UEFA Champions League – Second Qualifying Round (Second Leg)

18-19 July 2017

FC København – MŠK Žilina
Referee: Jonathan Lardot (BEL)
Assistant Referee 1: Frédéric Godelaine (BEL)
Assistant Referee 2: Vito Di Vincenzo (BEL)
Fourth Official: Christof Dierick (BEL)
Referee Observer: Matteo Trefoloni (ITA)

FC Astana – Spartaks Jurmala
Referee: Charalampos Kalogeropoulos (GRE)
Assistant Referee 1: Tryfon Petropoulos (GRE)
Assistant Referee 2: Alexandros Grevenis (GRE)
Fourth Official: Praxitelis Zachariadis (GRE)
Referee Observer: Elmir Pilav (BIH)

Vardar – Malmö
Referee: Anatolii Zhabchenko (UKR)
Assistant Referee 1: Oleksandr Voytyuk (UKR)
Assistant Referee 2: Sergii Bekker (UKR)
Fourth Official: Oleksandr Derdo (UKR)
Referee Observer: Nuno Castro (POR)

Alashkert – Bate Borisov
Referee: Peter Kralovic (SVK)
Assistant Referee 1: Miroslav Benko (SVK)
Assistant Referee 2: Erik Weiss (SVK)
Fourth Official: Pavel Suniar (SVK)
Referee Observer: Uno Tutk (EST)

Samtredia – Qarabağ
Referee: Srdjan Jovanović (SRB)
Assistant Referee 1: Uroš Stojković (SRB)
Assistant Referee 2: Milan Mihajlović (SRB)
Fourth Official: Marko Popović (SRB)
Referee Observer: László Vagner (HUN)

Víkingur Gøta – FH Hafnarfjörður
Referee: Ville Nevalainen (FIN)
Assistant Referee 1: Jan-Peter Aravirta (FIN)
Assistant Referee 2: Mika Lamppu (FIN)
Fourth Official: Dennis Antamo (FIN)
Referee Observer: Ichko Lozev (BUL)

The New Saints – HNK Rijeka
Referee: Georgi Kabakov (BUL)
Assistant Referee 1: Martin Margaritov (BUL)
Assistant Referee 2: Georgi Doynov (BUL)
Fourth Official: Stanislav Todorov (BUL)
Referee Observer: Markus Nobs (SUI)

Budućnost Podgorica – FK Partizan 
Referee: Roi Reinshreiber (ISR)
Assistant Referee 1: Amihay Mozes (ISR)
Assistant Referee 2: David Morhaim (ISR)
Fourth Official: Gal Leibovitz (ISR)
Referee Observer: Luciano Luci (ITA)

F91 Dudelange – Apoel FC
Referee: Nikola Dabanović (MNE)
Assistant Referee 1: Jovica Tatar (MNE)
Assistant Referee 2: Dragan Vujović (MNE)
Fourth Official: Miloš Bošković (MNE)
Referee Observer: Zbigniew Przesmycki (POL)

Rosenborg – Dundalk
Referee: Aliyar Aghayev (AZE)
Assistant Referee 1: Zeynal Zeynalov (AZE)
Assistant Referee 2: Rza Mammadov (AZE)
Fourth Official: Orkhan Mammadov (AZE)
Referee Observer: Peter Jones (ENG)

Kukësi – Sheriff
Referee: Irfan Peljto (BIH)
Assistant Referee 1: Davor Beljo (BIH)
Assistant Referee 2: Amer Macić (BIH)
Fourth Official: Haris Kaljanac (BIH)
Observer: Kristinn Jakobsson (ISL)

Ludogorets – Žalgiris Vilnius
Referee: Mads-Kristoffer Kristoffersen (DEN)
Assistant Referee 1: Henrik Sønderby (DEN)
Assistant Referee 2: Dennis Rasmussen (DEN)
Fourth Official: Anders Poulsen (DEN)
Referee Observer: Haim Jakov (ISR)

NK Maribor – HŠK Zrinjski
Referee: Ola Hobber Nilsen (NOR)
Assistant Referee 1: Tom Harald Grønevik (NOR)
Assistant Referee 2: Geir-Oskar Isaksen (NOR)
Fourth Official: Kai Erik Steen (NOR)
Referee Observer: Jan Wegereef (NED)

