MLS player suspended for 10 games

Colorado Rapids midfielder Brian Mullan has been suspended for 10 games and fined more than $5,000 by Major League Soccer after a horror tackle which broke the leg of Seattle Sounders midfielder Steve Zakuani.
Mullan was given an automatic one-game suspension and a $250 fine after he was shown a red card for his wild, sliding tackle from the side in the third minute of last Friday’s game. But the MLS disciplinary committee took a dim view of the tackle and added an extra nine games and another $5,000 fine after Zakuani was ruled out for the season following surgery to his fractured right leg. “The Disciplinary Committee determined that Mullan’s challenge was reckless, egregious, and showed utter disregard for the safety of his opponent,” the league said in a statement on Thursday.
The suspension is the largest handed out by the league since former Houston Dynamo midfielder Ricardo Clark was ruled out for a total of 10 games and fined $10,000 for a wild kick at an opponent on the floor during a match in 2007.

Moreno faces sentencing in drug case

Byron Moreno (ECU), the referee involved in Italy's controversial elimination from the 2002 World Cup will be sentenced next month in his New York drug smuggling case. Federal prosecutors said Thursday that Byron Moreno faces up to 20 years in prison. His sentencing is set for May 20 in Brooklyn. Moreno was arrested last year at New York's Kennedy Airport after arriving on a commercial flight from his native Ecuador. Authorities say they discovered bags of heroin attached to his body during a routine search. He pleaded guilty in January.
Moreno became a hated figure in Italy after several contentious decisions in its second-round loss to South Korea in 2002.

Source: The Associated Press

FIFA U-17 World Cup 2011

Mexico, 18 June - 10 July 2011

AFC
Referee: Ali Hamad Al-Badwawi (UAE, 1972)
Assistant Referee 1: Hamad Suliman Al Mayahi (OMA, 1975)
Assistant Referee 2: Reza Sokhandan (IRN, 1974)

Referee: Nawaf Ghayyath Shukralla (BHR, 1976)
Assistant Referee 1: Yaser Abdulla Tulefat (BHR, 1974)
Assistant Referee 2: Khaled Al Allan (BHR, 1973)

CAF
Referee: Neant Alioum (CAM, 1982)
Assistant Referee 1: Djibril Camara (SEN, 1983)
Assistant Referee 2: Felicien Kabanda (RWA, 1971)

Referee: Helder Martins de Carvalho (ANG, 1977)
Assistant Referee 1: Aden Range Marwa (KEN, 1977)
Assistant Referee 2: Zakhele Siwela (RSA, 1982)

                                                        CONCACAF
Referee: Raymond Bogle (JAM, 1971)
Assistant Referee 1: Stephen Brown (JAM, 1974)
Assistant Referee 2: Dion Neil (TRI, 1973)

Referee: Roberto Garcia Orozco (MEX, 1974, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Alejandro Ayala (MEX, 1976)
Assistant Referee 2: Victor Calderon (MEX, 1976)
                                           
                                                       CONMEBOL
Referee: Diego Hernan Abal (ARG, 1971)
Assistant Referee 1: Alejo Hernan Castany (ARG, 1975)
Assistant Referee 2: Gustavo Horacio Esquivel (ARG, 1969)

Referee: Victor Carrillo Casanova (PER, 1975)
Assistant Referee 1: Jonny Bossio Moncada (PER, 1975)
Assistant Referee 2: Cesar Escano Zambrano (PER, 1970)

Referee: Omar Ponce Manzo (ECU, 1977)
Assistant Referee 1: Carlos Herrera Freire (ECU, 1970)
Assistant Referee 2: Christian Lescano Guerrero (ECU, 1983)

OFC
Referee: Andrew Anand Achari (FIJ, 1973)
Assistant Referee 1: Ashwin Anand Kumar (FIJ, 1978)
Assistant Referee 2: Ravinesh Kumar (FIJ, 1982)

UEFA
Referee: Tony Chapron (FRA, 1972)
Assistant Referee 1: Emmanuel Boisdenghien (FRA, 1973)
Assistant Referee 2: Fredji Harchay (FRA, 1975)

Referee: Pavel Kralovec (CZE, 1977)
Assistant Referee 1: Martin Wilczek (CZE, 1970)
Assistant Referee 2: Miroslav Zlamal (CZE, 1973)

Referee: Svein Oddvar Moen (NOR, 1979)
Assistant Referee 1: Frank Andas (NOR, 1975)
Assistant Referee 2: Kim Thomas Haglund (NOR, 1977)

Referee: Bas Nijhuis (NED, 1977)
Assistant Referee 1: Angelo Boonman (NED, 1979)
Assistant Referee 2: Erwin Zeinstra (NED, 1977)

