FIFA will hold a seminary for 2026 World Cup preselected referees from UEFA. It will take place in Zurich, Switzerland.
Zurich (Switzerland), 31 March - 3 April 2025
UEFA
1. Irfan Peljto BIH
2. Michael Oliver ENG
3. Anthony Taylor ENG
4. Jesús Gil Manzano ESP
5. José Maria Sánchez Martínez ESP
UEFA
1. Irfan Peljto BIH
2. Michael Oliver ENG
3. Anthony Taylor ENG
4. Jesús Gil Manzano ESP
5. José Maria Sánchez Martínez ESP
6. François Letexier FRA
7. Clément Turpin FRA
8. Daniel Siebert GER
9. Felix Zwayer GER
10. Marco Guida ITA
11. Maurizio Mariani ITA
12. Serdar Gözübüyük NED
13. Danny Makkelie NED
14. Espen Eskås NOR
15. Szymon Marciniak POL
16. João Pedro da Silva Pinheiro POR
17. István Kovács ROU18. Sandro Schärer SUI
19. Ivan Kružliak SVK
20. Slavko Vinčić SVN
21. Glenn Nyberg SWE
22. Halil Umut Meler TUR
Why not Massa rather than Guida and Mariani?
ReplyDeleteright decision; Massa is very overrated; Guida and Mariani better
DeleteChanges after the last UEFA meeting, Sevilla 15 - 19 / 01/ 2024:
ReplyDeleteOUT
Srdan Jovanovic
Artur Dias (Retired)
Tess Olofsson
Davide Massa
Stéphanie Frappart
IN
Daniel Siebert
Marco Guida
To add, at that time no English referees were reported at the Spanish seminary one year ago, but this was strange and maybe better not to talk about changes or replacements, we have now both Oliver and Taylor.
One big point for discussion is what FIFA wants to do with women, it seems all have been removed from Men's preselections.
Exactly what I thought, the German race is not entirely over. Surely, they keep the competition alive on purpose, to keep both referees sharp. Daniel Siebert is currently in a good form imo.
DeleteI'm almost sure that FIFA will pick up Referees for the 1st edition of the Club World Cup this year from this list; so Massa is unexpectedly out also from such tournament
ReplyDeleteFor me, the highlight is not seeing Massa, the one who today seems to be Italy's number 1. Happy to see Marciniak and Oliver.
ReplyDeleteVery good from Fifa no Massa!
ReplyDeleteKruzliak dont deserve it.
Fifa is more neutrality than the uefa.
They would have put Massa, Obrenovic on the list!
I agree that Massa is very overvalued by UEFA. In my opinion, Guida is a little better than him and Mariani…I hope he recovers from his injury soon.
DeleteKruzliak seems to me a good referee tbh, only that in the games where he should take the "last step" there always ends up being some controversy.
If you assume that UEFA will again be represented by ten main referees at the 2026 World Cup and that those countries with two candidates will each provide one, 6 slots would already be taken by Germany, England, France, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain, although I would not see for example Serdar Gözübüyük currently in the focus of either UEFA or FIFA; for me, this list reads more as if it would be easier to enforce with the support of some candidates that their countries "must" be represented.
ReplyDeleteBut wouldn't the increased number of teams and games suggest a higher number of referees as well? So rather around 15 UEFA referees?
DeleteSorry, you're right: I forgot that the World Cup 2026 will be expanded. So then you're more likely to face the opposite problem: you can't eliminate too many candidates.
DeleteThe intriguing story between Guida and Massa continues.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, at this point one could have expected Massa's choice, after Guida had managed to referee at the Euro.
One could have imagined that Guida's path was over, also considering the repeated difficulties with injuries throughout his career.
Instead, he remains the leading name with Mariani second-placed.
At this point, Massa's international career has been truly disappointing, and in my opinion not exclusively due to his fault, one disappointment after another.
Reserve for the 2020 EURO (promising choice by UEFA) but then, not called up for 2024.
The pre-selection for the 2026 World Championships includes him, but he is then excluded. one year later.
As I have often said, I believe that both he and Guida lack something and in some respects they can be defined as complete contrary referees, if one of the two had one of the qualities of the other, the result would be a strong referee. But obviously it cannot be like that.
