VAR to be used in CAF Finals

November 1, 2018, 8:07 pm

≫ Next: Belgium: Top referees Vertenten and Delferiere received money and expensive gifts from players’ agent

≪ Previous: Zambia top female FIFA referee dies in car accident

For the first time, the Video Assistant Referees (VAR) will be applied for the finals of this season’s CAF Inter-clubs competitions: CAF Champions League 2018 and CAF Confederation Cup 2018. This follows the approval of the CAF Executive Committee at its meeting on 27-28 September 2018 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. The decision comes after the success of the premier implementation of the latest refereeing technology during the Total CAF Super Cup last February between Wydad Athletic Club (Morocco) and TP Mazembe (DR Congo) in Casablanca. “This is a historic moment for African football. It clearly shows that CAF is determined and committed to the interclub competitions and will bring on board the latest and innovative technologies to make it better. “We (CAF) are the first confederation to use VAR in the final of the Club competitions. We did it for the CAF Super Cup and we are delighted to go a step further with the Inter-clubs competitions,” said CAF General Secretary Amr Fahmy. In the build-up to that, a preparatory course has been scheduled for 24-29 October 2018 in Cairo, Egypt. In attendance will be 12 elite match officials (six referees and six assistant referees) to be supervised by David Elleray, Technical Director of the International Football Association Board (IFAB). The selected referees are Janny Sikazwe (Zambia), Ghead Grisha (Egypt), Mehdi Abid Charef (Algeria), Bamlak Tessema (Ethiopia), Victor Gomes (South Africa) and Papa Bakary Gassama (Gambia). And the Assistant Referees are Emiliano Jerson Dos Santos (Angola), Zakhele Siwela (South Africa), Jean Claude Birumushahu (Burundi), Anouar Hmila (Tunisia), Abdelhak Etchiali (Algeria) and Mahmoud Abo El Regal (Egypt).

Source: CAF

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Belgium: Top referees Vertenten and Delferiere received money and expensive gifts from players’ agent

November 1, 2018, 8:08 pm

≫ Next: Referee Cunha protected by riot police in Copa Libertadores

≪ Previous: VAR to be used in CAF Finals

Agent Dejan Veljkovic, who is seen by the Belgian judiciary as one of the main players in the sizeable bribery scandal that has been keeping the country under control for weeks, had hundreds of phone talks with two top referees, according to the Belgian newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws, whose journalists have been allowed to see the file. The recording of the telephone conversations conducted by the Serbian players' agent with referees outline a disconcerting picture, according to Het Laatste Nieuws. Veljkovic had frequent contact with Sébastien Delferière and Bart Vertenten, the two referees who are suspected of match fixing. The players' agent called Vertenten a dozen of times within a few months. With Delferière, the contact was even more intensive: hundreds of phone calls were recorded. For months they called each other more than once a day.

Questionable penalty

In the recorded conversations, the agent never explicitly asked them to influence matches ("You never know who is listening in", he warned several times), but his words seem to leave little to the imagination. "The most important thing is that Antwerp wins," Veljkovic would have said to Vertenten, for example, two days before he was the referee in the relegation duel of Antwerp with Eupen. Vertenten gave Antwerp a questionable penalty and that same evening Veljkovic called that "fantastic" to the financial director of KV Mechelen, another club in relegation distress, where Veljkovic had several players at that time. The tapes would also show that Delferière prevented a suspension for Sofiane Hanni, one of the players from Veljkovic's group. "I will try to make sure he is not suspended," said the referee over the phone. Hanni was indeed not suspended.

Money and expensive gifts

In exchange for their 'services', Vertenten and Delferière received money and expensive gifts from Veljkovic, according to the Belgian justice system. Vertenten has been retained since his arrest on 10 October 2018. His lawyers have doubts about the representation of the talks by the judiciary. Delferière has been released after interrogation, but is still part of the investigation of justice. The Belgian Football Federation decided to replace Delferière and Vertenten on the FIFA List with Bram Van Driessche (33) and Nathan Verboomen (30), as of 1 January 2019.

Source: NOS

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Referee Cunha protected by riot police in Copa Libertadores

November 1, 2018, 8:09 pm

≫ Next: CAF Champions League Final 2018 (First Leg)

≪ Previous: Belgium: Top referees Vertenten and Delferiere received money and expensive gifts from players’ agent

Referee Andres Cunha had to be protected by riot police after a late penalty kick saw River Plate reach the Copa Libertadores final at the expense of Gremio.

Cunha, in consultation with VAR, awarded a penalty against Gremio's Bressan for handball after 86 minutes. Bressan was given his marching orders for a second yellow card but refused to go quietly. The penalty was eventually taken in the fifth of 14 minutes of added time, and was converted by Gonzalo Martinez to send River through to the final.

Having lost the first leg of the semi-final 1-0 on home soil, River knew they had to win to keep alive their hopes of the Copa Libertadores title. And, despite dominating proceedings, they fell a goal down after 35 minutes as Leonardo struck for Brazilian side Gremio. But River kept pushing forward and got a deserved equaliser after 81 minutes as Rafael Borre struck to level matters.

River Plate won the second leg 2-1 and went through on the away goals rule. The Argentine side, beaten 1-0 at home in the first leg, went further behind when Leo Gomes scored for the Brazilian holders after 35 minutes in Porto Alegre. River Plate were still two goals behind on aggregate with nine minutes of normal time left, but then Rafael Borre scored.

Uruguayan Cunha then sparked the penalty drama in the 86th minute and was surrounded by Gremio players, with riot police entering the field to protect him during the nine-minute delay that followed before the kick was taken. After the long wait, Martinez buried from 12 yards to send River through on away goals.