Salzburg – Hibernians
Referee: Sergey Lapochkin (RUS)
Assistant Referee 1: Aleksei Lebedev (RUS)
Assistant Referee 2: Aleksandr Kudriavtsev (RUS)
Fourth Official: Evgeny Turbin (RUS)
Referee Observer: John Fleming (SCO)

Legia Warszawa – IFK Mariehamn
Referee: Tiago Lopes (POR)
Assistant Referee 1: Luis Ferreira (POR)
Assistant Referee 2: Rui Martins (POR)
Fourth Official: Bruno Paixão (POR)
Referee Observer: Carmel Agius (MLT)

Celtic – Linfield
Referee: Stephan Klossner (SUI)
Assistant Referee 1: Remy Zgraggen (SUI)
Assistant Referee 2: Efe Kurnazca (SUI)
Fourth Official: Urs Schnyder (SUI)
Referee Observer: Michael Argyrou (CYP)

Budapest Honvéd – Hapoel Beer Sheva
Referee: Davide Massa (ITA)
Assistant Referee 1: Andrea Crispo (ITA)
Assistant Referee 2: Alberto Tegoni (ITA)
Fourth Official: Claudio Gavillucci (ITA)
Referee Observer: Alexandru Deaconu (ROU)

UEFA Women’s Euro 2017 – Group Stage (Matches 1-8)

16 July 2017
Netherlands – Norway
Referee Stephanie Frappart (FRA, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Manuela Nicolosi (FRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Angela Kyriakou (CYP)
Fourth Official: Anastasia Pustovoitova (RUS)
Referee Observer: Bo Karlsson (SWE)

Denmark – Belgium
Referee Kateryna Monzul (UKR)
Assistant Referee 1: Maryna Striletska (UKR)
Assistant Referee 2: Oleksandra Ardasheva (UKR)
Fourth Official: Lorraine Clark (SCO) 
Referee Observer: Dagmar Damkova (CZE)

17 July 2017
Italy – Russia
Referee: Jana Adamkova (CZE)
Assistant Referee 1: Lucie Ratajova (CZE)
Assistant Referee 2: Maria Sukenikova (SVK)
Fourth Official: Riem Hussein (GER)
Referee Observer: Regina Konink-Belksma (NED)

Germany – Sweden
Referee: Katalin Kulcsar (HUN)
Assistant Referee 1: Judit Kulcsar (HUN)
Assistant Referee 2: Nikolet Bakker (NED)
Fourth Official: Lina Lehtovaara (FIN)
Referee Observer: Caroline De Boeck (BEL)

18 July 2017
Austria – Switzerland
Referee: Bibiana Steinhaus (GER)
Assistant Referee 1: Katrin Rafalski (GER)
Assistant Referee 2: Sian Massey (ENG)
Fourth Official: Lorraine Clark (SCO)
Referee Observer: Bo Karlsson (SWE)

France – Iceland
Referee: Carina Vitulano (ITA)
Assistant Referee 1: Lucia Abruzzese (ITA)
Assistant Referee 2: Svetlana Bilic (SRB)
Fourth Official: Kateryna Monzul (UKR) 
Referee Observer: Dagmar Damkova (CZE)

19 July 2017
Spain – Portugal
Referee: Pernilla Larsson (SWE)
Assistant Referee 1: Petruta Iugulescu (ROU)
Assistant Referee 2: Mihaela Tepusa (ROU)
Fourth Official: Katalin Kulcsar (HUN)
Referee Observer: Caroline De Boeck (BEL)

England – Scotland
Referee: Esther Staubli (SUI)
Assistant Referee 1: Belinda Brem (SUI)
Assistant Referee 2: Sanja Rodjak (CRO)
Fourth Official: Jana Adamkova (CZE)
Referee Observer: Regina Konink-Belksma (NED)

CONCACAF Gold Cup 2017 – Group Stage (Matches 13-18)

14 July 2017
Costa Rica – French Guyana
Referee: Cesar Ramos (MEX, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Marvin Torrentera (MEX)
Assistant Referee 2: Miguel Hernandez (MEX)
Fourth Official: Fernando Guerrero (MEX)

Canada – Honduras
Referee: Joel Aguilar (SLV)
Assistant Referee 1: Juan Zumba (SLV)
Assistant Referee 2: William Torres (SLV) 
Fourth Official: Daneion Parchment (JAM)

