Two-year suspension for Emir Alečković

On the last 9 October the Bosnian FIFA referee has been sanctioned with a 24 months suspension by the disciplinary committee of the Bosnian Football Federation, at the end of the proceedings opened against him, about three months ago.

Alečković has been found guilty of having sent unappropriate text messages to certain students, regarding which he was a mentor.

The sentence can be appealed. On last July, the Bosnian referee was sent home while officiating at the 2013 UEFA European Under-19 Championship, following an official complaint by the parents of one of the students.

Source: Sport.ba
Related Item: Emir Alečković sent home from U19 tournament and officially suspended

Ovidiu Hategan acquitted of accusations

UEFA have ruled that referee Ovidiu Hategan did follow protocol when dealing with Yaya Toure's racism complaint against CSKA Moscow. The Manchester City midfielder raised the issue with the official after being subjected to taunts from home supporters during the UEFA Champions League fixture between the two sides in Russia last week.

 

European football's governing body have a three-step plan to tackle racism, with the second being that a statement should be made over a public address system once a complaint has been levied to the referee, before potentially a match being abandoned if such instances continue.

But stage two was not adhered to during the game, leading to an investigation by UEFA into Hategan's actions.

However, a ruling on Wednesday found the Romanian official followed guidelines and that the UEFA venue director for the match had failed to act on the advice and has subsequently been removed from his position.

UEFA have issued sanctions against CSKA, with parts of the Arena Khimki set to be closed for their next home Champions League fixture against Bayern Munich on November 27.

On the Hategan situation, a statement on UEFA's website read: "The referee (Hategan) immediately asked the fourth official to request an announcement to be made to the public.

"The venue director (the UEFA officer in charge of football operations), who had not heard the chanting himself, did not activate the procedure. As the chanting had ceased, the referee decided to resume the game with the free-kick.

"The conclusion of the investigation is therefore that the referee had correctly triggered the first step of the procedure by requesting the stadium announcement.

"The venue director acted inappropriately, though in good faith, so causing the failure in the activation of the first step of the standard procedure, as decided by the referee.

"The UEFA venue director [Peter Palencik of Slovakia] at the Arena Khimki has been relieved of his duties."

source: fourfourtwo.com

FIFA Under-17 World Cup - Quarterfinals - Referee Appointments

Thank to  Árbitro Internacional we have the names of the officials appointed for the FIFA U17 World Cup Quarterfinals, to be played respectively on 1 and 2 November 2013.

Norwegian Svein Moen, again appointed for Mexico U17 national team, after having officiated them in the U17 WC final two years ago against Uruguay (c) zimbio.com

Quarterfinals - Match 45 (Dubai)
1 November 2013, 17:00 CET 
Brazil - Mexico
Referee: Svein Oddvar Moen (NOR)
Assistant Referee 1: Kim Haglund (NOR)
Assistant Referee 2: Frank Andas (NOR)
Fourth Official: Daniel Bennett (RSA)
Reserve Assistant Referee: Marwa Range (KEN)

Quarterfinals - Match 46 (Al Ain City)
1 November 2013, 14:00 CET 
Honduras - Sweden
Referee: Abdulrahman Mohammed (QAT)
Assistant Referee 1: Taleb Al Marri (QAT)
Assistant Referee 2: Yaser Marad (KUW)
Fourth Official:  Khalil Al Ghamdi (KSA)
Reserve Assistant Referee: Miguel Nievas (URU)

Quarterfinals - Match 47 (Sharjah) 
2 November 2013, 17:00 CET 
Uruguay - Nigeria
Referee: Jair Marrufo (USA)
Assistant Referee 1: Eric Boria (USA)
Assistant Referee 2: Ricardo Morgan (JAM)
Fourth Official:  Pavel Královec (CZE)
Reserve Assistant Referee: Martin Wilczek (CZE)

Quarterfinals - Match 48 (Sharjah) 
2 November 2013, 14:00 CET 
Argentina - Ivory Coast
Referee: Wolfgang Stark (GER)
Assistant Referee 1: Jan-Hendrik Salver (GER)
Assistant Referee 2: Mike Pickel (GER)
Fourth Official:  Norbert Hauata (TAH)
Reserve Assistant Referee: Mark Rule (NZL)

FIFA Under-17 World Cup - Round of 16 - Referee Appointments

The following officiating teams have been appointed by FIFA for the Under 17 WC Round of 16, the matches have been played respectively on 28 and 29 October.