In incredible scenes, riot police were forced to protect Cunha from furious Gremio players as River celebrated reaching the final.

It sets up a potential blockbuster game against Argentine rivals Boca Juniors, who have a two-goal lead going to Sao Paulo for the second leg of their semi-final against Palmeiras. River are bidding for a fourth Copa Libertadores title having previously won the competition in 1986, 1996 and 2015. Should Boca progress from their semi-final, they will be looking for a seventh crown having tasted glory in 1977, 1978, 2000, 2001, 2003 and 2007.

Source: Mirror/BBC

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CAF Champions League Final 2018 (First Leg)

November 1, 2018, 8:46 pm

≫ Next: Saudi Arabia: Clattenburg remains director of refereeing, but is no longer the chairman of the referees committee

≪ Previous: Referee Cunha protected by riot police in Copa Libertadores

2 November 2018

Al Ahly – Esperance Tunis
Referee: Mehdi Abid Charef (ALG, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Abdelhak Etchiali (ALG)
Assistant Referee 2: Jean Birumushahu (BDI)
Fourth Official: Eric Otogo-Castane (GAB)
VAR: Bakary Gassama (GAM)
AVAR 1: El Hadji Samba (SEN)
AVAR 2: Djibril Camara (SEN)

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Saudi Arabia: Clattenburg remains director of refereeing, but is no longer the chairman of the referees committee

November 2, 2018, 10:32 am

≫ Next: AFC Champions League Final 2018 (First Leg)

≪ Previous: CAF Champions League Final 2018 (First Leg)

Mark Clattenburg has not been sacked by the Saudi Arabia Football Federation, despite reports. The former Premier League official remains the director of refereeing, but is no longer the chairman of the referees committee.

Clattenburg has explained to Sportsmail that the role of both was proving too much as it involved him looking after grassroots refereeing as well as officiating himself and taking care of foreign referees in the league. He will now concentrate on working with the overseas officials and taking charge of matches. The Saudi FA confirmed Clattenburg had left his position as chairman of referees via an announcement on Wednesday. A statement posted on Twitter read: 'The Saudi Football Federation issued a decision appointing Nabil bin Khalid al-Naqshbandi as chairman of the referees committee to replace the Mark Clattenburg of England. The decision to appoint Naqshbandi is part of the framework of the board's efforts to elevate football in the kingdom to the prestige that benefits it globally”.

Clattenburg was considered England's best referee when he arrived in Saudi Arabia in February 2017. The year previous, he took charge of the FA Cup final, the Champions League final and the Euro 2016 final in quick succession.

Source: Daily Mail

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AFC Champions League Final 2018 (First Leg)

November 2, 2018, 10:33 am

≫ Next: UEFA referees train for VAR launch

≪ Previous: Saudi Arabia: Clattenburg remains director of refereeing, but is no longer the chairman of the referees committee

3 November 2018

Kashima Antlers – Persepolis FC
Referee: Ma Ning (CHN, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Cao Yi (CHN)
Assistant Referee 2: Shi Xiang (CHN)
Additional AR 1: Fu Ming (CHN)
Additional AR 2: Liao Guowen (HKG)
Fourth Official: Huo Weiming (CHN)

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UEFA referees train for VAR launch

November 3, 2018, 8:04 am

≫ Next: UEFA Youth League – Domestic Champions Path (Second Round, First Leg)

≪ Previous: AFC Champions League Final 2018 (First Leg)

UEFA and European referees are hard at work preparing for the introduction of video assistant referees (VAR) in UEFA competitions from next season. At a four-day course in Madrid, a group of referees with limited experience of VAR in their own countries took part in intensive theoretical and practical sessions, which are enabling them to learn the ropes in time for the launching of VAR in the 2019/20 UEFA Champions League from the play-offs next August. They were joined on the last day by elite referees already experienced with VAR, as UEFA adopts and fine-tunes a unified approach to the system for all of its referees. The course in Madrid was hosted by the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) at its Ciudad del Fútbol national training centre at Las Rozas, just outside the capital, and followed a first course last month at the Royal Netherlands Football Association (KNVB) national centre in Zeist. The video assistant referee reviews decisions made by the referee in certain key match situations with the use of video footage and a headset for communication. This year, VAR was incorporated into the Laws of the Game by football’s lawmakers, the International Football Association Board (IFAB), following trials in major competitions. The decision to introduce VAR in UEFA competitions was taken by the UEFA Executive Committee in September. In addition to the UEFA Champions League, the committee decided that VAR would also be used at the 2019 UEFA Super Cup. UEFA plans to subsequently extend the deployment of VAR to the final tournament of UEFA EURO 2020, the 2020/21 UEFA Europa League (group stage onwards) and the 2021 UEFA Nations League Finals.

