December 28 Al Feiha - Al Nassr A. Soares Dias (POR), A. Mesquita (POR), N. Manso (POR), M. Al Ghamdi (KSA) Abha - Damak I. Bebek (CRO), G. Pataki (CRO), B. Zobenica (CRO), M. Asseri (KSA) Al Ittifaq - Al Taawon I. Kruzliak (SVK), B. Somolani (SVK), B. Hancko (SVK), M. Al Esmaiel (KSA) Al Shabab - Al Ahli O. Hategan (ROU), O. Sovre (ROU), S. Gheorghe (ROU), M. Al Hoaish (KSA) Al Ittihad - Al Fateh I. Kovacs (ROU), I. Marinescu (ROU), M. Artene (ROU), M. Al Shamrani (KSA) Busy day for Soares Dias who showed three straight reds. Both top Romanian referees in action on the same day.
December 30 Al Hilal - Al Adalah I. Kruzliak (SVK), T. Somolani (SVK), B. Hancko (SVK), K. Salwi (KSA)
King's Cup Round of 16 January 2 Al Wahda - Al Raed I. Pajac (CRO), G. Pataki (CRO), B. Zobenica (CRO), A. Zafer (KSA) Al Feiha - Al Ahli B. Nijhuis (NED), R. Polman (NED), N. George (NED), K. Saleh Al Taries (KSA)
King's Cup Round of 16 January 3 Al Ittifaq - Ohod T. Bognar (HUN), B. Buzas (HUN), P. Kobor (HUN), S. Al Jires (KSA) Al Faisay - Al Hilal I. Bebek (CRO), M. Ristic (SRB), D. Djurdjevic (SRB), A. Al-Shehri (KSA)
King's Cup Round of 16 January 4 Al Adalah - Al Shoalah V. Kassai (HUN), G. Ring (HUN), V. Toth (HUN), M. Al Shamrani (KSA)
Saudi SuperCup (4/Jan) Al-Nassr v Al-Ta'awun REF: Danny Makkelie AR1: Mario Diks AR2: Jan de Vries 4th: Christiaan Bax VAR: Jochem Kamphuis AVAR: Rob Dieperink Very challenging game for Makkelie; refereeing highlights in the hyperlink.
When Kassai announced his "retirement," I had seriously doubts that we would stop seeing him in Saudi Arabia and China. It's just too lucrative. I guess I was right. So no FIFA list and no EURO 2020--a tournament which he had improbably worked his name back into consideration for. But still refereeing outside Hungary and Europe.
Is it just me or was 23:05 a very close call? Very challenging game indeed surprised Al-Nassr had so much trouble against Al-Ta'awun. Thanks for the video.
If by "close," you mean 100% wrong, then yes. Even the best get caught out of possession. The good thing now is that, with VAR, an AR in that sort of situation can actually afford not to guess. Reminding yourself that you have that luxury is tough, however, because that moment is one of the most helpless feelings in the world for a top AR. That said, given the tackle that Makkelie had just let go, I wouldn't be surprised if he and the AR were both happy with this offside flag in the interest of extralegal fairness.
I did write "wrong" before I changed it "very close" to edge on the side of a top-class AR. Hard to fathom the best making mistakes but we are all human. To err is to be human. Move onto the next game and keep doing what you've been doing.
I found a full match record of his game on 4/Jan and, it was only poor quality, but it seemed Kassai was wearing the FIFA Badge 2020. I will try to find out more. Potentially somewhat on topic - Sandro Schärer (SUI, UEFA 1st, 1988-born) will handle Kuwait Crown Prince Cup Final tomorrow.
Viktor Kassai has retired. His last game was Al-'Adalah - Al-Shu'alah cup game on 4/Jan. His final whistle Thank you for everything Viktor!
January 7 Al Hilal - Al Ahli S. Marciniak (POL), P. Sokolnicki (POL), T. Listkiewicz (POL), S. Al Hanfosh (KSA)
VARs: Tomasz Musiał (POL), Muhammad Al-Huwaish (KSA) Wow - I rarely saw such a fantastic performance as Marciniak's in this match! Besides one missed YC (SPA) in the 1H, he was absolutely faultless. His performance was a masterclass in managing a football match by sophisticated talks, gestures / mimics etc. - and taking correct decisions (inc. excellent eagle eye by AR2 to disallow a goal in 2H). Well done!
The funny thing about MassRef's prediction is that the "no FIFA list" part is also wrong. So the only correct part is no EURO 2020 (probably -- who knows if he'll be there in some other capacity.)
January 10 Al Hazm - Al Shabab S. Marciniak (POL), P. Sokolnicki (POL), T. Listkiewicz (POL), K. Al Juhani (KSA) Al Taawon - Al Fateh K. Saleh Al Taries (KSA), F. Al Amri (KSA), F. Al Qahtani (KSA), M. Al Shamrani (KSA) January 11 Al Nassr - Al Ittihad J. Gil Manzano (ESP), A. Nevado (ESP), J. Martinez (ESP), S. Al Hanfosh (KSA) Damak - Al Ittifaq P. Kralovec (CZE), I. Nadvornik (CZE), T. Mokrusch (CZE), A. Al Nuhait (KSA) Al Faisaly - Al Raed M. Al Hoaish (KSA), A. Al Shamari (KSA), O. Al Jamel (KSA), F. Alblwi (KSA) January 12 Al Hilal - Al Wahda O. Hategan (ROU), O. Sovre (ROU), S. Gheorghe (ROU), M. Al Esmaiel (KSA) Hategan's seventh match in Saudi Arabia this season. Kralovec, at 42, hasn't succeeded in going back to the level when he was a regular in the UCL.
Fernando Tresaco Gracia, AR who worked at José María García-Aranda's side (you might even remember him, he stood out for sporting a beard), is the new chair of the Saudi Referees Committee as of three weeks ago. In an interview, he said his aim is to increase the number of matches handled by local referees (he wants to train eighteen Saudi referees to be cleared for handling matches with VAR, at the moment there is only six). https://www.news1.news/sa/2019/10/f...ring-the-saudi-referee-back-on-the-pitch.html
To be fair the Czech referee has been a bit unlucky. He was really pushed in the 2012/13 season where he was one of the few referees who showed good performances, he was promoted to Elite in January/2013, he even got Bayern - Arsenal CL KO but at the end he made a of a mess of the Basel - Chelsea EL Semifinal. Still, great season for him. He continued to make a decent progress though, and by the end of 2015, Královec was on the cusp of joining the real UEFA Elite Category, especially after convincing in a crucial Chelsea - Dynamo Kyiv game; he opened 2016 with the CL KO game Roma - Real Madrid. Bear in mind at this point he was more-or-less level with - or even slightly ahead of - Szymon Marciniak in UEFA's estimation. But then he had a terrible 2016 including a weak EURO where he totally lost his form and was close even to a demotion. Then, he made a bit of a comeback in 2017/18 where he got an EL Quarterfinal but then he had a long-term injury from which he only came back from recently (in Moldova - Iceland game). Kassai was ahead of him for EURO 2020 in my eyes, perhaps Královec now has chances to reach that now. My feeling is that he will just miss out (on the premise there are eighteen referees), though. TL;DR Královec was basically planned to have the career path that Haţegan has now taken, but he messed up and got injured at the wrong times.