Saturday 5 June 2021

Referee appointments for international friendlies - May / June 2021

International friendly games between national teams are about to be played on next days. If you have some appointments, don't hesitate to inform us. 


23 May 2021

UKRAINE - BAHRAIN 
Referee: Pavel Orel (CZE)
Assistant Referee 1: Petr Blažej (CZE)
Assistant Referee 2: Kamil Hájek (CZE)
Fourth Official: Vitaliy Romanov (UKR)

27 May 2021

TURKEY - AZERBAIJAN
Referee: Genc Nuza (KOS)
Assistant Referee 1: Fatlum Berisha (KOS)
Assistant Referee 2: Bujar Selimaj (KOS)
Fourth Official: Visar Kastrati (KOS)

28 May 2021

ITALY - SAN MARINO
Referee: Trustin Farrugia Cann (MLT)
Assistant Referee 1: Luke Portelli (MLT)
Assistant Referee 2: Edward Spiteri (MLT)
Fourth Official: Antonio Giua (ITA)

29 May 2021

SWEDEN - FINLAND
Referee: Jakob Kehlet (DEN)
Assistant Referee 1: Daniel Krogstrup Nørgaard (DEN)
Assistant Referee 2: Steffen Beck Bramsen (DEN)
Fourth Official: Jakob Alexander Sundberg (DEN)

30 May 2021

MALTA - NORTHERN IRELAND
Referee: Sebastian Gishamer (AUT)
Assistant Referee 1: Roland Riedel (AUT)
Assistant Referee 2: Andreas Witschnigg (AUT)
Fourth Official: René Eisner (AUT)

SWITZERLAND - USA
Referee: Harm Osmers (GER)
Assistant Referee 1: Eduard Beitinger (GER)
Assistant Referee 2: Dominik Schaal (GER)
Fourth Official: Lionel Tschudi (SUI)

31 May 2021

TURKEY - GUINEA
Referee: Əliyar Ağayev (AZE)
Assistant Referee 1: Zeynal Zeynalov (AZE)
Assistant Referee 2: Akif Əmirəli (AZE)
Fourth Official: Elçin Məsiyev (AZE)

1 June 2021

CROATIA - ARMENIA
Referee: Luka Bilbija (BIH)
Assistant Referee 1: Amer Macić (BIH)
Assistant Referee 2: Davor Beljo (BIH)
Fourth Official: Igor Pajač (CRO)

KOSOVO - SAN MARINO
Referee: Yaşar Kemal Uğurlu (TUR)
Assistant Referee 1: Ali Saygın Ögel (TUR)
Assistant Referee 2: Abdullah Bora Özkara (TUR)
Fourth Official: Abdulkadir Bitigen (TUR)

LITHUANIA - ESTONIA
Referee: Aleksandrs Anufrijevs (LVA)
Assistant Referee 1: Deniss Ševčenko (LVA)
Assistant Referee 2: Jevgēņijs Morozovs (LVA)
Fourth Official: Robertas Valikonis (LTU)

NORTH MACEDONIA - SLOVENIA
Referee: Besfort Kasumi (KOS)
Assistant Referee 1: Edmond Zeqiri (KOS)
Assistant Referee 2: Fatmir Sekiraqa (KOS)
Fourth Official: Igor Stojcevski (MKD)

POLAND - RUSSIA
Referee: Marco Guida (ITA)
Assistant Referee 1: Matteo Passeri (ITA)
Assistant Referee 2: Alessandro Costanzo (ITA)
Fourth Official: Michael Fabbri (ITA)
Video Assistant Referee: Piero Giacomelli (ITA)
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Giacomo Paganessi (ITA)

SLOVAKIA - BULGARIA
Referee: Walter Altmann (AUT)
Assistant Referee 1: Roland Brandner (AUT)
Assistant Referee 2: Markus Gutschi (AUT)
Fourth Official: Felix Ouschan (AUT)

2 June 2021

BELARUS - AZERBAIJAN
Referee: Dumitru Muntean (MDA)
Assistant Referee 1: Vadim Vicol (MDA)
Assistant Referee 2: Vladislav Lifciu (MDA)
Fourth Official: Vitaly Anikhimovsky (BLR)

BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA - MONTENEGRO
Referee: Novak Simović (SRB)
Assistant Referee 1: Nemanja Petrović (SRB)
Assistant Referee 2: Nikola Đorović (SRB)
Fourth Official: Irfan Peljto (BIH)

