U20 World Cup - Round of 16 - Referee Designations

According to Árbitro Internacional, FIFA has designated these refereeing teams for the Round of 16 of Under-20 World Cup 2013 to be played in Turkey.

Carlos Vera of Ecuador (c) ZIMBIO

02 July 2013, 17:00 CET - Istanbul
Spain - Mexico
Referee: Alireza Faghani (IRN)
Assistant Referee 1: Hassan Kamranifar (IRN)
Assistant Referee 2: Reza Sokhandan (IRN)
Fourth Official: Sandro Ricci (BRA)
Blog Observer: Chefren (ITA)

02 July 2013, 17:00 CET - Gaziantep
Greece - Uzbekistan
Referee: Noumandiez Doue (CIV)
Assistant Referee 1: Songuifolo Yeo (CIV)
Assistant Referee 2: Jean-Claude Birumushahu (BDI)
Fourth Official: Néant Alioum (CMR)
Blog Observer: Philipp S. (GER)

02 July 2013, 20:00 CET - Istanbul
Nigeria - Uruguay
Referee: Milorad Mažić (SRB)
Assistant Referee 1: Milovan Ristić (SRB)
Assistant Referee 2: Dalibor Djurdjević (SRB)
Fourth Official: Jonas Eriksson (SWE)
Blog Observer: Niclas E. (GER)

02 July 2013, 20:00 CET - Gaziantep
France - Turkey
Referee: Alberto Undiano (ESP)
Assistant Referee 1: Raúl Cabañero Martínez (ESP)
Assistant Referee 2: Roberto Díaz Pérez Del Palomar (ESP)
Fourth Official: Víctor Carrillo (PER)
Blog Observer: Chefren (ITA)

03 July 2013, 17:00 CET - Kayseri
Portugal - Ghana
Referee: Carlos Vera (ECU)
Assistant Referee 1: Christian Lescano (ECU)
Assistant Referee 2: Byron Romero (ECU)
Fourth Official: Antonio Arias (PAR)
Blog Observer: Niclas E. (GER)

03 July 2013, 17:00 CET - Bursa
Croatia - Chile
Referee: Walter López Castellanos (GUA)
Assistant Referee 1: Leonel Leal (CRC)
Assistant Referee 2: Gersón López Castellanos (GUA)
Fourth Official: Roberto García (MEX)
Blog Observer: Edward A. (GRE)

03 July 2013, 20:00 CET - Trabzon
Colombia - Korea Republic
Referee: Damir Skomina (SVN)
Assistant Referee 1: Matej Žunič (SVN)
Assistant Referee 2: Bojan Ul (SVN)
Fourth Official: Stéphane Lannoy (FRA)
Blog Observer: Nur H. (ENG)

03 July 2013, 19:00 CET - Antalya
Iraq - Paraguay
Referee: Roberto Moreno (PAN)
Assistant Referee 1: Daniel Williamson (PAN)
Assistant Referee 2: Keytzel Corrales (NCA)
Fourth Official: Peter O'Leary (NZL)
Blog Observer: Edward A. (GRE)

What's behind the amendments of Law 11

During the last weeks, the world's football governing body FIFA announced that the offside rule would be changing from 1st July 2013 targeting at the aim to simplify the definition of passive offside for the match officials, players and also supporters.

The press has widely managed to confuse football fans around the globe with wrong descriptions and analyses of those amendments, so that even UEFA referee committee member Herbert Fandel stated that "this medial hype was fully unnecessary". But how do these changes exactly look like? Those aspects which have been added or changed are written in bold letters.

