Argentine referee "retired" his yellow card

Carlos Maglio broke new ground in the field of refereeing during a recent exhibition game between two of Argentine soccer’s fiercest rivals.

Players from Estudiantes and Gimnasia had racked up eight yellow cards in the first 79 minutes before Maglio decided he had seen enough brutality. Maglio called both captains to an on-field meeting, where he told them that he would no longer issue yellow cards, and that it would be all red from there. Maglio even took the extraordinary step of giving his yellow card to the fourth official. Israel Damonte tested Maglio’s resolve just five minutes later with a rough tackle, and Maglio duly dismissed the Estudiantes midfielder. After the game, Maglio told the ironically named radio station La Red that he resorted to the “red card only” policy to protect the players from themselves, according to Metro. “Retiring the yellow was a spur-of-the-moment decision. I had already booked eight players, and I didn’t want them to keep hitting each other,” Maglio said. “The fourth official asked me to give [the yellow card] to him — that way it was clear to everyone that the yellow was no longer in play.” Maglio added that he would have sent Damonte off during normal circumstances; such was the severity of his offense. “Even if I’d had the yellow cards, he would still have gone off,” Maglio said. “It was a red card offense.”
It’s unlikely that Maglio or the battling players will face further punishment for their actions in the “Clasico de La Plata” because it was an exhibition game. The often rough-and-tumble Argentine Primera Division (first division) resumes in mid-February. Players, coaches and fans should know that Maglio means business.

Source: NESN

UEFA Referee Winter Courses 2014

Europe's leading men and women referees will be in Lisbon next week for the annual UEFA winter courses. The match officials will be preparing for the knockout phase of UEFA's club competitions, with international newcomers to the FIFA list to get a comprehensive briefing on their duties as a European referee. A group of top European referees are now also in full preparation for this summer's FIFA World Cup in Brazil. European football's governing body organises two main referee events a year: a summer gathering, in which match officials are briefed for the new season and given specific instructions for club and national team duties, and a winter get-together designed to guide the referees into the second half of the campaign.

The 22nd UEFA Advanced Course for Top Referees and the 23rd UEFA Introductory Course for International Referees will see men and women referees sharing technical and practical sessions. Female referees joined the UEFA winter session for the first time last year – demonstrating the importance that UEFA attaches to women refereeing as the women's game continues to flourish.

"There will be 28 different national associations represented from the new entries to the 2014 FIFA list for European international referees, in a total of 44 new names attending the introductory course," says UEFA chief refereeing officer Pierluigi Collina in his welcome message to the course. "It will be a first experience at international level for most of them, although 20 have attended the CORE [Centre of Refereeing Excellence] courses in Nyon, confirming its importance for refereeing development. This will be the starting point of their preparation for officiating at UEFA matches, and their first appointments as international referees will include youth mini-tournaments or the qualification rounds of the UEFA club competitions." The new internationals will go through an extensive medical check-up and will also take the FIFA fitness test. Additionally they will receive various instructions from the UEFA administration. The referees' knowledge of the English language – the common refereeing language – will be evaluated through interviews with members of the UEFA Referees Committee, which comprises experienced former international referees. At technical sessions, the participants will attend presentations given by Referee Committee members, and video sessions will analyse specially prepared footage from UEFA competition matches over the past and present season, including UEFA Women's EURO in Sweden last summer.
Sixty-five leading men referees and 16 women have been invited to the advanced course. A selection of these top officials will undergo an injury prevention screening and then the whole group will undertake a fitness check. "The Champions League and Europa League knockout stages are to be played soon and need to be prepared thoroughly, so they will also receive instructions from UEFA Referees Committee members via the analysis of previous situations in matches", says Collina. "As usual all the referees will undergo a very tight program, very fruitful for their preparation". (Source: UEFA)
 

