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Referee appointments

The referee appointments in football leagues are published online every week. But where can you find them?

On Law 5 – The Ref you usually find the international appointments very quickly after the release. Uefa.com publishes the matches of each tournament and under the tab Match info you can find the ref for each match.

Referee appointments for national leagues

• England: Premier League or EFL Championship
• France (on blog Arbitrez-Vous)
• Portugal (visible on the matchday)
• Ukraine (on right side of page)
• The Netherlands (Tuesday at 12.00 pm)
• Austria (click on each game)

Other websites

• MLS referee appointments

England's Euro semi-final referee has history with Bellingham

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Reporting by Trevor Stynes Editing by Christian Radnedge

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Rookie Rece Hinds belted a 458-foot home run and fell a single shy of the cycle in his second career game to power the Cincinnati Reds past the visiting Colorado Rockies, 12-6, Tuesday night.

Euro 2024: England-Netherlands ref served match-fixing ban

Take a look back at the FC crew discussing Jude Bellingham's comments about referee Felix Zwayer in 2021. (2:52)

UEFA has appointed a referee who previously confessed to match-fixing -- and whose integrity was publicly questioned by Jude Bellingham -- for England's Euro 2024 semifinal against the Netherlands .

Felix Zwayer will officiate Wednesday's clash in Dortmund despite being banned for six months in 2005 after taking a €300 ($325) bribe from another official, Robert Hoyzer.

A 2005 investigation found that Zwayer accepted a bribe to favour German club Wuppertaler SV in their match against Werder Bremen Amateure in May 2004.

Bellingham referred back to that incident in a postmatch interview in 2021 after Borussia Dortmund lost 3-2 to Bayern Munich in a huge Bundesliga game.

The England midfielder, who played for Dortmund at the time, said: "You can look at a lot of the decisions in the game.

"You give a referee, that has match-fixed before, the biggest game in Germany. What do you expect?"

Bellingham was subsequently fined €40,000 for his comments, which came after Dortmund were denied a penalty at one end and conceded one at the other.

Dortmund chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke added at the time: "To be clear, Jude was not spreading lies, but what happened in the past. This statement shouldn't have been, but I don't see anything untrue there. I don't expect that to have any consequences for Jude."

Zwayer officiated the Netherlands' 3-0 win over Romania in the Euro 2024 round of 16 on Tuesday.

The FA declined to comment on Zwayer's appointment when contacted by ESPN.

England defender Luke Shaw was quick to dispel any thoughts of conspiracy when asked at a news conference Monday if the refereeing situation was uncomfortable.

"No, not at all," the Manchester United player said. "We have to respect UEFA in whoever they decide to pick as the ref. That won't change anything about us.

"We still just focus on the game in hand, not too much about what refs we've been given or this and that. For us, it won't make any difference."

Shaw went on to say he had never played in a game where he thought the officials were acting against his team.

"Sometimes in the heat of the moment, you get angry in games and you might think that, but no," he said.

"Whatever ref has been picked has been picked. We just have to be ready and not focus on that."

Law 5 - The Referee

Blog about the man in the middle: appointments, analysis, discussions and much more. You are welcome.

Thursday 30 November 2023

Europa league 2023/24 - referee appointments - matchday 5.

  2023/24 UEFA Europa League Group Stage Matchday 5, referee appointments.

90 comments:

The most important / significant games: Freiburg - Olymbiakós (Peljto) AEK - Brighton (Schärer) Marseille - Ajax (Sozza - Šajn!) Sparta - Betis (Dabanović) Atalanta - Sporting (Oliver) Toulouse - Union SG (Jug) Villarreal - Panathinaikos (Kružliak) Molde - Qarabağ (Lambrechts)

Three second group referees assigned for this round of Europa League games. Simone Sozza, Urs Schnyder and Christian-Petru Ciochirca. It is a debut at Europa League for Austrian. I expect a promotion for Swiss one. Do you see any promotion for the others?

I don't see a promotion for Christian-Petru Ciochirca this winter after just having been promoted in summer. But I think that UEFA will have a close eye on him (also suggested by his observers Cüneyt Cakir and Frank De Bleeckere). Out of the three current First Group referees Harald Lechner seems to stagnate and Julian Weinberger just got a rather meaningless match in the Conference League. At least here in this group Sebastian Gishamer's performances are critiziced regularly. Ciochirca could be a realistic option to replace one of Austria's current First Group referees in the near future.

