2006 FIFA World Cup officials

Last updated July 18, 2024

Match officials for the 2006 FIFA World Cup were nominated by the six confederations to FIFA, who, after a series of tests in Frankfurt/Neu-Isenburg in March 2006, selected 23 referees and a support and development group of a further 5,^[1] from a shortlist of 44.^[2]

Kyros Vassaras of Greece and Manuel Mejuto of Spain were selected to be on the panel, but the assistants who were to make up their teams were not deemed to have reached the required standards, and so they were replaced by Roberto Rosetti and Luis Medina.^[1] Jamaican referee Peter Prendergast was selected for the tournament panel, but suffered a knee injury and was removed from the list without replacement.^[3] Massimo De Santis of Italy was also on the panel of 23 referees, but after he was implicated in the Serie A match-fixing allegations, he was withdrawn by the Italian Football Federation and not replaced.^[4]

The 21 referees, along with their assistants and the support group, are based in Neu-Isenburg for the duration of the tournament. FIFA announces the referees selected for each fixture three days in advance of the match.^[1]

Horacio Elizondo was chosen to officiate the final match, which took place in Berlin on July 9.

Refereeing teams

Below are the details of the 21 groups of match officials in the 2006 FIFA World Cup.^[1] For assistants, a flag is only shown if his nationality varies from that of the referee with whom he is grouped.

Most teams (consisting of a referee and two assistants) are drawn from the same nation, and all are made up of officials from the same confederation. In the first round of the tournament, officials other than from UEFA member associations only operate in groups that do not include a representative of their confederation.

Mexico is the only country with 2 referees on the panel.

For the first time at a World Cup, match officials will be equipped with microphones and earpieces so they can communicate better with each other during each game.^[5] Furthermore this World Cup sees the introduction of a fifth official who can be called upon to replace an injured assistant referee. The fourth official would replace the referee..

Referee	Assistants	Matches	Red cards	Yellow cards
Essam Abd El Fatah	D. Dante M. Ndoye	Group F: Australia vs. Japan	0	7
Carlos Amarilla	A. Andino M. Bernal	Group E: United States vs Czech Republic Group G: Togo vs Switzerland Group H: Tunisia vs Ukraine	1	18
Benito Archundia	J. Ramirez H. Vergara	Group F: Brazil vs Croatia Group G: France vs South Korea Group E: Czech Republic vs Italy Round 2: Switzerland vs Ukraine Semifinal: Germany vs Italy	1	14
Massimo Busacca	F. Buragina M. Arnet	Group H: Spain vs Ukraine Group B: Sweden vs England Round 2: Argentina vs Mexico	1	11
Coffi Codjia	C. Ntagungira A. Aderodjou	Group A: Ecuador vs Costa Rica Group H: Spain vs Saudi Arabia	0	10
Frank De Bleeckere	P. Hermans W. Vromans	Group C: Argentina vs Ivory Coast Group F: Croatia vs Japan Round 2: England vs Ecuador Quarterfinal: Italy vs Ukraine	0	19
Horacio Elizondo	D. Garcia R. Otero	Group A: Germany vs Costa Rica Group E: Czech Republic vs Ghana Group G: South Korea vs Switzerland Quarterfinal: England vs Portugal Final: Italy vs France	3	24
Valentin Ivanov	N. Golubev E. Volnin	Group G: France vs Switzerland Group A: Ecuador vs Germany Round 2: Portugal vs Netherlands	4	26
Toru Kamikawa	Y. Hiroshima Kim Dae Young	Group A: Poland vs Ecuador Group B: England vs Trinidad and Tobago Third Place play-off: Germany vs Portugal	0	14
Jorge Larrionda	W. Rial P. Fandino	Group D: Angola vs Portugal Group E: Italy vs United States Group G: Togo vs France Semifinal: Portugal vs France	3	15
Shamsul Maidin	P. Permpanich E. Ghuloum	Group B: Trinidad and Tobago vs Sweden Group D: Mexico vs Angola Group A: Costa Rica vs Poland	2	20
Luis Medina Cantalejo	V. Giraldez P. Medina	Group A: Germany vs Poland Group C: Netherlands vs Argentina Round 2: Italy vs Australia Quarterfinal: Brazil vs France	2	25
Markus Merk	C. Schraer J.-H. Salver	Group C: Serbia and Montenegro vs Netherlands Group F: Brazil vs Australia Group E: Ghana vs United States	0	16
Ľuboš Micheľ	R. Slysko M. Balko	Group B: Sweden vs Paraguay Group D: Portugal vs Mexico Round 2: Brazil vs Ghana Quarterfinal: Germany vs Argentina	3	32
Graham Poll	P. Sharp G. Turner	Group G: South Korea vs Togo Group H: Saudi Arabia vs Ukraine Group F: Croatia vs Australia	4	20
Eric Poulat	L. Dagorne V. Texier	Group D: Portugal vs Iran Group F: Japan vs Brazil	0	9
Marco Rodríguez	J. Camargo L. Leal	Group B: England vs Paraguay Group C: Ivory Coast vs Serbia and Montenegro	2	12
Roberto Rosetti	C. Copelli A. Stagnoli	Group D: Mexico vs Iran Group C: Argentina vs Serbia and Montenegro Group B: Paraguay vs Trinidad and Tobago Round 2: Spain vs France	1	15
Oscar Ruiz	F. Tamayo J. Navia	Group C: Netherlands vs Ivory Coast	0	7
Mark Shield	N. Gibson B. Wilson	Group H: Tunisia vs Saudi Arabia Group D: Iran vs Angola	0	10
Carlos Simon	A. Tavares E. Corona	Group E: Italy vs Ghana Group H: Spain vs Tunisia Round 2: Germany vs Sweden	1	18

