Champions League - Referee Appointments - Matchday 2 (Wednesday)

These are the eight officiating teams who will take charge of Wednesday's UEFA Champions League matches. Et voilà: the next mixed team has unfolded: Slovenian Matej Jug will celebrate his Champions League debut at Santiago Bernabeu with Austrian Roland Brandner as AR2.

The only debutant in UCL at MD2: Matej Jug (SVN) (c) ZIMBIO

Group E, 01 October 2013, 20:45 CET
Stadium: St.-Jakob Park, Basel, Switzerland
Shakhtar Donetsk - Manchester United
Referee: Pavel Královec (CZE)
Assistant Referee 1: Roman Slyško (SVK)
Assistant Referee 2: Martin Wilczek (CZE)
Additional Assistant Referee 1: Radek Prihoda (CZE)
Additional Assistant Referee 2: Michal Patak (CZE)
Fourth Official: Antonin Kordula (CZE)
UEFA Referee Observer: Eugen Strigel (GER)
UEFA Delegate: Andreas Akkelides (CYP)
Blog Referee Observer: Dino (CRO)

Group E, 01 October 2013, 20:45 CET
Stadium: National Arena, Bucharest, Romania
Bayer Leverkusen - Real Sociedad
Referee: Sergei Karasev (RUS)
Assistant Referee 1: Tikhon Kalugin (RUS)
Assistant Referee 2: Anton Averianov (RUS)
Additional Assistant Referee 1: Maksim Layushkin (RUS)
Additional Assistant Referee 2: Vitaly Meshkov (RUS)
Fourth Official: Aleksei Vorontsov (RUS)
UEFA Referee Observer: Vlado Sajn (SVN)
UEFA Delegate: Joël Wolff (LUX)
Blog Referee Observer: Chefren (ITA)

Group B, 02 October 2013, 20:45 CET
Stadium: Juventus Stadium, Turin, Italy
Juventus Turin - Galatasaray
Referee: Viktor Kassai (HUN)
Assistant Referee 1: György Ring (HUN)
Assistant Referee 2: Vencel Tóth (HUN)
Additional Assistant Referee 1: Tamás Bognar (HUN)
Additional Assistant Referee 2: Mihály Fabián (HUN)
Fourth Official: Robert Kispál (HUN)
UEFA Referee Observer: Vaclav Krondl (CZE)
UEFA Delegate: Roland Ospelt (LIE)
Blog Referee Observer: Nur H. (ENG)

Group B, 02 October 2013, 20:45 CET
Stadium: Estadio Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid, Spain
Real Madrid - FC København
Referee: Matej Jug (SVN)
Assistant Referee 1: Matej Žunič (SVN)
Assistant Referee 2: Roland Brandner (AUT)
Additional Assistant Referee 1: Slavko Vinčić (SVN)
Additional Assistant Referee 2: Dragoslav Perič (SVN)
Fourth Official: Primož Arhar (SVN)
UEFA Referee Observer: Jaap Uilenberg (NED)
UEFA Delegate: Dušan Tittel (SVK)
Blog Referee Observer: Niclas (GER)

Group C, 02 October 2013, 20:45 CET
Stadium: Parc des Princes, Paris, France
Paris SG - SL Benfica
Referee: Nicola Rizzoli (ITA)
Assistant Referee 1: Renato Faverani (ITA)
Assistant Referee 2: Andrea Stefani (ITA)
Additional Assistant Referee 1: Andrea De Marco (ITA)
Additional Assistant Referee 2: Antonio Damato (ITA)
Fourth Official: Riccardo Di Fiore (ITA)
UEFA Referee Observer: Michael Riley (ENG)
UEFA Delegate: Sune Hellströmer (SWE)
Blog Referee Observer: Hagi (GER)

Group C, 02 October 2013, 20:45 CET
Stadium: Constant Vanden Stock Stadium, Brussels, Belgium
RSC Anderlecht - Olympiakos
Referee: Tom Harald Hagen (NOR)
Assistant Referee 1: Kim Thomas Haglund (NOR)
Assistant Referee 2: Frank Andås (NOR)
Additional Assistant Referee 1: Dag Vidar Hafsås (NOR)
Additional Assistant Referee 2: Tore Hansen (NOR)
Fourth Official: Dag-Roger Nebben (NOR)
UEFA Referee Observer: Miroslav Liba (CZE)
UEFA Delegate: Lloyd Hughes (WAL)
Blog Referee Observer: Albin (SWE)

