Saturday 7 January 2023

UEFA Referees Categories for the second part of 2022-23 season - New FIFA referees have been added - Cheryl Foster (WAL) and Ivana Martinčić (CRO) to join Men's List

UEFA Referees Committee has announced the new categories for the second part of 2022-23 season. No changes in the Elite Category unless Cakir and Aytekin's known retirements. Two women have been added to Men's lists. 

Cheryl Foster and Ivana Martinčić to follow the steps of Frappart and Monzul


PDF documents:

MEN:
https://docdro.id/s73G6iT


WOMEN:
https://docdro.id/nh37ZUk


FUTSAL:
https://docdro.id/LabMw76

105 comments:

  1. To be fair, when you de facto abolish the category system anyway (new payments mechanism), what point is there in putting any effort into an *actually* 100% meaningless list anyway! :D. Joking aside: UEFA's current vandalism on refereeing seems irreversible... :/

    Foster and Martinčić would/will struggle in the men's arena based on their six EURO games which I watched, but coherent with the current track.

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    1. Can you explain the new payment mechanism?

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    2. @smala017 If I understood correctly when the news were revealed, until Summer 2022, the match fees of UEFA referees (within its competitions) depended on their category, i.e. an Elite like Makkelie earned more for a CL GS stage than a First Cat like Peljto refereeing a game of identical status. Now instead of category it's based on competition, e.g. Hernández Hernández refereeing a CL game earns more than Kružliak refereeing a Europa League game.

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    3. Yes indeed that's how it should work.
      Payments based on the current form (competition in which a referee officiates) and not on the category.
      Since they didn't want to demote referees once they got promoted to Elite, this was the only possible solution...

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    4. how to the writers of this blog evaluate the quotas per country? germany has 50k active referees and gets 10 fifa spots, whereas belgium has less than 5k (10%) and gets 5 fifa spots...and i think if countries like faroe islands, gibraltar or andorra had more refeerees, they would even appoint them...the point is, it is harder to get a fifa-spot in larger countries...

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  2. Why not Adamkova and Staubli also? They also referee in the top leagues of men's football in their countries?

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  3. Does anyone know if FIFA publishes the list of pre-selected referees for 2026?
    For Qatar, I had access to the list in August 2019 but I don't know if it will be possible to obtain it for the next edition.

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    1. I guess that we'll have to wait until the first seminars and who attends them, which referees get selected for U17/U20/Olympics/Club World Cup, etc.

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    2. What's the purpose of pre-selected list of referees? IIRC Siebert, Lahoz and Kovacs were not preselected for WC 2022 but still went to Qatar. So in the end, it looks like the referees who are in the best form at the time of selection go to WC regardless of the pre-selected list.

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    3. The list gives you a "measure" of how things will go, it is obvious that not everyone who is/was on the previous lists will go to the world cup.
      As you say, I can add the name of Matonte.
      Everything is defined by the form before the world cup, but this list, I repeat, gives you an idea of ​​where the elections for the next world cup are headed.

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    4. After WC2002, FIFA took the pre-selection list really seriously and stuck to it rigidly on the road to Germany 2006 and South Africa 2010. Okay, they were never going to take eg. Pieter Vink anyway, but the Dutchman being off the list and Einweller, Bebek being on it until the very end was a bit silly, tbh. After risible Busacca took over (today I was editing the GERTUR SF for a friend and omg I forgot how terrible this guy was even as a ref...), they started to 'make it up as they went along'. As one example, Collina loved Mazic, so the Serbian made it onto the list in 2014 (deservedly, I must say), and Collina also loved Velasco, who attended despite his first EVER tournament for FIFA being in December 2013. Flexibility is surely the best approach but the danger is selections like Ferrieri's which are really undeserved TBH.

      I don't know what it is but contrary to the men, where they have always been at the top, Italian women's refereeing has always been really poor. This seems strange to me (result of a more conservative society compared to eg. Germany?). They are very blatantly carried by the Italian influence and contrary to the men's stuff, it is really undeserved...

      Examples:

      WWC 2007 - Ana De Toni was supposed to go to China but made a huge mess (tbf together with a hapless Australian AR) of an important qualifier in the Asian zone and FIFA couldn't take her to the WC as a result

      EURO 2009 - the lineswoman who ran the line for Damková in the final, Santuari, made an absolutely terrible offside call in this game... (CLIP: https://streamja.com/OpGrj)

      WWC 2011 - Cristina Cini was in Gaál's trio and together they had this crazy and infamous handball blackout

      EURO 2013 - Spinelli had charge of what was an *extremely* difficult GERNED clash, she was unlucky but also by her own leniency lost control and made big mistakes, and she was rightly rejected by UEFA; due to POLITICAL INFLUENCE, this brought the Italian reserve official, Vitulano, into play, and her performance in France vs. Denmark quarterfinal was absolutely appalling (one of the worst I ever saw in UEFA football, my mark would be 2 MAXIMUM)

      WWC 2015 - Having rightly awarded a penalty earlier in the match, Carina Vitulano did this in the low key Korea vs. Costa Rica GS tie (CLIP: https://streamja.com/e5ERp). She was rewarded with her next match as a QUARTERFINAL, again due to political influence.

