CONMEBOL Libertadores Futsal 2019

Referees
1. Gean Telles (BRA, photo)
2. Ricardo Messa (BRA)
3. Andres Pena (ARG)
4. Dario Santamaria (ARG)
5. Mario Espichan (PER)
6. Rolly Rojas (PER)
7. Rodrigo Concha (CHI)
8. Christian Espindola (CHI)
9. Daniel Rodriguez (URU)
10. Diego Nisivoscia (URU)
11. Carlos Martinez (PAR)
12. Bill Villalba (PAR)
13. Hugo Camargo (COL)
14. Yuri Garcia (COL)
15. Jaime Jativa (ECU)
16. Leonel Ruales (ECU)
17. Henry Gutierrez (BOL)
18. Jose Villar (VEN)

Clattenburg slams Premier League referee for looking "eight months pregnant"

Clattenburg was asked to profile the Premier League referees but laid into two officials who he was never best friends with. He has laid the boot into Premier League referee Jon Moss - by saying he looks "eight months pregnant". Clattenburg has openly claimed that he is not a fan of Moss both on and off the pitch following their time working together in the PGMOL. The former European Championship and Champions League Final ref also claims that he never saw eye-to-eye with Martin Atkinson - and that he was delighted to beat him to biggest appointments. Clattenburg quit the Premier League in 2017 having officiated in the league for 13 years. He became one of the most highly-rated officials in the game and was subsequently given the biggest matches. But he has become a Marmite figure in the refereeing ranks - and he had not held back on his former colleagues. 

Clattenburg run the rule over the current Premier League crop of officials for Paddy Power's Pitch Invader magazine. On Moss, he said: "Big mates with Martin Atkinson so that sums him up. A good player, a good footballer, but he supported a s*** team like Sunderland. I didn't really take to him and he liked a lot of the politics - I was more worried about doing my job. I don't really rate him as a referee, either. When I trained with him he looked like a fit guy but now he looks like he's about eight months pregnant." 

He was equally as damning in his assessment of Atkinson, saying: "Me and him fell out so I've not got anything positive to say about him. I never really got on with him when I was in the Premier League and we never really saw eye-to-eye. Thing is, he's an ex-copper - and he was that type of person on a football pitch. Off the pitch, in the group, I didn't integrate well with him either. When I was fighting him for the Euros and the Champions League in 2016, he didn't like it when I got both finals. Sorry, Martin." 

The reports were not all doom and gloom. Clattenburg gave positive feedback to Michael Oliver, calling him "by far one of the best" and named him England's No.1. Mike Dean was described as "one of the better guys" and "one of the blokes you can trust". He also claims he has a lot of time for Andre Marriner and Lee Mason - albeit more so for their personalities. 

Source: Mirror

Referee sparked controversy in Bolivia after using non-existent VAR

A referee sparked chaotic scenes in Bolivia after appearing to award a controversial penalty using VAR, despite the technology not being available in the division. The penalty kick, given right at the death in a clash between top-flight sides Club Always Ready and Bolivar, was awarded by referee Raul Orosco after consultation with the fourth official. 

But footage has now emerged of the moment he mistakenly used the VAR gesture as an explanation for the decision. Referee Orosco does appear to realize his mistake mid-way through the gesture, although the last-gasp reprieve for the hosts just moments before the final whistle wasn't overturned. Outrage from Bolivar's players then forced riot police to intervene on the pitch and defuse the situation. But with the visitors still understandably enraged, Club Always Ready's William Ferreira squandered the golden opportunity to level from the spot after striking the right-hand post. Bolivar then rode out the final few moments to cling on to their incident-packed victory and clean sheet. The dismal officiating continued, however, as replays showed the penalty should have been retaken after a clear encroachment in the box during Ferreira's run up. Currently, VAR is only used in the Brazilian top flight in South America. 