ENGLAND - AUSTRIA
Referee: Lawrence Visser (BEL)
Assistant Referee 1 : Thibaud Nijssen (BEL)
Assistant Referee 2 : Rien Vanyzere (BEL)
Fourth Official : Bram Van Driessche  (BEL)

FRANCE - WALES
Referee: Luís Godinho (POR)
Assistant Referee 1: André Campos (POR)
Assistant Referee  2:Rui Teixeira  (POR)
Fourth Official: Iancu Vasilica (POR)
Video Assistant Referee: Antonio Nobre (POR)
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Paulo Brás (POR) 

GERMANY - DENMARK
Referee: Julian Weinberger (AUT)
Assistant Referee 1: Andreas Heidenreich (AUT)
Assistant Referee 2: Maximilian Kolbitsch (AUT)
Fourth Official: Dieter Muckenhammer (AUT)

NETHERLANDS - SCOTLAND
Referee: Vítor Ferreira (POR)
Assistant Referee 1: Bruno Jesus (POR)
Assistant Referee 2: Tiago Costa (POR)
Fourth Official: Hélder Malheiro (POR)

NORWAY - LUXEMBOURG 
Referee: Kristoffer Karlsson (SWE)
Assistant Referee 1: Robin Wilde (SWE)
Assistant Referee 2: Daniel Yng (SWE)
Fourth Official: Fredrik Klitte (SWE)

ROMANIA - GEORGIA
Referee: Anastasios Sidiropoulos (GRE) 
Assistant Referee 1: Polychronis Kostaras (GRE)
Assistant Referee 2: Lazaros Dimitriadis (GRE)
Fourth Official: Andrei Florin Chivulete (ROU)

3 June 2021

ANDORRA - REPUBLIC OF IRELAND
Referee: Xavier Estrada Fernández (ESP)
Assistant Referee 1: Guadalupe Porras Ayuso (ESP)
Assistant Referee 2: Teodoro Sobrino Magán (ESP)
Fourth Official: David Medié Jiménez (ESP)

BELGIUM - GREECE
Referee: Fábio Veríssimo (POR)
Assistant Referee 1: Bruno Rodrigues (POR)
Assistant Referee 2: Pedro Ribeiro (POR)
Fourth Official: Hugo Miguel (POR)

SWITZERLAND - LIECHTENSTEIN
Referee: Nejc Kajtazovič (SVN)
Assistant Referee 1: Robert Vukan (SVN)
Assistant Referee 2: Manuel Vidali (SVN)
Fourth Official: Lukas Fähndrich (SUI)

TURKEY - MOLDOVA
Referee: Sascha Stegemann (GER)
Assistant Referee 1: Marco Achmüller (GER)
Assistant Referee 2: Dominik Schaal (GER)
Fourth Official: Robert Schröder (GER)

UKRAINE - NORTHERN IRELAND
Referee: Szymon Marciniak (POL)
Assistant Referee 1: Paweł Sokolnicki (POL)
Assistant Referee 2: Tomasz Listkiewicz (POL)
Fourth Official: Vitaliy Romanov (UKR)

4 June 2021

FAROE ISLANDS-ICELAND
Referee: Kristo Tohver (EST)
Assistant Referee 1: Silver Koiv (EST)
Assistant Referee 2: Sten Klaasen (EST)
Fourth official: Kári Á Høvdanum (FRO)

FINLAND - ESTONIA
Referee: Jørgen Burchardt (DEN)
Assistant Referee 1: Dennis Rasmussen (DEN)
Assistant Referee 2: Niels Høg (DEN)
Fourth Official: Morten Krogh (DEN)

HUNGARY - CYPRUS
Referee: Matej Jug (SVN)
Assistant Referee 1:Matej Žunič (SVN)
Assistant Referee 2:Grega Kordež (SVN)
Fourth Official:Michal Očenáš (SVK)

ITALY - CZECH REPUBLIC 
Referee: Lionel Tschudi (SUI) 
Assistant Referee 1: Sladan Josipovic (SUI)  
Assistant Referee 2: Matthias Sbrissa (SUI)
Fourth Official: Alessandro Prontera (ITA) 

LATVIA - LITHUANIA
Referee: Juri Frischer (EST)
Assistant Referee 1: Veiko Mõtsnik (EST)
Assistant Referee 2: Sander Saga (EST)
Fourth Official: Andris Treimanis (LVA)