15 July 2017
Panama – Martinique
Referee: Roberto Garcia (MEX)
Assistant Referee 1: Jose Camargo (MEX)
Assistant Referee 2: Alberto Morin (MEX)
Fourth Official: Yadel Martinez (CUB)

Nicaragua – USA
Referee: Melvin Matamoros (HON)
Assistant Referee 1: Christian Ramirez (HON)
Assistant Referee 2: Ainsley Rochard (TRI)
Fourth Official: Oscar Moncada (HON)

16 July 2017
Jamaica – El Salvador
Referee: Jair Marrufo (USA)
Assistant Referee 1: Frank Anderson (USA)
Assistant Referee 2: Corey Rockwell (USA)
Fourth Official: Henry Bejarano (CRC)

Curacao – Mexico
Referee: Kimbell Ward (SKN)
Assistant Referee 1: Graeme Browne (SKN)
Assistant Referee 2: Joseph Betrand (TRI)
Fourth Official: John Pitti (PAN)

UEFA U-19 Euro Final 2017: Jovanovic (SRB)

Having been appointed to take charge of the UEFA European Under-19 Championship final between Portugal and England in Gori on Saturday evening, Serbian referee Srdjan Jovanović has a clear ambition for the biggest match of his career to date – that the referees' team go unnoticed. "The most important thing for a referee is that no one talks about us," said the 31-year-old from Belgrade, who will be accompanied by assistant referees Thibaud Nijssen (Belgium) and Yury Khomchanka (Belarus), and fourth official Ola Hobber Nilsen (Norway). "I hope no one will speak about us, and that people will talk about good football." At the U19 finals, Jovanović has already taken charge of the group matches between hosts Georgia and Sweden, and Bulgaria and the Netherlands, and has relished the experience. "This tournament is amazingly organised by Georgia; I'm very proud to be a part of it," he told UEFA.com. "It feels like a EURO for the senior teams – everything is similar. We have all the information and everything we need from UEFA without asking for it; the feedback and analysis from the referee observers is particularly useful, as it helps you improve with every game." A key benefit is the opportunity to work with colleagues from across Europe, and oversee matches involving different countries. "It's very important for every referee to share knowledge so that we can all improve," Jovanović explained. "It's really good to learn from referees from Italy, Denmark, Norway, and for me to share my experiences with them." Having started his refereeing career back in 2002, Jovanović has come a long way, earning his international badge two years ago. He is keen to pay tribute to the role of one high-profile Serbian referee in particular. "I've learned a lot from Milorad Mažić, who's helped me very much in my career, particularly when I became a FIFA referee. He gives me advice, which is very useful to me; Milorad is a great professional. He's one of the best in the world at movement and body language, style of running – that's also important to refereeing, it's not just about decisions – and, of course, concentration, management of players, management of free kicks. He helps me with everything that is important to a referee." Jovanović now has the opportunity to put those lessons into practice at a major European occasion on Saturday. "This is my biggest success in my career so far, I'm very proud," he said. "It's a big step for me, the biggest I could take at this moment. I'm just 31, and it's a big opportunity for me, and I hope to do the best that I can. It's a huge match for the tournament, but it's also really important that there is not too much pressure. I'll prepare like I do for every match; we'll study the teams and prepare to be the best and enjoy the occasion – that's really very important for us". (Source: UEFA)

15 July 2017
Portugal – England
Referee: Srdjan Jovanovic (SRB, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Thibaud Nijssen (BEL)
Assistant Referee 1: Yury Khomchenko (BLR)
Fourth Official: Ola Hobber Nilsen (NOR)
Referee Observer: Levan Paniashvili (GEO)

UEFA Europa League – Second Qualifying Round (First Leg)

12-13 July 2017

Progrès Niederkorn – AEL Limassol

Referee: Massimiliano Irrati (ITA, photo)

Assistant Referee 1: Fabiano Preti (ITA)

Assistant Referee 2: Filippo Valeriani (ITA)

Fourth Official: Luca Pairetto (ITA)

Referee Observer: Georgios Bikas (GRE)

İnter Baku – Fola Esch

Referee: Eitan Shmuelevitz (ISR)

Assistant Referee 1: Sagy Metzamber ISR)

Assistant Referee 2: Nissan Davidy (ISR)

Fourth Official: Daniel Natan (ISR)

Referee Observer: Oguz Sarvan (TUR)

