Clattenburg cleared by the English FA

The Football Association has cleared referee Mark Clattenburg of using "inappropriate language" towards Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel. But Mikel, 25, has been charged by the FA with misconduct following his involvement in the incident. The Blues had claimed Clattenburg directed racial language at Mikel in their home defeat by Manchester United.

Following the match at Stamford Bridge on 28 October, the FA interviewed Clattenburg, Mikel and several other Blues players before reaching its decision to clear the official and charge the Nigerian. "It is alleged that in or around the match officials' changing room at the end of the fixture, Mikel used threatening and/or abusive and/or insulting words and/or behaviour," an FA statement read. Mikel has until Friday, 30 November, to respond. Chelsea have indicated he will not deny the charge but will request a hearing to "explain the mitigating circumstances". The evidence for Chelsea's allegation towards Clattenburg came from their midfielder Ramires who, when interviewed, explained that his instinctive reaction was to seek confirmation from Mikel as to what the referee said. Mikel, who was being spoken to by Clattenburg, was much closer than Ramires and did not hear what it is suggested was said to him. The two assistant referees and the fourth official revealed they did not hear any of the comments Clattenburg was accused of making, despite being linked up to the referee via microphones.

Clattenburg, 37, has always maintained his innocence and the Metropolitan Police dropped its own inquiry earlier this month. He missed four weekends of Premier League matches while the FA investigated Chelsea's complaint. "I am looking forward to putting this behind me and concentrating on refereeing in the Premier League and other competitions," said Clattenburg. "The messages of encouragement from those inside and outside of the game have helped me through the most stressful time of my professional life. To know you were innocent but there was the opportunity for it to wreck your career was truly frightening. Racism has no place in football and this experience should not discourage those to speak out if they genuinely believe they are a victim of abuse. However, there are processes that should be adhered to in order that any investigation can be carried out in a manner that is fair for all parties involved. I know first hand the ramifications of allegations of this nature being placed into the public domain ahead of a formal process and investigation. I hope no referee has to go through this in the future. What has happened over the last few weeks should not overshadow the fact the on-pitch relationship between match officials, players and managers is the best we've ever known it”, said Mark Clattenburg.
Responding to the announcement, a Chelsea statement said: "Chelsea Football Club accepts the Football Association's decision regarding Mark Clattenburg and welcomes the fact that the FA recognises the club and players were correct in reporting the matter.”

Referees' union Prospect, on behalf of Clattenburg, are asking Chelsea for a full apology and compensation.

Source: BBC Sports

UEFA Europa League – Group Stage (Matchday 5)

22 November 2012

Molde – Kobenhavn

Referee: Michael Oliver (ENG, photo)

Assistant Referee 1: Simon Long (ENG)

Assistant Referee 2: Darren England (ENG)

Additional AR 1: Michael Jones (ENG)

Additional AR 2: Lee Mason (ENG)

Fourth Official: Jake Collin (ENG)

Referee Observer: Luis Medina Cantalejo (ESP)

Anzhi – Udinese

Referee: Serge Gumienny (BEL)

Assistant Referee 1: Walter Vromans (BEL)

Assistant Referee 2: Yves de Neve (BEL)

Additional AR 1: Luc Wouters (BEL)

Additional AR 2: Alexandre Boucaut (BEL)

Fourth Official: Kristof Meers (BEL)

Referee Observer: Sokol Jareci (ALB)

Rubin Kazan – Internazionale

Referee: Tommy Skjerven (NOR)

Assistant Referee 1: Kim Haglund (NOR)

Assistant Referee 2: Svein Wiken (NOR)

Additional AR 1: Espen Berntsen (NOR)

Additional AR 2: Dag Vidar Hafsas (NOR)

Fourth Official: Frank Andas (NOR)

Referee Observer: Dragutin Poljak (CRO)

Neftci – Partizan

Referee: Simon Lee Evans (WAL)

Assistant Referee 1: Edward King (WAL)

Assistant Referee 2: Philip Thomas (WAL)

Additional AR 1: Mark Whitby (WAL)

Additional AR 2: Bryn Markham-Jones (WAL)

