Monday, October 29, 2012

Clattenburg under the FA's spotlight

The FA has confirmed it has begun an investigation following allegations put forward after yesterday's Premier League top clash between Chelsea London and Manchester United (2-3) that accused FIFA referee Mark Clattenburg to have issued "inappropiate" statements against Chelsea's John Mikel and Juan Mata.

Mark Clattenburg (r.), facing severe allegations (c) Spox.com

After the match, Chelsea issued an official complaint to the Premier League, stating Clattenburg had made racial comments to two of their players. Apart from the statement given today about the started investigation, the FA has not issued any further comment on the case.
Clattenburg's assistants Mick McDonough and Simon Long are said to be potential witnesses, since they could have got the comments via the wire technique deployed by the officials.

In addition, the officials' performance has been generally criticized after the match, since Clattenburg controversially sent Fernando Torres off for an alleged dive despite a clear contact and as the decisive 2-3 goal followed a clear offside position.

Mark Clattenburg currently joins UEFA Elite Group and is on the short list for 2014 FIFA World Cup, as part of which he was already in charge of a U-20 World Cup and the final of 2012 Olympic Games in his mother country.

A quite similar case occurred in France's Ligue 1 last year, too.

Sunday, October 28, 2012

Urs Meier: "It's not only money which gives a referee the feeling he's a pro"

Despite persistently enhanced professionalism in football refereeing, which is widely considered as needed to keep pace with the development football itself as a game is featuring, Switzerland's football federation is obviously failing in terms of that.

At the start of October 2012, four out of twelve Swiss top referees (Damien Carrel/30, Ludovic Gremaud/32, Cyril Zimmermann/36 and Daniel Wermelinger/41) announced their retirement at the end of year due to a defective support they encounter by their federation, an amateurish level of professionalism and a lack of respect shown to the referees by diverse sides.

Switzerland have lost a great referee hope: Damien Carrel (c) RTS

In addition, the above mentioned officials have found themselves unable to combine their personal life including family and full-time jobs in high positions both in the industry and in the economy with a high degree of professionalism as a referee. A few weeks ago, Swedish official Markus Strömbergsson withdrew his FIFA status for this reason, too. Damien Carrel, who was regarded by Swiss referee committee chief Carlo Bertolini to become the next international top referee for Switzerland, stated in an interview to blick.ch that there was a huge "lack of respect for their work", although he emphasized that he did not merely concern fans and media, but the Swiss referee pool and specially the Swiss football federation SFV as well: "Three weeks ago, a clear penalty was overseen in a match. And what did the referee do? He told the media that it had been a big mistake by his assistant. [...] The tendency of publicly looking for other culprits is alarming." [remark: he concerned the match between Young Boys Bern and FC Basel of which Stephan Studer had been in charge and later highlighted a communication error caused by his assistant Sandro Pozzi as the only reason for the clearly missed penalty]
Besides, Cyril Zimmermann stressed the need "to facilitate more means to relieve the difficulties full-time employees have to cope with".

While this specific criticism issued by current and coming FIFA officials certainly cannot be generalized to all the countries, it however seems to be a widely spread issue referees are facing. 

Dutch Referee Blog and World of Football Refereeing spoke exclusively to Urs Meier, former Swiss top referee having, among others, joined two World Cups (1998/2002) and two European Championships (2000/2004) and taken charge of 2001/02 UEFA Champions League final between Leverkusen and Real Madrid. He had moreover headed the Swiss referee committee for a while before he retired for quite similar reasons. It is the second time I had the chance to get an interview of this top referee, you can find the first one here (on German).