Irtysh Pavlodar – Crvena Zvezda

Referee: Marius Avram (ROU)

Assistant Referee 1: Valentin Avram (ROU)

Assistant Referee 2: Cristian Orbuleț (ROU)

Fourth Official: István Kovács (ROU)

Referee Observer: René Temmink (NED)

Kairat Almaty – KS Skënderbeu

Referee: Leontios Trattou (CYP)

Assistant Referee 1: Michael Soteriou (CYP)

Assistant Referee 2: Athinodoros Ioannou (CYP)

Fourth Official: Avraam Tsoukas (CYP)

Referee Observer: Vadims Direktorenko (LVA)

Maccabi Tel Aviv – KR Reykjavik

Referee: Anastasios Papapetrou (GRE)

Assistant Referee 1: Ioannis Toumpakaris (GRE)

Assistant Referee 2: Ilias Alexeas (GRE)

Fourth Official: Aggelos Evangelou (GRE)

Referee Observer: Drago Kos (SVN)

KF Škendija – HJK Helsinki

Referee: Markus Hameter (AUT)

Assistant Referee 1:  Roland Rieder (AUT)

Assistant Referee 2: Christian Rigler (AUT)

Fourth Official: Rene Eisner (AUT)

Referee Observer: Nikolai Levnikov (RUS)

MFK Ružomberok – SK Brann

Referee:  Kevin Clancy (SCO)

Assistant Referee 1: David McGeachie (SCO)

Assistant Referee 2: Jordan Stokoe (SCO)

Fourth Official: Robert Madden (SCO)

Referee Observer: Lassin Isaksen (FRO)

FK Rabotnicki – Dinamo Minsk

Referee: Arnold Hunter (NIR)

Assistant Referee 1: Richard Storey (NIR)

Assistant Referee 2: David Anderson (NIR)

Fourth Official: Lee Philip Tavinder (NIR)

Referee Observer: Petteri Kari (FIN)

Nõmme Kalju – Videoton FC

Referee: Joao Capela (POR)

Assistant Referee 1: Ricardo Ferreira (POR)

Assistant Referee 2: Sergio Teixeira (POR)

Fourth Official: Luís Godinho (POR)

Referee Observer: Luc Wilmes (LUX)

SCR Altach – Dinamo Brest

Referee:  Luca Barbeno (SMR)

Assistant Referee 1: Francesco Lunardon (SMR)

Assistant Referee 2: Salvatore Tuttifrutti (SMR)

Fourth Official: Raffaele Delvecchio (SMR)

Referee Observer: Emil Bozhinovski (MKD)

Brøndby IF – VPS Vaasa

Referee:  Bart Vertenten (BEL)

Assistant Referee 1:  Rien Vanyzere (BEL)

Assistant Referee 2:  Yves De Neve (BEL)

Fourth Official: Bram Van Driessche (BEL)

Referee Observer: Raymond Ellingham (WAL)

Liepāja – Sūduva

Referee: Erez Papir (ISR)

Assistant Referee 1: Dvir Shimon (ISR)

Assistant Referee 2: Igor Shilnikov (ISR)

Fourth Official: Yigal Frid (ISR)

Referee Observer: Bernardino González Vázquez (ESP)

Beitar Jerusalem – Botev Plovdiv

Referee: Bartosz Frankowski (POL)

Assistant Referee 1: Marcin Boniek (POL)

Assistant Referee 2: Jakub Winkler (POL)

Fourth Official: Krzysztof Jakubik (POL)

Referee Observer: Dušan Krchňák (SVK)

FC Vaduz – Odds BK

Referee: Antti Munukka (FIN)

Assistant Referee 1: Jukka Honkanen (FIN)

Assistant Referee 2: Mikko Alakare (FIN)

Fourth Official: Marko Grönholm (FIN)

Referee Observer: Ferenc Székely (HUN)

Östersunds – Galatasaray

Referee: Juan Martínez Munuera (ESP)

Assistant Referee 1: Diego Barbero Sevilla (ESP)

Assistant Referee 2: César Noval Font (ESP)

Fourth Official: Mario Melero López (ESP)

Referee Observer: Guy Goethals (BEL)

FK Qabala – Jagiellonia Białystok

Referee: Marco Fritz (GER)

Assistant Referee 1: Holger Henschel (GER)

Assistant Referee 2: Marcel Pelgrim (GER)