Advanced Course

Elite: Martin Atkinson (ENG), Olegario Benquerenca (POR), Felix Brych (GER), Cuneyt Cakir (TUR), Mark Clattenburg (ENG), William Collum (SCO), Jonas Eriksson (SWE), David Fernandez Borbalan (ESP), Viktor Kassai (HUN), Pavel Kralovec (CZE), Bjorn Kuipers (NED), Stephane Lannoy (FRA), Milorad Mazic (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 Mallenco (ESP), Carlos Velasco Carballo (ESP), Howard Webb (ENG).
First Category: Yevhen Aranovskyi (UKR), Firat Aydinus (TUR), Deniz Aytekin (GER), Luca Banti (ITA), Ivan Bebek (CRO), Serhiy Boiko (UKR), Ruddy Buquet (FRA), Sebastien Delferiere (BEL), Aleksei Eskov (RUS), Antony Gautier (FRA), Mattias Gestranius (FIN), Manuel Grafe (GER), Serge Gumienny (BEL), Tom Harald Hagen (NOR), Kenn Hansen (DEN), Ovidiu Hategan (ROU), Stefan Johannesson (SWE), Matej Jug (SVN), Sergei Karasev (RUS), Aleksei Kulbakov (BLR), Harald Lechner (AUT), Szymon Marciniak (POL), Antonio Mateu Lahoz (ESP), Paolo Mazzoleni (ITA), Steven McLean (SCO), Bas Nijhuis (NED), Michael Oliver (ENG), Daniele Orsato (ITA), Halis Ozkahya (TUR), Anastassios Sidiropoulos (GRE), Artur Soares Dias (POR), Aleksandar Stavrev (MKD), Marijo Strahonja (CRO), Martin Strombergsson (SWE), Alexandru Tudor (ROU), Clement Turpin (FRA), Istvan Vad (HUN), Pol van Boekel (NED), Slavko Vincic (SVN), Alon Yefet (ISR), Miroslav Zelinka (CZE), Felix Zwayer (GER).
Women Elite: Jana Adamkova (CZE), Teodora Albon (ROU), Christine Baitinger (GER), Cristina Dorcioman (ROU), Gyongy Gaal (HUN), Kirsi Heikkinen (FIN), Riem Hussein (GER), Katalin Kulcsar (HUN), Pernilla Larsson (SWE), Thalia Mitsi (GRE), Kateryna Monzul (UKR), Jenny Palmqvist (SWE), Morag Pirie (SCO), Silvia Tea Spinelli (ITA), Esther Staubli (SUI), Bibiana Steinhaus (GER), Carina Vitulano (ITA).

Introductory Course

Men: Zaven Hovhannisyan (ARM), Manuel Schuttengruber (AUT), Erik Lambrechts (BEL), Bart Vertenten (BEL), Edin Jakupovic (BIH), Tsvetan Krastev (BUL), Fran Jovic (CRO), Tihomir Pejin (CRO), Zbynek Proske (CZE), Jens Maae (DEN), Anders Poulsen (DEN), Jesus Gil Manzano (ESP), Alejandro Hernandez Hernandez (ESP), Ville Nevalainen (FIN), Benoit Bastien (FRA), Benoit Millot (FRA), Bastian Dankert (GER), Tobias Stieler GER), Paul McLaughlin (IRL), Roy Reinshreiber (ISR), Marco Guida (ITA), Davide Massa (ITA), Alexandru Tean (MDA), Bartosz Frankowski (POL), Tomasz Musial (POL), Sergei Ivanov (RUS), Paul Robertson (SCO), Bojan Pandzic (SWE).
Women: Julia-Stefanie Baier (AUT), Farida Lutfaliyeva (AZE), Lois Otte (BEL), Galiya Echeva (BUL), Ivana Martincic (CRO), Eliska Kralovec-Kramlova (CZE), Ifeoma Kulmala (FIN), Eleni Antoniou (GRE), Valentina Garoffolo (ITA), Justina Lavrenovaite (LTU), Viola Raudzina (LVA), Irena Velevackoska (MKD), Henrikke Nervik (NOR), Kseniya Goryacheva (RUS), Aleksandra Cesen (SVN), Liudmyla Telbukh (UKR).

Nijhuis suspended for prank

FIFA referee Bas Nijhuis was suspended by the Dutch Football Association for inappropriate behavior during a training camp in Belek, Turkey.

The 37-year old Nijhuis was given a disciplinary punishment after “school trip behavior” at the training camp. The news was confirmed by a spokesman of the Dutch Football Association. Nijhuis climbed in the middle of the night on the balcony of assistant referee Coen Droste, awake ​​his colleagues and then haunted, along with AR Edwin de Vree, in the corridors of the hotel. Before returning to the Netherlands, the Dutch Referee Committee boss Van Egmond yelled at the all referees gathered and announced that this behavior does not fit into any professional organization, so Nijhuis and De Vree would be removed from the program. Because of his suspension, Nijhuis missed the match Cambuur - Go Ahead Eagles, where his regular assistants Rob van der Ven and Charles Schaap were present, but Ed Janssen whistled. He also missed the midweek cup match and he will be out from the Premier League this weekend.
It was not the first time when Dutch referees were having fun. In August 2012, another FIFA referee from Netherlands, Danny Makkelie, sprayed water, along with AR Nicky Siebert, from a hose at a hotel after the Europa League match Vaslui – Inter. Only the assistant eventually punished.

