Ľuboš Micheľ
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Lubos Michel and Wayne Rooney in conversation. (Photo published with permission from Damian Scott. Copyright Damian Scott)
Ľuboš Micheľ was born May 16 1968 in the small town of Stropkov in then Republic Czecho-Slovakia. He currently resides in Presov, Slovakia. He has two kids, named Tomas and Bianka with his wife Danka. Michel is a former school teacher and speaks English, German, Polish and Russian beside his mother tongue Slovak. When he is not refereeing he enjoys other sports like swimming, jogging and tennis.
He started refereeing at the age of 19 and received his FIFA badge in 1994. His international debut came in the fall of 1993 when he refereed a European Championship for Under-21s between England and San Marino. After becoming a FIFA referee he refereed in the European Championship for Under-16s in Belgium in 1995. In 1997 he was selected to referee the World Cup for Under-17s. At his young age he got two matches in the group stage and had to send off three players in the tournament. Also refereeing in the tournament was FIFA World Cup 2006 final referee Horacio Elizondo and UEFA Champions League 2005/2006 final referee Terje Hauge. Hauge was appointed to referee the final of the tournament.
The year after he refereed in the European Under-21 Championship in Romania. Impressing with his performances he was selected to referee in the Olympics in Sydney, Australia in 2000. As in ‘97 he was selected to referee two matches in the group stage, while also functioning as fourth official in a handful other matches. His next big tournament was the World Cup in 2002 being held in Japan and South-Korea. He refereed the group B match between Paraguay and South-Africa where he issued eight yellow cards. This was his only match as a referee in the tournament, but he handled two matches as fourth official.
The year after, in 2003, he was selected to referee the UEFA Cup final between FC Porto and Celtic FC. The match went to extra time as the score was 2-2 at full time. In extra time Porto scored a late winner. Michel received criticism from Celtic manager Martin O’Neil after issuing two red and seven yellow cards.
Michel was, as expected, selected as one of the twelve to referee in EURO 2004 in Portugal. He handled two matches in the group stage and the quarter-final between Sweden and Netherlands. Issuing 5, 7 and 4 yellow cards in his games he landed an average of 5.33 cautions per match, making him one of the ‘nicest’ referees in the tournament.
In 2005 he and his assistants received much attention after a controversial decision in the UEFA Champions League semi-final between Liverpool and Chelsea. His assistant Roman Slysko awarded Liverpool a goal after the ball crossed the line in a very close manner. Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho was very upset and commented that “Liverpool scored, if you can say that they scored, because maybe you should say the linesman scored”.
Also in 2005 he refereed three games in the Confederations Cup in Germany. He refereed two matches in the group stage and the final between Brazil and Argentina. He issued 14 yellow cards and had no sending offs throughout the tournament.
In 2006 he was selected for a second time to referee in a World Cup tournament. The tournament took place in Germany and Michel and his assistants Roman Slysko and Martin Balko were one of twenty-one referee teams. The team took charge of four games, two in the group stage and two in the final knockout stage. Michel issued four red cards and 32 yellow cards giving him the highest card average for the referees who refereed four or more matches. His last match in the tournament was the quarter-final between Argentina and Germany, under which he had to red card Leandro Cufre after ending the game. Confrontations between German and Argentinian players led to the sending off.
In December 2007, Lubos Michel and his team of Roman Slysko and Martin Balko was selected to officiate in EURO 2008 in Austria and Switzerland.
In May 2008 Michel and his team took charge of the UEFA Champions League final between Manchester United and Chelsea FC in Moscow. Michel issued yellow cards to Manchester United’s Paul Scholes and Rio Ferdinand in regular time as well as the Chelsea players Claude Makelele and Ricardo Carvalho. In extra time, Michael Ballack and Michael Essien for Chelsea and Carlos Tevez for Manchester United received cautions. DIdier Drogba was sent off in the second half of extra time after hitting Nemanja Vidic.