Fourth Official: Guido Winkmann (GER)

Referee Observer: Erol Ersoy (TUR)

FK Haugesund – Lech Poznań

Referee: Alain Bieri (SUI)

Assistant Referee 1:  Alain Heiniger (SUI)

Assistant Referee 2: Christopher Chaillet (SUI)

Fourth Official: Stephan Klossner (SUI)

Referee Observer: Antonio Almeida Costa (POR)

Apollon Limassol – Zaria Balti

Referee: Ádam Farkas (HUN)

Assistant Referee 1: István Albert (HUN)

Assistant Referee 2: Balázs Szert (HUN)

Fourth Official: Péter Solymosi (HUN)

Referee Observer: Vladimir Medved (SVK)

Valletta – Utrecht

Referee: Ognjen Valjić (BIH)

Assistant Referee 1: Senad Ibrišimbegović (BIH)

Assistant Referee 2: Sreten Udovičić (BIH)

Fourth Official: Admir Šehović (BIH)

Referee Observer: Michael Ross (NIR)

Astra Giurgiu – PFC Zire

Referee: Siarhei Tsynkevich (BLR)

Assistant Referee 1: Yauheni Ramanau (BLR)

Assistant Referee 2: Vitali Maliutsin (BLR)

Fourth Official: Viktar Shymusik (BLR)

Referee Observer: Jiri Ulrich (CZE)

IFK Norrköping – FK Trakai

Referee: Amaury Delerue (FRA)

Assistant Referee 1: Bertrand Jouannaud (FRA)

Assistant Referee 2: Michael Annonier (FRA)

Fourth Official: Olivier Thual FRA)

Referee Observer: Vítor Melo Pereira (POR)

Slovan Bratislava – Lyngby

Referee: Nenad Djokić (SRB)

Assistant Referee 1: Nemanja Petrović (SRB)

Assistant Referee 2: Vladimir Jovanović (SRB)

Fourth Official: Zoran Široki (SRB)

Referee Observer: Neale Barry (ENG)

AS Trenčín – Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv

Referee: José Sánchez Martínez (ESP)

Assistant Referee 1: Raúl Cabañero Martínez (ESP)

Assistant Referee 2: José Gallego García (ESP)

Fourth Official: Santiago Jaime Latre (ESP)

Referee Observer: Sándor Piller (HUN)

Sturm Graz – Mladost Podgorica

Referee: Mattias Gestranius (FIN)

Assistant Referee 1: Jan-Peter Aravirta (FIN)

Assistant Referee 2: Ville Koskiniemi (FIN)

Fourth Official: Dennis Antamo (FIN)

Referee Observer: Rune Pedersen (NOR)

Hajduk Split – Levski Sofia

Referee: Mohammed Al-Hakim (SWE)

Assistant Referee 1: Daniel Gustavsson (SWE)

Assistant Referee 2: Fredrik Klyver (SWE)

Fourth Official: Glenn Nyberg (SWE)

Referee Observer: Alexei Spirin (RUS)

NK Osijek – FC Luzern

Referee: Marco Guida (ITA)

Assistant Referee 1: Matteo Passeri (ITA)

Assistant Referee 2: Ciro Carbone (ITA)

Fourth Official: Fabio Maresca (ITA)

Referee Observer: Fritz Stuchlik (AUT)

Aberdeen FC – Široki Brijeg

Referee: Erik Lambrechts (BEL)

Assistant Referee 1: Karel De Rocker (BEL)

Assistant Referee 2:  Jo De Weirdt (BEL)

Fourth Official: Frederik Geldhof (BEL)

Referee Observer: Edgar Steinborn (GER)

Cork City – AEK Larnaca

Referee: François Letexier (FRA)

Assistant Referee 1: Cyril Mugnier (FRA)

Assistant Referee 2: Philippe Jeanne (FRA)

Fourth Official: Karim Abed (FRA)

Referee Observer: Robert Malek (POL)

Željezničar – AIK

Referee: Adrien Jaccottet (SUI)

Assistant Referee 1: Vital Jobin (SUI)

Assistant Referee 2: Jan Köbeli (SUI)

Fourth Official: Lionel Tschudi (SUI)

Referee Observer: Are Habicht (ISR)

Ferencvárosi – Midtjylland

Referee: Sandro Schärer (SUI)

Assistant Referee 1: Sladan Josipovic (SUI)

