Nationality – Turkish
D.O.B – 23rd November 1976
Occupation – Insurance Agent
Biggest Game – Champions League Semi Final 2012 Barcelona – Chelsea at Camp Nou.
Notable Incidents – In 2007, during a game between Vestel Manisaspor-Sakaryaspor, Çak?r was attacked by goalkeeper Bülent Ataman and had his shirt torn during the attack. Ataman received a 12 match ban from the Turkish Football Association.
Profile – Çak?r made his Uefa debut in July 2003, aged just 26 and began his International career three years later. In 35 elite games (UEFA competition or International matches) Çak?r has given 7 reds and 14 penalties. He was the man who saw past Steven Gerrard’s theatrics during the 2008 World Cup Qualifying game between England and Andorra. An up and coming referee, with an excellent reputation in Turkey and a rising profile within UEFA.
Nationality – Swedish
D.O.B – 28th March 1974
Occupation – TV Agent
Biggest Game – Champions League Quarter Final 2012 AC Milan – Barcelona at the San Siro.
Notable Incidents – Not awarding that Alexis Sanchez penalty during the Champions League game between Milan and Barca, Eriksson fell foul of the Spanish media the following day. Off the pitch, Eriksson is probably one of the richest referees in the world. In 2007 he sold his shares in Swedish media rights company IEC for over £6 million.
Profile – With all that money stashed in the back Eriksson must be something of a masochist if he still insists on putting himself the torture of regularly refereeing football matches, however, having been long-listed for the World Cup in 2014 it’s clear that he’s a referee both UEFA and FIFA see going places. As of 2011 Eriksson had refereed 175 Swedish top tier matches, and over 60 internationals.
Nationality – Hungarian
D.O.B – 10th September 1975
Occupation – Printing Sales
Biggest Game – 2010 World Cup Semi Final between Germany and Spain
Notable Incidents – None.
Profile – Kassai is an international veteran, having refereed four games at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa including the famous Extra Time Ghana win over the USA, and the Semi-final between European powerhouses Spain and Germany. Kassai’s stock rose after some excellent performances during the tournament, and he was rewarded with the chance to officiate the most prestigious match in European club football, the Champions League final between Manchester United and Barcelona in May 2011.
Nationality – Netherlands
D.O.B – 28th March 1973
Occupation – Business Owner
Biggest Game – Champions League Quarter Final 2012 Barcelona – AC Milan at the Nou Camp.
Notable Incidents – Kuipers was the man who missed Luis Suarez’s now infamous bite on the neck of opponent Otman Bakkal during a game between Ajax and PSV in November 2010.
Profile – Kuipers enjoys a healthy reputation in the Netherlands, though missing the Suarez bite has hampered his chances of progression somewhat. He also enjoyed a growing reputation on the continent, until earlier this Spring when a penalty awarded to Barcelona in the Champions League tie against Milan set one or two tongues wagging. He has plenty of international experience, but perhaps suffers from an inflated opinion of himself with a Dutch Referee’s Commission report labeling him “good, but arrogant”.
Nationality – French
D.O.B – 18th September 1969
Occupation – Video Game Distributor
Biggest Game – Matches between Denmark – Holland and Brazil – Ivory Coast at the 2010 World Cup.
Notable Incidents – Lannoy showed Brazilian talisman Kaka a highly contentious red card for a push on Ivory Coast’s Kader Keita during the 2010 World Cup.
Profile – Lannoy is one of the most experienced French referees available, having officiated over 150 Ligue 1 games since being promoted to the French top tier in 2002. During those games he has issued an incredible 625 yellow cards. He has issued a further 45 yellow in 15 Champions League games and 34 in 9 Europa League games. He made his International debut in 2006, and has refereed 49 games since then.
Nationality – Portuguese
D.O.B – 3rd November 1970
Occupation – Financial Advisor
Biggest Game – 2012 Champions League Final between Bayern Munich and Chelsea.
Notable Incidents – In August 2011 Proença was attacked by a fan whilst shopping in Lisbon. He suffered two broken teeth as the result of a headbutt.
Profile – Proença has been named Portuguese Referee of the Year twice, 2006/07 and 2010/11. He was promoted to cover Champions League within one season of making his professional debut, and refereed the recent final, which saw Chelsea crowned European Champions for the first time. He has limited International experience, but commands an excellent reputation both in Portugal, and across the continent.
