The long-awaited time has arrived. UEFA is working at new categories, this time with very significant changes.
Only reliable information will be published in this post, as well as the PDF documents when they will be available.
New UEFA Elite Category Referees
Men
Erik Lambrechts BEL
Christopher Kavanagh ENG
Nicolas Walsh SCO
Sven Jablonski GER
Donatas Rumšas LTU
Rade Obrenović SVN
Women
Emanuela Rusta ALB
New UEFA First Category Referees
Men
Jasper Vergoote BEL
Radoslav Gidzhenov BUL
Patrik Kolarić CRO
Javier Alberola Rojas ESP
Jérémie Pignard FRA
Daniel Schlager GER
Rob Hennessy IRL
Andrea Colombo ITA
Edgars Maļcevs LVA
Ishmael Barbara MLT
Miloš Milanović SRB
Michal Očenáš SVK
Martin Matoša SVN
Oleksii Derevinskiy UKR
Women
Emily Heaslip ENG
Tatyana Sorokopudova KAZ
Filipa Pereira Cunha POR
Milica Milovanović SRB
Anastasya Mylopoulou GRE
Martina Molinaro ITA
María Eugenia Gil Soriano ESPSofiya Prychyna UKR
Karoline Marie Jensen NOR
Vanja Janković SVN
Demotion from Elite to Category 1:
Men
Anastasios Sidiropoulos GRE
The information provided may be incomplete as the process is still in course. To know the removed names from all categories, mostly due to retirement or other reasons, we have to wait for the official lists.
New UEFA Elite Category Referees
ReplyDeleteErik Lambrechts BEL
Christopher Kavanagh ENG
Nicolas Walsh SCO
Sven Jablonski GER
Donatas Rumsas LTU
Rade Obrenovic SVN
New UEFA First Category Referees
Jasper Vergoote BEL
Radoslav Gidzhenov BUL
Patrik Kolaric CRO
Javier Alberola Rojas ESP
Jeremie Pignard FRA
Daniel Schlager GER
Rob Hennessy IRL
Andrea Colombo ITA
Edgars Malcevs LVA
Ishmael Barbara MLT
Milos Milanovic SRB
Michal Ocenas SVK
Martin Matosa SVN
Robert Jones mérite d'être promu catégorie 1
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteNone of the officials deserved the Elite category.
I think this was a golden opportunity missed for De Burgos Bengoetxea to move up to the Elite category.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately for him, it will probably be difficult to achieve that goal with Alberola Rojas' promotion to the first category.
I predict that the Committee will pay more attention to the young Spaniard after this promotion.
In my opinion also ricardo de burgos and luis godinho deserved to be the elite
ReplyDeleteI don't obrenovic deserves to be uefa elite referee more than ricardo de burgos and luis godinho but despite rosseti is uefa head every thing is possible
ReplyDeleteWell when we saw, all promotions are well deserved. Congrats to the either New Elite,First Categroy officials. At the next update for promotion, I expect Bengoetexa, Minakovic. Little bit sorry for Brooks that Injury stops him, but he will surely have his chance.
ReplyDeleteElite promotions in the last few years:
ReplyDeleteWinter 2026 (6): Rumsas (LTU), Jablonski (GER), Walsh (SCO), Obrenovic (SVN), Kavanagh (ENG) & Lambrechts (BEL)
Summer 2025: N/D
Winter 2025 (2): Pinheiro (POR) & Mariani (ITA)
Summer 2024: N/D
Winter 2024 (2): Eskas (NOR) & Guida (ITA)
Summer 2023 (3): Nyberg (SWE), Peljto (BIH) & Hernández Hernández (ESP)
Winter 2023: N/D
Summer 2022: N/D
Winter 2022 (8): Letexier (FRA), Siebert (GER), Massa (ITA), Schärer (SUI), Jovanovic (SRB), Sánchez Martínez (ESP), Gozubuyuk (NED) & Meler (TUR)
Summer 2021: N/D
Winter 2021 (1): Stieler (GER)
Summer 2020: N/D
Winter 2020 (3): Vincic (SVN), Kovács (ROU) & Grinfeld (ISR)
Summer 2019 (2): Kruzliak (SVK) & Kulbakov (BLR)
Winter 2019 (1): Del Cerro Grande (ESP)
Summer 2018 (3): Gil Manzano (ESP), Soares Dias (POR) & Bastien (FRA)
Winter 2018 (2): Taylor (ENG) & Oliver (ENG)
Summer 2017 (2): Makkelie (NED) & Zwayer (GER)
Winter 2017: N/D
Summer 2016: N/D
Winter 2016: N/D
Summer 2015 (8): Marciniak (POL), Orsato (ITA), Turpin (FRA), Hategan (ROU), Nijhuis (NED), Bebek (CRO), Karasev (RUS) & Sidiropoulos (GRE)
I consider these promotions to the Elite as a joke....