Assistant Referee 2: Bekim Zogaj (SUI)

Fourth Official: Fedayi San (SUI)

Referee Observer: Igor Satki (MDA)

Panionios – Gorica

Referee: Hugo Ferreira (POR)

Assistant Referee 1: Antonio Godinho (POR)

Assistant Referee 2: Nuno Conceição (POR)

Fourth Official: Fábio Veríssimo (POR)

Referee Observer: Sokol Jareci (ALB)

Shamrock Rovers – Mladá Boleslav

Referee: Bojan Pandzic (SWE)

Assistant Referee 1: Joakim Nilsson (SWE)

Assistant Referee 2: Mikael Hallin (SWE)

Fourth Official: Johan Hamlin (SWE)

Referee Observer: Andrejs Sipailo (LVA)

Valur Reykjavík – NK Domžale

Referee: Tore Hansen (NOR)

Assistant Referee 1: Jon-Michael Knutsen (NOR)

Assistant Referee 2: Oystein Ytterland (NOR)

Fourth Official: Espen Eskås (NOR)

Referee Observer: John Ward (IRL)

Semi-professional referees in Belgium

The Royal Belgian Football Association is set to launch a new initiative aimed at professionalising refereeing, with eight referees becoming semi-professional next season. The aim is to gradually increase that figure over time, in order to have 10 semi-professional referees by 2018/19 and 12 by 2019/20. “We intend to work intensively on their pre-match preparation, match analysis and coaching. They will spend one and a half days a week practising at our national football centre,” explains Johan Verbist, head of refereeing at the Royal Belgian Football Association. “We hope to improve the skills of every single one of those match officials. But we won’t just be helping our semi-professional referees. All of our referees are equally important to us, and we will obviously continue to support the others as well.” The association hopes that, in addition to improving the quality of refereeing in domestic football, this initiative will also result in Belgian referees featuring more prominently at international level. All 19 of Belgium’s elite referees were able to apply for semi-professional status, and a total of 15 did so. “We are really pleased with that figure and the amount of enthusiasm on display,” says Koen De Brabander, the association’s general secretary.

The eight referees who have been selected are: Sébastien Delferière (photo), Bart Vertenten, Alexandre Boucaut, Jonathan Lardot, Erik Lambrechts, Lawrence Visser, Bram Van Driessche and Nathan Verboomen. Belgium’s match officials now have their own Twitter account (@BelgianReferees), so you can follow the referees’ progress as they embark on this new initiative.

Source: UEFA Direct No168

CONCACAF Gold Cup 2017 – Group Stage (Matches 7-12)

11 July 2017

Costa Rica – Canada
Referee: Mark Geiger (USA, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Charles Morgante (USA)
Assistant Referee 2: Corey Rockwell (USA)
Fourth Official: Cesar Ramos (MEX)

Honduras – French Guyana
Referee: Yadel Martinez (CUB)
Assistant Referee 1: Hermenerito Leal (GUA)
Assistant Referee 2: Daniel Williamson (PAN) 
Fourth Official: Michel Rodriguez (CUB)

12 July 2017
Panama – Nicaragua
Referee: Drew Fischer (CAN)
Assistant Referee 1: Jose Camargo (MEX)
Assistant Referee 2: Ainsley Rochard (TRI)
Fourth Official: Walter Lopez (GUA)

USA – Martinique
Referee: Henry Bejarano (CRC)
Assistant Referee 1: Carlos Fernandez (CRC)
Assistant Referee 2: Geovany Garcia (SLV)
Fourth Official: Juan Calderon (CRC)

13 July 2017
El Salvador – Curacao
Referee: Hector Rodriguez (HON)
Assistant Referee 1: Melvyn Cruz (HON)
Assistant Referee 2: Gerson Lopez (GUA)
Fourth Official: Bryan Lopez (GUA)

Mexico – Jamaica
Referee: Ricardo Montero (CRC)
Assistant Referee 1: Juan Mora (CRC)
Assistant Referee 2: Gabriel Victoria (PAN)
Fourth Official: Ariel Sanchez (PAN)

UEFA U-19 Euro 2017 – Semi-finals

12 July 2017

England – Czech Republic
Referee: Davide Massa (ITA, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Thibaud Nijssen (BEL)
Assistant Referee 2: Balázs Buzás (HUN)
Fourth Official: Giorgi Kruashvili (GEO)
Referee Observer: Jaap Uilenberg (NED)