Fourth Official: Alun Boore (WAL)

Referee Observer: Gunter Benko (AUT)

Sparta Praha – Olympique Lyon

Referee: Anastassios Kakos (GRE)

Assistant Referee 1: Christos Akrivos (GRE)

Assistant Referee 2: Dimitris Tatsis (GRE)

Additional AR 1: Antonis Giachos (GRE)

Additional AR 2: Ilias Spathas (GRE)

Fourth Official: Ilias Alexeas (GRE)

Referee Observer: Are Habicht (EST)

Hapoel Kiryat – Athletic Bilbao

Referee: Rene Eisner (AUT)

Assistant Referee 1: Klaus Strasser (AUT)

Assistant Referee 2: Gerd Adanitsch (AUT)

Additional AR 1: Harald Lechner (AUT)

Additional AR 2: Alexander Harkam (AUT)

Fourth Official: Andreas Witschnigg (AUT)

Referee Observer: Siegfried Kirschen (GER)

Panathinaikos – Maribor  

Referee: Laurent Duhamel (FRA)

Assistant Referee 1: Cyril Gringore (FRA)

Assistant Referee 2: Christophe Capelli (FRA)

Additional AR 1: Nicolas Rainville (FRA)

Additional AR 2: Alexandre Castro (FRA)

Fourth Official: Huseyin Ocak (FRA)

Referee Observer: Amit Klein (ISR)

Lazio Roma – Tottenham

Referee: Fernando Teixeira Vitienes (ESP)

Assistant Referee 1: Jesus Calvo Guadamuro (ESP)

Assistant Referee 2: Raul Cabanero Martinez (ESP)

Additional AR 1: Antonio Mateu Lahoz (ESP)

Additional AR 2: Carlos Delgado Ferreiro (ESP)

Fourth Official: Jose Fernandez Miranda (ESP)

Referee Observer: Valentin Ivanov (RUS)

Rosenborg – Rapid Wien

Referee: Gediminas Mazeika (LTU)

Assistant Referee 1: Vytautas Simkus (LTU)

Assistant Referee 2: Saulius Dirda (LTU)

Additional AR 1: Nerijus Dunauskas (LTU)

Additional AR 2: Sergejus Slyva (LTU)

Fourth Official: Arturas Pipiras (LTU)

Referee Observer: Walter Clarke (NIR)

Metalist Kharkov – Bayer Leverkusen

Referee: Cristian Balaj (ROU)

Assistant Referee 1: Zoltan Szekely (ROU)

Assistant Referee 2: Sebastian Gheorghe (ROU)

Additional AR 1: Marius Avram (ROU)

Additional AR 2: Istvan Kovacs (ROU)

Fourth Official: Aurel Onita (ROU)

Referee Observer: Nikolay Levnikov (RUS)

Helsingborg – Levante

Referee: Alan Kelly (IRL)

Assistant Referee 1: Damien MacGraith (IRL)

Assistant Referee 2: Marc Douglas (IRL)

Additional AR 1: Neil Doyle (IRL)

Additional AR 2: Padraigh Sutton (IRL)

Fourth Official: Kenneth Hennessy (IRL)

Referee Observer: Miroslav Vitkovic (CRO)

Hannover – Twente

Referee: Aleksei Kulbakov (BLR)

Assistant Referee 1: Dmitry Zhuk (BLR)

Assistant Referee 2: Vitaly Maliutsin (BLR)

Additional AR 1: Denis Scherbakov (BLR)

Additional AR 2: Siarhei Tsynkevich (BLR)

Fourth Official: Oleh Maslyanko (BLR)

Referee Observer: Nicolae Grigorescu (ROU)

Videoton – KRC Genk

Referee: Liran Liany (ISR)

Assistant Referee 1: Danny Krasikow (ISR)

Assistant Referee 2: David Biton (ISR)

Additional AR 1: Menashe Masiah (ISR)

Additional AR 2: Roy Reinshreiber (ISR)

Fourth Official: Oren Bornshtain (ISR)

Referee Observer: Jean Lemmer (LUX)

FC Basel – Sporting  

Referee: Paolo Valeri (ITA)