The training programme is designed to guarantee an efficient and smooth implementation of the system at UEFA level, and additional courses will be taking place in the coming months. "This project needs time, preparation and hard work," said UEFA chief refereeing officer Roberto Rosetti. "It is an important project, not only for referees, but for European football as a whole. The objective is to prevent clear errors, and this project and this training can help referees take the right decisions. It is essential that we achieve consistency and uniformity. We must speak one language." Among the focal points in Madrid were training sessions involving rooms at the RFEF centre equipped with state-of-the-art technical equipment and several screens, and two teams of players out on the pitch. The trainee video assistant referees – sat together with an assistant video assistant referee (AVAR) who provides support, as well as a technical operator – reviewed decisions taken by the referee on the field and communicated with the referee during the review process. In addition, the trainees participated in simulation sessions involving recorded footage of actual matches, practising reviews and communication with the referee, the AVAR and operator. They were given constant guidance by VAR instructors and members of the UEFA Referees Committee. The referees were also given insights, among other things, into VAR procedures and communication, and undertook protocol and video tests to enhance the learning process, giving feedback on their experiences along the way. Former top Spanish referee Carlos Velasco Carballo highlighted experiences with VAR in Spain. "Nowadays, everybody is able to review incidents on their television set or mobile phones," said Rosetti. "The one person who cannot do this is the referee – and the referee is the one who has to take the decision. We have to help the referee take the correct decision – and this is the way." The referees in Madrid found the course an extremely positive experience. "It's very important in terms of our development, and the development within football," said Scottish referee Bobby Madden. "UEFA has recognised that there is a benefit for referees, and for football. With this being our first introduction to VAR, it's important for us to get an understanding of where and when VAR can be of value.""This is the future," added Slovenian official Matej Jug. "The course is helping us learn how VAR works and be successful with it, and it is important to hear and exchange views with those who already have experience of VAR." Elite referees who joined the course later in the week all welcomed the introduction of VAR in UEFA competitions. "It gives me more confidence," said Turkey's Cüneyt Çakır. "We know that if there is a really clear and obvious mistake, there can be an intervention, and a decision can be corrected.""To me, VAR is an additional tool to support my decisions," added German official Felix Brych. "My experiences with VAR so far have been really positive." Anthony Taylor from England said that VAR is "a positive step forward for referees in general – anything that helps us get decisions correct on the field of play has to be a positive development.""It's a very important project, and referees are very happy with it," said Dutch referee Björn Kuipers.

Source: UEFA

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UEFA Youth League – Domestic Champions Path (Second Round, First Leg)

November 4, 2018, 3:34 pm

≫ Next: UEFA Youth League – Group Stage (Matchday 4)

≪ Previous: UEFA referees train for VAR launch

6-7 November 2018

RSC Anderlecht – Dynamo Kyiv
Referee: Igor Pajač (CRO, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Bojan Zobenica (CRO)
Assistant Referee 2: Vedran Djurak (CRO)
Fourth Official: Jordy Vermeire (BEL)
Referee Observer: Guy Goethals (BEL)

FC Astana – GNK Dinamo
Referee: Aleksandrs Anufrijevs (LVA)
Assistant Referee 1: Romāns Platonovs (LVA)
Assistant Referee 2: Valdis Koritko (LVA)
Fourth Official: Arman Ismuratov (KAZ)
Referee Observer: Pavel Saliy (KAZ)

Qabala İK – Hertha BSC
Referee: Daniyar Sakhi (KAZ)
Assistant Referee 1: Rustem Matyakubov (KAZ)
Assistant Referee 2: Maral Abdikerov (KAZ)
Fourth Official: İnqilab Mammadov (AZE)
Referee Observer: Fritz Stuchlik (AUT)

Altınordu – Montpellier SC
Referee: Denys Shurman (UKR)
Assistant Referee 1: Andriy Skrypka (UKR)
Assistant Referee 2: Valentyn Kutsev (UKR)
Fourth Official: Hüseyin Arslan (TUR)
Referee Observer: Erol Ersoy (TUR)

PAOK – FC Minsk
Referee: Alain Durieux (LUX)
Assistant Referee 1: Joaquim Gomes (LUX)
Assistant Referee 2: Ricardo Morais (LUX)
Fourth Official: Ioánnis Papadópoulos (GRE)
Referee Observer: Geórgios Bíkas (GRE)

Sigma Olomouc – Maccabi Tel Aviv
Referee: Peter Kjaersgaard (DEN)
Assistant Referee 1: Victor Skytte (DEN)
Assistant Referee 2: Daniel Nørgaard (DEN)
Fourth Official: Jan Machálek (CZE)
Referee Observer: Karel Bohuněk (CZE)

IF Elfsborg – Chelsea FC
Referee: Jari Järvinen (FIN)
Assistant Referee 1: Sami Nykänen (FIN)
Assistant Referee 2: Jarno Kiistala (FIN)
Fourth Official: Granit Maqedonci (SWE)
Referee Observer: Bo Karlsson (SWE)

FC Midtjylland – Hamilton Academical
Referee: Paul McLaughlin (IRL)
Assistant Referee 1: Robert Clarke (IRL)
Assistant Referee 2: Phillip Harrison (IRL)
Fourth Official: Morten Krogh (DEN)
Referee Observer: Jens Larsen (DEN)

↧

UEFA Youth League – Group Stage (Matchday 4)

November 4, 2018, 3:34 pm

≫ Next: CONMEBOL Copa Libertadores Final 2018 (First Leg)

≪ Previous: UEFA Youth League – Domestic Champions Path (Second Round, First Leg)

6-7 November 2018

SSC Napoli – Paris St. Germain
Referee: Anastásios Papapétrou (GRE, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Trýfon Petrópoulos (GRE)
Assistant Referee 2: Iordánis Aptósoglou (GRE)
Fourth Official: Alessandro Di Paolo (ITA)
Referee Observer: Plarent Kotherja (ALB)

Tottenham Hotspur – PSV Eindhoven
Referee: Ian McNabb (NIR)
Assistant Referee 1: Stephen Bell (NIR)
Assistant Referee 2: Adam Jeffrey (NIR)
Fourth Official: John Brooks (ENG)
Referee Observer: Brian Lawlor (WAL)

AS Monaco – Club Brugge
Referee: Roi Reinshreiber (ISR)
Assistant Referee 1: Idan Berenshtein (ISR)
Assistant Referee 2: Omer Barbiro (ISR)
Fourth Official: Faouzi Benchabane (FRA)
Referee Observer: Bertrand Layec (FRA)