Group D, 02 October 2013, 18:00 CET
Stadium: Luzhniki Stadion, Moscow, Russia
CSKA Moskva - Viktoria Plzen
Referee: Bas Nijhuis (NED)
Assistant Referee 1: Rob van de Ven (NED)
Assistant Referee 2: Charles John Schaap (NED)
Additional Assistant Referee 1: Serdar Gözübüyük (NED)
Additional Assistant Referee 2: Ed Janssen (NED)
Fourth Official: Hessel Steegstra (NED)
UEFA Referee Observer: Luis Medina Cantalejo (ESP)
UEFA Delegate: Kazimierz Oleszek (POL)
Blog Referee Observer: Edward (GRE)

Group D, 02 October 2013, 20:45 CET
Stadium: City of Manchester Stadium, Manchester, England
Manchester City - Bayern München
Referee: Björn Kuipers (NED)
Assistant Referee 1: Sander van Roekel (NED)
Assistant Referee 2: Erwin E. J. Zeinstra (NED)
Additional Assistant Referee 1: Pol van Boekel (NED)
Additional Assistant Referee 2: Richard Liesveld (NED)
Fourth Official: Angelo Boonman (NED)
UEFA Referee Observer: Peter Mikkelsen (DEN)
UEFA Delegate: Claude Runavot (FRA)
Blog Referee Observer: Johnny (SRB)

Champions League - Referee Appointments - Matchday 2 (Tuesday)

UEFA has nominated the following referee teams to take charge of Tuesday's Champions League matches that initiate matchday 2. Among others, three Spanish sextets have been appointed for matches in Group E and F respectively.

Alberto Undiano Mallenco of Spain (c) croref.blogspot.com

Group E, 01 October 2013, 20:45 CET
Stadium: St.-Jakob Park, Basel, Switzerland
FC Basel - FC Schalke 04
Referee: Alberto Undiano Mallenco (ESP)
Assistant Referee 1: Raúl Cabañero Martínez (ESP)
Assistant Referee 2: Roberto Díaz Pérez Del Palomar (ESP)
Additional Assistant Referee 1: Fernando Teixeira Vitienes (ESP)
Additional Assistant Referee 2: Javier Estrada Fernández (ESP)
Fourth Official: Victoriano Díaz Casado (ESP)
UEFA Referee Observer: Fritz Stuchlik (AUT)
UEFA Delegate: Martin Sturkenboom (NED)
Blog Referee Observer: Albin (SWE)

Group E, 01 October 2013, 20:45 CET
Stadium: National Arena, Bucharest, Romania
Steaua Bucuresti - Chelsea FC
Referee: Carlos Velasco Carballo (ESP)
Assistant Referee 1: Roberto Alonso Fernández (ESP)
Assistant Referee 2: Juan Carlos Yuste Jiménez (ESP)
Additional Assistant Referee 1: Carlos Clos Gómez (ESP)
Additional Assistant Referee 2: Carlos Del Cerro Grande (ESP)
Fourth Official: Javier Aguilar Rodríguez (ESP)
UEFA Referee Observer: Edgar Steinborn (GER)
UEFA Delegate: Jaroslav Dudl (CZE)
Blog Referee Observer: Edward (GRE)

Group F, 01 October 2013, 20:45 CET
Stadium: Westfalenstadion, Dortmund, Germany
Borussia Dortmund - Olympique Marseille
Referee: David Fernández Borbalán (ESP)
Assistant Referee 1: Jesús Calvo Guadamuro (ESP)
Assistant Referee 2: José Fernández Miranda (ESP)
Additional Assistant Referee 1: César Muñiz Fernández (ESP)
Additional Assistant Referee 2: Jesús Gil Manzano (ESP)
Fourth Official: Pau Cebrián Devis (ESP)
UEFA Referee Observer: Donald Mcvicar (SCO)
UEFA Delegate: Roland Tis (BEL)
Blog Referee Observer: Chefren (ITA)

