I have not found the entire list through some quick searching on FIFA/Olympic websites, however, there are three Canadians selected for the Olympics, and I presume the entire list will come soon. Men AR - Joe FLETCHER Presumably he'll be on a crew with GEIGER and HURD. Women CR - Carol Anne Chenard AR - Marie-Josee Charbonneau
Yes, Fletcher is on the crew with Geiger and Hurd. The American women are the usual trio, Seitz, Duffy and Perez.
Few more confirmations I have read about... GARCIA (MEX) OROSCO (BOL) ROLDAN (COL) SOTO (VEN) MOEN (NOR) IRMATOV (UZB) Interesting that Fletcher is going. For the U20s last year, they tried to pull from the officials at the same level at the CONCACAF tournament but it was Briere and not Fletcher at that tournament this time. Fletcher might signify Geiger is going to London, but Marrufo was the US referee at the qualifying so it's possible Fletcher is going with him. Then again, Marrufo has already gone to one Olympics, so maybe Geiger gets this and Marrufo does U20s next year. Of course, it might have more to do with Canada than the US... maybe Fletcher wasn't available for the CONCACAF qualifying, but has always been ranked ahead of Briere.
That answers that then! Makes sense in the grand scheme of things. Gave Marrufo a good tournament, gives Geiger a big stage after last summer and saves Marrufo for something next year.
I'm certainly not on the CONCACAF Referee Committee or the FIFA Referee Committee, but it's my understanding that, for the men, the Olympics is the big audition for the World Cup. And, given that Geiger had the center for the U-20's final last year, it only makes sense that he's the American candidate for World Cup '14. I suspect that Marrufo's day has passed.
Though I do think, at the FIFA level, Geiger now has a leg up, I wouldn't totally discount Marrufo. Both are supposed to be, at least nominally, WC candidates. Also, I think this debate has been had before, but I think the Olympics get overblown a bit as "the big" audition for the WC. It's way too early for that, plus the top UEFA referees don't go, due to EURO. It's one of a series of official auditions, along with the Confed Cup, U20s and U17s, and it's certainly a place where you can help build your case early (Kassai did this in 2008). To reinforce the point, of the eight referees who did knockout matches in Beijing, only three made it to South Africa. London is only the first official step toward Brazil for referees.
I would certainly say he's a favorite, but maybe not if FIFA already wants to use him for the Final of 2014. Also, due to the way qualification slots are allocated, the Olympics is the tournament with the best chance of the Final not being a UEFA v CONMEBOL affair. If such a scenario unfolds, there are going to be a lot of strong referees to choose from in addition to Irmatov. Moen is the only UEFA referee mentioned so far, but it signals that big-name UCL referees are going--just not the ones at EURO. Bet we'll see Brych and Clattenburg, for starters. Worth noting as well that, with the US not at the tournament, Geiger is going to have a bit more freedom for his appointments. He's now trusted at the FIFA-level... another big match in London might be something to expect--rather than hope for--at this point.
Apparently you can add BRYCH (GER) to the list, per German sources. It was pointed out elsewhere that Brych was left off the list of EURO AARs, which was a big omission and might have been with the Olympics in mind. If not going to the EUROs is a requirement for Olympic appointment, that might mean England doesn't get a representative. Hope that's not the case. We'll have to wait to see if that's an actual rule. If it is, then guys like Nijhuis and Chapron, who were also both left off as AARs, will likely be in play. Then probably two or three referees from the Elite Development or First Groups.
