Refereeing World

27 October 2020

Lokomotiv Moskva – Bayern München
Referee: Istvan Kovacs (ROU, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Vasile Marinescu (ROU)
Assistant Referee 2: Ovidiu Artene (ROU)
Fourth Official: Marius Avram (ROU)
VAR: Alejandro Hernandez Hernandez (ESP)
AVAR: Guillermo Cuadra Fernandez (ESP)
Referee Observer: Miroslav Tulinger (CZE)

Shakhtar Donetsk – Internazionale Milano
Referee: Georgi Kabakov (BUL)
Assistant Referee 1: Martin Margaritov (BUL)
Assistant Referee 2: Diyan Valkov (BUL)
Fourth Official: Volen Chinkov (BUL)
VAR: Felix Zwayer (GER)
AVAR: Marco Achmüller (GER)
Referee Observer: Lucilio Batista (POR)

Atletico de Madrid – FC Salzburg
Referee: Ovidiu Haţegan (ROU)
Assistant Referee 1: Octavian Șovre (ROU)
Assistant Referee 2: Sebastian Gheorghe (ROU)
Fourth Official: Fabio Maresca (ITA)
VAR: Marco Di Bello (ITA)
AVAR: Paolo Valeri (ITA)
Referee Observer: Emil Bozhinovski (MKD)

Borussia Mönchengladbach – Real Madrid
Referee: Orel Grinfeld (ISR)
Assistant Referee 1: Roy Hassan (ISR)
Assistant Referee 2: Idan Yarkoni (ISR)
Fourth Official: Gal Leibovitz (ISR)
VAR: Joao Pinheiro (POR)
AVAR: Roi Reinshreiber (ISR)
Referee Observer: Jaap Uilenberg (NED)

FC Porto – Olympiacos FC
Referee: Daniel Siebert (GER)
Assistant Referee 1: Jan Seidel (GER)
Assistant Referee 2: Rafael Foltyn (GER)
Fourth Official: Marco Fritz (GER)
VAR: Bastian Dankert (GER)
AVAR: Mark Borsch (GER)
Referee Observer: Martin Hansson (SWE)

Olympique de Marseille – Manchester City
Referee: Tobias Stieler (GER)
Assistant Referee 1: Mike Pickel (GER)
Assistant Referee 2: Christian Gittelmann (GER)
Fourth Official: Florian Badstübner (GER)
VAR: Sascha Stegemann (GER)
AVAR: Harm Osmers (GER)
Referee Observer: Roberto Rosetti (ITA)

Atalanta BC – AFC Ajax
Referee: Damir Skomina (SVN)
Assistant Referee 1: Jure Praprotnik (SVN)
Assistant Referee 2: Robert Vukan (SVN)
Fourth Official: Dragoslav Perič (SVN)
VAR: Juan Martinez Munuera (ESP)
AVAR: Roberto Diaz Perez (ESP)
Referee Observer: Peter Sippel (GER)

Liverpool FC – FC Midtjylland
Referee: Pawel Raczkowski (POL)
Assistant Referee 1: Radoslaw Siejka (POL)
Assistant Referee 2: Adam Kupsik (POL)
Fourth Official: Krzysztof Jakubik (POL)
VAR: Pawel Gil (POL)
AVAR: Bartosz Frankowski (POL)
Referee Observer: Bernardino Gonzalez Vazquez (ESP)

28 October 2020
FC Krasnodar – Chelsea FC
Referee: Ali Palabiyik (TUR)
Assistant Referee 1: Ceyhun Sesigüzel (TUR)
Assistant Referee 2: Serkan Olguncan (TUR)
Fourth Official: Arda Kardeşler (TUR)
VAR: Massimiliano Irrati (ITA)
AVAR: Mete Kalkavan (TUR)
Referee Observer: Alexandru Deaconu (ROU)

Istanbul Başakşehir – Paris St. Germain
Referee: Andreas Ekberg (SWE)
Assistant Referee 1: Stefan Hallberg (SWE)
Assistant Referee 2: Graeme Stewart (SCO)
Fourth Official: Kristoffer Karlsson (SWE)
VAR: Carlos Del Cerro Grande (ESP)
AVAR: Ricardo de Burgos Bengoechea (ESP)
Referee Observer: Frank De Bleeckere (BEL)

Sevilla FC – Stade Rennais
Referee: Cüneyt Çakir (TUR)
Assistant Referee 1: Bahattin Duran (TUR)
Assistant Referee 2: Tarik Ongun (TUR)
Fourth Official: Halil Meler (TUR)
VAR: Szymon Marciniak (POL)
AVAR: Abdulkadir Bitigen (TUR)
Referee Observer: William Young (SCO)

Club Brugge – Lazio
Referee: Anthony Taylor (ENG)
Assistant Referee 1: Gari Beswick (ENG)
Assistant Referee 2: Adam Nunn (ENG)
Fourth Official: Paul Tierney (ENG)
VAR: Stuart Attwell (ENG)
AVAR: Lee Betts (ENG)
Referee Observer: Vladimir Antonov (MDA)

Borussia Dortmund – FC Zenit
Referee: Björn Kuipers (NED)
Assistant Referee 1: Sander van Roekel (NED)
Assistant Referee 2: Erwin Zeinstra (NED)
Fourth Official: Serdar Gözübüyük (NED)
VAR: Pol van Boekel (NED)
AVAR: Dennis Higler (NED)
Referee Observer: Martin Ingvarsson (SWE)

Ferencvarosi TC – Dynamo Kyiv
Referee: Ivan Kružliak (SVK)
Assistant Referee 1: Tomaš Somolani (SVK)
Assistant Referee 2: Cyril Gringore (FRA)
Fourth Official: Boris Marhefka (SVK)
VAR: Christian Dingert (GER)
AVAR: Bibiana Steinhaus (GER)
Referee Observer: Stavros Tritsonis (GRE)

Juventus – FC Barcelona
Referee: Danny Makkelie (NED)
Assistant Referee 1: Mario Diks (NED)
Assistant Referee 2: Hessel Steegstra (NED)
Fourth Official: Allard Lindhout (NED)
VAR: Kevin Blom (NED)
AVAR: Rob Dieperink (NED)
Referee Observer: Michael Riley (ENG)

Manchester United – RB Leipzig
Referee: Matej Jug (SVN)
Assistant Referee 1: Tomaž Klančnik (SVN)
Assistant Referee 2: Grega Kordež (SVN)
Fourth Official: Asmir Sagrković (SVN)
VAR: Jose Sanchez Martinez (ESP)
AVAR: Bas Nijhuis (NED)
Referee Observer: Haim Jakov (ISR)

29 October 2020

Royal Antwerp – Tottenham Hotspur
Referee: Maurizio Mariani (ITA, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Fabiano Preti (ITA)
Assistant Referee 2: Daniele Bindoni (ITA)
Fourth Official: Federico La Penna (ITA)
Referee Observer: Darko Čeferin (SVN)

AC Milan – Sparta Praha

Referee: Halis Özkahya (TUR)

Assistant Referee 1: Kerem Ersoy (TUR)

Assistant Referee 2: Çem Satman (TUR)

Fourth Official: Alper Ulusoy (TUR)

Referee Observer: Domagoj Vuckov (CRO)

LOSC Lille – Celtic FC

Referee: Aleksandar Stavrev (MKD)

Assistant Referee 1: Dejan Kostadinov (MKD)

Assistant Referee 2: Dejan Nedelkoski (MKD)

Fourth Official: Dimitar Meckarovski (MKD)

Referee Observer: Jens Larsen (DEN)

AEK Athens – Leicester City
Referee: Harald Lechner (AUT)
Assistant Referee 1: Andreas Heidenreich (AUT)
Assistant Referee 2: Maximilian Kolbitsch (AUT)
Fourth Official: Julian Weinberger (AUT)
Referee Observer: Marian Ružbarsky (SVK)

Zorya Luhansk – SC Braga
Referee: Giorgi Kruashvili (GEO)
Assistant Referee 1: Levan Varamishvili (GEO)
Assistant Referee 2: Zaza Pipia (GEO)
Fourth Official: Georgi Vadachkoria (GEO)
Referee Observer: Ray Ellingham (WAL)

Sivasspor – Maccabi Tel Aviv
Referee: Irfan Peljto (BIH)
Assistant Referee 1: Amer Macić (BIH)
Assistant Referee 2: Davor Beljo (BIH)
Fourth Official: Admir Šehović (BIH)
Referee Observer: Kenneth Clark (SCO)

Qarabag FK – Villarreal CF
Referee: Pavel Orel (CZE)
Assistant Referee 1: Petr Blažej (CZE)
Assistant Referee 2: Jiri Križ (CZE)
Fourth Official: Ondrej Pechanec (CZE)
Referee Observer: Levan Paniashvili (GEO)

