European Qualifiers for 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup continues with MD5 and MD6, to be played on 5 and 9 June 2026 respectively.
MATCHDAY 5
Friday 5 June 2026
League C, Group 4
15:30 CET - Tbilisi (Davit Petriashvilis Stadioni)
GEORGIA - FAROE ISLANDS
Referee: Ioánna Allagiótou CYP
Assistant Referee 1: Angelikí Athanasopoúlou CYP
Assistant Referee 2: María Savvídou CYP
Fourth Official: Zoí Stávrou CYP
UEFA Referee Observer: Anri Saarivainio Hänninen FIN
UEFA Delegate: Eduard Kindle LIE
League B, Group 3
16:00 CET - Nitra (Štadión FC Nitra)
SLOVAKIA - FINLAND
Referee: Milica Milovanović SRB
Assistant Referee 1: Aleksandra Kostić SRB
Assistant Referee 2: Andrea Mijailović SRB
Fourth Official: Mima Stanković SRB
UEFA Referee Observer: Sofia Karagiorgi CYP
UEFA Delegate: Anton Fagan SCO
League C, Group 3
16:00 CET - Sumqayıt (Mehdi Hüseynzadə adına Sumqayıt şəhər stadionu)
AZERBAIJAN - HUNGARY
Referee: Vanja Janković SVN
Assistant Referee 1: Staša Špur SVN
Assistant Referee 2: Helena Buh SVN
Fourth Official: Aleksandra Česen SVN
UEFA Referee Observer: Petra Pavlíková SVK
UEFA Delegate: Mamuka Kvaratskhelia GEO
League C, Group 6
16:00 CET - Yerevan (HFF Tekhnikakan Kentron Akademiayi Marzadasht)
ARMENIA - KAZAKHSTAN
Referee: Marta San Juan Casado AND
Assistant Referee 1: Lara Anderson AUT
Assistant Referee 2: Luis Miguel Pinilla Acosta AND
Fourth Official: Andreu Vilanova Simarro AND
UEFA Referee Observer: Viola Raudziņa LVA
UEFA Delegate: Theanó Rasoúli GRE
League C, Group 1
17:00 CET - Zenica (Trening centar NS/FS BiH)
BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA - LITHUANIA
Referee: Minka Vekkeli FIN
Assistant Referee 1: Taru Tiensuu FIN
Assistant Referee 2: Ann-Sofie Träskman FIN
Fourth Official: Satu Miettunen FIN
UEFA Referee Observer: Snježana Fočić CRO
UEFA Delegate: Dorita Agius MLT
League C, Group 2
17:00 CET - Sofia (Stadion “Slavia”)
BULGARIA - GIBRALTAR
Referee: Irena Velevačkoska MKD
Assistant Referee 1: Vjolca Izeiri MKD
Assistant Referee 2: Tamara Cvetanoviḱ MKD
Fourth Official: Angela Rajčevska MKD
UEFA Referee Observer: Neli Stepanyan ARM
UEFA Delegate: Theodóra Marínou GRE
League C, Group 5
17:00 CET - Nisporeni (Stadionul Central Nisporeni)
MOLDOVA - ROMANIA
Referee: Sapir Gaya Berman ISR
Assistant Referee 1: Mai Moalem ISR
Assistant Referee 2: Donia Zidan ISR
Fourth Official: Shada Dahamshi ISR
UEFA Referee Observer: Esther Azzopardi MLT
UEFA Delegate: Luka Steiner SVN
League B, Group 1
17:30 CET - Prague (Stadion FK Viktoria Žižkov)
CZECHIA - ALBANIA
Referee: Franziska Wildfeuer GER
Assistant Referee 1: Daniela Göttlinger GER
Assistant Referee 2: Jasmin Matysiak GER
Fourth Official: Miriam Schwermer GER
UEFA Referee Observer: Ana Minić SRB
UEFA Referee Observer: Ana Minić SRB
UEFA Delegate: Virgar Hvidbro FRO