      EURO 2017 - Two negative performances by Vitulano, including a penalty decision which she changed BECAUSE A PLAYER TOLD HER TO, saw the Italian knocked out in the group stage.

      And Italy had nobody at last WWC and only a lineswoman at the last EURO. Ferrieri is really poor btw, I cannot believe that such a terrible official reached Serie A/B, and I am scared for her in challenging matches even at next Women’s WC… again, all because of POLITICS!! It just shows how powerful Italy is in refereeing internally. You don’t realise it because the men are good but even the very poor female officials get backed, it really tells a story…

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    5. Wow!
      Thank you very much!
      I did my analysis for this WWC and (according to my opinion) there will be 2 reserve referees from UEFA, because I matched the assistants with those who, in my opinion, will get matches.
      I have Olofsson and Ferrieri as support.
      The Italian assistant Di Monte, I put her with the Spanish Huerta and Ayuso.
      Because, I share your opinion, I saw Ferrieri at the World Cup in India, she was very, very bad.
      But politics counts, as you say.
      But I repeat, thank you for such a good and extensive analysis.

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    6. I forgot to add, I also agree that Ferrieri does not have the ability to whistle in a WWC.
      Kulcsar, Pustovoitova and even Adamkova (I have to admit that I do NOT like Adamkova, I saw her at the EURO and she was among the worst performing referees in the tournament. Her poor position on the pitch in POR-SUI and the 2nd 3 VAR interventions on ISL-FRA, she was terrible) would have been better options for AUS-NZL.
      Too bad about the Russian, she whistled the final of the Olympic Games in Japan and because of this stupid war she is out.
      The Hungarian I have no idea what happened to her, but she is on the FIFA list for 2023.

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    7. Olofsson should be clear reserve, as the Bosnian-Swedish lineswoman isn't on the list. I'd agree with FIFA there, Olofsson is too technically weak/raw despite a actually decent appearance at EURO before she unluckily got Covid. VAR audio from SUIWAL playoff almost definitely won't paint her in the best light, either. I expect Lehtovaara will be the other TBH. Both her EURO ARs are there, yes, but this might be simply because they are two of the best and will paired elsewhere. Finnish official actually did very well in ITAISL, the most challenging game regarding mgmt at the last EURO and was NOT defeated by any means, but it seems she had a negative U20 WC and this might cost her. All the other names are considered at the top (Foster, Martinčić eg) or have somebody else behind them (like English lobby for also very poor Welch who didn't have a good afternoon yesterday btw, Collina's friend Vassaras for relatively decent Demetrescu).

      Ferrieri wouldn't have been 'invented' only to be reserve at the WC, I fear... (but the trios are much more flexible than men's and perhaps there will only be one European reserve with some 'creative' work regarding ARs).

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    8. And yeah, idk what happened to Kulcsár either. She was very good IMO. I recall that she was pregnant in the past, at least iirc, but she seems disappeared now. Less convinced by the Russian maybe, she was rejected for really terrible performance in 2017, more in the solid range I think, but it has been a while since I saw her ref in full, even taking into account that she has been fully out since the invasion. Perhaps she can go in sth like a RUS-RUS-UZB trio from Asia to WWC 2027! :D

      (Oh and I just remembered that Lehtovaara didn't have the best performance in WCL final; it seems she is best as a 'problem solver' for certain kinds of games, but struggles in some others...).

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    9. Two UEFA support referees seems rather unlikely to me. I would think, there is one support referee from each confederation except OFC, which would lead to the appropriate number of 28 referees.
      (And this number offers two mathematically nice options:
      1) Give everyone two games in GS and R16
      2) Give 28 referees one GS game, 20 referees a second GS game, 12 referees one KO match (R16/QF) and 4 referees a second KO match - always reducing by 8
      Unfortunately FIFA doesn't operate this way...)
      The assistants can't really give a definite answer as there are odd numbers in several confederations.

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    10. Could we see busacca in GERTUR?

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  4. Liverpool Wolves, FA Cup, 52' Salah goal. VAR adjudged a deliberate play by the defender and therefore onside and goal. Under the current law, should this be considered offside?

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    1. No, I don't think so. The ball was played over a long distance and the defender was unchallenged, so he had the chance to play it in a controlled manner.
      BTW, the onfield officials didn't decide offside, so VAR could only intervene, if it that was clearly wrong.
      If the initial decision would have been offside, it would be a trickier question regarding VAR intervention.

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  5. Tell me please. It seems that the list of arbitration men is incomplete. In the first category of Ukraine, there are not enough arbitrageurs from Aranovsky and Boyko...

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    1. About Boyko, it was reported that Olympiakos - Nantes on last November would have been his last international game, but indeed I see that he is still on FIFA list for 2023, I don't know exactly the situation, maybe the difficult times for Ukraine didn't help in selecting new referees for 2023? The same I think for Aranovsky?

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    2. But as both of them are still on the FIFA list, it could just be a technical error to leave the last two names out of the First group.