Group F, 01 October 2013, 20:45 CET
Stadium: Emirates Stadium, London, England
Arsenal FC - SSC Napoli
Referee: Milorad Mažić (SRB)
Assistant Referee 1: Milovan Ristić (SRB)
Assistant Referee 2: Dalibor Djurdjević (SRB)
Additional Assistant Referee 1: Danilo Grujić (SRB)
Additional Assistant Referee 2: Miodrag Gogić (SRB)
Fourth Official: Vladimir Čadjenović (SRB)
UEFA Referee Observer: Paul Allaerts (BEL)
UEFA Delegate: Steen Dahrup (DEN)
Blog Referee Observer: Niclas (GER)

Group G, 01 October 2013, 20:45 CET
Stadium: Petrovsky Stadion, St. Petersburg, Russia
Zenit St. Petersburg - Austria Wien
Referee: Deniz Aytekin (GER)
Assistant Referee 1: Guido Kleve (GER)
Assistant Referee 2: Markus Häcker (GER)
Additional Assistant Referee 1: Marco Fritz (GER)
Additional Assistant Referee 2: Bastian Dankert (GER)
Fourth Official: Thorsten Schiffner (GER)
UEFA Referee Observer: László Vagner (HUN)
UEFA Delegate: Ghenadie Scurtul (MDA)
Blog Referee Observer: Edward (GRE)

Group G, 01 October 2013, 20:45 CET
Stadium: Estádio do Dragão, Porto, Portugal
FC Porto - Atlético Madrid
Referee: Howard Webb (ENG)
Assistant Referee 1: Michael Mullarkey (ENG)
Assistant Referee 2: Darren Cann (ENG)
Additional Assistant Referee 1: Michael Oliver (ENG)
Additional Assistant Referee 2: Michael Jones (ENG)
Fourth Official: Stephen Child (ENG)
UEFA Referee Observer: Kaj Østergaard (DEN)
UEFA Delegate: Michael Kirchner (GER)
Blog Referee Observer: Niclas (GER)

Group H, 01 October 2013, 20:45 CET
Stadium: Amsterdam ArenA, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Ajax Amsterdam - AC Milan
Referee: Jonas Eriksson (SWE)
Assistant Referee 1: Mathias Klasenius (SWE)
Assistant Referee 2: Daniel Wärnmark (SWE)
Additional Assistant Referee 1: Stefan Johannesson (SWE)
Additional Assistant Referee 2: Markus Strömbergsson (SWE)
Fourth Official: Mehmet Culum (SWE)
UEFA Referee Observer: Zoran Petrović (SRB)
UEFA Delegate: Patrick McGrath (IRL)
Blog Referee Observer: Çagatay (TUR)

Group H, 01 October 2013, 20:45 CET
Stadium: Celtic Park, Glasgow, Scotland
Celtic Glasgow - FC Barcelona
Referee: Stéphane Lannoy (FRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Frédéric Cano (FRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Michaël Annonier (FRA)
Additional Assistant Referee 1: Fredy Fautrel (FRA)
Additional Assistant Referee 2: Ruddy Buquet (FRA)
Fourth Official: Eric Dansault (FRA)
UEFA Referee Observer: Athanassios Briakos (GRE)
UEFA Delegate: Geir Thorsteinsson (ISL)
Blog Referee Observer: Chefren (ITA)

UEFA Youth League Matchday 2

Appointments for UEFA Youth League Matchday 2.

Group G, 1 October 2013, 11:00 CET

Stadium: Campus Minor Sport Arena Petrovsky, St Petersburg (RUS)

Zenit St. Petersburg  - Austria Wien

Referee: Jari Järvinen  (FIN)

Assistant Referee 1: Jukka Honkanen  (FIN)

Assistant Referee 2: Olli Jantunen  (FIN)

Fourth Official: Vasiliy Kazartsev  (RUS)

UEFA Referee Observer: Are Habicht  (EST)

UEFA Delegate: Kazimierz Oleszek  (POL)

Group G, 1 October 2013, 12:00 CET

Stadium: Centro de Treinos e Formação Desportiva - Vila Nova de Gaia (Porto)

Porto - Atlético

Referee: Peter Kralović  (SVK)

Assistant Referee 1: Erik Weiss  (SVK)

Assistant Referee 2: Milan Cuninka  (SVK)

Fourth Official: Vasco Santos  (POR)

UEFA Referee Observer:  Carlos Manuel Ferreira Matos  (POR)

UEFA Delegate: Alessandro Lulli  (ITA)