Assistant Referee 1: Andrea Stefani (ITA)

Assistant Referee 2: Renato Faverani (ITA)

Additional AR 1: Andrea Gervasoni (ITA)

Additional AR 2: Domenico Celi (ITA)

Fourth Official: Giorgio Niccolai (ITA)

Referee Observer: Stephen Lodge (ENG)

Liverpool – Young Boys  

Referee: Alon Yefet (ISR)

Assistant Referee 1: Shabtai Nahmias (ISR)

Assistant Referee 2: Nissan Davidy (ISR)

Additional AR 1: Eli Hacmon (ISR)

Additional AR 2: Ziv Adler (ISR)

Fourth Official: Dvir Shimon (ISR)

Referee Observer: Gylfi Orrason (ISL)

Atletico Madrid – Hapoel Tel Aviv

Referee: Martin Hansson (SWE)

Assistant Referee 1: Fredrik Nilsson (SWE)

Assistant Referee 2: Joakim Flink (SWE)

Additional AR 1: Michael Lerjeus (SWE)

Additional AR 2: Andreas Ekberg (SWE)

Fourth Official: Henrik Andren (SWE)

Referee Observer: Ferenc Szekely (HUN)

Academica – Viktoria Plzen

Referee: Marcin Borski (POL)

Assistant Referee 1: Rafal Rostkowski (POL)

Assistant Referee 2: Maciej Wierzbowski (POL)

Additional AR 1: Dawid Piasecki (POL)

Additional AR 2: Daniel Stefanski (POL)

Fourth Official: Tomasz Listkiewicz (POL)

Referee Observer: Marc Batta (FRA)

Monchengladbach – AEL Limasol

Referee: Robert Madden (SCO)

Assistant Referee 1: James Bee (SCO)

Assistant Referee 2: Stuart Stevenson (SCO)

Additional AR 1: Alan Muir (SCO)

Additional AR 2: Paul Robertson (SCO)

Fourth Official: William Conquer (SCO)

Referee Observer: Alain Hamer (LUX)

Olympique Marseille – Fenerbahce

Referee: Martin Atkinson (ENG)

Assistant Referee 1: Stuart Burt (ENG)

Assistant Referee 2: Simon Beck (ENG)

Additional AR 1: Andre Marriner (ENG)

Additional AR 2: Anthony Taylor (ENG)

Fourth Official: Peter Kirkup (ENG)

Referee Observer: Markus Nobs (SUI)

Newcastle – Maritimo

Referee: Danny Makkelie (NED)

Assistant Referee 1: Berry Simons (NED)

Assistant Referee 2: Patrick Langkamp (NED)

Additional AR 1: Ed Janssen (NED)

Additional AR 2: Dennis Higler (NED)

Fourth Official: Davie Goossens (NED)

Referee Observer: Laszlo Vagner (HUN)

FC Brugge – Girondins Bordeaux

Referee: Florian Meyer (GER)

Assistant Referee 1: Holger Henschel (GER)

Assistant Referee 2: Christoph Bornhorst (GER)

Additional AR 1: Christian Dingert (GER)

Additional AR 2: Robert Hartmann (GER)

Fourth Official: Stefan Lupp (GER)

Referee Observer: Cornelius Bakker (NED)

Steaua – VfB Stuttgart

Referee: Michael Koukoulakis (GRE)

Assistant Referee 1: Dimitrios Saraidaris (GRE)

Assistant Referee 2: Damianos Efthimiadis (GRE)

Additional AR 1: Stavros Tritsonis (GRE)

Additional AR 2: Andreas Pappas (GRE)

Fourth Official: Michael Karsiotis (GRE)

Referee Observer: Yury Dupanau (BLR)

PSV Eindhoven – Dnipro

Referee: Carlos Clos Gomez (ESP)

Assistant Referee 1: Javier Aguilar Rodriguez (ESP)

Assistant Referee 2: Luis Marco Martinez (ESP)

Additional AR 1: Javier Estrada Fernandez (ESP)

Additional AR 2: Jose Gonzalez Gonzalez (ESP)

Fourth Official: Pau Cebrian Devis (ESP)