If only I had waited a few minutes, all my questions would have been answered! Full list: AFC Referee: Ravshan Irmatov (UZB) Assistant Referee 1: Abdukhamidullo Rasulov (UZB) Assistant Referee 2: Bakhadyr Kochkarov (KGZ) Referee: Yuichi Nishimura (JPN) Assistant Referee 1: Toru Sagara (JPN) Assistant Referee 2: Toshiyugi Nagy (JPN) Referee: Benjamin Williams (AUS) Assistant Referee 1: Matthew Cream (AUS) Assistant Referee 2: Hakan Anaz (AUS) CAF Referee: Bakary Gassama (GAM) Assistant Referee 1: Jason Damoo (SEY) Assistant Referee 2: Angesom Ogbamariam (ERI) Referee: Slim Jedidi (TUN) Assistant Referee 1: Bechir Hassani (TUN) Assistant Referee 2: Sherif Hassan (EGY) CONCACAF Referee: Roberto Garcia (MEX) Assistant Referee 1: Jose Camargo (MEX) Assistant Referee 2: Alberto Morin (MEX) Referee: Mark Geiger (USA) Assistant Referee 1: Mark Hurd (USA) Assistant Referee 2: Joe Fletcher (CAN) CONMEBOL Referee: Raul Orosco (BOL) Assistant Referee 1: Efrain Castro (BOL) Assistant Referee 2: Arol Valda (BOL) Referee: Wilmar Roldan (COL) Assistant Referee 1: Humberto Clavijo (COL) Assistant Referee 2: Eduardo Diaz (COL) Referee: Juan Soto (VEN) Assistant Referee 1: Jorge Urrego (VEN) Assistant Referee 2: Carlos Lopez (VEN) OFC Referee: Peter O’Leary (NZL) Assistant Referee 1: Jan Hintz (NZL) Assistant Referee 2: Ravinesh Kumar (FIJ) UEFA Referee: Felix Brych (GER) Assistant Referee 1: Mark Borsch (GER) Assistant Referee 2: Stephan Lupp (GER) Referee: Mark Clattenburg (ENG) Assistant Referee 1: Stephen Child (ENG) Assistant Referee 2: Simon Beck (ENG) Referee: Pavel Kralovec (CZE) Assistant Referee 1: Martin Wilczek (CZE) Assistant Referee 2: Antonin Kordula (CZE) Referee: Svein Oddvar Moen (NOR) Assistant Referee 1: Kim Haglund (NOR) Assistant Referee 2: Frank Andas (NOR) Referee: Gianluca Rocchi (ITA) Assistant Referee 1: Elenito Di Liberatore (ITA) Assistant Referee 2: Gianluca Cariolato (ITA)
Worth noting there is still one qualification spot up for grabs at the Olympics. Unlike any FIFA-level (rather than confederational) playoff in recent memory, it's being settled by a single-match playoff at a neutral venue. Oman v Senegal in Coventry, UK on April 23rd. I'm very interested to see who referees the match. Now that the Olympic referees are known, I doubt it will be one of them.
I was thinking that, but there are also UCL semis that week and he's probably 50/50 to get one of those. It's a very interesting assignment to get right, because it's on a Monday so you have to take a referee off of any domestic matches from Sunday or Saturday, too. It also would have to be someone recognized and accepted by FIFA, so I wouldn't think a "second-tier" FIFA like a Mike Dean would be in the mix. This is like finding a needle in a haystack, but I think I'd guess (if not Webb) it's a non-English UEFA referee who is going to EURO but not the Olympics and who isn't in the mix for UCL semis. Maybe Craig Thomson?
Maybe Atwell...I'm sure the FA wouldn't mind passing him over for a week Looking at the full list, where is Darren Cann? From WC Final AR, and now passed over for both EURO and Olympics. What's happened with him...
nov 2 1970 so if 2015 is her next world cup that would mean she is 45 that year correct or am i counting wrong???
What I am told is that you can not be selected for a FIFA tournament during your last year on the list. I'm sure someone will come up with an example where this was not true, but that's what I'm told by people in a position to know.
I don't doubt your information since you certainly have access to better info than most of us. But... Doesn't that seem daft to anyone else? Why the hell would you stay on the list for your last year if you can't be selected for a tournament?
Only because you were sure someone would do it... Carlos Simon from Brazil was in his last year at the 2010 World Cup. I think there are many more examples from previous World Cups, but it does seem to be getting less common--either by design or coincidence.
On the other hand she is probably the 2nd best female referee in the World so it seems strange to leave her home especially when you see how weak some of the refs at the WWC can be (remember the defender who picked up the ball?)
Technically speaking, that gave them one more year on the list, though Archundia didn't opt to take it. You can turn 45 during your retirement year, you just can't start January 1st at the age of 45. I think Simon is the only CR example from 2010. There don't appear to be any examples in 2006. For 2002, it looks like Sanchez (ARG), Melo Perriera (POR), Al-Ghandour (EGY), Kim (KOR) and Dallas (SCO) were all in their last year.
