by Martin Rødvand on January 4, 2012
The new FIFA referees’ committee has been elected. This is the committee responsible for appointing referees to competitions organised by FIFA.
Chairman
Angel Maria Villar Llona, Spain
Deputy Chairman
Michel D’Hooghe, Belgium
Zhang Jilong, China
Members competition
Peter Mikkelsen, Denmark
Carlos Batres, Guatemala
Lambert Maltock, Vanuatu
Tarek Bouchamaoui, Tunisia
Fatou Gaye, Senegal
Toru Kamikawa, Japan
Ingrid Jonsson, Sweden
Jorge Larrionda, Uruguay
Celestin Ntagungira, Rwanda
Jassim Mandi Abdul-Rahman, Bahrain
Alfredo Trentalange, Italy
Terence Babwah, Trinidad and Tobago
Members development
Belaid Lacarne, Algeria
Carlos Alarcon, Paraguay
Ted Howard, USA
Katriina Elovirta, Finland
Lee Harmon, Cook Islands
Jacqueline Leleu, Australia
Subkhiddin Mohd Salleh, Malaysia
Michael Riley, England
Michal Listkiewicz, Poland
Oscar Ruiz, Colombia
Hector Vergara, Canada
James Sekajugo, Uganda
Some of these names may be familiar to those who has been following international referees the last decade. Carlos Batres, Jorge Larrionda, Subkhiddin Mohd Salleh, Celestin Ntagungira, and Hector Vergara all participated in the last World Cup in South Africa.
Michael Riley is the manager of PGMOL, running the referees for the English Premier League. Toru Kamikawa refereed the third place match in the 2006 World Cup in Germany. Peter Mikkelsen refereed in the 1990 and 1994 World Cup.
Ingrid Jonsson was one of the first women allowed to referee in a FIFA tournament, then as a linesman/lineswoman in 1991. Michał Listkiewicz refereed in the 1990 World Cup and subsequently became the president of the Polish FA.
(via @allaboutrefs)
by Martin Rødvand on January 2, 2012
As the new year has set on us, it is always the departure of international referees which has reached the mandatory retirement age of 45. This year we say goodbye to Belgian referee Frank de Bleeckere, who not only retired internationally but also domestically.
Born in 1966 he started his refereeing career as an 18 year old, and quickly progressed. He became an international referee in 1998, and he has had finals in both of FIFA’s youth tournaments (U-17 in 2005, U-20 in 2009). He was selected as a fourth official for EURO 2004, and as a referee for EURO 2008. He also participated in World Cup 2006 in Germany, and the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
He has been a regular in the UEFA Champions League, refereeing everything except the final since his debut in 2003. The total number of matches refereed in the Champions League stopped at 47, most of all referees currently in the Elite category. In 2005 and 2009 he refereed the Belgian cup final.
Another referee to retire is Uruguayan Jorge Larrionda. He would be eligible for two more years of refereeing, but elected to call an end to his career to join FIFA’s referees committee. He was regarded as a top official, and his selection for both the 2006 and 2010 World Cups shows exactly that.
A FIFA referee since 1998, he has been present at a number of international tournaments, and was a favourite for one of the finishing matches in the 2010 tournament in South Africa. A rather unfortunate situation in the round of 16 match between England and Germany where his assistant referee missed a goal for England put a stop to his World Cup dreams in Africa.
Although the spot on FIFA’s referees committee is currently a nomination, it is expected that Larrionda will be selected as one of the three from CONMEBOL.
