Red card knocked out of referee’s hand

When referee Philippe Kalt reached for his red card, ready to dismiss Guingamp goalkeeper Mamadou Samassa in the 89th minute of their Ligue 1 game at Montpellier, several team-mates rushed to intervene. Nothing new there; but the Ivorian defender Benjamin Angoua took the protests to new levels by attempting to knock the red card clean out of Kalt’s grasp.
After a fumbled first attempt, Angoua managed to dislodge the card at the second time of asking, sending it fluttering to the ground. The tactic proved ineffective; once Kalt had retrieved the card, he promptly brandished it in the direction of Samassa, who had already begun the long walk back to the dressing room. The ugly scene was typical of Guingamp’s start to the season – the Bretons are bottom of the league, having won just twice in all competitions this season. Samassa was sent off for remonstrating with the referee after Montpellier took a late 2-1 lead at La Mosson. The goalkeeper has had a tough month – he was also sent off for Mali in their African Nations Cup qualifier against Malawi. Surprisingly, Kalt didn’t caution Angoua for his indiscretion, perhaps fearing a repeat incident with the yellow card. 

Source: The Guardian

Copa Sudamericana – Round of 16 (I)

1 October 2014 
Atlético Nacional – Vitória
Referee: Carlos Vera (ECU, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Carlos Herrera (ECU)
Assistant Referee 2: Edwin Bravo (ECU)
Fourth Official: Carlos Orbe (ECU)
Referee Observer: Luis Agudelo (COL)

São Paulo – Huachipato
Referee: Christian Ferreyra (URU)
Assistant Referee 1: Mauricio Espinosa (URU)
Assistant Referee 2: Carlos Changala (URU)
Fourth Official: Fernando Falce (URU)
Referee Observer: Ednilson Corona (BRA)

Bahia – César Vallejo
Referee: Carlos Amarilla (PAR)
Assistant Referee 1: Dario Gaona (PAR)
Assistant Referee 2: Hugo Martinez (PAR)
Fourth Official: Mario Díaz de Vívar (PAR)
Referee Observer: Manoel Serapião (BRA)

Emelec – Goiás
Referee: Oscar Maldonado (BOL)
Assistant Referee 1: Arol Valda (BOL)
Assistant Referee 2: Edwin Paredes (BOL)
Fourth Official: Johnny Cuellar (BOL)
Referee Observer: Juan Corozo (ECU)

UEFA Champions League – Group Stage (Matchday 2)

30 September 2014
Shakhtar Donetsk – FC Porto
Referee: Cüneyt Çakir (TUR, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Bahattin Duran (TUR)
Assistant Referee 2: Tarik Ongun (TUR)
Additional AR 1: Bariş Şimşek (TUR)
Additional AR 2: Süleyman Abay (TUR)
Fourth Official: Çem Satman (TUR)
Referee Observer: Kyros Vassaras (GRE)

CSKA Moskva – Bayern München
Referee: William Collum (SCO)
Assistant Referee 1: William Conquer (SCO)
Assistant Referee 2: Graham Chambers (SCO)
Additional AR 1: Robert Madden (SCO)
Additional AR 2: John Beaton (SCO)
Fourth Official: Francis Connor (SCO)
Referee Observer: Zoran Petrović (SRB)

Manchester City – AS Roma
Referee: Björn Kuipers (NED)
Assistant Referee 1: Sander van Roekel (NED)
Assistant Referee 2: Erwin Zeinstra (NED)
Additional AR 1: Richard Liesveld (NED)
Additional AR 2: Ed Janssen (NED)
Fourth Official: Charles Schaap (NED)
Referee Observer: Manuel López Fernández (ESP)

Paris SG – FC Barcelona
Referee: Nicola Rizzoli (ITA)
Assistant Referee 1: Renato Faverani (ITA)
Assistant Referee 2: Andrea Stefani (ITA)
Additional AR 1: Daniele Orsato (ITA)
Additional AR 2: Paolo Mazzoleni (ITA)
Fourth Official: Riccardo Di Fiore (ITA)
Referee Observer: Vítor Melo Pereira (POR)

Apoel – Ajax Amsterdam
Referee: Milorad Mažić (SRB)
Assistant Referee 1: Milovan Ristić (SRB)
Assistant Referee 2: Dalibor Djurdjević (SRB)
Additional AR 1: Danilo Grujić (SRB)
Additional AR 2: Dejan Filipović (SRB)
Fourth Official: Dejan Petrović (SRB)
Referee Observer: Levan Paniashvili (GEO)

FC Schalke – NK Maribor
Referee: Carlos Velasco Carballo (ESP)
Assistant Referee 1: Roberto Alonso Fernández (ESP)
Assistant Referee 2: Juan Yuste Jiménez (ESP)
Additional AR 1: Carlos Del Cerro Grande (ESP)
Additional AR 2: Jesús Gil Manzano (ESP)
Fourth Official: Raúl Cabañero Martínez (ESP)
Referee Observer: Stefano Farina (ITA)

Sporting – Chelsea
Referee: Antonio Mateu Lahoz (ESP)
Assistant Referee 1: Pau Cebrían Devis (ESP)
Assistant Referee 2: Roberto Díaz Pérez (ESP)
Additional AR 1: Javier Estrada Fernández (ESP)
Additional AR 2: Alejandro Hernández Hernández (ESP)
Fourth Official: Angel Nevado Rodríguez (ESP)
Referee Observer: Marc Batta (FRA)

Bate Borisov – Athletic Club
Referee: Stéphane Lannoy (FRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Michaël Annonier (FRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Laurent Stien (FRA)
Additional AR 1: Antony Gautier (FRA)
Additional AR 2: Olivier Thual (FRA)
Fourth Official: Stephan Luzi (FRA)
Referee Observer: Wilfried Heitmann (GER)

1 October 2014
Malmö FF – Olympiakos
Referee: Sergei Karasev (RUS)
Assistant Referee 1: Anton Averyanov (RUS)
Assistant Referee 2: Tikhon Kalugin (RUS)
Additional AR 1: Aleksei Nikolaev (RUS)
Additional AR 2: Vitaly Meshkov (RUS)
Fourth Official: Nikolay Golubev (RUS)
Referee Observer: Jan Carlsen (DEN)

Atlético Madrid – Juventus Turin
Referee: Felix Brych (GER)
Assistant Referee 1: Mark Borsch (GER)
Assistant Referee 2: Stefan Lupp (GER)
Additional AR 1: Bastian Dankert (GER)
Additional AR 2: Marco Fritz (GER)
Fourth Official: Marco Achmüller (GER)
Referee Observer: Vaclav Krondl (CZE)

FC Basel – Liverpool FC
Referee: Jonas Eriksson (SWE)
Assistant Referee 1: Mathias Klasenius (SWE)
Assistant Referee 2: Daniel Wärnmark (SWE)
Additional AR 1: Stefan Johannesson (SWE)
Additional AR 2: Markus Strömbergsson (SWE)
Fourth Official: Mehmet Culum (SWE)
Referee Observer: Michel Vautrot (FRA)

Ludogorets – Real Madrid
Referee: Craig Thomson (SCO)
Assistant Referee 1: Alan Mulvanny (SCO)
Assistant Referee 2: Damien MacGraith (IRL)
Additional AR 1: Steven McLean (SCO)
Additional AR 2: Kevin Clancy (SCO)
Fourth Official: David McGeachie (SCO)
Referee Observer: Luciano Luci (ITA)

Zenit St. Petersburg – AS Monaco
Referee: Mark Clattenburg (ENG)
Assistant Referee 1: Simon Beck (ENG)
Assistant Referee 2: Jake Collin (ENG)
Additional AR 1: Michael Oliver (ENG)
Additional AR 2: Lee Mason (ENG)
Fourth Official: Peter Kirkup (ENG)
Referee Observer: Zdravko Jokic (SRB)

Bayer Leverkusen – SL Benfica
Referee: Martin Atkinson (ENG)
Assistant Referee 1: Michael Mullarkey (ENG)
Assistant Referee 2: Darren Cann (ENG)
Additional AR 1: Anthony Taylor (ENG)
Additional AR 2: Kevin Friend (ENG)
Fourth Official: Stephen Child (ENG)
Referee Observer: Sándor Piller (HUN)

Arsenal FC – Galatasaray
Referee: Gianluca Rocchi (ITA)
Assistant Referee 1: Gianluca Cariolato (ITA)
Assistant Referee 2: Alessandro Giallatini (ITA)
Additional AR 1: Antonio Damato (ITA)
Additional AR 2: Paolo Valeri (ITA)
Fourth Official: Alessandro Costanzo (ITA)
Referee Observer: Markus Nobs (SUI)

RSC Anderlecht – Borussia Dortmund
Referee: Paolo Tagliavento (ITA)
Assistant Referee 1: Lorenzo Manganelli (ITA)
Assistant Referee 2: Mauro Tonolini (ITA)
Additional AR 1: Marco Guida (ITA)
Additional AR 2: Davide Massa (ITA)
Fourth Official: Matteo Passeri (ITA)
Referee Observer: Leif Sundell (SWE)