Current version

New version effective from 1st July 2013

In the context of Law 11 – Offside, the following definitions apply: (…) ·         “interfering with play” means playing or touching the ball passed or touched by a team-mate ·         “interfering with an opponent” means preventing an opponent from playing or being able to play the ball by clearly obstructing the opponent’s line of vision or movements or making a gesture or movement which, in the opinion of the referee, deceives or distracts an opponent ·         “gaining an advantage by being in that position” means playing a ball that rebounds to him off a goalpost or the crossbar having been in an offside position or playing a ball that rebounds to him off an opponent having been in an offside position

In the context of Law 11 – Offside, the following definitions apply: (…) ·         “interfering with play” means playing or touching the ball passed or touched by a team-mate ·         “interfering with an opponent” means preventing an opponent from playing or being able to play the ball by clearly obstructing the opponent’s line of vision or challenging an opponent for the ball ·         “gaining an advantage by being in that position” means playing a ball I) that rebounds or is deflected to him off the goalpost, crossbar or an opponent having been in an offside position II) that rebounds, is deflected or is played to him from a deliberate save by an opponent having been in an offside position A player in an offside position receiving the ball from an opponent, who deliberately plays the ball (except from a deliberate save), is not considered to have gained an advantage.

Interpreting these amendments, one has to clarify that they are only changes "on the paper". In fact, nothing has really been altered, the definitions "interfering with an opponent" and "gaining an advantage by being in that position" have merely been specified. Following the old form of Law 11, the assistant referees had to assess whether an action by a defender who e.g. deflected the ball had been deliberate or not. This led to some confusion not only within the refereeing team. FIFA has now differed between "deliberate saves" by a defender (offside) and defenders who "deliberately play" the ball (e.g. a return pass, no offside here). Furthermore, FIFA's goal surely was to clarify what is meant by a deflection or rebound.

The following two videos can additionally function as explanations for the amendments I and II of the definition "gaining an advantage by being in that position".

In this UEFA Champions League match between Schalke 04 and Arsenal FC, Arsenal forward Olivier Giroud received a long pass by one of his team-mates which was "deflected" by Schalke defender Joel Matip having been in an offside position when the ball was played. Italian assistant referee Renato Faverani did not raise his flag though. Taking into account the new rule, it becomes clearer why. First it must be clear that Matip did not unintentionally deflect the ball by his header. He clearly went towards the ball with intention and thus deliberately played the ball: 'A player in an offside position receiving the ball from an opponent, who deliberately plays the ball (except from a deliberate save), is not considered to have gained an advantage.' Additionally, Giroud did not press Matip, he did not challenge him. Assistant referees do not have to care about the question of whether Matip's action was successful or not, the intent to do so was deliberately made and this is what it is all about.
For this reason, it is no offside offense.

Same goes for the next example taken from 2010 World Cup 1/8 final match between Germany and England, where Uruguayan Mauricio Espinosa took a correct offside decision, as Rooney gained an advantage by being in that offside position despite a deflection of a defender. A totally correct decision under the old rule and but a wrong one taking into account the new instructions.

Rooney did not make pressure on the German defender and hence did not challenge him. The touch the German defender made with the ball was intentional, he therefore deliberately played the ball. Offside in 2010, no offside starting from 1st July.

A quite current and for sure the easiest example for what is meant by a rebound occurred at this month's Confederations Cup in the match between Italy and Brazil.

Assistant referee Bakhadyr Kochkarov unfortunately missed this offside position. Dante, having been in an offside position, got the ball from a deliberate save and a rebound off the goalkeeper. Thus, his passive offside position became clearly active.

Now an example for what is meant by "challenging a player". Jan-Hendrik Salver correctly raised his flag for offside in the World Cup 2010 match between Slovenia and England.

Slovenia's player #11, having been in an offside position (the deflection at the English wall is to be considered as undeliberate), challenged the English goalkeeper so that it became an active offside offence due to interfering with an opponent.

FIFA moreover attached several exemplary videos at their amendments of the Laws of the Game that can be found on José García Aranda's website.

All the videos posted here are only for educational and not for commercial purpose.

Kuipers: "This is what you dream about"

Proud Dutch referee Björn Kuipers, who had been selected by FIFA to officiate tonight's FIFA Confederations Cup final between Brazil and Spain at Rio de Janeiro's gorgeous Estádio do Maracanã, has been interviewed by FIFA.com and reflected the tournament in diverse facets. 

Here's what he told FIFA.com.

Björn Kuipers crowns perfect 2012/13 campaign with Confed Cup final - Haimoudi with 3rd place match

FIFA has appointed Dutch top-class referee Björn Kuipers to take charge of Sunday night's Confederations Cup final between hosts Brazil and World Cup champions Spain at Estádio do Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro. It will be Kuipers' fifth international final.