Referee: Alexey Nikolaev (RUS, 1971)
Assistant Referee 1: Anton Averianov (RUS, 1973)
Assistant Referee 2: Tikhon Kalugin (RUS, 1974)

Referee: Stephan Studer (SUI, 1975)
Assistant Referee 1: Sandro Pozzi (SUI, 1980)
Assistant Referee 2: Raffael Zeder (SUI, 1980)

Reserve Trios (CONCACAF)

Referee: Elmer Bonilla Ruiz (SLV, 1978)
Assistant Referee 1: Keytzell Corrales Mojica (NIC, 1980)
Assistant Referee 2: Octavio Jara Carballo (CRC, 1981)

Referee: Paul Delgadillo Haro (MEX, 1974)
Assistant Referee 1: Marcos Quintero Huitron (MEX, 1973)
Assistant Referee 2: Salvador Rodriguez Gorrocino (MEX, 1973)

Referee: Jafeth Perea Amador (PAN, 1981)
Assistant Referee 1: Ricardo Daniel Ake (BLZ, 1978)
Assistant Referee 2: Juan Rodas Zelaya (HON, 1984)

UEL Semi-finals, First Leg

28 April 2011
Porto – Villarreal
Referee: Björn Kuipers (NED, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Sander van Roekel (NED)
Assistant Referee 2: Berry Simons (NED)
Additional AR 1: Richard Liesveld (NED)
Additional AR 2: Ed Janssen (NED)
Fourth Official: Pol van Boekel (NED)

Benfica – Braga
Referee: Craig Thomson (SCO)
Assistant Referee 1: Francis Andrews (SCO)
Assistant Referee 2: Graham Chambers (SCO)
Additional AR 1: Alan Muir (SCO)
Additional AR 2: Calum Murray (SCO)
Fourth Official: Robert Madden (SCO)

Stark appointed for Real - Barcelona

27 April 2011

Real Madrid – FC Barcelona
Referee: Wolfgang Stark (GER)
Assistant Referee 1: Jan-Hendrik Salver (GER)
Assistant Referee 2: Mike Pickel (GER)
Additional Assistant Referee 1: Babak Rafati (GER)
Additional Assistant Referee 2: Tobias Welz (GER)
Fourth Official: Thorsten Kinhofer (GER)

Velasco Carballo in the UCL Semi-finals

Spanish referee Carlos Velasco Carballo had one of the fastest ascensions on the international scene. He became a FIFA Referee in 2008, was upgraded to UEFA Category 2 in 2009, moved to Premier Development in 2010 and promoted to Elite in January 2011!!!
26 April 2011

FC Schalke - Manchester United
Referee: Carlos Velasco Carballo (ESP)
Assistant Referee 1: Roberto Alonso Fernandez (ESP)
Assistant Referee 2: Jesus Calvo Guadamuro (ESP)
Additional Assistant Referee 1: Carlos Clos Gomez (ESP)
Additional Assistant Referee 2: Antonio Rubinos Perez (ESP)
Fourth Official: David Fernandez Borbalan (ESP)

De Bleeckere will miss the UCL Final

Being in his last year of international refereeing, Frank De Bleeckere (BEL) was considered as the main candidate for the 2011 UEFA Champions League Final. Everything seemed to go well for him until two weeks ago when his initial appointment for a quarter-final was suddenly replaced by UEFA with a semi-final. He will be refereeing in the second leg of the UEFA Champions League semi-finals, either FC Barcelona - Real Madrid (Tuesday, 3 May 2011) or Manchester United - Schalke (Wednesday, 4 May 2011). Having been appointed for a semi-final, De Bleeckere will miss his last chance for a Champions League final.

Proenca gets UCL Semi-final

Pedro Proenca (POR) will be refereeing in the second leg of the UEFA Champions League semi-finals. He will referee either FC Barcelona - Real Madrid (Tuesday, 3 May 2011) or Manchester United - Schalke (Wednesday, 4 May 2011). The actual game appointment will be published by UEFA 48 hours before the kick-off.