Source: Daily Mail

UEFA Europa League – Third Qualifying Round (First Leg)

6-8 August 2019

Ararat Armenia – FC Saburtalo
Referee: Alain Bieri (SUI, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Jan Köbeli (SUI)
Assistant Referee 2: Sertac Kurnazca (SUI)
Fourth Official: Urs Schnyder (SUI)
Referee Observer: Andrejs Sipailo (LVA)

Riga FC – HJK Helsinki
Referee: Kirill Levnikov (RUS)
Assistant Referee 1: Dmitri Mosyakin (RUS)
Assistant Referee 2: Igor Bolkhovitin (RUS)
Fourth Official: Vasili Kazartsev (RUS)
Referee Observer: Robert Sedlacek (AUT)

FK Sutjeska – Linfield FC
Referee: Alan Sant (MLT)
Assistant Referee 1: Edward Spiteri (MLT)
Assistant Referee 2: Luke Portelli (MLT)
Fourth Official: Philip Farrugia (MLT)
Referee Observer: Georgi Yordanov (BUL)

Slovan Bratislava – Dundalk FC
Referee: Frank Schneider (FRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Guillaume Debart (FRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Djemel Zitouni (FRA)
Fourth Official: Éric Wattellier (FRA)
Referee Observer: Nicolae Grigorescu (ROU)

FC Astana – Valletta FC
Referee: Vladislav Bezborodov (RUS)
Assistant Referee 1: Valeri Danchenko (RUS)
Assistant Referee 2: Maksim Gavrilin (RUS)
Fourth Official: Aleksei Eskov (RUS)
Referee Observer: Edgar Steinborn (GER)

AEK Larnaca – KAA Gent
Referee: Svein Oddvar Moen (NOR)
Assistant Referee 1: Kim Haglund (NOR)
Assistant Referee 2: Magnus Lundberg (NOR)
Fourth Official: Tom Harald Hagen (NOR)
Referee Observer: David Malcolm (NIR)

FC Pyunik – Wolverhampton Wanderers
Referee: Michael Fabbri (ITA)
Assistant Referee 1: Filippo Meli (ITA)
Assistant Referee 2: Mauro Galetto (ITA)
Fourth Official: Luca Pairetto (ITA)
Referee Observer: Thomas Einwaller (AUT)

Sparta Praha – Trabzonspor
Referee: José Munuera Montero (ESP)
Assistant Referee 1: Íñigo Prieto López (ESP)
Assistant Referee 2: Alfonso Baena Espejo (ESP)
Fourth Official: Valentín Pizarro Gómez (ESP)
Referee Observer: Lucílio Batista (POR)

Universitatea Craiova – AEK Athens
Referee: Dennis Higler (NED)
Assistant Referee 1: Johan Balder (NED)
Assistant Referee 2: Joost van Zuilen (NED)
Fourth Official: Allard Lindhout (NED)
Referee Observer: Nikolai Levnikov (RUS)

Brøndby IF – SC Braga
Referee: Tamás Bognár (HUN)
Assistant Referee 1: Balázs Buzás (HUN)
Assistant Referee 2: Péter Kóbor (HUN)
Fourth Official: Péter Solymosi (HUN)
Referee Observer: Nikolai Ivanov (RUS)

FK Ventspils – Vitória SC
Referee: Filip Glova (SVK)
Assistant Referee 1: František Ferenc (SVK)
Assistant Referee 2: Miroslav Benko (SVK)
Fourth Official: Boris Marhefka (SVK)
Referee Observer: Kenneth Clark (SCO)

Molde FK – Áris Thessaloniki
Referee: Maurizio Mariani (ITA)
Assistant Referee 1: Matteo Passeri (ITA)
Assistant Referee 2: Valentino Fiorito (ITA)
Fourth Official: Gianpaolo Calvarese (ITA)
Referee Observer: Orhan Erdemir (TUR)

FC Thun – Spartak Moskva
Referee: Irfan Peljto (BIH)
Assistant Referee 1: Senad Ibrišimbegović (BIH)
Assistant Referee 2: Davor Beljo (BIH)
Fourth Official: Admir Šehović (BIH)
Referee Observer: Jan Wegereef (NED)

FC Mariupol – AZ Alkmaar
Referee: Michael Tykgaard (DEN)
Assistant Referee 1: Christian Brixen (DEN)
Assistant Referee 2: Elvis Boric (DEN)
Fourth Official: Mikkel Redder (DEN)
Referee Observer: Rusmir Mrković (BIH)

FK Haugesund – PSV Eindhoven
Referee: Matej Jug (SVN)
Assistant Referee 1: Matej Žunič (SVN)
Assistant Referee 2: Manuel Vidali (SVN)
Fourth Official: Nejc Kajtazovič (SVN)
Referee Observer: Erol Ersoy (TUR)