Do it once again: Björn Kuipers will head his team into the final (c) GETTY

The 40-year old owner of a supermarket took charge of last season's UEFA Champions League semifinal between Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid as well as UEFA Europa League final between SL Benfica and FC Chelsea at Amsterdam ArenA. Following that, he was honoured as Europe's Best Referee of the past season by this blog's community.

He will be accompanied - like in Amsterdam - by his assistant referees Sander van Roekel and Erwin E. J. Zeinstra, while German Elite official Felix Brych will take the duties as fourth official.

Appointing a UEFA referee for a final involving a UEFA team and a CONMEBOL team equates a break of the unwritten confederation neutrality rule. Certainly Kuipers is a good choice for this final, having convinced in his first match between Nigeria and Uruguay as well.

Abdelhak Etchiali, Djamel Haimoudi and Redouane Achik (c) Sedziapilkarski

At the same time Algerian Djamel Haimoudi has been nominated to handle the match for the third place between Uruguay and Italy in Salvador. Redouane Achik of Morocco and Abdelhak Etchiali from Algeria will assist him in this match. Japanese World Cup referee Yuichi Nishimura has been assigned as fourth official. Haimoudi and his team basically showed a satisfying performance in the group stage match between Spain and Tahiti.

Third Place

30 June 2013
Match 15 – Arena Fonte Nova, Salvador (BRA) – 18:00 CET
URUGUAY		-:-		ITALY
Referee: Djamel Haimoudi (ALG) Assistant Referee 1: Redouane Achik (MAR) Assistant Referee 2: Abdelhak Etchiali (ALG) Fourth Official: Yuichi Nishimura (JPN) Reserve Assistant Referee: Toru Sagara (JPN)					Blog Observer: Philipp S. (GER)

Final

1 July 2013
Match 16 – Estádio do Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro (BRA) – 00:00 CET
BRAZIL		-:-		SPAIN
Referee: Björn Kuipers (NED) Assistant Referee 1: Sander van Roekel (NED) Assistant Referee 2: Erwin E. J. Zeinstra (NED) Fourth Official: Felix Brych (GER) Reserve Assistant Referee: Mark Borsch (GER) Match Commissioner: Eric Labrador (PUR)					Blog Observer: Chefren (ITA)

Committee members in action?

Yesterday in the late evening, the eagerly awaited updates of UEFA's referee categories have been officially confirmed and have caught our immediate attention. At first glance, one may call the promotions  "expected". But not only at first glance, also at second glance, for a different reason though. 

One of the deserved "promotees": Russian Sergei Karasev (c) fifa.com

Naturally all following statements are just analytical ideas on the update; it might be that some of them are wrong as we cannot know that much about aspects like written tests, personal reasons etc that could have had an impact on these changes, too.

Surely, Milorad Mažić, Matej Jug and Sergei Karasev fully deserve their promotions and partly really had to wait a long time for this moment. The UEFA phrase "fast-track promotions should be made possible" did not really apply for the Serbian official, who had to be seen by more than six committee members, until his skills were finally considered as good enough for Elite. 

But the low number of changes is really astonishing. It is surprising that e.g. Bas Nijhuis stays in Elite Development, having been completely ignored in the K.O. stage of UEFA Europa League - a Dutch referee who surely has some potential but (too) often failed to show that when it was important. A final chance for him until December? Or just a Dutch committee member having protected him from moving down? Same goes for English Martin Atkinson, who did not convince on international level during the past season and who faced some trouble after Lille - Bayern in UEFA Champions League. Rumours said that Lille had lodged an official complaint to French UEFA president Platini after the match. Atkinson, as Elite referee, was ignored in both UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League knockout phase. Nobody doubts that Atkinson is a good referee. The principle "same rules for everybody" just does not apply here. Other referees with a comparable CV, such as German Florian Meyer, had to leave the highest category when the time had come to make place for younger officials. As we are touching on demotions: what exactly has changed within the past six months that might justify a demotion of Northern Ireland's referee Mark Courtney?

