Matchday 4 of 2023-24 UEFA Women's Champions League Group Stage, referee appointments.
Wednesday 20 December 2023
18:45 CET -Amsterdam (Johan Cruijff ArenA)
AFC Ajax (NED) - FC Bayern München (GER) | Group C
AFC Ajax (NED) - FC Bayern München (GER) | Group C
Referee: Cheryl Foster WAL
Assistant Referee 1: Ceri Louise Williams WAL
Assistant Referee 2: Victoria Finlay NIR
Fourth Official: Rebecca Welch ENG
Assistant Referee 1: Ceri Louise Williams WAL
Assistant Referee 2: Victoria Finlay NIR
Fourth Official: Rebecca Welch ENG
UEFA Referee Observer: Sandra Renon FRA
UEFA Delegate: Cristel Brorsson SWE
18:45 CET - Rome (Stadio Tre Fontane)
AS Roma (ITA) - Paris Saint Germain (FRA) | Group C
AS Roma (ITA) - Paris Saint Germain (FRA) | Group C
Referee: Ivana Martinčić CRO
Assistant Referee 1: Sanja Rodjak-Karšić CRO
Assistant Referee 2: Maja Petravić CRO
Fourth Official: Sabina Bolić CRO
Assistant Referee 1: Sanja Rodjak-Karšić CRO
Assistant Referee 2: Maja Petravić CRO
Fourth Official: Sabina Bolić CRO
UEFA Referee Observer: Rhona Daly IRL
UEFA Delegate: Froso Ppekri CYP
21:00 CET - Gothenburg (Hisingen Arena)
BK Häcken (SWE) - Chelsea FC Women (ENG) | Group D
BK Häcken (SWE) - Chelsea FC Women (ENG) | Group D
Referee: Ewa Augustyn POL
Assistant Referee 1: Paulina Baranowska POL
Assistant Referee 2: Aleksandra Ulanowska POL
Fourth Official: Monika Mularczyk POL
Assistant Referee 1: Paulina Baranowska POL
Assistant Referee 2: Aleksandra Ulanowska POL
Fourth Official: Monika Mularczyk POL
UEFA Referee Observer: Sofia Karagiorgi CYP
UEFA Delegate: Stéphanie Forde FRA
21:00 CET - Madrid (Estadio Alfredo di Stéfano)
Real Madrid CF (ESP) - Paris FC (FRA) | Group D
Real Madrid CF (ESP) - Paris FC (FRA) | Group D
Referee: Alina Peşu ROU
Assistant Referee 1: Daniele Costantinescu ROU
Assistant Referee 2: Mihaela Tepusa ROU
Fourth Official: Cristina Trandafir ROU
Assistant Referee 1: Daniele Costantinescu ROU
Assistant Referee 2: Mihaela Tepusa ROU
Fourth Official: Cristina Trandafir ROU
UEFA Referee Observer: Carina Susana Vitulano ITA
UEFA Delegate: Ewa Gajewska POL
Thursday 21 December 2023
18:45 CET - Frankfurt Am Main (Frankfurt Stadion)
Eintracht Frankfurt (GER) - SL Benfica (POR) | Group A
Eintracht Frankfurt (GER) - SL Benfica (POR) | Group A
Referee: Frida Klarlund DEN
Assistant Referee 1: Katrine Stensholm Wulff DEN
Assistant Referee 2: Amina Gutschi AUT
Fourth Official: Nanna Løf Andersen DEN
Assistant Referee 1: Katrine Stensholm Wulff DEN
Assistant Referee 2: Amina Gutschi AUT
Fourth Official: Nanna Løf Andersen DEN
UEFA Referee Observer: Katarzyna Wierzbowska POL
UEFA Delegate: Rimla Akhtar ENG
18:45 CET - Bergen (Åsane Arena)
SK Brann (NOR) - Olympique Lyonnais Féminin (FRA) | Group B
SK Brann (NOR) - Olympique Lyonnais Féminin (FRA) | Group B
Referee: Volha Blotskaya BLR
Assistant Referee 1: Anastasiya Danchenko BLR