Malmö FF – HŠK Zrinjski
Referee: Stuart Attwell (ENG)
Assistant Referee 1: Constantine Hatzidakis (ENG)
Assistant Referee 2: Daniel Cook (ENG)
Fourth Official: Simon Hooper (ENG)
Referee Observer: Boško Jovanetić (SRB)

Neftçi PFK – Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv
Referee: Karim Abed (FRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Hicham Zakrani (FRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Mikaël Berchebru (FRA)
Fourth Official: Florent Batta (FRA)
Referee Observer: Kjell Alseth (NOR)

Sheriff Tiraspol – AIK Stockholm
Referee: Kevin Clancy (SCO)
Assistant Referee 1: David McGeachie (SCO)
Assistant Referee 2: Graeme Stewart (SCO)
Fourth Official: Euan Anderson (SCO)
Referee Observer: Bernardino González Vázquez (ESP)

Royal Antwerp – Viktoria Plzeň
Referee: Jens Maae (DEN)
Assistant Referee 1: Jesper Dahl (DEN)
Assistant Referee 2: Victor Skytte (DEN)
Fourth Official: Morten Krogh (DEN)
Referee Observer: Rien Koopman (NED)

Feyenoord – Dinamo Tbilisi
Referee: Serhiy Boyko (UKR)
Assistant Referee 1: Andriy Skrypka (UKR)
Assistant Referee 2: Semen Shlonchak (UKR)
Fourth Official: Vitaliy Romanov (UKR)
Referee Observer: Michális Koukoulákis (GRE)

Lokomotiv Plovdiv – RC Strasbourg
Referee: João Pinheiro (POR)
Assistant Referee 1: Rui Tavares (POR)
Assistant Referee 2: Bruno Rodrigues (POR)
Fourth Official: Vítor Ferreira (POR)
Referee Observer: Kevin Azzopardi (MLT)

CSKA Sofia – Zorya Luhansk
Referee: Sandro Schärer (SUI)
Assistant Referee 1: Stéphane Almeida (SUI)
Assistant Referee 2: Bekim Zogaj (SUI)
Fourth Official: Lionel Tschudi (SUI)
Referee Observer: Sokol Jareci (ALB)

Maccabi Tel Aviv – FK Sūduva
Referee: Neil Doyle (IRL)
Assistant Referee 1: Robert Clarke (IRL)
Assistant Referee 2: Emmett Dynan (IRL)
Fourth Official: Robert Hennessy (IRL)
Referee Observer: Are Habicht (EST)

PFC Ludogorets – The New Saints FC
Referee: Marius Avram (ROU)
Assistant Referee 1: Valentin Avram (ROU)
Assistant Referee 2: Cristian Orbuleț (ROU)
Fourth Official: Andrei Chivulete (ROU)
Referee Observer: Karel Vidlák (CZE)

FK Sarajevo – Bate Barysaŭ
Referee: Alexandre Boucaut (BEL)
Assistant Referee 1: Jimmy Cremers (BEL)
Assistant Referee 2: Pieter Becquet (BEL)
Fourth Official: Erik Lambrechts (BEL)
Referee Observer: John Ward (IRL)

IFK Norrköping – Hapoel Beer Sheva
Referee: Pol van Boekel (NED)
Assistant Referee 1: Davie Goossens (NED)
Assistant Referee 2: Rens Bluemink (NED)
Fourth Official: Jeroen Manschot (NED)
Referee Observer: John Ferry (NIR)

FC Midtjylland – Rangers FC
Referee: Kristo Tohver (EST)
Assistant Referee 1: Silver Kõiv (EST)
Assistant Referee 2: Aron Härsing (EST)
Fourth Official: Juri Frischer (EST)
Referee Observer: Markus Strömbergsson (SWE)

HNK Rijeka – Aberdeen FC
Referee: Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea (ESP)
Assistant Referee 1: Roberto Díaz Pérez (ESP)
Assistant Referee 2: Jon Núñez Fernández (ESP)
Fourth Official: José González González (ESP)
Referee Observer: Marián Ružbarský (SVK)