League A, Group 2
18:00 CET - Gdańsk (Polsat Plus Arena Gdańsk)
POLAND - FRANCE
Referee: Kirsty Dowle ENG
Assistant Referee 1: Georgia Ball ENG
Assistant Referee 2: Isabel Chaplin ENG
Fourth Official: Grace Lowe ENG
UEFA Referee Observer: Kirsi Heikkinen FIN
UEFA Delegate: Desislava Ralkova BUL
League A, Group 3
18:00 CET - Mielec, POL (Stadion Miejski im. Grzegorza Lato)
UKRAINE - ICELAND
Referee: Hristiyana Guteva BUL
Assistant Referee 1: Pavleta Rashkova BUL
Assistant Referee 2: Maria-Yoanna Vasileva BUL
Fourth Official: Lyubima Banova BUL
UEFA Referee Observer: Jenny Palmqvist SWE
UEFA Delegate: Pramila Susanne Olsen Matthiasen NOR
League A, Group 4
18:00 CET - Vienna (Wiener Sport-Club Platz)
AUSTRIA - SLOVENIA
Referee: Olatz Rivera Olmedo ESP
Assistant Referee 1: Iragartze Fernández Esesúmaga ESP
Assistant Referee 2: Rita Cabañero Mompó ESP
Fourth Official: Ainara Andrea Acevedo Dudley ESP
UEFA Referee Observer: Christine Baitinger GER
UEFA Delegate: Gerard Lawlor NIR
League B, Group 1
18:00 CET - Podgorica (Gradski stadion Podgorica)
MONTENEGRO - WALES
Referee: Henrikke Holm Nervik NOR
Assistant Referee 1: Monica Brun Løkkeberg NOR
Assistant Referee 2: Line Cathrine Nymoen NOR
Fourth Official: Sarah Fatemeh Zangeneh NOR
UEFA Referee Observer: Knarik Grigoryan ARM
UEFA Delegate: Alojzije Šupraha CRO
League B, Group 4
18:00 CET - Budapest, HUN (Bozsik Aréna)
SCOTLAND - ISRAEL
Referee: Déborah Anex SUI
Assistant Referee 1: Laetitia Sonia Nuara SUI
Assistant Referee 2: Melissa Correia Dos Santos SUI
Fourth Official: Laura Mauricio SUI
UEFA Referee Observer: Nelly Viennot FRA
UEFA Delegate: Renáta Tomášová SVK
League A, Group 1
18:15 CET - Pisa (Arena Garibaldi - Stadio Romeo Anconetani)
ITALY - SERBIA
Referee: Lina Lehtovaara FIN
Assistant Referee 1: Heini Hyvönen FIN
Assistant Referee 2: Laura Koskinen FIN
Fourth Official: Lotta Vuorio FIN
UEFA Referee Observer: Aneliya Sinabova BUL
UEFA Delegate: Peter Oskam NED
League B, Group 2
19:00 CET - Istanbul (Pendik Stadyumu)
TÜRKİYE - NORTHERN IRELAND
Referee: Alexandra Collin FRA
Assistant Referee 1: Clothilde Brassart FRA
Assistant Referee 2: Élodie Coppola FRA
Fourth Official: Émeline Rochebilière FRA
UEFA Referee Observer: Tanja Subotić SVN
UEFA Delegate: Olesea Berdea MDA
League C, Group 1
19:00 CET - Vaduz (Rheinpark Stadion)
LIECHTENSTEIN - ESTONIA
Referee: Araksya Saribekyan ARM
Assistant Referee 1: Liana Grigoryan ARM
Assistant Referee 2: Liana Yagmuryan ARM
Fourth Official: Sofik Torosyan ARM
UEFA Referee Observer: Christine Frai GER
UEFA Delegate: Gerard Kennedy IRL
League C, Group 2
19:00 CET - Pristina (Stadiumi “Fadil Vokrri”)
KOSOVO - CROATIA
Referee: Karoline Wacker GER
Assistant Referee 1: Melissa Joos GER
Assistant Referee 2: Jessica Bergmann GER
Fourth Official: Angelika Söder GER
UEFA Referee Observer: Aušra Kancė LTU