Overall, however, Guida is not that much better than Massa (but for me he is, I agree with what Diego wrote), even if only very slightly. He is preferred because he is used to make strong decisions and manage players in a severe manner, something that Massa often omits just to think about bringing home his games, even if he has often changed his style to be better (but it didn't last long..). All in all, I think he would have deserved a call for a big event, given that we are not talking about Orsato and in the end the level is average but still tending towards low.
In all cases, Guida ahead could even be accepted by Massa, but being overtaken by Mariani is really bad: but it also must be said that Mariani was already on the list.
We will now see how much reliability Guida will give: currently still out due to injury, last match on December 22nd in Serie A.
However, this list was made during his injury, so this is not an element that changes the issue, and at this point the Campanian will really have to protect himself to arrive the next year to the top competition. But if not, at this point, it will be Mariani...
One should also try to explain then the UEFA appointments, even more you can say that the nationality is appointed and not the referee, otherwise Massa wouldn't have got those big games. Very often just seen as "Italian referee". And the feeling is that, if Guida available, he would have got most of it or maybe everything, leaving a few to Massa.
Nevertheless, I think he could be indeed rewarded with a UEFA final, to give him something after such disappointments... either Conference League or Europa League finals are possible, if not Italian teams there, and you can explain in this way the observation by Velasco Carballo.But still.. very strange management.
Completely agree. The next few months will be decisive, along with the appointment of referees for the club world championship next month... Any predictions? Since we know all the pre-selected referees from all the confederations it is more appropriate to make predictions, I will try to make some and soon I will share them.
DeleteRegarding CWC predictions, there are two approaches. And I am not sure, which one is closer to FIFA's idea. Firstly, I thought, it would make sense to focus on referees with little FIFA experience, i.e. excluding WC22 referees Marciniak, Oliver, Turpin, Makkelie, Siebert, Taylor and Vincic.
DeleteBut it seems also possible, that they make the strongest possible selection for the CWC and use the other officials at U20/U17WCs this year.
Same question obviously for all confederations.
So, I think the current top selection for UEFA would be
Kovacs, Marciniak, Letexier, Turpin, Vincic, Zwayer, Gil Manzano, Eskas, Makkelie, Oliver
If we exclude WC22 referees, we could maybe get
Kovacs, Letexier, Nyberg, Eskas, Zwayer, Gözübüyük, Peljto, Gil Manzano, Schärer, Mariani
- How many games has Guida in 2025 in Serie A and for Uefa ?
ReplyDeleteAs Chefren wrote above, his last game was December 22, 2024.
DeleteOT: Chefren, I have a stupid question:
ReplyDeleteFrom where do you take the clips you post here? Because you do a screen recording right? But since you have to pay for some channels (e.g. DAZN, Sky), is it legally ok to share these screen recordings here on the blog? Because I noticed that you some times share recordings of some Eastern European channels. Is that connected to the topic?
I would really appreciate your answer because I‘m not sure if it’s legal to share a screen recordings from a pay-TV-Plattform.
I would really appreciate an answer because if you say it’s legal (which I guess it is because you do it all the time), I could also start publishing videos and help the blog.
DeleteI suggest you not to do a screen recorder from your own Pay TV, I don't publish video by making screen recording from my TV, I just post stuff I can find on the web, that's why you see all different broadcasters (but yes, sometimes with a screen recorder because I don't download it and it's quicker in this way, but you can already find this stuff on the web).
DeleteAbout the quarter finals of the UEFA tournaments:
ReplyDeleteI think we can conclude that UEFAs RefCom has applied the performance principle so far. Nyberg (2 OFRs) and Mariani (soft YC) were not assigned in R16, neither was Meler. Question is, will we see them again and where? I think Conference- or Europa League might be possible for Nyberg and Mariani. Not sure about Meler, also due the situation in Turkey unfortunately. But I’m sure he’ll return stronger.
If the trend continues, I doubt we will see Kruzliak and Bastien in the next round. Not sure about Schärer and Massa either (perhaps UEL or UECL).
Turpin vs Letexier is interesting. Kuipers' observation indicates that Letexier is in focus to handle a UEFA final. A logical path is QF UCL -> no semi-final -> Final.