ReplyDeletePromotion to Rade Obrenovic is a very big joke…Thks President Ceferin !
ReplyDeleteI consider this promotion asign of what has reached uefa refereeing from alow and disastrous level
ReplyDeleteThis would be an alleged ranking of the new Elite referees, based on their Champions League assignments so far:
ReplyDeleteDonatas Rumsas LTU
Rade Obrenovic SVN
Erik Lambrechts BEL
Christopher Kavanagh ENG
Nicholas Walsh SCO
Sven Jablonski GER
It's interesting to start from this analysis to discuss then the choices by committee. Once again one can see how different is a promotion from another: the Lithuanian has been in focus for years, with his debut in CL made back on 2021. He has the longest experience among all new names. Obrenovic follows, Lambrechts is third-placed. It looked then a different affair for the other three names, Kavanagh, Walsh and Jablonski. The German was promoted rather immediately after his Champions League debut, if we compare again with Rumsas, there are 4 years of difference between them after the CL debut. Of course, this doesn't make everything, but you know when it's about big federations, that's possible. Kavanagh (4 Champions League games so far) can be included in the speech. I think in the end UEFA "gave up" and they decided to promote an English referee, too long time without a third name to add to Oliver and Taylor. Really sorry for Brooks, surely in focus for that, but the injury stopped him, at least for now. The German didn't need big efforts (I want to remember I'm just giving opinions without judging the referees) to convince Rosetti, but he showed to be ready when there was a chance. Even if already promoted, I'm sure he will be now managed well by committee, without repeating Siebert at EURO as Category 1 (well, at least this time under this point of view, promotion was extremely quick).
Then,. I must say I fully agree with Mikael opinion about Kavanagh, thinking about this promotion years ago was impossible, given the absolutely inadequate style of the English referee. But in recent times he improved and he deserved this nomination, so far. One can't believe a federation like England survived so many years with only Oliver and Taylor.
DeleteAs for Walsh, I was asked an opinion some days ago on the blog and I was wrong. Let's go back to the path of the young Scottish then: CL debut more than a year ago, September 2024, then a very negative moment, he even disappeared. He was back in recent months, gaining some credit, didn't show an excellence so far, but very likely all was good in the game with Rosetti and that's it for now. Will have to show more to demonstrate he deserved that. After Collum, Scotland finds again an Elite referee, how far can he go? 35 years old and surely this is the argument from which to start. Not pushing him, but working with the due time.
Lambrechts: maybe the example of the most "expected" path in terms of time, for a promotion to Elite, 7 CL games and about two years of "final" development. But for me, as said before, he got even less than what he could have. Now will be big task for him to be there after a very strong name, impossible to make comparison, like De Bleeckere.
As for Obrenovic, I can only say that a referee after the performance with Rosetti in Monaco would have been in big trouble, but the Slovenian recovered and after that surely showed rather good performances. Nevertheless, and I say that trying to be as objective as possible, othe referees don't get so many chances. You must start from the concept that you want to promote a referee and not the contrary, so you can just delay the final decision. However, one must admit they waited when he didn't deserve, and that's at least a honest management. Now it will be up to him to have learned the lesson.
Rumsas is a referee that now, having been in focus for years and years, can immediately raise the bar, getting very big games and why not.. trying to achieve "suddenly" more in terms of reputation inside the Elite category. We will see how things will go for him, I'm convinced UEFA committee has been very, very harsh with him over the years and that's evident. He is the name that can tell us by far more than all the others.