DRB/WoFR: Mr Meier, what was your first reaction following the announced retirement of four Swiss top officials?
Meier: "I was a bit shocked by the news that four of the twelve Swiss top referees will quit officiating after this season. Especially because two of them are young referees, both from the French part of Switzerland. Damien Carrell, one of them, was even nominated to become a Fifa referee. It's not usual, but they had no time anymore for refereeing.
At the time I was the referee chief - I quit about a year ago - I saw always that same problem with my referees. As referee department we need to get more time for them. The Swiss referee system needs a professional or semi-professional organisation with better training facilities and higher payments for referees, so they could stop working and spend more time in refereeing. The football association has to do something now, otherwise there will be more problems in the future. There are more young refs considering to stop."

Why?
"Refereeing nowadays costs more time then before, for example in the period I was an international referee. There are more mandatory trainings, meetings and more appointments because there need to be extra assistants. That means they got less time for business and family. Refereeing takes more and more time, but some just couldn't combine that with a job."

Urs Meier, an advocate for more professionalism in refereeing (c) ursmeier.ch


There was some news about a sponsor contract between the Swiss SuperLeague and InfrontRingier for CHF 140.000 million in five years. The refereeing budget is 200.000 francs.
"Football has become so professional. That also needs a change in the way we think about refereeing. But the association doesn't want to. The four referees are not the only who stopped because they feel unappreciated. It's the same with Massimo Busacca. If have not gotten the job at Fifa, he would looked for a job as fulltime referee in another country. Otherwise he would have stopped."

But you made it too as top referee without much financial support from the national FA.
"Becoming top referee and going for it, is of course also a case for the referee himself. But there's a difference: I was independent with my own business. I could spend the whole time on refereeing. All the referees who stopped have a good job. One's a lawyer, another has a good position at a bank. You can't spend more and more time on refereeing, they need to be at work too."

Is this a Swiss problem?
"No, it's also a problem in other countries. The FAs lose a lot of experiences due to lack of respect for referees. In Sweden and England they try to do something for the referees, but Austria is for example the same as Switzerland. But it's not only salary. In Germany referees get more money than in some parts of Europe, but they also need a more professional referee structure. It's not only money which gives a referee the feeling he's a professional. They also need the possibilities to have proper training via internet and on the pitch."

Do countries need to collaborate more?
"They have the same problems and can help each other with creating professional referee structures. But I don't think it's a good idea to get a similar payment system for all countries. There are so many differences in each country, also in level and available money. But one thing is for sure: referees do need more money to be professional."

What if the Swiss FA is going to spend more money to get a professional structure, as you suggested when you were the boss?
"I am always there to help, but I am not going back to the situation when I was the head of refereeing. I'd like to compare the situation with a train that goes up the mountain to reach the top. There are other ways to reach the top, but you need to pick just one. In refereeing I'd choose the route with a professional structure and only go this way."


Thanks a lot for this interview, Mr Meier.

Friday, October 26, 2012

Offside "behind goalkeepers"

Yesterday's UEFA Europa League match between NK Maribor of Slovenia and English Tottenham featured quite a paradigmatic situation with regard to a special case of offside infringements, when Tottenham's Sigurdsson scored the equalizing goal in the second half. 

For the concerned assistant referee (Russian Anton Averianov who assisted Sergei Karasev yesterday), it will be probably counted as a crucial mistake, for us, it is a perfect opportunity to outline the event that a goalkeeper has left his goal and there is still only one defender between the foremost striker and the goalline. Always keep in mind that - contrary to many commentators' misbelief that a player has been flagged for offside, since there allegedly was "no other defender closer to the goalline" - the Laws of the Game state that offside generally occurs when there is not more than one defender between the concerned striker, who either receives the ball or significantly influences the opponent's behaviour (distracting the goalkeeper's area of vicinity e.g.), and the goalline. Consequently, the goalkeeper must be considered as a normal defender in terms of offside.
Naturally, one must point out the high difficulty with regards to the circumstances and high pace.

Therefore, the following video will clarify why the goal should have been disallowed.




A quite similar goal was correctly disallowed in World Cup 2010's opener match between South Africa and Mexico. Rafael Ilyasov's decision is explained by Urs Meier here.