LASK – PFC Ludogorets
Referee: Javier Estrada Fernandez (ESP)
Assistant Referee 1: Roberto Alonso Fernandez (ESP)
Assistant Referee 2: Guadalupe Porras Ayuso (ESP)
Fourth Official: Jose Munuera Montero (ESP)
Referee Observer: Goran Mihaljević (MNE)

Feyenoord – Wolfsberger AC
Referee: Mykola Balakin (UKR)
Assistant Referee 1: Andrii Skrypka (UKR)
Assistant Referee 2: Semen Shlonchak (UKR)
Fourth Official: Viktor Kopiievskyi (UKR)
Referee Observer: Iain Robertson Brines (SCO)

CSKA Moskva – GNK Dinamo
Referee: Radu Petrescu (ROU)
Assistant Referee 1: Radu Ghinguleac (ROU)
Assistant Referee 2: Mircea Grigoriu (ROU)
Fourth Official: Marcel Birsan (ROU)
Referee Observer: Ferenc Szekely (HUN)

Crvena Zvezda – Slovan Liberec
Referee: Fabio Verissimo (POR)
Assistant Referee 1: Luis Campos (POR)
Assistant Referee 2: Pedro Martins (POR)
Fourth Official: Antonio Nobre (POR)
Referee Observer: Orhan Erdemir (TUR)

KAA Gent – TSG Hoffenheim
Referee: Sandro Schärer (SUI)
Assistant Referee 1: Stephane De Almeida (SUI)
Assistant Referee 2: Bekim Zogaj (SUI)
Fourth Official: Fedayi San (SUI)
Referee Observer: Stefan Messner (AUT)

AS Roma – CSKA Sofia
Referee: Aleksei Kulbakov (BLR)
Assistant Referee 1: Dmitri Zhuk (BLR)
Assistant Referee 2: Oleg Maslyanko (BLR)
Fourth Official: Denis Scherbakov (BLR)
Referee Observer: Francesco Bianchi (SUI)

CFR Cluj – Young Boys
Referee: Glenn Nyberg (SWE)
Assistant Referee 1: Mahbod Beigi (SWE)
Assistant Referee 2: Andreas Söderqvist (SWE)
Fourth Official: Bojan Pandžić (SWE)
Referee Observer: Nikolai Ivanov (RUS)

Arsenal – Dundalk
Referee: Filip Glova (SVK)
Assistant Referee 1: Peter Bednar (SVK)
Assistant Referee 2: František Ferenc (SVK)
Fourth Official: Michal Ocenaš (SVK)
Referee Observer: Hugh Dallas (SCO)

Molde FK – Rapid Wien
Referee: Petr Ardeleanu (CZE)
Assistant Referee 1: Ivo Nadvornik (CZE)
Assistant Referee 2: Petr Caletka (CZE)
Fourth Official: Karel Hrubes (CZE)
Referee Observer: Alain Hamer (LUX)

OGC Nice – Hapoel Beer Sheva
Referee: Chris Kavanagh (ENG)
Assistant Referee 1: Daniel Cook (ENG)
Assistant Referee 2: Sian Massey-Ellis (ENG)
Fourth Official: Peter Bankes (ENG)
Referee Observer: Vitor Melo Pereira (POR)

Slavia Praha – Bayer Leverkusen
Referee: William Collum (SCO)
Assistant Referee 1: Francis Connor (SCO)
Assistant Referee 2: Douglas Ross (SCO)
Fourth Official: Nicholas Walsh (SCO)
Referee Observer: Jan Carlsen (DEN)

Rangers FC – Lech Poznan
Referee: Kristo Tohver (EST)
Assistant Referee 1: Silver Koiv (EST)
Assistant Referee 2: Aron Härsing (EST)
Fourth Official: Juri Frischer (EST)
Referee Observer: Stephen Lodge (ENG)

SL Benfica – Standard de Liege
Referee: François Letexier (FRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Cyril Mugnier (FRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Mehdi Rahmouni (FRA)
Fourth Official: Jeremie Pignard (FRA)
Referee Observer: Michalis Koukoulakis (GRE)

Omonia FC – PSV Eindhoven
Referee: Donatas Rumšas (LTU)
Assistant Referee 1: Aleksandr Radius (LTU)
Assistant Referee 2: Dovydas Sužiedėlis (LTU)
Fourth Official: Donatas Šimenas (LTU)
Referee Observer: Juan Fernandez Marin (ESP)

Granada CF – PAOK FC
Referee: Tiago Martins (POR)
Assistant Referee 1: Pedro Almeida (POR)
Assistant Referee 2: Hugo Ribeiro (POR)
Fourth Official: Helder Malheiro (POR)
Referee Observer: Thomas Einwaller (AUT)

AZ Alkmaar – HNK Rijeka
Referee: Sergei Ivanov (RUS)
Assistant Referee 1: Roman Usachev (RUS)
Assistant Referee 2: Valeri Danchenko (RUS)
Fourth Official: Sergei Lapochkin (RUS)
Referee Observer: Augustus Constantin (ROU)

Real Sociedad – SSC Napoli
Referee: Craig Pawson (ENG)
Assistant Referee 1: Ian Hussin (ENG)
Assistant Referee 2: Constantine Hatzidakis (ENG)
Fourth Official: Andrew Madley (ENG)
Referee Observer: Pascal Garibian (FRA)

When Pannipar Kamnueng was appointed Thailand FA’s Director of Referees Department in 2016, she became the world's first female to hold such a position in a national association. The appointment was a testament to her pedigree as a top-quality former international referee having officiated matches in a series of FIFA women's tournaments. Successful as she was, however, Kamnueng quickly became aware of the added layer of challenges she would face. "It was difficult for a woman to lead over a thousand men of different characters," Kamnueng, who was appointed AFC Referees Department's Manager in mid-2019, told FIFA.com. "I had to think and work hard to manage their development both on the domestic front and at the international level. "There was a lot of pressure. At times, I sat alone and cried secretly for some frustrating reasons which I couldn't tell anyone. But I was determined to do the job well. Before as a referee I had experiences of dealing with all sorts of difficulties. Nothing could stop me working hard." As it turned out, three years of hard work saw Kamnueng achieve new success in the managerial role with a growing number of qualified referees developed during her tenure. "We have produced quite a few Thai referees who have grown into qualified international referees,” the 44-year-old said. “I am happy to make my family proud of me."

An athletic youngster interested in multiple sports in her early days, Kamnueng gravitated towards playing football. Following university she turned to refereeing on the advice of a teacher. Having spent a few years officiating matches on the domestic front, her career turned a new leaf when she was nominated as a match official in the 2004 FIFA U-19 Women's World Championship, hosted by Thailand. Having officiated a group match between Russia and Spain, Kamnueng’s second test came in a quarter-final encounter between Brazil and Russia. During the match she awarded the Brazilians a free-kick from which the South Americans scored and went on to win. But after the match, she realised her decision was a mistake. “I knew I needed to work hard and improve.” Kamnueng continued to make progress on the international scene being the first Asian referee to officiate a final match at the Algarve Cup [in 2006], before embracing what was her first FIFA Women's World Cup™ at China 2007 where she was appointed to officiate a group game between Brazil and New Zealand. "It was really a dream come true to work at a Women's World Cup for me," she said. "I was the first Thai female referee to do so in the Women’s World Cup. And this time I was calm and had a decent match as the referee because I had completed a thorough preparation thanks to FIFA in the lead-up." Kamnueng didn't look back thereafter. She went on to figure at the Women's Olympic Football Tournament China 2008, before appearing in the inaugural Youth Olympic Games 2010 in Singapore. Her career culminated when she officiated the third-place play-off between Venezuela and Italy in the 2014 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in Costa Rica. "I started as a young referee in 2004 and ten years on, I ended up officiating one of the final-stage matches at a FIFA tournament," she said. "They were great experiences working at all these FIFA tournaments. I had the opportunity of witnessing first-class professionalism by the players and officials alike. The competition levels [at FIFA tournaments] were very high so I learned how to work under pressure."

By any standards, Kamnueng is highly accomplished and a big inspiration for young girls pursuing a refereeing career across the world. And with her new role leading the AFC Referees Department, she has been able to set fresh goals for herself, primarily to promote female referees’ opportunities officiating in men’s competitions. "I strongly feel female referees can perform well in men's matches if they are given enough opportunities. I am for the women referees who passed the men's fitness test and served in this year's AFC Cup," she said, citing the three Japanese referees who formed an all-female officiating team in an AFC Cup match in May 2019. "Now I am on a project aimed at promoting female referees’ fitness and my goal is to have an Asian woman referee to officiate a FIFA World Cup match. We will try to promote the women's referee's work across Asia, to enhance their quality and help them reach world-class levels.”

