2025-26 UEFA Women's Europa Cup. Referee assignments for Quarterfinals, First Legs.
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| Michalina Diakow POL will officiate Sporting - Hammarby |
Wednesday 11 February 2026
12:00 CET - Prague (epet Arena)
AC SPARTA PRAHA (CZE) - FK AUSTRIA WIEN (AUT)
Referee: Olatz Rivera Olmedo ESP
Assistant Referee 1: Iragartze Fernández Esesúmaga ESP
Assistant Referee 2: Eliana Fernández González ESP
Fourth Official: Elisabeth Calvo Valentín ESP
UEFA Referee Observer: Eleni Kyriou GRE
UEFA Delegate: Nicolas Blanc SUI
Mentor for Delegate: Scilla Gennaro ITA
18:30 CET - Gothenburg (Bravida Arena)
BK HÄCKEN FF (SWE) - BREIÐABLIK (ISL)
Referee: Lina Lehtovaara FIN
Assistant Referee 1: Heini Hyvönen FIN
Assistant Referee 2: Jenni Paavolainen FIN
Fourth Official: Minka Vekkeli FIN
UEFA Referee Observer: Katarzyna Wierzbowska POL
UEFA Delegate: Donaldas Urniežius LTU
18:30 CET - Frankfurt Am Main (Stadion am Brentanobad)
EINTRACHT FRANKFURT (GER) - FC NORDSJÆLLAND (DEN)
Referee: Désirée Blanco SUI
Assistant Referee 1: Linda Schmid SUI
Assistant Referee 2: Susanne Küng SUI
Fourth Official: Deborah Anex SUI
UEFA Referee Observer: Nelly Viennot FRA
UEFA Delegate: Bryndís Sigurðardóttir ISL
20:45 CET - Alcochete (Estádio Aurélio Pereira)
SPORTING CP (POR) - HAMMARBY IF (SWE)
Referee: Michalina Diakow POL
Assistant Referee 1: Paulina Baranowska POL
Assistant Referee 2: Julia Bukarowicz POL
Fourth Official: Katarzyna Lisiecka-Sęk POL
UEFA Referee Observer: Dagmar Damková CZE
UEFA Delegate: Depi Koxenoglou GRE
Too Much VAR, Rosetti says: “We Need to Intervene Less and Return to the Original Principles”
ReplyDeleteThis is what the UEFA Head of Referees says: “Perhaps we have all forgotten why VAR was created. We might miss a few penalties, but at least we won’'t award those that are absolutely non-existent.”
“Perhaps we have all forgotten why VAR was created,” says Roberto Rosetti. The UEFA Head of Referees spoke to the press at the UEFA Congress in Brussels, explaining UEFA philosophy on the hottest topics. Among these, implicitly, there is the probably exaggerated use of on-field reviews, as is happening in Italy, with fouls and penalties examined “under a microscope” or “television-style,” as somebody say.
“VAR was created for clear and obvious errors,” Rosetti continues. “It works perfectly for factual decisions, such as offside. But when it comes to interpretations, the situation is different. UEFA prefers to intervene less via video and leave the decision on the field. We may miss a penalty every now and then, but at least we won't award those that are absolutely non-existent. We will discuss this further with the national refereeing appointments. We need to return to the original principles.”
Rosetti recalls the key points of European refereeing: “Player protection comes first; controlling the exaggeration of minor contacts; the interpretation of handball; preventing attacks on goalkeepers to stop them from playing; and finally, the crucial referee-captain relationship to explain decisions on the pitch.”
He also notes that European referees are increasing in number, almost 50,000 more than less than three years ago, when the “Be a Referee” campaign began to address a kind of vocational crisis.
Interesting data comes from the three UEFA competitions: the average playing time is 55 minutes 27 seconds, with the Champions League at 55 minutes 22 seconds. Fewer than 23 fouls per match in the Champions League, fewer than 4 yellow cards, and one penalty every two matches (or slightly more). UEFA tends to reduce on-field interventions, the so-called “on-field reviews,” averaging about one every three matches, with 103 corrections and 8 decisions upheld.
But there's an even more interesting statistic: 50% of serious fouls occur close to sidelines, from one goal line to the other, where the benches are located. The interpretation is that competition increases there, as players try to impress their coaches. The situations that most often lead to serious fouls are poor ball control, lost possession, and contested balls, all high-risk situations. Then there is “revenge,” a reaction to a previously suffered foul.
Handball:
While offside issues have been largely resolved, one problem remains: handball, which necessarily requires interpretation. Too many non-existent penalties are being awarded today.
“You have to understand football,” Rosetti explains, clarifying that a handball occurs when a player deliberately tries to touch the ball, or “widens” the body unnaturally with their arms, while during a challenge, it must be assessed how the movement affects the arms.
Time-Wasting:
“The 8-second rule for goalkeepers has had excellent results. All decisions that improve the flow of the game are welcome,” says Rosetti, adding that all decisions “require consistency.”
Then there’s the offside issue, meaning deciding when a player is offside. On this topic, there is still no “uniformity” of opinion.
The words about an exaggerated use of VAR sound like they were sent directly to Rocchi and his management, believe me, by now at almost comical levels, of VAR in Serie A… every logic is now lost.
DeleteIf this is an "unofficial" warning from UEFA to Italy about refereeing, I really applaud it.
As for the rest, the statistics on serious fouls often occurring near the touchlines on the bench side are very interesting, it's true based on what I can recall in many games, and very often assistants and fourth officials, despite their proximity (they are very often really close with good view), fail to collaborate with referees and mostly VAR is needed. This is something that can definitely be improved.
Atletico vs Barcelona. 1cm offside goal and DOGSO VAR.
DeleteBoth correct but it takes way too long for the decisions. Especially the offside.
The Rosetti's statement is interesting, especially that FIFA strive for a totally different use of VAR. In their unofficial tests in Saudi Arabia and UAE, they already allow VMOs to change corner kicks to goal kicks, suggest YCs, etc. So, UEFA want to keep the initial orthodox way of using the VAR system while FIFA's goal is to have VAR as a referee's support whenever possible. It will be exciting to observe which idea prevails.
DeleteEdit. VAR was incorrect on the offside and free the line at the wrong moment.
DeleteI agree with Italian over using the VAR, but I think there is no league where it's correctly used .. I think, on the opposite, English VAR teams tend to close their eyes on some evident punishable incidents ... It will be interesting to see the guidelines that they will use in the World Cup.
DeleteRosseti nema nikakvo pravo da priča o bilo čemu što se tiče sudija i suđenja,jer je potpuno uništio evropske sudije. Utakmice sude sudije iz Italije i Slovenije, za sve ostale države ostale su samo mrvice. Na trenutnom položaju se nalazi samo zahvaljujući Čeferinu, koji je takodje veoma odgovoran za propast evropskog suđenja.
ReplyDelete"the statistics on serious fouls often occurring near the touchlines on the bench side are very interesting"
ReplyDeleteWe had a coach in England who would do a "heat map" of fouls and his research would certainly concur with this. Really important that AR1 and 4thO are switched on to assist referees in that area (RIP Trevor - you knew you were right!)