Source: De Telegraaf

IFFHS World’s Best Woman Referee 2013: Steinhaus (GER)

Editorial staff and experts from 70 countries from all the football continents in the world took part in the second running of the IFFHS annual election of The World’s Best Woman Referee 2013. German referee Bibiana Steinhaus, second last year for the first edition behind the swedish Jenny Palmqvist, won the title for the first time with a great advance before… Jenny Palmqvist! There was no doubt that Steinhaus ist the World’s Best Referee in 2013. The policewoman (34 years old) was on duty at the European Championship in Sweden and headed three games, including the quarter final between Norway and Spain. Steinhaus is also the first German woman who whistles games in the Second Bundesliga in the Men’s League. She had a great personnality and a good feeling with the players, who respected her for her performances. Jenny Palmqvist (44) is a professional referee and head games in the Swedish Woman League. She has been since many years the reference in the World of the woman referees and was the FIRST winner of this title last year. Her second place is logical this year and rewarded her great career. The Swiss Esther Staubli was third with only two points less than Palmqvist. Since 13 years, Staubli (43) has been referee and head games in the third Mens League in Switzerland as well as in the UEFA Women’s Champions League or this summer at the European Championship in Sweden. Fourth Carina Vitulano (38) from Italy and fifth Kateryna Monzul (32) from Ukraine can pretend to have big games in the future and competitors in the next 5 years with Bibiana Steinhaus.

IFFHS World’s Best Women Referees 2013 

1. Bibiana Steinhaus (GER, photo) 112 p
2. Jenny Palmqvist (SWE) 57 p
3. Esther Staubli (SUI) 55 p
4. Carina Vitulano (ITA) 48 p
5. Kateryna Monzul (UKR) 37 p
6. Kirsi Heikkinen (FIN) 31 p
7. Cristina Dorcioman (ROU) 30 p
8. Teodora Albon (ROU) 3 p
9. Pernilla Larsson (SWE) 2 p
10. Amy Fearn (ENG) 2 p

Orange cards proposed by FIFA candidate Champagne

FIFA presidential candidate Jerome Champagne has suggested introducing orange cards that would allow referees to send players to a sin-bin. The Frenchman, 55, launched his bid to succeed Sepp Blatter as the world governing body's president on Monday. He also wants to punish teams when players question officials and hopes football will consider using more technology for key decisions. FIFA's presidential election will be held in Zurich in June 2015.

His other proposals include:
- Quotas for foreign players
- Implementing rugby's rule where only the captain can talk to the referee with a free-kick advanced 10 yards for any dissent
- Abolishing the 'triple punishment' rule where a player who prevents a goal-scoring opportunity in the penalty areas concedes a spot-kick, is sent off and also suspended
- All FIFA presidential candidates taking part in live debates on television and in front of the six continental confederations
- Making public the salary of the FIFA president and leading officials.

Former referees have mixed views on the proposals. George Courtney, who officiated in the 1986 and 1990 World Cups in Mexico and Italy, said: "It would have to be under the right criteria but I think the time has come to seriously consider sin-bins. I expect the international board would be considering them. Red-card offences should still be punished with a red card but maybe for some other offences it would work".
Jerome Champagne is a man of ideas and, clearly, ambition. He spoke to journalists for more than 90 minutes on topics ranging from the reform of FIFA's powerful executive committee to how, as in rugby, only the captain of a team should be able to approach the referee during a game. Getting into power to implement these ideas will be the tough part. He needs to convince a majority of 209 football associations that form FIFA to vote for him. And who will he stand against? Incumbent president Sepp Blatter and UEFA's Michel Platini are yet to declare their intentions. Champagne, who has been backed by Pele, announced his intentions to become football's most powerful man at a news conference in London. Blatter has been re-elected three times since becoming president in 1998 but has not yet said whether he will stand again. A former FIFA deputy general secretary, Champagne worked closely with Blatter between 2002 and 2005 before leaving the organisation in 2010. Since then, he has been working as an international football consultant in troubled regions including Kosovo, Palestine and Israel and Cyprus. Champagne suggests players could be sin-binned for two or three minutes for "in-between fouls committed in the heat of the moment". He cited the example of a player who had already been booked then receiving a second yellow card for taking off his shirt to celebrate a goal. Champagne also suggests allowing only team captains to approach a referee to question a decision and wants referees to be able to move the ball 10 yards further forward if a player is guilty of dissent. "More often than ever, matches are being marred by unacceptable scenes of players surrounding and haranguing the referee," he wrote in a document first published in March 2013.
Brazil legend Pele, a three-time World Cup winner, said he supports Champagne's campaign. "I cannot stay away from a debate which is so important for the future of football," he said in a recorded message shown at Monday's news conference. "Thus, I support Jerome Champagne and his vision". UEFA president Michel Platini is also a possible candidate, although the former France midfielder has not yet declared his intentions.