UEFA U-21 Euro 2011 – Denmark

Referees
1. Robert Schorgenhofer (AUT, 1973)
2. Marijo Strahonja (CRO, 1975)
3. Paolo Tagliavento (ITA, 1972, photo)
4. Aleksandar Stavrev (MKD, 1977)
5. Milorad Mazic (SRB, 1973)
6. Markus Strombergsson (SWE, 1975)

Assistant Referees
1. Michael Soteriou (CYP, 1979)
2. Jukka-Pekka Koskela (FIN, 1978)
3. Mark Borsch (GER, 1977)
4. Christos Akrivos (GRE, 1976)
5. Damien MacGraith (IRL, 1980)
6. Vytautas Simkus (LTU, 1975)
7. Marcin Borkowski (POL, 1979)
8. Venancio Batista Tome (POR, 1974)

Fourth Officials
1. Kenn Hansen (DEN, 1980)
2. Liran Liany (ISR, 1977)

UEFA U-17 Euro 2011 – Serbia

Referees
1. Sebastien Delferiere (BEL, 1981)
2. Liran Liany (ISR, 1977)
3. Steven McLean (SCO, 1981)
4. Artur Ribeiro Soares Dias (POR, 1979)
5. Kristo Tohver (EST, 1981, photo)
6. Stavros Tritsonis (GRE, 1977)

Assistant Referees
1. Raul Cabanero Martinez (ESP, 1981)
2. Peter Chladek (SVK, 1978)
3. Ridiger Cokaj (ALB, 1984)
4. Zaven Hovhannisyan (ARM, 1980)
5. Ivo Kolev (BUL, 1979)
6. Giorgi Kruashvili (GEO, 1986)
7. Arunas Seskus (LTU, 1979)
8. Vencel Toth (HUN, 1978)

Fourth Officials
1. Vlado Glodovic (SRB, 1976)
2. Bosko Jovanetic (SRB, 1973)

FIFA Women’s World Cup 2011 – Germany

AFC
Referees
1. Sung Mi Cha (KOR, 36)
2. Etsuko Fukano (JPN, 39)
3. Jacqui Melksham (AUS, 33)               
Assistant Referees
1. Kyoung Min Kim (KOR, 31)
2. Widiya Shamsuri (MAS, 34)
3. Saori Takahashi (JPN, 38)
4. Lingling Zhang (CHN, 37)
5. Allyson Flynn (AUS, 29)
6. Sarah Ho (AUS, 33)         
CAF
Referee
1. Therese Neguel (CMR, 30)
Assistant Referees
1. Tempa Ndah Francois (BEN, 38)
2. Lidwine Rakotozafinoro (MAD, 33)
 CONCACAF
Referees
1. Quetzalli Alvarado Godinez (MEX, 36)
2. Carol Anne Chenard (CAN, 34, photo)
3. Kari Seitz (USA, 41)
Assistant Referees
1. Rita Munoz (MEX, 38)
2. Mayte Chavez Garcia (MEX, 32)
3. Emperatriz Ayala Lopez (SLV, 31)
4. Cindy Mohammed (TRI, 38)
5. Marlene Duffy (USA, 32)
6. Veronica Perez (USA, 32)
CONMEBOL
Referees
1. Estela Alvarez de Oliveira (ARG, 33)
2. Silvia Reyes Juarez (PER, 30)
Assistant Referees
1. Maria Rocco (ARG, 32)
2. Yoly Garcia Colmenares (VEN, 33)
3. Mariana Corbo Odone (URU, 34)
4. Marlene Leyton (PER, 37)
OFC
Referee
1. Finau Vulivuli (FIJ, 29)
Assistant Referees
1. Jacqueline Stephenson (NZL, 39)
2. Lata I Sia Tuifutuna (TGA, 36)
UEFA
Referees
1. Dagmar Damkova (CZE, 37)
2. Gyongyi Gaal (HUN, 36)
3. Kirsi Heikkinen (FIN, 33)
4. Jenny Palmqvist (SWE, 42)
5. Christina Pedersen (NOR, 30)
6. Bibiana Steinhaus (GER, 32)
Assistant Referees
1. Cristina Cini (ITA, 42)
2. Lada Rojc (CRO, 37)
3. Yolanda Parga Rodriguez (ESP, 33)
4. Maria Luisa Villa Gutierrez (ESP, 38)
5. Anu Jokela (FIN, 30)
6. Tonja Paavola (FIN, 34)
7. Helen Karo (SWE, 37)
8. Anna Nystrom (SWE, 38)
9. Hege Steinlund (NOR, 42)
10. Natalie Walker (ENG, 30)
11. Kathrin Rafalski (GER, 29)
12. Marina Wozniak (GER, 32)
Fourth Officials
1. Efthalia Mitsi (GRE, 31)
2. Kateryna Mozul (BLR, 30)
3. Esther Staubli (SUI, 32)

Garcia Aranda, advisor for Russian Referees

Former head of FIFA's Referee Department, Jose-Maria Garcia Aranda Encinar, has been appointed as an advisor to Russian football chief Sergey Fursenko, the country's football association said on Thursday.
"Garcia Aranda's job would be to consult (Fursenko) on various issues, including better communications with FIFA and UEFA," the RFU said on their web site. "His contract will run through 2014." The 55-year-old Spaniard has also been given a tough task of improving the standards of Russian referees, who have often been the target of criticism for poor officiating.
Garcia Aranda had been one of FIFA's top referees, officiating at the 1998 World Cup in France and Euro 2000 in Belgium/Netherlands, before retiring in 2001. He then headed FIFA's Referee Department from 2003 to 2010.
Russian officials have been trying to improve the image of the country's most popular sport following FIFA's decision to award Russia the right to host the 2018 World Cup.