Source: FIFA

Norwegian referee Tom Harald Hagen announced on Monday “the time is right” after publicly coming out as gay in a newspaper interview. Hagen is a former FIFA referee, who officiated at international level, particularly in European competitions and FIFA World Cup™ qualifiers, and is currently active in the Norwegian league. Speaking to Norwegian newspaper Glamdalen, Hagen said: “There’s been an incredible number of nice words and messages. I'm a little surprised over how much attention it has received, but it's very nice to read messages especially from young football players, referees, supporters, players and coaches. Also, parents have thanked me on behalf of their children.”

FIFA commends Hagen on this courageous decision. For an active actor of the game to come out, and the positive reactions that this has generated overall, sends a clear message in favour of diversity. Football has to be for all and Tom Harald’s brave move is important to show the way and make everyone feel safe and welcome in our game,” said FIFA’s Chief Social Responsibility and Education Officer Joyce Cook. President of the Norwegian Football Association Terje Svendsen was equally positive towards Hagen for his openness. Talking to the Norwegian FA’s website he said: “The fact that there are very few men who are openly gay in football, and that hostile comments are a challenge, shows we still have a job to do in our organisation and culture. It's so good to have role models like Tom Harald. I hope this results in a development where more men come forward as gay and more people choose football.”

FIFA has been taking concrete measures to promote diversity and anti-discrimination in football, in particular discrimination based on sexual orientation. The FIFA Good Practice Guide on Diversity and Anti-Discrimination supports all FIFA member associations to strengthen their activities to ensure a welcoming atmosphere free of discrimination. The structure and all good practice examples in the guide are all applicable to fight homophobia. In addition, FIFA directly assists member associations to develop action plans with a comprehensive approach looking at regulations, education, sanctions and controls, networking and engagement, as well as communication. Following a number of sanctions based on homophobic incidents, FIFA is currently working on pilot projects with individual member associations to prevent further incidents. FIFA is also actively raising awareness on this topic, for instance with the annual FIFA Diversity Award launched in 2016. The annual jury systematically includes experts from the football family who have spoken out against homophobia in football themselves (past jury members include: former USA international and FIFA Women's World Cup™ winner Abby Wambach, former German international Thomas Hitzlsperger, and English referee Ryan Atkin) and past nominees and finalists include the International Gay & Lesbian Football Association, Football v Homophobia and the Russian LGBT Sport Federation. Finally, the FIFA Disciplinary Code was updated in 2019 in line with the highest international standards and makes clear that contemptuous, discriminatory or derogatory words or actions on account of sexual orientation shall be sanctioned.

Source: FIFA

3-5 November 2020

Liverpool – Sport Huancayo
Referee: Arnaldo Samaniego (PAR, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Eduardo Cardozo (PAR)
Assistant Referee 2: Milciades Saldivar (PAR)
Fourth Official: Andres Merlos (ARG)
Referee Assessor: Carlos Pastorino (URU)

Bolivar – Audax Italiano
Referee: Kevin Ortega (PER)
Assistant Referee 1: Michael Orue (PER)
Assistant Referee 2: Jesus Sanchez (PER)
Fourth Official: Miguel Santivanez (PER)
Referee Assessor: Juan Lugones (BOL)

Deportes Tolima – Union La Calera
Referee: Augusto Aragon (ECU)
Assistant Referee 1: Andres Tola (ECU)
Assistant Referee 2: Monica Amboya (ECU)
Fourth Official: Franklin Congo (ECU)
Referee Assessor: Oscar Ruiz (COL)

Defensa y Justicia – Sportivo Luqueno
Referee: Christian Ferreyra (URU)
Assistant Referee 1: Horacio Ferreiro (URU)
Assistant Referee 2: Santiago Fernandez (URU)
Fourth Official: Mauro Vigliano (ARG)
Referee Assessor: Sabrina Lois (ARG)

Sao Paulo – Lanus
Referee: Alexis Herrera (VEN)
Assistant Referee 1: Jorge Urrego (VEN)
Assistant Referee 2: Tulio Moreno (VEN)
Fourth Official: Orlando Bracamonte (VEN)
Referee Assessor: Emerson de Carvalho (BRA)

River Plate – Atletico Nacional
Referee: Andres Merlos (ARG)
Assistant Referee 1: Maximiliano Yesso (ARG)
Assistant Referee 2: Mariana Almeida (ARG)
Fourth Official: Arnaldo Samaniego (PAR)
Referee Assessor: Juan Cardellino (URU)

Huachipato – Fenix
Referee: Ivo Mendez (BOL)
Assistant Referee 1: Juan Montano (BOL)
Assistant Referee 2: Ariel Guizada (BOL)
Fourth Official: Christian Aleman (BOL)
Referee Assessor: Barbra Bastias (CHI)

Caracas – Vasco da Gama
Referee: John Ospina (COL)
Assistant Referee 1: Dionisio Ruiz (COL)
Assistant Referee 2: Alexander Leon (COL)
Fourth Official: Bismarks Santiago (COL)
Referee Assessor: Miguel Buitrago (VEN)

Penarol – Velez
Referee: Flavio de Souza (BRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Marcelo van Gasse (BRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Neuza Back (BRA)
Fourth Official: Rafael Traci (BRA)
Referee Assessor: Dario Ubriaco (URU)

Deportivo Cali – Millonarios
Referee: Wilton Sampaio (BRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Alessandro Rocha (BRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Guilherme Camilo (BRA)
Fourth Official: Edina Alves (BRA)
Referee Assessor: Jose Buitrago (COL)

Estudiantes de Merida – Coquimbo Unido
Referee: Luis Quiroz (ECU)
Assistant Referee 1: Christian Lescano (ECU)
Assistant Referee 2: Ricardo Baren (ECU)
Fourth Official: Roberto Sanchez (ECU)
Referee Assessor: Candelario Andarcia (VEN)

Emelec – Union
Referee: Angelo Hermosilla (CHI)
Assistant Referee 1: Claudio Urrutia (CHI)
Assistant Referee 2: Edson Cisternas (CHI)
Fourth Official: Eduardo Gamboa (CHI)
Referee Assessor: Omar Ponce (ECU)

Universidad Catolica – Sol de America
Referee: Fernando Espinoza (ARG)
Assistant Referee 1: Christian Navarro (ARG)
Assistant Referee 2: Julio Fernandez (ARG)
Fourth Official: Fernando Echenique (ARG)
Referee Assessor: Francisco Mondria (CHI)

Atletico Tucuman – Independiente
Referee: Andres Cunha (URU)
Assistant Referee 1: Roberto Canete (URU)
Assistant Referee 2: Jose Cuevas (PAR)
Fourth Official: Derlis Lopez (PAR)
Referee Assessor: Ricardo Casas (ARG)

Bahia – Melgar
Referee: Cristian Garay (CHI)
Assistant Referee 1: Raul Orellana (CHI)
Assistant Referee 2: Jose Retamal (CHI)
Fourth Official: Felipe Gonzalez (CHI)
Referee Assessor: Regildenia Moura (BRA)

Atletico Junior – Plaza Colonia
Referee: Angel Arteaga (VEN)
Assistant Referee 1: Carlos Lopez (VEN)
Assistant Referee 2: Lubin Torrealba (VEN)
Fourth Official: Juan Soto (VEN)
Referee Assessor: Abraham Gonzalez (COL)

FIFA has recently updated their Regulations on the Nomination and Appointment of FIFA International Match Officials. The biggest news is the addition of a new list in 2021 - video match officials - that could include active referees or assistant referees, as well as retired match officials. The proposed video match officials shall have officiated regularly first division matches in their country for at least two years and have officiated at least 15 matches as a VMO. There is no fitness requirement for this role. A minor change is that, starting next year, FIFA referees can wear their FIFA badge not only when officiating as referees, but also for other roles, which was not allowed before. Finally, these regulations indicate that “match officials shall wear their respective FIFA badges at all international matches”; however, that might not be fully applicable with the recently introduced UEFA and CONMEBOL badges.

Nomination conditions

1. Lists of candidates including both women and men shall be compiled for:

a) referees

b) assistant referees

c) video match officials

d) futsal referees

e) beach soccer referees.