Scottish refereeing is experiencing a radical change at the moment as well: Euan Norris was relegated to Second Group in winter 2012 before being demoted once again this June, now to the lowest category. He rejected to handle a UEFA Europa League match last season due to medical reasons. Obviously, UEFA does not see a big prospect in him or just believes he needs more time to start completely anew. John Beaton has been promoted to Second Group though, without handling a match in the past six months. 

Having refereed 2013 Under-17 European Championship final, Greek Anastassios Sidiropoulos has been immediately promoted to First Group. He seems to be a Greek referee who savours UEFA's trust to follow into Kyros Vassaras' footsteps, something which Kakos and Koukoulakis did not achieve. The critical thing about that is: referees like Emir Aleckovic, Sébastien Delferiere, Kenn Hansen, Antti Munukka or Kristo Tohver had a similar development - and contrary to Sidiropoulos even already (more than) one EL match each - but were not able to reach the First Group so far. Why not?

Without valuing these changes: promotions and demotions seem to be more flexible concerning those national associations that are represented by a member in the UEFA referee committee. Some neutral statistics and numbers can, as often, express more. Exactly 60% of the referees who have been promoted in the winter updates 2012 and in June 2013 are of nations with influence on and representation in the UEFA's referee committee. Comparing that to the officials who have been demoted, it's 55%. In a sum that means that 58% of the changes within UEFA's referee categories concerned referees from nations with influence on or representation in it. Unfortunately, the members in the committee only "represent" 36% of the UEFA referees, meaning that every third referee in UEFA's categories has "someone behind him in the committee". Comparing both percentages, a certain imbalance is revealed. If the system worked in a really neutral way, this gap of 24 percentage points should not exist or should be at least smaller. The only explanation, which would support UEFA in this practice, is that the referees from nations with influence on and representation in the committee must be extra-ordinary better than their colleagues from other countries.

UEFA Referee Categories - 2013/14 (I)

UEFA Referee Committee have decided to promote Serbian Milorad Mažić to the highest referee category, the Elite Group of referees. The Balcan match official has repeatedly convinced with very good performances in the past Champions League and Europa League campaign and was additionally listed as prospective referee for 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Milorad Mažić of Serbia is now an Elite referee (c) inserbia.info

Furthermore Slovenian Matej Jug and Russian Sergei Karasev have moved up to Elite Development. Karasev convinced in multiple Champions and Europa League matches during the past season and has showed a great progress. 1980 born Matej Jug was able to convince during the past UEFA seasons and also at this month's UEFA Under-21 European Championship where he also performed very well in the final match between Italy and Spain.

Peter Rasmussen of Denmark has left Elite Development due to his voluntary retirement from international refereeing. There are no further demotions from the highest two categories to First Group.

In the lower categories, Greek Anastassios Sidiropoulos has been promoted from Second Group to First Group, while Northern Ireland's Mark Courtney has been demoted to Second Group.

Scottish John Beaton and Stephan Klossner of Switzerland have been promoted to Second Group; Beaton's countryman Euan Norris has however been relegated to Third Group - his second relegation within 6 months.

The complete list

Elite Group:
 

Martin Atkinson (ENG), Olegário Benquerenca (POR), Felix Brych (GER), Cüneyt Cakir (TUR), Mark Clattenburg (ENG), William Collum (SCO), Jonas Eriksson (SWE), Viktor Kassai (HUN), Pavel Královec (CZE), Björn Kuipers (NED), Stéphane Lannoy (FRA), Milorad Mažić (SRB), Svein Oddvar Moen (NOR), Pedro Proenca (POR), Nicola Rizzoli (ITA), Gianluca Rocchi (ITA), Damir Skomina (SVN), Wolfgang Stark (GER), Paolo Tagliavento (ITA), Craig Thomson (SCO), Alberto Undiano (ESP), Carlos Velasco Carballo (ESP), Howard Webb (ENG)

Elite Development Group:

