVK).

New FIFA referees entered into Third Category: Arman Alaberkyan (ARM), Daniel Stauber (AUT), Manuel Wolf (AUT), Jiri Bergs (BEL), Georgios Kozakos (CYP), Nicolas Nicolaou (CYP), Paavo Komppa (FIN), Franziska Bruckner (GER), Michael Lima (LUX), Telmen Undrakh (NOR), Dominik Cipinski (POL), Liviu Chita (ROU), Nikola Rabrenovic (SRB), Peter Budac (SVK), Martin Matula (SVK), George Jansizian (SWE), Sviatoslav Kliuchnyk (UKR).

FIFA Club World Cup 2019 – Second Round

14 December 2019

Al Hilal – ES Tunis
Referee: Roberto Tobar (CHI, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Christian Schiemann (CHI)
Assistant Referee 2: Claudio Rios (CHI)
Fourth Official: Ismail Elfath (USA)
Reserve AR: Kyle Atkins (USA)
VAR: Juan Martinez Munuera (ESP)
AVAR 1: Corey Parker (USA)
AVAR 2: Esteban Ostojich (URU)

CF Monterrey – Al Sadd SC
Referee: Ovidiu Hațegan (ROU)
Assistant Referee 1: Octavian Sovre (ROU)
Assistant Referee 2: Sebastian Gheorghe (ROU)
Fourth Official: Abdelkader Zitouni (TAH)
Reserve AR: Corey Parker (USA)
VAR: Alan Kelly (USA)
AVAR 1: Mokrane Gourari (ALG)
AVAR 2: Fu Ming (CHN)