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  6. So Ferrieri is good enough to be among the 10 best UEFA officials for the World Cup, yet she is not good enough to be among 18 Elite officials? Is UEFA even trying to hide their own mess? I also feel like Peljto should be Elite by now, even if it doesn't really mean anything

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  7. Report (highlights): KRC Genk - Club Brugge: 3-1

    Referee: Lawrence Visser
    Assistant referee 1 - 2: Rien Vanyzere - Thibaud Nijsen
    Fourth referee: Wim Smet
    VAR - AVAR: Jonathan Lardot - Quentin Lesceux


    Genk: blue t-shirt + white pants
    Club Brugge: black t-shirt + black pants



    Minute 28: https://twitter.com/i/status/1612074890525540355
    Riot between the number 28 of Genk and number 10 of Club Brugge. Referee gives both players a yellow card. There is no VAR intervention.


    Minute 39: https://twitter.com/i/status/1612079220142018564
    Attack by Genk in which the Club Brugge player stops him with a (dangerous) tackle before Genk's day-out. The ref gives a yellow card to the Club Brugge player and tempers run high. Genk's manager receives a yellow card for protest, after which he goes angrily towards the referee again and thus receives a 2nd yellow card. The VAR does not intervene.

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    1. Thanks for the clips (and interview!) Mathias. Comically bad decisions by Visser (but you can't really blame him, at least in the second case). Brugge player uses self-defense to prevent himself being assaulted by his opponent - yellow card for both. And an EASY, easy red card for tackle as an attack (which would be accepted by everyone) turns into a red card for the understandably exasperated manager. Even if your hands are tied and guidelines prevent you from issuing a RC (it is absurd but...), you HAVE to step in quicker than the ref did here.

      Visser isn't that good tbh but his merit is very 'intelligent' and clever decisions, disciplinary etc. (the same as Valentin Ivanov some years ago). I saw him the young Belgian as an EXCELLENT detector of excessive force in years past. Now, instead we have this decision in 39'... we must be honest and say that there is no purpose for refs like him at the top level -- instead better to have mediocre ones who can 'produce an event' whilst not being in control of the players actions like eg. Sozza, Delajod, Amin Kurhchieli from Belarus et al. -- if red cards for such blatant tackles-as-an-attack like that are off the table. Maybe Fandel wants a red card here and Visser is just in bad form though, idk.

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    2. No problem, done with great pleasure.

      An ex-Belgian referee (Tim Pots) has commented on the situation from minute 39.
      This is his explanation: “Purely by the rules, this was not necessarily a red card. In such phases you often hear about 'intent to play the ball'. But that is no longer a criterion. Otherwise you would have to give red for every drawing error. The ability to play the ball is another criterion, in addition to physical integrity, intensity, place of contact and impact. The Club Brugge player could indeed no longer play the ball, but the tackle did not meet the other criteria. So, purely theoretically, it wasn't red. Mind you: if you give certain guidelines at the start of the season, in which you say that brutal spoilage must be red, then it was of course a possibility here. It therefore also makes this phase a missed opportunity to follow those guidelines.”

      Tomorrow the bosses (probably Frank De Bleeckere) will explain the VAR interventions of the past match day. As soon as I succeed, I will certainly share the information on this blog.

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    3. Explanation of situation minute 39: Professional Refereeing Department expects a red card for the situation. But they do not expect an 'on-field review' because not all technical criteria were present for an intervention.

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  8. Good performance by Massa in Ac Milan - As Roma imo. Spot-on decisions, great foul detection and full control. Looking forward to Napoli-Juventus next matchday. This will be a hot clash, I hope Orsato will be in the middle.

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    1. Excellent Massa, he has changed. Now it looks like he managed to understand that he must show cards when needed without trying to manage games. Also, very strong approach toward dissents, he wasn't such referee some years ago, if he continues in this way, technically being very good, an excellent future is waiting. Key moments: management after YC in 10' in first half and penalty appeal correctly rejected in the second part of second half, with further bookings to follow.

      Given how he has been appointed so far, Doveri will be the referee for Napoli - Juventus. Also, it wouldn't be AIA style to appoint a referee coming from the WC like Orsato, directly in that big game. This will be very big indeed, taking a look at standings. Last but not least, Orsato still with the memory (only for fans of course) about 2018 Inter - Juventus...

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  9. Atletico vs Barcelona: Unacceptable performance by the referee. Player shoots the ball clearly to hurt the assistant referee but only gets a yellow. Barcelona players clearly violently pulls the hair of Atletico player but gets nothing. Morata clearly dives but gets nothing. No control of time wasting or management.

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    1. I watched first 37mins and indeed, terrible Munuera Montero who just allowed everything (mobbing, impeding) and did absolutely nothing... completely expected for the game to result in a big mess!