NORTH MACEDONIA - KAZAKHSTAN
Referee: Milovan Milačić (MNE)
Assistant Referee 1: Aleksandar Đikanović (MNE)
Assistant Referee 2: Srđan Jovanović (MNE)

KOSOVO - MALTA
Referee: Christopher Jäger (AUT)
Assistant Referee 1: Andreas Staudinger (AUT)
Assistant Referee 2: Sara Telek (AUT)
Fourth Official: Alan Kijas (AUT)

NIGERIA - CAMEROON
Referee: Harald Lechner (AUT)
Assistant Referee 1: Santino Schreiner (AUT)
Assistant Referee 2: Maximilian Weiß (AUT)
Fourth Official: Markus Hameter (AUT)

SLOVENIA - GIBRALTAR
Referee: Haris Kaljanac (BIH)
Assistant Referee 1: Goran Dujak (BIH)
Assistant Referee 2: Damir Lazić (BIH)
Fourth Official: Roberto Ponis (SVN)

SPAIN - PORTUGAL
Referee: Craig Pawson (ENG)
Assistant Referee 1: Ian Hussin (ENG)
Assistant Referee 2: Daniel Cook (ENG)
Fourth Official: David Coote (ENG)

5 June 2021

GAMBIA - NIGER
Referee: Abdulkadir Bitigen (TUR)

GUINEA - TOGO
Referee: Yaşar Kemal Uğurlu (TUR)

MONTENEGRO - ISRAEL
Referee: Irfan Peljto (BIH)
Assistant Referee 1: Senad Ibrišimbegović (BIH)
Assistant Referee 2: Aleksandar Smiljanić (BIH)
Fourth Official: Mileta Šćepanović (MNE)

RUSSIA - BULGARIA
Referee: Aliaksiej Kuĺbakoŭ (BLR)
Assistant Referee 1: Dzmitryj Žuk (BLR)
Assistant Referee 2: Alieh Maslianka (BLR)
Fourth Official: Dzmitryj Dzmitryjeŭ (BLR)

SWEDEN - ARMENIA
Referee: Mattias Gestranius (FIN)
Assistant Referee 1: Mikko Alakare (FIN)
Assistant Referee 2: Mika Lamppu (FIN)
Fourth Official: Joni Hyytiä (FIN)

WALES - ALBANIA
Referee: Neil Doyle (IRL)
Assistant Referee 1: Wayne McDonnell (IRL)
Assistant Referee 2: Darragh Keegan (IRL)
Fourth Official: Rob Harvey (IRL)

6 June 2021

AUSTRIA - SLOVAKIA
Referee: Urs Schnyder (SUI)
Assistant Referee 1: Marco Zürcher (SUI)
Assistant Referee 2: Jan Köbeli (SUI)
Fourth Official: Luca Cibelli (SUI)

BELGIUM - CROATIA
Referee: Deniz Aytekin (GER)
Assistant Referee 1: Eduard Beitinger (GER)
Assistant Referee 2: Dominik Schaal (GER)
Fourth Official: Harm Osmers (GER)

DENMARK - BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
Referee: Petri Viljanen (FIN)
Assistant Referee 1: Jukka Honkanen (FIN)
Assistant Referee 2: Riku Vihreävuori (FIN)
Fourth Official: Mohammad Al-Emara (FIN)

ENGLAND - ROMANIA
Referee: Tiago Martins (POR)
Assistant Referee 1: André Campos (POR)
Assistant Referee 2: Pedro Almeida (POR)
Fourth Official: António Nobre (POR)

LUXEMBOURG - SCOTLAND
Referee: Eldorjan Hamiti (ALB)
Assistant Referee 1: Ilir Tartaraj (ALB)
Assistant Referee 2: Nertil Bregasi (ALB)
Fourth Official: Jasmin Sabotic (LUX)

MOLDOVA - AZERBAIJAN
Referee: Marian Alexandru Barbu (ROU)
Assistant Referee 1: Vladimir Urzică (ROU)
Assistant Referee 2: Mircea Cristian Orbuleț (ROU)
Fourth Official: Ion Orlic (MDA)

NETHERLANDS - GEORGIA
Referee: Erik Lambrechts (BEL)
Assistant Referee 1: Jo De Weirdt (BEL)
Assistant Referee 2: Mathias Hillaert (BEL)
Fourth Official: Nathan Verboomen (BEL)
Video Assistant Referee: Jonathan Lardot (BEL)
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Florian Lemaire (BEL)