Assistant Referee 2: Nargis Magau KAZ
Fourth Official: Elvira Nurmustafina KAZ
Assistant Referee 2: Nargis Magau KAZ
Fourth Official: Elvira Nurmustafina KAZ
UEFA Referee Observer: Silvia Tea Spinelli ITA
UEFA Delegate: Scott Struthers SCO
21:00 CET - Sant Joan Despí (Estadi Johan Cruyff)
FC Barcelona Femení (ESP) - FC Rosengård (SWE) | Group A
FC Barcelona Femení (ESP) - FC Rosengård (SWE) | Group A
Referee: Eleni Antoniou GRE
Assistant Referee 1: Georgia Komisopoulou GRE
Assistant Referee 2: Zoi Papadopoulou GRE
Fourth Official: Eirini Pingiou GRE
Assistant Referee 1: Georgia Komisopoulou GRE
Assistant Referee 2: Zoi Papadopoulou GRE
Fourth Official: Eirini Pingiou GRE
UEFA Referee Observer: Aneliya Sinabova BUL
UEFA Delegate: Scilla Gennaro ITA
21:00 CET - Prague (Eden Arena)
SK Slavia Praha (CZE) - SN Sankt Pölten (AUT) | Group B
Referee: Ivana Projkovska MKDSK Slavia Praha (CZE) - SN Sankt Pölten (AUT) | Group B
Assistant Referee 1: Vjolca Izeiri MKD
Assistant Referee 2: Ainhoa Fernández Ruiz AND
Fourth Official: Irena Velevačkoska MKD
UEFA Referee Observer: Anri Saarivainio Hänninen FIN
UEFA Delegate: Alima Zhukenova KAZ
My Early prediction for UCL 16th
ReplyDeletePORTO - ARSENAL GIL MANZANO - MARCINIAK
NAPOLI - BARCELLONA TAYLOR - TURPIN
PSG - RAL SOCIEDAD OLIVER - VINCIC
INTER - ATLETICO MADRID ZWAYER - MAKKELIE
PSV - BORUSSIA DMT ORSATO - KOVACS
LAZIO - BAYERN MUNC. NYBERG - COLLUM
COPENAGHEN - M CITY SIEBERT - KRUZLIAK
LIPSIA - REAL MADRID SOARES DIAS - LETEXIER
FC Porto - Arsenal
ReplyDeleteMassa/Gözubuyuk
Napoli - FC Barcelona
Marciniak/Turpin
PSG - Real Sociedad
Zwayer/Vincic
Internazionale - Atlético Madrid
Taylor/Nyberg
PSV - Borussia Dortmund
Oliver/Gil Manzano
Lazio - Bayern München
Sanchez Martinez/Letexier
FC Kopenhagen - Manchester City
Umut Meler/Scharer
RB Leipzig - Real Madrid
Makkelie/Kovacs
Do you think Marciniak may be punished for PSG-NEW handball, and we won't see him in R16 or maybe he will be in UEL/UECL?
DeleteMaybe he damaged a bit of his trust in Paris, but still good enough for a R16 game.
DeleteFairly easy games to officiate in UCL Round of 16 in February. But do you know what this means? All the games from QFs and SFs will be extremely difficult if we expect no big surprises. Only big names will remain starting from QFs. Then it will be the real challenge for the Com with appointments, not now in February. A couple of new names could be tested in the first legs. I will write my early predictions soon.
ReplyDeleteCL predictions:
ReplyDeletePorto - Arsenal: Massa / Gil Manzano
Napoli - Barcelona: Schärer / Zwayer
PSG - Real Sociedad: Soares Dias / Orsato
Inter - Atlético: Kovács / Turpin
PSV - BVB: Kruzliak / Vincic
Lazio - Bayern: Sánchez Martínez / Taylor
Copenhagen - Man City: Peljto / Letexier
Leipzig - Real Madrid: Gozubuyuk / Nyberg
No Marciniak, Makkelie or Oliver, reserved for QFs.