F91 Dudelange – Nõmme Kalju
Referee: Fábio Veríssimo (POR)
Assistant Referee 1: Luís Campos (POR)
Assistant Referee 2: Pedro Martins (POR)
Fourth Official: António Nobre (POR)
Referee Observer: Martin Hansson (SWE)

Austria Wien – Apóllon Limassol
Referee: Massimiliano Irrati (ITA)
Assistant Referee 1: Stefano Alassio (ITA)
Assistant Referee 2: Salvatore Longo (ITA)
Fourth Official: Gianluca Manganiello (ITA)
Referee Observer: Helmut Fleischer (GER)

FCSB – Mladá Boleslav
Referee: Adrien Jaccottet (SUI)
Assistant Referee 1: Vital Jobin (SUI)
Assistant Referee 2: Jonas Erni (SUI)
Fourth Official: Fedayi San (SUI)
Referee Observer: Eyjólfur Ólafsson (ISL)

FC Vaduz – Eintracht Frankfurt
Referee: Paul Tierney (ENG)
Assistant Referee 1: Edward Smart (ENG)
Assistant Referee 2: Ian Hussin (ENG)
Fourth Official: Peter Bankes (ENG)
Referee Observer: Jouni Hyytiä (FIN)

Torino FC – Šachcior Salihorsk
Referee: Daniel Stefański (POL)
Assistant Referee 1: Marcin Boniek (POL)
Assistant Referee 2: Dawid Golis (POL)
Fourth Official: Bartosz Frankowski (POL)
Referee Observer: Volodimir Petrov (UKR)

Legia Warszawa – Atrómitos FC
Referee: Manuel Schüttengruber (AUT)
Assistant Referee 1: Roland Brandner (AUT)
Assistant Referee 2: Robert Steinacher (AUT)
Fourth Official: Christopher Jäger (AUT)
Referee Observer: Frank De Bleeckere (BEL)

FK Partizan – Yeni Malatyaspor
Referee: Sergei Ivanov (RUS)
Assistant Referee 1: Roman Usachev (RUS)
Assistant Referee 2: Dmitri Safyan (RUS)
Fourth Official: Mikhail Vilkov (RUS)
Referee Observer: Andreas Schluchter (SUI)

FC Luzern – RCD Espanyol
Referee: Fran Jović (CRO)
Assistant Referee 1: Ivica Modrić (CRO)
Assistant Referee 2: Hrvoje Radić (CRO)
Fourth Official: Igor Pajač (CRO)
Referee Observer: Augustus Constantin (ROU)

UEFA Champions League – Third Qualifying Round (First Leg)

6-7 August 2019

PAOK – Ajax
Referee: Slavko Vinčič (SVN, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Tomaž Klančnik (SVN)
Assistant Referee 2: Andraž Kovačič (SVN)
Fourth Official: Rade Obrenovič (SVN)
Referee Observer: Peter Fröjdfeldt (SWE)

Apoel – Qarabağ
Referee: Davide Massa (ITA)
Assistant Referee 1: Fabiano Preti (ITA)
Assistant Referee 2: Alberto Tegoni (ITA)
Fourth Official: Rosario Abisso (ITA)
Referee Observer: Vladimir Antonov (MDA)

GNK Dinamo – Ferencvárosi TC
Referee: Pawel Raczkowski (POL)
Assistant Referee 1: Michal Obukowicz (POL)
Assistant Referee 2: Radoslaw Siejka (POL)
Fourth Official: Tomasz Musial (POL)
Referee Observer: Vítor Melo Pereira (POR)

Club Brugge – Dynamo Kyiv
Referee: Xavier Estrada Fernández (ESP)
Assistant Referee 1: Roberto Alonso Fernández (ESP)
Assistant Referee 2: José Naranjo Pérez (ESP)
Fourth Official: Pablo González Fuertes (ESP)
Referee Observer: Darko Čeferin (SVN)

Crvena Zvezda – FC København
Referee: Tiago Martins (POR)
Assistant Referee 1: Rui Teixeira (POR)
Assistant Referee 2: Pedro Mota (POR)
Fourth Official: André Narciso (POR)
Referee Observer: Ichko Lozev (BUL)

FC Krasnodar – FC Porto
Referee: Tobias Stieler (GER)
Assistant Referee 1: Christian Gittelmann (GER)
Assistant Referee 2: Rafael Foltyn (GER)
Fourth Official: Christian Dingert (GER)
Referee Observer: Karen Nalbandyan (ARM)