NORWAY - GREECE
Referee: Jakob Kehlet (DEN)
Assistant Referee 1: Ole Kronlykke (DEN)
Assistant Referee 2: Jakob Mastrup (DEN)
Fourth Official: Sandi Putros (DEN)

SAN MARINO (Senior Team) - ITALY  (UNDER 20)
Referee: Christopher Jäger (AUT)
Assistant Referee 1: Francesco Lunardon (SMR)
Assistant Referee 2: Ernesto Cristiano (SMR)
Fourth Official: Luca Zani (SMR)

7 June 2021

ANDORRA - GIBRALTAR
Referee: Philip Farrugia (MLT)
Assistant Referee 1: Alan Camilleri (MLT)
Assistant Referee 2: Christopher Francalanza (MLT)
Fourth Official: Ishmael Barbara (MLT)

FAROE ISLANDS - LIECHTENSTEIN
Referee: Ivar Orri Kristjansson (ISL)
Assistant Referee 1: Gylfi Mar Sigurdsson (ISL)
Assistant Referee 2: Johann Gudmundsson (ISL)
Fourth Official: Alex Troleis (FRO)

GERMANY - LATVIA
Referee: Nikola Dabanović (MNE)
Assistant Referee 1: Milovan Djukić (MNE)
Assistant Referee 2: Vladan Todorović (MNE)
Fourth Official: Mileta Šćepanović (MNE)

KAZAKHSTAN - MALTA
Referee: Christian-Petru Ciochirca (AUT)
Assistant Referee 1: Robert Steinacher (AUT)
Assistant Referee 2: Andreas Witschnigg (AUT)
Fourth Official: Alexander Harkam (AUT)

UKRAINE - CYPRUS
Referee: Vitalijs Spasjonnikovs (LVA)
Assistant Referee 1: Raimonds Tatriks (LVA)
Assistant Referee 2: Martins Svipsts (LVA)
Fourth Official: Vitaliy Romanov (UKR)

8 June 2021

CAMEROON - NIGERIA
Referee: Manuel Schüttengruber (AUT)
Assistant Referee 1: Roland Brandner (AUT)
Assistant Referee 2: Maximilian Weiß (AUT)
Fourth Official: Alan Kijas (AUT)

CZECH REPUBLIC - ALBANIA
Referee: Peter Kralović (SVK)
Assistant Referee 1: Milan Štrbo (SVK)
Assistant Referee 2: Daniel Polacek (SVK)
Fourth Official: Ondřej Berka (CZE)

FRANCE - BULGARIA
Referee: Anastasios Sidiropoulos (GRE)
Assistant Referee 1: Polychronis Kostaras (GRE)
Assistant Referee 2: Lazaros Dimitriadis (GRE)
Fourth Official: Ioannis Papadopoulos (GRE)
Video Assistant Referee: Vassilis Fotias (GRE)
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Agelos Evangelou (GRE)

HUNGARY - REPUBLIC OF IRELAND
Referee: Daniel Stefanski (POL)
Assistant Referee 1: Dawid Igor Golis (POL)
Assistant Referee 2: Adam Kupsik (POL)
Fourth Official: Krzysztof Jakubik (POL)

POLAND - ICELAND
Referee: Balázs Berke (HUN)
Assistant Referee 1: Vencel Tóth (HUN)
Assistant Referee 2: Balázs Buzás (HUN)
Fourth Official: Gergo Bogár (HUN)
Video Assistant Referee: Szymon Marciniak (POL)
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Paweł Sokolnicki (POL)

SPAIN - LITHUANIA
Referee: Willy Delajod (FRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Hicham Zakrani (FRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Aurélien Berthomieu (FRA)
Fourth Official: Karim Abed (FRA)

9 June 2021

PORTUGAL - ISRAEL
Referee: Jérémie Pignard (FRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Cyril Mugnier (FRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Aurélien Drouet (FRA)
Fourth Official: Hugo Miguel (POR)
Video Assistant Referee: Amaury Delerue (FRA)
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Thomas Leonard (FRA)

70 comments:

  1. OT: Japan - Jamaica (Günter Benkö) and Argentina - Croatia (Said Belqola) are today's games from FIFA World Cup 1998.

    wc98refs.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  2. When will category promotions be published?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Osmers appointed to a friendly match suggests that he was not selected for the second part of Euro U21?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes indeed, good observation, unless he has directly a semifinal on 3 June, possible, let's see.

