UEFA Europa League – Group Stage (Matchday 2)

1 October 2015

FC Augsburg – Partizan
Referee: Alexandru Tudor (ROU, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Radu Ghinguleac (ROU)
Assistant Referee 2: Vasile Marinescu (ROU)
Additional AR 1: Cristian Balaj (ROU)
Additional AR 2: Marian Petrescu (ROU)
Fourth Official: Ovidiu Artene (ROU)
Referee Observer: Marián Ružbarský (SVK)

Rosenborg – Dnipro
Referee: Sébastien Delferiere (BEL)
Assistant Referee 1: Yves De Neve (BEL)
Assistant Referee 2: Rien Vanyzere (BEL)
Additional AR 1: Jonathan Lardot (BEL)
Additional AR 2: Erick Lambrechts (BEL)
Fourth Official: Jo De Weirdt (BEL)
Referee Observer: Gaetano De Gabriele (SMR)

Lazio – St. Étienne
Referee: Halis Ozkahya (TUR)
Assistant Referee 1: Kemal Yilmaz (TUR)
Assistant Referee 2: Ekrem Kan (TUR)
Additional AR 1: Tolga Özkalfa (TUR)
Additional AR 2: Ali Palabiyik (TUR)
Fourth Official: Cem Satman (TUR)
Referee Observer: Herbert Fandel (GER)

Beşiktaş – Sporting 
Referee: Paolo Tagliavento (ITA)
Assistant Referee 1: Matteo Passeri (ITA)
Assistant Referee 2: Fabiano Preti (ITA)
Additional AR 1: Davide Massa (ITA)
Additional AR 2: Daniele Doveri (ITA)
Fourth Official: Alessandro Giallatini (ITA)
Referee Observer: Asim Khudiyev (AZE)

Lokomotiv Moskva – Skënderbeu
Referee: Orel Grinfeeld (ISR)
Assistant Referee 1: Danny Krasikow (ISR)
Assistant Referee 2: Nissan Davidy (ISR)
Additional AR 1: Liran Liany (ISR)
Additional AR 2: Daniel Natan (ISR)
Fourth Official: Dvir Shimon (ISR)
Referee Observer: Manuel Mejuto González (ESP)

FC Basel – Lech Poznán
Referee: Ognjen Valjić (BIH)
Assistant Referee 1: Haris Baković (BIH)
Assistant Referee 2: Dalibor Drašković (BIH)
Additional AR 1: Edin Jakupović (BIH)
Additional AR 2: Admir Šehović (BIH)
Fourth Official: Davor Beljo (BIH)
Referee Observer: Hans Reijgwart (NED)

Belenenses – Fiorentina
Referee: Aleksandar Stavrev (MKD)
Assistant Referee 1: Marjan Kirovski (MKD)
Assistant Referee 2: Dejan Kostadinov (MKD)
Additional AR 1: Dimitar Meckarovski (MKD)
Additional AR 2: Goran Spirkoski (MKD)
Fourth Official: Nikola Karakolev (MKD)
Referee Observer: Guy Goethals (BEL)

AS Monaco – Tottenham
Referee: Artur Dias (POR)
Assistant Referee 1: Rui Tavares (POR)
Assistant Referee 2: Alvaro Mesquita (POR)
Additional AR 1: Hugo Ferreira (POR)
Additional AR 2: Cosme Machado (POR)
Fourth Official: Nuno Pereira (POR)
Referee Observer: Christas Skapoullis (CYP)

Qarabağ – Anderlecht
Referee: Oliver Drachta (AUT)
Assistant Referee 1: Roland Brandner (AUT)
Assistant Referee 2: Stefan Kuehr (AUT)
Additional AR 1: Manuel Schuettengruber (AUT)
Additional AR 2: Dieter Muckenhammer (AUT)
Fourth Official: Roland Riedel (AUT)
Referee Observer: Darko Čeferin (SVN)

Schalke – Asteras Tripolis
Referee: Pol van Boekel (NED)
Assistant Referee 1: Bas Van Dongen (NED)
Assistant Referee 2: Davie Goossens (NED)
Additional AR 1: Richard Liesveld (NED)
Additional AR 2: Dennis Higler (NED)
Fourth Official: Patrick Langkamp (NED)
Referee Observer: Aleksei Spirin (RUS)