Sorry: Julian Weinberger just got a rather meaningless match in the EUROPA League.

Another good appointment for Lambrechts.

Very sonorous appointment for the young talented italian Sozza. Quite sure about Schnyder promotion; he has been strictly followed and it seems he has performed well. Kruzliak always under spot, with Webb now.

Kruzliak with another important game and an observer like Webb, further confirmation that committee is very happy with him. About Polish referees, I observe that Stefanski, despite of some very challenging games and also a few controversial decisions, has always a big trust by committee as very solid category 1. It is interesting that he is always appointed. About Sozza, I was sure that this would have followed soon. A promotion to Category 1 can't wait, after all he showed before becoming FIFA referee, very promising. Maybe not so much young right now as F. describes, 1987 born, so he should indeed accelerate the path. But believe me, no need to say he is pushed, he is very strong and good referee. I would say the contrary for another name if so, no matter he is Italian.

I agree about Sozza, he is going to be Italian n.1 soon. We can say he is getting cat.1 a little bit late but no doubts he will be Elite in no more than 2 years.

Sozza… Come on. 37 games in Serie A is nothing .

Very good game for Sozza, it is clear that he has big potential and the Com has plans for him. However, I feel like Italy could have had more referees trusted at the highest level if they would promote them to FIFA list earlier. Take a look at the year when the Italian referees got their FIFA badge and compare it to the French referees, 2 very important countries in refereeing and in football in general. Italy: Chiffi - 38; Di Bello - 37; Fabbri - 36; Guida - 33; Maresca - 39; Mariani - 37; Massa - 33; Orsato - 35; Pairetto - 38; Sozza - 36 France: Abed - 30; Bastien - 31; Brisard - 32; Buquet - 34; Delajod - 28; Gaillouste - 34; Letexier - 28; Millot - 32; Pignard - 34; Turpin - 28 It is quite a difference. Also if we take a look at the top referees in Romania we'll see Fesnic - 28; Hategan - 28; Kovacs - 26; Petrescu - 30 At 28 years old seems to be the perfect age for promotion in the FIFA list for the big talents but also if you join it before 33 you have all the chances to reach the top. Later is already pretty difficult, you need to be "pushed". I think that Italy wastes time. There are about 5 years of international experience lost for the Italian referees. I guess that one reason is that they are also promoted pretty late to Serie A comparing to their colleagues in Ligue 1.

Serie A is much more demanding than Ligue 1. This is why Italian referees arrive at the highest level later. Many Italian Serie C referees could well figure in Ligue 1 which is less performing

Two situations from Letexier game Real Madrid - Napoli. 63' - Possible RC for SFP https://streamff.co/v/zwA-XmvB74 Rudiger kicks the ball and then he hits opponent in this way, referee doesn't notice the incident. In my opinion even if ithinking about RC is possible for the point of contact, in reality no more than YC for reckless challenge and maybe some people could even disagree. Correct no VAR intervention, despite of a missed incident. YC in case would have been excellent decision because the player could have removed the leg before, but difficult, I think impossible to see and guess for the referee. 90' - Simulation https://streamff.co/v/i-yaRzmNgR I think that play on would be rather expected decision and the fall by attacker can be caused rather by contact with opponent, BUT... if in the opinion of the referee, che used this to make the incident bigger, correct YC, you can't denby a bit of malice. Classic situation that identifies the style of a referee about the choice to give YC, especially the French.

wow, Kwiatkowski on VAR today? You see, there is no punishment, it was just done to take the pressure off him and give him a rest for a day.

We have learned that the facts are different. UEFA did not punish Kwiatkowski, but concluded that the confusion resulting from the media criticism directed at Marciniak and Kwiatkowski was so loud, intense and potentially disruptive that it was better for Kwiatkowski to be given a day off to rest. In the match between Freiburg and Olympiakos Piraeus, Irfan Peljto from Bosnia and Herzegovina will be the main referee, and Ivan Bebek from Croatia, who was a video assistant referee in Paris, will work as the VAR referee. This time they will switch roles with Kwiatkowski and the Pole will be the assistant video referee.

Generally, a good time for Polish referees! Bartosz Frankowski has a chance for Elite, Damian Sylwestrzak for category 1, and Marciniak will still be on top and nothing will change that!

Karasev led a match in Saudi Arabia today

VAR intervention for a possible PK in Haifa - Rennes for Fesnic, rejected after OFR, corner kick given.