2. When nominating a candidate, member associations shall observe the following conditions:

a) Candidates may be nominated for only one list, except for video match officials (VMOs), who can also be referees or assistant referees.

b) Member associations that do not have an organised league may not make any nominations.

c) The maximum number of match officials from each member association shall be decided annually by the FIFA Referees Committee, taking the following factors, among others, into account:

I. The level of refereeing of each member association
II. The level or professionalization of competitions within each member association

d) The proposed match officials shall be at least 25 years old (23 years old in the case of assistant referees) on 1 January of the year for which they have been nominated.

e) The proposed match officials shall have officiated regularly at matches at the highest level in the member association of their country for at least two years.

f) Only candidates who have officiated more often as assistant referees than as referees in the previous 12 months may be considered for the list of international assistant referees.

g) The proposed video match officials (VMOs) shall have officiated regularly at matches at the highest level in the member association of their country for at least two years and have officiated at least 15 matches as a VMO. They can also be directly certified by FIFA or the confederations. There is no fitness requirement for this role.

h) The proposed match officials shall have passed the appropriate FIFA fitness test related to their category, as well as a medical examination certifying that they are fit to act as match officials within the four months prior to the deadline for nomination for the FIFA Refereeing International Lists (1 June – 30 September). FIFA reserves the right to require match officials over the age of 45 to undergo additional technical assessments as well as specific medical examinations and fitness testing on a case-by-case basis.

i) Candidates who are temporarily injured, ill or pregnant (or recovering from pregnancy and/or childbirth) at the time of nomination may be approved provisionally until they have passed the above-mentioned medical examination and physical fitness test and FIFA has received official notification of the results.

j) The member associations shall supply FIFA with the rankings of the proposed match officials based on the marks obtained at national level. These rankings shall apply only to first-division matches at which they have officiated in the 12 months prior to their nomination.

k) Nominations must be submitted no later than 1 October via the link provided by FIFA Refereeing.

l) Failure to fulfil any of the foregoing conditions will lead to rejection of the candidate(s) in question.

Changing roles

International match officials included in one of the lists for any given year may not be proposed for any other list until a period of 12 months (for specialised training) has elapsed. This period shall begin on the day on which the match official concerned no longer appears on the international list. The video match official (VMO) role is exempted from this article.

Conflicts of interest

Match officials proposed for the lists may not exercise any official function as a member of an executive committee, as a general secretary, or as a member of the referees committee of any football club, member association, confederation or FIFA during the year for which they have been appointed.

Validation of Nomination

The FIFA Referees Committee shall decide upon any nominations for the FIFA Refereeing International Lists. The FIFA Referees Committee may consult the confederations before reaching a decision.

Allotments

The FIFA Referees Committee reserves the right to decide on the number of match officials that it deems appropriate for each category of match officials, and may disregard the rankings provided by the member associations under art. 6 par. 2 j) of these regulations.

Badges

The selected match officials shall receive FIFA international match official badges representing the category for which they were approved. The match officials shall wear their respective badges at all international matches which they officiate during the year for which they were appointed and may wear them for domestic matches as well. They may not, however, wear their FIFA international match official badge if it does not match their role in a match, unless they are a FIFA international referee, in which case they can also wear their badge for other roles.

Expectations of behaviour

FIFA international match officials shall be role models. As such, they are expected to behave with dignity and respect, while complying with all applicable FIFA regulations and guidelines.

Suspension and removal requests by a member association

The member association to which an international match official is affiliated may submit a formal request to the FIFA Referees Committee to suspend or remove the match official from the lists for any justifiable reason.

Suspensions and removals by the FIFA Referees Committee

The FIFA Referees Committee reserves the right to suspend or remove any international match official from the lists on grounds of performance, behaviour or for any other justifiable reason.

Source: FIFA

3-4 November 2020

Valur – HJK
Referee: Maika Vanderstichel (FRA, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Manuela Nicolosi (FRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Elodie Coppola (FRA)
Fourth Official: Alexandra Collin (FRA)

Sarajevo – Ramat Hasharon
Referee: Irena Velevačkoska (MKD)
Assistant Referee 1: Biljana Milanova (MKD)
Assistant Referee 2: Mirela Ivanova (BUL)
Fourth Official: Ivana Projkovska (MKD)

Vllaznia – ALG Dernegi
Referee: Meitar Shemesh (ISR)
Assistant Referee 1: May Moalem (ISR)
Assistant Referee 2: Nofar Skorka (ISR)
Fourth Official: Rachel Cohen (ISR)

Olimpia Cluj – Birkirkara
Referee: Alexandra Deligianni (GRE)
Assistant Referee 1: Yordanka Korcheva (BUL)
Assistant Referee 2: Sofia Athanasopoulou (GRE)
Fourth Official: Andromachi Tsiofliki (GRE)

Ferencvaros TC – Union Letzeburg
Referee: Dimitrina Milkova (BUL)
Assistant Referee 1: Koleta Prenga (ALB)
Assistant Referee 2: Mirjeta Salla (ALB)
Fourth Official: Mirela Cemeri (ALB)

Okzhetpes – Lanchkhuti
Referee: Cansu Tryak (TUR)
Assistant Referee 1: Sedef Aktan (TUR)
Assistant Referee 2: Mürvet Yavuztürk (TUR)
Fourth Official: Neslihan Muratdagi (TUR)

Minsk – RFS
Referee: Oxana Cruc (MDA)
Assistant Referee 1: Natalia Ceban (MDA)
Assistant Referee 2: Diana Snoeren (NED)
Fourth Official: Natalia Clipca (MDA)

NSA – Kamenica Sasa
Referee: Marina Krupskaya (RUS)
Assistant Referee 1: Ekaterina Kurochkina (RUS)
Assistant Referee 2: Iulia Petrova (RUS)
Fourth Official: Nadezhda Gorinova (RUS)

Kharkiv – Alashkert
Referee: Ana Terteleac (ROU)
Assistant Referee 1: Alexandra Petrea (ROU)
Assistant Referee 2: Mihaela Tepusa (ROU)
Fourth Official: Cristina Trandafir (ROU)

Pomurje – Breznica
Referee: Catarina Campos (POR)
Assistant Referee 1: Vanessa Dias (POR)
Assistant Referee 2: Ana Silva (POR)
Fourth Official: Sofia Gama (POR)

PAOK – Benfica
Referee: Kirsty Dowle (ENG)
Assistant Referee 1: Lisa Rashid (ENG)
Assistant Referee 2: Emily Carney (ENG)
Fourth Official: Stacey Pearson (ENG)

Gintra – Slovan Bratislava
Referee: Ifeoma Kulmala (FIN)
Assistant Referee 1: Lotta Vuorio (FIN)
Assistant Referee 2: Jenni Mahlamäki (FIN)
Fourth Official: Lina Lehtovaara (FIN)

Apollon – Swansea
Referee: Justina Lavrenovaite (LTU)
Assistant Referee 1: Ieva Ramanauskiene (LTU)
Assistant Referee 2: Irina Pozdejeva (LTU)
Fourth Official: Jurgita Mačikunytė (LTU)

TSKA – Flora
Referee: Jelena Medjedovic (SRB)
Assistant Referee 1: Aleksandra Milojevic (SRB)
Assistant Referee 2: Aleksandra Stojanac (SRB)
Fourth Official: Jelena Cvetković (SRB)

St. Polten – Mitrovica
Referee: Katarzyna Lisiecka-Sek (POL)
Assistant Referee 1: Katarzyna Wojs (POL)
Assistant Referee 2: Anna Dabrowska (POL)
Fourth Official: Ewa Augustyn (POL)

Gornik Leczna – Split
Referee: Louise Thompson (NIR)
Assistant Referee 1: Victoria Finlay (NIR)
Assistant Referee 2: Ceri Williams (WAL)
Fourth Official: Cheryl Foster (WAL)

Valerenga – KI
Referee: Ioanna Allayiotou (CYP)
Assistant Referee 1: Dora Myrianthea (CYP)
Assistant Referee 2: Maria Christodoulou (CYP)
Fourth Official: Zoe Stavrou (CYP)

Spartak Subotica – Anenii Noi
Referee: Merima Čelik (BIH)
Assistant Referee 1: Aida Jusufović (BIH)
Assistant Referee 2: Jovanka Višekruna (BIH)
Fourth Official: Nejra Ališpago (BIH)

Anderlecht – Linfield
Referee: Michele Schmölzer (SUI)
Assistant Referee 1: Sabrina Keinersdorfer (SUI)
Assistant Referee 2: Emilie Aubry (SUI)
Fourth Official: Esther Staubli (SUI)

Glasgow City – Peamount
Referee: Sabina Bolić (CRO)
Assistant Referee 1: Ivona Pejic (CRO)
Assistant Referee 2: Gordana Katušić (CRO)
Fourth Official: Jelena Pejkovic (CRO)

Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross faces a ban from football after he included an image of himself as a match official in a party leaflet. World football governing body FIFA has received a complaint that the MP and part-time referee breached neutrality rules by using the image. The complaint, lodged by a member of the Scottish Football Supporters Association, called for an investigation into the political mailshot, which was sent out to Scottish homes last month.

It could see Ross who has officiated top-flight games including international and Champions League fixtures - hit with a suspension. The complaint said: “I want FIFA to launch an investigation and deal with this as a matter of urgency, given we are now in an election cycle in our country. This leaflet has been distributed by the political party that Mr. Ross leads. It has been sent to households throughout Scotland and it clearly shows him using his image as a FIFA official to try to benefit himself and his organisation with this endorsement. I believe he did not use a picture using his SFA uniform as it might have questioned his right to do so.”