FIFA Seminars for Candidate World Cup Referees: UEFA, AFC, CAF, OFC

AFC/CAF/OFC: 11-15 November 2014, Doha (Qatar)
UEFA: 18-22 November 2014, Zurich (Switzerland)

UEFA
1. Ivan Bebek (CRO, 1977)
2. Miroslav Zelinka (CZE, 1981)
3. Kenn Hansen (DEN, 1980)
4. Michael Oliver (ENG, 1985)
5. Ruddy Buquet (FRA, 1977)
6. Clement Turpin (FRA, 1982, photo)
7. Deniz Aytekin (GER, 1978)
8. Felix Zwayer (GER, 1981)
9. Anastasios Sidiropoulos (GRE, 1979)
10. Istvan Vad (HUN, 1979)
11. Daniele Orsato (ITA, 1975)
12. Liran Liany (ISR, 1977)
13. Eitan Shmuelevitz (ISR, 1978)
14. Danny Makkelie (NED, 1983)
15. Szymon Marciniak (POL, 1981)
16. Artur Soares Dias (POR, 1979)
17. Ovidiu Hategan (ROU, 1980)
18. Sergei Karasev (RUS, 1979)
19. Matej Jug (SVN, 1980)
20. Antonio Mateu Lahoz (ESP, 1977)
21. Ivan Kruzliak (SVK, 1984)
22. Martin Strombergsson (SWE, 1977)
23. Stephan Klossner (SUI, 1981)
24. Ievgenii Aranovskiy (UKR, 1976)

AFC
1. Ryuji Sato (JPN, 1977)
2. Yudai Yamamoto (JPN, 1983)
3. Mohd Bin Yaacob (MSA, 1986)
4. Abdulrahman Al-Jassim (QAT, 1987)
5. Fahad Al-Marri (QAT, 1986)
6. Fahad Al-Mirdasi (KSA, 1985)
7. Muhammad Bin Jahari (SIN, 1986)
8. Kim Dae-Yong (KOR, 1981)
9. Ko Hyung-Jin (KOR, 1982)
10. Hettikamkanamge Perera (SRI, 1978)
11. Ammar Al-Jeneibi (UAE, 1982)
12. Abdulla Muhammad (UAE, 1978)

CAF
1. Mehdi Abid Charef (ALG, 1980)
2. Juste Ephrem Zio (BFA, 1977)
3. Ghead Grisha (EGY, 1976)
4. Bamlaku Weyesa (ETH, 1980)
5. Eric Otogo Castane (GAB, 1976)
6. Joseph Lamptey (GHA, 1974)
7. Davies Omweno (KEN, 1984)
8. Mahamadou Keita (MLI, 1983)
9. Maguette N’Diaye (SEN, 1986)
10. Bernard Camille (SEY, 1975)
11. Victor Gomes (RSA, 1982)
13. Janny Sikazwe (ZAM, 1979)

OFC
1. Matthew Conger (NZL, 1978)
2. Gerald Oiaka (SOL, 1975)
3. Abdelkader Zitouni (TAH, 1981)

CAF Champions League – Semi-finals (Second Leg)

27-28 September 2014

Club Sportif Sfaxien – AS V. Club
Referee: Noumandiez Doue (CIV)
Assistant Referee 1: Songuifolo Yeo (CIV)
Assistant Referee 2: Marius Tan (CIV)
Fourth Official: Kouame N'Dri (CIV)
Referee Observer: Essam Abd El Fattah (EGY)

TP Mazembe – E. S. Setifienne
Referee: Ghead Grisha (EGY)
Assistant Referee 1: Tahssen El Sadat (EGY)
Assistant Referee 2: Ayman Degaish (EGY)
Fourth Official: Mahmoud El Banna (EGY)
Referee Observer: Sinko Zeli (CIV)

CAF Confederation Cup – Semi-finals (Second Leg)

27-28 September 2014

AC Leopards de Dolisie – Séwé Sport
Referee: Bakary Gassama (GAM, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Evarist Menkouande (CMR)
Assistant Referee 2: Dickory Jawo (GAM)
Fourth Official: Bakary Camara (GAM)
Referee Observer: Badara Sene (SEN)

Al Ahly Sporting Club – Coton Sport FC
Referee: Janny Sikazwe (ZAM)
Assistant Referee 1: Jerson Dos Santos (ANG)
Assistant Referee 2: Bruno Tembo (ZAM)
Fourth Official: Wisdom Chewe (ZAM)
Referee Observer: Taoufik Adjengui (TUN)

FIFA: Referees must “smell” the game

At the FIFA Technical Conference held in Panama for representatives of CONMEBOL and CONCACAF one of the juiciest discourses was conducted by Massimo Busacca, the FIFA Head of Refereeing. Not only for what he expressed, but also for the consultations with the participants. The interesting chat with Busacca had to be stopped by the moderators of the Conference for reasons of time and programming but with the promise that the dialogue would continue.
Busacca gave an overview of the task by management noting that "the FIFA Referees Committee assigned 25 three-person referee teams and 8 support teams from 43 countries. Training and monitoring of these referees began in 2012 under the project entitled "Road to Brazil." He highlighted in this regard that "the technical and physical activities were supported by strict medical supervision." He cited as a high point "the meetings with coaches and representatives of all the selections in Florianópolis. We seek to clarify several key points and it seems important that players, coaches and referees can talk about sportsmanship. In Brazil these meetings were repeated with each of the teams with a full squad of players and coaching staff. These meetings were important not only from a technical point of view but also to have direct communication. It is good to develop a relationship of mutual respect on and off the field." He cited significant progress in "goal line technology and the use of spray to mark the position for a free kick." "In the case of goal line technology, it allowed us to check twice that the ball went over the line and in the case of the spray it helped locate the wall in the right place and that it stayed there. That's good for the player who takes the free kick and also so the players won't creep forward and get yellow cards."
“We are the 33rd team and we also try to have the best 'players”
Busacca went on to say that "we (referees) are the 33rd team and what we want is the same as the coaches of the other 32 teams. We also want to have the best on our team and for that we work on all aspects. The same as on any team not all are at the same level not all are 'number 10'. There are some with higher skills and others who don't have that. If a referee naturally has these skills everything is easier but if not you have to work more." About a referees preparation for a World Cup he said that "today it's not enough just the technical, physical and medical preparation. Today a referee requires much knowledge of the game, the characteristics of the teams, players, tactics. It is very important that the referee reads the game which allows him to anticipate what might happen and that requires a lot of concentration and a lot of knowledge of the game and the teams that are playing. In the physical part it doesn't matter that he runs a lot but that he runs well."
“It is essential that a referee has a football mentality”
Referring to the practical part of refereeing, Busacca said "it is essential that the referee has a football mentality. That he really knows the game and not just the rules, that he understands what happens, why it happens and how it happens, that he can interpret every action of the game and here we return to what we have already said, there are referees who have that gift, who have that knowledge, that feel the game that way and others that don't. We often say that the referee should have a nose for football, he must "smell" the game, have that "feeling" that lets him know how to act at all times. We look for the ref to do everything as simply as possible, with plenty of communication, a good relationship, trying to prevent what can be prevented and to avoid what can be avoided. We seek to protect the players and the image of the game, sportsmanship, fair play and respect." 
Open dialogue = transparency 
When it was time for questions the exchange with the participants had very nice moments, laden with football essence as, for example, when the national coach of Mexico, Miguel Herrera, inquired again about something that was mentioned in the course of the World Cup and that has to do with what in Mexico are called "los clavados" (dives) and in South America is called "jumping into the pool." In particular he referred to "the Robben case". He also wondered why in decisive games that a referee is used from the same continent as one of the teams. Busacca responded that "it would be very difficult to comment on each of the games and each of the calls. We seek to eliminate errors but we know that there will be some and we ask forgiveness. We are sorry because we know perfectly well that a mistake can decide classification or elimination. It hurts a lot when we realize there was a mistake but it happens in our job. With respect to a referee from a continent assigned a decisive game with a team from the same continent we do not look at that, we look at the best and if we believe that a referee is right for a match we trust in their ability and honesty." Among the questions arose the issue of goalkeepers coming out of their goal on penalty kicks and Busacca responded that "we are working on that and we seek to follow the course of which we have spoken, there is much talk with the keepers, they are warned and we believe in this World Cup there were no cases of them coming out of goal." The discussion was closed although it could have continued indefinitely as almost all talks about football. The best part is what can be achieved through this type of dialogue between people from different sectors of football that is open, honest, and transparent. And, of course, refereeing plays an important role in this. So it was good that before Massimo Busacca left he reiterated that "we will always apologize for mistakes, we are very sorry when they occur. And we are always open to dialogue, to suggestions and anything that might be good for football". 