Dabanovic is not bad, he is just not accepted by the players and has missed one or another foul, 2 yellow cards shown correctly. Maybe the only thing not so good is that he hit the ball, but he continued playing with an "advantage" that seemed understandable to me.

Schärer missed a quite clear penalty, he needed OFR. Strange that when the incident happened, he hadn't any reaction. https://dubz.co/v/kh4sd5

To follow, very good decision with a second YC: https://streamable.com/etlw54 Interesting to observe the detail here, the heel of player fully on the shoe of opponent, something more than a normal step on foot, because most of the times it happens only with the tip of the shoe, but I agree still not clear and obvious for SFP.

For me, not a clear RC for SFP. Even if the player did not have a YC already, Reckless foul is the best decision for me. Great body language and quick with the card, no hesitation, correct decision.

Pretty unprecedented referee drama in MLS. Before the international break, in the New York Red Bulls vs FC Cincinnati playoff match, referee Victor Rivas showed Cincinnati star defender Matt Miazga a yellow card just after the final whistle and a second one during the penalty shootout, causing Miazga to be suspended for the next round for yellow card accumulation. Miazga entered the referees' locker room ~80 minutes after the match, while Rivas was showering, in an aggressive manner demanding to speak to Rivas and would not leave until security came to escort him out. The incident was not known publicly until PSRA put out a statement a few days after the incident demanding the league take disciplinary action after a player "was forcibly removed by stadium security while acting in an aggressive & hostile manner." A few days later, Cincinnati's coach, Pat Noonan, publicly alleged that the story was "fabricated." Yesterday, MLS finally announced Miazga's suspension: he is out for 3 games, including the rest of the playoffs. More facts came out about the incident, including that the story reported by the referees was corroborated by stadium security and by independent reporters who witnessed it. However, this morning, the MLS Players' Association released a statement strongly attacking the integrity of the referees and calling for the referees to be disciplined for "submitting a match report with multiple false statements" (it is unclear what exactly they allege was false) and also calling for the security staff to be disciplined for failing to keep Miazga out of the referees' locker room. Meanwhile, Cincinnati is playing in the league semifinal against local rivals Columbus on Saturday (refereed by Allen Chapman), and Victor Rivas is refereeing the other semifinal a few hours later.

Soft penalty by Sozza

https://dubz.co/v/fxwz76

IMHO that’s simply a wrong penalty decision. Attacker stumbles because of a accidental contact at the left leg and the defender’s right leg, but there’s no action whatsoever by the defender nor is he changing path. Probably Var supports because a contact exists, but for me a wrong call.

Typical by Irrati to support such decisions, he almost never intervenes... different from other VARs. And yes, one must be honest, very soft penalty, better not to whistle it. Attacker ahead and he made everything to get it.

Imo wrong decision by Sozza. There is a contact, but i think it's accidental. However, I understand Irrati's decision to support it, and I agree with him that no VAR stuff.

For me definitely not a penalty, and yes strictly law wise it’s not VAR stuff but we’ve seen how VAR has been used previously, to help referees make the ”expected/best” decision despite calls being supportable, I think considering it’s so frequently used in this way, should’ve been an OFR.

penalty really? How? I don't see anything more than a slight touch on the shoulder. Irrati refusing to intervene as always

There is leg to foot contact by the defender if you look closely, but agreed that it should've been called to an OFR after we've seen how VAR has been used previously.

It looks like a very easy night for Schnyder...

I think the PK was wrong and VAR should have intervened. The GK got a touch on the ball

Link here: https://dubz.co/v/ybyhn6

Clear penalty, any contact on the ball was as a result of having it kicked into him and cleaned him out. Clear penalty and certainly not wrong

I agree with @EnglandREF here, the GK is just lucky to have the ball hit into his hands for the slight contact, his focus is where the feet are and he sweeps the attacker out, a clear and expected penalty for me.

thanks for the feedback! It just really reminds me of Howard Webbs PK given in 2009, that he famously labeled his biggest ever mistake: https://www.sportbible.com/football/howard-webb-reveals-his-one-mistake-was-a-penalty-for-man-united-20220321. (Dont have a clip unfortunately)