Support officials

Five teams of officials were named to be on standby in the case of injury to any of the officials nominated for a match. None of them were called upon, however, and from the quarter-finals onwards, referees from among the 12 retained for the latter stages of the tournament were given standby appointments to matches.

Referee	Assistant
Khalil Al Ghamdi	H. Al Kadri F. Rabati
Carlos Chandia	C. Julio R. Gonzalez
Jerome Damon	E. Molefe J. Yeboah
Mohamed Guezzaz	B. Djezzar J. Endeng Zogo
Kevin Stott	C. Strickland G. Barkey

Final Match Officials

On Wednesday 28 June, one day after the Second Round matches were completed and two days before the Quarterfinals, the FIFA announced the 12 referees that were retained for the remaining matches.^[6] This is the standard process, meant to ensure only the best referees are in charge of the final few games. The twelve are:

External links

Referee Ratings for the 2006 FIFA World Cup Archived 2006-07-05 at the Wayback Machine

Related Research Articles

The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host the event in July 2000. Teams representing 198 national football associations from all six populated continents participated in the qualification process which began in September 2003. Thirty-one teams qualified from this process along with hosts Germany for the finals tournament. It was the second time that Germany staged the competition and the first as a unified country along with the former East Germany with Leipzig as a host city, and the 10th time that the tournament was held in Europe.

The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2008 or simply Euro 2008, was the 13th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by the member nations of UEFA. It took place in Austria and Switzerland from 7 to 29 June 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2005 FIFA Confederations Cup</span> 7th FIFA Confederations Cup, held in Germany

The 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup football tournament was the seventh FIFA Confederations Cup. It was held in Germany between 15 June and 29 June 2005, as a prelude to the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The tournament was won by 2002 FIFA World Cup winners Brazil, who defeated Argentina 4–1 in the final at the Waldstadion in Frankfurt. The final was a rematch of the Copa América final also won by Brazil. It was Brazil's second win at the Confederations Cup.