Internazionale Milano – FC Barcelona
Referee: Bartosz Frankowski (POL)
Assistant Referee 1: Dawid Golis (POL)
Assistant Referee 2: Jakub Winkler (POL)
Fourth Official: Daniele Minelli (ITA)
Referee Observer: Stefano Podeschi (SMR)

Crvena Zvezda – Liverpool FC
Referee: Christopher Jäger (AUT)
Assistant Referee 1: Roland Riedel (AUT)
Assistant Referee 2: Maximilian Weiß (AUT)
Fourth Official: Ivan Stamenković (SRB)
Referee Observer: Boško Jovanetić (SRB)

FC Porto – Lokomotiv Moskva
Referee: Robert Hennessy (IRL)
Assistant Referee 1: Darragh Keegan (IRL)
Assistant Referee 2: Eoin Harte (IRL)
Fourth Official: João Gonçalves (POR)
Referee Observer: Nuno Castro (POR)

Atlético de Madrid – Borussia Dortmund
Referee: Luís Godinho (POR)
Assistant Referee 1: Rui Teixeira (POR)
Assistant Referee 2: Bruno Alves (POR)
Fourth Official: Manuel Hernández (ESP)
Referee Observer: Marco Borg (MLT)

FC Schalke – Galatasaray
Referee: Ádám Farkas (HUN)
Assistant Referee 1: Theodoros Georgiou (HUN)
Assistant Referee 2: Balázs Szalai (HUN)
Fourth Official: Florian Heft (GER)
Referee Observer: Robert Sedlacek (AUT)

CSKA Moskva – AS Roma
Referee: Aleksandrs Golubevs (LVA)
Assistant Referee 1: Jevgeņijs Morozovs (LVA)
Assistant Referee 2: Raimonds Tatriks (LVA)
Fourth Official: Aleksandra Ponomareva (RUS)
Referee Observer: Sergey Zuev (RUS)

Viktoria Plzeň – Real Madrid
Referee: Lawrence Visser (BEL)
Assistant Referee 1: Karel De Rocker (BEL)
Assistant Referee 2: Jo De Weirdt (BEL)
Fourth Official: Ondřej Berka (CZE)
Referee Observer: Jiří Ulrich (CZE)

Bayern München – AEK Athens
Referee: Bojan Pandzic (SWE)
Assistant Referee 1: Magnus Sjöblom (SWE)
Assistant Referee 2: Peter Allheim (SWE)
Fourth Official: Michael Bacher (GER)
Referee Observer: Eugen Strigel (GER)

Olympique Lyonnais - TSG Hoffenheim
Referee: Milovan Milačić (MNE)
Assistant Referee 1: Nikola Razić (MNE)
Assistant Referee 2: Miodrag Brajović (MNE)
Fourth Official: Jérémie Pignard (FRA)
Referee Observer: Luc Wilmes (LUX)

Valencia CF – Young Boys
Referee: Alexandre Boucaut (BEL)
Assistant Referee 1: Laurent Conotte (BEL)
Assistant Referee 2: Jimmy Cremers (BEL)
Fourth Official: Saúl Ais Reig (ESP)
Referee Observer: Salustià Ciprés (AND)

SL Benfica – AFC Ajax
Referee: Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea (ESP)
Assistant Referee 1: Íñigo Prieto López (ESP)
Assistant Referee 2: Iker Francisco Grijalba (ESP)
Fourth Official: Rui Piteira Rodrigues (POR)
Referee Observer: António Almeida (POR)

Juventus FC – Manchester United
Referee: Halil Umut Meler (TUR)
Assistant Referee 1: Abdullah Özkara (TUR)
Assistant Referee 2: Kemal Elmas (TUR)
Fourth Official: Davide Ghersini (ITA)
Referee Observer: Alfredo Trentalange (ITA)

↧

CONMEBOL Copa Libertadores Final 2018 (First Leg)

November 4, 2018, 3:35 pm

≫ Next: UEFA Champions League – Group Stage (Matchday 4)

≪ Previous: UEFA Youth League – Group Stage (Matchday 4)

10 November 2018

Boca Juniors – River Plate
Referee: Roberto Tobar (CHI, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Christian Schiemann (CHI)
Assistant Referee 2: Claudio Rios (CHI)
Fourth Official: Diego Haro (PER)
VAR: Julio Bascunan (CHI)
AVAR 1: Piero Maza (CHI)
AVAR 2: Carlos Astroza (CHI)
VAR Observer: Martin Vazquez (URU)
Referee Assessor: Ubaldo Aquino (PAR)

↧

UEFA Champions League – Group Stage (Matchday 4)

November 5, 2018, 9:42 am

≫ Next: CONMEBOL Copa Sudamericana – Semi-finals (First Leg)

≪ Previous: CONMEBOL Copa Libertadores Final 2018 (First Leg)

6 November 2018
FC Porto – Lokomotiv Moskva
Referee: Davide Massa (ITA, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Mauro Tonolini (ITA)
Assistant Referee 2: Filippo Meli (ITA)
Fourth Official: Alberto Tegoni (ITA)
Additional AR 1: Massimiliano Irrati (ITA)
Additional AR 2: Daniele Doveri (ITA)
Referee Observer: Kyros Vassaras (GRE)

AS Monaco – Club Brugge
Referee: Artur Soares Dias (POR)
Assistant Referee 1: Rui Barbosa (POR)
Assistant Referee 2: Paulo Santos (POR)
Fourth Official: Bruno Rodrigues (POR)
Additional AR 1: Hugo Miguel (POR)
Additional AR 2: João Pinheiro (POR)
Referee Observer: Zbigniew Przesmycki (POL)