In 1995, Swiss referee Kurt Rothlisberger was suspended for three months for misusing his position as a FIFA referee to campaign to win a seat in the Swiss parliament. During the campaign trail, Rothlisberger was photographed in his official FIFA referee uniform, which led to the ban.

Between October 2018 and January 2020, former dairy farmer Ross was paid £30,000 in fees as a match official. Scottish league matches can see fees of £445 a game for referees and European fixtures closer to £2000. Politicians have criticised the Scottish Conservative leader, accusing him of breaking FIFA laws in a desperate attempt to drum up support. Keith Brown, deputy leader of the SNP, said: “Douglas Ross is brazenly attempting to trade on his football connections to try to curry favour with voters. His political leaflets clearly show him in his linesman gear in what FIFA must regard as a flagrant breach of their rules on political neutrality. It’s desperate.” Scottish Labour MSP Neil Findlay said: “Using any logo in this manner without appropriate permission would appear to show an error of judgment.” A Scottish Conservative spokesman said: “Douglas will be happy to clarify matters with FIFA and is not aware of any concerns from the association.” On Monday morning, FIFA confirmed to The National that they were probing the allegation: “We are currently looking into the matter and have no further comment to make at this stage.”

Source: Daily Record

3 November 2020

Lokomotiv Moskva – Atletico de Madrid
Referee: Benoît Bastien (FRA, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Hicham Zakrani (FRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Frederic Haquette (FRA)
Fourth Official: Karim Abed (FRA)
VAR: Willy Delajod (FRA)
AVAR: Abdulkadir Bitigen (TUR)
Referee Observer: Murat Ilgaz (TUR)

Shakhtar Donetsk – Borussia Mönchengladbach
Referee: Serdar Gözübüyük (NED)
Assistant Referee 1: Joost van Zuilen (NED)
Assistant Referee 2: Johan Balder (NED)
Fourth Official: Allard Lindhout (NED)
VAR: Pol van Boekel (NED)
AVAR: Dennis Higler (NED)
Referee Observer: Uno Tutk (EST)

FC Salzburg – Bayern München
Referee: Danny Makkelie (NED)
Assistant Referee 1: Mario Diks (NED)
Assistant Referee 2: Hessel Steegstra (NED)
Fourth Official: Daniele Doveri (ITA)
VAR: Massimiliano Irrati (ITA)
AVAR: Vitali Meshkov (RUS)
Referee Observer: Ichko Lozev (BUL)

Real Madrid – Internazionale Milano
Referee: Clement Turpin (FRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Nicolas Danos (FRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Cyril Gringore (FRA)
Fourth Official: Frank Schneider (FRA)
VAR: François Letexier (FRA)
AVAR: Jerôme Brisard (FRA)
Referee Observer: Vladimir Medved (SVK)

Manchester City – Olympiacos FC
Referee: Carlos Del Cerro Grande (ESP)
Assistant Referee 1: Juan Yuste Jimenez (ESP)
Assistant Referee 2: Roberto Alonso Fernandez (ESP)
Fourth Official: Jose Munuera Montero (ESP)
VAR: Jose Sanchez Martinez (ESP)
AVAR: Guillermo Cuadra Fernandez (ESP)
Referee Observer: Stefano Podeschi (SMR)

FC Porto – Olympique de Marseille
Referee: Antonio Mateu Lahoz (ESP)
Assistant Referee 1: Pau Cebrian Devis (ESP)
Assistant Referee 2: Roberto Diaz Perez (ESP)
Fourth Official: Javier Estrada Fernandez (ESP)
VAR: Alejandro Hernandez Hernandez (ESP)
AVAR: Ricardo De Burgos Bengoechea (ESP)
Referee Observer: Nikolai Ivanov (RUS)

FC Midtjylland – AFC Ajax
Referee: Robert Madden (SCO)
Assistant Referee 1: David Roome (SCO)
Assistant Referee 2: Graeme Stewart (SCO)
Fourth Official: Donald Robertson (SCO)
VAR: Stuart Attwell (ENG)
AVAR: Paul Tierney (ENG)
Referee Observer: Miroslav Liba (CZE)

Atalanta BC – Liverpool FC
Referee: Ovidiu Haţegan (ROU)
Assistant Referee 1: Octavian Șovre (ROU)
Assistant Referee 2: Sebastian Gheorghe (ROU)
Fourth Official: Sebastian Colţescu (ROU)
VAR: Juan Martinez Munuera (ESP)
AVAR: Istvan Kovacs (ROU)
Referee Observer: Drago Kos (SVN)

4 November 2020
Zenit – Lazio
Referee: Artur Soares Dias (POR)
Assistant Referee 1: Rui Tavares (POR)
Assistant Referee 2: Paulo Soares (POR)
Fourth Official: Antonio Nobre (POR)
VAR: Tiago Martins (POR)
AVAR: Luis Godinho (POR)
Referee Observer: Kyros Vassaras (GRE)

Istanbul Başakşehir – Manchester United
Referee: Davide Massa (ITA)
Assistant Referee 1: Filippo Meli (ITA)
Assistant Referee 2: Stefano Alassio (ITA)
Fourth Official: Gianpaolo Calvarese (ITA)
VAR: Marco Di Bello (ITA)
AVAR: Maurizio Mariani (ITA)
Referee Observer: Nikolai Levnikov (RUS)

Chelsea FC – Stade Rennais
Referee: Felix Zwayer (GER)
Assistant Referee 1: Thorsten Schiffner (GER)
Assistant Referee 2: Marco Achmüller (GER)
Fourth Official: Tobias Stieler (GER)
VAR: Sascha Stegemann (GER)
AVAR: Bibiana Steinhaus (GER)
Referee Observer: Hugh Dallas (SCO)

Sevilla FC – FC Krasnodar
Referee: Felix Brych (GER)
Assistant Referee 1: Mark Borsch (GER)
Assistant Referee 2: Stefan Lupp (GER)
Fourth Official: Daniel Siebert (GER)
VAR: Marco Fritz (GER)
AVAR: Günter Perl (GER)
Referee Observer: Michael Riley (ENG)

Club Brugge – Borussia Dortmund
Referee: Damir Skomina (SVN)
Assistant Referee 1: Jure Praprotnik (SVN)
Assistant Referee 2: Tomaž Klančnik (SVN)
Fourth Official: Dragoslav Perič (SVN)
VAR: Marco Guida (ITA)
AVAR: Fabio Maresca (ITA)
Referee Observer: Nuno Castro (POR)

FC Barcelona – Dynamo Kyiv
Referee: Michael Oliver (ENG)
Assistant Referee 1: Stuart Burt (ENG)
Assistant Referee 2: Simon Bennett (ENG)
Fourth Official: David Coote (ENG)
VAR: Christopher Kavanagh (ENG)
AVAR: Craig Pawson (ENG)
Referee Observer: Domenico Messina (ITA)

Ferencvarosi TC – Juventus
Referee: Orel Grinfeld (ISR)
Assistant Referee 1: Roy Hassan (ISR)
Assistant Referee 2: Idan Yarkoni (ISR)
Fourth Official: Gal Leibovitz (ISR)
VAR: Bastian Dankert (GER)
AVAR: Harm Osmers (GER)
Referee Observer: Vladimir Sajn (SVN)

RB Leipzig – Paris St. Germain
Referee: Szymon Marciniak (POL)
Assistant Referee 1: Pawel Sokolnicki (POL)
Assistant Referee 2: Radoslaw Siejka (POL)
Fourth Official: Pawel Raczkowski (POL)
VAR: Pawel Gil (POL)
AVAR: Tomasz Kwiatkowski (POL)
Referee Observer: Rune Pedersen (NOR)

The winners of the 2020 National Sports Award were named, among which FIFA referee Lucila Venegas stands out. "After a broad review of the applications received, as well as an intense process of deliberation, the list of winners of the 2020 National Sports Award was decided", mentioned the Secretary of Public Education, Esteban Moctezuma Barragan. For the referee category, the award was obtained by the Lucila Venegas Montes.

The 39-year-old Venegas has been a referee since 1999, has a Bachelor's Degree in Physical Culture and Sports and made her professional refereeing debut in 2005. Her FIFA badge was obtained in 2008, after being part of tournaments such as the TDP League, Premier League, Basic Forces Tournaments of the Liga MX U-15, U-17 and U-20, Copa MX, Ascenso MX and Liga MX Femenil. She has participated in the two FIFA U-17 Women's World Cups in Costa Rica 2014 and Uruguay 2018, FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup in Japan 2012, two FIFA Women's World Cups in Canada 2015 and France 2019, Rio 2016 Olympic Games, two editions of the Algarve Cup and Concacaf Women's Qualifiers, as well as Concacaf U-20 and U-17 competitions. She has held the FIFA badge for 12 consecutive years. Her greatest international achievement has been the semi-final of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games between the Brazil and Sweden, as well as the final of the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Costa Rica 2014 between Japan and Spain.