My early predictions
DeletePorto - Arsenal: Letexier / Marciniak
Napoli - Barcelona: Oliver / Turpin
PSG - Real Sociedad: Gözübüyük / Orsato
Inter - Atlético: Meler / Nyberg
PSV - BVB: Sanchez / Vincic
Lazio - Bayern: Kruzliak / Gil Manzano
Copenhagen - Man City: Peljto / Massa
Leipzig - Real Madrid: Kovacs / Taylor
No makkelie?
DeleteYes, because there are too many candidates (which is a good thing) and I think it makes more sense to give some potential EURO referees their first or second CL KO game.
DeleteAnd with Makkelie having done already 4 CL games, he can easily skip this round and go directly to QF.
Good idea to save at least 4 top class for quarter finals
DeletePeljito, Sharer, Sanchez Martinez and Massa Vs. Marciniak, Makkelie, Orsato and Taylor
We were opting for the same strategy last season, but Turpin and Orsato were not saved
DeleteIndeed last season, the two referees, who did QF, but not R16 were del Cerro Grande and Letexier, i.e. not the very top names, but rather the QF surprises.
DeleteMy early UCL predictions:
ReplyDeletePorto - Arsenal: Sanchez Martinez / Massa
Napoli - Barcelona: Nyberg / Letexier
PSG - Real Sociedad: Gozubuyuk / Taylor
Inter - Atlético: Dias / Zwayer
PSV - BVB: Oliver / Kovacs
Lazio - Bayern: Gil Manzano / Makkelie
Copenhagen - Man City: Eskas / Kruzliak
Leipzig - Real Madrid: Umut Meler / Vincic
The Big3 is rested for the QFs.
EL:
ReplyDeleteFeyenoord - AS Roma: Letexier/Zwayer
Stade Rennais _ AC Milan: Pjelto/Kruzliak
Lens - Freiburg: Arthus Dias/ Taylor
Young Boys - Sporting : Di Bello/ Stieler
Benfica - Toulouse: Eskas / Frankowski
Braga - Qarabag: Lambrechts/Guida
Galatasaray - Sparta Praha: Hategan/Obrenovic
Shaktar Donetsk - Marseille: Hernandez Hernandez Jug
Mine are
DeleteFeyenoord - AS Roma: Balakin / Collum
Stade Rennais _ AC Milan: Hernandez / Soares Dias
Lens - Freiburg: Frankowski / Jovanovic
Young Boys - Sporting : Guida / Stieler
Benfica - Toulouse: Mariani / Zwayer
Braga - Qarabag: Obrenovic / Siebert
Galatasaray - Sparta Praha: Petrescu / Bastien
Shaktar Donetsk - Marseille: Kabakov / Makkelie
I am surprised by some of your Inter - Atlético predictions. Imo this is exactly the game where we will see Top-3 referees, no lightweights (especially the return).
ReplyDeleteLast season, it appeared that the Refcom had a pool of referees for the first legs and returns. I expect the same strategy.
ReplyDeleteFirst legs:
Nyberg, Peljto, Massa, Scharer, Kruzliak, Gozubuyuk, Sanchez Martinez, Oliver.
Returns:
Turpin, Orsato, Marciniak, Makkelie, Taylor, Vincic.
Doubt/transition:
- Kovacs & Gil Manzano -> worked on 1st legs (high profile games) last season. Could be a return now.
- Zwayer, Soares Dias -> I’m not sure how UEFA rates them. Should be safe pair of hands in a return, but maybe not in the biggest games.
Early ECL predictions
ReplyDeleteGraz - Bratislava: Karaoglan / Fesnic
Servette - Ludogorets: Glova / Krogh
Saint-Gilloise - Frankfurt: Lindhout / Pawson
Betis - Dinamo: Saggi / Lukjancukas
Olympiakos - Ferencvaros: Walsh / Osmers
Ajax - Bodo: Aghayev / Pinheiro
Molde - Legia: Sozza / Al Hakim
Maccabi - Gent: Stefanski / Jorgji
Early ECL predictions
DeleteGraz - Bratislava: Osmers/ Saggi
Servette - Ludogorets: Krogh/Delajod
Saint-Gilloise - Frankfurt: Lindhout / Jorgji
Betis - Dinamo: Kabakov/Grinfeeld
Olympiakos - Ferencvaros: Pawson/ Brisard
Ajax - Bodo: Maresca/ Pinheiro
Molde - Legia: Lukjančukas /Aghayev
Maccabi - Gent: Glova /Balakin
DFB has confirmed, that there are no changes from Germany on the male FIFA list.