Scottish Craig Thomson, in charge of an African duel (c) zimbio.com

Round of 16 - Match 37 (Abu Dhabi)
28 October 2013, 14:00 CET
Italy - Mexico (0:2)
Referee: Néstor Pitana (ARG)
Assistant Referee 1: Juan Pablo Belatti (ARG)
Assistant Referee 2: Diego Bonfa (ARG)
Fourth Official: Juan Soto (VEN)


Round of 16 - Match 38 (Sharjah)
28 October 2013, 14:00 CET 
Japan - Sweden (1:2)
Referee: Badara Diatta (SEN)
Assistant Referee 1: Djibril Camara (SEN)
Assistant Referee 2: El Hadji Malick (SEN)
Fourth Official: Slim Jedidi (TUN)


Round of 16 - Match 39 (Abu Dhabi)
28 October 2013, 17:00 CET 
Brazil - Russia (3:1)
Referee: Khalil Al Ghamdi (KSA)
Assistant Referee 1: Badr Al Shumrani (KSA)
Assistant Referee 2: Hamed Al Mayahi (OMA)
Fourth Official: Abdulrahman Abdou (QAT)


Round of 16 - Match 40 (Sharjah)
28 October 2013, 17:00 CET 
Honduras - Uzbekistan (1:0)
Referee: Pavel Královec (CZE)
Assistant Referee 1: Martin Wilczek (CZE)
Assistant Referee 2: Roman Sysko (SVK)
Fourth Official: Gianluca Rocchi (ITA)


Round of 16 - Match 41 (Ras Al Khaimah)
29 October 2013, 14:00 CET 
Uruguay - Slovakia (4:2)
Referee: Marco Rodriguez (MEX)
Assistant Referee 1: Marvin Torrentera (MEX)
Assistant Referee 2: Marcos Quintero (MEX)
Fourth Official: Elmer Bonilla (SLV)


Round of 16 - Match 42 (Fujairah)
29 October 2013, 14:00 CET 
Morocco - Ivory Coast (1:2)
Referee: Craig Thomson (SCO)
Assistant Referee 1: Derek Rose (SCO)
Assistant Referee 2: Alan Mulvanny (SCO)
Fourth Official: Mark Clattenburg (ENG)


Round of 16 - Match 43 (Dubai)
29 October 2013, 17:00 CET 
Argentina - Tunisia (3:1)
Referee: Svein Oddvar Moen (NOR)
Assistant Referee 1: Kim Haglund (NOR)
Assistant Referee 2: Frank Andas (NOR)
Fourth Official: Wolfgang Stark (GER)


Round of 16 - Match 44 (Al Ain City)
29 October 2013, 17:00 CET 
Nigeria - Iran (4:1)
Referee: Heber Lopes (BRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Alessandro Rocha (BRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Marcelo van Gasse (BRA)
Fourth Official: Raul Orosco (BOL)

Referee Observers and Delegates for CL MD4

UEFA has appointed the following Referee Observers and Delegates to supervise matches at Matchday 4 of Champions League.

 
Groups A-D (5 November)

Shakhtar Donetsk - Bayer Leverkusen
Referee Observer: Peter Fröjdfeldt (SWE), Delegate: Ivan Lekov (BUL)
Prediction: William Collum (SCO)

Real Sociedad - Manchester United
Referee Observer: Michel Vautrot (FRA), Delegate: Gunther De Saedeleer (BEL)
Prediction: Nicola Rizzoli (ITA)

Juventus Turin - Real Madrid
Referee Observer: Paul Allaerts (BEL), Delegate: Pierino Lardi (SUI)
Prediction: Howard Webb (ENG)

FC København - Galatasaray
Referee Observer: Rune Pedersen (NOR), Delegate: Dennis Cruise (IRL)
Prediction: István Vad (HUN)

Paris SG - RSC Anderlecht
Referee Observer: Charles Agius (MLT), Delegate: Markus Stenger (GER)
Prediction: Sergei Karasev (RUS)

Olympiacos - SL Benfica
Referee Observer: Michael Riley (ENG), Delegate: Wolfgang Thierrichter (AUT)
Prediction: Damir Skomina (SVN)

Manchester City - CSKA Moskva
Referee Observer: Donald McVicar (SCO), Delegate: Isak Mikladal (FRO)
Prediction: Carlos Velasco Carballo (ESP)

Viktoria Plzen - Bayern München
Referee Observer: Bo Karlsson (SWE), Delegate: Alvaro Albino (POR)
Prediction: Antonio Mateu Lahoz (ESP)

Groups E-F (6 November)

FC Basel - Steaua Bucuresti
Referee Observer: Manuel López Fernández (ESP), Delegate: Benny Jacobsen (DEN)
Prediction: Olegário Benquerença (POR)

Chelsea FC - Schalke 04
Referee Observer: Marc Batta (FRA), Delegate: Andrey Medintsev (BUL)
Prediction: Firat Aydınus (TUR)