Medipol Başakşehir – Olympiakós FC
Referee: Orel Grinfeld (ISR)
Assistant Referee 1: Roi Hasan (ISR)
Assistant Referee 2: Idan Yarkoni (ISR)
Fourth Official: Eitan Shmuelevitz (ISR)
Referee Observer: Tomasz Mikulski (POL)

CFR Cluj – Celtic FC
Referee: Srdjan Jovanović (SRB)
Assistant Referee 1: Uroš Stojković (SRB)
Assistant Referee 2: Milan Mihajlović (SRB)
Fourth Official: Novak Simović (SRB)
Referee Observer: Francesco Bianchi (SUI)

FC Basel – LASK
Referee: Andreas Ekberg (SWE)
Assistant Referee 1: Mehmet Culum (SWE)
Assistant Referee 2: Stefan Hallberg (SWE)
Fourth Official: Kristoffer Karlsson (SWE)
Referee Observer: Juan Fernández Marín (ESP)

NK Maribor – Rosenborg BK
Referee: François Letexier (FRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Cyril Mugnier (FRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Mehdi Rahmouni (FRA)
Fourth Official: Willy Delajod (FRA)
Referee Observer: Levan Paniashvili (GEO)

CONMEBOL Copa Sudamericana – Quarter-finals (First Leg, I)

6-8 August 2019

Independiente – Independiente Del Valle
Referee: Diego Haro (PER, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Jonny Bossio (PER)
Assistant Referee 2: Victor Raez (PER)
Fourth Official: Angel Arteaga (VEN)
VAR: Nicolas Gallo (COL)
AVAR 1: Alexis Herrera (VEN)
AVAR 2: Alexander Guzman (COL)
VAR Observer: Martin Vazquez (URU)
Referee Assessor: Roberto Silvera (URU)

Zulia – Colon
Referee: Andres Cunha (URU)
Assistant Referee 1: Nicolas Taran (URU)
Assistant Referee 2: Miguel Nievas (URU)
Fourth Official: Guillermo Guerrero (ECU)
VAR: Piero Maza (CHI)
AVAR 1: Cristian Garay (CHI)
AVAR 2: Richard Trinidad (URU)
VAR Observer: Jorge Osorio (CHI)
Referee Assessor: Miguel Buitrago (VEN)

Pan American Games 2019

Lima, 29 July - 10 August 2019

Men’s Tournament 

Referees
1. Fernando Echenique (ARG, photo)
2. Wagner Magalhaes (BRA)
3. Felipe Gonzalez (CHI)
4. Gustavo Murillo (COL)
5. Ulises Mereles (PAR)
6. Michael Espinoza (PER)
7. Miguel Santibanez (PER)
8. Jose Argote (VEN)

Assistant Referees
1. Lucas Germanotta (ARG)
2. Cristian Navarro (ARG)
3. Emerson Carvalho (BRA)
4. Alessandro Rocha (BRA)
5. Edson Cisternas (CHI)
6. Raul Orellana (CHI)
7. John Gallego (COL)
8. Miguel Roldan (COL)
9. Rodney Aquino (PAR)
10. Juan Zorrilla (PAR)
11. Stephen Atoche (PER)
12. Raul Lopez (PER)
13. Michael Orue (PER)
14. Jesus Sanchez (PER)
15. Franchescoly Chacon (VEN)
16. Alberto Ponte (VEN)

Women’s Tournament 

Referees
1. Adriana Farfan (BOL)
2. Deborah Cruz (BRA)
3. Dione Rissios (CHI)
4. Susana Corella (ECU)
5. Milagros Arruela (PER)
6. Elizabeth Tintaya (PER)
7. Silvia Rios (URU)
8. Yercinia Correa (VEN)

Assistant Referees
1. Liliana Bejarano (BOL)
2. Ines Choque (BOL)
3. Daiane Muniz (BRA)
4. Ana Oliveira (BRA)
5. Marcia Castillo (CHI)
6. Cindy Nahuelcoy (CHI)
7. Marianela Ramirez (ECU)
8. Sandra Zambrano (ECU)
9. Marlene Leyton (PER)
10. Gabriela Moreno (PER)
11. Thyty Rodriguez (PER)
12. Daiana Fernandez (URU)
13. Adela Sanchez (URU)
14. Yoly Garcia (VEN)
15. Yoleida Lara (VEN)

UEFA referees ready for challenging 2019/20

A challenging season awaits Europe's leading male and female referees in UEFA's club and national team competitions – and UEFA's message to them for the coming months is simple: "Work hard, be courageous... and enjoy what you do." 