Firat Aydinus (TUR), Deniz Aytekin (GER), Ivan Bebek (CRO), David Fernández Borbalán (ESP), Antony Gautier (FRA), Manuel Gräfe (GER), Tom Harald Hagen (NOR), Ovidiu Alin Hategan (ROU), Matej Jug (SVN), Sergei Karasev (RUS),  Bas Nijhuis (NED), Daniele Orsato (ITA), Aleksandar Stavrev (MKD), Marijo Strahonja (CRO), István Vad (HUN)

First Group:

Pavel Balaj (ROU), Luca Banti (ITA), Vladislav Bezborodov (RUS), Kevin Blom (NED), Serhiy Boiko (UKR), Marcin Borski (POL), Tony Chapron (FRA), Carlos Clos Gómez (ESP), Antonio Damato (ITA), Mike Dean (ENG), Simon Evans (WAL), Fredy Fautrel (FRA), Pawel Gil (POL), Hüseyin Göcek (TUR), Duarte Gomes (POR), Serge Gumienny (BEL), Martin Hansson (SWE), Kristinn Jakobsson (ISL), Stefan Johannesson (SWE), Hannes Kaasik (EST), Anastassios Kakos (GRE), Alan Kelly (IRL), Sascha Kever (SUI), Michael Koukoulakis (GRE), Libor Kovarik (CZE), Ivan Kruzliak (SVK), Aleksei Kulbakov (BLR), Liran Liany (ISR), Robert Madden (SCO), Danny Makkelie (NED), Szymon Marciniak (POL), Andre Marriner (ENG), Antonio Mateu Lahoz (ESP), Gediminas Mazeika (LTU), Florian Meyer (GER), Aleksei Nikolaev (RUS), Michael Oliver (ENG), Robert Schörgenhofer (AUT), Anastassios Sidiropoulos (GRE), Jorge Sousa (POR), Daniel Stalhammar (SWE), Stephan Studer (SUI), Fernando Teixeira Vitienes (ESP), Stanislav Todorov (BUL), Leontios Trattou (CYP), Alexandru Tudor (ROU), Clément Turpin (FRA), Pol van Boekel (NED), Alon Yefet (ISR), Bülent Yildirim (TUR), Felix Zwayer (GER)

Second Group:

Emir Aleckovic (BIH), Sandor Andó-Szabó (HUN), Ievgenii Aranovski (UKR), Ionut Marius Avram (ROU), John Beaton (SCO), Alain Bieri (SUI), Tamás Bognar (HUN), Marco Borg (MLT), Ruddy Buquet (FRA), Kevin Clancy (SCO), Mark Courtney (NIR), Andrea de Marco (ITA), Carlos Del Cerro Grande (ESP), Sébastien Delferiere (BEL), Oleksandr Derdo (UKR), Christian Dingert (GER), Neil Doyle (IRL), Oliver Drachta (AUT), Laurent Duhamel (FRA), Nerijus Dunauskas (LTU), René Eisner (AUT), Said Ennjimi (FRA), Aleksei Eskov (RUS), Javier Estrada Fernández (ESP), Mihaly Fabian (HUN), Marco Fritz (GER), Mattias Gestranius (FIN), Vlado Glodjovic (SRB), Serdar Gözübüyük (NED), Eli Hacmon (ISR), Kenn Hansen (DEN), Arnold Hunter (NIR), Ken Henry Johnsen (NOR), Jakob Kehlet (DEN), Aleksandar Kostadinov (BUL), István Kovacs (ROU), Stephan Klossner (SUI), Artyom Kuchin (KAZ), Maksim Layushkin (RUS), Harald Lechner (AUT), Michael Lerjeus (SWE), Richard Liesveld (NED), Robert Malek (POL), Menashe Masiah (ISR), Paolo Mazzoleni (ITA), Steven McLean (SCO), Dimitar Meckarovski (MKD), Vitaly Meshkov (RUS), Antti Munukka (FIN), Halis Özkahya (TUR), Marios Panayi (CYP), Lee Probert (ENG), Pavle Radovanovic (MNE), Nicolas Rainville (FRA), Artur Ribeiro Soares Dias (POR), Anar Salmanov (AZE), Eitan Shmuelevitz (ISR), Hubert Siejewicz (POL), Ilias Spathas (GRE), Ivaylo Stoyanov (BUL), Martin Strömbergsson (SWE), Padraigh Sutton (IRL), Anthony Taylor (ENG), Kristo Tohver (EST), Stavros Tritsonis (GRE), Richard Trutz (SVK), Jan Valasek (SVK), Paolo Valeri (ITA), Ognjen Valjic (BIH), Slavko Vincic (SVN), Ante Vucemilovic-simunovic jr (CRO), Tobias Welz (GER), Carlos Xistra (POR), Nikolay Yordanov (BUL), Miroslav Zelinka (CZE)