UEFA Delegate: Claudio Negroni SUI
League A, Group 1
19:15 CET - Odense (Nature Energy Park)
DENMARK - SWEDEN
Referee: Stéphanie Frappart FRA
Assistant Referee 1: Camille Soriano FRA
Assistant Referee 2: Mélissa Rossignol FRA
Fourth Official: Élisa Daupeux FRA
UEFA Referee Observer: Teodora Albon ROU
UEFA Delegate: Sanna Pirhonen FIN
League B, Group 2
19:30 CET - Lugano (AIL Arena)
SWITZERLAND - MALTA
Referee: Kristina Georgieva BUL
Assistant Referee 1: Lilia Dumbalakova BUL
Assistant Referee 2: Dorieta Valeva BUL
Fourth Official: Valeria Petrova BUL
UEFA Referee Observer: Irina Mirț ROU
UEFA Delegate: Barbara Moschini ITA
League C, Group 3
19:30 CET - Andorra la Vella (Estadi Nacional)
ANDORRA - NORTH MACEDONIA
Referee: Ana Luísa Carneiro Amorim Morgado Afonso POR
Assistant Referee 1: Cristiana Moreira da Costa POR
Assistant Referee 2: Lisandra Taisa Reginaldo Tavares POR
Fourth Official: Filipa Pereira da Cunha POR
UEFA Referee Observer: Sharon Sluyts BEL
UEFA Delegate: Peadar Ryan IRL
League B, Group 4
20:15 CET - Leuven (King Power at Den Dreef Stadion)
BELGIUM - LUXEMBOURG
Referee: Ana Maria Alexandra Terteleac ROU
Assistant Referee 1: Marilena Cătălina Nan ROU
Assistant Referee 2: Roxana Ivanov ROU
Fourth Official: Iuliana Elena Demetrescu ROU
UEFA Referee Observer: Blaženka Logarušić CRO
UEFA Delegate: Sonia Testaguzza SUI
League A, Group 2
20:30 CET - Cork (SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh)
REPUBLIC OF IRELAND - NETHERLANDS
Referee: Katalin Kulcsár HUN
Assistant Referee 1: Anita Vad HUN
Assistant Referee 2: Nikolett Bizderi HUN
Fourth Official: Eszter Urbán HUN
UEFA Referee Observer: Anja Kunick GER
UEFA Delegate: Thura Win ENG
League A, Group 4
20:35 CET - Cologne (RheinEnergieStadion)
GERMANY - NORWAY
Referee: Marta Huerta de Aza ESP
Assistant Referee 1: Guadalupe Porras Ayuso ESP
Assistant Referee 2: Eliana Fernández González ESP
Fourth Official: María Gloria Planes Terol ESP
UEFA Referee Observer: Gitte Holm DEN
UEFA Delegate: Camelia Nicolae ROU
League A, Group 3
21:00 CET - Mallorca (Estadi Mallorca Son Moix)
SPAIN - ENGLAND
Referee: Ivana Martinčić CRO
Assistant Referee 1: Maja Petravić CRO
Assistant Referee 2: Ivona Pejić CRO
Fourth Official: Jelena Kumer CRO
UEFA Referee Observer: Elke Günthner GER
UEFA Delegate: Emmanuelle Puttaert BEL
League B, Group 3
21:00 CET - Estoril (Estádio António Coimbra da Mota)
PORTUGAL - LATVIA
Referee: Olivia Tschon AUT
Assistant Referee 1: Amina Gutschi AUT
Assistant Referee 2: Noémi Hegedűs-Baráth HUN
Fourth Official: Sara Telek AUT
UEFA Referee Observer: Rhona Coombes IRL
UEFA Delegate: Patricia González García ESP
Matchday 6
Tuesday 9 June 2026
League A, Group 1
19:00 CET - Gothenburg (Gamla Ullevi)
SWEDEN - ITALY
Referee: Iuliana Elena Demetrescu ROU
Assistant Referee 1: Bianca Diana Florea ROU