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  10. ARABIAN GULF CUP

    Monday 9 January 2023

    14:15 CET - Basra (Basra International Stadium)
    OMAN - YEMEN
    Referee: Abdullah Jamali (KUW)
    Assistant Referee 1: Abdulhadi al-Anizi (KUW)
    Assistant Referee 2: Sayad Ali Mahmud (KUW)
    Fourth Official: Ilgiz Tantashev (UZB)
    Video Assistant Referee: Rédouane Jiyed (MAR)
    Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Hashim al-Ibrahim (KUW)

    17:15 CET - Basra (Basra International Stadium)
    SAUDI ARABIA - IRAQ
    Referee: Adil Ali Ahmad Khamis an-Naqbi (UAE)
    Assistant Referee 1: Ali Rashid Muhammad al-Juran an-Nu'aimi (UAE)
    Assistant Referee 2: Sabat Ubaid Surur Sabat al-Ali (UAE)
    Fourth Official: Ma Ning (CHN)
    Video Assistant Referee: Abdullah al-Marri (QAT)
    Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Ahmad Issa Muhammad Darwish (UAE)

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    1. Tuesday 10 January 2023

      14:15 CET - Basra (Al-Mina'a Olympic Stadium)
      UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - KUWAIT
      Referee: Shukri al-Hanfush (KSA)
      Assistant Referee 1: Yasir as-Sultan (KSA)
      Assistant Referee 2: Faisal al-Qahtani (KSA)
      Fourth Official: Istvan Kovacs (ROU)
      Video Assistant Referee: Abdullah ash-Shahri (KSA)
      Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Rédouane Jiyed (MAR)

      17:15 CET - Basra (Al-Mina'a Olympic Stadium)
      QATAR - BAHRAIN
      Referee: Ilgiz Tantashev (UZB)
      Assistant Referee 1: Sanjar Shoyusupov (UZB)
      Assistant Referee 2: Alisher Usmonov (UZB)
      Fourth Official: Ali Sabah Addai al-Qaisi (IRQ)
      Video Assistant Referee: Jérémie Pignard (FRA)
      Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Fu Ming (CHN)

      Delete
  11. Very controversial performance by Rosario Abisso in Sampdoria - Napoli yesterday. The referee had officiated his last serie A game before the WC break, Torino - Milan, and he had been criticized as well. Yesterday he was not at the top again, and the work by VAR Valeri can be described as controversial. Today La Gazzetta dello Sport assigned 3 as mark, never seen in recent times for a serie A referee (the worst mark has been 4 for what I can remember).The scale is from 0 (worst) to 10 (best), classic Italian ranking.

    Some clips are quite long because the incidents are extremely interesting and there is more to understand about referee's decisions.

    2' Penalty after OFR for stepping on opponent (YC)
    https://streamable.com/xuqm4y
    This decision has been stronly criticized by all people, and should be recognized as mistake. Valeri, as VAR, isolated the stepping on foot by Sampdoria player, not considering what had happened before. Very controversial decision to call an OFR, basically this should be considered as not enough for OFR. Different if you whistle it on the pitch. So far, the season of Valeri has been extremely disappointing.
    Abisso just agrees with the call without questioning too much.

    38' RC for either DOGSO or SFP
    https://streamable.com/ti9fbt
    In my opinion the first decision a referee must take in this scenario is to send off player for SFP. DOGSO must be secondary argument and in my opinion in this case SPA would be more appropriate. Nevertheless, it seems as RC was issued for DOGSO, for what I can understand, VAR checked it but without showing the reason. We will know tomorrow the exact reason for which player was sent off, I will inform you. To me if a referee thinks only about the possible SPA - DOGSO scenario in this case, is missing in something. Despite of a correct decision at the end, not the best body language by referee.

    44' YC for reckless tackle
    https://streamable.com/xqzeu4
    Mandatory decision, maybe even close to red card, a few minutes after the straight RC incident.

    78' Penalty for handball
    https://streamable.com/7ezy29
    Missed by Abisso live, in this case nothing to say, correct OFR and penalty assigned.

    90'+2 Missed handball at the edge of penalty area and YC for SPA (+ replay)
    https://streamable.com/em53hy
    https://streamable.com/r7035i
    In case of incident inside penalty area, this would have been the third OFR.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Interesting situations
      2': Quite difficult, because it somehow is careless kicking/stamping by the defender - but also somehow tripping by the attacker. The unclear possession also doesn't help with the assessment. The best and expected decision probably is play on, but a foul decision in any direction would not be a clear error as well IMO. The VAR intervention however is surely wrong for such an unclear situation.
      38': Maybe depends on the competition standards, but for me, this is not such a clear SFP due to the rather small amount of contact and the point of contact (foot). Rather a borderline case. Also regarding DOGSO/SPA a borderline decision. Here I actually tend more towards DOGSO - the other defenders are quite far away, so that the attacker would have time to reach a more central position.
      Overall, a RC seems to be the better decision anyway.

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    2. Confirmed: reason for sending off was DOGSO.

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    3. 2' is a horrendous decision for all the reasons you lay out.

      on 38', I think it's actually CLEAR DOGSO. He attacks him just outside the penalty area so as not to concede the penalty but look at the OGSO he's taking away. He's turned the corner. He's going directly to goal. He has pace. Don't be fooled by the angle--no one is going to challenge him from shooting in a one-on-one situation. If we want to also argue SFP, fine (I like SFP here but I'm not sure this meets UEFA's threshold). But it's definitely DOGSO.