Michel and his assistants participated with eleven other referee teams in the EURO 2008 in Austria and Switzerland in June. The team was appointed to referee the match between Switzerland and Turkey on 11th of June. The replay of the final World Cup 2006 qualifier was almost unplayable because of the heavy rain, but Michel and his assistants kept a firm grip on the match. The game ended with a 2-1 victory for Turkey, leaving the host nation Switzerland with their second defeat of two possible. UEFA’s referee committee showed their appreciation of the team when the three referees was appointed to the crucial fixture between Italy and France. Michel was put to the test almost immediately as the French defender Abidal fouled Italian striker Luca Toni in the French box and earned a sending of from the Slovakian referee. Italian Andrea Pirlo converted the penalty and Daniele De Rossi ended the match with a second goal in the second half. Following this match Lubos Michel and his assistants was chosen to stay in the competition as one of eight teams. After the final group matches Michel received the appointment for the second last quarterfinal between Netherlands and Russia. The match proved to one of the most exciting games of the tournament and overall Michel managed the match well. One situation was heavily discussed after the match. Michel sent off Denis Kolodin with a second caution in the last minute of the second half, but rescinded the card when it came apparent that ball had gone out of play seconds before the bookable offence. The team received both criticism and praise from different media sources, but no official comment from UEFA. As in 2004, their EURO adventure ended with a quarterfinal.
Michel was troubled with injuries through the last couple of seasons and in October 2008 he refereed his last match in the Ukranian premier league. He announced that he would retire, and in the end of October he signed a contract with FC Shakthar Donetsk as being in charge of international competitions department.
1995 EURO Under-16 – Belgium
1997 FIFA World Cup Under-17 – Egypt
1998 European Championship Under-21 – Romania
2000 Olympics – Australia
2002 FIFA World Cup – South Korea and Japan
2004 EURO – Portugal
2005 Confederations Cup – Germany
2006 FIFA World Cup – Germany
2008 EURO – Austria and Switzerland
Finals:
2003 May 21: UEFA Cup – Celtic FC v FC Porto 2-3 a.e.t., Seville
2005 June 29: Confederations Cup – Brazil v Argentina 4-1, Frankfurt
2008 May 21: UEFA Champions League – Manchester United v Chelsea FC 1-1 (6-5 after penalties), Moscow
FIFA World Cup 2002:
02.06.2002 Group B Paraguay 2-2 South Africa
Yellow cards issued in tournament: 8
Red cards issued in tournament: 0
Avg. yellow cards: 8
Avg. red cards: 0
Number of goals: 4
Avg. number of goals: 4
UEFA EURO 2004:
16.06.2004 Group A Greece 1-1 Spain Y:7 R:0
21.06.2004 Group B Switzerland 1-3 France Y:4 R:0
26.06.2004 Quarter-final Sweden 0-0 Netherlands Y:5 R:0Yellow cards issued in tournament: 16
Red cards issued in tournament: 0
Avg. yellow cards: 5.3
Avg. red cards: 0
Number of goals: 6
Avg. number of goals: 2
World Cup 2006:
15.06.2006 Group B Sweden 1-0 Paraguay Y:8 R:1
21.06.2006 Group D Portugal 2-1 Mexico Y:9 R:1
27.06.2006 Round of 16 Brazil 3-0 Ghana Y:8 R:1
