‘Referees in the media’ will be published at the beginning of the week on the Dutch Referee Blog and provides remarkable or interesting quotes and links to articles worth reading.
“Yet there’s a good chance you’ve never heard of her. And that’s a good thing because Seitz is a referee, and for an official, anonymity is often the reward for a job well done.”
Los Angelos Times journalist Kevin Baxter about Kari Seitz, US referee in her third consecutive Olympic soccer tournament.
“It’s my hope in my lifetime that we get some women referees in the World Cup (for men, jth).”
Kari Seitz realizes that things ‘don’t happen overnight’, but she hopes that female referees will be equal to men’s referees. Read the full article on LA Times sports section.
“Jack Taylor, perhaps the finest referee of all time, has passed away.”
“When you don’t send home the referee who made the biggest mistake, what signal do you give to the other referees?”
Former German top referee Markus Merk finds Viktor Kassai the best referee in the world, but stated that Uefa made the right decision to send Kassai home after missing a goal.
Seen lot’s of discussions about the Ukrainian goal that didn’t count. But the decision from the extra assisant is not the first mistake.
Got this picture via BBC journalist Jacqui Oatley, which showed that Viktor Kassai’s AR missed an offside first. Artem Milevskiy (center) got the ball from the Ukrainian left back, and the image below shows that he is probably (can’t see full pitch) offside.
Most newspapers in Holland missed that. What about that in your country?
Photo via Twitter of BBC Journalist @JacquiOatley
I’m wondering if this will influence which referee teams are going home today. I bet so. Who do you think will stay in Poland and Ukraine for the final rounds? And why?
UPDATE: Referees Bjorn Kuipers (NL), Viktor Kassai (Hungary), Wolfgang Stark (Germany) en Carlos Velasco Caballo (Spain) send home Source: #NOS (Dutch national tv).
European referee boss Pierluigi Collina on Uefa.com:
“The 12 are all referees from the elite group, so they are the top referees in Europe. They have all refereed UEFA Champions League matches during the past two seasons. What they can guarantee are two main elements – quality and experience. And only one referee, Howard Webb, was at UEFA EURO 2008. So there has been significant turnover.”
Cüneyt Çakır from Turkey was appointed after a lapse of sixteen years without a Turkish referee at a European Championship. The Turkish FA the selection of Çakır a “historic achievement“.
“I am extremely proud, happy and grateful to be one of the twelve referees who will go to the European Championship finals and can enjoy this tournament. I want to send a big gratitude to everyone in Swedish football: from refereeing colleagues and observers to the players and coaches who all in different way have developed me as a soccer referee.”
Bjorn Kuipers was pretty happy he got called personally by Pierluigi Collina to tell him the good news. “A very nice conversation.” Watch the interview Dutch media had with the referee from The Netherlands:
Stéphane Lannoy from France got much support from his national referee chief Marc Batta.
“This is clearly a confirmation of the skills of Stéphane, you do not qualify for a World (2010) and a European Championship without proof of quality. But after enjoying this appointment, Stéphane will have to continue to work hard to prepare for this next stage.”
Pedro Proença from Portugal was selected instead of fellow countryman Olegario Benquerenca. Referee boss Vítor Pereira thinks Portugese referees are all good quality: “This appointment seems to be a reflection of the overall quality of the Portuguese arbitrators and arbitration, their commitment and dedication to refereeing.”
“Wolfgang Stark to the Elite of European referees. He has represented the German referees excellently at the World Cup in South-Africa. The nomination for the EC is a confirmation of his constant performance in latest years.”
Scottish FA’s latest news is about Renfrewshire referees who show their respect for veterans. Hope for them they didn’t miss Craig Thomson appointment for Euro 2012. UPDATE: John Fleming, Scottish referee boss is delighted: “Firstly, I am absolutely delighted for Craig. He is a tremendously hard-working referee and this is great news for all referees in this country.”
“For me, the choice of UEFA and the possibility of being in the Euro Ukraine and Poland is a very special emotion and above all, a dream come true.”
Howard Webb completes the list of twelve. A picture of him got uploaded on Uefa.com long before the list was online, but until the final list was published there was still some doubt among British people on Twitter wether Martin Atkinson would be chosen from the UK.
UPDATE: British FA congratulates mr. Webb with some words of David Elleray, Chairman of The FA’s Referees Committee: “We are delighted that following the Champions League Final and World Cup Final appointments, Howard has once again been appointed to a major international tournament.”
The first referees the first matches in the knock-out stage of the World Cup 2010 in South Africa are appointed by Fifa.
Match 49: Uruguay – Korea with Wolfgang Stark.
Match 50: USA – Ghana with Viktor Kassai.
Match 51: Germany – England with Jorge Larrionda.
Match 52: Argentina – Mexico with Roberto Rosetti.