Thursday, October 25, 2012

UEFA provides DVD about the "extra eyes"

UEFA has produced a DVD for its 53 member national associations in which the European body provides information on implementing the additional assistant referee system which became part of the Laws of the Game this summer, and which is being deployed by UEFA in this season's club competitions.

The DVD is based on a presentation given by UEFA's chief refereeing officer Pierluigi Collina at a meeting with the European national associations in Kyiv in July. Through key video examples – especially those related to the UEFA EURO 2012 matches, where audio communication among the referee teams was also recorded – the DVD demonstrates the practical benefits on the pitch, as well as offering solutions for utilising refereeing resources efficiently in order to implement the system.

Football's lawmakers, the International Football Association Board (IFAB), approved the use of additional assistant referees at its meeting on 5 July, and since then, all FIFA member associations have been free to implement the system, which proved its worth at UEFA EURO 2012, in particular as a deterrent against penalty-area incidents.
UEFA is staging a workshop on additional assistance referees in Nyon on 13 November, with national association elite referee managers invited to the House of European Football. The workshop will provide all the necessary tools and information to enable national associations to consider the implementation of this system. In addition, demonstrations of practical training for additional assistant referees are on the agenda.
Pierluigi Collina and UEFA refereeing officers Hugh Dallas and Marc Batta will join other members of the UEFA Referees Committee in passing on their valuable expertise, having seen the system tried and tested at around 1,000 top UEFA matches in the past three seasons.


text and picture taken from UEFA.com 

UEFA Europa League - Referee Appointments (MD3)


Israel's Liran Liany will take charge of Inter - Partizan (c) BILD



(RUS) Rubin Kazan
Rubin
Neftçi
Neftci (AZE)
Thursday, 25 October 2012, 18:00 CET, Centralni Stadion, Kazan) GROUP H
Referee: Kenn Hansen (DEN)
Assistant Referee 1: Lars Rix (DEN)
Assistant Referee 2: David Andersen (DEN)
Fourth Official: Henrik Kristensen (DEN)
Additional Assistant Referee 1: Jakob Kehlet (DEN)
Additional Assistant Referee 2: Mads-Kristoffer Kristoffersen (DEN)
UEFA Delegate: Tervel Zlatev (BUL)
UEFA Referee Observer: Dr. Vaclav Krondl (CZE)
Referee Liaison Officer: Dmitriy Cheltsov (RUS)

(ITA) Internationale
Internazionale
Partizan
Partizan (SRB)
Thursday, 25 October 2012, 19:00 CET, Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, Milan (ITA) GROUP H
Referee: Liran Liany (ISR)
Assistant Referee 1: Shabtai Nahmias (ISR)
Assistant Referee 2: David Elias Biton (ISR)
Fourth Official: Oren Bornshtain (ISR)
Additional Assistant Referee 1: Menashe Masiah (ISR)
Additional Assistant Referee 2: Roy Reinshreiber (ISR)
UEFA Delegate: Jaroslav Dudl (CZE)
UEFA Referee Observer: Juan Antonio Fernández Marín (ESP)
Referee Liaison Officer: Matteo Russo (ITA)

(CZE) Sparta Praha
Sparta Praha
H. Kiryat Shmona
Hapoel Kiryat Shmona (ISR)
Thursday, 25 October 2012, 19:00 CET, Letná Stadium, Prague (CZE) GROUP I
Referee: Danny Makkelie (NED)
Assistant Referee 1: Davie Goossens (NED)
Assistant Referee 2: Patrick Langkamp (NED)
Fourth Official: Charles Schaap (NED)
Additional Assistant Referee 1: Kevin Blom (NED)
Additional Assistant Referee 2: Reinold Wiedemeijer (NED)
UEFA Delegate: Alessandro Lulli (ITA)
UEFA Referee Observer: Horst Brummeier (AUT)
Referee Liaison Officer: Jiri Ulrich (CZE)