Borussia Dortmund - Arsenal FC
Referee Observer: Georgios Bikas (GRE), Delegate: Dag Steinar Vestlund (NOR)
Prediction: Björn Kuipers (NED)

SSC Napoli - Olympique Marseille
Referee Observer: Wilfried Heitmann (GER), Delegate: Danijel Jošt (SVN)
Prediction: Tom Harald Hagen (NOR)

Atlético Madrid - Austria Wien
Referee Observer: Alan Freeland (SCO), Delegate: Jacob Erel (ISR)
Prediction: Marijo Strahonja (CRO)

Zenit St. Petersburg - FC Porto
Referee Observer: Christakis Skapoullis (CYP), Delegate: Teuvo Holopainen (FIN)
Prediction: Milorad Mažić (SRB)

Ajax Amsterdam - Celtic Glasgow
Referee Observer: Uno Tutk (EST), Delegate: Luca Zorzi (SUI)
Prediction: Pedro Proença (POR)

FC Barcelona - AC Milan
Referee Observer: Vlado Sajn (SVN), Delegate: Janis Mežeckis (LVA)
Prediction: Martin Atkinson (ENG)

UEFA Referees flouting their duties

Most of the officials acting in UEFA Champions League belong to the best of the world and proof their courage to take brave and unpopular decisions in almost every match. Referees are humans and naturally make mistakes. That is no problem. If you imagine a weighing scale and then put their mistakes in the one balance pan and the players' mistakes in the other, the arising imbalance should make some players turn pale. It becomes problematic though if referees do not only make match-relevant mistakes, but carelessly fail to fulfill their duties at the cost of players and the game.

Ovidiu Hategan failed to react properly to racist incidents (c) telegraph

Tottenham - Lazio Roma, one year ago. Some hundreds of Italian supporters were imitating monkey screams whenever Spurs' players Jermain Defoe, Aaron Lennon and Andros Townsend were involved in play. Referee Ovidiu Alin Hategan of Romania and Cypriot UEFA Delegate Adonis Procopiou submitted reports to UEFA on the basis of which their Control and Disciplinary Body were able to consider further steps against Lazio. In the meantime UEFA have done great efforts to ban racism out of their matches and have developed an Anti-Racism-Protocol consisting of three steps. First, to make a public announcement as soon as racist incidents occur. Second, to stop the game for a sensible period of time. And third, if the incidents continue, to cancel the match immediately.

Last Wednesday, the same like in London happened in Moscow. CSKA Moskva and Manchester City were playing the early match at 18:00 CET under the control of Ovidiu Alin Hategan. City's Yaya Touré was apparently attacked by Russian people who performed monkey yelling in certain occasions. He informed Hategan about these incidents, who took note of that and mentioned it in the match report. However, the Romanian did nothing to stop or prevent this racist slaughter during the match. He did not follow UEFA's guidelines and failed to use the chance to give the latest PR video dealing with UEFA's Anti-Racism policy the needed empirical example. In a nutshell: the referee has not fulfilled his duties as a referee in this match and has behaved in an unacceptable way, if the accusations are valid and veridical. Since UEFA have started an internal investigation, it would be no surprise if the Romanian official did not appear on matchdays 5 or 6. A demotion to First Group as a political consequence might be possible. At any rate, he is owing UEFA, the player concerned and the European football an explanation.

But Moscow was not the only showplace where a referee has flouted his duties in form of a Champions League match. In Lisbon, Benfica and Olympiacos did not play football, but waterpolo: passes did not reach their target, because they were chocked off by puddles. An obvious goal was prevented by such a puddle - Olympiacos would have led by 2:0 in normal circumstances. Instead, Benfica scored a late equalizer. The field conditions must be described as unplayable. Pool supervisor on-site: Alberto Undiano Mallenco. The Spaniard did not seem to have the slightest intent to interrupt or even cancel the match. Neither UEFA Delegate Michael Appleby from England, what can be forgiven, since this Portuguese monsoon might pass off as a temporary shower in Britain ;-).

Speaking seriously, the match should have been suspended for sure. The danger of potential injuries was naturally increased. Specially this single circumstance should have motivated the officials to percept the reality and draw the adequate conclusions. Everybody saw that regular game rules were not ensured this evening. And of course, the officials saw that, too. But they did not do anything.

A regular match was apparently impossible (c) mirror

UEFA's slogan is "We care about football". Really? Or do they care about money? Cancelling a Champions League match - is that a no-go for the commercialized football? Must the show always go on? Very likely it must, although recent examples have shown that the opposite is indeed possible, if we remember Björn Kuipers having suspended the EURO 2012 match between Ukraine and France due to heavy rain and thunderstorms in Donetsk. Perhaps it was just a more determined and aware referee team and match delegate, perhaps the scenery was just different because it was a European Championship where matches could be played more flexibly than Champions League matches. 

