Referee Lina Lehtovaara officiates the 2022 women’s UEFA Champions League final. The Finnish match official has been named as a Euro 2022 referee as well. In this story she shares some valuable insights for you as a referee.

The 2022 World Cup Referees have been announced by FIFA. For the first time female referees are selected for this men’s tournament.

• Stéphanie Frappart (France), Salima Mukansanga (Rwanda) and Yoshima Yamashita (Japan) are the 3 female referees
• Also female ARs are selected: Neuza Back (Brazil), Karen Diaz Medina (Mexico) and Kathryn Nesbitt (USA).
• 36 referees, 69 assistant referees and 24 video referees are selected
• England, France, Brazil and Argentina will have 2 referees present, other countries just 1

Check the full list of match officials (pdf with names of all referees, ARs, video referees)

The blog post will be updated with reactions and replies. Love to hear what’s the biggest surprise for you below in the comments or on my Instagram post.

Dit bericht op Instagram bekijken

Een bericht gedeeld door Jan from Dutch Referee Blog (@dutchreferee)

Collina explains early selection

Collina explains the early selection, 6 months before the final rounds to be played:

“We are announcing these selections well in advance as we want to work even harder with all those who have been appointed for the FIFA World Cup, monitoring them in the next months. The message is clear: don’t rest on your laurels, keep working hard and prepare yourselves very seriously for the World Cup”

Europa League final referee Slavko Vinčić is “full of emotion, pride and happiness” by his appointment. He officiates Eintracht Frankfurt vs Glasgow Rangers in 2022. In this story you’ll get some valuable lessons from him.

Be yourself as a referee

Referee Slavko Vinčić talks with Uefa.com before the final, from which I cite in this article. Be yourself is crucial for the Slovenian referee, who officiated at Euro 2020. “Of course, you do look at other referees and how they handle things. But we’re really all different people, from various environments and cultures. I definitely think that you have to be natural, rather than a ‘copycat’.”

Analyze your own performance

“You must be self-analytical as a referee”, is what referee Slavko Vinčić says. It’s only briefly mentioned in the article, but it’s a crucial thing. Make sure you know how you performed, how you handled the game.

A great technique for this is the 24-24 rule by MLS AR Katy Nesbitt.

Preparation of referee Slavko Vinčić

The Slovenian referee has officiated 10 UCL games, including 2 in the qualification this season (a few football stats websites count 1 more than Uefa). For him this experience is important. “You’re ready in many ways to referee the match before it starts. Of course, circumstances change in a match, but if you’re sufficiently prepared, not only tactically, but also mentally and physically, you have a much greater chance of a successful game.”

Make sure you prepare well. Curious how referees tactically prepare? Check the interview with video analyst John Balvers, who helped Björn Kuipers a lot.Read the full article at the Uefa website.

Referee Harm Osmers will officiate 2022’s Youth League final and he’s VAR at the women’s Euro 2022. He loves to officiate and his passion, dedication and performances brought him these appointments, only 2 years after earning a FIFA badge. In this story you’ll get some important lessons from this referee from Germany.

The Uefa Women’s Euro 2022 referees have been announced by Uefa. All the names below.

Names of the referees

• Jana Adámková (Czech Republic)
• Iuliana Demetrescu (Romania)
• Cheryl Foster (Wales)
• Stéphanie Frappart (France)
• Marta Huerta de Aza (Spain)
• Riem Hussein (Germany)
• Lina Lehtovaara (Finland)
• Ivana Martinčić (Croatia)
• Kateryna Monzul (Ukraine)
• Tess Olofsson (Sweden)
• Esther Staubli (Switzerland)
• Rebecca Welch (England)

Download the pdf from Uefa with all match officials.