Source: CONMEBOL

CONCACAF Champions League – Group Stage (Matchday 5)

23 September 2014
Portland Timbers – Alpha United
Referee: Ricardo Montero (CRC, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Warner Castro (CRC)
Assistant Referee 2: Juan Lemus (GUA)
Fourth Official: Jafeth Perea (PAN)
Referee Observer: Neftali Recinos (SLV)

Sporting Kansas City – Real Esteli
Referee: Oscar Moncada (HON)
Assistant Referee 1: Jairo Morales (PUR)
Assistant Referee 2: Omar Leiva (HON)
Fourth Official: Melvin Matamorros (HON)
Referee Observer: Elix Peralta (PAN)

24 September 2014
CF Pachuca – CSD Municipal
Referee: Javier Santos (PUR)
Assistant Referee 1: Kedlee Powell (JAM)
Assistant Referee 2: Graeme Browne (SKN)
Fourth Official: Valdin Legister (JAM)
Referee Observer: Jaggernath Goolcharan (TRI)

DC United – Tauro FC
Referee: Hugo Cruz (CRC)
Assistant Referee 1: Octavio Jara (CRC)
Assistant Referee 2: Javier Rojas (CRC)
Fourth Official: Jorge Perez (MEX)
Referee Observer: Amato DeLuca (CAN)

CD Fas – New York Red Bulls
Referee: Fernando Guerrero (MEX)
Assistant Referee 1: Ricardo Louisville (SUR)
Assistant Referee 2: Venton Mars (GUY)
Fourth Official: William Anderson (PUR)
Referee Observer: Dave Meikle (JAM)

CS Herediano – Club Leon
Referee: David Gantar (CAN)
Assistant Referee 1: Phillippe Briere (CAN)
Assistant Referee 2: Garnet Page (JAM)
fourth Official: Johannes Dolaini (SUR)
Referee Observer: Jozsef Michna (USA)

25 September 2014
Puerto Rico Bayamón – Comunicaciones FC
Referee: Oscar Davila (NCA)
Assistant Referee 1: Keytzel Corrales (NCA)
Assistant Referee 2: Henry Pupiro (NCA)
Fourth Official: Roberto Moreno (PAN)
Referee Observer: Jorge Gasso (MEX)

Chorrillo FC – Liga Deportiva Alajuelense
Referee: Joel Aguilar (SLV)
Assistant Referee 1: Hermenerito Leal (GUA)
Assistant Referee 2: Jose Mangandi (SLV)
Fourth Official: Marlon Mejia (SLV)
Referee Observer: Jesus Lebron (PUR)

Copa Sudamericana – Group Stage (Matchday 6)

23 September 2014
Cerro Porteño – Independiente del Valle
Referee: Daniel Fedorczuk (URU, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Gabriel Popovits (URU)
Assistant Referee 2: Richard Trinidad (URU)
Fourth Official: Carlos Amarilla (PAR)
Referee Observer: Ubaldo Aquino (PAR)

Universidad César Vallejo – Universitario
Referee: Adrián Vélez (COL)
Assistant Referee 1: Wilmar Navarro (COL)
Assistant Referee 2: Rafael Rivas (COL)
Fourth Official: Miguel Santivañez (PER)
Referee Observer: Gilberto Hidalgo (PER)

24 September 2014
Universidad Católica – Huachipato
Referee: José Argote (VEN)
Assistant Referee 1: Luis Sánchez (VEN)
Assistant Referee 2: Luis Murillo (VEN)
Fourth Official: Diego Lara (ECU)
Referee Observer: Bommer Fierro (ECU)

Caracas – Capiatá
Referee: Víctor Carrillo (PER)
Assistant Referee 1: Raúl López (PER)
Assistant Referee 2: Braulio Cornejo (PER)
Fourth Official: Juan Soto (VEN)
Referee Observer: Bernardo Corujo (VEN)

Deportivo Cali – Peñarol
Referee: Antonio Arias (PAR)
Assistant Referee 1: Milciades Saldivar (PAR)
Assistant Referee 2: Eduardo Cardozo (PAR)
Fourth Official: Luis Sánchez (COL)
Referee Observer: Ramón Girón (COL)

25 September 2014
River Plate – Emelec
Referee: Diego Ceballos (ARG)
Assistant Referee 1: Diego Bonfa (ARG)
Assistant Referee 2: Gustavo Rossi (ARG)
Fourth Official: Christian Ferreyra (URU)
Referee Observer: Jorge Larrionda (URU)

General Díaz – Atlético Nacional
Referee: Julio Bascuñán (CHI)
Assistant Referee 1: Marcelo Barraza (CHI)
Assistant Referee 2: Raúl Orellana (CHI)
Fourth Official: Julio Quintana (PAR)
Referee Observer: Cecilio Bejarano (PAR)

FIFA AR removes shirt to protest corruption and manipulation

Algerian FIFA Assistant Referee Mahmoud Mounir Bitam said FA’s President asked him to fix games. Algerian football is in major crisis after a headline grabbing stunt from a linesman in the second division. The match between CA Bordj Bou Arreridj and WA Tlemcen was brought to a standstill when 39-year-old assistant referee Mahmoud Mounir Bitam took off his shirt and marched off the field. For the record, Bitam has refereed at the highest level in Africa, being an assistant in FIFA’s international matches.
The assistant referee’s shirt aimed accusations of manipulation at Hamoum Khelil, the head of Algeria’s referee’s committee, and Mahfoud Kerbadj, the head of the country’s FA. Mahmoud Mounir Bitam later told the press the Mahfoud Kerbadj has twice asked him to help fix the result of matches.
Bitam said that Kerbadj asked him to fix the cup final between Algeria MC Alger and USM Alger so that MC Algiers would win. He also said Kerbadj wanted to influence the cup semi-final between JS Kabylie and CRB Fakroun Ain so that JSK would lose “intelligently”. 

Source: Stadiums News

Referee headset malfunction causes problems in Bundesliga

Referee Manuel Grafe was unable to communicate with the fourth official after the incident due to a headset malfunction. A review has been launched after a broken headset led to referee Manuel Grafe failing to award Eintracht Frankfurt a penalty during their 1-0 defeat to Augsburg. With the game still 0-0 after 16 minutes, Augsburg's Dominik Kohr pulled down Frankfurt attacker Vaclav Kadlec in the box, and many inside Frankfurt's Waldstadion expected Grafe (photo) to point to the spot, but he never blew the whistle.
The referee later apologised to Frankfurt coach Thomas Schaaf, and explained that he and his assistant did not see the infringement, and that the fourth official had tried to contact him via the headset. However, Grafe and the fourth official were not able to communicate because of problems with their headset. Frankfurt, who had been pondering an official protest against the result, announced that they would not lodge a protest because "it was a referee's decision." CEO Heribert Bruchhagen said he had "rarely seen a clearer penalty from the stands" but added: "It is like it is. Such things happen."
Herbert Fandel, the head of the German FA's referee commission, said he would investigate the incident and attempt to prevent a repeat in the future. "I think that it has been a very unfortunate and annoying situation, even if it was an exceptional occurrence," Fandel told Suddeutsche Zeitung. "Even so, we will talk about this with the Bundesliga referees, and try to find ways to ensure those hard-to-imagine incidents can be eliminated in the future." Speaking to Sky, former referee Hellmut Krug, who is also a member of the commission, added: "We will address this with the refs as soon as possible. We have never had such a case before. That the referee and the assistants don't see the penalty but the fourth official sees it and wants to communicate but can't -- you can't really imagine that happening in your wildest dreams." Krug said the fourth official, Patrick Ittrich, could have informed the referee without the headset but clarified that he was not reproaching him. "It was a special situation, with a lot of pressure and stress, but a fourth official needs to do all he can to get in touch with the assistant," he said.

Source: ESPN

CAF Champions League – Semi-finals (First Leg)

20-21 September 2014

E. S. Setifienne – TP Mazembe
Referee: Neant Alioum (CMR, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Guy Noupue (CMR)
Assistant Referee 2: Pierre Enyegue (CMR)
Fourth Official: Aurélien Juenkou (CMR)
Referee Observer: Mohamed Guezzaz (MAR)

AS V. Club – Club Sportif Sfaxien
Referee: Bouchaib El-Ahrach (MAR)
Assistant Referee 1: Redouane Achik (MAR)
Assistant Referee 2: Abdelaziz El-Mehraji (MAR)
Fourth Official: Rédouane Jiyed (MAR)
Referee Observer: Charles Masembe (UGA)

CAF Confederation Cup – Semi-finals (First Leg)

20-21 September 2014

Séwé Sport – AC Leopards de Dolisie
Referee: Bernard Camille (SEY, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Gilbert Lista(SEY)
Assistant Referee 2: Eldrick Adelaide (SEY)
Fourth Official: Allister Barra (SEY)
Referee Observer: Richard Mbaku (CMR)

Coton Sport FC – Al Ahly Sporting Club
Referee: Juste Zio (BFA)
Assistant Referee 1: Seydou Tiama (BFA)
Assistant Referee 2: Yahaya Mahamadou (NGA)
Fourth Official: Boukari Ouedraogo (BFA)
Referee Observer: Celestin Ntagungira (RWA)

Asian Games 2014

Korea, 14 September - 2 October 2014

Referees 
1. Minoru Tojo (JPN, photo)
2. Ahmed Al-Kaaf (OMA)
3. Marai Al-Awaji (KSA)
4. Tayeb Shamsuzzaman (BAN)
4. Ko Hyung-Jin (KOR)
6. Yu Ming-Hsun (TWA)
7. Ng Kai-Lam (HKG)
8. Ali Al-Qaysi (IRQ)
9. Rowan Arumughan (IND)
10. Ma Ning (CHN)
11. Vo Minh Tri (VIE)
12. Charymurat Kurbanov (TKM)
13. Timur Faizullin (KGZ)
14. Chaiya Mahapab (THA)
15. Masoud Tufaylieh (SYR)
16. Abdullah Balideh (QAT)
17. Khamis Al-Marri (QAT)
18. Mohamed Al-Zarooni (UAE)
Reserve Referee
Sivakorn Pu-Udom (THA)