ReplyDeleteJasmin Matysiak and Anne Uersfeld replace four time WWC participant Katrin Rafalski and Vanessa Kaminski on the female AR list. Rafalski and Kaminski remain on the FIFA VAR list though (and work in male Bundesliga in that role).
Two out and two in on the Swedish male list:
ReplyDeleteIn:
Joakim Östling (1991)
Granit Maqedonci (1989)
Out:
Bojan Pandzic (retirement)
Kaspar Sjöberg (demotion to 2nd tier)
Also Tilde Larsson (1999) is new on the assistant list for women (I don't know anything about possible outgoings though)
@chefren, do you know the new FIFA panel for Italy ? I've heard that Colombo has been promoted new international Ref.
ReplyDeleteNo, sorry. As long as they don't release any info, I don't know.
DeleteJust the strong rumor that indeed the only change regarding referees should be Colombo in and Fabbri out, but not still confirmed. What I don't like about AIA, they are always very far from modernity, they don't have a communication, every year is always different and you don't know whaty they are about to to. That's absolutely poor and in my opinion explains us how much the concept of refereeing in Italy is different from other countries, a quite closed world inside themselves.
But... if a journalist wants to know about a certain thing... he can easily do that.
On another note. Isn't the PSG-Sociedad 1st leg in Paris an opportunity to appoint Makkelie? And I deliberately say 1st leg, when things are not yet decisive.
ReplyDeleteMakkelie, from what I saw last week, is in good shape and if he continues like that, has a chance to get the final (again). But suppose - and this of course is a big 'IF' - PSG makes it to the final. Normally it might be a bridge too far to appoint the Dutchman then, but if he has refereed PSG ‘in the meantime’ and they were not unhappy the situation can be different.
If UEFA decides to not do this (ostrich policy), and PSG plays the final against an English team, you are automatically left with Vincic. Right? -> we are not sure he will have the form and his Palmares in knock-out games is not exceptional.
Foresight is important and management is all about anticipation.
And can you keep Makkelie in form – and probably the most neutral and least biased referee around – for the 2nd time out of the final again because of "politics", from an HR-perspective? Think about it.
If the indirect MD6 relationship wasn’t an issue, and that worked out well, then I don’t see why this couldn’t be an option. We are talking about a decision made 2 years ago, which was deemed correct according to many of us, and not even directly decisive for PSG’s elimination.
It is possible that, starting from the second part of the current season, Poland will test the new VAR protocol that allows to check (potential) second yellow cards.
ReplyDeleteSpanish FIFA list updates were already confirmed in summer.
ReplyDeleteIn: Javier Alberola Rojas (1991) & Alejandro Muñiz Ruiz (1991), also female referee María Eugenia Gil Soriano (1996)
Out: Mateu and Del Cerro after retirement.
Not good. I'm sure CTA-RFEF would have liked to give one of the badges to Miguel Ángel Ortiz Arias (1984, his domestic appointments on average are much more sonorous than both Alberola's - besides Madrid derby - and Muñiz's and IMO he's a much better referee, but 1) His sonorous gaffe in Valladolid - Sevilla last season disallowing a goal due to blowing too early for HT and 2) Receiving two separate suspensions by CTA for pushing a player during a game made a possible nomination untenable.
Hey, question: what do you think so far about newcomers Hernandez Maeso, Busquets Ferrer and Garcia Verdura?
DeleteIn my opinion Alberola Rojas was planned to become FIFA even before his La Liga promotion. Why? Because clearly you don't promote a so young referee if you don't have big plans for him, very evident. They gave him the needed time to make a certain experience and then he got the badge. Regardless of his performances and real skills, his career seems to be definitely different than the others. BTW for sure he can be happy now because he also had to face a health problem and he solved it! We will see how he will perform in UEFA competitions.