Nationality – Italy
D.O.B – 5th October 1971
Occupation – Architect
Biggest Game – 2010 Europa League final between Atletico Madrid and Fulham.
Notable Incidents – Awarded Rafael his second yellow card in the Champions League Quarter Final clash between Manchester United and Bayern Munich in 2010. Bayern went on to score the winning goal after the sending off.
Profile – Rizzoli has refereed in Serie A for ten years, and received his FIFA badge in 2007. Later that year, he made his Champions League debut, and has gone on to referee during the knock stages of the tournament. He was ranked 18th in the list of top 100 referees in the World, and refereed four games during the qualification process for Euro 2012.
Nationality – Slovenian
D.O.B – 5th August 1976
Occupation – Estate Agent
Biggest Game – 2012 Champions League Quarter Final between Chelsea and Benfica.
Notable Incidents – Skomina was the man at the centre of Arsene Wenger’s tunnel rant, which earned him a ban from UEFA earlier this season.
Profile – Skomina has refereed almost 70 International matches, since making his International debut. He averages almost five yellow cards per game, with almost 320 yellows shown during those 70 games. He has previous European Championship experience, having acted as a fourth official during Euro 2008 and has been long-listed for participation in the 2014 World Cup Finals.
Nationality – German
D.O.B – 20th November 1969
Occupation – Bank Assistant
Biggest Game – 2010 World Cup Round of 16 game between Uruguay and South Korea.
Notable Incidents – Stark issued 7 yellow cards and 2 reds during an U-20 World Cup game between Argentina and Chile in 2007.
Profile – Stark has something of an unusual reputation in the game. Held in high esteem by the governing bodies, who have rewarded him with some high profile ties during international and club competitions. But he has raised eyebrows whilst officiating a number of games during the Champions League. The English, Italian and Spanish press have raised concerns about a variety of decisions involving some of their biggest clubs. He began his Bundesliga career in 1997 and has been FIFA-listed for over 10 years.
Nationality – Scottish
D.O.B – 20th June 1972
Occupation – Solicitor
Biggest Game – 2011 Champions league Quarter Final between Barcelona and Shakhtar Donetsk.
Notable Incidents – Thomson refereed the Champions League game involving Real Madrid, which saw Xabi Alonso and Sergio Ramos appear to deliberately get themselves booked, thereby serving a suspension in a meaningless game against Auxerre.
Profile – Thomson became an International referee in 2003 and has gone on to officiate over 60 International games. He has recently found himself to be the official of choice when it comes to refereeing one of the most volatile derbies in World football, Celtic and Rangers. He has made steady progress through the Champions League in recent years, and Euro 2012 will be his first taste of refereeing an International tournament, though he did act as a fourth official at Euro 2008. He is another one of our profilees who is currently long-listed to referee at the World Cup in 2014.
Nationality – Spanish
D.O.B – 16th March 1971
Occupation – Engineer
Biggest Game – 2011 Europa League Final between FC Porto and Braga.
Notable Incidents – Earlier this season Barcelona’s Gerard Pique accused Carballo of planning to send him off after the defender confronted Carballo at half time regards a Barcelona penalty shout in a game against Sporting Gijon.
Profile – Carballo made his La Liga debut in 2004, but wasn’t officially confirmed as a full time La Liga referee until 2007. In the five years since then he has made stellar progress through both the domestic league and Continental competition, being selected as the referee for the 2011 Europa League final, and making his international debut just a year after going full time. He’s one of the referees with the least International experience, but despite this he still joins his peers on the long-list for World Cup 2014.
Nationality – English
D.O.B – 14th July 1971
Occupation – Former Police Sergeant
Biggest Game – 2010 World Cup Final between Spain and the Netherlands
Notable Incidents – Webb was on the receiving end of some very harsh criticism for his failure to control the players during the World Cup Final in 2010. One of the most significant incidents was his decision not to show Nigel De Jong a red card for a Kung-fu kick to the chest of Spain’s Xabi Alonso.
Profile – Webb is probably the most high profile referee involved in this summer’s tournament having refereed in the 2009 FA Cup Final, the 2010 Champions League Final and the 2010 World Cup Final. His reputation in England differs depending on the allegiance of the fan you talk to, but he is held in high esteem globally by his peers. Webb also received worldwide commendation for his conduct during and after Fabrice Muamba’s cardiac arrest during a game involving Spurs and Bolton that Webb was refereeing.
0 votes