Sparta Praha – Apoel
Referee: Pawel Gil (POL)
Assistant Referee 1: Piotr Sadczuk (POL)
Assistant Referee 2: Marcin Borkowski (POL)
Additional AR 1: Bartosz Frankowski (POL)
Additional AR 2: Krzysztof Jakubik (POL)
Fourth Official: Konrad Sapela (POL)
Referee Observer: Michel Piraux (BEL)

AZ Alkmaar – Athletic Club
Referee: Ivan Kruzliak (SVK)
Assistant Referee 1: Martin Balko (SVK)
Assistant Referee 2: Ondrej Brendza (VK)
Additional AR 1: Peter Kralovic (SVK)
Additional AR 2: Mario Vlk (SVK)
Fourth Official: Tomas Somolani (SVK)
Referee Observer: Haim Jakov (ISR)

Celtic – Fenerbahçe
Referee: Kenn Hansen (DEN)
Assistant Referee 1: Lars Rix (DEN)
Assistant Referee 2: David Andersen (DEN)
Additional AR 1: Mads-Kristoffer Kristoffersen (DEN)
Additional AR 2: Jørgen Daugbjerg Burchardt (DEN)
Fourth Official: Daniel Nørgaard (DEN)
Referee Observer: Tomasz Mikulski (POL)

Molde – Ajax
Referee: Pawel Raczkowski (POL)
Assistant Referee 1: Pawel Sokolnicki (POL)
Assistant Referee 2: Michał Obukowicz (POL)
Additional AR 1: Tomasz Musial (POL)
Additional AR 2: Tomasz Kwiatkowski (POL)
Fourth Official: Tomasz Listkiewicz (POL)
Referee Observer: Jouni Hyytiä (FIN)

Liverpool – FC Sion
Referee: Slavko Vinčić (SVN)
Assistant Referee 1: Bojan Ul (SVN)
Assistant Referee 2: Tomaz Klancnik (SVN)
Additional AR 1: Roberto Ponis (SVN)
Additional AR 2: Dragoslav Peric (SVN)
Fourth Official: Manuel Vidali (SVN)
Referee Observer: Bertrand Layec (FRA)

Rubin Kazan – GirondinsBordeaux
Referee: Gediminas Mazeika (LTU)
Assistant Referee 1: Vytautas Simkus (LTU)
Assistant Referee 2: Vytenis Kazlauskas (LTU)
Additional AR 1: Sergejus Slyva (LTU)
Additional AR 2: Donatas Rumsas (LTU)
Fourth Official: Dovydas Suziedelis (LTU)
Referee Observer: Kostadin Gerginov (BUL)

PAOK – Borussia Dortmund
Referee: Anthony Taylor (ENG)
Assistant Referee 1: John Brooks (ENG)
Assistant Referee 2: Lee Betts (ENG)
Additional AR 1: Lee Mason (ENG)
Additional AR 2: Robert Madley (ENG)
Fourth Official: Simon Bennett (ENG)
Referee Observer: Vítor Melo Pereira (POR)

Krasnodar – Qəbələ
Referee: Marcin Borski (POL)
Assistant Referee 1: Rafal Rostkowski (POL)
Assistant Referee 2: Marcin Boniek (POL)
Additional AR 1: Daniel Stefanski (POL)
Additional AR 2: Tomasz Wajda (POL)
Fourth Official: Krzysztof Myrmus (POL)
Referee Observer: Elmir Pilav (BIH)

Legia Warszawa – SSC Napoli
Referee: Michael Koukoulakis (GRE)
Assistant Referee 1: Alexandros Grevenis (GRE)
Assistant Referee 2: Chrysoula Kourompylia (GRE)
Additional AR 1: Athanasios Giachos (GRE)
Additional AR 2: Andreas Pappas (GRE)
Fourth Official: Christos Baltas (GRE)
Referee Observer: Edgar Steinborn (GER)

Club Brugge – FC Midtjylland
Referee: Steven McLean (SCO)
Assistant Referee 1: Francis Connor (SCO)
Assistant Referee 2: Graeme Stewart (SCO)
Additional AR 1: Kevin Clancy (SCO)
Additional AR 2: Donald Robertson (SCO)
Fourth Official: Stuart MacMillan (SCO)
Referee Observer: Tony Asumaa (FIN)