Deletehttps://rfef.es/es/noticias/oficial-espana-suma-siete-nuevos-arbitros-internacionales-partir-del-1-de-enero-de-2024
Here the news on Spanish federation's site, interesting to read what should be the official domestic ranking (indeed FIFA asks for that, when confirming the international lists for the new year):
1 GIL MANZANO
2 SÁNCHEZ MARTÍNEZ
3 HERNANDEZ HERNANDEZ
4 DE BURGOS BENGOECHEA
5 MARTÍNEZ MUNUERA
6 MUNUERA MONTERO
7 SOTO GRADO
8 CUADRA FERNANDEZ
9 ALBEROLA ROJAS
10 MUÑIZ RUIZ
11 HUERTA DE AZA
12 RIVERA OLMEDO
13 ACEVEDO DUDLEY
14 GONZALEZ GONZALEZ
15 GIL SORIANO
@ESTref
DeleteHernández Maeso: Watching him right now in Girona - Alavés :), my favourite out of the three, spent 10 years stuck in 3rd category (from 2010 to 2020) despite being appointed to promotion play-offs in every season except the first one, thus when he was promoted to professional football at last he was already above his peers from the get-go. Very good manager, his elegant style eerily reminds me of Çakir.
Busquets Ferrer: IMO quite talented ref, my only fear was him being promoted to LaLiga after just one season in 2nd tier (though he spent 2 consecutive years - 2020 and 2021 being the first substitute for promotion out of 120 referees, slightly similar to Maeso), so far he's getting the best appointments, yesterday he had a good/expected performance in Real Sociedad - Betis and tomorrow he has Granada - Sevilla (important relegation game)
García Verdura: IMO the weakest of the bunch, the times I watched him he looked quite average. I suspect his promotion was a bit 'political', as since Estrada Fernández retired there were no Catalan referees in LaLiga.
Champions League Round of 16 Predictions:
ReplyDeletePorto - Arsenal: Zwayer / Orsato
Napoli - Barcelona: Makkelie / Turpin
PSG - Real Sociedad: Kovacs / Taylor
Inter - Atlético: Marciniak / Vincic
PSV - BVB: Peljto / Dias
Lazio - Bayern: Nyberg / Schaerer
Copenhagen - Man City: Kruzliak / Stieler
Leipzig - Real Madrid: Letexier / Massa
To me, this is the most realistic prediction that has been posted here. I can completely follow your idea behind it.
DeleteVincic must face a tough test before he can dream of something big.
Keep Taylor away from Italian teams.
For Nyberg it could be his first exam with an Italian team. For a first knock-out game, the most sensible option is Porto-Arsenal, but I think he's ready for it.
I also suspect Kovacs and Zwayer will get a 1st leg. They are trusted but a bit too inconsistent sometimes, therefore a 1st leg. Possibly an Italian team.
Maybe I would switch Schaerer and Makkelie.
Orsato in London makes sense, unless the 1st leg is one sided. Then they can always move him to eg. BVB-PSV which is fair and football focused, but expected to be tight.
Letexier a 1st leg indeed, but could perhaps get something bigger (Italian team?).
Copenhagen-City will have a lower ranked referee for sure...
12 games available for Europe English referees but You didn't predict OLIVER for any of them ..!
DeleteVAR moments in Club Brugge - KAA Gent (2-0) in Belgian First Division
ReplyDeleteReferee: Jonathan Lardot
Assistant referee 1: Quentin Blaise
Assistant referee 2: Florian Lemaire
Fourth referee: Nathan Verboomen
VAR: Lawrence Visser
A-VAR: Ella De Vries
*Penalty 1: https://twitter.com/i/status/1736368538959421904
Not given by the referee, VAR does not intervene either.
A (possible) foul would have occurred on the defending team prior to the phase - https://twitter.com/i/status/1736406898889359709
*Penalty 2: https://streamable.com/70rwgb
Not given by referee, after VAR check the penalty is given anyway.