Found it! :D https://youtu.be/L0PG6FN01ZM?si=UdpVrFXMg6zI3vQu&t=31

Unprecedented referee drama in MLS, the player's union is explicitly attacking match officials' integrity, calling for match officials to be disciplined, and accusing the match officials of making false statements in a match report, leading to the suspension of the best defender in the league. These accusations follow the league's announcement yesterday that FC Cincinnati's Matt Miazga is suspended for the remainder of the playoffs. Miazga had aggressively entered the referee's locker room 80 minutes after the match while referee Victor Rivas was showering, demanded to speak to the referee, and needed to be forcefully removed, as first reported by the referees' union a few days after the incident. It should be noted that independent eyewitnesses have corroborated the referees' story. Even the FC Cincinnati and the player's union are not denying that Miazga gained unauthorized access to the referees' locker room ~80 minuets after the match. However, Cincinnati's coach Pat Noonan previously stated to the media that the story was "fabricated." Meanwhile, Cincinnati is playing their semifinal against bitter rivals Columbus in two days, refereed by Allen Chapman. Victor Rivas himself is the referee of the other semifinal. I imagine there must be tons of pressure on the young Referee of the Year, with the players' union attacking his integrity...

Calm first half for Kružliak in VIL - PAN, some late fouls from both teams, especially Villarreal and game was getting slightly heated. Two quick and well played goals helped calm things down, first goal even a good advantage by Kružliak (expected from a referee on this level). After the two goals, some tactical fouls from the Spanish side, but nothing major, so far nothing important has happened.

51' late challenge from the Villarreal player with studs and fairly high up, has been some borderline fouls so far and this one not whistled at all from Kružliak, bad angle showed on TV but for me a pretty clear free kick and even mandatory YC for Reckless.

62' PK appeal from PAN after a leg swipe from the Villarreal defender, whistled as penalty after OFR. Probably more penalty than not penalty, expected decision (not crystal clear but probably clear enough).

Game heating up now in the closing minutes with score 3-2, another for me pretty clear YC missed by Kružliak in the 88th minute, atleast the foul was whistled. Seconds after a YC for delaying restart, slightly harsh perhaps but okay game management wise.

Game over, pretty dramatic ending with an interesting situation in minute 91 where Kružliak whistles a FK to the PAN defender for a slight push in the back, instantly afterwards the same PAN defender gets hit on his arm/hand which is above his head. Yes, easier to whistle foul, unlucky to be a big situation right afterwards, maybe the foul is a little cheap for my liking but the players were okay with it. Two very football focused teams today, only real drama happened in the last 10 minutes + 7 (+2) minutes of added time, potentially two YCs missed, game management wise it was okay this game but maybe was a reason for the slightly hotter atmosphere in the end. Kružliak did decent in my opinion, not bad but not amazing. He issues cards more according to the book rather than what the game needs which worked today, the two yellows I believe were just missed rather than him making a judgement of them being careless (especially the first one since he didn't even whistle a foul). One penalty whistled after OFR, correct decision for me and difficult to spot live, other than that nothing spectacular happened. While I like Kružliak from a body language standpoint, his foul detection and potentially card detection felt slightly uneven, not in the way of balancing the game but rather just missing some fouls and then whistling some fouls which were much less obvious. In the end no one will talk about the referee, he can be happy today.

Horrendous tackle by Berghuis on Correa, imo it should be assessed as SFP.

Well done Irrati, I didn't expect an intervention there. Quite right RC.

Pity Irrati wasn’t this brave when the 1st half penalty was whistled…

IMO YC was supportable and not clearly wrong. The speed and intensity of the tackle weren’t high and Berghuis also played the ball. A scissor tackle indeed, but intervention for RC too harsh. With these VAR interventions football is loosing the spirit.

Another SFP at 77’?

If we compare this scissors tackle with the one in Lisbon yesterday, I think this one from today is definitely more SFP, but they belong to same category. I have a feeling that committee asked for intervening also in such situations, but you will find always disagreement, indeed indeed also for today's OFR one could disagree. Nevertheless, expected decision RC and today more RC than Benfica - Inter.

I think it’s a good game-deciding penalty decision by Sozza, careless touch on the head of the Marseille attacker by the (blundering) goalkeeper.

Let's put it this way Ajax had no luck with Sozza and Irrati tonight. Especially that 1st penalty. I expect a referee with more experience at this level for the decisive Ajax-AEK

And also - how to assess the goalkeeper’s behaviour against Sozza after the penalty award? The first penalty was very dubious from the clip above, OFR required, and some doubts about match control by the end; this match didn’t change my impression about Sozza - quite overestimated as a ‘talent’.

