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22 December 2018 Final Real Madrid – Al Ain Referee: Jair Marrufo (USA, photo) Assistant Referee 1: Frank Anderson (USA) Assistant Referee 2: Corey Rockwell (USA) Fourth Official: Wilton Sampaio (BRA) Reserve AR: Zakhele Siwela (RSA) VAR: Danny Makkelie (NED) AVAR 1: Mark Geiger (USA) AVAR 2: Bruno Boschilia (BRA) AVAR 3: Mauro Vigliano (ARG) Match for Third Place Kashima Antlers – River Plate Referee: Gianluca Rocchi (ITA) Assistant Referee 1: Elenito Di Liberatore (ITA) Assistant Referee 2: Mauro Tonolini (ITA) Fourth Official: Matthew Conger (NZL) Reserve AR: Waleed Ahmed (SDN) VAR: Massimiliano Irrati (ITA) AVAR 1: Abdulla Mohammed (UAE) AVAR 2: Rodrigo Figueiredo (BRA) AVAR 3: Pawel Gil (POL)

The unwanted side of Greek football has reared its ugly head again, with referee Athanasios Tzilos assaulted in Larissa on Wednesday morning.  At approximately 09:00 on Wednesday morning, 35-year old Super League referee Tzilos arrived at his office where he works as a civil engineer in Larissa, however before he stepped out of his car, he was set upon by four hooded individuals. Tzilos was dragged out from his car, beaten by the attackers, and police and ambulance services promptly arrived on the scene after members of the public had made the relevant telephone calls. Tzilos was transported to the General University Hospital of Larissa after he had received blows to the head and legs. He’s said to be in a stable condition physically, however reports revealed that he is state of shock after the brutal attack. Photos published online display blood on the street from the assault and the broken window on the left side of Tzilos’ car: The act of despicable violence against Tzilos has w...

Last week, the Professional Soccer Referees Association (“PSRA”) members covered by the collective bargaining agreement (“CBA”) with the Professional Referee Organization (“PRO”) voted overwhelmingly in favor of a strike authorization. This vote comes on the heels of the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) ruling in favor of PSRA regarding a recent Unfair Labor Practice charge, and provides the PSRA Executive Board with the authority to call a strike to protest PRO’s unfair labor practices and unlawful bargaining tactics. PSRA’s existing CBA with PRO expires on January 15, 2019. PSRA commenced bargaining toward a new CBA in March of 2018 – starting early in order to provide the parties sufficient opportunity to reach a new and fair agreement before the existing CBA expires. To the extreme frustration of PSRA members, PRO significantly delayed the negotiations after they commenced, cancelled a multitude of scheduled bargaining dates, and refused to counter PSRA’s proposals in a time...

The referees are employed by PGMOL (Professional Game Match Officials Limited) which is run by managing director Mike Riley - a former Premier League referee himself. There are 17 full-time professional ‘Select Group’ referees in the Premier League, who meet for a training camp twice a month, where they perform physical and technical training sessions and analyze matches.  These referees are paid a basic yearly retainer of £38,500 to £42,000 for their Premier League duties, and earn an additional match fee of £1,150 per game. With cup games and potential European fixtures thrown in, top level referees can earn upwards of £70,000 a year. In the 2016/17 season, the likes of Martin Atkinson and Mark Clattenburg reportedly earned as much as £120,000.  For the Champions League, elite tier referees get a whopping £5,500 per game, with ‘development tier’ referees picking up £3,800, but regular referees just earning £700 per game. Across the rest of Europe’s big leagues, match fees ar...

18-19 December 2018 River Plate – Al Ain Referee: Gianluca Rocchi (ITA, photo) Assistant Referee 1: Elenito Di Liberatore (ITA) Assistant Referee 2: Mauro Tonolini (ITA) Fourth Official: Ryuji Sato (JPN) Reserve AR: Toru Sagara (JPN) VAR: Massimiliano Irrati (ITA) AVAR 1: Pawel Gil (POL) AVAR 2: Hiroshi Yamauchi (JPN) AVAR 3: Mark Geiger (USA) Kashima Antlers – Real Madrid Referee: Wilton Sampaio (BRA) Assistant Referee 1: Rodrigo Figueiredo (BRA) Assistant Referee 2: Bruno Boschilia (BRA) Fourth Official: Matthew Conger (NZL) Reserve AR: Tevita Makasini (TGA) VAR: Mauro Vigliano (ARG) AVAR 1: Abdulla Mohammed (UAE) AVAR 2: Elenito Di Liberatore (ITA) AVAR 3: Danny Makkelie (NED)