(FRA) Olympique Lyon
Lyon
Athletic
Athletic Club (ESP)
Thursday, 25 October 2012, 19:00 CET, Stade Gerland, Lyon (FRA) GROUP I
Referee: Andre Marriner (ENG)
Assistant Referee 1: Simon Long (ENG)
Assistant Referee 2: Peter Bankes (ENG)
Fourth Official: Charles Breakspear (ENG)
Additional Assistant Referee 1: Jonathan Moss (ENG)
Additional Assistant Referee 2: Lee Mason (ENG)
UEFA Delegate: Cristian Bivolaru (ROU)
UEFA Referee Observer: Kyros Georgiou (CYP)
Referee Liaison Officer: Jean-Marc Salza (FRA)

(RUS) Panathinaikos
Panathinaikos
Lazio
Lazio Roma (ITA)
Thursday, 25 October 2012, 19:00 CET, OAKA Spiros Louis, Athens (GRE) GROUP J
Referee: Carlos Clos Gómez (ESP)
Assistant Referee 1: Pau Cebrían Devis (ESP)
Assistant Referee 2: Javier Aguilar Rodríguez (ESP)
Fourth Official: Roberto Díaz Pérez Del Palomar (ESP)
Additional Assistant Referee 1: Antonio Mateu Lahoz (ESP)
Additional Assistant Referee 2: Carlos Del Cerro Grande (ESP)
UEFA Delegate: Gijs de Jong (NED)
UEFA Referee Observer: Kaj Natri (FIN)
Referee Liaison Officer: Antonis Tzanetopoulos (GRE)

(SVN) Maribor
Maribor
Tottenham
Tottenham (ENG)
Thursday, 25 October 2012, 19:00 CET, Stadion Ljudski vrt, Maribor (SVN) GROUP J
Referee: Sergei Karasev (RUS)
Assistant Referee 1: Anton Averianov (RUS)
Assistant Referee 2: Tikhon Kalugin (RUS)
Fourth Official: Dmitry Mosyakin (RUS)
Additional Assistant Referee 1: Maksim Layushkin (RUS)
Additional Assistant Referee 2: Aleksei Nikolaev (RUS)
UEFA Delegate: George Koumas (CYP)
UEFA Referee Observer: Zdravko Jokic (SRB)
Referee Liaison Officer: Silvo Borosak (SVN)

(NOR) Rosenborg
Rosenborg
Metalist
Metalist (UKR)
Thursday, 25 October 2012, 19:00 CET, Lerkendal Stadion, Trondheim (NOR) GROUP K
Referee: Olegário Benquerença (POR)
Assistant Referee 1: Ricardo Santos (POR)
Assistant Referee 2: Nuno Santos Pereira (POR)
Fourth Official: Pedro Batista Garcia (POR)
Additional Assistant Referee 1: Manuel De Sousa (POR)
Additional Assistant Referee 2: Rui Costa (POR)
UEFA Delegate: Brontcho Todorov (BUL)
UEFA Referee Observer: Georgios Bikas (GRE)
Referee Liaison Officer: Frode Kvam (NOR)

(AUT) Rapid Wien
Rapid Wien
Leverkusen
Leverkusen (GER)
Thursday, 25 October 2012, 19:00 CET, Ernst-Happel-Stadion, Vienna (AUT) GROUP K
Referee: Fernando Teixeira Vitienes (ESP)
Assistant Referee 1: Jesús Calvo Guadamuro (ESP)
Assistant Referee 2: Juan Yuste Jiménez (ESP)
Fourth Official: Roberto Alonso Fernández (ESP)
Additional Assistant Referee 1: César Muñiz Fernández (ESP)
Additional Assistant Referee 2: Javier Estrada Fernández (ESP)
UEFA Delegate: René Eberle (SUI)
UEFA Referee Observer: Asim Khudiyev (AZE)
Referee Liaison Officer: Gerhard Gerstenmayer (AUT)