Crvena Zvezda – Liverpool FC
Referee: Antonio Mateu Lahoz (ESP)
Assistant Referee 1: Pau Cebrián Devís (ESP)
Assistant Referee 2: Roberto Díaz Pérez (ESP)
Fourth Official: Diego Barbero Sevilla (ESP)
Additional AR 1: Carlos Del Cerro Grande (ESP)
Additional AR 2: Alejandro Hernández Hernández (ESP)
Referee Observer: Paulius Malžinskas (LTU)

Atlético de Madrid – Borussia Dortmund
Referee: Daniele Orsato (ITA)
Assistant Referee 1: Lorenzo Manganelli (ITA)
Assistant Referee 2: Fabiano Preti (ITA)
Fourth Official: Giorgio Peretti (ITA)
Additional AR 1: Marco Guida (ITA)
Additional AR 2: Paolo Mazzoleni (ITA)
Referee Observer: Michael Riley (ENG)

Tottenham Hotspur – PSV Eindhoven
Referee: Ivan Kružliak (SVK)
Assistant Referee 1: Tomáš Somoláni (SVK)
Assistant Referee 2: Branislav Hancko (SVK)
Fourth Official: Tomáš Mókoš (SVK)
Additional AR 1: Peter Královič (SVK)
Additional AR 2: Filip Glova (SVK)
Referee Observer: Stefan Messner (AUT)

Internazionale Milano – FC Barcelona
Referee: Szymon Marciniak (POL)
Assistant Referee 1: Paweł Sokolnicki (POL)
Assistant Referee 2: Tomasz Listkiewicz (POL)
Fourth Official: Radosław Siejka (POL)
Additional AR 1: Paweł Raczkowski (POL)
Additional AR 2: Tomasz Musiał (POL)
Referee Observer: Murat Ilgaz (TUR)

SSC Napoli – Paris St. Germain
Referee: Björn Kuipers (NED)
Assistant Referee 1: Sander van Roekel (NED)
Assistant Referee 2: Erwin Zeinstra (NED)
Fourth Official: Charles Schaap (NED)
Additional AR 1: Dennis Higler (NED)
Additional AR 2: Pol van Boekel (NED)
Referee Observer: Terje Hauge (NOR)

FC Schalke – Galatasaray
Referee: William Collum (SCO)
Assistant Referee 1: David McGeachie (SCO)
Assistant Referee 2: Graeme Stewart (SCO)
Fourth Official: Francis Connor (SCO)
Additional AR 1: Andrew Dallas (SCO)
Additional AR 2: Nicolas Walsh (SCO)
Referee Observer: Konrad Plautz (AUT)

7 November 2018
CSKA Moskva – AS Roma
Referee: Cüneyt Çakır (TUR)
Assistant Referee 1: Bahattin Duran (TUR)
Assistant Referee 2: Tarık Ongun (TUR)
Fourth Official: Mustafa Eyisoy (TUR)
Additional AR 1: Hüseyin Göçek (TUR)
Additional AR 2: Barış Şimşek (TUR)
Referee Observer: Emil Božinovski (MKD)

Valencia CF – Young Boys
Referee: István Kovács (ROU)
Assistant Referee 1: Vasile Marinescu (ROU)
Assistant Referee 2: Ovidiu Artene (ROU)
Fourth Official: Alexandru Cerei (ROU)
Additional AR 1: Marius Avram (ROU)
Additional AR 2: Horațiu Feșnic (ROU)
Referee Observer: Haim Jakov (ISR)

Bayern München – AEK Athens
Referee: Matej Jug (SVN)
Assistant Referee 1: Matej Žunič (SVN)
Assistant Referee 2: Manuel Vidali (SVN)
Fourth Official: Tomislav Pospeh (SVN)
Additional AR 1: Slavko Vinčič (SVN)
Additional AR 2: Nejc Kajtazovič (SVN)
Referee Observer: Tomasz Mikulski (POL)

SL Benfica – AFC Ajax
Referee: Gianluca Rocchi (ITA)
Assistant Referee 1: Elenito Di Liberatore (ITA)
Assistant Referee 2: Matteo Passeri (ITA)
Fourth Official: Stefano Alassio (ITA)
Additional AR 1: Luca Banti (ITA)
Additional AR 2: Marco Di Bello (ITA)
Referee Observer: Uno Tutk (EST)

Olympique Lyonnais – TSG Hoffenheim
Referee: Danny Makkelie (NED)
Assistant Referee 1: Mario Diks (NED)
Assistant Referee 2: Hessel Steegstra (NED)
Fourth Official: Joost van Zuilen (NED)
Additional AR 1: Kevin Blom (NED)
Additional AR 2: Allard Lindhout (NED)
Referee Observer: Manuel Díaz Vega (ESP)

Manchester City – Shakhtar Donetsk
Referee: Viktor Kassai (HUN)
Assistant Referee 1: György Ring (HUN)
Assistant Referee 2: Vencel Tóth (HUN)
Fourth Official: Péter Berettyán (HUN)
Additional AR 1: Tamás Bognár (HUN)
Additional AR 2: Sándor Andó-Szabó (HUN)
Referee Observer: Ilkka Koho (FIN)

Viktoria Plzeň – Real Madrid
Referee: Deniz Aytekin (GER)
Assistant Referee 1: Eduard Beitinger (GER)
Assistant Referee 2: Rafael Foltyn (GER)
Fourth Official: Marco Achmüller (GER)
Additional AR 1: Daniel Siebert (GER)
Additional AR 2: Sascha Stegemann (GER)
Referee Observer: Luciano Luci (ITA)

Juventus FC – Manchester United
Referee: Ovidiu Hațegan (ROU)
Assistant Referee 1: Octavian Șovre (ROU)
Assistant Referee 2: Sebastian Gheorghe (ROU)
Fourth Official: Radu Ghinguleac (ROU)
Additional AR 1: Radu Petrescu (ROU)
Additional AR 2: Sebastian Colțescu (ROU)
Referee Observer: Jørn West Larsen (DEN)