18 December 2018 ES Tunis – CD Guadalajara Referee: Matthew Conger (NZL, photo) Assistant Referee 1: Tevita Makasini (TGA) Assistant Referee 2: Mark Rule (NZL) Fourth Official: Jair Marrufo (USA) Reserve AR: Frank Anderson (USA) VAR: Mauro Vigliano (ARG) AVAR 1: Abdulla Mohammed (UAE) AVAR 2: Corey Rockwell (USA) AVAR 3: Danny Makkelie (NED)

Chile, 17 January – 10 February 2019 Referee: Fernando Rapallini (ARG, photo) Assistant Referee 1: Ezequiel Brailovsky (ARG) Assistant Referee 2: Gabriel Chade (ARG) Referee: Gery Vargas (BOL) Assistant Referee 1: Jose Antelo (BOL) Assistant Referee 2: Edwar Saavedra (BOL) Referee: Raphael Claus (BRA) Assistant Referee 1: Kleber Gil (BRA) Assistant Referee 2: Bruno Pires (BRA) Referee: Piero Maza (CHI) Assistant Referee 1: Claudio Rios (CHI) Assistant Referee 2: Jose Retamal (CHI) Referee: Nicolas Gallo (COL) Assistant Referee 1: Alexander Leon (COL) Assistant Referee 2: Wilmar Navarro (COL) Referee: Carlos Orbe (ECU) Assistant Referee 1: Juan Macias (ECU) Assistant Referee 2: Ricardo Baren (ECU) Referee: Mario Diaz de Vivar (PAR) Assistant Referee 1: Roberto Canete (PAR) Assistant Referee 2: Dario Gaona (PAR) Referee: Joel Alarcon (PER) Assistant Referee 1: Victor Raez (PER) Assistant Referee 2: Michael Orue (PER) Referee: Leodan Gonzalez (URU) Assistant Referee 1: Richard Trinidad (U...

15 December 2018 Kashima Antlers – CD Guadalajara Referee: Bamlak Tessema (ETH, photo) Assistant Referee 1: Zakhele Siwela (RSA) Assistant Referee 2: Waleed Ahmed (SUD) Fourth Official: Wilton Sampaio (BRA) Reserve AR: Rodrigo Figueiredo (BRA) VAR: Massimiliano Irrati (ITA) AVAR 1: Abdulla Mohammed (UAE) AVAR 2: Bruno Boschilia (BRA) AVAR 3: Danny Makkelie (NED) ES Tunis – Al Ain Referee: Jair Marrufo (USA) Assistant Referee 1: Frank Anderson (USA) Assistant Referee 2: Corey Rockwell (USA) Fourth Official: Ryuji Sato (JPN) Reserve AR: Hiroshi Yamauchi (JPN) VAR: Mark Geiger (USA) AVAR 1: Paweł Gil (POL) AVAR 2: Toru Sagara (JPN) AVAR 3: Mauro Vigliano (ARG)

As the men’s World Cup was winding down last summer in Russia, FIFA’s president, Gianni Infantino, used his final news conference to heap praise on the video assistant referee system, which had been used for the first time at the tournament. It had become, Infantino declared, “difficult to think about the World Cup without VAR”. It remains to be seen whether Infantino was referring only to the men’s game when he essentially called the technology indispensable. To the dismay of some top players and coaches in the women’s game, FIFA, the governing body of international soccer, has not confirmed whether VAR will be used at the Women’s World Cup next summer in France. For some, the organization’s failure to take advantage of the technology - already widely used in men’s domestic leagues and coming soon to the UEFA Champions League, club soccer’s highest-profile competition - is yet another sign that the organization sees female players as second-class citizens. “The men had it at their Wor...