Source: BBC Sport

Webb returned to police force

Howard Webb has returned to his former job with the police - but has no plans to quit refereeing. The decorated official, who took charge of the 2010 World Cup Final, has brought an end to the five-year sabbatical he was given to concentrate on refereeing.

Webb returned to the force, but there is no sense that this will act as an obstacle to his officiating, despite murmurings in some refereeing circles. He is obliged to work 10 hours a week with the South Yorkshire Police Force and he is being accommodated on a flexible basis to fit in with football commitments. Over the hectic Christmas period, for instance, Webb was granted full leave. And his role is ambassadorial rather than all-action. “Don't worry, he is not chasing robbers or knocking doors down”, one officer told Sportsmail. There is, nevertheless, plenty to admire in the work that Webb is doing. Sportsmail understands that he is heading up a project to provide free coaching sessions for boys and girls aged 10-19 that, according to the police, “could otherwise be on the streets”. He negotiates with headmasters, delivers motivational speeches at assemblies, appeals for funding and runs question and answer sessions. A colleague described Webb as a “fantastic, genuine man, without whom any of this would be possible”. There are nine different locations across South Yorkshire, with 400 children involved every Friday night and the hope is to expand that figure to 1,000 in 2014. In a statement to Sportsmail, Webb said: 'This is a fantastic opportunity that South Yorkshire Police have provided me with here since returning back to work. I work for ten hours per week, predominantly on crime prevention and community engagement. The Sheffield and Hallamshire County FA funding became available and it seemed logical to bring together my contacts within my refereeing work and my police work. Feedback from the schools is excellent, with reports of better behaviour from the kids already. All of the youngsters involved look forward all week to the sessions. They are motivated to improve their behaviour with the reward of football one night a week”.
The referees' governing body, PGMOL, view Webb's involvement as “incredibly positive”. In the hidden world of the match officials, there is much aspiration towards academia and over half of the Select Group Referees are studying for a Masters degree in Management. Others seek to raise money for positive causes; last year 15 officials, including Webb, Mike Jones, Martin Atkinson and Phil Dowd, ran in the Leeds 10k, raising thousands of pounds for charity.
In UEFA and FIFA circles, Webb in particular is highly respected. Their backing and support for the man one UEFA dignitary previously described to Sportsmail as the “English Collina” has never wavered. In Euro 2008, Webb drew the ire of Poland after awarding a penalty against them in Vienna. When Webb arrived for his next match, a policeman reassured him: “You will not be killed in Salzburg, Mr. Webb”. UEFA knew his decision was right and backed Webb completely, awarding him a Champions League final two years later and FIFA followed suit with the World Cup showpiece in South Africa. Recently, Webb was selected to officiate at a second World Cup in Brazil this summer.

Source: Sportsmail

Cakir: “I had a dream”

Referring to Martin Luther King Jr., Turkish referee Cuneyt Cakir said “he had a dream” and has always worked for it. Speaking at a press conference, Cakir, who was, along with his two assistants Tarik Ongun and Bahattin Duran, assigned to officiate games in the summer’s FIFA World Cup, started with referring to the late African-American civil rights activist.

“I had a dream. You all know Martin Luther King Jr.’s phrase”, Cakir said, adding he worked hard to fulfill his dreams. “We spent 156 days of the year away from our homes. We had 240 training sessions and officiated 56 games. We worked hard. Now, we will work harder to do our best”, he said ahead of this summer’s World Cup.
Last week, the world football’s governing body, FIFA, announced its list of 25 referee trios to be assigned for the game’s biggest event. Cakir, Duran and Ongun were among nine referee trios from the European confederation, UEFA. Cakir will be the first Turkish referee in the World Cup after pioneer Dogan Babacan was assigned to officiate the 1974 World Cup. Babacan, who has made football history with being the first-ever referee to send a player off in a World Cup game in 1974, was also present at the conference.
“I started refereeing in the year 1994 and walked in the path Dogan Babacan has opened”, Bahattin Duran said. Tarık Ongun also voiced his pride. “Football is my childhood love and it is an honor to be assigned to football’s greatest organization”, he said. “There is no end to working. We will train hard in the next three or four months to be ready in time”.

Source: Hurriyet