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    4. @Chefren: I think it's a very interesting clip at 2'. What is in your oppinion the main difference between this and the stamp from Maguire against Broja some months back? http://law5-theref.blogspot.com/2022/02/christopher-beat-aus-to-referee-2021.html?showComment=1644678635766#c6231403574965131887

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    5. I think in both cases, the attacker puts his leg late into the path of the attacker and you can make a case, that it happened accidental. Here is the clip, as the one back then is offline: https://youtu.be/-8HIJjqezQo?t=169

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    6. Thanks for this very interesting question. Indeed the action is similar if we look at the stepping on opponent (not deliberate), but basically the big difference is in my opinion what happens before, while Sampdoria player can't have any clue about what will happen later and the contact that was assessed as penalty was only part of a "Longer challenge", in the case of Manchester United Maguirre acts basically isolated from the beginning toward the opponent, who is always in possession of the ball, at first making him fall down and then stepping. In a few words, I see clear responsibilities by the English player, while it can be different for Sampdoria - Napoli, and, more important in that case you can read something "mutual" before.

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  12. Do you when and where will be take place the 2023 WINTER Uefa course/meeting for elite and first class referees ? Do you have the name of the attendees ?

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  13. Today in Saudi Arabia

    19:15 CET
    Ash-Shabab Riyadh - Al-Ittihad Jiddah
    Szymon Marciniak - Paweł Sokolnicki, Tomasz Listkiewicz (POL) - Faisal al-Balawi
    [Paweł Raczkowski (POL), Muhammad ash-Shahri]

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  14. I've rarely seen such a hot-tempered clash as the Indonesia-Vietnam AFF Championship SF 2nd leg now at HT.

    Appalling players behaviour and referee (Yusuke Araki from Japan) losing control.

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    1. Equally, what a game for Abdullah Jamali in Oman vs. Yemen right now!! Many, many PAIs for the Kuwaiti official and so far he's doing very well! (the game is at HT rn).

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    2. That's why AFC should hold AFF games as a springboard for potential future referees of Asia, not a place to throw finished referees (Sato) or referee that will not go far (Asimov). That's what happened too in 2021 on AFF games.

      Perfect game for Asian referees to handle hot explosive match will be AFF games, and perfect game for Asian referees to handle more technical match will be EAFF matches. Give AFF potential future referees that they deserve

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    3. Hey @Mikael W,

      I was very happily surprised that you watched the game (Oman vs Yemen)!

      I was hoping to read your full analysis of the incidents and your overall impression of the referee himself, and what could he have done better?

      He’ll be very glad to read your opinion!

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    4. Thanks Gylfi! Gulf Cup is a really fun tournament and I've tried to keep up with this edition as best I can. Oman vs. Yemen in particular was an epic match for sure!!

      About Jamali specifically, as a quick review:

      + being *extremely* concentrated on assessing every-single-scene in an optimal way; his overall technical accuracy was really good in this game, and that's besides rightly awarding three(!) penalties having faced many KMI situations

      - a couple of missed YCs (one must say that disciplinary wasn't 'complicated' in this game generally), but more critically a lack of body tension in gestures/presence, limiting the scope of his authority over the PLAYERS and the game

      Btw: the Alkass programme 'The Referee' has a detailed focus on all the officiating performances at the Gulf Cup; I didn't watch it myself, but if you go to the 10th Jan show, this should be the one that includes Jamali's game (+ rain-swept KSAIRQ too :)).

      https://www.alkass.net/alkass/ShoofCats.aspx?cat=20&pg=1

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    5. Couldn’t agree more👌🏼. Thank you!

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  15. No VAR intervention: https://streamable.com/wmg3qg
    What do you think?

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    1. Totally fine with it. The attacker has put his leg in the most awkward of positions solely so that he will be kicked. He's not trying to possess the ball, pass the ball or shoot the ball. He's simply putting his leg in a place to get kicked.

      Did the defender kick him? Yes.

      Did he do so carelessly? No. The attacker is the one who is (deliberately) showing a lack of care.

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    2. "The attacker has put his leg in the most awkward of positions solely so that he will be kicked".
      Hm, the move might be unusual, but he puts his leg exactly there, where the ball arrives and actually plays it. Therefore I don't think, one can conclude his purpose was only (or at all) to be kicked, but rather to play the ball.
      And the defender (who also wants to play the ball) is then simply too late, which normally means, he acts carelessly. Furthermore he can even see the attacker in front of him and still decides to do that risky kick.
      Therefore it is a penalty IMO (although I admit, that it doesn't fell completely right here).

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  16. @MikaelW I am actually very curious for the highlights of Busacca in GERTUR 2008. Anyway, I would be very, very pleased with a new blog with refereeing reports about EURO 2008. I remember it quite fondly. I am very curious to know if I'm right about that.

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    1. +1. I was only 9 years old by then, but EURO 2008 is probably the tournament I have the fondest memories of, and not only because of the Spanish victory.

      "Karagounis, don't make signals!"