Assistant Referees
1. Shinji Ochi (JPN)
2. Abdullah Al-Shammakhi (OMA)
3. Fahad Al-Amrai (KSA)
4. Ferdous Ahamed (BAN)
5. Kim Young-Ha (KOR)
6. Kuo Chan-Yu (TWA)
7. Luay Al-Azawi (IRQ)
8. Singh Moirangthem (IND)
9. Mu Yuxin (CHN)
10. Pham Long (VIE)
11. Saparmammet Gurbanov (TKM)
12. Sergei Grishchenko (KGZ)
13. Zakarya Kanat (SYR)
14. Thanom Borikut (THA)
15. Saeid Alinezhadian (IRN)
16. Jang Chol Jin (PRK)
17. Yaser Marad (KUW)
18. Sivanesan Muniandy (MAS)
19. Faisal Shwair (JOR)
20. Mohamed Salman (BHR)
21. Lim Kok-Heng (SIN)
Reserve AR
Ahmed Ameez (MDV)

AFC Champions League – Semi-finals (First Leg)

16-17 September 2014

FC Seoul – Sydney Wanderers
Referee: Nawaf Shukralla (BHR, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Yaser Abdulla (BHR)
Assistant Referee 2: Ebrahim Saleh (BHR)
Fourth Official: Jameel Mohamed (BHR)

Al Hilal – Al Ain
Referee: Masaaki Toma (JPN)
Assistant Referee 1: Toshiyuki Nagi (JPN)
Assistant Referee 2: Haruhiro Otsuka (JPN)
Fourth Official: Jumpei Iida (JPN)

UEFA Europa League – Group Stage (Matchday 1)

18 September 2014
Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk – Internazionale
Referee: Felix Zwayer (GER, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Holger Henschel (GER)
Assistant Referee 2: Marco Achmüller (GER)
Additional AR 1: Bastian Dankert (GER)
Additional AR 2: Daniel Siebert (GER)
Fourth Official: Frank Willenborg (GER)
Referee Observer: Manuel Mejuto González (ESP)

FC Salzburg – Celtic FC
Referee: Artus Soares (POR)
Assistant Referee 1: Rui Tavares (POR)
Assistant Referee 2: Alvaro Mesquita (POR)
Additional AR 1: Hugo Miguel (POR)
Additional AR 2: Cosme Machado (POR)
Fourth Official: Bruno Rodrigues (POR)
Referee Observer: Bo Karlsson (SWE)

Qarabağ FK – AS Saint-Étienne
Referee: Steven McLean (SCO)
Assistant Referee 1: Gavin Harris (SCO)
Assistant Referee 2: Francis Connor (SCO)
Additional AR 1: Brian Colvin (SCO)
Additional AR 2: Andrew Dallas (SCO)
Fourth Official: Alasdair Ross (SCO)
Referee Observer: Gylfi Orrason (ISL)

Borussia Mönchengladbach – Villarreal CF
Referee: Ivan Kružliak (SVK)
Assistant Referee 1: Ondrej Brendza (SVK)
Assistant Referee 2: Tomáš Vorel (SVK)
Additional AR 1: Vladimir Vnuk (SVK)
Additional AR 2: Jan Válášek (SVK)
Fourth Official: Michal Tomčík (SVK)
Referee Observer: Kaj Østergaard (DEN)

Apollon Limassol – FC Zürich
Referee: Simon Lee Evans (WAL)
Assistant Referee 1: Philip Thomas (WAL)
Assistant Referee 2: Gareth Jones (WAL)
Additional AR 1: Mark Whitby (WAL)
Additional AR 2: Nick Pratt (WAL)
Fourth Official: John Roberts (WAL)
Referee Observer: Marian Ruzbarsky (SVK)

Club Brugge – Torino FC
Referee: Halis Özkahya (TUR)
Assistant Referee 1: Çem Satman (TUR)
Assistant Referee 2: Kemal Yilmaz (TUR)
Additional AR 1: Mete Kalkavan (TUR)
Additional AR 2: Tolga Özkalfa (TUR)
Fourth Official: Ekrem Kan (TUR)
Referee Observer: Marc Batta (FRA)

FC København – HJK Helsinki
Referee: Yevhen Aranovskiy (UKR)
Assistant Referee 1: Oleksandr Korniyko (UKR)
Assistant Referee 2: Volodymyr Volodin (UKR)
Additional AR 1: Serhiy Boiko (UKR)
Additional AR 2: Anatoliy Abdula (UKR)
Fourth Official: Serhiy Bekker (UKR)
Referee Observer: Mike Riley (ENG)

FK Partizan – Tottenham Hotspur
Referee: Alon Yefet (ISR)
Assistant Referee 1: Amihay Mozes (ISR) 

Assistant Referee 2: Mahmud Mahagna (ISR)
Additional AR 1: Eli Hacmon (ISR)
Additional AR 2: Ziv Adler (ISR)
Fourth Official: Levy Haluba (ISR)
Referee Observer: Kostadin Gerginov (BUL)

Beşiktaş JK – Asteras Tripolis
Referee: Miroslav Zelinka (CZE)
Assistant Referee 1: Ondřej Pelikán (CZE)
Assistant Referee 2: Jiří Moláček (CZE)
Additional AR 1: Petr Ardeleanu (CZE)
Additional AR 2: Jan Jilek (CZE)
Fourth Official: Krystof Mencl (CZE)
Referee Observer: Matteo Trefoloni (ITA)

Dinamo Zagreb – Astra Giurgiu
Referee: Leontios Trattou (CYP)
Assistant Referee 1: Michael Soteriou (CYP)
Assistant Referee 2: Athinodoros Ioannou (CYP)
Additional AR 1: Christos Nicolaides (CYP)
Additional AR 2: Demetris Masias (CYP)
Fourth Official: Sotiris Viktoros (CYP)
Referee Observer: Dani Koren (ISR)

PSV Eindhoven – Estoril Praia
Referee: Bobby Madden (SCO)
Assistant Referee 1: Graham Chambers (SCO)
Assistant Referee 2: Stuart Stevenson (SCO)
Additional AR 1: Kevin Clancy (SCO)
Additional AR 2: Donald Robertson (SCO)
Fourth Official: Alastair Mather (SCO)
Referee Observer: László Vagner (HUN)

Panathinaikos – Dinamo Moskva
Referee: Daniele Orsato (ITA)
Assistant Referee 1: Riccardo Di Fiore (ITA)
Assistant Referee 2: Alessandro Giallatini (ITA)
Additional AR 1: Davide Massa (ITA)
Additional AR 2: Andrea Gervasoni (ITA)
Fourth Official: Andrea Stefani (ITA)
Referee Observer: Tomasz Mikulski (POL)

Standard Liège – HNK Rijeka
Referee: Cristian Balaj (ROU)
Assistant Referee 1: Sebastian Gheorghe (ROU)
Assistant Referee 2: Ovidiu Artene (ROU)
Additional AR 1: Alexandru Tudor (ROU)
Additional AR 2: Ovidiu Haţegan (ROU)
Fourth Official: Octavian Șovre (ROU)
Referee Observer: Costas Kapitanis (CYP)

Sevilla FC – Feyenoord
Referee: Ruddy Buquet (FRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Guillaume Debart (FRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Cyril Gringore (FRA)
Additional AR 1: Benoit Bastien (FRA)
Additional AR 2: Benoît Millot (FRA)
Fourth Official: Laurent Stien (FRA)
Referee Observer: Jozef Marko (SVK)

LOSC Lille – FC Krasnodar
Referee: Liran Liany (ISR)
Assistant Referee 1: Shabtai Nahmias (ISR)
Assistant Referee 2: Oren Borneshtain (ISR)
Additional AR 1: Orel Grinfeld (ISR)
Additional AR 2: Menashe Masiah (ISR)
Fourth Official: Moshe Bohbot (ISR)
Referee Observer: Alexandru Deaconu (ROU) 


Everton FC – VfL Wolfsburg
Referee: Luca Banti (ITA)
Assistant Referee 1: Alessandro Costanzo (ITA)
Assistant Referee 2: Matteo Passeri (ITA)
Additional AR 1: Marco Guda (ITA)
Additional AR 2: Carmine Russo (ITA)
Fourth Official: Renato Faverani (ITA)
Referee Observer: Kaj Natri (FIN)

BSC Young Boys – Slovan Bratislava
Referee: Artyom Kuchin (KAZ)
Assistant Referee 1: Evgeni Belski (KAZ)
Assistant Referee 2: Anatoli Hodin (KAZ)
Additional AR 1: Aleksandr Gauzer (KAZ)
Additional AR 2: Denis Izmaylov (KAZ)
Fourth Official: Sergei Vassyutin (KAZ)
Referee Observer: Alfredo Trentalange (ITA)