Any top Elite Referees expected anywhere in MD6 in EL/ ECL.

Clips for Sozza incidents: https://www.streambug.io/cv/506813 https://www.streambug.io/cv/807a6a https://www.streambug.io/cv/f2ffb6 https://www.streambug.io/cv/010588

To clarify my comments above, which might seem like a vendetta, they are my honest assessment of Sozza's skills which seem to completely contradict what I read from everybody else. He seems rather limited to me - isolated leadership figure, running only to be close and that players can 'feel' his presence rather than producing good viewing ANGLES + a generally 'hazy' and unpredictable line in fouls/cards. *Mark my words*, he will be Moen 2.0 in UEFA. (I would also be very happy to be wrong! :)).

Clip 1: more difficult to assess in real time, looks like a penalty but on replays it’s pretty clear no penalty, intervention needed for me here (if VAR is to be used as they were previously). Clip 2: I think this kind of is the definition of endangering the opponent, the receiver of the tackle is lucky the tackle doesn’t hit his leg directly here, for me correct RC (intervention is borderline, I think I like this intervention, these types of tackles are literally career ending if it hits). Clip 3: Borderline SFP, orange. Both YC and RC supportable, correct for VAR to not intervene imo. I think here the referee has to give a decision that is best for the game and considering he already gave a RC for Ajax, perhaps best to avoid a second one for the same team. Clip 4: I hate these types of penalties but you can’t argue that it isn’t a foul, so probably penalty but clumsy and unlucky for the GK and ”unlucky” for Sozza to be the one that decides the game. Out of these, situation 1 is the only one that remains clearly wrong for me, otherwise I think the decisions are correct and mostly expected. Obviously difficult if not impossible to get acceptance from Ajax players when they already have one ”wrong” penalty and a RC against them and then last minute, game decisive, penalty against them AGAIN.

From what I have seen in the clips, a very good impression of Sozza. I think he can go far in UEFA competitions

1: Debtable. There is contact to the back that is minimal, but then also contact to the ankle. I think the attacker probably goes down on his own, not caused by the contact, but the ankle contact is hard to ignore. Tripping is a supportable decision. 2. SFP, clear. 3. Also clear SFP, surprised Irratti didn't send this down. 4. Looks like a penalty for me.

1) Soft penalty for me mostly caused by attacker who wanted to be fouled by opponent, VAR should support. 2) SFP better decision, but still to be discussed whether VAR stuff or not. 3) Surely more VAR stuff then previous incident. I think we should open a debate about that. Better to intervene when the danger for the fouled player is potential or in such cases with clear contact? A RC for SFP would have been very good, but still I think OK by VAR to stay silent. 4) A penalty choice that you can support but in my opinion not all referees would have whistled this one, you have attacker "entering" in the space of the keeper who was already trying to make his save, you will say attacker was clever and I agree, but it looks rather harsh, assessing it as normal contact of play wouldn't have led VAR to an intervention...

1) IMHO: Soft but acceptable since we agreed in Dec 2022 it was a penalty for Argentina in WC Final

Having rewatcht the 4 clips I still think that Ajax really can complain a lot. Imagine that this would happen to PSG? Overall Sozza's performance has two sides for me. 1 management of the game and the players. He did that very well. AJA #23 who was sended of is known for his furious and theatrical reactions to referees. Also some of his teammate's. Sozza managed for allmost the whole match to keep everything under control. I forget the last minutes after the 2nd penalty. I very much like the way he managed since the game had a 6 six goals, a heated atmosphere in Marseille and still things stayed calm. For this part he needs to be praised. The four situations. 1. If and when I look at the line Sozza picked for fouls on the pitch this penalty was a crucial mistake for me. There were other duels in which he didn't whistled the foul on other areas of the pitch. There was a contact on the legs but was this a foul? I understand that VAR stayed away from it. It looked more that Sozza was to eager for these kind of fouls and didn't want to make a mistake. 2. This one is borderline. But I can understand that the VAR interveres in this one. High speed, leg high which touches the ball but goes over it. A stupid foul bij AJA#23 made out of frustration or in an attempt to signal to his team that they needed to put in some extra energy. 3. This one the same. AJA#38 comes in an attempt to get the ball. Keeps the foot low with higher speed. He slides through so a RC would be understandble. 4. With all respect to MikaelW, but this really is a crucial mistake for me. Keeper tries to repair his fault goes for the ball, aswell as the attacker does. Yes there is contact, but as Chefren wrote this is never a penalty or a foul on any other place on the field. Marseille players had a lot of theater when it comes to a foul being committed to them for which Sozza fell here. A VAR intervention would be required here. In the NL there is always (not for this match specific) a lot of discussion with these type of fouls. The big question than is, has the referee played football himself and can he understand the situation. Most of the times a disgree with all the analyst in favour of the referee to support him. Now this situation I do undertand. Sozza was to eager to make a call and was disceived by the Marseille player. And keep in mind, what if this had happend to PSG. So overal Sozza did a good job. But had two KMI wrong.