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    2. I remember also Roberto Rosetti giving his judgement on the coffee in his room. And the weather forecast of Ivan Bebek.

      So Mikael W: please?

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    3. So, let's rewatch Kill the referee as first step :)
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89hOEkPDdy8

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    4. BTW incredible to underline again that Bebek retired from FIFA list as referee only a few days ago... :)

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    5. About GERTUR: I was just editing the audio of this game for a project at a later date! Checking that everything was in time, you stumble across some incidents, etc. EURO 2008 won't be the next one - but everything is ready and (all being well ofc) I will be able to start a new project and blog in sth like mid-February. I look forward to it much! :)

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  17. Latest news about Ovidiu Hategan - March is the target for return, the objective is to be back at the highest level -
    Ovidiu Hategan participated today in part of the mandatory physical tests. He performed the tests side by side with his colleagues, at normal intensity, without any physical restrictions. He also offered a 10 minutes interview to media. Some of the statements:

    I want to be healthy and enjoy every moment I live. It was a different time, I had a vacation like I haven't had in my whole life. Forced, indeed, but it also worked well for me. I spent more time with my family, I enjoyed other things that I missed in these years when I traveled a lot as a referee.

    I am very well, the medical tests have exceeded my expectations, even the doctors, but I am taking it slowly. Today I gave only part of the test, I wanted to be with my colleagues. I haven't put on my boots since that incident, so I had some intense experiences. And likewise, when I would get the shirt with the number, it was a joy, because I appreciate things differently now.

    Being in the phenomenon, (n.r. - VAR referee), it is much easier for me to get over certain things that I have experienced. From the first day I came out of the surgery room, I set myself several things, such as enjoying every moment of life, every day is a bonus for me. My thought and desire is to return to the field. We will see if it will come true or not.

    For now, the physical tests are in the chart, the medical tests, very good. I will see how my body and my heart will hold up, but it is clear that in the first part of March I will repeat certain medical tests that I do every 3 months, these in addition to the normal ones, which I do more often. If they turn out well then too, then we'll see. The final decision will be after I have all the medical results. Plus if I do, I want to go back to the highest level. If I can't, then I won't go back just for the sake of being on the field. Mentally I am very well.

    Yes, it was explained to me medically. If I didn't have the life I had and the balanced way I lived, everything probably would have happened to me 10 years earlier. I am part of a group of people with a high degree of risk of cholesterol deposition on the artery. I didn't know, it's past. We do medical tests every six months. Unfortunately, I, not someone else, is to blame. Maybe because of the pace of life, from everything, I neglected certain things, being with high cholesterol, but it was not something extremely high.

    If you want video: https://streamable.com/6rxikn

    ReplyDelete
  18. That has to be a first for me Darren England took a tumble during the Lsagus Cup game between Leicester City and Newcastle United after seemingly getting in the way inadvertently with a Newcastle player getting back to defend

    ReplyDelete
  19. OT: CTA-RFEF will test SAOT in the Supercopa de España that will be played in Saudi Arabia this week. Whether it is implemented for the 23/24 LaLiga season or not is up to LaLiga.

    Appointments for SFs: Hernández Hernández (Real Madrid - Valencia) & Del Cerro Grande (Barcelona - Betis). Also, due to an Instagram story uploaded on Estrada Fernández's profile showing a group photo of the referees training in Riyadh, the final referee will probably be De Burgos Bengoetxea, so if that final turns out to be a Clásico it would be the first one for him after the nightmare of 2017 Supercopa first leg.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The same for Italian Super Cup, City of Milan's derby on next week in Saudi Arabia: SAOT will be used for the first time and it has been already confirmed that it will be used in serie A in the next matchdays after that game. Today Rocchi held a press conference.
      Referee for Super Cup, given his last appointments, should be Maresca, a very deserved choice if confirmed, I think.

      Delete
    2. If that was Maresca 3 years ago,we would see 10 cards atleast. 😀

      Now with his changed approach,I expect a little more flexibility and that he will adapt to derby pretty quickly,if he's appointed.

      Delete
  20. ARABIAN GULF CUP - MD3

    Thursday 12 January 2023

    16:00 CET - Basra (Basra International Stadium)
    IRAQ - YEMEN
    Referee: Ilgiz Tantashev (UZB)
    Assistant Referee 1: Sanjar Shoyusupov (UZB)
    Assistant Referee 2: Alisher Usmonov (UZB)
    Fourth Official: Salman Fallahi (QAT)
    Video Assistant Referee: Abdullah al-Marri (QAT)
    Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Ahmad Issa Muhammad Darwish (UAE)

    16:00 CET - Basra (Al-Mina'a Olympic Stadium)
    OMAN - SAUDI ARABIA
    Referee: Ma Ning (CHN)
    Assistant Referee 1: Zhou Fei (CHN)
    Assistant Referee 2: Zhang Sheng (CHN)
    Fourth Official: Adil Ali Ahmad Khamis an-Naqbi (UAE)
    Video Assistant Referee: Fu Ming (CHN)
    Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Jérémie Pignard (FRA)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Friday 13 January 2023