Group H, 1 October 2013, 15:00 CET

Cappielow Park - Greenock

Celtic - Barcelona

Referee: Neil Doyle  (IRL)

Assistant Referee 1: Emmet Dynan  (IRL)

Assistant Referee 2: Declan Toland  (IRL)

Fourth Official: Donald Robertson  (SCO)

UEFA Referee Observer:  Stephen Lodge  (ENG)

UEFA Delegate: David Delferiere  (BEL)

Group E, 1 October 2013, 15:00 CET

Mogosoaia - Bucharest

Steaua - Chelsea

Referee: Aleksei Eskov  (RUS)

Assistant Referee 1: Rinat Deushev  (RUS)

Assistant Referee 2: Dmitriy Cheltsov  (RUS)

Fourth Official: Andrei Antonie  (ROU)

UEFA Referee Observer:  Alexandru Deaconu  (ROU)

UEFA Delegate: Pavel Kolev  (BUL)

Group F, 1 October 2013, 15:00 CET

Kampfbahn Rote Erde - Dortmund

Borussia Dortmund - Marseille

Referee: Thoroddur Hjaltalin  (ISL)

Assistant Referee 1: Birkir Sigurdarson  (ISL)

Assistant Referee 2: Asgeir Thor Asgeirsson  (ISL)

Fourth Official:  Harm Osmers  (GER)

UEFA Referee Observer:  Ferenc Székely  (HUN)

UEFA Delegate: Lucien Kayser  (LUX)

Group E, 1 October 2013, 15:00 CET

Stadion Rankhof - Basel

Basel – Schalke 04

Referee:  Michael Johansen  (DEN)

Assistant Referee 1: Henrik Larsen  (DEN)

Assistant Referee 2: Jannik Rosenkrands Vinther  (DEN)

Fourth Official:  Urs Schnyder  (SUI)

UEFA Referee Observer:  Cyril Zimmermann  (SUI)

UEFA Delegate: Christian Schmölzer  (AUT)

Group D, 2 October 2013, 11:00 CET

Stadium «Oktyabr» - Moscow

CSKA Moskva - Plzeň

Referee:  Yaroslav Kozyk  (UKR)

Assistant Referee 1: Maksym Chos  (UKR)

Assistant Referee 2: Ievgen Petrakov  (UKR)

Fourth Official:  Timur Arslanbekov  (RUS)

UEFA Referee Observer:  Aleksei Spirin  (RUS)

UEFA Delegate: Andrian Ixari  (MDA)

Group A, 2 October 2013, 13:00 CET

Ulrich Haberland Stadion - Leverkusen

Bayer Leverkusen – Real Sociedad

Referee:  Sebastian Coltescu  (ROU)

Assistant Referee 1: Radu Ghinguleac  (ROU)

Assistant Referee 2: Mircea Grigoriu  (ROU)

Fourth Official:  Sascha Stegemann  (GER)

UEFA Referee Observer:  Rusmir Mrković  (BIH)

UEFA Delegate: Márton Esterházy  (HUN)

Group A, 2 October 2013, 14:00 CET

RSC Olympiyskiy Stadium - Donetsk

Shakhtar Donetsk – Manchester United

Referee:  Sergei Lapochkin  (RUS)

Assistant Referee 1: Alexei Kharlamov  (RUS)

Assistant Referee 2: Valeri Danchenko  (RUS)

Fourth Official:  Vitaliy Romanov  (UKR)

UEFA Referee Observer:  Vasyl Melnychuk  (UKR)

UEFA Delegate: Mehmet Süheyl Önen  (TUR)

Group B, 2 October 2013, 15:00 CET

Stadio Gino Pistoni - Ivrea

Juventus - Galatasaray

Referee:  Harald Lechner  (AUT)

Assistant Referee 1: Andreas Heidenreich  (AUT)

Assistant Referee 2: Alan Kijas  (AUT)

Fourth Official:  Davide Ghersini  (ITA)

UEFA Referee Observer:  Michel Vautrot  (FRA)

UEFA Delegate: Panagiotis Chatzialexiou  (GER)

Group C, 2 October 2013, 15:00 CET

Stade Montbauron - Versailles

PSG - Benfica

Referee:  Jonathan Lardot  (BEL)

Assistant Referee 1: Laurent Conotte  (BEL)

Assistant Referee 2: Nicolas Ponsar  (BEL)