(SWE) Helsingborg
Helsingborg
Hannover
Hannover 96 (GER)
Thursday, 25 October 2012, 19:00 CET, Olympia, Helsingborg (SWE) GROUP L
Referee: Stephan Studer (SUI)
Assistant Referee 1: Sandro Pozzi (SUI)
Assistant Referee 2: Johannes Vogel (SUI)
Fourth Official: Raffael Zeder (SUI)
Additional Assistant Referee 1: Alain Bieri (SUI)
Additional Assistant Referee 2: Daniel Wermelinger (SUI)
UEFA Delegate: Zvi Rosen (ISR)
UEFA Referee Observer: Uno Tutk (EST)
Referee Liaison Officer: Jörgen Berggren (SWE)

(ESP) Levante UD
Levante
Twente
Twente (NED)
Thursday, 25 October 2012, 19:00 CET, Estadi Ciutat de València, Valencia (ESP) GROUP L
Referee: Vladislav Bezborodov (RUS)
Assistant Referee 1: Nikolay Golubev (RUS)
Assistant Referee 2: Vyacheslav Semenov (RUS)
Fourth Official: Aleksei Lebedev (RUS)
Additional Assistant Referee 1: Aleksei Eskov (RUS)
Additional Assistant Referee 2: Vladimir Kazmenko (RUS)
UEFA Delegate: István Kuszár (HUN)
UEFA Referee Observer: Guy Goethals (BEL)
Referee Liaison Officer: Rubén Díaz Morales (ESP)

(HUN) Videoton
Videoton
Basel
Basel (SUI)
Thursday, 25 October 2012, 19:00 CET, Sóstói, Szekesfehervar (HUN) GROUP G
Referee: Miroslav Zelinka (CZE)
Assistant Referee 1: Ondrej Pelikan (CZE)
Assistant Referee 2: Ivo Nadvornik (CZE)
Fourth Official: Patrik Filipek (CZE)
Additional Assistant Referee 1: Radek Matejek (CZE)
Additional Assistant Referee 2: Jan Jilek (CZE)
UEFA Delegate: Dr. Rainer Koch (GER)
UEFA Referee Observer: Luis Medina Cantalejo (ESP)
Referee Liaison Officer: Attila Juhos (HUN)

(BEL) KRC Genk
Genk
Sporting
Sporting (POR)
Thursday, 25 October 2012, 19:00 CET, KRC Genk Arena, Genk (BEL) GROUP G
Referee: Szymon Marciniak (POL)
Assistant Referee 1: Pawel Sokolnicki (POL)
Assistant Referee 2: Tomasz Listkiewicz (POL)
Fourth Official: Radoslaw Siejka (POL)
Additional Assistant Referee 1: Hubert Siejewicz (POL)
Additional Assistant Referee 2: Pawel Raczkowski (POL)
UEFA Delegate: Milos Marković (SRB)
UEFA Referee Observer: Herbert Fandel (GER)
Referee Liaison Officer: Roland Van Nylen (BEL)

(ENG) Liverpool
Liverpool
Anji
Anzhi (RUS)
Thursday, 25 October 2012, 21:05 CET, Anfield, Liverpool (ENG) GROUP A
Referee: Bas Nijhuis (NED)
Assistant Referee 1: Angelo Boonman (NED)
Assistant Referee 2: Rob van de Ven (NED)
Fourth Official: Erwin Zeinstra (NED)
Additional Assistant Referee 1: Pol van Boekel (NED)
Additional Assistant Referee 2: Dennis Higler (NED)
UEFA Delegate: Gerhard Sager (SWE)
UEFA Referee Observer: Lutz-Michael Fröhlich (GER)
Referee Liaison Officer: David Horlick (ENG)

