Blog

Uefa Youth League referees have a great chance to develop

The 2019 Uefa Youth League referees have the pleasure of being mentored by Roberto Rosetti and Marc Batta. Three referee teams from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Switzerland and France will officiate the most important youth games. And not just the players are talents for the future. The referees too. Because of that they are being urged to make the most of the experience on their career paths.

In this blog post you get some tips that will help you with your own development as well.

Francois Letexier and his team
Francois Letexier and his team

Gain as much experience as you can

During the Uefa Youth League finals not only the young and talented players will show their skills, but also the referees. All refereeing trio’s have potential. “Three referee teams are gathering experience for tomorrow as they continue on their career pathways”, says Uefa.

And whatever level you officiate, try to whistle or flag as many games as you can. “I just wanted to officiate in as many games as possible”, is what Ian Bird says. He’s a promising Welsh assistant referee and this bulk of experience it’s one of the reasons hemade it to the FIFA list.

The Uefa Youth League referees in 2019

  • For the Hoffenheim-Porto semi-final team from Bosnia and Herzegovina: Senad Ibrišimbegović, Irfan Peljto, Davor Beljo and Admir Šehović
  • The Swiss team for the Barcelona-Chelsea semi-final: Lionel Tschudi, Stéphane De Almeida, Sandro Schärer and Bekim Zogaj
  • The final between Porto and Chelsea at the Colovray Stadium will be refereed by a French team. Referee François Letexier will be accompanied by assistant referees Cyril Mugnier and Mehdi Rahmouni, as well as fourth official Jérôme Brisard.

Work hard domestically as well

Because the trio of referee teams have shown potentional during the present season, they are selected. And it’s not a matter of showing your skills on the international platform, “but also in their countries’ domestic football”. UEFA refereeing officer Marc Batta says: “They have had a good season, and they can be considered, like other referees of their generation, as promising match officials.

For your refereeing you have different levels and special games as well.  Tip: don’t show your skills only in important games or when observers are watching. Work hard in all other games as well.

Referee Ivan Peljto (BIH) and his team
Referee Ivan Peljto (BIH) and his team

Batta is working as an observer at the Nyon finals along with UEFA Referees Committee chairman Roberto Rosetti. For Rosetti it’s the first official role as observer since he became Uefa’s Referee Boss. “It’s always rewarding for a referee to be part of the three selected teams for these finals.”

Look at your future objectives

The referees are also being given important advice and guidance at the finals. “The referees are in Nyon for three days,” Batta explained, “and we make use of their presence to review their seasons and discuss their future objectives.”

Curious how you can work on your future objectives? Check out this blog post about goal-setting for referees.

Centre of Refereeing Excellence (CORE)

“After the matches, we hold debrief sessions about their performances and, if necessary, we use clips of their specific match to be able to give more precise feedback. Roberto Rosetti is attending all three matches, because we are well aware of the importance of observing, monitoring and preparing referees for the future.”

Eight of twelve 12 match officials chosen for this year’s finals have taken part in the UEFA Centre of Refereeing Excellence (CORE) programme, which makes a vital contribution in nurturing young referees in the early stages of their careers.

Curious what CORE looks like? John Andrew Jones shares his CORE experiences.

Work comes before success

The referee teams are picking up crucial experience at the UEFA Youth League finals. “It should serve as an encouragement to them to continue working and progressing,” Batta emphasised. “In a few weeks, as is always the case at the end of each season, we will be revising the referee categories.”

“Whatever the outcome, their main task will be to continue to work hard. It is only in the dictionary that ‘success’ comes before ‘work’

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.