The 2000 FIFA Club World Championship was the inaugural FIFA Club World Cup, the world club championship for men's club association football teams. It took place in Brazil from 5 to 14 January 2000. FIFA as football's international governing body selected Brazil as the host nation on 8 June 1999 as the bid was found to be the strongest among four candidates. The draw was made at the Copacabana Palace in Rio de Janeiro on 14 October 1999. All matches were played in either Rio de Janeiro's Estádio do Maracanã or São Paulo's Estádio do Morumbi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2003 FIFA World Youth Championship</span> International football competition

The 2003 FIFA World Youth Championship was the 14th FIFA World Youth Championship. It took place in United Arab Emirates between 27 November and 19 December 2003. Brazil claimed their fourth title, becoming the first country to simultaneously hold all three World Cups of the same gender. The tournament was originally planned to be played 25 March to 16 April 2003, but was postponed because of the Iraq War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Horacio Elizondo</span> Argentine football referee (born 1963)

Horacio Marcelo Elizondo is an Argentine former international football referee best known for his officiation throughout the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Having achieved all his goals in refereeing, Elizondo retired after the December 2006 match between Boca Juniors and Lanús, 2 years before the compulsory retirement age of 45.

The 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup was the eighth Confederations Cup, and was held in South Africa from 14 June to 28 June 2009, as a prelude to the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The draw was held on 22 November 2008 at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg. The opening match and the final was played at Ellis Park Stadium in Johannesburg. The tournament was won by Brazil, who retained the trophy they won in 2005 by defeating the United States 3–2 in the final.

Roberto Rosetti is an Italian former football referee. He is fluent in Italian (native), English and French. He started refereeing in 1983, and took charge of his first match in the Italian Serie A in 1996. He received his FIFA Badge in 2002. Aside from his refereeing duties, Rosetti works as director of a hospital.

Massimo Busacca is a Swiss former football referee, who is FIFA Director of Refereeing, overseeing the protection of football’s core values and the continuous improvement of the game through the development of match officials and referee coaches. He lives in Monte Carasso, Ticino, Switzerland, near Bellinzona.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luis Medina Cantalejo</span> Spanish former football referee (born 1964)

Luis Medina Cantalejo is a Spanish former football referee.

Benito Armando Archundia Téllez is a Mexican former football referee. He is known in Mexico as Armando Archundia, but appears as Benito Archundia in FIFA records. He has been a professional referee since 1985 and has had his FIFA referee permission since 1993. His first fixture as an international referee was the 1994 match between USA and Greece.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2006 FIFA World Cup final</span> World Cup final match, held in Germany

The 2006 FIFA World Cup final was the final match of the 2006 World Cup, the 18th edition of FIFA's competition for national football teams. The match was played at the Olympiastadion in Berlin, Germany, on 9 July 2006, and was contested between Italy and France. The event comprised hosts Germany and 31 other teams who emerged from the qualification phase, organised by the six FIFA confederations. The 32 teams competed in a group stage, from which 16 teams qualified for the knockout stage. En route to the final, Italy finished first in Group E, with two wins and a draw, after which they defeated Australia in the round of 16, Ukraine in the quarter-final and Germany 2–0, in the semi-final. France finished runner-up of Group G with one win and two draws, before defeating Spain in the round of 16, Brazil in the quarter-final and Portugal 1–0 in the semi-final. The final was witnessed by 69,000 spectators in the stadium, with the referee for the match being Horacio Elizondo from Argentina.

The knockout stage was the second and final stage of the 2006 FIFA World Cup, following the group stage. The top two teams from each group advance to the knockout stage to compete in a single-elimination style tournament. A match was played between the two losing teams of the semi-finals to determine which team finished in third place.