(SUI) Young Boys
Young Boys
Udinese
Udinese (ITA)
Thursday, 25 October 2012, 21:05 CET, Stade de Suisse, Berne (SUI) GROUP A
Referee: Clément Turpin (FRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Eric Dansault (FRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Nicolas Danos (FRA)
Fourth Official: Laurent Stien (FRA)
Additional Assistant Referee 1: Said Ennjimi (FRA)
Additional Assistant Referee 2: Ruddy Buquet (FRA)
UEFA Delegate: Lloyd Hughes (WAL)
UEFA Referee Observer: Edgar Steinborn (GER)
Referee Liaison Officer: Stefan Kohli (SUI)

(ISR) Hapoel Tel-Aviv
H. Tel-Aviv
Plzeň
Viktoria Plzen (CZE)
Thursday, 25 October 2012, 21:05 CET, Itztadion Bloomfield, Tel Aviv (ISR) GROUP B
Referee: Felix Zwayer (GER)
Assistant Referee 1: Markus Häcker (GER)
Assistant Referee 2: Mark Borsch (GER)
Fourth Official: Christoph Bornhorst (GER)
Additional Assistant Referee 1: Christian Dingert (GER)
Additional Assistant Referee 2: Tobias Welz (GER)
UEFA Delegate: Michael Appleby (ENG)
UEFA Referee Observer: Christos Skapoullis (CYP)
Referee Liaison Officer: Tovi Malach (ISR)

(ESP) Atlético
Atlético
Académica
Académica (POR)
Thursday, 25 October 2012, 21:05 CET, Estadio Vicente Calderón, Madrid (ESP) GROUP B
Referee: Robert Madden (SCO)
Assistant Referee 1: Martin Cryans (SCO)
Assistant Referee 2: Stuart Stevenson (SCO)
Fourth Official: James Bee (SCO)
Additional Assistant Referee 1: Alan Muir (SCO)
Additional Assistant Referee 2: Crawford Allan (SCO)
UEFA Delegate: Graham Hover (ENG)
UEFA Referee Observer: Paul Allaerts (BEL)
Referee Liaison Officer: Manuel Díaz Morales (ESP)

(CYP) AEL Limassol
AEL
Fenerbahçe
Fenerbahçe (TUR)
Thursday, 25 October 2012, 21:05 CET, GSP Stadium, Nicosia (CYP) GROUP C
Referee: Alexandru Tudor (ROU)
Assistant Referee 1: Cristian Nica (ROU)
Assistant Referee 2: Aurel Onita (ROU)
Fourth Official: Octavian Sovre (ROU)
Additional Assistant Referee 1: Ovidiu Alin Hategan (ROU)
Additional Assistant Referee 2: Pavel Cristian Balaj (ROU)
UEFA Delegate: Janis Mezeckis (LVA)
UEFA Referee Observer: Cosimo Bolognino (ITA)
Referee Liaison Officer: Ioannis Chadjiiosif (CYP)

(GER) Borussia M'gladbach
Mönchengladbach
Marseille
Olympique Marseille (FRA)
Thursday, 25 October 2012, 21:05 CET, Borussia-Park, Mönchengladbach (GER) GROUP C
Referee: Serge Gumienny (BEL)
Assistant Referee 1: Walter Vromans (BEL)
Assistant Referee 2: Yves de Neve (BEL)
Fourth Official: Kristof Meers (BEL)
Additional Assistant Referee 1: Luc Wouters (BEL)
Additional Assistant Referee 2: Alexandre Boucaut (BEL)
UEFA Delegate: Mike Foster (ENG)
UEFA Referee Observer: Sergey Zuev (RUS)
Referee Liaison Officer: Jürgen Aust (GER)

(POR) Marítimo
Marítimo
Bordeaux
Bordeaux (FRA)
Thursday, 25 October 2012, 21:05 CET, Dos Barreiros, Funchal (POR) GROUP D
Referee: Anastassios Kakos (GRE)
Assistant Referee 1: Christos Akrivos (GRE)
Assistant Referee 2: Dimitrios Tatsis (GRE)
Fourth Official: Dimitrios Saraidaris (GRE)
Additional Assistant Referee 1: Michael Koukoulakis (GRE)
Additional Assistant Referee 2: Ilias Spathas (GRE)
UEFA Delegate: Ronny Zimmermann (GER)
UEFA Referee Observer: Leslie Irvine (NIR)
Referee Liaison Officer: Carlos Fernandes Santos (POR)