Fourth Official:  Stephane Jochem  (FRA)

UEFA Referee Observer:  Cornelius Bakker  (NED)

UEFA Delegate: Kurt Zuppinger  (SUI)

Group B, 2 October 2013, 16:00 CET

Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano - Madrid

Real Madrid - København

Referee:  Kevin Clancy  (SCO)

Assistant Referee 1: Francis Connor  (SCO)

Assistant Referee 2: Douglas Ross  (SCO)

Fourth Official:  José Luis Lesma Lopez  (ESP)

UEFA Referee Observer:  Manuel Lopez Fernandez  (ESP)

UEFA Delegate: Steve Stride  (ENG)

Group D, 2 October 2013, 16:00 CET

Ewen Fields – Hyde

Manchester City - Bayern

Referee:  Svein-Erik Edvartsen  (NOR)

Assistant Referee 1: Jan Erik Engan  (NOR)

Assistant Referee 2: Tom Harald Grønevik  (NOR)

Fourth Official:  Darren Bond  (ENG)

UEFA Referee Observer:  Gerard Perry  (IRL)

UEFA Delegate: Dennis Cruise  (IRL)

Group H, 2 October 2013, 19:00 CET

De Toekomst - Duivendrecht

Ajax - Milan

Referee:  Sascha Amhof  (SUI)

Assistant Referee 1: Raffael Zeder  (SUI)

Assistant Referee 2: Beat Hidber  (SUI)

Fourth Official:  Dennis Higler  (NED)

UEFA Referee Observer:  Michel Piraux  (BEL)

UEFA Delegate: Milos Markovic  (SRB)

Group F, 2 October 2013, 20:00 CET

Meadow Park - Borehamwood

Arsenal - Napoli

Referee:  John Beaton  (SCO)

Assistant Referee 1: Ross Haswell  (SCO)

Assistant Referee 2: Stuart Macmillan  (SCO)

Fourth Official:  Andrew Madley  (ENG)

UEFA Referee Observer:  Edward Foley  (IRL)

UEFA Delegate: Jean Paul Mievis  (BEL)

Group C, 3 October 2013, 18:30 CET

Constant Vanden Stock Stadium - Brussels

Anderlecht - Olympiacos

Referee:  Stephan Klossner  (SUI)

Assistant Referee 1: Vital Jobin  (SUI)

Assistant Referee 2: Carmine Sangiovanni  (SUI) 

Fourth Official:  Denis Vanbecelaere  (BEL)

UEFA Referee Observer:  Robert Jeurissen  (BEL)

UEFA Delegate: Richard Havrilla  (SVK)

Player Management

In matchday 1’s Champions League match between Manchester United and Bayer Leverkusen at Old Trafford, there were two remarkable situations related to the performance of referee Damir Skomina and his crew of whom one was already discussed and analyzed last week. 

Face2Face: Damir Skomina and Robin van Persie (c) whoateallthepies

The more interesting but surely less attention-grabbing incident occurred in the 39th minute of play when Skomina and ManU forward Robin van Persie spectacularly argued with each other face to face.

First of all, it should be mentioned that the free-kick given by Skomina was correct. Even though the last foul was none, the Dutch forward held his opponent’s shirt for a while so that a delayed whistle was justified. Then we surely must point out the dissent beginning with van Persie seeking confrontation with the referee by questioning his decision verbally and with sweeping gestures. Referees must be aware that in tough matches the teams' fight for the aspired outcome of the match is so important that anger or tension, that have piled up throughout the game, may easily erupt in one single situation that is actually of minor relevance. Mostly the referees’ calls provide players with the needed target to vent their spleen and to set a sign for team-mates or even opponents. So dissent as one form of conflict is inevitable and natural. Football probably would suffer if those emotive sallies did not exist. Thus dissent claims targeted and pro-active conflict management from the referee, who must act like a psychologist in such occasions. Damir Skomina should have been prepared and, experienced as he is, he naturally has got the required management skills to cope with that. But unfortunately he did not show it in this minute 39.

If the referee and a player confront each other face to face, if their foreheads almost touch, something went wrong. Instead of finding the adequate means to calm down van Persie, who is widely known for his diva-like behaviour on the pitch if things do not develop as he wants, referee Skomina accepted the confrontation with an exaggerated body language and gestures that revealed the referee’s fretted and totally annoyed mood. Both yelled at each other, the referee did so, too. This provoked a reaction from van Persie. One overreaction caused the next overreaction leading to no sporting solution.