Villarreal – Viktoria Plzeň
Referee: Serdar Gözübüyük (NED)
Assistant Referee 1: Hessel Steegstra (NED)
Assistant Referee 2: Erwin Zeinstra (NED)
Additional AR 1: Jochen Kamphuis (NED)
Additional AR 2: Jeroen Manschot (NED)
Fourth Official: Sander van Roekel (NED)
Referee Observer: Patrick Kelly (IRL) 

Dinamo Minsk – Rapid Wien
Referee: Jakob Kehlet (DEN)
Assistant Referee 1: Henrik Larsen (DEN)
Assistant Referee 2: Heine Sørensen (DEN)
Additional AR 1: Michael Tykgaard (DEN)
Additional AR 2: Peter Kjærsgaard (DEN)
Fourth Official: Lars Hummelgaard (DEN)
Referee Observer: Kristinn Jakobsson (ISL)

SC Braga – FC Groningen
Referee: Robert Madden (SCO)
Assistant Referee 1: Alastair Mather (SCO)
Assistant Referee 2: Douglas Ross (SCO)
Additional AR 1: John Beaton (SCO)
Additional AR 2: Andrew Dallas (SCO)
Fourth Official: Stuart Stevenson (SCO)
Referee Observer: Volodymyr Petrov (UKR)

Olympique Marseille – Slovan Liberec
Referee: Aleksei Eskov (RUS)
Assistant Referee 1: Dmitri Mosiakin (RUS)
Assistant Referee 2: Valeri Danchenko (RUS)
Additional AR 1: Vladislav Bezborodov (RUS)
Additional AR 2: Sergei Ivanov (RUS)
Fourth Official: Nikolai Golubev (RUS)
Referee Observer: Kaj Ostergaard (DEN)

Copa Sudamericana – Round of 16 (Second Leg)

29 September 2015
Sportivo Luqueño – Deportes Tolima
Referee: Julio Bascuñan (CHI, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Marcelo Barraza (CHI)
Assistant Referee 2: Jose Retamal (CHI)
Fourth Official: Ulises Mereles (PAR)
Referee Observer: Manuel Bernal (PAR)

Santa Fe – Emelec
Referee: Dario Ubriaco (URU)
Assistant Referee 1: Mauricio Espinosa (URU)
Assistant Referee 2: Richard Trinidad (URU)
Fourth Official: Wilson Lamouroux (COL)
Referee Observer: Pablo Montoya (COL)

30 September 2015
LDU Quito – River Plate
Referee: Wilmar Roldan (COL)
Assistant Referee 1: Christian De La Cruz (COL)
Assistant Referee 2: Rafael Rivas (COL)
Fourth Official: Vinicio Espinel (ECU)
Referee Observer: Jose Carpio (ECU)

Olimpia – Independiente
Referee: Daniel Fedorczuk (URU)
Assistant Referee 1: Carlos Pastorino (URU)
Assistant Referee 2: Nicolas Taran (URU)
Fourth Official: Mario Diaz de Vivar (PAR)
Referee Observer: Ubaldo Aquino (PAR)

Brasília – Atlético Paranaense
Referee: Silvio Trucco (ARG)
Assistant Referee 1: Ivan Nuñez (ARG)
Assistant Referee 2: Christian Navarro (ARG)
Fourth Official: Dewson Freitas (BRA)
Referee Observer: Antonio Pereira (BRA)

Huracán – Sport Recife
Referee: Julio Quintana (PAR)
Assistant Referee 1: Rodney Aquino (PAR)
Assistant Referee 2: Carlos Cáceres (PAR)
Fourth Official: Pablo Diaz (ARG)
Referee Observer: Miguel Scime (ARG)

1 October 2015
Defensor Sporting – Lanús
Referee: Enrique Osses (CHI)
Assistant Referee 1: Christian Schiemann (CHI)
Assistant Referee 2: Claudio Rios (CHI)
Fourth Official: Andrés Cunha (URU)
Referee Observer: Juan Cardellino (URU)

Chapecoense – Libertad
Referee: Diego Haro (PER)
Assistant Referee 1: Raul Lopez (PER)
Assistant Referee 2: Victor Raez (PER)
Fourth Official: Anderson Daronco (BRA)
Referee Observer: Nilson Monção (BRA)

UEFA Champions League – Group Stage (Matchday 2)