Next comment to follow: the referees who could have been expected but didn't get a promotion.
How I can believe ricardo de burgos and luis godinho didn't deserved to be promoted to the elite ? For it is shame for who made this promotion
DeleteAbout other potential candidates to Elite, my read is the following, I tried to include all possible names, starting from the most expected from my point of view (Sozza and Lukjančukas).
DeleteSozza: CL debut after a rather medium path as Category 1 referee, in case of positive feedbacks by committee, belonging to a big federation, like Jablonski, he would have got it for sure. But.. I'm convinced they saw like all people can do, by watching serie A games, that he is definitely shaky at moment, some good things, but then suddenly poor performances, also, his recent UEFA assignments were not the excellence, and so I think they didn't want as for now, but quite sure time for him will come in (short?) future (38 y.o.).
Lukjančukas: one can be sure, Under 21 EURO on last June was definitely a very negative turning point of his career, it looked like everything stopped for the Lithuanian. If we compare what before... seems very harsh such a treatment, but the technical assessment by Rosetti seems clear.
Now, one must also add that, being a "fight" with Rumsas for a spot, it would have been almost impossible to see two Lithuanian promoted, so a choice had to be made, however there were moments in past in which it looked that he had overtaken his countryman. In the end, this never happened, but he can still build a future, starting again (34 years old right now). 6 Champions League games so far, not to be thrown away.
Gishamer: too recent focus, the path should continue and we will see how it will go.
Sylwestrzak: he has full time ahead, no worry.
Godinho: not for now, maybe committee made a thought, but definitely not enough in terms of assignment for him, CL debut went rather wrong.
Schnyder: you can think that after Rosetti's observation the process was stopped, at least for now, but future will say more.
Then, some of you repeatedly mentioned De Burgos Bengoechea. But honestly, this is what on wikipedia you can easily call "recentism". looking at something belonging to current times, but not adding it to the historical context with his rather long experience as rather very disapponting Category 1 referee. It's true that Spanish refereeing at moment is not at his best, but no doubts all the current Elite referees are best officials than De Burgos, who just showed good games in the start of this season (once again, that's my point of view...). Impossible to think about a promotion, honestly.
I do believe Brooks road to replace Taylor in 2027 is as open as ever, as long as he keeps himself free of injuries. As already pointed out, England for a long time has only had two Elite referees, while other "Big 5"-countries has had three or even four.
DeleteA referee you forgot to mention, Chefren, is Minakovic, who I also do believe has a big chance of being an Elite referee come 2027. Yes, he hasn't made his UCL debut yet, but he has got big games in UEL that could in other cases have gone to an Elite referee, which means focus is likely on for him too
Chefren, what's your take on the Category 1 promotions?
DeleteDe Burgos is Elite material IMO and is in fantastic shape right now but Chefren is right, he only has one CL GS game. Similar situation to Jablonski who made his CL GS debut this season, but (besides consistent good performances) the Bremer probably got more focus as Germany is in more of a hurry to find a short-term replacement for 1981-born Zwayer and Stieler. Similar case with Kavanagh and 47-year-old (!) Taylor and Obrenovic/Vincic.
DeleteMy main complaint with these promotions: 1) Lambrechts, too weak ref for my taste and 2) Obrenovic, for sure a talented ref but too inconsistent and prone to lose the plot in his games, it's good that they didn't promote him when he failed the tests in previous years, but it can't be ignored that so many referees wished they got the amount of chances the Slovenian had.
Seems like more than rewarding excellence, UEFA this time focused exclusively on punishing referees under focus who failed the test such as Schnyder, who would surely be Elite if it wasn't for Barcelona - Olympiacos under Rosetti.
Very, very happy for Rumsas, a referee I've been 'monitoring' for several years now.
@Ref Fif hopefully later today I will have time to write a comment about them as well....
DeleteAnd I think I forgot to mention Petrescu, among others, but it seems that after Velasco Carballo observation in past months and having missed the chance, he wasn't in focus anymore. Romanian situation continues to be very particular.
Hopefully not a very long comment this time!
DeleteSome referees were absolutely expected as promoted in Category 2 and I don't think there is that much to say.