Assistant Referee 2: Roxana Ivanov ROU
Fourth Official: Ana Maria Alexandra Terteleac ROU
UEFA Referee Observer: Olga Tanschi MDA
UEFA Delegate: Loukás Siótropos GRE
League A, Group 1
19:00 CET - Stara Pazova (Sportski centar FSS)
SERBIA - DENMARK
Referee: Rasa Grigonė LTU
Assistant Referee 1: Irina Pozdejeva LTU
Assistant Referee 2: Ieva Ramanauskienė LTU
Fourth Official: Ilona Birgėlaitė LTU
UEFA Referee Observer: Gyöngyi Krisztína Gaál HUN
UEFA Delegate: Kifayət Mustafayeva AZE
League A, Group 4
19:00 CET - Oslo (Ullevaal Stadion)
NORWAY - AUSTRIA
Referee: Ivana Projkovska MKD
Assistant Referee 1: Elena Soklevska-Ilievski MKD
Assistant Referee 2: Angela Domazetovska MKD
Fourth Official: Irena Velevačkoska MKD
UEFA Referee Observer: Kateryna Monzul UKR
UEFA Delegate: Marc Vouillamoz SUI
League A, Group 4
19:00 CET - Ljubljana (Stadion Stožice)
SLOVENIA - GERMANY
Referee: Michalina Diakow POL
Assistant Referee 1: Paulina Baranowska POL
Assistant Referee 2: Julia Bukarowicz POL
Fourth Official: Anna Adamska POL
UEFA Referee Observer: Hilda McDermott IRL
UEFA Delegate: Amil Gerina MNE
League B, Group 1
19:00 CET - Cardiff (Cardiff City Stadium)
WALES - CZECHIA
Referee: Deborah Bianchi ITA
Assistant Referee 1: Veronica Martinelli ITA
Assistant Referee 2: Laura Gasparini ITA
Fourth Official: Maria Marotta ITA
UEFA Referee Observer: Carolina De Boeck BEL
UEFA Delegate: Susanne Erlandsson SWE
League B, Group 1
19:00 CET - Shkodër (Stadiumi “Loro Boriçi”)
ALBANIA - MONTENEGRO
Referee: Emily Heaslip ENG
Assistant Referee 1: Georgia Ball ENG
Assistant Referee 2: Leoni Harland ENG
Fourth Official: Grace Lowe ENG
UEFA Referee Observer: Emilia Wnuk POL
UEFA Delegate: Aliaksandr Aliejnik BLR
League B, Group 2
19:00 CET - Lurgan (Mourneview Park)
NORTHERN IRELAND - SWITZERLAND
Referee: Anastasía Mylopoúlou GRE
Assistant Referee 1: Vasilía Tsiklitári GRE
Assistant Referee 2: Zoí Papadopoúlou GRE
Fourth Official: Eléni Andoníou GRE
UEFA Referee Observer: Miroslava Migaľová SVK
UEFA Delegate: Sabine Bonnin FRA
League B, Group 2
19:00 CET - Ta’ Qali (Centenary Stadium)
MALTA - TÜRKİYE
Referee: Sabina Bolić CRO
Assistant Referee 1: Sanja Rođak-Karšić CRO
Assistant Referee 2: Maja Petravić CRO
Fourth Official: Ivana Martinčić CRO
UEFA Referee Observer: Svetlana Patraș MDA
UEFA Delegate: Sviatlana Hrynkievič BLR
League B, Group 3
19:00 CET - Tampere (Tammelan Stadion)
FINLAND - PORTUGAL
Referee: Merima Čelik BIH
Assistant Referee 1: Merima Tanović BIH
Assistant Referee 2: Aleksandra Mostowska POL
Fourth Official: Lea Čepo BIH
UEFA Referee Observer: Graziella Pirriatore ITA
UEFA Delegate: Jürgen Igelspacher GER
League B, Group 3
19:00 CET - Riga (Daugavas stadions)
LATVIA - SLOVAKIA
Referee: Nanna Løf Mørch Andersen DEN
Assistant Referee 1: Sidsel Fabricius Dall DEN