Referee Observer: Patritiu Abrudan (ROU)

AIK Solna – SSC Napoli

Referee: Ovidiu Hategan (ROU)

Assistant Referee 1: Cristian Nica (ROU)

Assistant Referee 2: Octavian Sovre (ROU)

Additional AR 1: Alexandru Tudor (ROU)

Additional AR 2: Sebastian Coltescu (ROU)

Fourth Official: Radu Ghinguleac (ROU)

Referee Observer: Rune Pedersen (NOR)

Copa Sudmericana 2012 – Semi-finals (First Leg)

22 November 2012
Universidad Catolica – Sao Paulo

Referee: Omar Ponce (ECU, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Juan Cedeno (ECU)
Assistant Referee 2: Christian Lescano (ECU)
Fourth Official: Alfredo Intriago (ECU)
Referee Observer: Ivan Guerrero (CHI)

Tigre – Millonarios
Referee: Enrique Caceres (PAR)
Assistant Referee 1: Rodney Aquino (PAR)
Assistant Referee 2: Carlos Caceres (PAR)
Fourth Official: Julio Quintana (PAR)
Referee Observer: Miguel Scime (ARG)

UEFA Champions League – Group Stage (Matchday 5)

20 November 2012
Spartak Moskva – FC Barcelona
Referee: Ivan Bebek (CRO, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Tomislav Petrovic (CRO)
Assistant Referee 2: Miro Grgic (CRO)
Additional AR 1: Domagoj Vuckov (CRO)
Additional AR 2: Goran Gabrilo (CRO)
Fourth Official: Dalibor Conjar (CRO)
Referee Observer: Bertrand Layec (FRA)

Nordsjaelland – Shakhtar Donetsk
Referee: Antony Gautier (FRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Michael Annonier (FRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Frederic Cano (FRA)
Additional AR 1: Ruddy Buquet (FRA)
Additional AR 2: Olivier Thual (FRA)
Fourth Official: Eric Dansault (FRA)
Referee Observer: Bo Karlsson (SWE)

Juventus – Chelsea
Referee: Cuneyt Cakir (TUR)
Assistant Referee 1: Bahattin Duran (TUR)
Assistant Referee 2: Tarik Ongun (TUR)
Additional AR 1: Huseyin Gocek (TUR)
Additional AR 2: Bulent Yildirim (TUR)
Fourth Official: Emre Eyisoy (TUR)
Referee Observer: Vitor Melo Pereira (POR)

Bate Borisov – Lille OSC
Referee: Marijo Strahonja (CRO)
Assistant Referee 1: Sinisa Premuzaj (CRO)
Assistant Referee 2: Igor Krmar (CRO)
Additional AR 1: Igor Pristovnik (CRO)
Additional AR 2: Ante Vucemilovic-Simunovic (CRO)
Fourth Official: Ivica Modric (CRO)
Referee Observer: Adrian Casha (MLT)

Valencia – Bayern Munchen
Referee: Howard Webb (ENG)
Assistant Referee 1: Michael Mullarkey (ENG)
Assistant Referee 2: Darren Cann (ENG)
Additional AR 1: Lee Probert (ENG)
Additional AR 2: Mike Dean (ENG)
Fourth Official: Stephen Child (ENG)
Referee Observer: Miroslav Tulinger (CZE)

Benfica – Celtic
Referee: Viktor Kassai (HUN)
Assistant Referee 1: Gyorgy Ring (HUN)
Assistant Referee 2: Robert Kispal (HUN)
Additional AR 1: Tamas Bognar (HUN)
Additional AR 2: Mihaly Fabian (HUN)
Fourth Official: Gabor Eros (HUN)
Referee Observer: Jorn-West Larsen (DEN)

Galatasaray – Manchester United
Referee: Carlos Velasco Carballo (ESP)
Assistant Referee 1: Roberto Alonso Fernandez (ESP)
Assistant Referee 2: Juan Yuste Jimenez (ESP)
Additional AR 1: Cesar Muniz Fernandez (ESP)
Additional AR 2: Carlos Del Cerro Grande (ESP)
Fourth Official: Roberto Perez Del Palomar (ESP)
Referee Observer: William Young (SCO)