13 December 2018 Olympiakos – AC Milan Referee: Benoît Bastien (FRA, photo) Assistant Referee 1: Hicham Zakrani (FRA) Assistant Referee 2: Frédéric Haquette (FRA) Fourth Official: Philippe Jeanne (FRA) Additional AR 1: Benoît Millot (FRA) Additional AR 2: Jérôme Miguelgorry (FRA) Referee Observer: Jørn West Larsen (DEN) Villarreal CF – Spartak Moskva Referee: Andris Treimanis (LVA) Assistant Referee 1: Haralds Gudermanis (LVA) Assistant Referee 2: Aleksejs Spasjonņikovs (LVA) Fourth Official: Raimonds Tatriks (LVA) Additional AR 1: Aleksandrs Golubevs (LVA) Additional AR 2: Edgars Maļcevs (LVA) Referee Observer: Bo Karlsson (SWE) Rapid Wien – Rangers FC Referee: Paolo Mazzoleni (ITA) Assistant Referee 1: Alessandro Costanzo (ITA) Assistant Referee 2: Matteo Passeri (ITA) Fourth Official: Alberto Tegoni (ITA) Additional AR 1: Marco Guida (ITA) Additional AR 2: Piero Giacomelli (ITA) Referee Observer: Shmuel Shteif (ISR) Olympique de Marseille – Apóllon Limassol Referee: Radu Petrescu (...

12 December 2018 Al Ain – Team Wellington Referee: Ryuji Sato (JPN, photo) Assistant Referee 1: Toru Sagara (JPN) Assistant Referee 2: Hiroshi Yamauchi (JPN) Fourth Official: Gianluca Rocchi (ITA) Reserve AR: Elenito Di Liberatore (ITA) VAR: Danny Makkelie (NED) AVAR 1: Pawel Gil (POL) AVAR 2: Mauro Tonolini (ITA) AVAR 3: Massimiliano Irrati (ITA)

11 December 2018 Liverpool FC – SSC Napoli Referee: Damir Skomina (SVN, photo) Assistant Referee 1: Jure Praprotnik (SVN) Assistant Referee 2: Robert Vukan (SVN) Fourth Official: Tomaž Klančnik (SVN) Additional AR 1: Slavko Vinčič (SVN) Additional AR 2: Matej Jug (SVN) Referee Observer: Hugh Dallas (SCO) Galatasaray – FC Porto Referee: Aleksei Kulbakov (BLR) Assistant Referee 1: Dzmitry Žuk (BLR) Assistant Referee 2: Alieh Maslianka (BLR) Fourth Official: Jury Chomčanka (BLR) Additional AR 1: Dzianis Ščarbakov (BLR) Additional AR 2: Dzmitry Dzmitryeŭ (BLR) Referee Observer: Patrick Kelly (IRL) FC Schalke – Lokomotiv Moskva Referee: Anastásios Sidirópoulos (GRE) Assistant Referee 1: Polychrónis Kostarás (GRE) Assistant Referee 2: Lázaros Dimitriádis (GRE) Fourth Official: Damianós Efthymiádis (GRE) Additional AR 1: Anastásios Papapétrou (GRE) Additional AR 2: Ioánnis Papadópoulos (GRE) Referee Observer: Alain Hamer (LUX) Club Brugge – Atlético de Madrid Referee: Davide Massa (ITA) Ass...

12 December 2018 Atletico Paranaense – Junior Referee: Roberto Tobar (CHI, photo) Assistant Referee 1: Christian Schiemann (CHI) Assistant Referee 2: Claudio Rios (CHI) Fourth Official: Roddy Zambrano (ECU) VAR: Julio Bascuñan (CHI) AVAR 1: Piero Maza (CHI) AVAR 2: Carlos Astroza (CHI) VAR Observer: Enrique Osses (CHI) Referee Assessor: Ubaldo Aquino (PAR)

11-12 December 2018 Galatasaray – FC Porto Referee: Stephan Klossner (SUI, photo) Assistant Referee 1: Marco Zürcher (SUI) Assistant Referee 2: Matthias Sbrissa (SUI) Fourth Official: Can Cengiz (TUR) Referee Observer: Sabri Çelik (TUR) AS Monaco – Borussia Dortmund Referee: Luca Barbeno (SMR) Assistant Referee 1: Marco Ercolani (SMR) Assistant Referee 2: Ernesto Cristiano (SMR) Fourth Official: Florent Batta (FRA) Referee Observer: Bernardino González Vázquez (ESP) Internazionale Milano – PSV Eindhoven Referee: Rade Obrenovič (SVN) Assistant Referee 1: Tomislav Pospeh (SVN) Assistant Referee 2: Matej Vojska (SVN) Fourth Official: Lorenzo Maggioni (ITA) Referee Observer: Ján Fašung (SVK) Liverpool FC – SSC Napoli Referee: Mario Zebec (CRO) Assistant Referee 1: Borut Križarić (CRO) Assistant Referee 2: Jerko Crnčić (CRO) Fourth Official: Peter Wright (ENG) Referee Observer: Edward Foley (IRL) FC Schalke – Lokomotiv Moskva Referee: Timótheos Christofí (CYP) Assistant Referee 1: Pávlo...