Assistant Referee 2: Anna Kjær Schmidt DEN
Fourth Official: Frida Mia Klarlund Nielsen DEN
UEFA Referee Observer: Dilan Deniz Gökçek İşcan TUR
UEFA Delegate: Helen Conley ENG
League B, Group 4
19:00 CET - Esch-sur-Alzette (Stade de la Frontière)
LUXEMBOURG - BELGIUM
Referee: Aleksandra Česen SVN
Assistant Referee 1: Helena Buh SVN
Assistant Referee 2: Mediha Durić SVN
Fourth Official: Vanja Janković SVN
UEFA Referee Observer: Cheryl Foster WAL
UEFA Delegate: Peter Elsworth ENG
League B, Group 4
19:00 CET - Budapest, HUN (Bozsik Aréna)
ISRAEL - SCOTLAND
Referee: Karoline Marie Jensen NOR
Assistant Referee 1: Helle Reiten NOR
Assistant Referee 2: Sandra Nigulis EST
Fourth Official: Maren Hatletvedt NOR
UEFA Referee Observer: Wendy Toms ENG
UEFA Delegate: Mauro Tonolini ITA
League C, Group 1
19:00 CET - Pärnu (Pärnu Rannastaadion)
ESTONIA - BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
Referee: Michaela Pachtová CZE
Assistant Referee 1: Lucie Ratajová CZE
Assistant Referee 2: Tereza Hessová CZE
Fourth Official: Natálie Čampišová CZE
UEFA Referee Observer: Esther Staubli SUI
UEFA Delegate: Alpaslan Kavas TUR
League C, Group 1
19:00 CET - Druskininkai (LSC Sporto kompleksas „Druskininkai“)
LITHUANIA - LIECHTENSTEIN
Referee: Lena Hirtl AUT
Assistant Referee 1: Amina Gutschi AUT
Assistant Referee 2: Linda Thieme AUT
Fourth Official: Fabienne Hofer AUT
UEFA Referee Observer: Ingrid Jonsson SWE
UEFA Delegate: Fróði Danielsen FRO
League C, Group 2
19:00 CET - Pula (Stadion Aldo Drosina)
CROATIA - BULGARIA
Referee: Melissa Burgin ENG
Assistant Referee 1: Isabel Chaplin ENG
Assistant Referee 2: Sophie Dennington ENG
Fourth Official: Kirsty Dowle ENG
UEFA Referee Observer: Jelena Banjeglav Rankov SRB
UEFA Delegate: Siarhiej Iĺič BLR
League C, Group 2
19:00 CET - Gibraltar (Europa Point Stadium)
GIBRALTAR - KOSOVO
Referee: Marisca Overtoom NED
Assistant Referee 1: Martina Boer NED
Assistant Referee 2: Mélissa Lejear BEL
Fourth Official: Wendy Gijsbers NED
UEFA Referee Observer: Floarea Cristina Ionescu ROU
UEFA Delegate: Targo Kaldoja EST
League C, Group 3
19:00 CET - Budapest (Illovszky Rudolf Stadion)
HUNGARY - ANDORRA
Referee: Melek Dakan TUR
Assistant Referee 1: Arzu Görgün TUR
Assistant Referee 2: Merve Turan TUR
Fourth Official: Gamze Durmuş Pakkan TUR
UEFA Referee Observer: Vesna Budimir CRO
UEFA Delegate: Ilona Varanovič BLR
League C, Group 3
19:00 CET - Bitola (Trening centar “Petar Miloševski”)
NORTH MACEDONIA - AZERBAIJAN
Referee: Teona Sturua GEO
Assistant Referee 1: Elene Eloshvili GEO
Assistant Referee 2: Sopo Tsulaia GEO
Fourth Official: Tamta Shengelia GEO
UEFA Referee Observer: Katarzyna Wierzbowska POL
UEFA Delegate: Ayşe İdil Cem TUR
League C, Group 4
19:00 CET - Tbilisi (Mikheil Meskhis II Stadioni)
GEORGIA - GREECE
Referee: Veronika Vasylchenko UKR
Assistant Referee 1: Svitlana Hrushko UKR