At any rate, Alberto Undiano has flouted his duties and the question is "why?". Also here, the final conclusion is: referees should act responsibly and compliant with their duties at all times. Ignoring that is more serious than the biggest amount of crucial mistakes you can imagine - at least in my humble opinion.

Hategan criticized after having ignored UEFA's Anti-Racism Protocol

UEFA is to investigate why its anti-racism protocol was not followed by Romanian referee Ovidiu Alin Hategan during Manchester City's game at CSKA Moscow. City midfielder Yaya Toure claims he was subjected to monkey chants by some home supporters during City's Champions League win in Moscow on Wednesday. 

UEFA has already begun disciplinary procedures against CSKA, and now its president Michel Platini has asked why referee Ovidiu Hategan did not halt the game according to the organisation's three-point plan.

A statement on the UEFA website confirmed the internal investigation and added: "UEFA will publish the findings once the disciplinary case has been dealt with by UEFA's independent Control and Disciplinary Body on October 30."

The first step in UEFA's protocol for dealing with racist incidents calls for the referee to stop play and make an announcement over the public address system. But Romanian official Hategan did not call a halt despite Toure clearly pointing out the alleged abuse from the stands.

The fallout from the incident has been far-reaching, with Toure even suggesting black players could boycott the 2018 World Cup in Russia as a protest. He said: "If we are not confident coming to the World Cup in Russia, we don't come.

"I don't know why it happens in football. I don't know why you don't get something like this in rugby or handball or any other sport. If UEFA don't take action it will continue."

Toure's stance has received the support of FIFA anti-discrimination task force member Piara Power, who said: "I wouldn't blame them.

"In this era players are the most powerful force and if all the players said they are not going there wouldn't be a World Cup, or if there was it would be meaningless."

CSKA deny any of their fans were guilty of racist abuse, saying in a statement: "Having carefully studied the video of the game, we found no racist insults.

"On many occasions fans booed and whistled to put pressure on rival players but regardless of race."

Toure, meanwhile, is preparing for City's trip to Chelsea on Sunday, and his manager Manuel Pellegrini said: "I talked with Yaya, he is okay.

"I think Yaya did the right thing to say what happened and we will see what UEFA will do about it.

"UEFA is doing a special campaign against the racists and I think they do the right things for the future not to repeat it, but I don't know what they are going to do."

(source: SkySports)

UEFA's protocol that targets at combatting racism during football matches was dealt with this month in this post.

UEFA Europa League 2013/14 - Referee Appointments - MD3

These are the referees appointed for  Matchday 3 of UEFA 2013-14 Europa League.

Big task for  Zelinka under the eyes of Pierluigi Collina and Johannes Reijgwart  (c) blesk.cz

Group K, 24 October 2013, 18:00 CET
Stadium: Saturn, Ramenskoye (RUS) 
Anji - Tromsø
Referee: Gediminas Mažeika (LTU)

Assistant Referee 1:  Vytautas Šimkus (LTU)

Assistant Referee 2: Saulius Dirda (LTU)

Additional Assistant Referee 1: Sergejus Slyva (LTU)

Additional Assistant Referee 2: Jurij Paškovskij (LTU)
Fourth Official: Vytenis Kazlauskas (LTU)
UEFA Referee Observer: Leslie Irvine  (NIR)
UEFA Delegate: Pavel Kolev  (BUL)


Group L, 24 October 2013, 18:00 CET
Stadium: Astana Arena (KAZ)
Shakhter - AZ
Referee: Yevhen Aranovskiy  (UKR)

Assistant Referee 1: Oleksandr Voytyuk  (UKR)

Assistant Referee 2: Serhiy Bekker  (UKR)

Additional Assistant Referee 1: Serhiy Boiko  (UKR) 

Additional Assistant Referee 2: Anatoliy Abdula  (UKR)
Fourth Official: Volodymyr Volodin  (UKR)
UEFA Referee Observer: Karel Bohunek  (CZE)
UEFA Delegate: István Huszár  (HUN)


Group L, 24 October 2013, 19:00 CET
Stadium: Stadio Toumba - Salonika (GRE)
PAOK - M. Haifa
Referee: Fernando Teixeira  (ESP)

Assistant Referee 1: Victoriano Diaz Casado  (ESP)

Assistant Referee 2: Teodoro Sobrino  (ESP)

Additional Assistant Referee 1: Antonio Mateu Lahoz  (ESP)

Additional Assistant Referee 2: Carlos Del Cerro  (ESP)
Fourth Official: Javier Rodriguez  (ESP)
UEFA Referee Observer: Kaj Natri  (FIN)
UEFA Delegate: Adrian Titcombe  (ENG)