Source: RFU

UEL Quarter-finals, Second Leg

14 April 2011

Spartak Moscow – FC Porto
Referee: Viktor Kassai (HUN, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Gabor Eros (HUN)
Assistant Referee 2: Gyorgy Ring (HUN)
Additional Assistant Referee 1: Mihaly Fabian (HUN)
Additional Assistant Referee 2: Tamas Bognar (HUN)
Fourth Official: Istvan Vad (HUN)


PSV Eindhoven – Benfica
Referee: Wolfgang Stark (GER)
Assistant Referee 1: Jan-Hendrik Salver (GER)
Assistant Referee 2: Mike Pickel (GER)
Additional Assistant Referee 1: Tobias Welz (GER)
Additional Assistant Referee 2: Markus Wingenbach (GER)
Fourth Official: Babak Rafati (GER)

Twente – Villarreal
Referee: William Collum (SCO)
Assistant Referee 1: George Drummond (SCO)
Assistant Referee 2: Graham Chambers (SCO)
Additional Assistant Referee 1: Euan Norris (SCO)
Additional Assistant Referee 2: Stevie O’Reilly (SCO)
Fourth Official: Bobby Madden (SCO)

Braga – Dynamo Kyiv
Referee: Jonas Eriksson (SWE)
Assistant Referee 1: Stefan Wittberg (SWE)
Assistant Referee 2: Mathias Klasenius (SWE)
Additional Assistant Referee 1: Daniel Stålhammar (SWE)
Additional Assistant Referee 2: Tobias Mattson (SWE)
Fourth Official: Stefan Johannesson (SWE)

UCL Quarter-finals, Second Leg

13 April 2011

Schalke – Inter
Referee: Damir Skomina (SVN)
Assistant Referee 1: Primoz Arhar (SVN)
Assistant Referee 2: Marco Stancin (SVN)
Additional Assistant Referee 1: Matej Jug (SVN)
Additional Assistant Referee 2: Roberto Ponis (SVN)
Fourth Official: Slavko Vincic (SVN)

Tottenham – Real Madrid
Referee: Nicola Rizzoli (ITA, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Luca Maggiani (ITA)
Assistant Referee 2: Andrea Stefani (ITA)
Additional Assistant Referee 1: Daniele Orsato (ITA)
Additional Assistant Referee 2: Antonio Damato (ITA)
Fourth Official: Gianluca Rocchi (ITA)

12 April 2011

Shakthar Donetsk – Barcelona
Referee: Florian Meyer (GER)
Assistant Referee 1: Holger Henschel (GER)
Assistant Referee 2: Christoph Bornhorst (GER)
Additional Assistant Referee 1: Christian Dingert (GER)
Additional Assistant Referee 2: Marc Seemann (GER)
Fourth Official: Peter Sippel (GER)

Manchester United – Chelsea
Referee: Olegario Benquerença (POR)
Assistant Referee 1: Bertino Miranda (POR)
Assistant Referee 2: Joao Santos (POR)
Additional Assistant Referee 1: Artur Soares (POR)
Additional Assistant Referee 2: Carlos Xistra (POR)
Fourth Official: Duarte Gomes (POR)

Kuipers kicked in UEL

Dutch referee Bjorn Kuipers, who sent off Dynamo Kiev's striker Andriy Shevchenko in their Europa League game on Thursday, was kicked from behind by an enraged fan as he left the pitch, video footage showed on Friday. The clip, from a Ukrainian sports news agency (http://www.proreferee.com/?v4nkkVei), shows a man lunge at referee Bjorn Kuipers with his foot as the Dutchman walked off the pitch at the end of the Dynamo Kiev v Braga quarter-final.
The first leg ended in a 1-1 draw after Kuipers reduced the home side to 10 men on 61 minutes when he showed a second yellow card to Ukraine striker Shevchenko, who had been brought on as a substitute to try to snatch victory. The home crowd was infuriated by the decision to send off Shevchenko, whose second booking was for playing on and putting the ball in the net after being flagged offside. He said later he had not heard the referee’s whistle. Kuipers appeared to have felt the kick because he is seen on the video footage turning around to react.