Assistant Referee 2: Iryna Chayka UKR
Fourth Official: Sofiya Prychyna UKR
UEFA Referee Observer: Marta Frías Acedo ESP
UEFA Delegate: Danilo Vukotić MNE
League C, Group 5
19:00 CET - Dasáki Áchnas (Stádio Ethnikoú Áchnas)
CYPRUS - MOLDOVA
Referee: Charlotte Carpenter WAL
Assistant Referee 1: Ceri Louise Williams WAL
Assistant Referee 2: Michelle Jane Portelli WAL
Fourth Official: Iwan Arwel Griffith WAL
UEFA Referee Observer: Ana Sofia Soares Aguiar POR
UEFA Delegate: Svitlana Shkil UKR
League C, Group 6
19:00 CET - Gori, GEO (Tengiz Burjanadzis Stadioni)
BELARUS - ARMENIA
Referee: Senida Petak BIH
Assistant Referee 1: Aida Jusufović BIH
Assistant Referee 2: Nevena Marković BIH
Fourth Official: Vesna Miletić BIH
UEFA Referee Observer: Carina Susana Vitulano ITA
UEFA Delegate: Peter Kováč SVK
League A, Group 2
21:00 CET - Grenoble (Stade des Alpes)
FRANCE - REPUBLIC OF IRELAND
Referee: Désirée Blanco SUI
Assistant Referee 1: Susanne Küng SUI
Assistant Referee 2: Melissa Correia Dos Santos SUI
Fourth Official: Michèle Schmölzer SUI
UEFA Referee Observer: Galina Doneva BUL
UEFA Delegate: Rimla Akhtar ENG
League A, Group 2
21:00 CET - Almelo (Asito Stadion)
NETHERLANDS - POLAND
Referee: Fabienne Michel GER
Assistant Referee 1: Anne Uersfeld GER
Assistant Referee 2: Isabel Steinke GER
Fourth Official: Karoline Wacker GER
UEFA Referee Observer: Silvia Tea Spinelli ITA
UEFA Delegate: Ricardo Filipe Costa Dias LUX
League A, Group 3
21:00 CET - Liverpool (Hill Dickinson Stadium)
ENGLAND - UKRAINE
Referee: Emanuela Rusta ALB
Assistant Referee 1: Mirjeta Salla ALB
Assistant Referee 2: Edjena Kapxhiu ALB
Fourth Official: Eglantina Pjetrushaj ALB
UEFA Referee Observer: Antonia Kokotou GRE
UEFA Delegate: Sonia Testaguzza SUI
League A, Group 3
21:00 CET - Reykjavík (Laugardalsvöllur)
ICELAND - SPAIN
Referee: Miriama Bočková SVK
Assistant Referee 1: Miroslava Obertová SVK
Assistant Referee 2: Martina Ukropová SVK
Fourth Official: Zuzana Valentová SVK
UEFA Referee Observer: Pernilla Larsson SWE
UEFA Delegate: Massimo Nanni SMR

Women preselection WC 2027 updated list:
ReplyDeleteHristiyana Guteva BUL
Ivana Martinčić CRO
Abigail Byrne ENG
Marta Huerta De Aza ESP
Olatz Rivera Olmedo ESP
Maria Sole Ferrieri Caputi ITA
Stéphanie Frappart FRA
Silvia Gasperotti ITA
Ivana Projkovska MKD
Ionela Alina Peşu ROU
Iuliana Elena Demetrescu ROU
Jelena Cvetković SRB
Tess Olofsson SWE
Referees who didn't pass this cut (they were on previous list):
Emanuela Rusta ALB
Frida Mia Klarlund Nielsen DEN
Eleni Antoniou GRE
Katalin Anna Kulcsár HUN
Shona Shukrula NED
Ewa Augustyn POL
Catarina Ferreira Campos POR
Désirée Grundbacher SUI
New addition (not on previous list):
Silvia Gasperotti ITA
Are there any surprises, or is all as expected? How many referees will there likely be from Europe/UEFA?
