Further seminars for the other three confederations (CONCACAF, CONMEBOL and UEFA) are expected to be organized during the current year.
Doha (Qatar), 27-31 January 2025
AFC
1. Alireza Faghani (AUS, 1978)
2. Ma Ning (CHN, 1979)
3. Adham Makhadmeh (JOR, 1986)
4. Yusuke Araki (JPN, 1986)
5. Kim Jong-hyeok (KOR, 1983)
6. Mohammed Al-Hoish (KSA, 1986)
7. Khalid Al-Turais (KSA, 1987)
8. Ahmad Al-Ali (KUW, 1984)
9. Nazmi Nasaruddin (MAS, 1990)
10. Ahmed Al Kaf (OMA, 1983)
11. Abdulrahman Al-Jassim (QAT, 1987)
12. Salman Falahi (QAT, 1990)
13. Omar Al-Ali (UAE, 1981)
14. Adel Al-Naqbi (UAE, 1982)
15. Ilgiz Tantashev (UZB, 1984)
CAF
AFC
1. Alireza Faghani (AUS, 1978)
2. Ma Ning (CHN, 1979)
3. Adham Makhadmeh (JOR, 1986)
4. Yusuke Araki (JPN, 1986)
5. Kim Jong-hyeok (KOR, 1983)
6. Mohammed Al-Hoish (KSA, 1986)
7. Khalid Al-Turais (KSA, 1987)
8. Ahmad Al-Ali (KUW, 1984)
9. Nazmi Nasaruddin (MAS, 1990)
10. Ahmed Al Kaf (OMA, 1983)
11. Abdulrahman Al-Jassim (QAT, 1987)
12. Salman Falahi (QAT, 1990)
13. Omar Al-Ali (UAE, 1981)
14. Adel Al-Naqbi (UAE, 1982)
15. Ilgiz Tantashev (UZB, 1984)
CAF
1. Youcef Gamouh (ALG, 1987)
2. Mustapha Ghorbal (ALG, 1985)
3. Mahamat Alhadji (CHA, 1986)
4. Jean Ndala (COD, 1987)
5. Amin Omar (EGY, 1985)
6. Mohamed Maarouf (EGY, 1986)
7. Pierre Atcho (GAB, 1992)
2. Mustapha Ghorbal (ALG, 1985)
3. Mahamat Alhadji (CHA, 1986)
4. Jean Ndala (COD, 1987)
5. Amin Omar (EGY, 1985)
6. Mohamed Maarouf (EGY, 1986)
7. Pierre Atcho (GAB, 1992)
8. Tanguy Mebiame (GAB, 1993)
9. Mutaz Ibrahim (LYB, 1990)
9. Mutaz Ibrahim (LYB, 1990)
10. Jalal Jayed (MAR, 1987)
11. Dahane Beida (MTN, 1991)
12. Issa Sy (SEN, 1984)
13. Omar Artan (SOM, 1992)
14. Abongile Tom (RSA, 1991)
15. Mahmood Ismail (SDN, 1988)
OFC
1. Campbell-Kirk Kawana-Waugh (NZL, 1983)
2. Ben Aukwai (SOL, 1986)
11. Dahane Beida (MTN, 1991)
12. Issa Sy (SEN, 1984)
13. Omar Artan (SOM, 1992)
14. Abongile Tom (RSA, 1991)
15. Mahmood Ismail (SDN, 1988)
OFC
1. Campbell-Kirk Kawana-Waugh (NZL, 1983)
2. Ben Aukwai (SOL, 1986)
It is also reported Yamashita and Karboubi still preselected, but not invited to seminar with the male referees.
ReplyDeleteMaybe FIFA started to split the work for the two world cups, but if both them were preselected for 2026, they should have been there... we will see.
Furthermore, a VAR seminar will be held the week before, let's see whether we will manage the names.
Thanks as always to Arbitro Internacional.
Honest question Chefren, do you think they both merited inclusion or was this a political move.
DeleteThe Turkish Football Federation (TFF) announced that it will make referee appointments together with the super league clubs. An advisory board is being formed. The clubs will determine the members of this advisory board and they will make referee appointments together with the TFF. They will also make decisions regarding refereeing. The TFF announced this on its official website. This is not in accordance with FIFA's regulations. However, UEFA and FIFA are very silent on this issue. Next season, all refereeing will be transferred to a company to be established together with the clubs.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.tff.org/default.aspx?pageID=1269&ftxtID=46420
https://www.tff.org/default.aspx?pageID=285&ftxtID=46407
Actually, FIFA works in the same way - but informally.
DeleteIt will be the end of real refereeing, like it is in England.
FIFA is violating its own regulation. FIFA member FA's refereering organization "article 12 referee appointments" are very clear on this issue
DeleteArt. 12:
Delete"No club, league or other body of the Member Association may interfere in the Referee appointment process."
