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Björn Kuipers: from whining player to top class referee
Björn Kuipers was a football player every referee would hate. The 16-year-old captain of his team couldn’t stop whining at the man in black about wrong decisions. Not once, but e-ve-ry match. As a player he was the complete opposite of the referee who got appointed for the 2014 Champions League final due to his cool and calm style of refereeing. After Leo Horn (1957 and 1962), Charles Corver (1978) and Dick Jol (2001) the 41-year-old Kuipers is only the fourth Dutch referee who’ll referee the final of the biggest club competition in Europe. In 2021 he reached his pinnacle, as first ever Dutch referee in a final of a…
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Hakan Anaz shares his Asian Cup 2019 experiences
Hakan Anaz is a referee instructor and assessor at the Asian Cup 2019. The 2014 World Cup assistant referee from Australia is now helping other referees to reach their top level. In this interview he shares his experiences during the 2019 tournament and looks at the future of refereeing in Asia. “I have no doubt that we have many world class referees in Asia who can easily referee a World Cup final in Qatar.” Asian Cup 2019 experiences How do you look back to the Asian Cup 2019? “First of all I would like to thank AFC for having the faith in inviting me to their flagship tournament, the…
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Referee Peter O’Leary talks after World Cup death threats
Referee Peter O’Leary wasn’t safe after he refereed the World Cup match Nigeria – Bosnia Herzegovina in Brazil. After months of silence he talked with the NZ Herald about the situation. 2014 became a top year because of the selection for the World Cup, but he also became Bosnian public enemy number one What happened during the World Cup? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGZTrD2IwvE “That’s an obvious error,” O’Leary says in The NZ Herald. “The assistant referee at the time said it was offside, put his flag up and I said, ‘Thank you very much, offside’. I didn’t make the call. However, as the referee, I’m in charge. I’m responsible and I carry the…
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Sander van Roekel happy in shadow of Kuipers
In 1980 Sander van Roekel was a promising striker in the u8 team of SKV, but he got into refereeing very early in his career. When he entered professional football as referee, a member of Van Roekel’s football club wrote on the club’s website: “If Sander Van Roekel will reach the top of professional football, and if people maybe even will be talking about him in Europe, remains to be seen.” Start as professional referee Sander van Roekel was also with Björn Kuipers, Bas Nijhuis and Pol van Boekel on the C-list of Dutch referees, talented refs who just joined professional football. “But I soon realised they were better”, Van…
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Referee Milorad Mazic and the Belgrade derby’s
Milorad Mazic played football like most of the referees before he started officiating. “I had a bad injury”, he told Fifa. “And after that I started and became a referee.” The passion for football is the main thing that drives him, also as a referee. “I love football so much.” Mazic is very happy he could still have a career in football. First and most important thing in Brazil is to do ‘my very best’, says Mazic. His career went fast after becoming an international referee in only 2009. On 2012 Mazic was on the prospective list of World Cup referees, but he was not an Elite Uefa referee yet.…
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Windsor Barra Referee Hotel in Rio
The referees will stay at the Windsor Barra Hotel in Rio de Janeiro. The hotel is located beach-front with some very nice views over the water. Most important details of the hotel at a quick glance: It has 5 stars It is located in front of the exuberant beach of Barra da Tijuca, in Rio de Janeiro. It has a terrace with two swimming pools From the Windsor Barra Referee Hotel it is just an 30 minute drive to the Centro de Futebol Zico training ground where the referees will have their training sessions during the tournament. You can even make a virtual 360 degrees tour throught the Windsor Barra…
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World Cup referees: how do they train?
The World Cup referees are in Brazil, but how do they train? Getty Images shot some photo’s during 2014’s Confederations Cup which online media are able to embed on their news and editorial pages. On the 6th of June their will be an open training session, but if you’re not in Brazil these photo’s will give you an idea how the referees train. Check out the photo series of how referees will train during the World Cup. Zico welcomed the referees on his training ground. And as you can see: the referees make a lot of fun. Hopefully it will be fun during 2014’s World Cup as well. PS: You…