Starting from Talents and Mentors 2025 we have in this set:
Jasper Vergoote, Javier Alberola Rojas, Andrea Colombo.
To follow, a referee like the Bulgarian was expected to be more considered by committee, given the final assignment for the EURO Youth tournament he handled. But maybe, it's not a case that this happens when Kabako is once again stopped in his career, the current Category 1, rather very experienced in the role, remains a mystery for me.
As for Kolaric, as said, Strukan has been demoted so an internal change inside the Croatian UEFA list.
Really sorry for Strukan but one can't say that he didn't deserve that.
Jérémie Pignard should be a new French in focus for development, while I have a feeling they are not fully satisfied with the "former" promising Delajod (personal idea).
Schlager replaces the German Cat. 1 who retired after his Conference League game.
Očenáš: here I must say, hard to understand what about Slovakia after Kruzliak, it seems they can't find a solid Category 1, I would have insisted on Glova but I don't know why this didn't happen.
Derevinskiy attended the FIFA tournament so he is considered for the next Ukranian after Balakin.
Matoša: Jug out and the nwe Slovenian in... easy to understand here.
Milanović: good development shown by the Serbian, I heard many people talking positively about him, so we will see.
An Irish referee appears again on the "big" scene after a rather long time, Hennessy was another name in focus and one could have expected something for him, curious to see how he will perform with rather more "exposed" games.
Ishmael Barbara was followed closely by UEFA in youth competition and a spot for something more to Malta seems to be always open.
Finally, Maļcevs: after Treimanis here Latvia with another chance. I'm really sorry for Treimanis, his path was incredible. But one can't say that he wasn't given chances. Now we will see with this new name, but one must also admit that reaching the level of Treimanis already in terms of consideration, for a referee from a country like Latvia is very, very hard, so one must nevertheless praise what Treimanis did at least until a certain moment of his career...
Thank you Chefren!
DeleteIt's clear that UEFA has decided to expand their Elite pool which on the surface of things might be sensible due to the increased number of games, but this does of course also mean that the bar to get in will also be lower. Whether or not this is a compromise you are willing to make is indeed a big decision.
ReplyDeleteOne criteria you still have to maintain though is that an Elite referee has to be reliable, you will have to be sure that they will in at least 90-95% deliver a satisfactory performance for the level required. This is a criteria which I do believe have tanked referees like Ekberg and Visser who has been in focus, but in the end not promoted. I don't believe just a lower bar could justify promoting someone like Obrenović who also on his day could be a very good referee, but has arguably had bigger and more "drops into the ditch" than the aforementioned Swede and Belgian.
We,will see if their promotion will happen in July for this two referee
ReplyDeleteWow what an amazing day for Scottish football an elite referee once again. Many congratulations to Nick.
ReplyDeleteOT: I just watched PSV - Atletico, played last Tuesday. Since there weren’t any comments on Michael Oliver‘s performance, I will give a short report even though I can’t provide the excellent reports with videos often provided by ESR, Chefren and Mikael.
ReplyDelete8 DtR by ATM#23, rather passive verbal warning given
15 good play on in SPA scenario
20 correct YC reckless challenge to PSV#34
33 supportable YC LoR holding to PSV#22 after advantage
37 missed mandatory YC reckless challenge to PSV#3 after advantage/goal scored, YC to ATM coach Simeone for dissent (already third big dissenting action by him, good to set a border there)
38 play on in possible SPA scenario
39 possible retaliation for the unpunished reckless challenge before the goal, conflict
41 correct YC SPA holding to PSV#17
47 YC for UB to ATM#20, conflict before corner kick and extremely clever to then award a defensive free kick for Atlético to balance things out in a way
51 correct YC reckless challenge to ATM#8
54 correct YC reckless challenge to PSV#3
63 frustration by PSV#22, possible 2nd YC for dissent
67 wrong offside procedure, AR2 raises flag during attack
90+2 correct YC reckless challenge to ATM#3
The game was definitely a challenging one. Not regarding KMIs (absolutely nothing there), but a though match to handle, especially in the first half.