Source: El Universal

2-7 November 2020

Israel – Cyprus

Referee 1: Vlad Ciobanu (ROU, photo)

Referee 2: Daniel Deca (ROU)

Third Referee: Idan Berenshtein (ISR)

Timekeeper: Raafat Al Hamola (ISR)

Montenegro – Lithuania
Referee 1: Tomasz Frak (POL)
Referee 2: Slawomir Steczko (POL)
Third Referee: Sasa Goranovic (MNE)
Timekeeper: Drazen Vukcevic (MNE)

San Marino – Denmark

Bulgaria – Armenia
Postponed

Turkey – Greece

Switzerland – Germany

England – North Macedonia

3-5 November 2020

Tauro – Forge
Referee: Nima Saghafi (USA, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Cameron Blanchard (USA)
Assistant Referee 2: Henri Pupiro (NCA)
Fourth Official: Jose Torres (PUR)

CD Marathon – Antigua GFC
Referee: Ismael Cornejo (SLV)
Assistant Referee 1: Juan Zumba (SLV)
Assistant Referee 2: Geovany Garcia (SLV)
Fourth Official: Jaime Herrera (SLV)

Deportivo Saprissa – CSD Municipal
Referee: Luis Santander (MEX)
Assistant Referee 1: Pablo Hernandez (MEX)
Assistant Referee 2: Andres Hernandez (MEX)
Fourth Official: Adonai Escobedo (MEX)

Alianza – Motagua
Referee: John Pitti (PAN)
Assistant Referee 1: Ronald Bruna (PAN)
Assistant Referee 2: Douglas Bermudez (SLV)
Fourth Official: Ariel Sanchez (PAN)

Waterhouse – Arcahaie
Referee: Ricangel DeLeca (ARU)
Assistant Referee 1: Kevon Clarke (BRB)
Assistant Referee 2: Iroots Appleton (ATG)
Fourth Official: Keylor Herrera (CRC)

CS Herediano – Real Esteli
Referee: Mario Escobar (GUA)
Assistant Referee 1: Humberto Panjoj (GUA)
Assistant Referee 2: Julian Mendez (GUA)
Fourth Official: Sergio Reyna (GUA)

CD Olimpia – Managua FC
Referee: Oshane Nation (JAM)
Assistant Referee 1: Damian Williams (JAM)
Assistant Referee 2: Jassett Kerr (JAM)
Fourth Official: Daneon Parchment (JAM)

5 November 2020

AS Roma – CFR Cluj
Referee: Matej Jug (SVN, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Matej Žunič (SVN)
Assistant Referee 2: Manuel Vidali (SVN)
Fourth Official: David Šmajc (SVN)
Referee Observer: Jouni Hyytia (FIN)

Rapid Wien – Dundalk FC
Referee: Trustin Farrugia Cann (MLT)
Assistant Referee 1: Luke Portelli (MLT)
Assistant Referee 2: Jurgen Spiteri (MLT)
Fourth Official: Fyodor Zammit (MLT)
Referee Observer: Cyril Zimmermann (SUI)

Hapoel Beer Sheva – Bayer Leverkusen
Referee: Radu Petrescu (ROU)
Assistant Referee 1: Radu Ghinguleac (ROU)
Assistant Referee 2: Mircea Grigoriu (ROU)
Fourth Official: Fabrizio Pasqua (ITA)
Referee Observer: Boško Jovanetić (SRB)

Slavia Praha – OGC Nice
Referee: Jakob Kehlet (DEN)
Assistant Referee 1: Heine Sorensen (DEN)
Assistant Referee 2: Lars Hummelgaard (DEN)
Fourth Official: Jens Maae (DEN)
Referee Observer: Vlado Svilokos (CRO)

Lech Poznan – Standard de Liege
Referee: Manuel Schüttengruber (AUT)
Assistant Referee 1: Roland Brandner (AUT)
Assistant Referee 2: Robert Steinacher (AUT)
Fourth Official: Christopher Jäger (AUT)
Referee Observer: Vadims Direktorenko (LVA)

SL Benfica – Rangers FC
Referee: Jesus Gil Manzano (ESP)
Assistant Referee 1: Diego Barbero Sevilla (ESP)
Assistant Referee 2: Inigo Prieto Lopez (ESP)
Fourth Official: Guillermo Cuadra Fernandez (ESP)
Referee Observer: Bertrand Layec (FRA)

Omonia – Granada
Referee: Ivan Bebek (CRO)
Assistant Referee 1: Goran Pataki (CRO)
Assistant Referee 2: Andreas Heidenreich (AUT)
Fourth Official: Harald Lechner (AUT)
Referee Observer: Neale Barry (ENG)

PAOK FC – PSV Eindhoven
Referee: Daniel Stefanski (POL)
Assistant Referee 1: Marcin Boniek (POL)
Assistant Referee 2: Dawid Golis (POL)
Fourth Official: Damian Sylwestrzak (POL)
Referee Observer: Laurent Duhamel (FRA)

Real Sociedad – AZ Alkmaar
Referee: John Beaton (SCO)
Assistant Referee 1: Daniel McFarlane (SCO)
Assistant Referee 2: Alan Mulvanny (SCO)
Fourth Official: Steven McLean (SCO)
Referee Observer: Karel Vidlak (CZE)

HNK Rijeka – SSC Napoli
Referee: Mattias Gestranius (FIN)
Assistant Referee 1: Jan-Peter Aravirta (FIN)
Assistant Referee 2: Mikko Alakare (FIN)
Fourth Official: Jouni Hyytia (FIN)
Referee Observer: Thomas Einwaller (AUT)

Sivasspor – Qarabag
Referee: Joao Pinheiro (POR)
Assistant Referee 1: Tiago Pereira (POR)
Assistant Referee 2: Pedro Ribeiro (POR)
Fourth Official: Iancu Vasilica (POR)
Referee Observer: Georgi Yordanov (BUL)

PFC Ludogorets – Tottenham Hotspur
Referee: Fran Jović (CRO)
Assistant Referee 1: Ivica Modrić (CRO)
Assistant Referee 2: Hrvoje Radić (CRO)
Fourth Official: Mario Zebec (CRO)
Referee Observer: Emil Bozhinovski (MKD)

Young Boys – CSKA Sofia
Referee: Lawrence Visser (BEL)
Assistant Referee 1: Thibaud Nijssen (BEL)
Assistant Referee 2: Rien Vanyzere (BEL)
Fourth Official: Bram Van Driessche (BEL)
Referee Observer: Herbert Fandel (GER)

Arsenal – Molde
Referee: Halil Umut Meler (TUR)
Assistant Referee 1: Ibrahim Uyarcan (TUR)
Assistant Referee 2: Martin Margaritov (BUL)
Fourth Official: Bahattin Simsek (TUR)
Referee Observer: David Fernandez Borbalan (ESP)

Leicester City – SC Braga
Referee: Bas Nijhuis (NED)
Assistant Referee 1: Charles Schaap (NED)
Assistant Referee 2: Rogier Honig (NED)
Fourth Official: Sander van der Eijk (NED)
Referee Observer: Edward Foley (IRL)

Zorya Luhansk – AEK Athens
Referee: William Collum (SCO)
Assistant Referee 1: David McGeachie (SCO)
Assistant Referee 2: Sean Carr (SCO)
Fourth Official: Nicholas Walsh (SCO)
Referee Observer: Antonio Damato (ITA)

Celtic FC – Sparta Praha
Referee: Istvan Kovacs (ROU)
Assistant Referee 1: Vasile Marinescu (ROU)
Assistant Referee 2: Ovidiu Artene (ROU)
Fourth Official: Marius Avram (ROU)
Referee Observer: Shmuel Shteif (ISR)

AC Milan – LOSC Lille
Referee: Bartosz Frankowski (POL)
Assistant Referee 1: Jakub Winkler (POL)
Assistant Referee 2: Marek Arys (POL)
Fourth Official: Krzysztof Jakubik (POL)
Referee Observer: Yuri Baskakov (RUS)

Villarreal CF – Maccabi Tel Aviv
Referee: Nikola Dabanović (MNE)
Assistant Referee 1: Milovan Djukić (MNE)
Assistant Referee 2: Vladan Todorović (MNE)
Fourth Official: Miloš Bošković (MNE)
Referee Observer: Lutz-Michael Fröhlich (GER)

Royal Antwerp – LASK
Referee: Yevhenii Aranovskiy (UKR)
Assistant Referee 1: Volodymyr Vysotskyi (UKR)
Assistant Referee 2: Viktor Matyash (UKR)
Fourth Official: Vitaliy Romanov (UKR)
Referee Observer: Rusmir Mrković (BIH)

GNK Dinamo – Wolfsberger AC
Referee: Jerôme Brisard (FRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Benjamin Pages (FRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Guillaume Debart (FRA)
Fourth Official: Amaury Delerue (FRA)
Referee Observer: Dejan Filipović (SRB)