29 September 2015
Bayern München – Dinamo Zagreb
Referee: Aleksei Kulbakov (BLR, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Vitali Maliutsin (BLR)
Assistant Referee 2: Aleh Maslianka (BLR)
Additional AR 1: Siarhei Tsynkevich (BLR)
Additional AR 2: Dzianis Shcharbakou (BLR)
Fourth Official: Dmitry Zhuk (BLR)
Referee Observer: Roberto Rosetti (ITA)

Bate Borisov – AS Roma
Referee: Mark Clattenburg (ENG)
Assistant Referee 1: Simon Beck (ENG)
Assistant Referee 2: Jake Collin (ENG)
Additional AR 1: Andre Marriner (ENG)
Additional AR 2: Jonathan Moss (ENG)
Fourth Official: Peter Kirkup (ENG)
Referee Observer: Stefan Ormandjiev (BUL)

FC Barcelona – Bayer Leverkusen
Referee: Martin Atkinson (ENG)
Assistant Referee 1: Stephen Child (ENG)
Assistant Referee 2: Stuart Burt (ENG)
Additional AR 1: Michael Oliver (ENG)
Additional AR 2: Craig Pawson (ENG)
Fourth Official: Michael Mullarkey (ENG)
Referee Observer: Michel Vautrot (FRA)

Arsenal – Olympiakos
Referee: Bas Nijhuis (NED)
Assistant Referee 1: Rob van de Ven (NED)
Assistant Referee 2: Charles Schaap (NED)
Additional AR 1: Kevin Blom (NED)
Additional AR 2: Danny Makkelie (NED)
Fourth Official: Mario Diks (NED)
Referee Observer: Luis Medina Cantalejo (ESP)

FC Porto – Chelsea
Referee: Antonio Mateu Lahoz (ESP)
Assistant Referee 1: Pau Cebrián Devis (ESP)
Assistant Referee 2: Roberto Díaz Pérez (ESP)
Additional AR 1: Javier Estrada Fernández (ESP)
Additional AR 2: Alejandro Hernández Hernández (ESP)
Fourth Official: Miguel Martínez Munuera (ESP)
Referee Observer: Oguz Sarvan (TUR)

Maccabi Tel Aviv – Dynamo Kyiv
Referee: David Fernández Borbalán (ESP)
Assistant Referee 1: Raúl Cabañero Martínez (ESP)
Assistant Referee 2: Roberto Alonso Fernández (ESP)
Additional AR 1: Carlos Clos Gómez (ESP)
Additional AR 2: Carlos Del Cerro Grande (ESP)
Fourth Official: Juan Yuste Jiménez (ESP)
Referee Observer: Costas Kapitanis (CYP)

Zenit – KAA Gent
Referee: Matej Jug (SVN)
Assistant Referee 1: Matej Žunič (SVN)
Assistant Referee 2: Gregor Rojko (SVN)
Additional AR 1: Mitja Žganec (SVN)
Additional AR 2: Dejan Balažič (SVN)
Fourth Official: Andraž Kovačič (SVN)
Referee Observer: Robert Sedlacek (AUT)

Olympique Lyon – Valencia
Referee: Milorad Mažić (SRB)
Assistant Referee 1: Milovan Ristić (SRB)
Assistant Referee 2: Dalibor Djurdjević (SRB)
Additional AR 1: Danilo Grujić (SRB)
Additional AR 2: Nenad Djokić (SRB)
Fourth Official: Nemanja Petrović (SRB)
Referee Observer: Stefano Farina (ITA)

30 September 2015
Malmö FF – Real Madrid
Referee: Cüneyt Çakır (TUR)
Assistant Referee 1: Bahattin Duran (TUR)
Assistant Referee 2: Tarik Ongun (TUR)
Additional AR 1: Hüseyin Göçek (TUR)
Additional AR 2: Barış Şimşek (TUR)
Fourth Official: Mustafa Eyisoy (TUR)
Referee Observer: Alfredo Trentalange (ITA)

Shakhtar Donetsk – Paris St. Germain
Referee: Deniz Aytekin (GER)
Assistant Referee 1: Guido Kleve (GER)
Assistant Referee 2: Markus Häcker (GER)
Additional AR 1: Daniel Siebert (GER)
Additional AR 2: Benjamin Brand (GER)
Fourth Official: Marco Achmüller (GER)
Referee Observer: Markus Nobs (SUI)