On the other hand, I agree with one of the comments that Turpin deserves a Nations League final if Les Bleus don’t make it. I am curious about his next appointment after the famous RC to AS Roma. Normally, Turpin will get QF UEL + SF UCL.
In the Barcelona/Dortmund tie we may see an Englishman. Taylor has indeed not whistled any German teams since the EURO. The question is whether that trend will be broken. Oliver is not having his best season tbh.
A German and Spanish in the QF UCL seems logical to me. Probably Zwayer and Gil Manzano.
Makkelie whistled himself into the quarter-finals. The way he handled the first minutes yesterday is textbook example of how a referee can calm down things with early YCs and a very strong body language. A game that ended 11 vs 9 in the first tie, was under full control in the decisive 2nd tie.
Kovacs, Marciniak, Vincic are options in the QF given their performances and neutral passports. Possible to save one or two for a semi-final UCL. I hope to see Peljto in the QF as well.
I don't think, you can exclude everyone with a bad game. Otherwise the options become too limited. So I think, Nyberg and Massa still have chances for another CL game. More difficult for the others, who you have mentioned in the first paragraph.
DeleteIn EL and ECL, all the referees, who did a CL KO game should still be possible, I think.
For Turpin, the question is, how much the EL game in Bilbao will harm him. It should not, but we know the problem with Italian losers. Otherwise both French should get as much as possible IMO. So I would like to see both in CL QF and one of them in the SF.
Oliver in Barcelona-Dortmund is indeed quite possible, but I think, a direct SF would also be an option.
I agree on Zwayer and Gil Manzano, they seem (at least) slightly ahead of their countrymen.
Unless they are spared for a SF, of course. Then it could be a chance for Sanchez/Siebert.
For the finals, it's quite simple, I think. Everyone, who is a serious candidate for the QF should also be considered for the finals (except those, who already did them). If someone is not an option for a CL QF, he also shouldn't be for even the ECL final IMO.
The rest then has to be decided depending on the next performances and the teams playing in the finals.
I like Nyberg a lot. Not sure about that UCL QF prediction though. Benfica-Monaco wasn’t a convincing performance and not just because of the OFRs. I doubt a referee would instantly return in a QF UCL after a poor report in the play-off and missing the R16 round entirely.
DeleteRegarding Massa, it will depend on whether Rosetti backs him after the PSG game. But it seems really odd to be a candidate for UCL QF and at the same time, being excluded on the World Cup shortlist!
Now that we are talking about Guida's injury and the time he has been off the field, well, in CONCACAF there is a similar case with Ismail Elfath who has also attended all the seminars, but has not refereed an official game since June 22, 2024 (Mexico-Jamaica/Copa America) !!
ReplyDeleteAlmost a year is a very long time and maybe one should start to be worried.
DeleteI don't know how many opportunities has a CONCACAF referee to be appointed in the various months of the year (like the UEFA Calendar), but I think we should see the US referee soon again to consider him a real candidate.
To be honest, he has been reported as very strong name, but we can remember the last WC and in my opinion he is not.
Hope he will prove I'm wrong :)
Did you think that they will push Tori Penso instead Elfath? Still I didn't understand why Elfath was a strong name back then and h2h with Marciniak at Qatar.
DeleteThe CONCACAF calendar for 2025 is like this:
Delete-CONCACAF Champions Cup: it started in February and is already in the quarterfinals.
-Gold Cup: the playoffs will take place next Friday 21. And the main event in mid-June along with the Club World Cup.
- Qualifiers 2026: will resume at the beginning of June with phase 2, the phase 3 matches that define teams for the World Cup will be in September-October-November.
-CONCACAF Nations League Finals: the finals will be held next week in Los Angeles.
These are the most important events in CONCACAF this year, regarding the return of Elfath, I would not be surprised to see him very soon in some MLS game, returning in the qualifiers in June... for the playoffs next Friday I don't think he's there yet.
Regarding Penso, they won't put her "instead of Elfath", they will put her "with Elfath" ;)… I'm almost sure that Penso will be the Frappart of this World Cup.
OT:
ReplyDeleteBartosz Frankowski came back to Polish top tier on 1st March. A pity that he was rejected by FIFA because, imo, in a ranking of referees with the most professional approach he would be in the top...