CFR Cluj – Braga
Referee: Sergei Karasev (RUS)
Assistant Referee 1: Nikolay Golubev (RUS)
Assistant Referee 2: Tikhon Kalugin (RUS)
Additional AR 1: Aleksei Nikolaev (RUS)
Additional AR 2: Maksim Layushkin (RUS)
Fourth Official: Anton Averianov (RUS)
Referee Observer: Kyros Vassaras (GRE)

21 November 2012
FC Porto – Dinamo Zagreb
Referee: Paolo Tagliavento (ITA)
Assistant Referee 1: Mauro Tonolini (ITA)
Assistant Referee 2: Lorenzo Manganelli (ITA)
Additional AR 1: Luca Banti (ITA)
Additional AR 2: Paolo Mazzoleni (ITA)
Fourth Official: Riccardo Di Fiore (ITA)
Referee Observer: Francesco Bianchi (SUI)

Dynamo Kyiv – Paris SG
Referee: Wolfgang Stark (GER)
Assistant Referee 1: Jan-Hendrik Salver (GER)
Assistant Referee 2: Mike Pickel (GER)
Additional AR 1: Felix Zwayer (GER)
Additional AR 2: Tobias Welz (GER)
Fourth Official: Mark Borsch (GER)
Referee Observer: Peter Jones (ENG)

Schalke – Olympiacos
Referee: Bjorn Kuipers (NED)
Assistant Referee 1: Sander van Roekel (NED)
Assistant Referee 2: Erwin Zeinstra (NED)
Additional AR 1: Pol van Boekel (NED)
Additional AR 2: Richard Liesveld (NED)
Fourth Official: Angelo Boonman (NED)
Referee Observer: Nuno Castro (POR)

Arsenal – Montpellier
Referee: Firat Aydinus (TUR)
Assistant Referee 1: Serkan Ok (TUR)
Assistant Referee 2: Aleks Tascioglu (TUR)
Additional AR 1: Mete Kalkavan (TUR)
Additional AR 2: Tolga Ozkalfa (TUR)
Fourth Official: Cem Satman (TUR)
Referee Observer: Eugen Striegel (GER)

Zenit St. Petersburg – Malaga
Referee: Olegario Benquerenca (POR)
Assistant Referee 1: Joao Santos (POR)
Assistant Referee 2: Ricardo Santos (POR)
Additional AR 1: Artur Soares (POR)
Additional AR 2: Carlos Xistra (POR)
Fourth Official: Rui Tavares (POR)
Referee Observer: Donald McVicar (SCO)

Anderlecht – AC Milan
Referee: Damir Skomina (SVN)
Assistant Referee 1: Matej Zunic (SVN)
Assistant Referee 2: Bojan Ul (SVN)
Additional AR 1: Roberto Ponis (SVN)
Additional AR 2: Dragoslav Peric (SVN)
Fourth Official: Primoz Arhar (SVN)
Referee Observer: Costas Kapitanis (CYP)

Ajax Amsterdam – Borussia Dortmund
Referee: Pedro Proença (POR)
Assistant Referee 1: Tiago Trigo (POR)
Assistant Referee 2: Bertino Miranda (POR)
Additional AR 1: Duarte Gomes (POR)
Additional AR 2: Joao Capela (POR)
Fourth Official: Venancio Tome (POR)
Referee Observer: Alfredo Trentalange (ITA)

Manchester City – Real Madrid
Referee: Gianluca Rocchi (ITA)
Assistant Referee 1: Elenito Di Liberatore (ITA)
Assistant Referee 2: Gianluca Cariolato (ITA)
Additional AR 1: Andrea De Marco (ITA)
Additional AR 2: Mauro Bergonzi (ITA)
Fourth Official: Massimiliano Grilli (ITA)
Referee Observer: Vaclav Krondl (CZE)

FIFA Futsal World Cup 2012 – Final

18 November 2012

Final
Spain – Brazil
Referee 1: Hector Rojas (PER, photo)
Referee 2: Marc Birkett (ENG)
Third Referee: Sergio Cabrera (CUB)
Timekeeper: Gabor Kovacs (HUN)
Reserve Referee: Jaime Jativa (ECU)