SSC Napoli – Sparta Praha
Referee: Kevin Blom (NED)
Assistant Referee 1: Patrick Langkamp (NED)
Assistant Referee 2: Bas van Dongen (NED)
Additional AR 1: Danny Makkelie (NED)
Additional AR 2: Ed Janssen (NED)
Fourth Official: Mario Diks (NED)
Referee Observer: Sergey Zuev (RUS)

Steaua Bucureşti – Aalborg BK
Referee: Vladislav Bezborodov (RUS)
Assistant Referee 1: Nikolai Golubev (RUS)
Assistant Referee 2: Maksim Gavrilin (RUS)
Additional AR 1: Sergei Ivanov (RUS)
Additional AR 2: Mikhail Vilkov (RUS)
Fourth Official: Valeri Danchenko (RUS)
Referee Observer: Miroslav Vitkovic (CRO)

Rio Ave – Dinamo Kyiv
Referee: Stefan Johannesson (SWE)
Assistant Referee 1: Fredrik Nilsson (SWE)
Assistant Referee 2: Mehmet Culum (SWE)
Additional AR 1: Andreas Ekberg (SWE)
Additional AR 2: Mohammed Al-Hakim (SWE)
Fourth Official: Magnus Sjöblom (SWE)
Referee Observer: Shmuel Shteif (ISR)

PAOK – Dinamo Minsk
Referee: Mattias Gestranius (FIN)
Assistant Referee 1: Jan-Peter Aravirta (FIN)
Assistant Referee 2: Mikko Alakare (FIN)
Additional AR 1: Antti Munukka (FIN)
Additional AR 2: Dennis Antamo (FIN)
Fourth Official: Matti Heininen (FIN)
Referee Observer: Vasyl Melnychuk (UKR)

AC Fiorentina – EA Guingamp
Referee: Harald Lechner (AUT)
Assistant Referee 1: Alain Hoxha (AUT)
Assistant Referee 2: Andreas Staudinger (AUT)
Additional AR 1: Rene Eisner (AUT)
Additional AR 2: Gerhard Grobelnik (AUT)
Fourth Official: Maximilian Kolbitsch (AUT)
Referee Observer: Paul Allaerts (BEL)

Metalist Kharkiv – Trabzonspor
Referee: Tom Harald Hagen (NOR)
Assistant Referee 1: Dag-Roger Nebben (NOR)
Assistant Referee 2: Jan Erik Engan (NOR)
Additional AR 1: Dag Vidar Hafsås (NOR)
Additional AR 2: Ola Hobber Nilsen (NOR)
Fourth Official: Magnus Lundberg (NOR)
Referee Observer: Stephen Bennett (ENG)

Legia Warszawa – KSC Lokeren
Referee: Michael Oliver (ENG)
Assistant Referee 1: Stuart Burt (ENG)
Assistant Referee 2: Simon Bennett (ENG)
Additional AR 1: Anthony Taylor (ENG)
Additional AR 2: Craig Pawson (ENG)
Fourth Official: Gary Beswick (ENG)
Referee Observer: Murat Ilgaz (TUR)

UEFA forced to change referees due to visa problems

Initially appointed for the UEFA Champions League match Chelsea – Schalke, referee Milorad Mazic and his team had some problems in obtaining their British visas. The UK Embassy in Warsaw, in charge of the entire region, kept their passports a day longer, instead of sending the passports back to Serbia on Monday morning, they only did it in the evening, so the passports would not arrive on time. UEFA replaced the Serbian match officials (photo) with the Croatian Ivan Bebek along with his team, who were meant to be on Europa League duty this Thursday. They were also replaced by a Czech referee team led by Ivan Kruzliak. (Source: Daily Mail / bportal.ba)


Last year, a French referee team had problems with their passports, but they managed to sort them out on time. "The CFA, after reviewing the documents, including emails from the Technical Refereeing Department regarding the procedure for obtaining Russian visas, after hearing Nicolas Danos by conference call in his explanations, given the neglect observed in this case not to have sent the passport but simply copying it, considering the consequences of this administrative failure that could have prevented the visa without the intervention of diplomatic authorities, nevertheless that Nicolas Danos tried to limit the effect by providing immediate passport on the first flight and the travel of the French referee quartet finally took place normally. According to Article 39 section 6 of the referee regulations, decided unanimously to suspend Nicolas Danos for 15 days, starting on 3 September 2013." (Source: The Third Team)

FIFA Women’s World Cup 2015 Qualifiers

17 September 2014

Norway – Netherlands
Referee: Cristina Dorcioman (ROU, photo)

Montenegro – England
Referee: Petra Chudá (SVK)

Turkey – Belarus
Referee: Marianne Svendsen (DEN)

Sweden – Scotland
Referee: Teodora Albon (ROU)

Bulgaria – Hungary
Referee: Sofia Karagiorgi (CYP)

Italy – Macedonia
Referee: Sandra Bastos (POR)

Czech Republic – Spain
Referee: Stéphanie Frappart (FRA)

Romania – Estonia
Referee: Aneliya Sinabova (BUL)

Greece – Albania
Referee: Sabine Bonnin (FRA)

Slovenia – Slovakia
Referee: Dilan Gökçek (TUR)

Ukraine – Wales
Referee: Esther Staubli (SUI)

Malta – Switzerland
Referee: Gordana Kuzmanović (SRB)

Germany – Ireland
Referee: Kateryna Monzul (UKR)

France – Finland
Referee: Karolina Radzik-Johan (POL)

Austria – Kazakhstan
Referee: Mihaela Gurdon-Basimamović (CRO)

Croatia – Russia
Referee: Monika Mularczyk (POL)

Poland – Bosnia
Referee: Amy Rayner (ENG)

Denmark – Israel
Referee: Anastasia Pustovoitova (RUS)

Iceland – Serbia
Referee: Efthalia Mitsi (GRE)

Portugal – Belgium
Referee: Sara Persson (SWE)

Northern Ireland – Faroe Islands
Referee: Lilach Asulin (ISR)

CONCACAF Champions League – Group Stage (Matchday 4)

16 September 2014
Portland Timbers – CD Olimpia
Referee: John Pitti (PAN, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Gabriel Victoria (PAN)
Assistant Referee 2: Juan Baines (PAN)
Fourth Official: Ameth Sanchez (PAN)
Referee Observer: Ronald Gutierrez (CRC)

Waterhouse FC – DC United
Referee: Adrian Skeete (BRB)
Assistant Referee 1: Osvaldo Luna (CRC)
Assistant Referee 2: Venton Mars (GUY)
Fourth Official: Enrico Wijngaarde (SUR)
Referee Observer: Mirna Guerra (SLV)

Cruz Azul FC – Chorrillo FC
Referee Marlon Mejia (SLV)
Assistant Referee 1: Douglas Bermudez (SLV)
Assistant Referee 2: Geovany Garcia (SLV)
Fourth Official: Joel Aguilar (SLV)
Referee Observer: Donald Campos (NCA)

17 September 2014
CSD Municipal – Real Espana
Referee: Valdin Legister (JAM)
Assistant Referee 1: Garnet Page (JAM)
Assistant Referee 2: Caleb Wales (TRI)
Fourth Official: David Gantar (CAN)

Puerto Rico Bayamon – Club America
Referee: Sandy Vazquez (DOM)
Assistant Referee 1: Ronaldo De La Cruz (GUA)
Assistant Referee 2: Rene Ochoa (GUA)
Fourth Official: Erick Andino (HON)

Montreal Impact – New York Red Bulls
Referee: Neal Brizan (TRI)
Assistant Referee 1: Ainsley Rochard (TRI)
Assistant Referee 2: Clifton Games (BRB)
Fourth Official: Javier Santos (PUR)

18 September 2014
Isidro Metapan – Herediano
Referee: Jafeth Perea (PAN)
Assistant Referee 1: David Barria (PAN)
Assistant Referee 2: Juan Lemus (GUA)
Fourth Official: Mario Escobar (GUA)

Sporting Kansas City – Saprissa
Referee: Fernando Guerrero (MEX)
Assistant Referee 1: Alejandro Ayala (MEX)
Assistant Referee 2: Hector Delgadillo (MEX)
Fourth Official: Paul Delgadillo (MEX)

Copa Sudamericana – Group Stage (Matchday 5)

16 September 2014
Estudiantes – Gimnasia Esgrima
Referee: Néstor Pitana (ARG, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Ernesto Uziga (ARG)
Assistant Referee 2: Cristian Navarro (ARG)
Fourth Official: Patricio Loustau (ARG)
Referee Observer: Ruben Padilla (ARG)

Independiente de Valle – Cerro Porteño
Referee: José Buitrago (COL)
Assistant Referee 1: Wilson Berrio (COL)
Assistant Referee 2: Alexander Guzman (COL)
Fourth Official: Carlos Orbe (ECU)
Referee Observer: Miguel Erazo (ECU)

Deportivo Capiatá – Caracas
Referee: José Jordan (BOL)
Assistant Referee 1: Wilson Arellano (BOL)
Assistant Referee 2: Javier Bustillos (BOL)
Fourth Official: Ulises Mereles (PAR)
Referee Observer: Manuel Bernal (PAR)