↧

CONMEBOL Copa Sudamericana – Semi-finals (First Leg)

November 5, 2018, 3:16 pm

≫ Next: CONMEBOL Copa Libertadores Final 2018 (First Leg)

≪ Previous: UEFA Champions League – Group Stage (Matchday 4)

7-8 November 2018

Atletico Paranaense – Fluminense
Referee: Roddy Zambrano (ECU, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Christian Lescano (ECU)
Assistant Referee 2: Byron Romero (ECU)
Fourth Official: Carlos Orbe (ECU)
VAR: Mauro Vigliano (ARG)
AVAR 1: Patricio Loustau (ARG)
AVAR 2: Hernan Maidana (ARG)
VAR Observer: Alicio Pena (BRA)
Referee Assessor: Ricardo Casas (ARG)

Santa Fe – Junior
Referee: Esteban Ostojich (URU)
Assistant Referee 1: Mauricio Espinosa (URU)
Assistant Referee 2: Gabriel Popovits (URU)
Fourth Official: Gustavo Tejera (URU)
VAR: Leodan Gonzalez (URU)
AVAR 1: Gery Vargas (BOL)
AVAR 2: Richard Trinidad (URU)
VAR Observer: Rodolfo Otero (ARG)
Referee Assessor: Imer Machado (COL)

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CONMEBOL Copa Libertadores Final 2018 (First Leg)

November 5, 2018, 3:17 pm

≫ Next: UEFA Champions League – Group Stage (Matchday 4)

≪ Previous: CONMEBOL Copa Sudamericana – Semi-finals (First Leg)

10 November 2018

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UEFA Champions League – Group Stage (Matchday 4)

November 5, 2018, 3:18 pm

≫ Next: Concacaf League Final 2018

≪ Previous: CONMEBOL Copa Libertadores Final 2018 (First Leg)

↧

Concacaf League Final 2018

November 7, 2018, 9:56 am

≫ Next: UEFA Europa League – Group Stage (Matchday 4)

≪ Previous: UEFA Champions League – Group Stage (Matchday 4)

First Leg, 16 October 2018

Herediano – Motagua
Referee: Marco Ortiz (MEX, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Jose Camargo (MEX)
Assistant Referee 2: Marvin Torrentera (MEX)
Fourth Official: Fernando Guerrero (MEX)

Second Leg, 2 November 2018

Motagua – Herediano
Referee: Mario Escobar (GUA)
Assistant Referee 1: Juan Zumba (SLV)
Assistant Referee 2: Ronald Bruna (PAN)
Fourth Official: John Pitti (PAN)

↧

UEFA Europa League – Group Stage (Matchday 4)

November 7, 2018, 9:56 am

≫ Next: CAF Champions League Final 2018 (Second Leg)

≪ Previous: Concacaf League Final 2018

8 November 2018

Fenerbahçe SK – RSC Anderlecht
Referee: Andreas Ekberg (SWE, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Daniel Wärnmark (SWE)
Assistant Referee 2: Stefan Hallberg (SWE)
Fourth Official: Fredrik Klyver (SWE)
Additional AR 1: Kristoffer Karlsson (SWE)
Additional AR 2: Glenn Nyberg (SWE)
Referee Observer: Cyril Zimmermann (SUI)

FC Astana – FK Jablonec
Referee: István Vad (HUN)
Assistant Referee 1: István Albert (HUN)
Assistant Referee 2: Balázs Szert (HUN)
Fourth Official: Péter Kóbor (HUN)
Additional AR 1: Ferenc Karakó (HUN)
Additional AR 2: József Erdős (HUN)
Referee Observer: Yuri Baskakov (RUS)

Spartak Moskva – Rangers FC
Referee: Ivan Bebek (CRO)
Assistant Referee 1: Tomislav Petrović (CRO)
Assistant Referee 2: Miro Grgić (CRO)
Fourth Official: Goran Pataki (CRO)
Additional AR 1: Mario Zebec (CRO)
Additional AR 2: Goran Gabrilo (CRO)
Referee Observer: Ioánnis Tsachilídis (GRE)

Rapid Wien – Villarreal CF
Referee: Srdjan Jovanović (SRB)
Assistant Referee 1: Uroš Stojković (SRB)
Assistant Referee 2: Milan Mihajlović (SRB)
Fourth Official: Dragan Bogićević (SRB)
Additional AR 1: Lazar Lukić (SRB)
Additional AR 2: Zoran Široki (SRB)
Referee Observer: Markus Nobs (SUI)

Apóllon Limassol – Eintracht Frankfurt
Referee: Tiago Martins (POR)
Assistant Referee 1: Luís Campos (POR)
Assistant Referee 2: Ricardo Santos (POR)
Fourth Official: António Godinho (POR)
Additional AR 1: Carlos Xistra (POR)
Additional AR 2: João Capela (POR)
Referee Observer: Michel Piraux (BEL)

Lazio – Olympique de Marseille
Referee: Vladislav Bezborodov (RUS)
Assistant Referee 1: Valeri Danchenko (RUS)
Assistant Referee 2: Maksim Gavrilin (RUS)
Fourth Official: Aleksei Lunev (RUS)
Additional AR 1: Kirill Levnikov (RUS)
Additional AR 2: Sergei Ivanov (RUS)
Referee Observer: Jouni Hyytiä (FIN)