Third Group:

Anatoliy Abdula (UKR), Aliyar Aghayev (AZE), Alexandr Aliyev (KAZ), Sascha Amhof (SUI), Ioannis Anastasiou (CYP), Dennis Antamo (FIN), Aleksandrs Anufrijevs (LVA), Petr Ardeleanu (CZE), Thorvaldur Arnason (ISL), Andranik Arsenyan (ARM), Kevin Azzopardi (MLT), Suren Baliyan (ARM),  Damir Batinic (CRO), Mauro Bergonzi (ITA), Sven Bindels (LUX), Alexandre Boucaut (BEL), Johnny Casanova (SMR), Lars Christoffersen (DEN), Sebastian Coltescu (ROU), Raymond Crangle (NIR), Nikola Dabanovic (MNE), Sergiu Derenov (MDA), Vasilis Dimitriou (CYP), Vadims Direktorenko (LVA), Svein-Erik Edvartsen (NOR), Jérome Efong Nzolo (BEL), Andreas Ekberg (SWE), Hugo Ferreira Miguel (POR), Aleksander Gauzer (KAZ), Athanassios Giachos (GRE), Orel Grinfeld (ISR), Gerhard Grobelnik (AUT), Danilo Grujic (SRB), Leonardo Guidi (SMR), Tornike Gvantseladze (GEO), Dag Vidar Hafsas (NOR), Markus Hameter (AUT), Nikolaj Hänni (SUI), Tore Hansen (NOR), Alexander Harkam (AUT), Rahim Hasanov (AZE), Thoroddur Hjaltalin (ISL), Adrien Jacottet (SUI), Dejan Jakimovski (MKD), Jari Järvinen (FIN), Lorenc Jemini (ALB), Michael Johansen (DEN), Gunnar Jónsson (ISL), Enea Jorgji (ALB), Bosko Jovanetic (SRB), Georgi Kabakov (BUL), Mete Kalkavan (TUR), Jovan Kaludjerovic (MNE), Vladimir Kazmenko (RUS), Thorsten Kinhöfer (GER), Laurent Kopriwa (LUX), Yaroslav Kozyk (UKR), Peter Kralovic (SVK), Sergei Lapochkin (RUS), Jonathan Lardot (BEL), Bryn David Markham-Jones (WAL), Radek Matejek (CZE), Yuriy Mozharovskyy (UKR), César Muniz Fernández (ESP), Dumitru Muntean (MDA), Ádám Németh (HUN), Christos Nicolaides (CYP), Euan Norris (SCO), Andreas Pappas (GRE), Bardhyl Pashaj (ALB), Radu Marian Petrescu (ROU), Elmir Pilav (BIH), Clayton Pisani (MLT), Nikola Popov (BUL), Radek Prihoda (CZE), Igor Pristovnik (CRO), Pawel Raczkowski (POL), Petur Reinert (FAR), Chris Reisch (LUX), Robert Rogers (IRL), Eiko Saar (EST), Alan Sant (MLT), Joao Santos Capela (POR), Marco Santos Ferreira (POR), Igor Satchi (MDA), Dzianis Shcharbakou (BLR), Lasha Silagava (GEO), Baris Simsek (TUR), Sergejus Slyva (LTU), Wim Smet (BEL), Mervyn Smyth (NIR), Daniel Stefanski (POL), Andris Treimanis (LVA), Siarhei Tsynkevich (BLR), Michael Tykgaard (DEN), George Vadachkoria (GEO), Mikhail Vilkov (RUS), Ignasi Villamayor (AND), Anatoliy Vishnichenko (UKR), Vladimir Vnuk (SVK), Domagoj Vuckov (CRO), Milenko Vukadinovic (SRB), Mark Whitby (WAL), Luc Wouters (BEL), Mitja Zganec (SVN), Anatolii Zhabchenko (UKR)

U20 World Cup Matchday 3 Referee Designations

FIFA has appointed the referees for matchday 3 of Under-20 World Cup. Thanks to Árbitro Internacional.