Peñarol – Deportivo Cali
Referee: Roddy Zambrano (ECU)
Assistant Referee 1: Christian Lescano (ECU)
Assistant Referee 2: Carlos Herrera (ECU)
Fourth Official: Fernando Falce (URU)
Referee Observer: Gustavo Lopez (URU)

17 September 2014
Huachipato – Universidad Católica
Referee: Andrés Cunha (URU)
Assistant Referee 1: Miguel Nievas (URU)
Assistant Referee 2: Nicolás Tarán (URU)
Fourth Official: Roberto Tobar (CHI)
Referee Observer: Iván Guerrero (CHI)

Universitario – César Vallejo
Referee: Pericles Cortez (BRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Alessandro Rocha (BRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Fabio Pereira (BRA)
Fourth Official: Johnny Cuellar (BOL)
Referee Observer: Óscar Ortubé (BOL)

Libertad – Barcelona
Referee: Marcelo Henrique (BRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Rodrigo Pereira (BRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Fabricio Vilarinho (BRA)
Fourth Official: Enrique Cáceres (BOL)
Referee Observer: Juan Bernabe (BOL)

River Plate – Godoy Cruz
Referee: Saúl Laverni (ARG)
Assistant Referee 1: Ariel Scime (ARG)
Assistant Referee 2: Ezequiel Brailovsky (ARG)
Fourth Official: Mauro Vigliano (ARG)
Referee Observer: Luis Pasturenzi (ARG)

18 September 2014
Boca Juniors – Rosario Central
Referee: Diego Abal (ARG)
Assistant Referee 1: Hernán Maidana (ARG)
Assistant Referee 2: Juan Belatti (ARG)
Fourth Official: Silvio Trucco (ARG)
Referee Observer: Juan Crespi (ARG)

Emelec – River Plate
Referee: Julio Bascuñán (CHI)
Assistant Referee 1: Carlos Astroza (CHI)
Assistant Referee 2: Christian Schiemann (CHI)
Fourth Official: Diego Lara (ECU)
Referee Observer: Juan Cedeño (ECU)

UEFA Champions League – Group Stage (Matchday 1)

16 September 2014
Borussia Dortmund – Arsenal FC
Referee: Olegário Benquerença (POR, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Ricardo Santos (POR)
Assistant Referee 2: Nuno Pereira (POR)
Additional AR 1: Carlos Taborda (POR)
Additional AR 2: Marco Ferreira (POR)
Fourth Official: Nélson Moniz (POR)
Referee Observer: Christos Skapoullis (CYP) 

Liverpool FC – Ludogorets
Referee: Matej Jug (SVN)
Assistant Referee 1: Matej Žunič (SVN)
Assistant Referee 2: Bojan Ul (SVN)
Additional AR 1: Mitja Žganec (SVN)
Additional AR 2: Dejan Balažić (SVN)
Fourth Official: Gregor Rojko (SVN)
Referee Observer: Guy Goethals (BEL) 

Olympiacos – Atlético Madrid
Referee: Pedro Proença (POR)
Assistant Referee 1: Bertino Miranda (POR)
Assistant Referee 2: Paulo Santos (POR)
Additional AR 1: Manuel De Sousa (POR)
Additional AR 2: João Capela (POR)
Fourth Official: António Godinho (POR)
Referee Observer: Jean Lemmer (LUX) 

Juventus Turin – Malmö FF
Referee: Szymon Marciniak (POL)
Assistant Referee 1: Paweł Sokolnicki (POL)
Assistant Referee 2: Tomasz Listkiewicz (POL)
Additional AR 1: Pawel Raczkowski (POL)
Additional AR 2: Tomasz Musial (POL)
Fourth Official: Radoslaw Siejka (POL)
Referee Observer: Stefan Messner (AUT) 

Real Madrid – FC Basel
Referee: Damir Skomina (SVN)
Assistant Referee 1: Jure Praprotnik (SVN)
Assistant Referee 2: Robert Vukan (SVN)
Additional AR 1: Slavko Vinčić (SVN)
Additional AR 2: Roberto Ponis (SVN)
Fourth Official: Manuel Vidali (SVN)
Referee Observer: Edgar Steinborn (GER) 

AS Monaco – Bayer Leverkusen
Referee: Pavel Královec (CZE)
Assistant Referee 1: Roman Slyško (SVK)
Assistant Referee 2: Martin Wilczek (CZE)

Additional AR 1: Radek Příhoda (CZE)
Additional AR 2: Michal Patak (CZE)
Fourth Official: Antonin Kordula (CZE)
Referee Observer: Peter Jones (ENG) 

SL Benfica – Zenit St. Petersburg
Referee: Svein Oddvar Moen (NOR)
Assistant Referee 1: Kim Haglund (NOR)
Assistant Referee 2: Frank Andås (NOR)
Additional AR 1: Ken Henry Johnsen (NOR)
Additional AR 2: Svein-Erik Edvartsen (NOR)
Fourth Official: Sven Erik Midthjell (NOR)
Referee Observer: Manuel Díaz Vega (ESP) 

Galatasaray – RSC Anderlecht
Referee: István Vad (HUN)
Assistant Referee 1: István Albert (HUN)
Assistant Referee 2: Peter Berretyán (HUN)
Additional AR 1: Sandor Ando-Szabo (HUN)
Additional AR 2: Zsolt Szabó (HUN)
Fourth Official: László Viszokai (HUN)
Referee Observer: Alan Snoddy (NIR)  

17 September 2014
FC Bayern München – Manchester City
Referee: Alberto Undiano Mallenco (ESP)
Assistant Referee 1: Roberto Díaz Pérez (ESP)
Assistant Referee 2: Juan Yuste Jimenez (ESP)
Additional AR 1: Carlos Clos Gómez (ESP)
Additional AR 2: Javier Estrada Fernandez (ESP)
Fourth Official: Pau Cebrian Devis (ESP)
Referee Observer: Oguz Sarvan (TUR) 

FC Barcelona – Apoel
Referee: Deniz Aytekin (GER)
Assistant Referee 1: Guido Kleve (GER)
Assistant Referee 2: Markus Häcker (GER)
Additional AR 1: Christian Dingert (GER)
Additional AR 2: Robert Hartmann (GER)
Fourth Official: Stefan Lupp (GER)
Referee Observer: Alain Hamer (LUX) 

AS Roma – CSKA Moskva
Referee: David Fernández Borbalán (ESP)
Assistant Referee 1: Raúl Cabanero Martínez (ESP)
Assistant Referee 2: Roberto Alonso Fernandez (ESP)
Additional AR 1: Carlos Del Cerro Grande (ESP)
Additional AR 2: Jesús Gil Manzano (ESP)
Fourth Official: José Manuel Miranda (ESP)
Referee Observer: Hans Reijgwaart (NED) 

Ajax Amsterdam – Paris SG
Referee: Wolfgang Stark (GER)
Assistant Referee 1: Mike Pickel (GER)
Assistant Referee 2: Thorsten Schiffner (GER)
Additional AR 1: Manuel Gräfe (GER)
Additional AR 2: Marco Fritz (GER)
Fourth Official: Mark Borsch (GER)
Referee Observer: Konrad Plautz (AUT) 

Chelsea – Schalke
Referee: Ivan Bebek (CRO)
Assistant Referee 1: Tomislav Petrović (CRO)
Assistant Referee 2: Miro Grgić (CRO)
Additional AR 1: Ante Vučemilović (CRO)
Additional AR 2: Goran Gabrilo (CRO)
Fourth Official: Dalibor Conjar (CRO)
Referee Observer: Athanassios Briakos (GRE)  


NK Maribor – Sporting
Referee: Clément Turpin (FRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Frédéric Cano (FRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Nicolas Danos (FRA)
Additional AR 1: Fredy Fautrel (FRA)
Additional AR 2: Nicolas Rainville (FRA)
Fourth Official: Michael Annonier (FRA)
Referee Observer: Zbigniew Przesmycki (POL) 

FC Porto – Bate Borisov
Referee: Bas Nijhuis (NED)
Assistant Referee 1: Rob van de Ven (NED)
Assistant Referee 2: Charles Schaap (NED)
Additional AR 1: Serdar Gözübüyük (NED)
Additional AR 2: Dennis Higler (NED)
Fourth Official: Davie Goossens (NED)
Referee Observer: Rodger Gifford (WAL) 

Athletic Bilbao – Shakhtar Donetsk
Referee: Anastasios Sidiropoulos (GRE)
Assistant Referee 1: Damianos Efthimiadis (GRE)
Assistant Referee 2: Polychronis Kostaras (GRE)
Additional AR 1: Ilias Spathas (GRE)
Additional AR 2: Stavros Tritsonis (GRE)
Fourth Official: Christos Akrivos (GRE)
Referee Observer: Jørn West Larsen (DEN)

Copa Centroamericana Final 2014: Moreno (PAN)

14 September 2014

Final
Costa Rica – Guatemala
Referee: Roberto Moreno (PAN, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Daniel Williamson (PAN)
Assistant Referee 2: Keytzel Corrales (NCA)
Fourth Official: Roberto Garcia (MEX)

Reserve AR: Oscar Velasquez (HON)