Then Skomina sorted out the yellow card and raised it in an overhasty manner. This style of showing the YC did not testify much self-confidence and determination. That became even clearer when Skomina made another annoyed gesture and - having the card still in his hand - waved the player away. At the end, it was the referee who fled from the centre of attention in place of staying firm. The entire occasion sent a bad message to the rest of the players – and also to the crowd. Skomina conveyed the impression of a referee whose authority can be easily undermined and who has no other means to solve conflicts except hiding behind his yellow card. That’s not the kind of player management that should be apparent on the highest level. Skomina definitely can and will improve that. In this case, I missed his typical Skomina-finger-waving that made him succeed in terms of match control in the past.

World Cup Qualifier Referee Appointments are unfolding

This October, the world of football will face the decisive qualifying phase for FIFA World Cup 2014. Within every confederation, some national teams have already qualified while others are still striving for the highly coveted remaining places for the competition to be played in Brazil. Some referee appointments for this vital qualifier round have been revealed by diverse forms of press and will be collected during the next days.

Sandro Ricci to face a big challenge (c) Árbitro Internacional

CAF (Africa): 

Tunisia - Cameroun (13 October)
Referee: Koman Coulibaly (MLI)
Assistant Referee 1: Balla Diarra (MLI)
Assistant Referee 2: Aboubacar Doumbouya (MLI)
Fourth Official: Ousmane Karembe (MLI)
Referee Observer: Zeli Sinko (CIV)
Match Delegates: Anthony Baffoe (GHA), Rene Eberle (SUI)

Burkina Faso - Algeria (11 October)
Referee: Janny Sikazwe (ZAM)
Assistant Referee 1: Jerson Emiliano Dos Santos (ANG)
Assistant Referee 2: Arsénio Marengula (MOZ)
Fourth Official: Joshua Bondo (BOT)

Senegal - Côte d'Ivoire (11 October)
Referee: Rajindraparsad Seechurn (MRI)

Ghana - Egypt
Referee: Bouchaib El Ahrach (MAR)
Assistant Referee 1: Yussif Mabrouk (MAR)
Assistant Referee 2: Mohamed El Ahmady (MAR)


Cameroun - Tunisia
Referee: Daniel Bennett (RSA)

CONCACAF (North- and Central America and the Caribbeans): 

Honduras - Costa Rica (11 October)
Referee: Jair Marrufo (USA)
Assistant Referee 1: Eric Boria (USA)
Assistant Referee 2: Ricardo Morgan (JAM)
Fourth Official: Baldomero Toledo (USA)

Mexico - Panama (11 October)
Referee: Joel Aguilar (SLV)
Assistant Referee 1: William Torres Mejia (SLV)
Assistant Referee 2: Juan Francisco Zumba (SLV)
Fourth Official: Marlon Mejia (SLV)

United States - Jamaica (11 October)
Referee: Elmer Arturo Bonilla (SLV)
Assistant Referee 1: Hermenerito Leal (GUA)
Assistant Referee 2: Ronaldo De La Cruz (GUA)
Fourth Official: Sandy Vazquez (DOM)


Jamaica - Honduras (15 October)
Referee: Mark Geiger (USA, TBC)


CONMEBOL (South America):

Ecuador - Uruguay (11 October)
Referee: Sandro Ricci (BRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Emerson De Carvalho (BRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Fabricio Vilarinho Da Silva (BRA)
Fourth Official: Wilton Sampaio (BRA)

Colombia - Chile (11 October)
Referee: Paulo César De Oliveira (BRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Altemir Hausmann (BRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Kleber Lucio Gil (BRA)
Fourth Official: Wilson Seneme (BRA)

Venezuela - Paraguay (11 October)
Referee: Víctor Carrillo (PER)
Assistant Referee 1: Jonny Bossio (PER)
Assistant Referee 2: César Escano (PER)
Fourth Official: Diego Haro (PER)

Argentina - Peru (11 October)
Referee: Carlos Vera (ECU)
Assistant Referee 1: Christian Lescano (ECU)
Assistant Referee 2: Byron Romero (ECU)
Fourth Official: Roddy Zambrano (ECU)