If Oliver would have punished that reckless challenge before Atlético‘s goal in 37‘ (this situation being unpunished definitely caused tension afterwards), we would speak about an purely excellent performance. I think Oliver knows best that he simply should have booked that player.
But still a good performance by the British, who also had a pretty high general acceptance throughout the match.
IMO, Oliver is definitely the main candidate for CL final, even more after Zwayer’s recent controversy.
Great, I don't promise anything but if time available I will publish some clips, I couldn't comment that much on CL games for this reason and I'm really sorry for that!
DeleteJust a few clips to have an idea.
Deletehttps://streambug.org/cv/9bdf12
Possible (missed?) YC for reckless before goal, but very good advantage.
Just wanted to point out: the school of UEFA refereeing gives us evident signals of their lessons. Referees instructed to show the advantage gesture only when they are sure a goal is about to score, like in this case, or when they consider "given" the advantage, never too early and immediately after the foul, because things can change in a while (delayed whistle waiting...).
39' Possible reaction, violent conduct, but for me rather nothing, OK by VAR
https://streambug.org/cv/e59176
47' Corner kick, management, players not interested in referee's instruction.
https://streambug.org/cv/e4977e
This clip shows how often players are not interested in playing, Oliver couldn't do other than booking player and after that all accepted the defensive free kick, from these particulars you can read how much a decision is SPOT ON in the specific game.
Looks indeed another very good one by Oliver, no crucial incidents and he controlled a rather agitated game. Honestly, I must make a confession, in past I liked Taylor, but the recent Taylor honestly can't compete with the level that now Oliver has reached, even in terms of motivation.
Is it a bit strange that Kolarić was promoted to UEFA First Category Referees without a single league match of any competition this season? I think he has one game in the Conference League last season. What is the situation with the other refs promoted to the First category in terms of refereed European games this season? Is there a chance that Kolarić will win a Europa League game in the first month?
ReplyDeleteVergoote: 3UECL (2 this season), U17 Euro QF (2024), U17WC R32 (2025)
DeleteGidzhenov: 5UECL (2 this season), U17 Euro Final (2024)
Kolarić: 1UECL (none this season), U17 Euro GS (2025)
Alberola Rojas: 3UECL (2 this season), U19 Euro GS (2025), U20 Copa Libertadores SF
Pignard: 5UECL (2 this season)
Schlager: 1UEL (this season), 5UECL (1 this season)
Hennessy: 1UEL (none this season), 3UECL (2 this season), U19 Euro Final (2025)
Colombo: 3UECL (2 this season), U19 Euro SF (2025), UYL Final (2024/25), U17 WC QF (2025), U20 Copa América (2025)
Maļcevs: 2UECL (this season)
Barbara: 2UECL (1 this season), U19 Euro SF (2024)
Milanović: 5UECL (2 this season), U17 Euro QF (2023)
Očenáš: 5UECL (2 this season), U17 Euro SF (2023)
Matoša: 2UECL (this season)
Derevins'kyy: 4UECL (2 this season), U17 Euro Final (2025), U17 WC R16 (2025)
Thank you as always Euro Soccer Refere, great work as always, we can see that the "least experienced" referees have only 2 UECL appearances and this seems to be the minimum standard required, but Kolarić only one, however he attended a Youth EURO.
DeleteBut I can anticipate another movement, maybe the most important one in this case, Strukan has been demoted to Category 2. So selecting Kolarić for a promotion to Cat. 1 can just mean a replacement as for now, differently from other referees.
Nobody must understand a promotion of Referees in Cat.1 after only officiating two (or in the case of Kolaric only one) games in Conference League phase and coming from federations like Bulgaria (Gidzhenov), Malta (Barbara) or Latvia (Malcevs). With full respect to their achievements and work, I really question where the experience for real big games f.e. in Europa League should come from.
DeleteFrom their national competitions they will not receive it.
Would be interesting for our analysis in the future, who where the observers of these promoted referees in their Conference League games.
It's a pity for Vasilis Fotias because he is a very good referee, the best in Greece lately, and he has both the ability and the experience for the highest level like Champions League and Europa League. Don't forget that he was the official in the UEFA EURO U21 final and the last summer he attended the annual session which is organised by UEFA, with other nominated Elite referees. So, let's see the official announcements from mr. Rossetti and comment later
ReplyDeleteFotias was promoted to First Group last year. He has no CL match so a promotion would be highly unlikely.