30.06.2006 Quarter-final Germany 1-1 (4-2 a.p.) Argentina Y:7 R:1Yellow cards issued in tournament: 32
Red cards issued in tournament: 4
Avg. yellow cards: 8
Avg. red cards: 1
Number of goals: 9
Avg. number of goals: 2.25
UEFA EURO 2008:
11.06.08 Group A Switzerland 1-2 Turkey Y:4 R:0
17.06.08 Group C France 0-2 Italy Y:7 R:1
21.06.08 Quarter-final Netherlands 1-3 (aet) Russia Y:6 R:0Yellow cards issued in tournament: 17
Red cards issued in tournament: 1
Avg. yellow cards: 5.6
Avg. red cards: 0.33
Number of goals: 9
Summarized statistics of senior tournaments:
Number of games refereed: 11
Number of yellow cards issued: 73
Number of red cards issued: 5
Avg. number of yellow cards issued: 6.63
Avg. number of red cards issued: 0.45
Number of goals: 22
Avg. number of goals: 2
Home wins: 4
Away wins: 4
Draws: 3
Season 2007/2008
18.09.2007 Matchday 1: Group A FC Porto 1-1 Liverpool FC Y:6 R:1
06.11.2007 Matchday 4: Group C Olympiacos CFP 0-0 Real Madrid CF Y:5 R:0
12.12.2007 Matchday 6: Group E Rangers FC 0-3 Olympique Lyonnais Y:5 R:1
21.05.2008 Final: Manchester United FC 1-1 (6-5 a.p.) Chelsea FC Y:8 R:1Yellow cards issued in tournament: 24
Red cards issued in tournament: 3
Avg. yellow cards: 6
Avg. red cards: 0.75
Number of goals: 7
Avg. number of goals: 1.75
Season 2006/2007
13.09.2006 Matchday 1: Group F Manchester United FC 3-2 Celtic FC Y:3 R:0
01.11.2006 Matchday 4: Group G Arsenal FC 0-0 PFC CSKA Moscow Y:4 R:0
22.11.2006 Matchday 6: Group A Werder Bremen 1-0 Chelsea FC Y:2 R:0
07.03.2007 Round of 16: Bayern Munich 2-1 Real Madrid Y:7 R:2
10.04.2007 Quarter-final: Manchester United FC 7-1 AS Roma Y:4 R:0Yellow cards issued in tournament: 20
Red cards issued in tournament: 2
Avg. yellow cards: 4
Avg. red cards: 0.4
Number of goals: 17
Avg. number of goals: 3.4
Season 2005/2006
27.09.2005 Matchday 2: Manchester United 2-1 Benfica Y:3 R:0
02.11.2005 Matchday 4: Juventus 2-1 Bayern Munich Y:7 R:1
23.11.2005 Matchday 5: Schalke 3-0 PSV Eindhoven Y:2 R:0
08.03.2006 Round of 16: Arsenal 0-0 Real Madrid Y:5 R:0
05.04.2006 Quarter-final: Barcelona 2-0 Benfica Y:5 R:0Yellow cards issued in tournament: 22
Red cards issued in tournament: 1
Avg. yellow cards: 4.4
Avg. red cards: 0.2
Number of goals: 11
Avg. number of goals: 2.2
Season 2004/2005
14.09.2004 Matchday 1: Internazionale 2-0 Bremen Y:4 R:1
20.10.2004 Matchday 3: Chelsea FC 2-0 CSKA Moskva Y:1 R:0
24.11.2004 Matchday 5: Barcelona 1-1 Celtic FC Y:2 R:0
22.02.2005 Round of 16: Real Madrid 1-0 Juventus Y:8 R:0
03.05.2005 Semi-final: Liverpool 1-0 Chelsea FC Y:1 R:0Yellow cards issued in tournament: 16
Red cards issued in tournament: 1
Avg. yellow cards: 3.2
Avg. red cards: 0.2
Number of goals: 8
Avg. number of goals: 1.6
References:
Lubos Michel on WorldReferee
Martin O’Neil criticizes Michel after UEFA Cup final
Jose Mourinho comments on linesman decision
Fact sheet from UEFA after EURO 2008 announcement (PDF)
FIFA.com for match facts from World Cup/Olympics/Confederations Cup/Under-17
UEFA.com for match facts from EURO/Under-16/Under-21
Michel announced as final referee
Michel in charge of Moscow final
UEFA Champions League history and matchfacts
Slovak referee retires
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Great writing! : )