CSKA Moskva – PSV Eindhoven
Referee: Ruddy Buquet (FRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Guillaume Débart (FRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Cyril Gringore (FRA)
Additional AR 1: Tony Chapron (FRA)
Additional AR 2: Amaury Delerue (FRA)
Fourth Official: Laurent Stien (FRA)
Referee Observer: Konrad Plautz (AUT)

Manchester United – VfL Wolfsburg
Referee: Viktor Kassai (HUN)
Assistant Referee 1: György Ring (HUN)
Assistant Referee 2: Vencel Tóth (HUN)
Additional AR 1: Tamás Bognar (HUN)
Additional AR 2: Adam Farkas (HUN)
Fourth Official: Peter Berettyán (HUN)
Referee Observer: Vladimir Sajn (SVN)

Astana – Galatasaray
Referee: Martin Strömbergsson (SWE)
Assistant Referee 1: Daniel Gustavsson (SWE)
Assistant Referee 2: Joakim Flink (SWE)
Additional AR 1: Michael Lerjeus (SWE)
Additional AR 2: Mohammed Al-Hakim (SWE)
Fourth Official: Per Brogevik (SWE)
Referee Observer: Levan Paniashvili (GEO)

Atlético Madrid – Benfica
Referee: Gianluca Rocchi (ITA)
Assistant Referee 1: Mauro Tonolini (ITA)
Assistant Referee 2: Gianluca Cariolato (ITA)
Additional AR 1: Antonio Damato (ITA)
Additional AR 2: Carmine Russo (ITA)
Fourth Official: Elenito Di Liberatore (ITA)
Referee Observer: Francesco Bianchi (SUI)

Juventus Turin – Sevilla FC
Referee: Jonas Eriksson (SWE)
Assistant Referee 1: Mathias Klasenius (SWE)
Assistant Referee 2: Daniel Wärnmark (SWE)
Additional AR 1: Stefan Johannesson (SWE)
Additional AR 2: Markus Strömbergsson (SWE)
Fourth Official: Mehmet Culum (SWE)
Referee Observer: Zbigniew Przesmycki (POL)

Borussia Monchengladbach – Manchester City
Referee: Clément Turpin (FRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Frédéric Cano (FRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Nicolas Danos (FRA)
Additional AR 1: Fredy Fautrel (FRA)
Additional AR 2: Benoît Bastien (FRA)
Fourth Official: Hicham Zakrani (FRA)
Referee Observer: Kyros Vassaras (GRE)

CAF Champions League – Semi-finals (First Leg)

26-27 September 2015

El Merreikh – TP Mazembe
Referee: Neant Alioum (CMR, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Evarist Menkouande (CMR)
Assistant Referee 2: Elvis Noupue (CMR)

El Hilal – USM Alger
Referee: Janny Sikazwe (ZAM)
Assistant Referee 1: Jerson Dos Santos (ANG)
Assistant Referee 2: Arsenio Marengula (MOZ)

CAF Confederation Cup – Semi-finals (First Leg)

26-27 September 2015

Etoile du Sahel – Zamalek SC
Referee: Bernard Camille (SEY, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Hensley Petrousse (SEY)
Assistant Referee 2: Eldrick Adelaide (SEY)

Orlando Pirates – Al Ahly
Referee: Malang Diedhiou (SEN)
Assistant Referee 1: Djibril Camara (SEN)
Assistant Referee 2: Aboubacar Doumbouya (GUI)

Clattenburg on his life as a referee

English referee Mark Clattenburg has seen the very highs, and the very lows, of what whistle blowing can bring. From a UEFA Champions League semi-final between Bayern Munich and Barcelona, or an Olympics Games gold medal match, to being accused by Chelsea of being a racist in a stormy game against Manchester United in 2012.