DeleteI am definitely not a close follower, but I think in terms of previous experience at least, almost everyone from the list who did not make it is above Abigail Byrne.
DeleteYes, almost all referees, including the ones that have been removed, have by far more experience than Abigail Byrne, who seems to be the "English quota".
DeleteI don't watch all games, but according to what I saw, there is an evident argument for some names who didn't make it.
Most experienced among them is surely Kulcsar, but very particular case and extremely long career, not a full surprise, there could be particular reasons for her removal.
To make an example about a very technical selection, maybe we can think about Klarlund, who had a very poor Champions League game, also discussed on the blog (one can dare to say that the performance in Chelsea - Arsenal was crucial in negative for her).
Catarina Campos, you remember, had a rather poor EURO last year.
One can be surprised by the cut of Désirée Grundbacher as well, given her nationaliity (Switzerland).
There should be strong arguments or maybe she has already planned to retire, in this case I don't know.
Most of the oher names were not really at an advanced level, like the Polish and the Dutch (a very few games fro Shukrula, who honestly seems to be not that much involved in that).
On the other hand, Gasperotti was included thank to her very good domestic and then international path (EURO 2025), as you can see it's always very easy for an Italian referee.
Among the names who are keeping the hope, surely something must go in the best possible way to have a chance for Guteva, still a Cat. 1 and not many assignments in particular. The other name that can be a relative surprise, but not in full, still my opinion of course, is Jelena Cvetković who worked as VAR in most of her recent international career so far, but I think she was injured for a while and very long time? (in case I ask Serbian readers about that). Seems to be a strong name under the eyes of FIFA.
Grundbacher out seems very surprising, she had a UWCL semi-final just over a month ago. Maybe this could be another "Siebert situation"?
DeleteOn the other hand, I think Byrne and also Cvetković are mostly kept to potentially be support officials and then maybe recieve a dead rubber in the last round of the group stage. They're both still young and could have at least two more WCs ahead of them after this one
DeleteByrne is still a Cat 1 referee so interesting she is there.
DeleteSteinhaus/Webb complex is a very obvious advantage for Byrne. Like TotallyRandom I'm not following closely at all since the Euro but I'm sorry to see Kulcsar out, evidently for the reasons I explained last summer - though it should be said that she has been treated fairly, and the correct conclusion(s) drawn from that Iceland-Finland game.
DeleteUEFA 2026-1 is already available in the platform www.nextaur.com
ReplyDeleteAnd as a reminder, for those new to this platform, here are some basic instructions to connect:
www.nextaur.com
Type UEFA in the “Search for your organisation”.
Click on “Don’t have an account? Create one”
Lastly, “Register”.
D8 and D9 clips are duplicates and typos in Section J are not infrequent. A10 being a red card is extremely dubious and whomever wrote the explanation for C7 has not watched the incident properly - the block is successful and the ball spins up into the air! The series for challenges, Dogso and handball are all generally very (very) good and outstandingly composed; bravo. The section on holding is something of a muddle and these considerations should be reconsidered - D1 should be a YC for a deliberate foul breaking through the lines, but D6 is not a YC and is just two players duelling in a non-SPA scenario (the fouled player even holds the shirt of his opponent before).
DeleteIn terms of headlines, in no particular order, I saw:
- The penalty for handball in R.Madrid-Marseille was wrong
- The penalty for holding in Inter-Liverpool was wrong
- The penalty in Atalanta-Brugge was instead a dive
- Schnyder badly misrefereed Barca-Olympiakos: both the SYC (careless) and penalty (dive) were mistakes + even another penalty not seen (goal scored secs later)
- Turpin’s SYC in Slovenia-Kosovo was correct (and mgmt praised)
- Kovacs’ (initial) straight RC in Olympiakos-Paphos was justified
- Siebert should have given a RC in Denmark-Scotland after the OFR
- Brisard’s RC in Crv.Zvezda-Steaua was correct
- Turpin’s RC in Serbia-England was not correct
- The disallowed goal in Israel-Italy for gk foul was correct
- I noticed that it seems like the overall refereeing of Cuadra (Nice-Roma), Pajac (A.Bilbao-Qarabag), Massa (Romania-Austria) and Stojchevski (Jagiellonia-Hamrun) was not appreciated by UEFA; the opposite is true for Marciniak, Letexier and Siebert, who are oft-praised for their handling of incidents/management
[feel free to add anything missed here^]
https://foot-africa.com/en/news/world-cup-2026-somali-referee-omar-abdulkadir-artan-finally-receives-his-visa-1231324/
ReplyDeleteWomen preselection WC 2027 (my list)
ReplyDelete(% of making it), as of today
Hristiyana Guteva BUL (10%)
Ivana Martinčić CRO (100%)
Abigail Byrne ENG (5%)
Marta Huerta De Aza ESP (60%) vs
Olatz Rivera Olmedo ESP (40%)
Stéphanie Frappart FRA (100%)
Maria Sole Ferrieri Caputi ITA (90%) vs
Silvia Gasperotti ITA (10%) (reserve?)