Portugal – Netherlands
Referee: Mads-Kristoffer Kristoffersen (DEN)
Assistant Referee 1: Yury Khomchenko (BLR)
Assistant Referee 2: Silver Koiv (EST)
Fourth Official: Ola Hobber Nilsen (NOR)
Referee Observer: Levan Paniashvili (GEO)

UEFA Champions League – Second Qualifying Round (First Leg)

11-12 July 2017

FK Partizan – Budućnost Podgorica
Referee: Pol van Boekel (NED, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Rob van de Ven (NED)
Assistant Referee 2: Jan Vries (NED)
Fourth Official: Christian Bax (NED)
Referee Observer: Nikolai Ivanov (RUS)

Qarabağ Ağdam – FC Samtredia
Referee: Mete Kalkavan (TUR)
Assistant Referee 1: Esat Sancaktar (TUR)
Assistant Referee 2: Erdem Bayik (TUR)
Fourth Official: Halil Umut Meler (TUR)
Referee Observer: Vladimir Antonov (MDA)

Hibernians – FC Salzburg
Referee: Fran Jović (CRO)
Assistant Referee 1: Ivica Modrić (CRO)
Assistant Referee 2: Hrvoje Radić (CRO
Fourth Official: Igor Pajac (CRO)
Referee Observer: Manuel Díaz Vega (ESP)

HNK Rijeka – The New Saints
Referee: Kristo Tohver (EST)
Assistant Referee 1: Hannes Reinvald (EST)
Assistant Referee 2: Neeme Neemlaid (EST)
Fourth Official: Juri Frischer (EST)
Referee Observer: Peter Fröjdfeldt (SWE)

Spartaks Jurmala – FC Astana
Referee: Neil Doyle (IRL)
Assistant Referee 1: Robert Clarke (IRL)
Assistant Referee 2: Dermot Broughton (IRL)
Fourth Official: Robert Hennessy (IRL)
Referee Observer: Frank De Bleeckere (BEL)

Zrinjski Mostar – NK Maribor
Referee: Daniel Siebert (GER)
Assistant Referee 1: Jan Seidel (GER)
Assistant Referee 2: Lasse Koslowski (GER)
Fourth Official: Harm Osmers (GER)
Referee Observer: Bertrand Layec (FRA)

Malmö FF – Vardar
Referee: Thorvaldur Arnason (ISL)
Assistant Referee 1: Johann Gudmundsson (ISL)
Assistant Referee 2: Gylfi Sigurdsson (ISL)
Fourth Official: Gunnar Jónsson (ISL)
Referee Observer: Rodger Gifford (WAL)

Hapoel Beer Sheva – Budapest Honvéd
Referee: Andreas Ekberg (SWE)
Assistant Referee 1: Mehmet Culum (SWE)
Assistant Referee 2: Stefan Hallberg (SWE)
Fourth Official: Kristoffer Karlsson (SWE)
Referee Observer: Miroslav Tulinger (CZE)

Sheriff – Kukësi
Referee: Christos Nicolaides (CYP)
Assistant Referee 1: Charalambos Charalambous (CYP)
Assistant Referee 2: Ioannis Lazarou (CYP)
Fourth Official: Vasilis Dimitriou (CYP)
Referee Observer: Gerard Perry (IRL)

Apoel – Dudelange
Referee: Alan Sant (MLT)
Assistant Referee 1: Roberto Vella (MLT)
Assistant Referee 2: Luke Portelli (MLT)
Fourth Official: Mario Apap (MLT)
Referee Observer: Jan Fasung (SVK)

Bate Borisov – Alashkert FC
Referee: Enea Jorgji (ALB)
Assistant Referee 1: Ermal Barushi (ALB)
Assistant Referee 2: Ridiger Çokaj (ALB)
Fourth Official: Kridens Meta (ALB)
Referee Observer: Terje Hauge (NOR)

IFK Mariehamn – Legia Warszawa
Referee: Andrew Dallas (SCO)
Assistant Referee 1: Douglas Potter (SCO)
Assistant Referee 2: Sean Carr (SCO)
Fourth Official: Nicolas Walsh (SCO)
Referee Observer: Jørn West Larsen (DEN)