It’s easy for fans, pundits, coaches, players and angry supporters on social media to vent, but how does the actual man in the middle cope with it? “24 cans of beer”, Clattenburg joke “No, it’s difficult. A lot of guys deal with it in different ways. I’ll have a few beers, because it’s stressful. You have to wind down; the wife and family leave us alone. Within 24 hours, you turn. We use sports psychologists and it’s important to say ‘park it, move on’.” One of those examples was the stormy afternoon at Stamford Bridge in 2012, when he sent off Branislav Ivanovic and Fernando Torres as Chelsea lost to Manchester United 3-2, with the winning goal offside, before he was accused of calling Jon Obi Mikel a “monkey”. Mikel was subsequently suspended for three games, while Clattenburg was cleared. “Probably the biggest low in my life was the Chelsea-Manchester United game, when I was accused of being a racist. But, take the racism out of it, one of the biggest lows, was I thought I was right when I sent off Torres”, Clattenburg reflected. “I possibly was right under the laws of the game. But under the spirit of the game, to reduce a team down to nine men for simulation is too tough, in hindsight I was wrong. I should’ve been experienced enough to use my knowledge of the game to not reduce a team down to nine men. I probably would’ve taken less criticism after the game. I’m not saying things would’ve changed, but I would’ve looked back at the match and thought ‘okay, the offside goal’s not my fault’... I’ve made many mistakes in my career but it’s made me the man I am now.” And it’s not always easy to deal with, given the rampant spotlight on elite sport nowadays. “Your life changes, of course it does”, he said. “When you go out you’re a recognised figure. That’s not something I want to be, but in England, it’s difficult because the scrutiny in England, you’re like a player. The media have turned referees into world stars – because controlling a football match at the highest level takes a lot of effort and dedication. I think social media has changed a lot of things, because people can have an opinion, but don’t have the insights into handling multi-millionaires successfully. That takes a lot of man management skills. The laws of the game are there, you have to understand them and apply… a little bit of understanding, life understanding, and that’ll make the most successful referee. If you apply the laws of the game strictly, the public paying extremely good money won’t see an event. Even on Saturday, I could’ve blown five or six more free-kicks, but I was taking risks. The game needed to be moved on to another level, also, the ICC, you don’t want to see a send-off early, people have paid to watch a good game of football between 11 v 11.” Clattenburg reveals a feel for the game and its nuances that the public take for granted when watching the match. Indeed, in a fascinating insight into the work that goes into becoming a top line referee, dealing with the likes of Sir Alex Ferguson and Jose Mourinho, or multi-millionaire egos on the football pitch, Clattenburg explained to foxsports.com.au some of the requirements to stay at the top of the EPL for a decade, while becoming one of UEFA’s best referees.

Legendary referee Pierluigi Collina, the boss of UEFA’s whistle blowers, has taught Clattenburg the importance of detail, particularly as they’re exposed to more different styles of player from across the globe. “For example, I did Bayern v Barcelona, the (UEFA Champions League) semi-final, he was my observer and he gave me some tips from the first game, a little insight, and when I saw it in the game, I knew exactly what was going to happen,” he revealed. It was tactical. It was unbelievable, it solved the game. From the 16th minute, when he gave me some information and I punished it with a foul, the simplest foul that any journalist or anyone in the world wouldn’t have thought anything of, it actually won us the match. That simple preparation won us the match. I’ll openly admit five years ago I didn’t prepare for a game. I just turned up. You can’t now; you need to know everything that’s going on”. Alongside the mental side of the game, referees need to keep pace – and the EPL is renowned as the quickest in the world. Pre-season involves high intensity and endurance work, while in the season recovery becomes as big a factor as speed becomes more of a focus. “When I first started in the Premier League, I would see statistics and I would work hard in the first-half and then fatigue in the second-half”, Clattenburg said. “Most of my mistakes were made in the last 10 minutes. That was interesting, because, I wasn’t fit for the level I was refereeing at. I was 96 kilo – a big young boy, now I’m 74-75, less than 10 per cent body fat. That’s something I’ve dedicated to because the modern game has changed. 10 years ago, the game wasn’t as quick as it is now. You’ve got athletes. As a referee, you’ve got to make sure you’re in the best position possible. Distance is important. We use Pro Zone and they calculate how far away you are from the ball. But it’s also about perception – players will accept the decision more if you’re closer, and if you are, you’ve got less chance of a player running across you. People don’t understand, they see it clear on camera – but sometimes a player can run across you at the wrong time, and you can miss it,” he said. Clattenburg admits he’s a bit different in his approach as his fitness allows him to get wider of the play to make the best decision possible. “Definitely true, because if you’re looking at a front end decision, you’ll see it differently. If I’m looking front on to an attacker I can’t see an attacker behind, but if I go wide, I can see the push or the touch on the ankle and you can’t guess in football. When a player goes down now, you’ve got to make sure you’ve seen the contact. And if there’s contact, you’ve got to be sure it’s a foul – because the way some of these players hit free-kicks now, it’s like giving a penalty. Coaches and players who lose will analyse a game and then move on. It’s the same in refereeing; you have to learn from your mistakes. It’s the most important thing. You’re not going to be right all the time. Don’t just say I got it wrong, ask why”, he said. “One of my weaknesses is I lose concentration. The game might be too easy, I’m strolling around, and I lose my concentration and thought. It’s like a goalkeeper losing his thought and the ball goes past him. I’m trying to find ways not to lose my concentration. As long as you understand why you’re making mistakes...”