Feyenoord – CSKA Moskva
Referee: Roi Reinshreiber (ISR)
Assistant Referee 1: David Biton (ISR)
Assistant Referee 2: Dvir Shimon (ISR)
Fourth Official: Liran Liany (ISR)
Referee Observer: Markus Strömbergsson (SWE)

Crvena Zvezda – KAA Gent
Referee: Michael Fabbri (ITA)
Assistant Referee 1: Giorgio Peretti (ITA)
Assistant Referee 2: Alessandro Costanzo (ITA)
Fourth Official: Rosario Abisso (ITA)
Referee Observer: Volodymyr Petrov (UKR)

TSG Hoffenheim – Slovan Liberec
Referee: Sergei Karasev (RUS)
Assistant Referee 1: Igor Demeshko (RUS)
Assistant Referee 2: Maksim Gavrilin (RUS)
Fourth Official: Vladimir Moskalev (RUS)
Referee Observer: Erol Ersoy (TUR)

FIFA President Gianni Infantino has received a request from UEFA to adjust the handball law again to provide more flexibility for referees and prevent players being unfairly punished. In a letter to Infantino seen by The Associated Press, UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin asked for the November meetings of the game’s lawmakers to consider allowing referees to determine again whether a player handled intentionally or not. Ceferin’s intervention came after a spate of penalties being awarded because balls have - even unwittingly - hit outstretched or raised arms. "The attempt to strictly define the cases where handling the ball is an offence has resulted in many unfair decisions which have been met with growing frustration and discomfort by the football community," Ceferin wrote. UEFA has no say in the laws of the game despite running the world’s biggest club competition — the Champions League — and having the most most popular domestic leagues on the continent. The International Football Association Board is instead controlled by FIFA — which has half of the eight votes — and the four British associations from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. "The spirit of the game must be preserved at all times," Ceferin said. "I believe that going back to the previous wording, perhaps reviewed and integrated by a provision which does not allow goals to be scored with a hand/arm, is an option to be taken into account." The letter was written to Infantino on Oct. 27 but Ceferin’s case has been strengthened on Tuesday by an incident in a Champions League match. A shot by Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham struck Rennes defender Dalbert’s leg and ricocheted up onto his outstretched arm. It led to Dalbert being shown a second yellow card and a penalty being awarded that Timo Werner converted for Chelsea’s second in a 3-0 victory. "lt happens quite frequently that the ball accidentally hits hands or arms of players," Ceferin wrote, "but the spirit of the law is clearly that, these cases being unavoidable, they should not be punished in order to avoid excessive fragmentation of play and even to allow hazardous situations to decide the result of matches." The handball law, which changed in March 2019 at the annual meeting of IFAB, has coincided with the introduction of video assistant referees across competitions. "The use of VAR in many competitions has simply exacerbated the problem and pushes referees and media to vivisection every situation, with paranoid effects and controversial outcomes," Ceferin said. What Ceferin finds particularly problematic is referees assessing the positions of body parts. "The arms are part of bodies dynamically engaged in athletic efforts and their movement is necessary to preserve the body balance, make the effort successful and avoid injuries," Ceferin wrote. "There is plenty of evidence that the defenders are nowadays forced to assume `unnatural’ positions simply to avoid the risk to see their hand/arm accidentally hit by the ball and concede a penalty kick. There are also plenty of situations where hands/arms exposed outside the profile of the body in moves which are understood to be natural, unintentional and unavoidable have been punished with penalty kicks. This is no good service to the game." Goals are also being harshly ruled out, Ceferin pointed out, because of accidental touches of the ball by an arm or hand. "lf the original spirit of this amendment was to avoid that a goal is scored with a hand/arm, this further provision goes far beyond the rationale as it leads to goals being disallowed following situations where the ball may have minimally hit the hand/arm of a player, without any intention of the latter and even if the hand/arm was in a natural position and the deflection did not have any significant impact on scoring the goal," Ceferin said. The head of European soccer is hoping the law can be changed at the annual meeting of IFAB early next year. "There is no shame in admitting that sometimes decisions that are made for the good do not achieve their objectives and should be reviewed," Ceferin said. "Doing so would certainly not undermine the high merits and the credibility of IFAB, whose service to the game and dedication to safeguarding and enhancing its rules is fully appreciated by all."

Source: AP

There were words of advice from famous whistler Tom Wharton that David Syme remembered when he walked into the white hot atmosphere of an Old Firm battle. Not that the pep talk was much use to him in the League Cup Final between the Glasgow giants in 1986. Wharton told young referees to not let their hearing be sharper than their eyesight. Perhaps he should have warned them they’d need eyes on the back of their heads. Syme - who died this week aged 76 after a short battle with cancer - was an official when the men in the middle were more like sheriffs in the Wild West. Eye-watering tackles one minute, fans going mad on the terraces the next, it took a special kind of character to cope with the flak and the fury. Syme was one of those characters though, liked and respected - but he needed to have his wits about him at Hampden 34 years ago. The whistler had already sent off Mo Johnston and with Tony Shepherd taking a pop, the Celtic man was warned with a red as well if there was any more lip. Seconds later Syme fell a whack on the back of his head - Shepherd was prime suspect and the card came back out. It wasn’t until the linesman pointed out it was a coin from the terraces rather than a slap from a Celt the decision was famously overturned.

It didn’t stop Hoops boss Davie Hay having a go afterwards but close pal and fellow former ref Brian McGinlay admitted his friend knew it came with the territory. He said: “I always joked to him I had the edge with 21 Old Firm games while he did 19. If you can handle those matches you can handle anything. Davie and myself’s mentor was Tom Wharton and he had great advice for those games. He said, ‘never let your hearing be sharper than your eyesight’. He took that on board but you need eyes on the back of your head. The famous one was the League Cup Final. He sent off Tony Shepherd as he must have thought the Celtic player had clipped him, but the linesman called him over and explained it was a coin that hit him! Davie had to call Shepherd back on to the pitch. It was a pretty chaotic game and I remember Davie Hay wasn’t happy with the penalty decision, but that comes with the territory when you are the referee, and Davie understood that. Most managers and players would have known him to be fair.”

It would be unfair to be remembered for the League Cup Final. Syme has a stellar career that spanned more than a decade and took him all over the world. Dealing with Scottish football’s tearaways was the ideal preparation to handle the best. McGinlay said: “You need to be a strong character to be a referee, but even more so back then. There were a lot of characters in the game and the tackles could be wild at times. He also had a good rapport with the players, there would be the usual back and forth but there was always good banter. Davie gave as good as he got and managed to keep them in check. He was around for a long time and got to know a lot of them. He’d let Willie Miller know in the first five minutes that he was the one refereeing the game.” Syme made his name in Scotland but his fondest memories are further afield. McGinlay said: “We came through the ranks at the same time and we were put on the FIFA list. There was a small group of us who went all over the world together and those were great times. There were a lot of highlights but I remember when we went down to Wembley for England’s game against Argentina in 1980. I was the referee, with Davie and Tommy Muirhead the linesmen, in front of 92,000. It was Diego Maradona’s first appearance in the UK. He was just about 19-year-old at the time and he was sensational. It was a joy for us to see this young talent who would become one of the greatest players ever. Davie went all over the world, he refereed at the Under 20 World Cup Final in Russia, European Championships, big European games, you name it. That said it all about his ability as a referee.”

Syme remained firm friends with the band of refs that included McGinlay, Bob Valentine and Kenny Hope. The last got together was in March before the pandemic and McGinlay added: “There are a dozen of us who meet up once a month in the pub, where we’re right all the world’s wrongs and talk about the good times we all had. Davie was a great guy and he’ll be sadly missed.”

Source: Daily Record

6-7 November 2020

Serbia – Finland
Referee 1: Eduardo Coelho (POR, photo)
Referee 2: Cristiano Santos (POR)
Third Referee: Oliver Nikolic (SRB)
Timekeeper: Spasoje Kolak (SRB)

Croatia – Czech Republic

Referee 1: Juan Cordero Gallardo (ESP)

Referee 2: Alejandro Martinez Flores (ESP)

Third Referee: Ibrahim El Jilali (NED)

Timekeeper: Josip Dujmic (CRO)

After 13 years of refereeing in the Mexican First Division, Roberto Garcia Orozco decided to end his career as a referee in 2019, when he turned 45. In an interview with radio W Deportes, he spoke about his experiences and, among them, the problems he had when refereeing matches of Club America. While talking about the discussion between Cesar Ramos and Miguel Herrera that coincided with the absence of the referee in the following matchday, Garcia mentioned that he was vetoed from refereeing matches where Club America was involved. “I was vetoed several times from refereeing America for applying the regulations and for trying to do things well, but in the end it depends on each referee. Practically, every time I referee them, I would expel Miguel Herrera”.