      16:00 CET - Basra (Basra International Stadium)
      BAHRAIN - KUWAIT
      Referee: Istvan Kovacs (ROU)
      Assistant Referee 1: Vasile Florin Marinescu (ROU)
      Assistant Referee 2: Mihai Ovidiu Artene (ROU)
      Fourth Official: Ahmad al-Kaf (OMA)
      Video Assistant Referee: Jérémie Pignard (FRA)
      Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Fu Ming (CHN)

      16:00 CET - Basra (Al-Mina'a Olympic Stadium)
      QATAR - UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
      Referee: Ali Sabah Addai al-Qaisi (IRQ)
      Assistant Referee 1: Ahmad Sabah Qasim al-Baghdadi (IRQ)
      Assistant Referee 2: Haidar Abdulhasan Ali Ubaidi (IRQ)
      Fourth Official: Muhannad Qasim Issa Sarai (IRQ)
      Video Assistant Referee: Rédouane Jiyed (MAR)
      Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Abdullah ash-Shahri (KSA)

      Delete
    2. I guess Istvan Kovacs and Ma Ning are one level above the rest. It should be between the Romanian and the Chinese for the final.

      Delete
  21. OT: UEFA has announced that VAR will be used for the UECL KO stage.

    ReplyDelete
  22. We know how serious this ranking is but just to report: Szymon Marciniak was the best referee in 2022 according to IFFHS

    https://www.iffhs.com/posts/2463

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well done to "Daniele Orsatti" for second place as well!

      Delete
    2. Sole CONMEBOL referee in this top 10 ranking is Argentinian Patricio Loustau who didn't even participate in the World Cup contrary to his compatriots Fernando Rapallini and Facundo Tello as well as the Brazilian duo Raphael Claus and Wilton Sampaio and some more who were excessively used. IFFHS - like many blog readers - seems to have a different opinion about the Argentinian/Brazilian World Cup referees than Pierluigi Collina and Massimo Busacca.

      Delete
  23. I'm so confused... how is that not allowed after VAR? Was foul the on-field decision?

    ReplyDelete
  24. Have you information on the next winter course for elite uefa referees ? When/Where/Who ? Thanks

    ReplyDelete
  25. Daniele Doveri in Napoli - Juventus. A very easy game at the end, as you can read from the final score, but he used his well-known "big match approach" that I will never like. Being extremely passive, allowing players to do all they want, like being invisible (very often a merit for a referee, but in this case with a very negative meaning). There was a moment of tension before the end of first half and he was forced to book, this was a consequence of his missing presence. In addition some minor mistakes. Nobody will talk about referee because no major incidents and clear outcome, but believe me, that's something 100% contrary to what refereeing should mean... he relies on his name once on the pitch and that's all. Very sad... for me a referee must have always motivations, even after years and years, I will never like this way of handling. He was just lucky that game went in that direction. Also, an incredible mistake in first half by AR2 Passeri...

    ReplyDelete
  26. 2022 AFRICAN NATIONS CHAMPIONSHIP

    Friday 13 January 2023

    20:00 CET - Algiers (Nelson Mandela Stadium) | Group A
    ALGERIA - LIBYA
    Referee: Abongile Tom (RSA)
    Assistant Referee 1: Ivanildo Meirelles de Oliveira Sanches Lopes (ANG)
    Assistant Referee 2: Kwasi Acheampong Brobbey (GHA)
    Fourth Official: Samuel Uwikunda (RWA)
    Video Assistant Referee: Mahmoud Ashour (EGY)
    Assistant Video Assistant Referee 1: Daniel Nii Ayi Laryea (GHA)
    Assistant Video Assistant Referee 2: Muhammad Abdullah Ibrahim (SDN)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The yellow kit provided by UMBRO is amazing, just waiting to see the others...

      Delete
    2. The blue worn by Amedome today is also outstanding.

      Delete
    3. Do you have any links to pictures of the kits?

      Delete
  27. Who's referee for Manchester Derby today??

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. REF: Stuart Attwell
      ARs: Gary Beswick, Darren Cann
      4OF: Robert Jones
      VAR: Michael Oliver, Nick Hopton

      Delete
  28. First Man U goal I don't undestand why it was given, Rashford was clearly interfering with play.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. https://dubz.co/v/h1t740
      Indeed offside, the player interfered clearly with the closer defender.
      Very likely officials thought to consider him not punishable because he didn't play ball, but this wasn't enough.

      Delete
    2. Interfering with play isn't correct here since there was no contact with the ball. however interfering with an opponent is debatable. Was it an obvious mistake to call offside? Definitely not. This isn't a VAR situation. It's more offside than not. The defender did have to slow down in the end because he was blocking his path, so offside would be fair.

      Delete
    3. For me definitely more offside than not. Enough for VAR to intervene?

      Delete
    4. I agree not enough for the VAR to intervene because the law is so subjective, but IMO Rashford commits an offside offense by making an obvious action (actually several of them, really) that interferes with multiple opponents' ability to play the ball: the defender on the right, who could run in to play the ball if Rashford hadn't been in his way, and the goalkeeper, who would not have been leaning to his right if Rashford hadn't moved towards the ball.