Malmö FF – Sarpsborg FF
Referee: Miroslav Zelinka (CZE)
Assistant Referee 1: Ondřej Pelikán (CZE)
Assistant Referee 2: Jan Paták (CZE)
Fourth Official: Jakub Hrabovský (CZE)
Additional AR 1: Radek Příhoda (CZE)
Additional AR 2: Emanuel Marek (CZE)
Referee Observer: Stephen Lodge (ENG)

KRC Genk – Beşiktaş JK
Referee: Tobias Stieler (GER)
Assistant Referee 1: Mike Pickel (GER)
Assistant Referee 2: Jan Seidel (GER)
Fourth Official: Christian Gittelmann (GER)
Additional AR 1: Patrick Ittrich (GER)
Additional AR 2: Harm Osmers (GER)
Referee Observer: Bernardino González Vázquez (ESP)

FC Krasnodar – Standard de Liège
Referee: Aleksandar Stavrev (MKD)
Assistant Referee 1: Marjan Kirovski (MKD)
Assistant Referee 2: Dejan Kostadinov (MKD)
Fourth Official: Goce Petreski (MKD)
Additional AR 1: Dimitar Mečkarovski (MKD)
Additional AR 2: Dejan Jakimovski (MKD)
Referee Observer: Igor Șațchii (MDA)

Akhisarspor – Sevilla FC
Referee: Benoît Millot (FRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Julien Pacelli (FRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Bertrand Jouannaud (FRA)
Fourth Official: Benjamin Pagès (FRA)
Additional AR 1: Amaury Delerue (FRA)
Additional AR 2: Karim Abed (FRA)
Referee Observer: Francesco Bianchi (SUI)

Dynamo Kyiv – Stade Rennais
Referee: John Beaton (SCO)
Assistant Referee 1: Douglas Ross (SCO)
Assistant Referee 2: Douglas Potter (SCO)
Fourth Official: Alastair Mather (SCO)
Additional AR 1: Kevin Clancy (SCO)
Additional AR 2: Donald Robertson (SCO)
Referee Observer: Igor Pristovnik (CRO)

Bate Borisov – Chelsea FC
Referee: Nikola Dabanović (MNE)
Assistant Referee 1: Milutin Djukić (MNE)
Assistant Referee 2: Veselin Radunović (MNE)
Fourth Official: Vladan Todorović (MNE)
Additional AR 1: Miloš Bošković (MNE)
Additional AR 2: Predrag Radovanović (MNE)
Referee Observer: Martin Ingvarsson (SWE)

Mol Vidi – PAOK FC
Referee: Ali Palabiyik (TUR)
Assistant Referee 1: Ceyhun Sesigüzel (TUR)
Assistant Referee 2: Serkan Olguncan (TUR)
Fourth Official: İbrahim Uyarcan (TUR)
Additional AR 1: Alper Ulusoy (TUR)
Additional AR 2: Yaşar Uğurlu (TUR)
Referee Observer: Thomas Einwaller (AUT)

Bayer Leverkusen – FC Zürich
Referee: Paweł Gil (POL)
Assistant Referee 1: Konrad Sapela (POL)
Assistant Referee 2: Marcin Borkowski (POL)
Fourth Official: Adam Kupsik (POL)
Additional AR 1: Krzysztof Jakubik (POL)
Additional AR 2: Piotr Lasyk (POL)
Referee Observer: Gerard Perry (IRL)

PFC Ludogorets – AEK Larnaca
Referee: Ola Hobber Nilsen (NOR)
Assistant Referee 1: Kim Haglund (NOR)
Assistant Referee 2: Magnus Lundberg (NOR)
Fourth Official: Øystein Ytterland (NOR)
Additional AR 1: Tore Hansen (NOR)
Additional AR 2: Espen Andreas Eskås (NOR)
Referee Observer: Charles Agius (MLT)

Rosenborg BK – Red Bull Salzburg
Referee: Aleksey Eskov (RUS)
Assistant Referee 1: Dmitri Mosyakin (RUS)
Assistant Referee 2: Anton Averianov (RUS)
Fourth Official: Igor Demeshko (RUS)
Additional AR 1: Mikhail Vilkov (RUS)
Additional AR 2: Roman Galimov (RUS)
Referee Observer: Laurent Duhamel (FRA)

Celtic FC – RB Leipzig
Referee: Javier Estrada Fernández (ESP)
Assistant Referee 1: Javier Aguilar Rodríguez (ESP)
Assistant Referee 2: Teodoro Sobrino Magán (ESP)
Fourth Official: Juan Yuste Jiménez (ESP)
Additional AR 1: José Sánchez Martínez (ESP)
Additional AR 2: José Munuera Montero (ESP)
Referee Observer: Jan Wegereef (NED)

Girondins de Bordeaux – FC Zenit
Referee: Harald Lechner (AUT)
Assistant Referee 1: Andreas Heidenreich (AUT)
Assistant Referee 2: Maximilian Kolbitsch (AUT)
Fourth Official: Andreas Staudinger (AUT)
Additional AR 1: Alexander Harkam (AUT)
Additional AR 2: Julian Weinberger (AUT)
Referee Observer: Marinus Koopman (NED)

Slavia Praha – FC København
Referee: Mattias Gestranius (FIN)
Assistant Referee 1: Jan-Peter Aravirta (FIN)
Assistant Referee 2: Mikko Alakare (FIN)
Fourth Official: Jukka Honkanen (FIN)
Additional AR 1: Antti Munukka (FIN)
Additional AR 2: Dennis Antamo (FIN)
Referee Observer: Fredy Fautrel (FRA)

GNK Dinamo – Spartak Trnava
Referee: Serhiy Boyko (UKR)
Assistant Referee 1: Volodymyr Volodin (UKR)
Assistant Referee 2: Semen Shlonchak (UKR)
Fourth Official: Oleh Pluzhnyk (UKR)
Additional AR 1: Yevhen Aranovsky (UKR)
Additional AR 2: Mykola Balakin (UKR)
Referee Observer: Shmuel Shteif (ISR)