Officials for the 2010 FIFA World Cup are selected from a pool of 30 trios of referees and assistant referees announced by the association football governing body, FIFA, on 5 February 2010. The final cut was selected from a group of 38 referees revealed in October 2008, themselves whittled down from an initial group of 54 selected for the Refereeing Assistance Programme in 2007. From the quarter-finals onwards, the pool of referees was reduced to 19.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Italy at the FIFA World Cup</span> Overview of Italy at the FIFA World Cup

This is a record of Italy's results at the FIFA World Cup. Italy is one of the most successful national teams in the history of the World Cup, having won four titles, just one fewer than Brazil. The team was present in 18 out of the 22 tournaments, reaching six finals, a third place and a fourth place.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carlos Velasco Carballo</span> Spanish football referee

Carlos Velasco Carballo is a retired Spanish professional football referee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bakary Gassama</span> Gambian football referee (born 1979)

Bakary Papa Gassama is a Gambian football referee. He became a FIFA referee in 2007. He officiated at the 2012 Olympic tournament, in which he was the fourth official for the gold medal match between Mexico and Brazil. He also served as a referee at the 2012 and 2013 Africa Cup of Nations tournaments, as well as the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

Kwon Jong-Chul is a retired South Korean football referee.

The knockout stage of the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup began on 25 June and concluded on 29 June 2005 with the final at the Waldstadion, Frankfurt. It was the second and final stage of the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup, following the group stage. The top two teams from each group advanced to the knockout stage to compete in a single-elimination style tournament. A third-place match was included and played between the two losing teams of the semi-finals.

Tunisia has participated one times in the FIFA Confederations Cup in 2005, as a representative from Africa after winning the 2004 African Cup of Nations. From its only participation, the team was content with the group stage.

References

1 2 3 4 "23 referees from 21 countries". Archived from the original on 2006-06-30. Retrieved 2006-06-19.
↑ "2006 FIFA World Cup Germany List of Candidate Referees" (PDF). 2005-10-28. Archived from the original (PDF format) on 2006-05-07. Retrieved 2006-06-19.
↑ "Referee Peter Prendergast out of 2006 FIFA World Cup". 2006-05-29. Archived from the original on 27 June 2006. Retrieved 2006-05-21.
↑ Notes from a round table event with the FIFA President
↑ "World-Referees happy clampdown on fouls has worked". 2006-06-16. Retrieved 2022-11-08.
↑ "Ref Poll sent home from World Cup". BBC News. 2006-06-28. Archived from the original on 26 June 2006. Retrieved 2006-06-28.
↑ "ESPN". Archived from the original on 2011-05-25. Retrieved 2006-06-28.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[FIFA_officials-1] 1 2 3 4 "23 referees from 21 countries". Archived from the original on 2006-06-30. Retrieved 2006-06-19.

[2] "2006 FIFA World Cup Germany List of Candidate Referees" (PDF). 2005-10-28. Archived from the original (PDF format) on 2006-05-07. Retrieved 2006-06-19.

[3] "Referee Peter Prendergast out of 2006 FIFA World Cup". 2006-05-29. Archived from the original on 27 June 2006. Retrieved 2006-05-21.

[4] Notes from a round table event with the FIFA President

[5] "World-Referees happy clampdown on fouls has worked". 2006-06-16. Retrieved 2022-11-08.

[6] "Ref Poll sent home from World Cup". BBC News. 2006-06-28. Archived from the original on 26 June 2006. Retrieved 2006-06-28.

[7] "ESPN". Archived from the original on 2011-05-25. Retrieved 2006-06-28.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

v t e 2006 FIFA World Cup
Stages	Group stage Group A Group B Group C Group D Group E Group F Group G Group H Knockout stage Portugal v Netherlands Final
General information	Qualification Broadcasting Controversies Officials Organizing Committee Seeding Sponsorship Squads
Official symbols	+Teamgeist (match ball) Goleo and Pille (mascots) "The Time of Our Lives" (song) "Celebrate the Day" (anthem) 2006 FIFA World Cup (video game)

v t e 2006 FIFA World Cup finalists
Champions	Italy
Runners-up	France
Third place	Germany
Fourth place	Portugal
Quarter-finals	Argentina Brazil England Ukraine
Round of 16	Australia Ecuador Ghana Mexico Netherlands Spain Sweden Switzerland
Group stage	Angola Costa Rica Croatia Czech Republic Iran Ivory Coast Japan Paraguay Poland Saudi Arabia Serbia and Montenegro South Korea Togo Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia United States