Group K, 24 October 2013, 19:00 CET
Stadium: Stadionul Sheriff, Tiraspol (MDA)
Sheriff - Tottenham
Referee: Liran Liany  (ISR)

Assistant Referee 1: Shabtai Nahmias  (ISR)

Assistant Referee 2: David Elias Biton  (ISR)

Additional Assistant Referee 1: Menashe Masiah  (ISR)

Additional Assistant Referee 2: Daniel Bar Natan  (ISR)
Fourth Official: Oren Borneshtain  (ISR)
UEFA Referee Observer: Zoran Petrović  (SRB)
UEFA Delegate: Jean Paul Mievis  (BEL)


Group G, 24 October 2013, 19:00 CET
Stadium: KRC Genk Arena, Genk (BEL)
Genk - Rapid Wien
Referee: Antony Gautier (FRA)

Assistant Referee 1: Guillaume Debart  (FRA)

Assistant Referee 2: Nicolas Danos  (FRA)

Additional Assistant Referee 1: Benoît Millot  (FRA)

Additional Assistant Referee 2: Olivier Thual  (FRA)
Fourth Official: Frédéric Haquette  (FRA)
UEFA Referee Observer: Zdravko Jokić  (SRB)
UEFA Delegate: Steen Dahrup  (DEN)


Group G, 24 October 2013, 19:00 CET
Stadium: NSK Olimpiyskyi - Kyiv (UKR)
Dinamo Kyiv - Thun
Referee: Halis Özkahya  (TUR)

Assistant Referee 1: Çem Satman  (TUR)

Assistant Referee 2: Kemal Yilmaz  (TUR)

Additional Assistant Referee 1: Tolga Özkalfa  (TUR)

Additional Assistant Referee 2: Süleyman Abay  (TUR)
Fourth Official: Serkan Ok  (TUR)
UEFA Referee Observer: Stephen Graham Bennett  (ENG)
UEFA Delegate: Jean-Louis Piette  (FRA)


Group H, 24 October 2013, 19:00 CET
Stadium: U Nisy - Liberec (CZE)
Liberec - Sevilla
Referee: Mike Dean (ENG)

Assistant Referee 1: Jake Collin  (ENG)

Assistant Referee 2: Simon Long  (ENG)

Additional Assistant Referee 1: Lee Probert  (ENG)

Additional Assistant Referee 2: Robert Madley  (ENG)
Fourth Official: Darren Cann  (ENG)
UEFA Referee Observer: Michel Piraux  (BEL)
UEFA Delegate: Orkhan Huseynzade  (AZE)


Group H, 24 October 2013, 19:00 CET
Stadium: Freiburg Stadion - Freiburg (GER)
Freiburg - Estoril
Referee: Stanislav Todorov (BUL)

Assistant Referee 1: Veselin Dobriyanov  (BUL)

Assistant Referee 2: Ivo Kolev  (BUL)

Additional Assistant Referee 1: Nikolai Yordanov  (BUL)

Additional Assistant Referee 2: Ivaylo Stoyanov  (BUL)
Fourth Official: Ivan Valchev  (BUL)
UEFA Referee Observer: Fritz Stuchlik  (AUT)
UEFA Delegate: N/A


Group I, 24 October 2013, 19:00 CET
Stadium: Stade de Gerland, Lyon (FRA)
Lyon - Rijeka
Referee: Artur Soares (POR)

Assistant Referee 1: Bertino Miranda  (POR)

Assistant Referee 2: Rui Tavares  (POR)

Additional Assistant Referee 1: João Capela  (POR)

Additional Assistant Referee 2: Hugo Miguel  (POR)
Fourth Official: Venâncio Tomé  (POR)
UEFA Referee Observer: Jozef Marko  (SVK)
UEFA Delegate: Dumitru Mihalache  (ROU)


Group I, 24 October 2013, 19:00 CET
Stadium: Benito Villamarín, Seville (ESP)
Betis - Guimaraes
Referee: Michael Koukoulakis  (GRE)

Assistant Referee 1: Dimitrios Saraidaris  (GRE)

Assistant Referee 2: Christos Baltas  (GRE)

Additional Assistant Referee 1: Tasos Sidiropoulos  (GRE)

Additional Assistant Referee 2: Anastassios Kakos  (GRE)
Fourth Official: lazaros Dimitriadis  (GRE)
UEFA Referee Observer: Frank De Bleeckere  (BEL)
UEFA Delegate: David Mcdowell  (SVN)


Group J, 24 October 2013, 19:00 CET
Stadium: Hüseyin Avni Aker Stadyumu, Trabzon (TUR)
Trabzonspor - Legia
Referee: Vladislav Bezborodov  (RUS)

Assistant Referee 1: Nikolai Golubev  (RUS)