      Delete
  4. 2 June 2021
    England - Austria

    Ref: Lawrence Visser (Bel)
    Ar1 : Thibaud Nijssen (Bel)
    Ar2 : Rien Vanyzere (Bel)
    4th official : Van Driessche Bram (Bel)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. So it seems no KO stage for him in U21...

      Delete
  5. 2 Junho
    França - País Gales
    Luís Godinho

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Assistants?

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    2. VAR? Strange for a friendly.

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    3. Sorry GO REF I deleted your comment by mistake! :)

      Delete
  6. GO_REF, do you know if there will be VAR in NED-SCO?

    ReplyDelete
  7. Mine are
    11/06
    Turkey-Italy: Mateu Lahoz, Cebrian Davis, Diaz PdP, del Cerro Grande - Hernandez Hernandez, Martinez Munuera, Prieto LdC, Sanchez Martinez (all ESP)

    12/06
    Wales-Switzerland: Makkelie, Steegstra, de Vries, Kuipers - Blom, van Boekel (all NED), Pages (FRA), Hernandez Hernandez (ESP)
    Denmark-Finnland: Kovacs, Marinescu, Artene (all ROU), Jovanovic (SRB) - Gil (POL), Dankert, Gittelmann (both GER), Brisard (FRA)
    Belgium-Russia: Soares Dias, Barbosa Tavares, Santos Soares (all POR), Orsato (ITA) - Pinheiro (POR), Letexier (FRA), Meli, di Bello (both ITA)

    13/06
    England-Croatia: Cakir, Duran, Ongun (all TUR), Grinfeeld (ISR) - Irrati, di Bello, Meli, Valeri (all ITA)
    Austria-North Macedonia: Karasev, Demeshko, Gavrilin (all RUS), Massa (ITA) - Dankert, Fritz, Gittelmann, Dingert (all GER)
    Netherlands-Ukraine: Rapallini, Belatti, Bonfa (all ARG), Frappart (FRA) - Sanchez Martinez, Hernandez Hernandez, Prieto LdC, Martinez Munuera (all ESP)

    14/06
    Scotland-Czech Republic: Ekberg, Culum, Hallberg (all SWE), Kabakov (BUL) - Martinez Munuera, Sanchez Martinez, Prieto LdC, Hernandez Hernandez (all ESP)
    Poland-Slovakia: Siebert, Foltyn, Seidel, Brych - Dingert, Dankert, Gittelmann, Fritz (all GER)
    Spain-Sweden: Oliver, Burt, Bennett, Taylor - Kavanagh, Attwell, Betts (all ENG), Irrati (ITA)

    15/06
    Hungary-Portugal: del Cerro Grande, Yuste Jimenez, Alonso Fernandez (all ESP), Frankowski (POL) - Hernandez Hernandez, Martinez Munuera, Prieto LdC, Sanchez Martinez (all ESP)
    France-Germany: Kuipers, van Roekel, Zeinstra (all NED), Schärer (SUI) - van Boekel, Blom (both NED), Meli, di Bello (both ITA)

    ReplyDelete
  8. First int. game for Luka Bilbija.

    ReplyDelete
  9. My predictions for first round of EURO

    11/06
    TUR - ITA: TURPIN - Frappart - Letexier, Brisard, Pages, Van Boekel

    12/06
    WAL - SUI: VINCIC - Grinfeld - Gil, Pinheiro, Blom, Attwell
    DEN - FIN: OLIVER - Taylor - Kavanagh, Betts, Meli, Irrati
    BEL - RUS: DEL CERRO - Lahoz - Munuera, Hernandez, de Cerain, Sanchez

    13/06
    ENG - CRO: BRYCH - Schärer - Fritz, Gittelmann, Dingert, Dankert
    AUT - MKD: EKBERG - Kabakov - Brisard, Letexier, Pages, Van Boekel
    NED - UKR: ORSATO - Massa - Irrati, Meli, di Bello, Valeri

    14/06
    SCO - CZE: SOARES DIAS - Frankowski - Pinheiro, Letexier, Pages, Gil
    POL - SVK: SIEBERT - Karasev - Dingert, Gittelmann, Fritz, Brisard
    ESP - SWE: HATEGAN - Kovacs - Dankert, Betts, Attwell, Kavanagh