Today, he faced two interesting incidents in Pogoń Szczecin - Cracovia Kraków:
03' - penalty awarded; very soft, one can even argue that VAR should've intervened
https://streambug.org/cv/28a7c0
60' - YC upgraded to RC for SFP after OFR; studs in the head/face always scream for red card but - given that the contact was not strong and that the player committing the offence most likely didn't see his opponent while performing his challenge - should VAR intervene here?
https://streambug.org/cv/cc951b
Is there any possibility for Frankowski to make a return in the 2026 list? Are there any jurisprudence or similar cases from the past?
DeleteHad a look at the PAI and for me the call can be certainly accepted. As a side comment what I did notice that is surprising for a major league in Europe. A technical but nonetheless important breach of the laws regarding player equipment, namely undershirts. Law 4 states the colour of the undershirt must be the same colour as the main colour of the shirt sleeve. A quick glance tells me the team playing in blue had most of their players in a white undershirt and the GK in yellow had a black undershirt present. Lackadaisical approach from the refereeing team and frankly not a good look.
DeleteMorning, gentelmans, I will start with predictions for UCL quarterfinals:
ReplyDeletePsg-Villa Peljto/Marciniak
Barcelona-Dortmund Taylor/Oliver
Bayern-Inter Nyberg/Makkelie
Arsenal-Real Letexier/Vincic
Another argument about that is the list of preselected referees for WC, so one should indeed think that at least a referee must appear once if possible in CL KO stage, that's more important than others for referees with less experience at this level (e. g. Peljto). One could indeed expect the Bosnian, maybe in Aston Villa? Even if against PSG, I see this clash as the most suitable for him, the others are all rather delicate or big ones, but in case, for me, good also for Bayern - Inter, one of the two legs.
DeleteI can also expect Makkelie after his EL game, while I find it hard for Gozubuyuk, he got CL KO stage one year ago, I think very hard if not impossible this time.
Taylor is another name missing in CL, but now it becomes even more valid argument that if they wanted to give him just one game, he could have got something in Round of 16 (committee could have been aware of the scenario to follow). Honestly, I don't think he could officiate a German team against a Spanish one, would you repeat this story? In case, Oliver will get, but the English has already too many CL games this season in my opinion.
Bayern/Internazionale is the most delicate tie on paper, for two reasons: one Italian team and the UCL final is in München. I don’t expect UEFA to potentially burn a final candidate there, especially in a return. Also, the teams are probably evenly matched. However, assuming that Marciniak won’t get Bayern (offside flag), the best choice is Vincic, but he just had Bayern. One of the French?
DeletePSG/Villa is indeed the “least sonorous” pairing on paper. They can hide a final candidate, but more likely: introduce a new name to the QF stage (for example Peljto)
There is an Italian team, but historically Inter is the least problematic for committee and the nationality of the opponents is another factor in favor of such a possible choice, at least in the first leg. Any other circumstance, different Italian team, and not against a German, would be read differently. Therefore I don't see it as impossible, but certainly not a first choice in the case. However, there is probably more possibility in Aston Villa - PSG.
DeleteRemarkable sequences for Eastern Euro referees in Saudi Arabia over the last two days.
ReplyDeleteWhat do you think about these handball decisions?
1) Ref: Pajac (cro); Var: Ocenas (svk)
https://www.streambug.io/cv/838731
2) Ref: Minakovic (srb); Var: Kazartsev (rus)
https://youtu.be/HFo43cUs77g?t=80
First one is difficult to support as for me the defender heads the ball first before it strikes his arm. Harsh penalty award. Second one I think the call was correct- arm was extended and in a punishable manner.
DeleteEredivisie:
ReplyDeleteSparta - PEC:
VAR Overturn (penalty cancel)
Referee: Rob Dieperink / VAR: Robin Hensgens
https://x.com/ESPNnl/status/1901023756249641015
It seemed like a logical penalty-decision to me, but not to Dieperink and Hensgens. It certainly also looks like Ideho (Sparta-player) is stretching his legs and seeking contact. However, I think Aertssen (PEC-player) is just as likely, or even more so, to seek contact.
Frankly, I was very surprised, I have never seen such VAR intervention at the KNVB. Would Dieperink call on Makkelie in the same situation? Well, it would be nice if that were the case. It is unclear whether this was an accident or what the KNVB wanted.