Assistant Referee 2: Vyacheslav Semenov  (RUS)

Additional Assistant Referee 1: Aleksei Eskov  (RUS)

Additional Assistant Referee 2: Sergei Ivanov  (RUS)
Fourth Official: Maksim Gavrilin  (RUS)
UEFA Referee Observer: Jan Carlsen  (DEN)
UEFA Delegate: Andrian Ixari  (MDA)


Group J, 24 October 2013, 19:00 CET
Stadium: GSP Stadium - Nicosia (CYP)
Apollon - Lazio
Referee: Manuel De Sousa  (POR)

Assistant Referee 1: Ricardo Santos  (POR)

Assistant Referee 2: Nuno Pereira  (POR)

Additional Assistant Referee 1: Carlos Xistra  (POR)

Additional Assistant Referee 2: Marco Ferreira  (POR)
Fourth Official: Antonio Godinho  (POR)
UEFA Referee Observer: Marinus Koopman  (NED)
UEFA Delegate: Roland Coquard  (FRA)


Group A, 24 October 2013, 21:05 CET
Stadium: Swansea Stadium (WAL)
Swansea - Kuban
Referee: Kristinn Jakobsson  (ISL)

Assistant Referee 1: Sigurdur Oli Thorleifsson  (ISL)

Assistant Referee 2: Áskell Thór Gíslason  (ISL)

Additional Assistant Referee 1: Thoroddur Hjaltalin  (ISL)

Additional Assistant Referee 2: Gunnar Jarl Jónsson  (ISL)
Fourth Official: Gunnar Gunnarsson  (ISL)
UEFA Referee Observer: Shmuel Shteif  (ISR)
UEFA Delegate: Philippe Prudhon  (FRA)


Group A, 24 October 2013, 21:05 CET
Stadium: Estadi de Mestalla, Valencia (ESP)
Valencia - St Gallen
Referee: Pol van Boekel  (NED)

Assistant Referee 1: Angelo Boonman  (NED)

Assistant Referee 2: Berry Simons  (NED)

Additional Assistant Referee 1: Dennis Higler  (NED)

Additional Assistant Referee 2: Tom van Sichem  (NED)
Fourth Official: Patrick Langkamp  (NED)
UEFA Referee Observer: Alan Snoddy  (NIR)
UEFA Delegate: Stanisław Speczik  (POL)


Group B, 24 October 2013, 21:05 CET
Stadium: Chornomorets - Odessa (UKR)
Chornomorets Odesa - Ludogorets 
Referee: Alexandru Dan Tudor  (ROU)

Assistant Referee 1: Aurel Onita  (ROU)

Assistant Referee 2: Miklos Istvan Nagy  (ROU)

Additional Assistant Referee 1: Marius Avram  (ROU)

Additional Assistant Referee 2: Robert Dumitru  (ROU)
Fourth Official: Ovidiu Artene  (ROU)
UEFA Referee Observer: Georgios Bikas  (GRE)
UEFA Delegate: Miroslaw Ryszka  (POL)


Group B, 24 October 2013, 21:05 CET
Stadium: Stadion Maksimir, Zagreb (CRO)
Dinamo Zagreb - PSV
Referee: Pawel Gil  (POL)

Assistant Referee 1: Piotr Sadczuk  (POL)

Assistant Referee 2: Marcin Borkowski  (POL)

Additional Assistant Referee 1: Robert Malek  (POL)

Additional Assistant Referee 2: Paweł Raczkowski  (POL)
Fourth Official: Konrad Sapela  (POL)
UEFA Referee Observer: Bertrand Layec  (FRA)
UEFA Delegate: Michel Pralong  (SUI)


Group C, 24 October 2013, 21:05 CET
Stadium: Borås Arena, Boras (SWE)
Elfsborg - Esbjerg
Referee: Michael Oliver (ENG)

Assistant Referee 1: Stuart Burt  (ENG)

Assistant Referee 2: Darren England  (ENG)

Additional Assistant Referee 1: Andre Marriner  (ENG)

Additional Assistant Referee 2: Jonathan Moss  (ENG)
Fourth Official: Michael Mullarkey  (ENG)
UEFA Referee Observer: Stefano Farina (ITA)
UEFA Delegate: Thórir Hákonarson  (ISL)


Group C, 24 October 2013, 21:05 CET
Stadium: Stadion Salzburg, Salzburg (AUT)
Salzsburg - Standard Liège
Referee: Ivan Kružliak (SVK)

Assistant Referee 1: Martin Balko  (SVK)

Assistant Referee 2: Tomaš Somolani  (SVK)

Additional Assistant Referee 1: Richard Trutz  (SVK)