Gambian talent Bakary Gassama

Group A, 27 June 2013, 19:00 CET - Istanbul
Spain - France
Referee: Jonas Eriksson (SWE)
Assistant Referee 1: Mathias Klasenius (SWE)
Assistant Referee 2: Daniel Wärnmark (SWE)
Fourth Official: Nicola Rizzoli (ITA)
FIFA Referee Assessor:
Blog Observer: Nur H. (ENG)

Group A, 27 June 2013, 19:00 CET - Kayseri
Ghana - United States of America
Referee: Nawaf Shukralla (BHR)
Assistant Referee 1: Yaser Abdulla Tulefat (BHR)
Assistant Referee 2: Ebrahim Mubarak Saleh (BHR)
Fourth Official: Carlos Vera (ECU)
FIFA Referee Assessor:
Blog Observer: Philipp S. (GER)

Group B, 27 June 2013, 16:00 CET - Istanbul
Korea Rep. - Nigeria
Referee: Peter O'Leary (NZL)
Assistant Referee 1: Jan Hendrik Hintz (NZL)
Assistant Referee 2: Ravinesh Kumar (FIJ)
Fourth Official: Nicola Rizzoli (ITA)
FIFA Referee Assessor:
Blog Observer: Nik Askitopoulos (ENG)

Group B, 27 June 2013, 16:00 CET - Kayseri
Portugal - Cuba
Referee: Wilmar Roldán (COL)
Assistant Referee 1: Humberto Clavijo (COL)
Assistant Referee 2: Eduardo Diaz (COL)
Fourth Official: Carlos Vera (ECU)
FIFA Referee Assessor:
Blog Observer: Philipp S. (GER)

Group C, 28 June 2013, 20:00 CET - Trabzon
Australia - Turkey
Referee: Roberto García (MEX)
Assistant Referee 1: José Luis Camargo (MEX)
Assistant Referee 2: Alberto Morín (MEX)
Fourth Official: Walter López Castellanos (GUA)
FIFA Referee Assessor:
Blog Observer: Nur H. (ENG)

Group C, 28 June 2013, 20:00 CET - Gaziantep
El Salvador - Colombia
Referee: Néant Alioum (CMR)
Assistant Referee 1: Evarist Menkouande (CMR)
Assistant Referee 2: Peter Edibi (NGA)
Fourth Official: Milorad Mažić (SRB)
FIFA Referee Assessor:
Blog Observer: Chefren (ITA)

Group D, 28 June 2013, 17:00 CET - Trabzon
Greece - Paraguay
Referee: Bakary Papa Gassama (GAM)
Assistant Referee 1: Angesom Ogbamariam (ERI)
Assistant Referee 2: Felicien Kabanda (RWA)
Fourth Official: Walter López Castellanos (GUA)
FIFA Referee Assessor:
Blog Observer: Chefren (ITA)

Group D, 28 June 2013, 17:00 CET - Gaziantep
Mali - Mexico
Referee: Cüneyt Çakır (TUR)
Assistant Referee 1: Bahattin Duran (TUR)
Assistant Referee 2: Tarik Ongun (TUR)
Fourth Official: Milorad Mažić (SRB)
FIFA Referee Assessor:
Blog Observer: Edward A. (GRE)

Group E, 29 June 2013, 20:00 CET - Antalya
Iraq - Chile
Referee: Stéphane Lannoy (FRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Frédéric Cano (FRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Michael Annonier (FRA)
Fourth Official: Benjamin Williams (AUS)
FIFA Referee Assessor:
Blog Observer: Philipp S. (GER)