Žalgiris Vilnius – PFC Ludogorets
Referee: Manuel Schüttengruber (AUT)
Assistant Referee 1: Roland Brandner (AUT)
Assistant Referee 2: Stefan Kühr (AUT)
Fourth Official: Sebastian Gishamer (AUT)
Referee Observer: Boško Jovanetić (SRB)

MŠK Žilina – FC København
Referee: Benoit Millot (FRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Julien Pacelli (FRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Stephan Luzi (FRA)
Fourth Official: Jérôme Brisard (FRA)
Referee Observer: Leslie Irvine (NIR)

Dundalk FC – Rosenborg BK
Referee: Radu Petrescu (ROU)
Assistant Referee 1: Radu Ghinguleac (ROU)
Assistant Referee 2: Mircea Grigoriu (ROU)
Fourth Official: Marcel Birsan (ROU)
Referee Observer: Hans Reijgwart (NED)

Hafnarfjördar – Víkingur Gøta
Referee: Petr Ardeleanu (CZE)
Assistant Referee 1: Jiří Moláček (CZE)
Assistant Referee 2: Tomáš Mokrusch (CZE)
Fourth Official: Jan Machálek (CZE)
Referee Observer: Jouni Hyytiä (FIN)

Linfield – Celtic
Referee: Alejandro Hernández Hernández (ESP)
Assistant Referee 1: Teodoro Sobrino Magán (ESP)
Assistant Referee 2: José Naranjo Pérez (ESP)
Fourth Official: Ricardo De Burgos Bengoetxea (ESP)
Referee Observer: Konrad Plautz (AUT)

UEFA Regions Cup Final 2017: Kuchin (KAZ)

Artyom Kuchin has been a pioneer for referees in his native Kazakhstan since the country joined UEFA in 2002. Another proud step in his career comes on Sunday, when he takes charge of the UEFA Regions’ Cup final in Istanbul between Croatia’s Zagreb and the Republic of Ireland’s Region 2. Kuchin, 39 years of age and a married father of two girls, will be accompanied on the big occasion at the TFF Riva Stadium by assistant referees Serghei Trofan (Moldova) and Goran Dujak (Bosnia and Herzegovina). Dimitar Meckarovski (FYR Macedonia) will be fourth official. “I am happy to have been chosen, and proud to represent my country,” says Kuchin, who comes from Karaganda. He joined the international list in 2009 and has been taking charge of UEFA Europe League matches and international qualifiers in recent times. “I’ve really enjoyed the Regions’ Cup finals. Turkey is a wonderful country, the tournament has been excellently organised, and to be honest, any of the referees here could have also been selected for the final – it’s been a great team to be with.” The European tournament and final experience is not a new one for the trained sports teacher. He was a member of the refereeing team at the 2010 Under-17 finals in Liechtenstein, and was fourth official at the 2011 Under-19 final between Spain and Czech Republic in Romania. In addition, Kuchin has seen both sides of the player/referee roles. He was a defender and central midfielder for several Kazakh clubs before becoming a referee. “I’ve been involved in football all of my life, I started playing at the age of eight,” he says. “At a certain stage in my playing career, I started thinking about how to stay involved in the future. I was asked whether I would like to be a referee – I started, and I found it interesting. I always tried to do my best – and I’ve made it this far.” Having been a player, Kuchin is ideally placed to have an understanding of how footballers think and act on the field, and how teams play. “It’s very helpful,” he reflects. “But now, I don’t think like a player, I think like a referee. I used to say things to referees when I played, but now I don’t appreciate it when players say things to me!” Kuchin, who enjoys watching history films and spending quality time with his family – “they’re very important to me” – is acutely conscious of a referee’s role as a guardian of football’s values. “Respect is extremely important, from referees to the players and vice-versa,” he says. “And we are there as referees to protect players, and the image of football, on the field.” He feels that teamwork is essential among match officials. “We’ve already started discussing the match together,” Kuchin says. “And we’ll spend time in the dressing-room before the match, encouraging each other to be strong and give each other as much help as we can. I’m looking forward to the match – I’ll be fully concentrated before and during it – but I’m sure that my heart will beat a little more quickly when we come together with the teams before the first whistle”. (Source: UEFA)

9 July 2017

Zagreb – Region 2
Referee: Artyom Kuchin (KAZ, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Serghei Trofan (MDA)
Assistant Referee 2: Goran Dujak (BIH)
Fourth Official: Dimitar Meckarovski (MKD)