      Delete
    5. I have a different opinion on the situation. Goal is correct in my opinion. I ask you how Rashford interfered with the defender?
      In LOTG there are four criteria for interfering with an opponent:
      - preventing an opponent from playing or being able to play the ball by clearly obstructing the opponent’s line of vision -> not in this case
      - challenging an opponent for the ball -> not in this case, no defenders close to the ball
      - clearly attempting to play a ball which is close when this action impacts on an opponent -> not in this case, Rashford is not CLEARLY attempting to play a ball, he just runs close to it
      - making an obvious action which clearly impacts on the ability of an opponent to play the ball -> not in this case, the attacker needs to make an obvious action which CLEARLY IMPACTS on the ability of an opponent to PLAY the ball. We can speculate whether the defender would run faster etc. But this is only speculation. To make it offside it needs to be CLEAR.

      Delete
    6. I agree Florian. The situation is very specific but indeed, Rashford never commits an active offside offence (IMO).

      However, again we can question the endless tinkering with Law11 after WC2010 time when FIFA s**t themselves. In addition to Attwell today: ignoring Al-Marri's ineptitude, the TUNFRA epsiode highlights very well the absurdity of the deliberate play vs. deflection tweaking for this 22/23 season. UEFA/FIFA tried to 'have their cake and eat it' in this regard - trying to be more coherent with common-sense, BUT not wishing to make a potential sacrifice on 'game flow', as has been the trend since roughly WC2014.

      Have the developments in assessing offside in the last ≈10yrs *really* been good for football, for fans/teams, for football people's empathy with 'our' hobby, our decisions etc?

      At least in my mind, the answer is very clear (NO!).

      Delete
  29. Don't forget that there will be Club World Cup before, on next month. We are waiting for the selected officials in a few time.

    ReplyDelete
  30. I know he's not fifa but could I wish a speedy recovery to Sam Perkiss who got injured today after taking a ball to the face.

    ReplyDelete
  31. Controversial incident in Scotland last night. Possible handball penalty, David Munro gave nothing and VAR confirmed. 4:10
    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=I5bT4PBE638

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Never a handball. Unexpected ball (he expects at least one of the two players in front of him to play the ball - compare it to the BEL-RUS play from Euro 2020 that appears in the IFAB's offside-deliberate-play instruction regarding an unexpected ball), and besides that the arm is by his side in a natural position, AND he's pulling his arm behind his body.

      Delete
  32. Question: Does anyone know what the Fifa fitness test times are? Is the elite test 75 meters in 15 seconds with 20 seconds rest? And is it 40 times or 44?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's 40 times which is 4000 metres. 75 metre run in 15 seconds followed by a 25 metre walk in 18 seconds.

      Delete
  33. Who will be for you the support referees for the WWC?
    My opinion:

    AFC: One of the South Korean ones definitely, I'm going with Oh Hyeon-Jeong.

    CAF: Makalima/Amedome but seeing the assistants Amedome has worked with the one from Mali and the Cameroonian, but Makalima has only worked with the Zambian.
    So I go with Makalima as a reserve

    CONCACAF: Koroleva (as in 2019), loses the battle against Araya, as with the South Koreans: two referees from the same country refereeing?
    I don't think so, and Penso is superior to Koroleva.

    CONMEBOL: Fernandez, the easiest and most obvious decision I've ever made

    UEFA: Caputi and Olofsson

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AFC: I agree
      CAF: Makalima works in the South African male league, which should give her an edge about the others, I think. So for me it's between Amedome and Karboubi
      CONCACAF: To me, Marcotte seems the most obvious candidate
      CONMEBOL: I agree
      UEFA: I would say it's "or" not "and", but otherwise I agree.

      Delete
    2. Yes yes God!!!
      I forgot Marcotte!
      Haha

      Delete
    3. There are so many in CONCACAF that I missed her, but I completely agree about Marcotte as a reserve.

      Delete
  34. https://www.fifa.com/technical/refereeing/media-releases/match-officials-appointed-for-fifa-club-world-cup-morocco-2022-tm

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. So kind of consolation prizes here?
      For referees, who deserved more at the World Cup than they actually got?

      Delete
    2. Ghorbal and his third club world cup, wow

      Delete
    3. Agree with Philipp. Besides 2010, which was the last FIFA tournament ever for García-Aranda and he I guess wanted to 'do sth' before being pushed out by Blatter so picked five very interesting 2014 candidates, the post-WC Club WC always worked in exactly this way ;).

      Delete
    4. The biggest surprise for me is Ghorbal, I had N'Diaye in my notes.
      And two UEFA referees?
      I didn't expect it, maybe Kovacs did, but Taylor didn't.
      I had Oliver for this tournament.
      Nesbitt again, good.
      In the rest, I hit them completely

      Delete
    5. Nesbitt's continued inclusion in Barton's team is interesting. They seem to make a good team, but because of her nationality it really isn't an optimal arrangement for Barton; so many of the big games in CONCACAF involve American teams.

      Delete
  35. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete

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