Match for Third Place
Italy – Colombia
Referee 1: Jose Katemo (ANG)
Referee 2: Scott Kidson (AUS)
Third Referee: Karel Henych (CZE)
Timekeeper: Renata Leite (BRA)
Reserve Referee: Nurdin Bukuev (KGZ)

UEFA: Additional Assistant Referee benefits

UEFA has shown the positive results and benefits of the additional assistant referee system at a workshop at the House of European Football in Nyon. Senior refereeing officials from UEFA's member associations have been briefed by the European body about the benefits of the additional assistant referee (AAR) system, which has been part of the Laws of the Game since this summer.

At a workshop at the House of European Football in Nyon this week, associations were given detailed information and advice on the system. UEFA is using additional assistant referees in its club competitions in the wake of a decision by the International Football Association Board (IFAB) in July, following experiments which had taken place since 2008. The referee, two assistants and fourth official are joined by two additional assistant referees positioned alongside each goal line, with the particular brief to watch for incidents in the penalty area and help the match referee in taking decisions.
UEFA's chief refereeing officer Pierluigi Collina said the system had proved its worth since the experiment began at a UEFA European Under-19 Championship mini-tournament in Slovenia four years ago and was continued as a trial in UEFA's major club competitions. The results have been clear to see. "The main goal is for additional assistant referees to give support when a decision has to be taken – particularly inside the penalty area, where a decision can affect the result of a match," he explained. "What we have seen over some 1,200 matches is a better [refereeing] control of the match," he added. "There has been a reduction in incidents – particularly at set pieces such as corners and free-kicks – better control of the goal line and higher accuracy in terms of decisions taken by the assistant referees. These goals have been achieved thanks to additional assistant referees."
UEFA General Secretary Gianni Infantino opened the workshop on Wednesday and Thursday by outlining the advantages of additional assistant referees. "As a policy decision, the UEFA Executive Committee decided to use additional assistant referees in all our club competitions," he said. "We think they help the referee take difficult decisions within a very short time frame. To have two more experienced colleagues who can help [referees] take these decisions in the penalty area is very helpful."
All FIFA member associations are free to fully apply the system, which proved a success at UEFA EURO 2012, especially as a deterrent against penalty-area incidents. UEFA has produced a DVD for its member associations, which provides essential information on implementing the AAR system. The DVD is based on a presentation given by Pierluigi Collina in Kyiv in July. Through key video examples – particularly those related to UEFA EURO 2012 matches, where audio communication among the referee teams was 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. Collina also emphasised that the additional assistant referees had fulfilled a need brought about by changes in football over the past decade. "The biggest change in the last ten years has been speed," he reflected. "Today it is very difficult for a referee to take a decision – much more than in the past. The referee's job has become more and more difficult. "With football getting even faster and the players fitter, it seems that sometimes the men in black face a 'mission impossible'," he added. "Two extra pairs of eyes focusing on the penalty areas are of valuable assistance to the referee, and strengthen the refereeing team in confidence and numbers, while allowing the game to flow." Since the start of this season, AARs have been deployed in Italy's top flight, Serie A. Collina said that other national associations who may decide to begin using the system would have the advantage of hindsight and learning. "When we started the experiment, we were starting from zero," he said. "Associations would not have to start from there, because there has been three years of experience. The purpose of this workshop is to provide you with all the information that you need to understand how the AAR project and system works in practice."

Source: UEFA

FIFA Futsal World Cup 2012 – Semi-finals

16 November 2012
Italy – Spain
Referee 1: Nurdin Bukuev (KGZ)
Referee 2: Naoki Miyatani (JPN, photo)
Third Referee: Scott Kidson (AUS)
Timekeeper: Kim Jang Kwan (KOR)

Brazil – Colombia
Referee 1: Daniel Rodriguez (URU)
Referee 2: Ivan Shabanov (RUS)
Third Referee: Sergio Cabrera (CUB)
Timekeeper: Jaime Jativa (ECU)