    15/06
    HUN - POR: RAPALLINI - Jovanovic - Hernandez, Sanchez, de Cerain, Munuera
    FRA - GER: KUIPERS - Makkelie - Van Boekel, Blom, di Bello, Valeri

    ReplyDelete
  10. Vitaly Anikhimovsky was 4th official on Belarus-Azerbaijan

    ReplyDelete
  11. The red card in france vs wales is correct because Neco Williams has stopped the ball going and therefore it is the denial of goalscoring opportunity

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, clear DOGSO. And also the handball decision itself is correct, because the arms move towards the ball and are in an unnatural position to block it - therefore the very short distance doesn't excuse the handball.

      Delete
  12. RC issued by Sidiropoulos in Romania - Georgia:
    https://streamja.com/GAr0O

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. For me i don't think it's a red card because there is no contact with the head, i think a yellow would have been enough in this instance

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    2. Supportable VC for me, player gets angry after those consecutive minor contacts and uses elbow as a weapon with high force and towards the chest of GEO13.

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    3. Maybe more shoulder than elbow but I think that VC intention and excessive force still exists.

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    4. IMO, RC is at least supportable.

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    5. Supportable but preventable red card. Referee could/should have seen a reaction coming after multiple contacts initiated by GEO13. Nothing to lose with an easy free kick to Romania.

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    6. I agree with Thomas. The RC could have been avoided if the referee gave a free-kick to ROU earlier. But the RC is a correct decision, IMO.

      Delete
  13. I think because there is no clear hitting movement by the elbow a YC could be enough. But RC is for sure supportable. Grey area.

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  14. I agree with you, one can add that Sidiripoulos had however a wrong perception because he made signal of elbow but it wasn't, nevertheless still supportable. In a game with VAR, no intervention.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Kehlet with some good local appointments.
    Good appointment for Visser, but unfortunately no U21 KO then

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. After Hungary-Romania it's no surprise for me. It was a disaster and he get also a game after that.

      Delete
  16. Anyone who can get the referee names for the 2 african friendlies to be played on the 5th of June in Turkey?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. GUINEA - TOGO
      Referee: Yaşar Kemal Uğurlu (TUR)

      GAMBIA - NIGER
      Referee: Abdulkadir Bitigen (TUR)

      Maybe our Turkish readers can help us with recognizing the assistant referees

      GUITGO: https://snipboard.io/TyJVNj.jpg
      GAMNIG: https://snipboard.io/0zfog6.jpg

      Delete
  17. In ITA-CZE, the third Italy's goal was scored after a handball by a teammate of the goal scorer. I understand it won't be punished starting from EURO. On the other hand, such handballs are usually whistled by referees when committed in attacking phase. I would like to know how it will be assessed and if UEFA RefCom is going to find uniformity on this matter.

    First situation on video:
    https://streamable.com/3m2qb2

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Very interesting remarks, I think that, based on Rosetti's statements (https://twitter.com/Law5_TheRef/status/1401256713886515207) these situations shouldn't be considered for a VAR intervention, but such a goal allowed during tournament will surely lead to many discussions, even more if decisive for something very crucial. In such situations, in my opinion referees don't detect at all the touch by arm, so the question is: should VAR deem by himself all these kinds of incidents as not enough for an intervention, or should they consider it as clear foul to be whistled? Because, let's remember, the rule of handballs before goals has changed, but if a punishable (also for "common sense", as you said) hanbdall is there in the APP, VAR must think what to do.
      I think that Rosetti has already worked in this regard to ensure uniformity but we can already say that it is definitely not easy at all.

      Delete
    2. In an ideal world, only handballs in the APP would be whistled, if they would lead to a penalty if done in the own penalty area. Likewise, the VAR should only intervene, if he had intervened in a penalty situation (either missed incident or clear mistake).
      IMO, it would be a big win, if there was a uniform handball interpretation all over the field, because it makes it more understandable for everyone.

      In the video, the handball is grey area by the new Law, I think. Playing the ball yourself is not a factor anymore. And then it's only about the arm position - is it natural for his action or not? I would tend towards natural, i.e. not punishable there.