The UEFA Referees Committee approved the referee categories for the second half of the season 2018/2019. Carols Del Cerro Grande (men) and Ivana Martincic (women) have been promoted to Elite, effective 1 January 2019. Men Promoted from First Category to Elite: Carlos Del Cerro Grande (ESP, photo). Retired/removed from First Category: Sebastien Delferiere (BEL), Manuel Gräfe (GER), Luca Banti (ITA), Paolo Mazzoleni (ITA). Retired/removed from Second Category: Oliver Drachta (AUT), Bart Vertenten (BEL), Leóntios Tráttou (CYP), Robert Madley (ENG), Charalampos Kalogeropoulos (GRE), Carlos Taborda Xistra (POR), Simon Lee Evans (WAL). New FIFA referees entered into Second Category: Christopher Kavanagh (ENG), Jose Munuera Montero (ESP), Sascha Stegemann (GER), Michael Fabbri (ITA), Maurizio Mariani (ITA). Retired/removed from Third Category: Omer Pasayev (AZE), Dimítris Masiás (CYP), Radek Příhoda (CZE), Anders Poulsen (DEN), Jari Järvinen (FIN), Aléxandros Aretopoulos (GRE), Stavros M...

Men Elite Deniz Aytekin (GER), Benoit Bastien (FRA), Felix Brych (GER), Cüneyt Cakir (TUR), William Collum (SCO), Carlos Del Cerro Grande (ESP), Jesus Gil Manzano (ESP), Ovidiu Hategan (ROU), Sergei Karasev (RUS), Viktor Kassai (HUN), Pavel Kralovec (CZE), Björn Kuipers (NED), Danny Makkelie (NED), Szymon Marciniak (POL), Antonio Mateu Lahoz (ESP), Milorad Mazic (SRB), Michael Oliver (ENG), Daniele Orsato (ITA), Gianluca Rocchi (ITA), Anastasios Sidiropoulos (GRE), Damir Skomina (SVN), Artur Soares Dias (POR), Anthony Taylor (ENG), Clement Turpin (FRA), Alberto Undiano Mallenco (ESP), Felix Zwayer (GER). First Category Aliyar Aghayev (AZE), Ievgenii Aranovskyi (UKR), John Beaton (SCO), Ivan Bebek (CRO), Vladislav Bezborodov (RUS), Kevin Blom (NED), Tamas Bognar (HUN), Sergii Boiko (UKR), Ruddy Buquet (FRA), Andreas Ekberg (SWE), Aleksei Eskov (RUS), Javier Estrada Fernandez (ESP), Mattias Gestranius (FIN), Pawel Gil (POL), Hüseyin Göcek (TUR), Serdar Gözübüyük (NED), Orel Grinfeeld (I...

Argentin referee Nestor Pitana has capped a stellar season with his election as the World’s Best Referee 2018 in the annual IFFHS Awards. He succeeds the German Felix Brych who took place four this year. Pitana, 43 years old, was the referee of the 2018 World Cup final between France and Croatia. He made great performances during the month of the Russia World Cup, so he won with a large margin before the Dutch referee Björn Kuipers and the Serbian Milorad Mazic. Selected journalists and experts from 90 countries around the world took part in the 2018 annual election of the Top referee, the 32th time it has been carried out by the IFFHS. Nestor Pitana began in 2007 in the Argentina Primera Division and has received his FIFA badge in 2010. He was selected for two World Cups in Brazil 2014 and Russia 2018, where he made a great impression in the whole football world. He took place 5 last year in the IFFHS election. Milorad Mazic was the referee of the Champions League final 2018 between R...