Group E, 29 June 2013, 20:00 CET - Bursa
Egypt - England
Referee: Antonio Arias (PAR)
Assistant Referee 1: Rodney Aquino (PAR)
Assistant Referee 2: Carlos Cacéres (PAR)
Fourth Official: Roberto Moreno (PAN)
FIFA Referee Assessor:
Blog Observer: Edward A. (GRE)

Group F, 29 June 2013, 17:00 CET - Antalya
Uzbekistan - Uruguay
Referee: Viktor Kassai (HUN)
Assistant Referee 1: Gábor Erös (HUN)
Assistant Referee 2: István Albert (HUN)
Fourth Official: Benjamin Williams (AUS)
FIFA Referee Assessor:
Blog Observer: Carlos S. (COL)

Group F, 29 June 2013, 17:00 CET
Croatia - New Zealand
Referee: Sandro Ricci (BRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Alessandro Rocha De Matos (BRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Emerson De Carvalho (BRA)
Fourth Official: Roberto Moreno (PAN)
FIFA Referee Assessor:
Blog Observer: Edward A. (GRE)

Osses and Webb to officiate Confed Cup semifinals

FIFA has designated the two Confederations Cup semifinal officiating teams to be active at next Wednesday and Thursday. While there will be an almost all-South American semifinal between Brazil and Uruguay, headed by Enrique Osses of Chile, Englishman Howard Webb will handle the Euro 2012 final tie between Spain and Italy.

Enrique Osses in Mexico-Italy (c) Árbitro Internacional

Semifinals

26 June 2013
Match 13 – Estádio Mineirão, Belo Horizonte (BRA) – 21:00 CET
BRAZIL		2:1		URUGUAY
Referee: Enrique Osses (CHI) Assistant Referee 1: Carlos Alexis Astroza (CHI) Assistant Referee 2: Sergio Román (CHI) Fourth Official: Joel Aguilar (SLV) Reserve Assistant Referee: William Torres Mejia (SLV)					Blog Observer: Niclas E. (GER)

27 June 2013
Match 14 – Estádio Castelão, Fortaleza (BRA) – 21:00 CET
SPAIN		0:0 7:6 pso		ITALY
Referee: Howard Webb (ENG) Assistant Referee 1: Mike Mullarkey (ENG) Assistant Referee 2: Darren Cann (ENG) Fourth Official: Pedro Proença (POR) Reserve Assistant Referee: Bertino Miranda (POR)					Blog Observer: Edward A. (GRE)

Ravshan Irmatov has admitted his technical error

Yesterday's top-class match between Euro 2012 finalists Italy and Confed Cup hosting nation Brazil (2:4) will certainly stay in Uzbek match official Ravshan Irmatov's mind as a nightmare. Apart from a not faultless performance of the entire officiating team of Asia, he has committed a rarely seen technical error that could potentially cost him very much credit among FIFA's refereeing department.

Ravshan Irmatov could face some trouble (c) terra.com

It all happened when a corner kick reached Italian Mario Balotelli, who was pulled and for this reason fouled by a Brazilian defender. Irmatov immediately pointed to the spot, awarded a penalty kick which was supported by a whistle. A second later, the ball reached Italian Chiellini, who scored a goal. Irmatov swiftly changed his mind and awarded the goal. His gestures and explanation of his decision to the furious Brazilian players evoked the impression he thought the advantage rule could be also applied after a whistle, which was clearly audible.

Apart from his mandatory departure from this competition after group stage, it must be strongly questioned how a referee, who took charge of five World Cup 2010 matches including the opener match, Argentina - Germany and the semifinal between Uruguay and the Netherlands, can commit such an amateur mistake. One can only hope that this actually great referee, who was honoured by this blog's community as the world's best referee in 2011, will recover from this soon.
Formally, the Brazilian would have had the statutory law to cancel the match. For FIFA, it seems mere luck that there won't be official protests, as Brazil won this match in the end.
In the meantime Ravshan Irmatov has admitted his technical error to the match commissioner and FIFA referee department chief Massimo Busacca, following a statement issued by FIFA's media agent Pekka Odriozola.

By the way, a similar situation occurred in the German Bundesliga in August 1997. Referee Michael Malbranc retired after this match (see video starting from 14:34). Contrary to Irmatov, Malbranc however did not admit his error.