      Delete
    3. I couldn't agree more, Philipp! I would love to see the old handball law back. Every handball should be assessed in the same way, no matter if it's a defender's or attacker's one. Also why a goal scored after accidental handball was deemed as illegal? There are many lucky goals after deflections, etc. I think it shouldn't be a problem to understand that there could be goals scored by/after accidental handball. I really don't like the last attempts to make the handball law allegedly 'clearer' as the football fans can't understand what is deliberate or not. But well, if Cakir wasn't able to understand that in the CL final...

      Delete
  18. My predictions for the first round of Euro 2021. I concentrate on the main refs only.
    A ITA-TUR MATEU LAHOZ
    A WAL-SVI KOVACS
    B DEN-FIN OLIVER
    B RUS-BEL BRYCH
    C AUT-NMA SOARES DIAS
    C NED-UKR ORSATO
    D ENG-CRO KUIPERS
    D SCO-CZ DEL CERRO GRANDE
    E POL-SVK TAYLOR
    E ESP-SWE KARASEV
    F HUN-POR EKBERG
    F GER-FRA CAKIR

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think we can exclude Brych from RUS-BEL after WC 2014.

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    2. what happened in the match you have mentioned ?

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    3. Brych as we know him in his WCs. Just not at his usual level....

      Delete
  19. San Marino - Italy U20 06/06/2021
    Referee: Christopher JAEGER (AUT); Linesmen: Francesco Lunardon (SMR) and Ernesto Cristiano; Fourth official: Luca Zani (SMR)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Particular appointment, since Italy was playing with U20 team, I didn't expect a referee from another country there, but maybe only San Marino officials. Local federation invited a referee from a third country, I like that.

      Delete
  20. Hungary-Republic of Ireland:

    R: Daniel Stefański
    AR1: Dawid Igor Golis
    AR2: Adam Kupsik
    RR: Krzysztof Jakubik

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  21. Can we expect tomorrow announcement of appointment for EURO opening match?

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    1. I think that from tomorrow every day can be the right one.

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    2. Für EURO 2016 the referee was announced on Tuesday evening. So tomorrow is a good bet but with Covid we don't know if they will delay the announcement. On the ither hand EL and CL referees were announced early.

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  22. Hi, can anyone tell me the referee for Andorra v Gibraltar tonight please? Thanks

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  23. OT: If you guys didn’t see the CONCACAF national league final, wow you missed out on a thrilling game. Obviously a VERY difficult match to officiate, but that said I can’t really be complimentary of John Pitti’s performance. I liked his performance in general for most of the game, but I think there were too many crucial mistakes for this to be considered a good performance. There was a goal given on the field that was taken away after review for offside (ok that one isn’t his fault); there was a very clear missed second yellow card (at least) for Hector Herera in the 94th minute, and then two penalty kicks given (one for each team) after on field review in the second half of extra time. The second penalty was for handball, and I agree with the call and the review from the relays ive seen; the defender’s arm was extended and making himself unnaturally bigger. However, I disagree with the first penalty kick. I can see the argument for a foul, but in my opinion it’s not a clear and obvious error.

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    1. I think your post is indicative of phenomenon we've unfortunately entered in the VAR era where performances are almost entirely judged on VAR decisions and CMEs.

      Look, Pitti was AWFUL. No feel for the match. No management. No ability to defuse escalating situations. He survived the first half. The second half was poor and extra time was atrocious. The lack of the 2CT in extra time was simply a culmination of poor decision-making and absent management.

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    2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3J1_5X6Z38Y
      Why OFR for a factual offside decision in first half?
      First penalty after OFR during ET: I agree with you, not a clear and obvious mistake, in UEFA one shouldn't expect an intervention, even more with the referee perfectly positioned to see what had happened, there weren't step on foots or clear actions by defenders.
      Second penalty, OFR is OK if referee, as it looked to be, missed the touch by arm. However, video is not 100% clear if you ask me, for sure during OFR there were better replays.
      I never saw a game in ET coming to 130' minute :) The full video should be watched to understand what happened there in second half after the penalty missed by Mexico.
      Regarding, Pitti, classic Central American style, I can compare him to Batres, especially for the very blatant gestures, definitely not needed! In my opinion this is a way they want to show authority. All referees who, despite of not being their fault, can exasperate players instead of calming down them, even if they don't do something particular.

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    3. My word, no. I could not disagree more.

      Pitti is the antithesis of Batres. Batres was an authoritative referee, not afraid to make big decisions. Pitti... well, like I said, he's the opposite. Batres could keep near complete control of these potentially volatile US-Mexico encounters. Pitti never had a chance here, as he just doesn't have the tools to manage these players. If gestures are similar, that is ALL that is similar between these two.