Garcia Orozco said that these practices have always occurred in the Referees Committee and gave Enrique Santander as an example with Guadalajara. “It has existed all the time; referees were vetoed. There are people who call the Referees Committee to say which referee they don't want to referee their games. Today we see it with Cesar Ramos and it has also happened with Santander at Chivas”. Arturo Brizio, the president of the Mexican Referees Committee, denied Garcia Orozco’s claims and mentioned that these types of statements should have been made when he was active and not retired. "Roberto Garcia Orozco is a superstar, he was a very important referee. Disagreements have to be aired within where we are, in this case when he was an active referee, in the Referees Committee".

Source: TUDN

7-10 November 2020

Cyprus – Israel
Referee 1: Timo Onatsu (FIN, photo)
Referee 2: Arttu Kyynaeraeinen (FIN)
Third Referee: Michael Christofides (CYP)
Timekeeper: Nicolas Nicolaou (CYP)

Denmark – San Marino
Referee 1: Marjan Mladenovski (MKD)
Referee 2: Jan Kresta (CZE)
Third Referee: Martin Koster (DEN)
Timekeeper: Kasper Darfelt (DEN)

Lithuania – Montenegro
Referee 1: Marc Birkett (ENG)
Referee 2: Kamil Çetin (TUR)
Third Referee: Šarunas Tamulynas (LTU)
Timekeeper: Žilvinas Galimovas (LTU)

Germany – Switzerland

Referee 1: Lukaš Peško (SVK)

Referee 2: Rastislav Behancin (SVK)

Third Referee: Ingo Heemsoth (GER)

Timekeeper: Maximilian Alkofer (GER)

Greece – Turkey

Referee 1: Alem Bajrovic (BIH)

Referee 2: Igor Puzović (BIH)

Third Referee: Antonios Adamopoulos (GRE)

Timekeeper: Nikolaos Pachakis (GRE)

North Macedonia – England

Cancelled

11-12 November 2020

Germany – Czech Republic
Referee: Andris Treimanis (LVA, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Haralds Gudermanis (LVA)
Assistant Referee 2: Aleksejs Spasjonnikovs (LVA)
Fourth Official: Aleksandrs Golubevs (LVA)

Lithuania – Faroe Islands
Referee: Aleksandrs Anufrijevs (LVA)
Assistant Referee 1: Denis Ševcenko (LVA)
Assistant Referee 2: Romans Platonovs (LVA)
Fourth Official: Donatas Rumšas (LTU)

Netherlands – Spain

Referee: Davide Massa (ITA)

Assistant Referee 1: Fabiano Preti (ITA)

Assistant Referee 2: Stefano Alassio (ITA)

Fourth Official: Daniele Doveri (ITA)

San Marino – Latvia

Referee: Fabio Maresca (ITA)

Assistant Referee 1: Alessandro Costanzo (ITA)

Assistant Referee 2: Matteo Passeri (ITA)

Fourth Official: Luca Zani (SMR)

Norway – Israel
Referee: Jakob Kehlet (DEN)
Assistant Referee 1: Heine Sorensen (DEN)
Assistant Referee 2: Christian Brixen (DEN)
Fourth Official: Jørgen Burchardt (DEN)

France – Finland
Referee: Nikola Popov (BUL)
Assistant Referee 1: Deniz Sokolov (BUL)
Assistant Referee 2: Georgi Doynov (BUL)
Fourth Official: Dragomir Draganov (BUL)

Romania – Belarus
Referee: Georgi Kabakov (BUL)
Assistant Referee 1: Martin Margaritov (BUL)
Assistant Referee 2: Diyan Valkov (BUL)

Bulgaria – Gibraltar
Referee: Sebastian Colţescu (ROU)
Assistant Referee 1: Cristian Orbulet (ROU)
Assistant Referee 2: Alexandru Cerei (ROU)

Malta – Lichtenstein
Referee: Manfredas Lukjancukas (LTU)
Assistant Referee 1: Vytenis Kazlauskas (LTU)
Assistant Referee 2: Vytis Snarskis (LTU)
Fourth Official: Trustin Farrugia Cann (MLT)

Albania – Kosovo

Referee: Hüseyin Göçek (TUR)

Assistant Referee 1: Esat Sancaktar (TUR)

Assistant Referee 2: Cevdet Komurcuoglu (TUR)

Turkey – Croatia
Referee: Slavko Vinčić (SVN)
Assistant Referee 1: Tomaž Klančnik (SVN)
Assistant Referee 2: Andraž Kovačič (SVN)
Fourth Official: Matej Jug (SVN)

Italy – Estonia
Referee: Rade Obrenovič (SVN)
Assistant Referee 1: Aleksandar Kasapovič (SVN)
Assistant Referee 2: David Gabrovec (SVN)
Fourth Official: Fabrizio Pasqua (ITA)

Denmark – Sweden
Referee: Espen Eskas (NOR)
Assistant Referee 1: Oystein Ytterland (NOR)
Assistant Referee 2: Morten Jensen (NOR)
Fourth Official: Rohit Saggi (NOR)

Belgium – Switzerland
Referee: Jerôme Brisard (FRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Benjamin Pages (FRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Guillaume Debart (FRA)
Fourth Official: Willy Delajod (FRA)

Luxembourg – Austria
Referee: Amaury Delerue (FRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Frederic Haquette (FRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Aurelien Drouet (FRA)
Fourth Official: Laurent Kopriwa (LUX)

Greece – Cyprus

Referee: Harm Osmers (GER)

Assistant Referee 1: Eduard Beitinger (GER)

Assistant Referee 2: Dominik Schaal (GER)

Poland – Ukraine
Referee: Manuel Schüttengruber (AUT)
Assistant Referee 1: Roland Brandner (AUT)
Assistant Referee 2: Roland Riedel (AUT)
Fourth Official: Christopher Jäger (AUT)

Slovenia – Azerbaijan
Referee: Ferenc Karako (HUN)
Assistant Referee 1: Peter Kobor (HUN)
Assistant Referee 2: Istvan Albert (HUN)
Fourth Official: David Smajc (SVN)

Portugal – Andorra

Referee: Alain Bieri (SUI)

Assistant Referee 1: Marco Zürcher (SUI)

Assistant Referee 2: Alain Heiniger (SUI)

Fourth Official: Antonio Nobre (POR)

England – Ireland

Referee: Carlos Del Cerro Grande (ESP)

Assistant Referee 1: Juan Yuste Jimenez (ESP)

Assistant Referee 2: Roberto Alonso Fernandez (ESP)

Fourth Official: Jose Munuera Montero (ESP)

Bosnia and Herzegovina – Montenegro

Referee: Milovan Milačić (MNE)

Assistant Referee 1: Jovica Tatar (MNE)

Assistant Referee 2: Marjan Paunović (MNE)

Fourth Official: Irfan Peljto (BIH)

Moldova – Russia
Referee: Radu Petrescu (ROU)
Assistant Referee 1: Radu Ghinguleac (ROU)
Assistant Referee 2: Mircea Grigoriu (ROU)

Wales – USA
Referee: Nicholas Walsh (SCO)
Assistant Referee 1: Douglas Potter (SCO)
Assistant Referee 2: Sean Carr (SCO)
Fourth Official: Bryn Markham-Jones (WAL)

Japan – Panama

Referee: Christian Ciochirca (AUT)

Assistant Referee 1: Maximilian Kolbitsch (AUT)

Assistant Referee 2: Andreas Witschnigg (AUT)

Fourth Official: Alexander Harkam (AUT)

Qatar – Costa Rica

Referee: Sebastian Gishamer (AUT)

Assistant Referee 1: Roland Riedel (AUT)

Assistant Referee 2: Andreas Staudinger (AUT)

Fourth Official: Gerhard Grobelnik (AUT)

The French Football Federation learned with great emotion about the disappearance of Stephane Moulin, member of its Technical Department of Refereeing (DTA). He was found dead at his Paris home on Sunday, 8 November, at the age of 57.

Born on 27 October 1963, in Rennes (Ille-et-Vilaine), Stephane Moulin joined the French Federation in March 2012, after a brilliant career as a federal and FIFA referee. He led 286 professional matches between July 1996 and June 2009, in France and Europe, while simultaneously pursuing a career as a history and geography teacher in Gevingey (Jura). He refereed 155 matches in Ligue 1 (11 seasons), 95 in Ligue 2, 16 in the Coupe de France, the 2000 Champions Trophy between AS Monaco and FC Nantes and participated in the World University Games in Beijing, in 2001, one of his best memories. He was a FIFA referee for two years (2000-2001) and Michel Vautrot spoke of him as "a spiritual son". Within the DTA, Stephane Moulin was in charge of appointing referees from the amateur and then professional sector, but he was also a federal observer. Very attached to his passion for refereeing, he was also member then president (2000) volunteer of the regional referees committee of the League of Franche-Comte for 20 years, from July 1992 to June 2012.

Source: FFF

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