A total of 123 officials – 72 from UEFA's men's elite and first categories, 31 women's elite and first category referees and 20 video assistant referees – have been preparing for the 2019/20 campaign this week at their UEFA summer course in Zagreb, Croatia.During the coming season, the referees will be taking charge of matches in the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League and UEFA Women's Champions League, as well as qualifying games for UEFA Euro 2020 and UEFA Women's Euro 2021. Next summer, referee teams will also be selected for the UEFA Euro 2020 finals, which will be taking place in 12 countries across Europe. 

The three-day course featured a review of the second half of the 2018/19 campaign, and gave referees the opportunity to exchange views and provide UEFA's Referees Committee with opinions, ideas and proposals. In addition, the referees undertook stringent fitness testing as part of their preparations for the assignments ahead. The course also included analysis and discussions on the video assistant referee (VAR) system introduced into the Laws of the Game last season, and which UEFA began implementing in its competitions in the second half of last term. This summer has seen amendments to the Laws of the Game come into force, and the gathering in Zagreb served as a 'refresher' session, with the referees taking a test on the laws to consolidate and confirm their knowledge. "It's a very important season for our referees, especially for the men's referees in view of the run-up to EURO 2020," said UEFA Referees Committee chairman Roberto Rosetti. "So it's important that we have brought the referees together to get them ready for the season. As usual, much of the work at the course centred on ensuring that there is consistency and uniformity in referees' decision-taking in UEFA's competitions." 

Rosetti was joined by deputy Referees Committee chairman Hugh Dallas and UEFA refereeing officers Vlado Sajn and Dagmar Damková in leading the presentations in Zagreb – which included analysis using video clips of incidents from UEFA matches last season. UEFA's expert team led by Werner Helsen took the referees through their fitness training, which involved the Single Double Single high intensity interval test, introduced by UEFA to enhance its referee training and replicate more what the referee does on the field. 

During the course, the referees were given guidelines and instructions to take into the new campaign, especially in relation to VAR, which will be deployed from this season's UEFA Champions League play-offs, as well as at the EURO 2020 finals next summer. "The final decision in a VAR intervention will always be down to the referee," Rosetti said. "The referee remains the leader on the field, and will be at the centre of the decision-making process." Protecting players and football's image remains essential. "We have a duty to protect players from reckless challenges, serious foul play and violent conduct which endangers their safety," said Rosetti, "and we have reminded the referees of their duty in this respect." 

Rosetti outlined the advantages of the VAR system, and emphasised that the work on fine-tuning the system will continue apace. "We only want to see VAR interventions when the video assistant referee has clear video images which prove a clear and obvious mistake by the referee," he explained. "The aim is for a situation with VAR where maximum benefit is derived with minimum interference. We will also be working to reduce the amount of time taken when the referee reviews an incident on the screen at the side of the pitch. Of course, we want accuracy, but we also want to minimise the amount of time that a match is interrupted. "An example of the result that we are aiming for with VAR came in the semi-finals and finals of last season's UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League – there was not one VAR intervention in these matches, and that's exactly what we want to achieve." 

Honest and open dialogue is a key component of the relationship between UEFA and its referees. The referees were keen to put their views forward, and the Referees Committee members welcomed the feedback from match officials who are deeply committed to attaining the highest standards. "This is an example of the teamwork that we want on and off the field," said Rosetti. He urged the referees to strive for performances of the highest calibre in 2019/20. "They are the best referees in Europe and beyond," he stressed. "I ask them to work hard – be brave when they take decisions – and enjoy this important and fulfilling time in their lives." 