      And CONCACAF is following MLS where there will be OFRs for all decisions aside from mistaken identity. Particularly with offside, where the line technology is not in place, the theory is that referee buy-in gives the decision more credibility.

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    4. @usaref: any idea why Concacaf appointed Pitti to the CNL final, in spite of the fact that he did not qualify among the top 19 referees selected for the upcoming Gold Cup? Was it a retirement present, same as the UEFA CNL final in 2019?

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    5. I am long past trying to figure out how CONCACAF appointments are made. My most generous guess is that it was understood this could be a volatile match so not putting Escobar or Barton on it would keep them "clean" and allow them to work it again if it happens at the Gold Cup. Pitti, a veteran, is the closest CONCACAF would have to a "safe pair of hands" right now outside the US and Mexico (and that's saying something!).

      But I'm just guessing. It could be any number of factors that drove this appointment, from perceived comfort level with VAR all the way to COVID testing/protocols. I simply don't know.

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    6. If it has nothing to do with his possible retirement, how come he was not good enough to get a place among the 19 Gold Cup referees? He is the only referee/AR appointed to the CNL Finals, but not to the Gold Cup; it cannot be just a coincidence.

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    7. The bigger question is why Pitti wasn’t selected for the gold cup; I hadn’t even noticed until now that he was missing. This nations league final assignment is fitting for him; he has been a top referee in concacaf for a number of years now, trusted with plenty of big matches. I don’t share the disapproval of Pitti that usaref has expressed. I think he’s quite a good ref, and actually showed his skills quite well for most of the match tonight… just not in the moments where it mattered most, unfortunately.

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    8. As for a “potential retirement”, I would find that quite strange, he’s 42 years old and I would think has decent chances of going to Qatar in 2022 after being a reserve in Russia 2018 (his exclusion from the gold cup throws doubts on that, but it can’t be denied that concacaf trusts him and rates him quite highly). Perhaps he simply was left out for other, innocuous reasons that we don’t yet know of.

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    9. He is not on the Gold Cup list and he is not on the WC2022 pre-selected list either, so there is nothing left for him after this CNL final.

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  24. Hello! Do you know, when the first EURO appointments will be released? Thank you.

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    1. Probably Wednesday afternoon/late evening, the question is whether they release package-appointments or on a daily basis

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  25. OT: France - Croatia (José María García-Aranda) is today's game from FIFA World Cup 1998.

    wc98refs.blogspot.com

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  26. Poland - Iceland
    VAR: Szymon Marciniak (POL)
    AVAR: Paweł Sokolnicki (POL)

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    1. And Marciniak with intervention already in the first half. AR2 wrongly flagged for offside at Iceland's goal that was finally allowed after VAR intervention.

      In addition, a good advantage by Berke prior to Poland's goal.

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    2. Weird appointment, I would have arranged it better.
      If I'm not wrong, still no VAR in Hungary, so why officials from Hungary with VAR from host nation? In case of game to be played with VAR, I would have invited a full foreign crew in charge.
      It looks like the decision to add VAR followed only later, I don't know how much Balázs Berke and his assistant referees are expert in officiating games with the technology.

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  27. By the way, Marciniak still not in good form. Please find below the significant incidents in the Ukraine - Northern Ireland game.

    https://we.tl/t-waGil0uUIi

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    1. Very challenging game, but I think that Marciniak wanted to officiate it like a friendly and nothing more, that's not good.
      More was expected by referees in several situations, the penalty appeal for handball is very interesting, despite of so many replays, I'm still in trouble to understand. Some cards were definitely missing, while the offside call at the end is very controversial: if attacker is in line with the leg of keeper that seems to be further behind than the rest of his body, attacker should be onside considering also the player lying down. But without VAR... impossible I would say.

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    2. Also in 62' Marciniak awarded a free kick but it should've been a penalty kick as the foul occurred inside the penalty area.

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    3. Yes, I forgot to mention it, clearly inside. Important mistake.
      He should recover a better form.

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  28. Willy Delajod with a very lenient performance in the ESP U21 - LTU friendly. Correct penalty, many blatant holding offences forgiven as well as very reckless tackle in 42'. At least two cases of reckless use of arm correctly punished.

    https://we.tl/t-JgrZaHUY69

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