Not just FIFA though? I have the impression that interferences by other bodies or even clubs “off the record” do play a role within UEFA as well. One example is the delays we’ve witnessed in some particular cases. I mean, when a referee for a Slovenia qualifier game is released 1-2 days later than the other qualifier games, we know it isn’t just Rosetti who wants to sleep on it.
Moreover, some referees can’t officiate certain (major!) clubs for dubious reasons — And no, this is not always caused by UEFA being concerned about negative media attention before a kick-off. There is more into that.
In general, some clubs have more power than others. No surprise, we just have to look at the referee appointments. Some teams always get the best and most experienced referees while the Refcom simply doesn’t care about others. Sad but true.
Seems like the TFF is taking over the model from PGMOL and DFB...both have founded a joint venture between their mother-association and the clubs/leagues. Makes great sense IMO. The clubs/leagues pay a lot of money for referees, so they should also have a say about it. In other sports like handball, it is even normal that the clubs give marks to the referees, and in the end those marks even count to a certain extend into promotion/relegation of the referees. In the end, the referee board should always be in charge, of course.
DeleteI cannot understand how it is possible to validate with Var a goal scored after an obvious hand foul like Newcastle's 1-1 (6') against Tottenham
ReplyDeleteNow Kulusevski breaks Gordon's nose in the penalty box, no foul given, no VAR check:
Deletehttps://www.reddit.com/r/soccer/comments/1htet62/kulusevski_challenge_on_anthony_gordon_no_foul_no/
Ref is Andrew Madley, who was also in charge of Newcastle vs Liverpool last month, when Gordon had a very similar incident against Van Dijk:
https://www.reddit.com/r/soccer/comments/1h79q35/van_dijk_shoulders_gordon_in_the_face/
https://x.com/bil_prag/status/1864476342022025481?mx=2
We can say that at least Madley is consistent with his decisions, however IMO both of them are wrong, as in both occasions Gordon was hit maliciously and intentionally by his opponents.
It shouldn't matter with which body part you hit an opponent, as long as it is used as a weapon, it should still be sanctioned. We see however that only that refs have double standards and ignore shoulder hits, while penalizing arm/palm/elbow hits much more severely, even if the effects are far less dangerous than a broken nose (see Vinicius Jr vs Valencia GK incident).
Very natural position, arm by his side, and no clear movement towards the ball. Can't clearly say it's deliberate either. Regular goal
Deletehttps://streamff.com/v/51c40c32
DeleteBordeline situation.
One can't say that arm was in open position, rather, it was consistent with body. Only thing for player to avoid such contact, was to remove and put it behind the back (this is not required).
Having said that, in Italy this would have been annulled though, due to the following goal (there would be more flexibility if this was about a penalty to be assigned or not) because according to people opinions, a player takes an advantage by stopping ball, with hand. But in a "normal" reading of the action, and this can maybe happen only in country like England or Germany about handballs, it's indeed not a strictly punishable one. But, on the contrary, I can't imagine VAR calling referee if whistled live.
About 59', very unconventional incident indeed, and one can say that VAR stayed silent because the opponent was hit with a part of body that is very rarely "used" for a foul. Could have been whistled by referee, though, given the consequences on opponent.
DeleteMight be the arm in natural position but it makes body much bigger. Stopping the ball by arm was actually an assist to the goal assistant and made big advantage for the scoring team. But 10-15 later the ref stopped the game after the ball hit again Newcastle player at the centre of the field. But then it was 100% unpunishable: 1. Arm in natural position 2. Close to the body 3. Player tried to move arm backward and avoid contact 4. The part of the arm where the ball hit it is unpunishable - close to the shoulder. So, big inconsistency by the ref. About PK - 100% PK. I can’t believe that this ref officiates Premier League matches. But having in mind the “quality” of English refs - I found him as average Premier League ref. And dod you see PK given from Taylor against Arsenal??? What a joke that was - he didn’t see situation at all, he was thinking 5 seconds and whistled it. Just compare what was whistled as a PK in favor of Brighton, and what didn’t in favor of Newcastle!!! That’s abnormal!
DeleteAl Jassim's performance was commendable, as he remained proactive throughout the match, maintaining control and displaying excellent judgment, particularly when he allowed the advantage to stand leading up to Bahrain's winning goal. While it may be premature to make any conclusions, if Al Jassim continues to perform at this level, it could spark an exciting competition between him and Salman Falahi for the Qatari spot in the 2026 World Cup. Could Qatar have two representatives?
ReplyDeleteCommendable would go too far imo. It was a decent performance by Al-Jassim, who got the big decision right (penalty to Bahrain) and generally justified the appointment, but in technical matters he wasn't overly convincing. (@Smala: the two UEFA referees had good performances in the semifinals; all three expulsions were justified).
Delete