I very nearly wrote at the end of my comment on the late penalty that "but I'm sure the Dutch Common Sense Brigade will disagree with the decision". Now I wish I had :P. Correa was substituted injured by the way after Berghuis' savage tackle. "Stupid" is not the correct adjective here, imo.

Haha 'Duch common sense brigade". I like that one. The funny thing is dat in the media there is more focus on the so called mistake in penalty one. A call which is very light but defendable. If you look at the small contact with the leg and the light contact with the arm. For me personally from referee perspective it is more a mistake since more of this duels wheren't punished by Sozza. On the 2nd penalty there is the focus on the blunder of the keeper. Where as I think that there is more the fault of Sozza. And regards the word "stupid" to clasify the faul. U can call it dumb aswell or a blunder. I like his initial thought on getting the ball. But he executed it very very poorly or wrong and therefore gut punished.

First penalty was indeed a mistake, imo. The contact exists (and Irrati right to support) but after the Ajax defender had a better path to the ball, so a foul wasn't really committed there. The attacker wasn't 'looking for it', he just took a bad touch, chased for the ball, and then fell naturally after hitting into the Ajax player who was about to get possession himself - instead, he was punished for good defending! :D. Anyway: it is nice to read different perspectives and opinions and hopefully I didn't come across in the wrong way :).

1) There will be very different views and I can live with either penalty and no penalty. Never a clear and obvious mistake, VAR correct to support. 2) I love the VAR intervention here! You don't tackle like that in such situation. A textbook example of excessive force! Excellent understanding by Irrati! 3) And again I will agree with both Irrati (and Sozza). I think the tackle is quite normal, I don't see any intent to hurt an opponent. Yes, the force is high but it's ball oriented, the ball is played, the contact with ankle is not full and quite accidental. This time a textbook example of reckless action! 4) I think you can't ignore the clear contact in such situation. The GK is late and strikes an opponent. Easy penalty. No penalty would've been much bigger controversy, I think.

And about the GK's protests, I can imagine a wide range of referees' reactions: from no card to RC. I would like to know what would be the expected reaction by RefCom.

My early predictions MD6 UCL: Lens - Sevilla: Rumsas (LTU) PSV - Arsenal: Kulbakov (BLR) Napoli - Braga: Schärer (SUI) Union Berlin - Real Madrid: Gozubuyuk (NED) Inter Milan - Real Sociedad: Jorgji (ALB) Salzburg - Benfica: Siebert (GER) Man United - Bayern: Peljto (BIH) Copenhague - Galatasaray: Stieler (GER) Leipzig - YB: Papapetrou (GRE) Red Star - Man City: Hategan (ROU) Atletico - Lazio: Soares Dias (POR) Celtic - Feyenoord: Petrescu (ROU) Porto - Shakhtar: Oliver (ENG) Antwerp - Barcelona: Agayev (AZE) Dortmund - PSG: Vincic (SVN) Newcastle - AC Milan: Zwayer (GER)

In Group A, I don't think UEFA will allow a German referee, where a German team is there. For Group A, I would prefer two of Turpin, Makellie, Vincic or Orsato, for the games.

With Bayern already classified first, UEFA can do it. I remember Aytekin refereeing Benfica-Dinamo kyiv in 2021, also in MD6 with Bayern already qualified. Although Gil Manzano also seems like a good option for that game.

Anyone seen the presentation of Erik Lambrechts in Molde - Qarabağ?