The Europa League curse is an excuse for players – but what about referees returning from the continent, fitting two or three games into a week? “Gone are the days where you’d have a beer after the match. Sure, you want to enjoy the success of a match. But once it’s done, you want to start preparing yourself for your next one. For example, if you’re doing a Champions League game Wednesday, travelling Thursday, got a game Saturday – once the game’s done Wednesday evening late, you’re preparing for your next one. Is it a massage, a recovery, even if you’re travelling – for me living in the North, it’s difficult with travel time. It’s what happens all season”. Clattenburg says the work-life balance that full-time refereeing allows will not just improve standards, but encourage aspiring referees. “I wouldn’t call them ‘professional’ referees. Every referee in the world is professional, on the field and off the field. The dedication I’ve seen these guys do is phenomenal”, he said. “These guys are at the same level, just that they haven’t got the full-time commitment from the financial and off the field point of view. What full-time referees allows, it makes them figure heads for the next generation. And that’s what improves – the next generation want to be full-time referees. It gives them something to enjoy. What job allows me to stand on the MCG, in the middle of a Real Madrid v Roma match, and I’m the happiest man in the world because that is the most satisfying. We have 30,000 referees, but only 17 full-time. The ratio is small. But what happens in England is they might have a mid-week game, go to work fatigued, and then they have to train to keep fit in the evening. Where’s the family time? And family time is important to me – so if I’m happy, when I go out to referee, I’m happy. It’s a great balance”.

Source: Fox Sports

CONCACAF Champions League – Group Stage (Matchday 5)

22 September 2015 
W Connection – Santos
Referee: Baldomero Toledo (USA, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Peter Manikowski (USA)
Assistant Referee 2: Frank Anderson (USA)
Fourth Official: Ricardo Salazar (USA)

Montego Bay – DC United
Referee: Yadel Martinez (CUB)
Assistant Referee 1: Hiran Dopico (CUB)
Assistant Referee 2: Leonardo Sanchez (CUB)
Fourth Official: Marcos Brea (CUB)

Verdes FC – San Francisco
Referee: Oscar Macias (MEX)
Assistant Referee 1: Israel Valenciano (MEX)
Assistant Referee 2: Andres Hernandez (MEX)
Fourth Official: Luis Santander (MEX)

23 September 2015
Central FC – Los Angeles
Referee: William Anderson (PUR)
Assistant Referee 1: Kenroy Wellis (CAY)
Assistant Referee 2: Graeme Browne (SKN)
Fourth Official: Trevor Taylor (BRB)

Seattle Sounders – Vancouver Whitecaps
Referee: Fernando Guerrero (MEX)
Assistant Referee 1: Marvin Torrentera (MEX)
Assistant Referee 2: Juan Rangel (MEX)
Fourth Official: Francisco Chacon (MEX)

24 September 2015
Walter Feretti – Motagua
Referee: Chris Penso (USA)
Assistant Referee 1: Charles Morgante (USA)
Assistant Referee 2: Eric Boria (USA)
Fourth Official: Edvin Jurisevic (USA)

Isidro Metapan – Tigres
Referee: Christopher Reid (BLZ)
Assistant Referee 1: Ricardo Ake (BLZ)
Assistant Referee 2: Ramon Louisville (SUR)
Fourth Official: Dwight Royal (JAM)

Real Salt Lake – Santa Tecla
Referee: Kevin Morrison (JAM)
Assistant Referee 1: Keble Williams (JAM)
Assistant Referee 2: Ainsley Rochard (TRI)
Fourth Official: Dwight Royal (JAM)