Vorskla Poltava – Qarabağ FK
Referee: Sandro Schärer (SUI)
Assistant Referee 1: Stéphane Almeida (SUI)
Assistant Referee 2: Bekim Zogaj (SUI)
Fourth Official: Raffael Zeder (SUI)
Additional AR 1: Alain Bieri (SUI)
Additional AR 2: Lukas Fähndrich (SUI)
Referee Observer: Edgar Steinborn (GER)

Arsenal – Sporting
Referee: Gediminas Mažeika (LTU)
Assistant Referee 1: Vytautas Šimkus (LTU)
Assistant Referee 2: Vytenis Kazlauskas (LTU)
Fourth Official: Dovydas Sužiedėlis (LTU)
Additional AR 1: Manfredas Lukjančukas (LTU)
Additional AR 2: Robertas Valikonis (LTU)
Referee Observer: Lutz Fröhlich (GER)

Real Betis – AC Milan
Referee: Craig Pawson (ENG)
Assistant Referee 1: Lee Betts (ENG)
Assistant Referee 2: Ian Hussin (ENG)
Fourth Official: Constantine Hatzidakis (ENG)
Additional AR 1: Jonathan Moss (ENG)
Additional AR 2: Christopher Kavanagh (ENG)
Referee Observer: Nikolai Ivanov (RUS)

Olympiakós – F91 Dudelange
Referee: Petr Ardeleanu (CZE)
Assistant Referee 1: Ivo Nádvorník (CZE)
Assistant Referee 2: Jiří Moláček (CZE)
Fourth Official: Petr Blažej (CZE)
Additional AR 1: Zbyněk Proske (CZE)
Additional AR 2: Karel Hrubeš (CZE)
Referee Observer: Nikolai Levnikov (RUS)

↧

CAF Champions League Final 2018 (Second Leg)

November 8, 2018, 9:46 pm

≫ Next: FIFA Women’s World Cup 2019 Qualifiers – UEFA Play-off Final (First Leg)

≪ Previous: UEFA Europa League – Group Stage (Matchday 4)

9 November 2018

Esperance Tunis – Al Ahly
Referee: Bamlak Tessema (ETH, photo)
Assistant Referee 1:
Assistant Referee 2:
Fourth Official:
VAR:
AVAR 1:
AVAR 2:

↧

FIFA Women’s World Cup 2019 Qualifiers – UEFA Play-off Final (First Leg)

November 8, 2018, 9:48 pm

≫ Next: AFC Champions League Final 2018 (Second Leg)

≪ Previous: CAF Champions League Final 2018 (Second Leg)

9 November 2018

Netherlands – Switzerland
Referee: Pernilla Larsson (SWE)
Assistant Referee 1: Sandra Österberg (SWE)
Assistant Referee 2: Camilla Stendahl (SWE)
Fourth Official: Tess Olofsson (SWE)

↧

AFC Champions League Final 2018 (Second Leg)

November 9, 2018, 9:17 pm

≫ Next: Chapron: “Finally Free!”

≪ Previous: FIFA Women’s World Cup 2019 Qualifiers – UEFA Play-off Final (First Leg)

10 November 2018

Persepolis FC – Kashima Antlers
Referee: Ahmed Al-Kaf (OMA, photo)
Assistant Referee 1:
Assistant Referee 2:
Additional AR 1:
Additional AR 2:
Fourth Official:

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Chapron: “Finally Free!”

November 9, 2018, 9:19 pm

≫ Next: FIFA Women’s World Cup 2019 Qualifiers – UEFA Play-off Final (Second Leg)

≪ Previous: AFC Champions League Final 2018 (Second Leg)

The book "Finally Free" by Tony Chapron, former FIFA referee and now consultant for Canal +, which draws an edifying image of the French refereeing, was officially released this week. He is the one that spectators, TV viewers, players, coaches, managers have loved to hate. He, more than the others probably. It's Tony Chapron. The referee whose career ended on 14 January 2018, after the match Nantes – PSG, tells what he has lived for more than 14 years at the highest level. Pressures, threats, intimidations, small arrangements between friends: the former referee from Grenoble does not elude anything behind the scenes of refereeing and French football. The statement made by Tony Chapron is edifying, overwhelming. Firstly, for the leaders of the French Federation and its president, Noël Le Graët, and his predecessors, who did not care much about the referees. Then for those who run the French refereeing and have all the power to make or break a career without having to report to their hierarchy. Almost 10 years after the release of Bruno Derrien's book “A bas l’arbitre”, who already revealed the dark scenes of the French refereeing, Tony Chapron's book shows that nothing has changed after a decade of opacity and clientelism. The testimony of this former referee with a strong personality is human, genuine and sincere. To those who believe that Tony Chapron has spit in the soup, I would say that he has stepped up many times during his career to change the referee function and paid dearly for that.

The pathetic letter of the DTA to French referees

The federal referees in the four national divisions have received a funny letter very recently. It comes from the French Football Federation and more specifically from the voice of Eric Borghini, President of the Referees Committee, and Pascal Garibian, Technical Director of Refereeing. The letter refers - without naming it - to the book of Tony Chapron. At first, the two leaders of the French refereeing violently attack Tony Chapron: "We know that failures and their associated sufferings can feed the bitterness". Failures? The current Technical Director of Refereeing is well placed to talk about it. But I will not return to his career, which has been anonymous for a long time. Finally, this letter addressed to the French referees says a lot about the methods used by the DTA and the CFA that muzzled the speech of the referees.

Source: Arbitrage57

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