I was live in Bergamo. Not the best disciplinary performance by Oliver . A couple of wrong YC in first half. Good performance by AR1 with one goal disallowed for offside and Scamacca goal correctly inside. Overall not an easy match (very quick) and anyway Oliver did not lose the control of the match

Some clips from Filip Glova's performance in the Sturm Graz vs Raków Częstochowa game: 20' - missed offside by AR1 https://streamable.com/yhb0da 24', 64' - referee hit by the ball, wrong dropped ball procedure in the first case (should've been a dropped ball to the goalkeeper in the penalty area) https://streamable.com/6qrcww https://streamable.com/gblnyq 29', 40' - missed advantages https://streamable.com/76gh3o 72' - substitutions chaos; Raków forced to play with 10 men for three minutes... https://streamable.com/kpju2s 76' - Possible YC 8RAK for reckless kick https://streamable.com/o5xm4i 89' - YC 42STU for SPA tackle https://streamable.com/xc40l0 90+2' - YC 14RAK for reckless use of arm https://streamable.com/26cmhx

First one is also didactic clip, AR can never expect that attacker intercepts the ball, so he is 100% unable to make the assessment and even a blatant offside is missed. About the advantages, in modern UEFA refereeing we see many situations absolutely well managed and we think that's expected, then when we see such incidents we see how much can be difficult to wait a while before whistling. A referee must be 100% odocused during the game from the start to the end, always reading the game, always wondering when ball will go, before whistling for an infringment. That's what we can expect from top class referees, but it's not easy. 76' is clear YC, very reckless challenge.

Not sure if already posted somewhere, but...: Atletico - Lazio: Darko Čeferin SVN Napoli - Braga: Cyril Zimmermann SUI Newcastle - Milan: Andreas Schluchter SUI

We can't say too much based on observers, all should mean experienced/ trusted Elite. We can just exclude Schaerer because Swiss, but nothing more than that.

Maybe it's a silly question: for the EURO are there observers for each match? Is a small group of observers selected as is done with referees?

Yes, there is of course all committee with the members and a selected pool of observers, as it was at EURO 2020 (21).

I think I saw Rosetti at the draw.

I found it strange that the reigning champion Italy was placed in Pot 4. Is there any good reason for that? And then Italy draws a very tough one from Pot 1 and the toughest from Pot 2... Almost if UEFA wants Italy to fail. :) Nothing will withhold Orsato in June, I guess... The red carpet is almost ready. I’m sure he will not officiate any games that involve teams that are difficult to referee, such as Portugal or Netherlands.

Italy is in Pot 4 because they finished 2nd in their qualifying group. Nothing is manipulated, all was clearly explained months before the Qualifiers started.

Early prediction for the GER-SCO opening game? I can see Gil Manzano or Letexier

GER-SCO screams Makkelie if you ask me.

My prediction is Turpin. Marciniak for Group B: either ESPCRO or CROITA.

Makkelie had the opener of EURO 2020. Italy vs Turkey. At that time, Makkelie had the Europa League final and semi-final Champions League experience. I recall that most of us expected Brych. UEFA will prefer a representative referee for the first game. GER-SCO is not the biggest or most difficult game in my eyes. Germany is not Italy, so I don’t think the game necessarily requires a big name (UCL final referee) like Turpin. Letexier could be a sensible choice

The opening game is not one in which you want to take any risk, no matter the teams involved. I also lean toward Turpin for this one.

Many commentators here regard Marciniak, Orsato and Turpin (in alphabetical order) as the current top three referees. In my opinion none of them should handle the play-off final in path A (with EST-FIN-POL-WAL): Marciniak is from Poland, Turpin from France (who will face the winner at EURO 2024) and Orsato had POL-CZE in November. This is of course no problem but I would try to avoid such an overappointment for the same team within short time. British referees should also be excluded due to the possible WAL appearance. Maybe Gil Manzano or Vincic?

Agree. Zwayer or Manzano

Yes, good point regarding the French referees (also the Dutch ones, of course) probably not handling the games in path A. Equally, no Kovacs in path B and no Soares Dias in path C. I agree, that Gil Manzano sound sensible for the path A final.

Wednesday 6 December 2023 Group F 21:00 CET - Vila-real (Estadio de la Cerámica) Villarreal CF (ESP) - Maccabi Haifa FC (ISR) Referee: Nicolas Walsh SCO Assistant Referee 1: Graeme Stewart SCO Assistant Referee 2: Francis Connor SCO Fourth Official: Christopher Graham SCO Video Assistant Referee: Stuart Attwell ENG Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Greg Aitken SCO UEFA Referee Observer: Vladimir Antonov MDA UEFA Delegate: Artur Azaryan ARM

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