Match for Third Place
El Salvador – Panama
Referee: Jair Marrufo (USA)
Assistant Referee 1: Adam Garner (USA)
Assistant Referee 2: Gerson Lopez (GUA)
Fourth Official: Hector Rodriguez (HON)

Match for Fifth Place
Honduras – Nicaragua
Referee: Joel Aguilar (SLV)
Assistant Referee 1: Juan Zumba (SLV)
Assistant Referee 2: Leonel Leal (CRC)
Fourth Official: Walter Lopez (GUA)

FIFA Women’s World Cup 2015 Qualifiers

13 September 2014

Russia – Germany
Referee: Pernilla Larsson (SWE, photo)

Albania – Norway
Referee: Morag Pirie (SCO)

Denmark – Malta
Referee: Ella Martinez (ESP)

Croatia – Slovenia
Referee: Monica Larsen (NOR)

Slovakia – Ireland
Referee: Simona Ghisletta (SUI)

Sweden – Bosnia
Referee: Zuzana Kováčová (SVK)

Romania – Spain
Referee: Linn Andersson (SWE)

Poland – Northern Ireland
Referee: Sharon Sluyts (BEL)

Belgium – Greece
Referee: Yuliya Medvedeva-Keldyusheva (KAZ)

Ukraine – Turkey
Referee: Riem Hussein (GER)

Austria – Hungary
Referee: Olga Zadinová (CZE)

Finland – France
Referee: Bibiana Steinhaus (GER)

Scotland – Faroe Islands
Referee: Séverine Zinck (FRA)

Iceland – Israel
Referee: Gyöngyi Gaál (HUN)

Netherlands – Portugal
Referee: Jana Adámková (CZE)

Italy – Estonia
Referee: Katalin Kulcsár (HUN)

Kelly aiming for World Cup spot

Irish referee Alan Kelly planned to use his experience in the MLS in America to try and secure a FIFA appointment to the next World Cup tournament in Russia in 2018. Former FIFA and UEFA ranked Kelly took up a new and exciting challenge as a referee and development training officer based in Boston and admits it was a job offer he just could not refuse.
“Basically it’s a two-fold role – one is the actual refereeing in the MLS and the other is a coaching/training and development role for younger referees. The refereeing side of it is the main part and the coaching is a bit of a side issue but, at the same time, it’s important and it’s really interesting,” said Kelly. “The way things have panned out I will be refereeing in the MLS virtually straight away with pre-season games and then I will have a few MLS reserve division games and get involved as the fourth official just to get familiar with the league, the players and the culture,” he explained. “I am well prepared and ready to step into the MLS set up and I am looking forward to it now. My FIFA badge and ranking is recognised in America too and I’d hope to get a few more international fixtures down the road“, said Kelly whose new job commands a salary in the region of £130,000 per annum. Kelly added: “My plan is to go out and referee in the first season – set a standard and establish myself – and hopefully then when it comes to the international side of it that they see enough in me to nominate me again for a FIFA badge and I can go again. “That will open up more doors for me in terms of international football on that side of the world and I have to admit that I have half an eye on the World Cup finals in Russia. I think if I can establish myself in America, I will have a better opportunity of getting to Russia in 2018 than I probably would have in Ireland with UEFA”, he added. “That’s the long-term goal to officiate at World Cup finals. I am 38 now and with the retirement age set at 45 that could be my swan song”, he said.

Source: Evening Echo

Boyce against Blatter's plan to allow challenges to referee decisions

FIFA vice-president and Chairman of the Referees Committee, Jim Boyce does not agree with Sepp Blatter's plan to allow video replays for managers to challenge refereeing decisions during a game. Blatter, president of world football’s governing body, revealed that a TV replay system may be trialled at next year's FIFA U-20 World Cup that would allow managers and coaches to challenge an official's decisions, but only when a stoppage in play had occurred. He says the 'call system' would not work like the third umpire does in cricket, with the power to overturn a decision still remaining with the referee on the pitch.
Boyce (photo) told Sky Sports News: “I’m totally against it. Who am I to challenge the president of FIFA, but I have got my own ideas on this. In fact, one of the things I would really like to see is a fourth officially being in an enclosed box - not where managers or coaches can interfere with them. We now have many cameras at grounds and we have to get the decisions right for the good of football, but if that fourth official sees an incident that he clearly feels has a detrimental effect on the game from a decision made by the referee, he could call the referee over immediately and say ‘take a look at that’. At the end of the day, the final decision will be with the referee. But for me, we have enough officials on the pitch and I certainly do not agree with challenges by managers. The most important thing is you have officials on the pitch in charge of the game of football”. 

Source: Sky Sports

Copa Centroamericana 2014 – Group Stage (Matchday 3)

10 September 2014

Honduras  Guatemala
Referee: Roberto Garcia (MEX, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Leonel Leal (CRC)
Assistant Referee 2: Daniel Wiliamson (PAN)
Fourth Official: Roberto Moreno (PAN) 

El Salvador  Belize
Referee: Sandy Vasquez (DOM)
Assistant Referee 1: Adam Garner (USA)
Assistant Referee 2: Octavio Jara (CRC)
Fourth Official: Jair Marrufo (USA) 

Panama  Nicaragua
Referee: Walter Lopez (GUA)
Assistant Referee 1: Juan Zumba (SLV)
Assistant Referee 2: Gerson Lopez (GUA)
Fourth Official: Hector Rodriguez (HON)

Copa Sudamericana – Group Stage (Matchday 4)

10 September 2014
Atletico Nacional – General Diaz 
Referee: Juan Soto (VEN, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Jorge Urrego (VEN)
Assistant Referee 2: Jairo Romero (VEN)
Fourth Official: Adrian Velez (COL)
Referee Observer: Carlos Betancourt (COL)

11 September 2014
Barcelona – Libertad 
Referee: Patricio Loustau (ARG)
Assistant Referee 1: Ernesto Uziga (ARG)
Assistant Referee 2: Ariel Scime (ARG)
Fourth Official: Omar Ponce (ECU)
Referee Observer: Juan Corozo (ECU)

AFC U-16 Championship 2014

Thailand, 6-20 September 2014 

Referees
1. Yuichi Nishimura (JPN, photo)
2. Alireza Faghani (IRN)
3. Kim Dong-Jin (KOR)
4. Peter Green (AUS)
5. Valentin Kovalenko (UZB)
6. Dmitri Mashentsev (KGZ)
7. Ali Shaban (KUW)
8. Ammar Al-Jeneibi (UAE)
9. Fahad Al-Marri (QAT)
10. Mohanad Sarray (IRQ)
11. Nagor Noor Mohamed (MAS)
12. Tan Hai (CHN) 

Assistant Referees
1. Toru Sagara (JPN)
2. Akane Yagi (JPN)
3. Hassan Kamranifar (IRN)
4. Reza Sokhandan (IRN)
5. Matthew Cream (AUS)
6. Nathan McDonald (AUS)
7. Lee Jung-Min (KOR)
8. Huo Weiming (CHN)
9. Jakhongir Saidov (UZB)
10. Ismailzhan Talipzhanov (KGZ)
11. Najah Alhamaidah (IRQ)
12. Nawaf Moosa (BHR)
13. Azman Ismail (MAS)
14. Taleb Al-Marri (QAT)
15. Binla Preeda (THA)
16. Hasan Al-Mahri (UAE)

Copa Centroamericana 2014 – Group Stage (Matchday 2)

7 September 2014 

Costa Rica – Panama
Referee: Joel Aguilar (SLV, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Juan Zumba (SLV)
Assistant Referee 2: Oscar Velasquez (HON)
Fourth Official: Walter Lopez (GUA)

Guatemala – Belize
Referee: Roberto Moreno (PAN)
Assistant Referee 1: Daniel Williamson (PAN)
Assistant Referee 2: Keytzel Corrales (NCA)
Fourth Official: Roberto Garcia (MEX)

Honduras – El Salvador
Referee: Jeffrey Solis (CRC)
Assistant Referee 1: Leonel Leal (CRC)
Assistant Referee 2: Octavio Jara (CRC)
Fourth Official: 
Sandi Vásquez (DOM)

UEFA Euro 2016 Qualifiers

7 September 2014 
Denmark – Armenia
Referee: Alexandru Tudor (ROU, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Aurel Oniţă (ROU)
Assistant Referee 2: Octavian Șovre (ROU)
Additional AR 1: Cristian Balaj (ROU)
Additional AR 2: Sebastian Colţescu (ROU)
Fourth Official: Radu Ghinguleac (ROU)
Referee Observer: Luciano Luci (ITA) 


Hungary – Northern Ireland
Referee: Deniz Aytekin (GER)
Assistant Referee 1: Guido Kleve (GER)
Assistant Referee 2: Marco Achmüller (GER)
Additional AR 1: Marco Fritz (GER)
Additional AR 2: Christian Dingert (GER)
Fourth Official: Christoph Bornhorst (GER)
Referee Observer: Jørn West Larsen (DEN)

Georgia – Ireland
Referee: Kevin Blom (NED)
Assistant Referee 1: Patrick Langkamp (NED)
Assistant Referee 2: Rob van de Ven (NED)
Additional AR 1: Danny Makkelie (NED)
Additional AR 2: Richard Liesveld (NED)
Fourth Official: Charles Schaap (NED)
Referee Observer: Jari Maisonlahti (FIN)