Additional Assistant Referee 2: Peter Kralović  (SVK)
Fourth Official: Tomaš Mokoš  (SVK)
UEFA Referee Observer: Luciano Luci (ITA)
UEFA Delegate: Oleg Harlamov  (EST)


Group D, 24 October 2013, 21:05 CET
Stadium: Wigan Athletic Stadium, Wigan (ENG)
Wigan - Rubin
Referee: Florian Meyer (GER)

Assistant Referee 1: Holger Henschel  (GER)

Assistant Referee 2: Christoph Bornhorst  (GER)

Additional Assistant Referee 1: Bastian Dankert  (GER)

Additional Assistant Referee 2: Robert Hartmann  (GER)
Fourth Official: Marco Achmüller  (GER)
UEFA Referee Observer: Erol Ersoy  (TUR)
UEFA Delegate: René Eberle  (SUI)


Group D, 24 October 2013, 21:05 CET
Stadium: Jan Breydelstadion, Bruges (BEL)
Zulte Waregem - Maribor
Referee: Stephan Studer (SUI)

Assistant Referee 1: Jean-Yves Wicht  (SUI)

Assistant Referee 2: Sladan Josipović  (SUI)

Additional Assistant Referee 1: Alain Bieri  (SUI)

Additional Assistant Referee 2: Stephan Klossner  (SUI)
Fourth Official: Johannes Vogel  (SUI)
UEFA Referee Observer: Raymond Ellingham  (WAL)
UEFA Delegate: Vignir Már Thormódsson  (ISL)


Group E, 24 October 2013, 21:05 CET
Stadium: Estádio D. Afonso Henriques, Guimaraes (POR)
Paços Ferreira - Dnipro
Referee: Tony Chapron  (FRA)

Assistant Referee 1: Stephan Luzi  (FRA)

Assistant Referee 2: Fredji Harchay  (FRA)

Additional Assistant Referee 1: Said Ennjimi  (FRA)

Additional Assistant Referee 2: Wilfried Bien  (FRA)
Fourth Official: David Benech  (FRA)
UEFA Referee Observer: Matteo Trefoloni  (ITA)
UEFA Delegate: Kris Bellon  (BEL)


Group E, 24 October 2013, 21:05 CET
Stadium:Stadio Artemio Franchi, Florence (ITA)
Fiorentina - Pandurii
Referee: Miroslav Zelinka  (CZE)

Assistant Referee 1: Ondřej Pelikán  (CZE)

Assistant Referee 2: Patrik Filipek  (CZE)

Additional Assistant Referee 1: Petr Ardeleanu  (CZE)

Additional Assistant Referee 2: Radek Příhoda  (CZE)
Fourth Official: Krystof Mencl  (CZE)
UEFA Referee Observers: Johannes Reijgwart  (NED)  - Pierluigi Collina (ITA)
UEFA Delegate: Nodar Akhalkatsi  (GEO)


Group F, 24 October 2013, 21:05 CET
Stadium: Stade Chaban-Delmas, Bordeaux (FRA)
Bordeaux - APOEL
Referee: Martin Strömbergsson  (SWE)

Assistant Referee 1: Joakim Flink  (SWE)

Assistant Referee 2: Per Brogevik  (SWE)

Additional Assistant Referee 1: Johan Hamlin  (SWE)

Additional Assistant Referee 2: Mohammed Al-hakim  (SWE)
Fourth Official: Henrik Andren  (SWE)
UEFA Referee Observer: Sokol Jareci (ALB)
UEFA Delegate: Eduard Dervishaj  (ESP)


Group F, 24 October 2013, 21:05 CET
Stadium: Frankfurt Stadion, Frankfurt am Main (GER)
Eintracht Frankfurt - M. Tel-Aviv
Referee: Antonio Damato (ITA)

Assistant Referee 1: Massimilano Grilli (ITA)

Assistant Referee 2:  Andrea Padovan (ITA)

Additional Assistant Referee 1: Mauro Bergonzi (ITA)

Additional Assistant Referee 2: Carmine Russo (ITA)
Fourth Official: Giulio Dobosz (ITA)
UEFA Referee Observer: Miroslav Vitkovic  (CRO)
UEFA Delegate: David Findlay  (SCO)

UEFA Champions League 2013/14 - Referee Appointments - MD3 (Wednesday)

"Always expect the unexpected" - UEFA Referee Committee have taken this slogan to heart and surprised us with their referee appointments for Wednesday's UEFA Champions League matches. Manuel Gräfe from Germany will face a crucial match at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu between Real Madrid and Juventus Turin under the supervision of Vice Chief Officer Hugh Dallas of Scotland. They furthermore have proven some sense of tact by appointing Irish Alan Kelly for a match in Munich - one of the last chances to bid farewell to UEFA refereeing before he is going to move to the United States. 

