Born | Pargas, Finland | 7 June 1978||
---|---|---|---|
Domestic | |||
Years | League | Role | |
2006–2022 | Veikkausliiga | Referee | |
International | |||
Years | League | Role | |
2009– | FIFA listed | Referee |
Mattias Gestranius (born 7 June 1978) is a Finnish former professional football referee. [1] He has been a full international for FIFA since 2011. [2] He is a laboratory technician. He refereed his last official match in Veikkausliiga on 6 April 2022. [3]
On 24 January 2024, Helsingin Sanomat revealed the long-lasted abuse of power and discrimination within refereeing in Finland, in which Gestranius has played a major role. [4] [5] [6] He was rewarded for his actions to be named a VAR expert and consultant, to train the use of VAR for Finnish referees. [7]
The Finland national football team represents Finland in men's international football competitions and is controlled by the Football Association of Finland, the governing body for football in Finland, which was founded in 1907. The team has been a member of FIFA since 1908 and a UEFA member since 1957.
Helsingin Jalkapalloklubi, commonly known as HJK Helsinki, or simply as HJK, is a Finnish football club based in Helsinki. The club competes in Veikkausliiga, the top division of the Finnish football league system. Founded in 1907, the club has spent most of its history in the top tier of Finnish football. The club's home ground is the 10,770-seat Bolt Arena, where they have played their home games since 2000.
Antti Mikko Niemi is a Finnish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He is currently an assistant coach of Volos of the Super League Greece.
The Order of the White Rose of Finland is one of three official orders in Finland, along with the Order of the Cross of Liberty, and the Order of the Lion of Finland. The President of Finland is the Grand Master of all three orders. The orders are administered by boards consisting of a chancellor, a vice-chancellor and at least four members. The orders of the White Rose of Finland and the Lion of Finland have a joint board.
Finland has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 57 times since its debut in 1961. The Finnish participant broadcaster in the contest is Yleisradio (Yle), which has often selected its entrant with a national final, since 2012 known as Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu. The country won the contest for the first – and to date only – time in 2006 with "Hard Rock Hallelujah" performed by Lordi. The country's best result before then was achieved with "Tom Tom Tom" by Marion Rung in 1973, which placed sixth.
Përparim Hetemaj is a Finnish football coach and a former professional footballer who last played as a midfielder for Veikkausliiga club HJK. Born in Kosovo, Hetemaj arrived in Finland when he was six years old and played for HJK's youth teams; signing a professional contract in 2004 at age 17. He joined Greek side AEK Athens in 2006, and moved to Twente in 2009. Subsequently, in 2010, he was signed by Brescia and was transferred to Chievo in 2011. Hetemaj played a total of 300 matches in the Serie A, before returning to Finland in 2022 after a season with Reggina in the Serie B.
Atomu Tanaka, nicknamed Atom, is a Japanese professional footballer who plays for Veikkausliiga club HJK Helsinki.
Kasper Woldemar Hämäläinen is a Finnish sporting director of Ykkösliiga club TPS, and a former professional international footballer who played as a attacking midfielder. Hämäläinen was born in Turku, Finland, where he started his senior career in TPS before moving to Djurgården. Hämäläinen made his international debut for Finland in November 2008 and has since had over 60 caps, including appearing in Finland´s UEFA Euro 2020 campaign in which Finland national team secured its first place in European Football Championship tournament´s group stage. He returned to his former club TPS in 2021, and ended his professional career with the club in the end of the 2023 season.
Lukas Hradecky is a Finnish professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for and captains both Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen and the Finland national team.
Markku Tapio Kanerva is a Finnish football manager, former player and elementary school teacher. Most recently he served as the manager of the Finland national team.
Jere Uronen is a Finnish professional footballer who plays as a full-back for Major League Soccer (MLS) club Charlotte FC and the Finland national team. He began his senior club career playing for TPS, before signing with Helsingborgs IF at age 17 in 2012.
Kasper Kaan Özden Kairinen is a Finnish professional footballer, who plays as a central midfielder for Czech First League club Sparta Prague and the Finland national team.
Miro Tenho is a Finnish professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Allsvenskan team Djurgården and the Finland national team.
Onni Johannes Simonpoika Valakari is a Finnish professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Allsvenskan club AIK, on loan from Pafos.
Joakim Latonen is a Finnish professional footballer who plays for Veikkausliiga club Gnistan, as an attacking midfielder.
The 2019 Veikkausliiga was the 89th season of top-tier football in Finland. Helsingin Jalkapalloklubi were the defending champions. KuPS won the title.
Niklas Anton Juhana Pyyhtiä is a Finnish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Serie A club Bologna.
Anssi Tapio Suhonen is a Finnish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for 2. Bundesliga club Hamburger SV and the Finland national team.
Mohammad Al-Emara is a Finnish FIFA-listed football referee. He has been named the Veikkausliiga Referee of the Year in six consecutive seasons (2018–2023), voted by the league players. Currently Al-Emara resides in Helsinki.