90 experts and journalists from all continents crowned Bibiana Steinhaus for the fourth time after 2013, 2014 and 2017 to The World’s Best Woman Referee 2018 in the Annual IFFHS Awards. The German referee stepped in a new area in May 2017, when she became the first woman to referee matches in one of the top five leagues of the World. Bibiana Steinhaus, who began her career in 2005, leaded matches in all greatest woman world competitions and since one year in the men Bundesliga with big success. Jana Adamkova, from Czech Republic, took a brilliant second place thanks to her performances in UEFA Champions League particularly the final between Olympique Lyonnais and VFL Wolfsburg. French Stephanie Frappart took again, like last year, place 3 before Esther Stäubli, the swiss regularity (always in the top 5 since 2012). IFFHS Awards winners 2015 Kateryna Monzul and 2016 Katalin Kulcsar took again place in the Top 7. ( Source: IFFHS )  IFFHS World’s Best Women Referees 2018 1. Bib...

With the expansion of Asia’s most prestigious tournament from 16 to 24 teams, a record 60 match officials – comprising 30 referees and assistant referees each – have been appointed to the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019, which is scheduled to kick-off in one month’s time on January 5, 2019. The largest-ever contingent, which will also be supported by four reserve officials, will see a diverse range of nationalities, with 19 Member Associations represented across the five AFC zones. The Continent’s best referees and assistant referees were selected based on their skill, technical knowledge, management competence and physical fitness. They will be expected to perform various roles including Additional Assistant Referees, Reserve Assistant Referees as well as Video Assistant Referees (VAR), which will come into force from the quarter-final stage. The appointments are a culmination of a robust and comprehensive preparation programme dating back to the conclusion of the AFC Asian Cup Australia 2015....

The UEFA Executive Committee met in Dublin, Republic of Ireland, and decided to use Video Assistant Referees (VAR) in the UEFA Champions League as from the Round of 16 in February 2019 following successful technological testing and the training of referees over the last few months. In addition, the committee decided to also use VAR at the UEFA Europa League Final 2019, in the UEFA Nations Leagues Finals 2019 and in the final tournament of the UEFA European Under-21 Championship 2019. As already decided during the September meeting of the UEFA Executive Committee, VAR will then also be used in the 2019/20 UEFA Champions League, as of the play-off stage of the competition, and at the 2019 UEFA Super Cup. UEFA still plans to subsequently extend the use of VAR at the final tournament of UEFA EURO 2020, in the 2020/21 UEFA Europa League (group-stage onwards), and in the 2021 UEFA Nations League Finals. UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin, said: "We are ready to use VAR earlier than initi...

The FIFA Referees Committee has selected 27 referees and 48 assistant referees, representing 42 different countries, for the FIFA Women’s World Cup France 2019. The journey to the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2019 began for an initial group of female referees and assistant referees from all over the world in September 2015, when FIFA officially started its Road to France 2019 women’s refereeing project. As part of this project, preparatory seminars have taken place over the last three years for referees and assistant referees, focusing on protecting players and the image of the game, as well as on consistency in interpreting the Laws of the Game. Technical expertise, football understanding, fitness and the ability to read the game and teams’ tactical approaches to each match have been the main topics covered at these seminars. The referees selected for the next FIFA Women’s World Cup, the most important competition in women’s sport, have demonstrated their skills at previous tournaments, inc...

5 December 2018 Junior – Atletico Paranaense Referee: Diego Haro (PER, photo) Assistant Referee 1: Jonny Bossio (PER) Assistant Referee 2: Victor Raez (PER) Fourth Official: Carlos Orbe (ECU) VAR: Gery Vargas (BOL) AVAR 1: Alexis Herrera (VEN) AVAR 2: Carlos Astroza (CHI) VAR Observer: Dario Ubriaco (URU) Referee Assessor: Pablo Silva (ARG)

Alan Kelly is the 2018 MLS Referee of the Year, announced Major League Soccer and PRO. It's the third time in four seasons Kelly has received the honor. The 43-year-old Irishman was also recognized in 2015 and 2016. In addition, he has been named the referee for the 2018 MLS Cup. Meanwhile, Joe Fletcher has been voted MLS Assistant Referee of the Year. A first-time recipient of the award, Fletcher was one of five officials to represent PRO at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. He called 100th MLS game this past August.  “This has been another successful year for the Professional Referee Organization, and I’m delighted to see Alan Kelly named as our MLS Referee of the Year and Joe Fletcher as our MLS Assistant Referee of the Year,” PRO General Manager Howard Webb said in a statement. “They are excellent ambassadors for PRO and provide strong examples of the professionalism of our group, both domestically and internationally. Alan and Joe achieved high standards in all facets of thei...