DeleteKavanagh and Jablonski were really on UEFA's radar given the latest appointments and definitely succeeded, though I think the promotion came a bit quick .. but overall not a solid list at all .. And laughing at Obrenovic being elite ..
ReplyDeleteI agree with, among others, @Ref-Aut above.
ReplyDeleteYou see Kolarić and Matoša receiving accelerated promotions because a compatriot drops off the list. At the same time, however, many Category 2 referees have to follow a very long and difficult path to promotion. That is baffling.
Matoša — the next Slovenian being fast-tracked to the top?
Is there anyone willing to take a stab at an analysis of the 1st half of the season as well, particularly with a view to the 2026 World Cup and the UEFA finals?
ReplyDeleteHere are my brief observations:
• Oliver and Letexier are currently the standout referees. They have the X-factor. I still believe Oliver should have been awarded last season’s UCL final, but Rosetti did not dare to do so because of Inter (with Rosetti’s domestic reputation taking precedence). Is Letexier on track for a final this season? The question is whether a UCL final might come too early in terms of long-term motivation.
• Vinčić is getting many top appointments and is a master at avoiding controversy. You rarely see him make a truly decisive call in a match. Time and again, the coin seems to land his way and he stays clear of the eye of the storm. It is actually impressive how consistently he manages that.
• Kovács: after his third UEFA final, his performances have clearly dipped; that trend started around the Club World Cup. Is this a motivation issue? What stands out in particular is his increasingly sluggish positioning. Let’s hope we will see the ‘old’ Kovács soon.
• Turpin and Zwayer stand out for an excessive number of OFRs. The German, in particular, appears nervous and uncertain. That said, both have had a relatively high number of key moments in their matches.
• Siebert seems to be enjoying an international “revival.” He sticks to a no-nonsense style that works for him, and that deserves credit.
• Taylor and Makkelie have performed quite well so far. Both are relatively lenient on disciplinary matters, and that approach seems to work: little to no controversy. What stands out to me about Makkelie is that he solved many key decisions without VAR. It is, however, interesting that neither of them is considered for top-tier matches (for now), while Zwayer and Turpin were appointed to top-tier matches after a lot OFRs.
• Nyberg has enormous potential: smooth performances, but not yet truly tested in challenging UEFA-games. The appointment to the FIFA Derby of the America’s is a good sign though. Eskås has been more inconsistent (highs and lows, Brugge–Atalanta). It is now up to both of them to show consistency over a longer period, to be considered for UEFA finals.
• Peljto has already been discussed at length. I have the sense that his harsh treatment is politically motivated — essentially finding an “argument” to keep him out of the World Cup squad, because there are more referees than WC spots and Peljto seems an easy victim…
• Schärer is once again unfortunate. I wonder to what extent he could be considered for a support role at the World Cup. He is very talented and, in theory, given his age, could still be involved in two more World Cups in 2030 and 2034.
• Pinheiro I have hardly seen in action, so it is difficult to judge. I would find it surprising if he were already in World Cup contention, given that he has only recently become Elite. He has a certain lenient style that appeals to UEFA/FIFA (even if he does not always appear fully in control). But, the entertainment factor is becoming increasingly important.
• With Italian referees, it is mainly a matter of quantity. They dominate UCL appointments without performances necessarily justifying that level of presence. Mariani will be pushed to the World Cup, mainly because two compatriots failed. When two people fight, a third benefits…
• Spain is puzzling to me. The focus seems to be on Sánchez Martínez for the World Cup. His somewhat aggressive style may work in certain matches but can also add fuel to the fire. Hernández has done well to recover after a poor start to the season.
I’m quite interested to have ur opinions, what is worst ? Having more OFR but having controlled games with good communication but just doing mistakes for PK and at the end nobody talks about it or having a problem with foul detection and players always dissent but taking big decisions. IMO that’s why Turpin and maybe Zwayer have backup by the committee.
DeleteWas robert Jones unlucky not to be promoted to 1st group or do you think he needs more time
ReplyDelete