Faroe Islands – Finland
Referee: Lee Evans (WAL)
Assistant Referee 1: Philip Thomas (WAL)
Assistant Referee 2: Ross Edwards (WAL)
Additional AR 1: Mark Whitby (WAL)
Additional AR 2: Huw Jones (WAL)
Fourth Official: Daniel Beckett (WAL)
Referee Observer: Cyril Zimmermann (SUI)

Greece – Romania
Referee: Mark Clattenburg (ENG)
Assistant Referee 1: Michael Mullarkey (ENG)
Assistant Referee 2: Simon Beck (ENG)
Additional AR 1: Andre Marriner (ENG)
Additional AR 2: Lee Probert (ENG)
Fourth Official: Simon Bennett (ENG)
Referee Observer: Eugen Strigel (GER)

Germany – Scotland
Referee: Svein Oddvar Moen (NOR)
Assistant Referee 1: Kim Haglund (NOR)
Assistant Referee 2: Frank Andås (NOR)
Additional AR 1: Ken Henry Johnsen (NOR)
Additional AR 2: Tore Hansen (NOR)
Fourth Official: Sven Erik Midthjell (NOR)
Referee Observer: Manuel Diaz Vega (ESP)

Gibraltar – Poland
Referee: Stefan Johannesson (SWE)
Assistant Referee 1: Fredrik Nilsson (SWE)
Assistant Referee 2: Mehmet Culum (SWE)
Additional AR 1: Martin Strömbergsson (SWE)
Additional AR 2: Michael Lerjeus (SWE)
Fourth Official: Per Brogevik (SWE)
Referee Observer: Are Habicht (EST)

Portugal – Albania
Referee: Ruddy Buquet (FRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Frédéric Cano (FRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Guillaume Debart (FRA)
Additional AR 1: Fredy Fautrel (FRA)
Additional AR 2: Benoît Millot (FRA)
Fourth Official: Stephan Luzi (FRA)
Referee Observer: Tomasz Mikulski (POL)

8 September 2014
Russia – Liechtenstein
Referee: Sébastien Delferiere (BEL)
Assistant Referee 1: Yves de Neve (BEL)
Assistant Referee 2: Frank Bleyen (BEL)
Additional AR 1: Jonathan Lardot (BEL)
Additional AR 2: Erik Lambrechts (BEL)
Fourth Official: Laurent Conotte (BEL)
Referee Observer: Karen Nalbandyan (ARM)

Austria – Sweden
Referee: Pavel Královec (CZE)
Assistant Referee 1: Martin Wilczek (CZE)
Assistant Referee 2: Antonin Kordula (CZE)
Additional AR 1: Petr Ardeleanu (CZE)
Additional AR 2: Zbynek Proske (CZE)
Fourth Official: Petr Blazej (CZE)
Referee Observer: Juan Fernandez Marin (ESP)

Montenegro – Moldova
Referee: Aleksei Kulbakov (BLR)
Assistant Referee 1: Andrei Hetsikau (BLR)
Assistant Referee 2: Vitali Maliutsin (BLR)
Additional AR 1: Dzianis Shcharbakou (BLR)
Additional AR 2: Siarhei Tsynkevich (BLR)
Fourth Official: Dmitry Zhuk (BLR)
Referee Observer: Vaclav Krondl (CZE)

Luxembourg – Belarus
Referee: Gediminas Mazeika (LTU)
Assistant Referee 1: Vytautas Simkus (LTU)
Assistant Referee 2: Saulius Dirda (LTU)
Additional AR 1: Sergejus Slyva (LTU)
Additional AR 2: Jurij Paskoskij (LTU)
Fourth Official: Vytenis Kaziauskas (LTU)
Referee Observer: Vasily Melnychuk (UKR)

Spain – Macedonia
Referee: Anastasios Sidiropoulos (GRE)
Assistant Referee 1: Damianos Efthymiadis (GRE)
Assistant Referee 2: Polychronis Kostaras (GRE)
Additional AR 1: Ilias Spathas (GRE)
Additional AR 2: Stavros Tritsonis (GRE)
Fourth Official: Christos Akrivos (GRE)
Referee Observer: Bo Karlsson (SWE)

Ukraine – Slovakia
Referee: Craig Thomson (SCO)
Assistant Referee 1: Graham Chambers (SCO)
Assistant Referee 2: Alan Mulvanny (SCO)
Additional AR 1: Steven McLean (SCO)
Additional AR 2: John Beaton (SCO)
Fourth Official: David McGeachie (SCO)
Referee Observer: Markus Nobs (SUI)

Estonia – Slovenia
Referee: Szymon Marciniak (POL)
Assistant Referee 1: Pawel Sokolnicki (POL)
Assistant Referee 2: Tomasz Listkiewicz (POL)
Additional AR 1: Pawel Raczkowski (POL)
Additional AR 2: Tomasz Musial (POL)
Fourth Official: Radoslaw Siejka (POL)
Referee Observer: Jaap Uilenberg (NED)

San Marino – Lithuania
Referee: Libor Kovarik (CZE)
Assistant Referee 1: Jiri Molacek (CZE)
Assistant Referee 2: Krystof Mencl (CZE)
Additional AR 1: Miroslav Zelinka (CZE)
Additional AR 2: Radek Prihoda (CZE)
Fourth Official: Ondrej Pelikan (CZE)
Referee Observer: John Ward (IRL)

Switzerland – England
Referee: Cüneyt Çakir (TUR)
Assistant Referee 1: Bahattin Duran (TUR)
Assistant Referee 2: Tarik Ongun (TUR)
Additional AR 1: Hüseyin Göçek (TUR)
Additional AR 2: Barış Şimşek (TUR)
Fourth Official: Emre Eyisoy (TUR)

Referee Observer: Alain Hamer (LUX)

9 September 2014
Kazakhstan – Latvia
Referee: Ivan Kružliak (SVK)
Assistant Referee 1: Roman Slyško (SVK)
Assistant Referee 2: Ondrej Brendza (SVK)
Additional AR 1: Richard Trutz (SVK)
Additional AR 2: Vladimir Vnuk (SVK)
Fourth Official: Tomaš Somolani (SVK)
Referee Observer: Raymond Ellingham (WAL)

Azerbaijan – Bulgaria
Referee: Alon Yefet (ISR)
Assistant Referee 1: Danny Krasikow (ISR)
Assistant Referee 2: Shabtai Nahmias (ISR)
Additional AR 1: Liran Liany (ISR)
Additional AR 2: Roy Reinshreiber (ISR)
Fourth Official: Nissan Davidy (ISR)
Referee Observer: Christer Fällström (SWE)

Croatia – Malta
Referee: Vladislav Bezborodov (RUS)
Assistant Referee 1: Nikolai Golubev (RUS)
Assistant Referee 2: Maksim Gavrilin (RUS)
Additional AR 1: Sergei Ivanov (RUS)
Additional AR 2: Mikhail Vilkov (RUS)
Fourth Official: Valeriy Danchenko (RUS)
Referee Observer: Georgios Bikas (GRE)

Norway – Italy
Referee: Milorad Mažić (SRB)
Assistant Referee 1: Milovan Ristić (SRB)
Assistant Referee 2: Dalibor Djurdjević (SRB)
Additional AR 1: Danilo Grujić (SRB)
Additional AR 2: Dejan Filipović (SRB)
Fourth Official: Dejan Petrović (SRB)
Referee Observer: Nikolai Levnikov (RUS)

Czech Republic – Netherlands
Referee: Gianluca Rocchi (ITA)
Assistant Referee 1: Elenito Di Liberatore (ITA)
Assistant Referee 2: Gianluca Cariolato (ITA)
Additional AR 1: Paolo Valeri (ITA)
Additional AR 2: Marco Guida (ITA)
Fourth Official: Riccardo Di Fiore (ITA)
Referee Observer: Vitor Melo Pereira (POR)

Iceland – Turkey
Referee: Ivan Bebek (CRO)
Assistant Referee 1: Tomislav Petrović (CRO)
Assistant Referee 2: Miro Grgić (CRO)
Additional AR 1: Domagoj Vučkov (CRO)
Additional AR 2: Ante Vučemilović-Simunović (CRO)
Fourth Official: Dalibor Conjar (CRO)
Referee Observer: Jozef Marko (SVK)

Andorra – Wales
Referee: Slavko Vinčić (SVN)
Assistant Referee 1: Matej Žunič (SVN)
Assistant Referee 2: Bojan Ul (SVN)
Additional AR 1: Matej Jug (SVN)
Additional AR 2: Mitja Zganec (SVN)
Fourth Official: Tomaz Klancnik (SVN)
Referee Observer: Michael Riley (ENG)

Bosnia – Cyprus
Referee: Ievgenii Aranovskyi (UKR)
Assistant Referee 1: Oleksandr Korniyko (UKR)
Assistant Referee 2: Oleksandr Voytyuk (UKR)
Additional AR 1: Serhiy Boiko (UKR)
Additional AR 2: Anatoliy Abdula (UKR)
Fourth Official: Semen Shlonchak (UKR)
Referee Observer: Adrian Casha (MLT)