Ivana Projkovska MKD (55%)
Ionela Alina Peşu ROU (50%) vs
Iuliana Elena Demetrescu ROU (50%)
Jelena Cvetković SRB (25%)
Tess Olofsson SWE (100%)
Personal Note: Frida Mia, Shona Shukrula and Ewa Augustyn not making it into the final preselection is very disappointing…They should easily be on the final preselection list, with a 50%+ mark of making it to the WC2027.
This adds up to just 695 %, in 2023 they were 11 European referees. Also, for the three nations with two candidates, you have added each up to 100 %. Are you sure they will be focusing that much on nationality? I see that both the spanish candidates are refereeing league A matches today, for example.
DeleteI was forthcoming with this kind of response. Please dont add up the %. That is merely a basic method of evaluating each and every referee on a scale from 0% to 100% in terms of one of them making it to the WC2027. Nothing more, nothing less. About the duos from Spain, Romania, and Italy, its very likely that only one from each duo will advance to the final selection. Thats why I assigned them a combined 100% workload. Its been like this in the latest women's World Cups. This is why one doesnt like this list… Very tricky situation. One would remove Guteva and Byrne and then you would have your ideal 11 - A very straightforward, easy and uncomplicated decision But then all the duos would swap in…We know that is kind of impossible, of course. Thats why, given the circumstances and with this list, I would only guess a list of 7 to 9 referees.
DeleteTurkey v Northern Ireland.
ReplyDeleteDeliberate handball on the goalline, denying an obvious goal.
No initial sanction, but appears to be cautioned for dissent.
Referee clearly sees the infringement and was quick with the whistle, but inexplicably fails to issue any sanction.
Comes off the attackers arm so it cannot be a goal (and therefore can’t be a dogso). A simply outstanding decision by the referee.
DeleteThis specific infringement is only applicable once the ball has fully entered the goal, which is not the case in this instance.
DeleteIreland - Netherlands
ReplyDelete69' Groenen awarded penalty after kick to ankle
70' Groenen sent off for one minute
70' Janssen scores the penalty
71' Ireland takes advantage of numerical superiority and scores immediately
Jackie Groenen:
"I'm trying to stay calm, but, well... To be honest, I don't really have the words for this. My ankle is thick and blue, and the fact that you get penalized for that, really. That you have to stand on the sidelines. I actually find that...
If you want to follow the rules to the letter, this is how it is."
This situation was easily predictable if this rule were to be implemented. I understand the desire to eliminate time-wasting through faked injuries, but I can’t believe this is a way that will win the support of honest players, and it actually leads to truly unfair results.
Every change has pros and cons. This is a major disadvantage. If this happens during the World Cup as well, we will have a huge commotion.
DeleteSome observers who are FIFA instructors, they have been assigned for the preselected officials in the list posted above, MD5 Jenny Palmqvist for Guteva in UKR - ISL, while MD6 Kateryna Monzul for Projkovska in NOR - AUT.
ReplyDeleteOne could have expected an assignment for Byrne, she gets less games than other referees, but she has already FIFA tourrnament experience (Youth WC) and maybe for them that's enough for a referee who is coming from England, big country.