(ENG) Newcastle United
Newcastle
Club Brugge
Club Brügge (BEL)
Thursday, 25 October 2012, 21:05 CET, St. James' Park, Newcastle (ENG) GROUP D
Referee: Martin Hansson (SWE)
Assistant Referee 1: Fredrik Nilsson (SWE)
Assistant Referee 2: Joakim Flink (SWE)
Fourth Official: Magnus Sjöblom (SWE)
Additional Assistant Referee 1: Michael Lerjeus (SWE)
Additional Assistant Referee 2: Andreas Ekberg (SWE)
UEFA Delegate: Nodar Akhalkatsi (GEO)
UEFA Referee Observer: Patrick Kelly (IRL)
Referee Liaison Officer: Graham Laws (ENG)

(GER) VfB Stuttgart
Stuttgart
København
Københaven (DEN)
Thursday, 25 October 2012, 21:05 CET, VfB Arena, Stuttgart (GER) GROUP E
Referee: Artur Soares Dias (POR)
Assistant Referee 1: Rui Tavares (POR)
Assistant Referee 2: António Godinho (POR)
Fourth Official: João Santos (POR)
Additional Assistant Referee 1: João Ferreira (POR)
Additional Assistant Referee 2: Carlos Taborda Xistra (POR)
UEFA Delegate: Zoran Cvrk (CRO)
UEFA Referee Observer: Bertrand Layec (FRA)
Referee Liaison Officer: Eugen Strigel (GER)

(ROU) Steaua
Steaua
Molde
Molde (NOR)
Thursday, 25 October 2012, 21:05 CET, National Arena, Bucharest (ROU) GROUP E
Referee: Laurent Duhamel (FRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Cyril Gringore (FRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Christophe Capelli (FRA)
Fourth Official: Huseyin Ocak (FRA)
Additional Assistant Referee 1: Nicolas Rainville (FRA)
Additional Assistant Referee 2: Alexandre Castro (FRA)
UEFA Delegate: Rotem Kamer (ISR)
UEFA Referee Observer: Karen Nalbandyan (ARM)
Referee Liaison Officer: Sorin Cojocaru (ROU)

(UKR) Dnipro
Dnipro
Napoli
Napoli (ITA)
Thursday, 25 October 2012, 21:05 CET, Dnipro Arena, Dnipropetrovsk) GROUP F
Referee: Hüseyin Göçek (TUR)
Assistant Referee 1: Emre Eyisoy (TUR)
Assistant Referee 2: Orkun Aktaş (TUR)
Fourth Official: Çem Satman (TUR)
Additional Assistant Referee 1: Barış Şimşek (TUR)
Additional Assistant Referee 2: Mete Kalkavan (TUR)
UEFA Delegate: Dag Steinar Vestlund (NOR)
UEFA Referee Observer: Francesco Bianchi (SUI)
Referee Liaison Officer: Sergii Prystupa (UKR)

(NED) PSV
PSV
AIK
AIK Solna (SWE)
Thursday, 25 October 2012, 21:05 CET, PSV Stadion, Eindhoven (NED) GROUP F
Referee: Emir Alečković (BIH)
Assistant Referee 1: Dalibor Drasković (BIH)
Assistant Referee 2: Hrvoje Turudić (BIH)
Fourth Official: Senad Ibrisimbegović (BIH)
Additional Assistant Referee 1: Elmir Pilav (BIH)
Additional Assistant Referee 2: Edin Jakupović (BIH)
UEFA Delegate: Evangelos Mazarakis (GRE)
UEFA Referee Observer: Marc Batta (FRA)
Referee Liaison Officer: Wout Schaap (NED)