Apologize Anass, but I often find your posts confusing and you make too many insinuations imo.
Delete"Would Dieperink call Makkelie" and all that is completely irrelevant, because Dieperink blows the whistle and the OFR is made by Hensgens, a young and relatively inexperienced referee and VAR.
We can give our opinions, but we can't look inside his head ;)
I think KNVB should find a way to offer transparency again, in whatever way, cause at the moment the fans, media and people like you are making the weirdest assumptions and pointless guesses.
The condition for a referee to look at the video and change their original decision is that it is a clear error. This is a fundamental rule of the system. So even if Dieperink was the VAR in this situation, he would still have to call a referee.
DeleteVery logical, right?
HLs from LaLiga2 match Albacete vs Málaga, with three straight RCs given in the 1st half of the game (referee Álvaro Moreno Aragón, VAR José Antonio López Toca)
ReplyDeleteAll incidents happen from 1:25 onwards:
-YC for ALB35 for reckless use of elbow, upgraded to RC after OFR (elbow used as a weapon)
-After the VAR RC, ALB20 does the 'handcuffs' gesture next to the referee, and also gets sent off after fourth official input.
-MAL29 sent off for VC (studs on the face of the opponent with the ball already away from the scene), no VAR intervention, difficult to judge the player's intention. ¿Correct?
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sl2flNoFX6Y
Unfortunately not able to be watched outside Spain but here is the video from the official LaLiga2 channel:
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o62Gfws1Fv8&ab_channel=LALIGAHypermotion
Here it rather starts from 1:09
The first two incidents I would describe as correct, not much to discuss. On the last incident, I agree with you that it's very hard to judge the player's intention. I think you can draw some comparisions to Anthony Taylor's red card for (then) Aston Villa's Jhon Durán in the PL which caused a lot of debate in English media, if anyone recalls that. Obviously not that similar incidents just putting them side to side, but similar in the sense that they require a difficult judgement of player intention. Also in that case VAR decided to stay silent, which I find the correct thing to do
Very brave by VAR in this first case. I think other VARs would have supported YC. You can easily say player was aware that opponent was there and he committed this deliberate action with elbow.
DeleteAbout second incident, you said everything. I think VAR would have been more in trouble in case of NO RC by referee but in the end he wouldn't have intervened. The 100% evidence is missing in this case, but in my opinion very often such incidents are always deliberate action, so I must pray the onfield decision.
Off-Topic:
ReplyDeleteIf we anticipate on the semi-finals in the Champions League, realistically Marciniak and Vincic will be in charge of a semi-final (returns). For me a slam dunk, based on their experience, steady season and neutral passports.
With that in mind, I considered that Marciniak won’t be appointed to the semi-final with potentially Bayern München (offside flag).
So:
- RMA/ARS vs PSG/AV: Marciniak
- BAY/INT vs BAR/BVB: Vincic
With hindsight it makes sense why Vincic got the German derby (R16). As now they can assign him to either PSG or RMA (QF), to finish his season in the lower bracket SF - with potentially Bayern again.
Based on that idea, I would predict Marciniak in BVB-Barcelona (QF), to avoid repeating the same team in the SF. Unless the Polish is saved for the semi’s and appointed in Europa League. Could be… However, are they any problematic ties in UEL in your opinions, with Roma out? I don’t think so?
Bodø/Glimt - Lazio will be the least sonorous game of the four, but at same time maybe the most problematic for committee.
DeleteLazio stays as difficult team to officiate, we got confirmation after both games with Viktoria Plzen.
The other three games are very fascinating, I must say.
Rangers - Athletic can be rough in terms of fouls, and maybe in the other clash more attention to Manchester United after the famous Bastien officiating?
I think we can draw conclusion that Tottenham - Eintracht Frankfurt will be the cleanest of all, no controversy so far involving the two, calm teams that think only about playing football...
And yes, your argument definitely explains why committee used Vincic in the German derby, it looked an unexpected choice, but now we can say that he is free to officiate more problematic teams on next stages. He could have been appointe even twice or three times for the same team, but at this point I think committee didn't want to risk possible troubles, given also the rather short list of names for such games. However, I think it's possible to see Vincic both in a game in quarterfinals and semifinals, if needed.
Delete