Source: UEFA

UEFA Super Cup 2019: Frappart (FRA)

UEFA is breaking new ground by appointing Stéphanie Frappart to referee the Super Cup on 14 August. This will be the first time that a female official takes charge of a major UEFA men's competition event – a showpiece match seen as the curtain-raiser to the new season, pitting the UEFA Champions League holders against the winners of the UEFA Europa League at Beşiktaş Park in Istanbul. In July, the French woman had the honour of refereeing the FIFA Women's World Cup final between the United States and the Netherlands in Lyon. She also took charge of the 2017 UEFA Women's Euro semi-final where the Netherlands played England. Frappart will lead a team made up mostly of female officials. She will be accompanied by Manuela Nicolosi of France and Michelle O'Neill from Ireland who will be the assistant referees for the match. The pair, like Frappart, also officiated at the Women's World Cup final on 7 July. The fourth official will be Turkey's Cuneyt Cakir. Video Assistant Referees (VAR) will be used for the UEFA Super Cup between Liverpool and Chelsea. The VAR official will be Clement Turpin from France, and he will be aided by fellow countryman François Letexier, Mark Borsch of Germany and Italy's Massimiliano Irrati. "I have said on many occasions that the potential for women's football has no limits and I am delighted that Stéphanie Frappart has been appointed to officiate at this year's UEFA Super Cup along with assistant referees Manuela Nicolosi and Michelle O'Neill," said UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin. "As an organisation, we place the utmost importance on the development of women's football in all areas. I hope the skill and devotion that Stéphanie has shown throughout her career to reach this level will provide inspiration to millions of girls and women around Europe and show them there should be no barriers in order to reach one's dream." UEFA chief refereeing officer Roberto Rosetti praised Frappart's ability as an official and said she "fully deserves" the opportunity to oversee such a high-profile fixture. "Stéphanie has proved over a number of years that she is one of the best female referees, not just in Europe but across the world," said Rosetti. "She has the ability to officiate on the biggest stage, as she proved at this year's Women's World Cup final. I hope this match in Istanbul will provide her with yet more experience as she enters the prime of her refereeing career." Frappart created history domestically in France as she became the first female referee to officiate a Ligue 1 match, as she took charge of the match between SC Amiens and RC Strasbourg in April. In June, it was announced that the Val-d'Oise native would be promoted to join the pool of Ligue 1 referee on a permanent basis for the 2019/20 season. However, the 35-year-old Frappart is not the first female referee assigned to a men's UEFA competition match. That honour went to Switzerland's Nicole Petignat who refereed three UEFA Cup qualifying round games between 2004 and 2009. (Source: UEFA)

14 August 2019
Liverpool – Chelsea
Referee: Stephanie Frappart (FRA, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Manuela Nicolosi (FRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Michelle O'Neill (IRL)
Fourth Official: Cüneyt Çakir (TUR)
VAR: Clement Turpin (FRA)
AVAR 1: François Letexier (FRA)
AVAR 2: Mark Borsch (GER)
AVAR 3: Massimiliano Irrati (ITA)
Referee Observer: Roberto Rosetti (ITA)

Referee Hunter hit by flare and lighter in Europa League

A Europa League tie in Romania descended into chaos on Thursday night when the referee was hit by missiles from the crowd. Northern Irish official Arnold Hunter was in charge of the game between Craiova and Honved when a ferocious atmosphere spilled over at the end of extra-time.

With the score 0-0, as it was in the first leg, a flare was thrown onto the pitch and exploded near Hunter. Within moments a lighter struck the 40-year-old official's head, requiring medical treatment and an ambulance to come onto the field. However, he was not taken away in the vehicle and walked off amid lengthy discussions over how to deal with the escalating scenes. 

Local commentators reported stadium officials' fears that fans would erupt into even greater violence if the game was to be abandoned. Delegates' deliberations lasted over half an hour, during which time Honved manager Giuseppe Sannino appeared to demand the tie be called off. By this time, the referees had retreated into their dressing room. Finally, after 35 minutes of attempting to calm the situation, the fourth official was brought out to oversee the one minute of stoppage time still due to be played. Stunned, neither team contested the final moments and the game went to penalties. 

In the shootout, in which former Liverpool striker David N'gog scored for Honved, home side Craiova came out victorious with a 3-1 score line. The game, between southern Romanian team Craiova and Honved, of neighbouring Hungary's capital Budapest, had been dogged by violence among ultras. Reports suggest rivals fans clashed the night before the match and the furious atmosphere was carried into the stadium. 

Source: The Sun