Chile - Ecuador (15 October)
Referee: Leandro Vuaden (BRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Marcio Eustáquio Santiago (BRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Rodrigo Correa (BRA)
Fourth Official: Pericles Cortez (BRA)

Uruguay - Argentina (15 October)
Referee: Marcelo Henrique (BRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Rodrigo Joia Pereira (BRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Fabio Pereira (BRA)
Fourth Official: Ricardo Marques (BRA)

Paraguay - Colombia (15 October)
Referee: Diego Abal (ARG)
Assistant Referee 1: Hernán Maidana (ARG)
Assistant Referee 2: Ernesto Uziga (ARG)
Fourth Official: Mauro Vigliano (ARG)

Peru - Bolivia (15 October)
Referee: Enrique Cacéres (PAR)
Assistant Referee 1: Juan Zorilla (PAR)
Assistant Referee 2: Eduardo Cardozo (PAR)
Fourth Official: Mario Díaz de Vivar (PAR)

UEFA (Europe):

Denmark - Italy (Group B, 11 October)
Referee: Stéphane Lannoy (FRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Frédéric Cano (FRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Michael Annonier (FRA)
Fourth Official: Ruddy Buquet (FRA)

Sweden - Austria (Group C, 11 October)
Referee: Cüneyt Çakır (TUR)
Assistant Referee 1: Bahattin Duran (TUR)
Assistant Referee 2: Tarik Ongun (TUR)
Fourth Official: Hüseyin Göçek (TUR)

Germany - Ireland (Group C, 11 October)
Referee: Serge Gumienny (BEL)
Assistant Referee 1: Frank Bleyen (BEL)
Assistant Referee 2: Kristof Meers (BEL)
Fourth Official: Luc Wouters (BEL)

Estonia - Turkey (Group D, 11 October)
Referee: Nicola Rizzoli (ITA)
Assistant Referee 1: Andrea Stefani (ITA)
Assistant Referee 2: Renato Faverani (ITA)
Fourth Official: Luca Banti (ITA)

Albania - Switzerland (Group E, 11 October)
Referee: Pedro Proença (POR)

Bosnia Herzegovina - Liechtenstein (Group G, 11 October)
Referee: Richard Liesveld (NED)
Assistant Referee 1: Angelo Boonman (NED)
Assistant Referee 2: Berry Simons (NED)
Fourth Official: Serdar Gözübüyük (NED)

Greece - Slovakia (Group G, 11 October)
Referee: Deniz Aytekin (GER)
Assistant Referee 1: Guido Kleve (GER)
Assistant Referee 2: Markus Häcker (GER)
Fourth Official: Florian Meyer (GER)

England - Montenegro (Group H, 11 October)
Referee: Alberto Undiano Mallenco (ESP)
Assistant Referee 1: Raúl Cabañero Martínez (ESP)
Assistant Referee 2: Roberto Díaz Pérez Del Palomar (ESP)
Fourth Official: Carlos Clos Gómez (ESP)
Referee Observer: Vaclav Krondl (CZE)
Match Delegate: Martin Sturkenbroom (NED)

Spain - Belarus (Group I, 11 October)
Referee: Bas Nijhuis (NED)
Assistant Referee 1: Rob van de Ven (NED)
Assistant Referee 2: Charles Schaap (NED)
Fourth Official: Danny Makkelie (NED)


Sweden - Germany (Group C, 15 October)
Referee: William Collum (SCO)
Assistant Referee 1: William Conquer (SCO)
Assistant Referee 2: Martin Cryans (SCO)
Fourth Official: Robert Madden (SCO)

Greece - Liechtenstein (Group G, 15 October)
Referee: Libor Kovarik (CZE)
Assistant Referee 1: Krystof Mencl (CZE)
Assistant Referee 2: Jiri Molacek (CZE)
Fourth Official: Radek Prihoda (CZE)
Referee Observer: Raymond Ellingham (WAL)
FIFA Delegate: Scott Struthers (SCO)

France - Finland (Group I, 15 October)
Referee: Michael Koukoulakis (GRE)
Assistant Referee 1: Dimitrios Saraidaris (GRE)
Assistant Referee 2: Michael Karsiotis (GRE)
Fourth Official: Athanassios Giachos (GRE)

Match Situations - Fouls 3 / Teamwork - Solutions

The following solution is supposed to clarify the incident having occurred in the Champions League match between Manchester City and Ajax Amsterdam, refereed by Peter Rasmussen of Denmark, that was put up for debate in this blog post.