*Penalty 3: https://twitter.com/i/status/1736377547615547652
Whistle by the referee, after quick and brief consultation with AR1
What do you think of the situations?
A good analysis for those who haven't read it.
ReplyDeletehttps://trib.al/1EXI0qn
Looks like Turkey has big problem for referees,now even teams are walking off and refusing to play.
ReplyDeleteProof that this one week pause was way too short to make the clubs rethink…
DeleteOnly strong TFF issuing draconian punishments can solve the situation. The club should be either awarded many minus points or directly banned from the competition and the chairman suspended for long time. Another solution is FIFA taking over the federation (don't know if legally possible).
DeleteTo analyze briefly: The Istanbulspor team had no valid reason to withdraw from the field. I think the only reason for their action is that they wanted to put the president of the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) in a difficult situation (because Istanbulspor demanded the resignation of the TFF president last week). Istanbulspor is last in the league and the biggest candidate for relegation. Now they will receive big penalties and their 3 points will be deleted.
DeleteInteresting disallowed goal in Napoli - Frosinone (Coppa Italia):
ReplyDeleteNapoli player intercepts the ball using his arm (missed by Rosario Abisso), they launch an attack which is intercepted by Frosinone defender, who tries to pass the ball back to his GK but the pass is intercepted by Giovanni Simeone, who scores.
VAR intervenes and calls Abisso for OFR for the handball in the build-up, and although Frosinone regained ball posession between the handball and goal scored, goal is disallowed.
Was this protocol followed in this case?
Yes, because the defense didn't have controlled possession of the ball - the defender was even challenged by his opponent when trying to pass to his GK.
DeleteHere the video:
Deletehttps://streamff.co/v/eoYNz7a9Yo
the backpass by defender was not assessed as new action but just like as it was a deflection, so the previous handball was punished.
It seems as AIA has assessed this intervention as protocol mistake by VAR. Not an official position, but rumors. All six including four field officials and the two at VAR duties are out from serie A assignments. The latters came with a certain delay today and with more than strange choices... I will add in case of official confirmation of the mistake by Rocchi.
DeleteBoth sport newspapers in Italy today agreed on the mistake.
Busquets Ferrer has a lot of problems with red cards.
ReplyDeleteLas Palmas - Getafe - one wrong RC, after VAR RC was changed to YC. Later, again VAR, and YC was upgraded to RC.
Today, it's strange RC, after VAR was downgraded to YC, it's really should be on the pitch, mistake and mistake with RCs...
I dont know how to describe tonight's Munuera Montero's performance(Atletico-Getafe).
ReplyDeletePlenty cards showed,but could have and should have showed more.
Had control during match and amanaged very well both teams that can be very difficult to handle.
But still he needed 2 VAR intervetions that saved him.
Both were for penalties.
Both YC,s for Savic were correct,but big orange card challenge and mandatory YC in 1st half mised for foul on De Paul.
So I dont know what to say,mixed performance from him.
I did not see the whole game, so I can not comment on the overall Performance. But from the highligts that I saw he was indeed in control of the Players. I think the first var Intervention Is a good example why var is helpful in Football. Foul play was far away from the ball and therefore hard to see for the field referees.
DeleteI have some doubts about the second var Intervention. It was a very Natural Position of the arm in my opinion and not that far away from the body
OT
ReplyDeleteEstonian FA has published 2024 FIFA list:
Men:
No changes, Frischer, Tohver and Jaanovits have their badge, Jaanovits and Tohver are also VARs
Men ARs:
No changes also. Kõiv, Klaasen, Härsing, Mõtsnik, Saga and Neemlaid have their badges.
Women:
Again, no changes. Turi and Vaher have their badges.
Women ARs:
Major changes here, Rahula and Koppel lose their badges. Kaivoja and Nigulis will continue, also new referee is Liisa Liesment.
Futsal and Beach soccer:
No changes. Futsal badges have Ošomkov and Jakobson. Beach soccer badges have Kärtmann and Karhu.