Source: Reuters

Referees for UEFA Futsal Cup Finals

29 April – 1 May 2011

Fernando Gutierrez Lumbreras (ESP, 1971)
Danijel Janosevic (CRO, 1971, photo)
Pascal Lemal (BEL, 1972)
Ivan Shabanov (RUS, 1978)

New Members of the UEFA Referee Convention

The UEFA Convention on Referee Education and Organisation has admitted seven new full members and one new partial member to consolidate its work in developing refereeing.
Following ratification by the UEFA Executive Committee, Andorra, England, Georgia, Latvia, Romania, Spain and Ukraine are full members, and Liechtenstein have joined as partial members. A total of 43 associations are full members, with Liechtenstein the one partial member.
The Referee Convention aims to enhance referee education, promoting the role of the referee and improving refereeing structures and development within Europe. When they sign the convention, associations agree to a development plan for refereeing and become entitled to receive a financial contribution for their work, and further annual payments as long as the required standards are maintained.

Source: UEFA

UEL Quarter-finals, First Leg

7 April 2011

FC Porto – Spartak Moscow
Referee: Serge Gumienny (BEL, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Mark Simons (BEL)
Assistant Referee 2: Frank Bleyen (BEL)
Additional Assistant Referee 1: Jean-Baptist Bultynck (BEL)
Additional Assistant Referee 2: Peter Vervecken (BEL)
Fourth Official: Luc Wouters (BEL)

Benfica – PSV
Referee: Paolo Tagliavento (ITA)
Assistant Referee 1: Nicola Nicoletti (ITA)
Assistant Referee 2: Massimiliano Grilli (ITA)
Additional Assistant Referee 1: Mauro Bergonzi (ITA)
Additional Assistant Referee 2: Andrea De Marco (ITA)
Fourth Official: Luca Banti (ITA)

Villarreal – Twente
Referee: Aleksei Nikolaev (RUS)
Assistant Referee 1: Nikolai Golubev (RUS)
Assistant Referee 2: Anton Averianov (RUS)
Additional Assistant Referee 1: Vladimir Pettay (RUS)
Additional Assistant Referee 2: Maksim Layushkin (RUS)
Fourth Official: Vladislav Bezborodov (RUS)

Dynamo Kyiv – Braga
Referee: Björn Kuipers (NED)
Assistant Referee 1: Sander van Roekel (NED)
Assistant Referee 2: Berry Simons (NED)
Additional Assistant Referee 1: Richard Liesveld (NED)
Additional Assistant Referee 2: Ed Janssen (NED)
Fourth Official: Pol van Boekel (NED)

UCL Quarter-finals, First Leg

6 April 2011
Chelsea London – Manchester United
Referee: Alberto Undiano Mallenco (ESP, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Fermin Martinez Ibanez (ESP)
Assistant Referee 2: Juan Yuste Jimenez (ESP)
Additional AR 1: Fernando Teixeira Vitienes (ESP)
Additional AR 2: Carlos Clos Gomez (ESP)
Fourth Official: David Fernandez Borbalan (ESP)

Barcelona FC – FC Shakhtar Donetsk
Referee Craig Thomson (SCO)
Assistant Referee 1: Francis Andrews (SCO)
Assistant Referee 2: Graham Chambers (SCO)
Additional AR 1: Alan Muir (SCO)
Additional AR 2: Calum Murray (SCO)
Fourth Official: William Collum (SCO)

5 April 2011
Real Madrid – Tottenham
Referee: Felix Brych (GER)
Assistant Referee 1: Thorsten Schiffner (GER)
Assistant Referee 2: Mark Borsch (GER)
Additional AR 1: Christian Dingert (GER)
Additional AR 2: Marc Seemann (GER)
Fourth Official: Peter Sippel (GER)

Internazionale – Schalke
Referee: Martin Atkinson (ENG)
Assistant Referee 1: Michael Mullarkey (ENG)
Assistant Referee 2: Peter Kirkup (ENG)
Additional AR 1: Lee Mason (ENG)
Additional AR 2: Michael Jones (ENG)
Fourth Official: Andre Marriner (ENG)

Bundesliga match halted after AR struck

German FIFA referee Deniz Aytekin halted Friday's Bundesliga game between St Pauli and Schalke 04 two minutes before the final whistle was due. Visitors Schalke were leading 2-0 against St Pauli, who had two players sent off, when the assistant referee Thorsten Schiffner was hit on the back of the head with a full cup of beer before falling to the ground two minutes from time and the referee ordered the teams off the pitch.

Source: Reuters