(ENG) MANCHESTER UTD.			REAL SOCIEDAD (ESP)
Wednesday, 23 October 2013, 20:45 CET, Old Trafford, Manchester (ENG) Group A
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: Roberto Rosetti (ITA) UEFA Delegate: Antoine Portelli (MLT) Blog Referee Observer: Niclas (GER)

(GER) BAYER LEVERKUSEN			SHAKHTAR DONETSK
Wednesday, 23 October 2013, 20:45 CET, BayArena, Leverkusen (GER) Group A
Referee: Stéphane Lannoy (FRA) Assistant Referee 1: Frédéric Cano (FRA) Assistant Referee 2: Michael Annonier (FRA) Additional Assistant Referee 1: Fredy Fautrel (FRA) Additional Assistant Referee 2: Ruddy Buquet (FRA) Fourth Official: Eric Dansault (FRA) UEFA Referee Observer: Levan Paniashvili (GEO) UEFA Delegate: Gijs De Jong (NED) Blog Referee Observer: Edward (GRE)

(ESP) REAL MADRID			JUVENTUS (ITA)
Wednesday, 23 October 2013, 20:45 CET, Estadio Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid (ESP) Group B
Referee: Manuel Gräfe (GER, photo) Assistant Referee 1: Thorsten Schiffner (GER) Assistant Referee 2: Guido Kleve (GER) Additional Assistant Referee 1: Marco Fritz (GER) Additional Assistant Referee 2: Tobias Stieler (GER) Fourth Official: Christian Fischer (GER) UEFA Referee Observer: Hugh Dallas (SCO) UEFA Delegate: Harry Been (NED) Blog Referee Observer: Carlos (COL), Niclas (GER)

(TUR) GALATASARAY			FC KØBENHAVN (DEN)
Wednesday, 23 October 2013, 20:45 CET, Ali Sami Yen, Istanbul (TUR) Group B
Referee: Aleksandar Stavrev (MKD) Assistant Referee 1: Marjan Kirovski (MKD) Assistant Referee 2: Dejan Kostadinov (MKD) Additional Assistant Referee 1: Dimitar Meckarovski (MKD) Additional Assistant Referee 2: Goran Spirkoski (MKD) Fourth Official: Nikola Karakolev (MKD) UEFA Referee Observer: László Vagner (HUN) UEFA Delegate: Christian Mutschler (SUI) Blog Referee Observer: Edward (GRE)

(POR) SL BENFICA			OLYMPIACOS (GRE)
Wednesday, 23 October 2013, 20:45 CET, Estádio da Luz, Lisbon (POR) Group C
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: Carlos Clos Gómez (ESP) Additional Assistant Referee 2: Javier Estrada Fernández (ESP) Fourth Official: Pau Cebrián Devis (ESP) UEFA Referee Observer: Rene Temmink (NED) UEFA Delegate: Michael Appleby (ENG) Blog Referee Observer: Chefren (ITA)

(BEL) RSC ANDERLECHT			PARIS SG (FRA)
Wednesday, 23 October 2013, 20:45 CET, Constant Vanden Stock, Brussels (BEL) Group C
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: Roberto Alonso Fernández (ESP) UEFA Referee Observer: Francesco Bianchi (SUI) UEFA Delegate: Michele Uva (ITA) Blog Referee Observer: Niclas (GER)

(RUS) CSKA MOSKVA			MANCHESTER CITY (ENG)
Wednesday, 23 October 2013, 18:00 CET, Arena Khimki, Moscow (RUS) Group D
Referee: Ovidiu Alin Hategan (ROU) Assistant Referee 1: Cristian Nica (ROU) Assistant Referee 2: Octavian Sovre (ROU) Additional Assistant Referee 1: Pavel Cristian Balaj (ROU) Additional Assistant Referee 2: István Kovács (ROU) Fourth Official: Sebastian Eugen Gheorghe (ROU) UEFA Referee Observer: Nuno Castro (POR) UEFA Delegate: Tormod Larsen (NOR) Blog Referee Observer: Chefren (ITA)

(GER) BAYERN MÜNCHEN			VIKTORIA PLZEN (CZE)
Wednesday, 23 October 2013, 20:45 CET, Allianz Arena, Munich (GER) Group D
Referee: Alan Kelly (IRL) Assistant Referee 1: Damien MacGraith (IRL) Assistant Referee 2: Dermot Broughton (IRL) Additional Assistant Referee 1: Neil Doyle (IRL) Additional Assistant Referee 2: Padraigh Sutton (IRL) Fourth Official: Allen Lynch (IRL) UEFA Referee Observer: Ilkka Koho (FIN) UEFA Delegate: Eggert Magnusson (ISL) Blog Referee Observer: Johnny (SRB)