UEFA's official solution is:

Blue #45 is clearly being held by his opponent. The AAR must be ready to adjust his position accordingly to be in a position to inform the referee that a penalty kick should be awarded. The position of the referee in such cases should also be to the left of the goal between the goal area, penalty area line and in line with the penalty mark.

A remarkable part of this blog's community disagreed with this interpretation. 
The Third Team therefore reminds you on the fact that two fouls happened at the same time: Blue #45 was held by his opponent but held and grabbed his opponent at the same time as well. That could have required a dropped ball at the position of the ball at the time of the stoppage - a procedure that would have been in line with the Laws of the Game but that would have overused common sense.
Making no gesture but instead finishing the match with the final whistle did not find the players' approval - and that was no surprise.

Match Situations - Fouls 3 / Teamwork

This post is a part of the section in this blog called "Match Situations" that concentrates on specific match situations related to parts of the Laws of the Game. Your participation is crucial to make this blog's element give some value for referees and football enthusiasts in general.

You can have your say by giving your assessment on these situations in form of a comment underneath the respective posts. These comments should include a precise assessment and an additional explanation that strengthens your view if needed.

How do you assess this situation?

NO FOUL (Corner Kick)?

DEFENSIVE FOUL (Penalty Kick)?

OFFENSIVE FOUL (Free kick for defending team)?

You can also answer a poll placed at the right hand-side.

The video is taken from José Garcia-Aranda's vimeo account and has been embedded in this post. 
It is shown for educational and not for commercial purpose.

Match Situations - Fouls 2 - Solutions

The following solution is supposed to clarify the incidents having occurred in the World Cup 2010 match between Brazil and Côte d'Ivoire, refereed by Stéphane Lannoy of France, that were put up for debate in this blog post.

The Third Team's solution is:

Incident 1: RED CARD for Serious Foul Play (having used excessive force or brutality while endangering the opponent's safety/health by going into the challenge with studs up not targeted at playing the ball). 44% agreed with that solution in the community's poll.

Incident 2: RED CARD for Serious Foul Play (having used excessive force or brutality while endangering the opponent's safety/health by going into the challenge with studs up not targeted at playing the ball). 89% agreed with that solution in the community's poll.

Klopp's behaviour is inconsistent with Respect campaign

It is quite sure that nobody would have liked to change with Venâncio Raposo Tomé, who was the fourth official at Wednesday's Champions League clash between SSC Napoli and Borussia Dortmund having almost been "eaten" by BVB coach Jürgen Klopp.

Pedro Proença sends off Jürgen Klopp (c) abendblatt.de

BVB defender Neven Subotić had left the field of play to undergo medical treatment. When he wanted to return onto the pitch, he did not get the permission by the fourth official as his bleeding still was not totally stopped. Thus he only returned a minute later than planned and just arrived while a pass after a corner kick reached the penalty area and was converted with a header by Gonzalo Higuaín - 1:0 for Napoli. Jürgen Klopp was not amused.

It's always a fine line between emotions and exaggerated outrage or even disrespect. Ignoring that Raposo Tomé had to act in that way and that Klopp actually had no reason to complain (Subotić in fact returned to his position in time), the behaviour of this eccentric coach is a problem. Pushing match officials including the fourth official and confronting them in such an unfilial way is inconsistent with UEFA's Respect Campaign outlined at the stadium as much as possible: with remarks made by the stadium announcer, advertising boards, a patch placed on the jerseys of the referees and a banner that is stretched right at the point where the teams and referees are lining up seconds prior to the Champions League anthem. There is no way to excuse this disrespect during the match. Pedro Proença and Venâncio Raposo Tomé had to send him off and did so. Seconds after his derisive applause, Klopp wanted to shake hands with Raposo Tomé, who however refused to do that. You can sympathize with this reaction (not captured by the video above).

After the match, it was reported that Klopp had apologized for his behaviour and reconciled with Raposo Tomé. That's basically good, nonetheless Klopp should start to think about his role as an idol for many people and his responsibility as a consequence of that. UEFA won't get out of suspending Klopp for at least one Champions League match, that is quite sure. They have to react on disrespect for their match officials and their own respect campaign.