NO British REF AT WORLD CUP

[kajifu]

There will be no British referee at the World Cup this summer for the first time since 1938.
Fifa has chosen 36 officials for the tournament in Russia but none from England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland.
Mark Clattenburg was the only Briton on Fifa's long list of officials, collated in summer 2016, from which it would choose the final selection for Russia.
But he left his job with the Premier League and forfeited his place.
Clattenburg, who took charge of the Euro 2016 final when Portugal overcame hosts France, quit his job as a top-flight official in February 2017 to become Saudi Arabia's new head of referees.
The Football Association did ask world governing body Fifa to replace him with another official but it rejected the request.
There are also no British officials among the 63 assistant referees selected, while video assistant referees (VAR) will be chosen from the pool of officials at the tournament.
VAR is being used at the World Cup for the first time.

http://www.bbc.com/sport/football/43110905

[kajifu]

The poor officiating at EPL has caught up with them.Hopefully next CL they will be no English ref if they don't change

[Scipio Africanus]

I see Sepp Blatter's long hand in this

E go hard for England in this WC o!

[oloye]

Good riddance to bad rubbish!

[Cito]

Those guys are sorry excuses for referees. I wonder how the most expensive brand in football leagues is controlled by one of the most inept group of officials. I guess the unpredictability factor adds to the intrigue and drama helps boost the audience draw.

[txj]

Weep for yourselves, not the Brits.

Why no Nigerian refs at the world cup is a better headline...

[kajifu]

I see Sepp Blatter's long hand in this

E go hard for England in this WC o!

E go do them like film trick when their diving and kung-fu football will be expose...

[charlie]

And there are no Nigerian refs at the world cup either.
I dont see anyone complaining, except of course if you believe your previous colonial masters carry weight pass everyone, in which case, feel free to carry on.

[mcal]

...how many Nigerian refs are going? USA got 2.
A whole US where football is 4th tier sport and Nigeria throws in hefty budget and time into football every year and nothing to show for on world stage.

[Cito]

Weep for yourselves, not the Brits.

Why no Nigerian refs at the world cup is a better headline...

We know they suck and they do too. there is no pretense there. That is the reason for the lack of surprise. The Brits on the other hand...

[Abbey]

Good riddance to bad rubbish!

.... especially to Mike "Red Card" Dean

[oloye]

Good riddance to bad rubbish!

.... especially to Mike "Red Card" Dean

All of them. Look at Oliver duribg Nigeria v Poland, he still managed to mess up denying the poles a genuine goal while awarding us a dodgy pena....those guys are just bad for the business.

[Man Ataye]

I see Sepp Blatter's long hand in this

E go hard for England in this WC o!

Always day hard dem.

[YUJAM]

The American ref that officiated the France vs Nigeria game is quite awful. Surprised that they chose him again

[Flex Swift]

...how many Nigerian refs are going? USA got 2.
A whole US where football is 4th tier sport and Nigeria throws in hefty budget and time into football every year and nothing to show for on world stage.

Question: would you select an official from a football league where one team won 67-0 and another team won 79-0??????

[Enugu II]

Good thing is that several African referees made the list. I like that.

[joplass]

This is no surprise. EPL refs are crap specially after Webb's retirement.

[mcal]

Good thing is that several African referees made the list. I like that.

...have not seen the list. How many Nigerians? Even as standby in case one pull muscle. Just saw it. Even Kenya and Sudan got picks

[Tbite]

Good thing is that several African referees made the list. I like that.

...have not seen the list. How many Nigerians? Even as standby in case one pull muscle.

Well we have the only African Ref in the commonwealth games if that is any consolation.

[mcal]

Good thing is that several African referees made the list. I like that.

...have not seen the list. How many Nigerians? Even as standby in case one pull muscle.

Well we have the only African Ref in the commonwealth games if that is any consolation.

...what is that? A relic show?

[Enugu II]

Good thing is that several African referees made the list. I like that.

...have not seen the list. How many Nigerians? Even as standby in case one pull muscle.

Well we have the only African Ref in the commonwealth games if that is any consolation.

...what is that? A relic show?

Six African referees chosen for 2018 World Cup
http://www.bbc.com/sport/football/43590377

Fifa has chosen six African officials for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, it was revealed on Thursday.

In addition there will also be 10 assistant referees from Africa.

The referees and the assistants make up a total of 99 officials selected for the tournament.

The world governing body also announced that video assistant referees (VAR) will be chosen from the pool of officials.

VAR, which has caused controversy in Europe, will be used for the first time at a World Cup when the tournament starts on 14 June.

The officials, chosen from 46 countries, will attend a two-week seminar at the Italian Football Association's base in Coverciano next month.

The African referees are: Mehdi Abid Charef from Algeria, Malang Diedhiou of Senegal, Bakary Papa Gassama from The Gambia, Gehad Grisha from Egypt, Janny Sikazwe from Zambia, and Ethiopian Bamlak Tessema Weyesa.

Arden Marwa of Kenya is one of the African Linesmen to the World Cup

Europe will be represented by referees from Germany, Turkey, Russia, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Serbia, Italy, Slovenia and France.

Asia will have six as will north and South America and two from Oceania.

[Enugu II]

Russia 2018: Get To Know The African Referees Officiating At The World Cup
by Prince Jacon | 4 months ago
http://www.konbini.com/ng/lifestyle/rus ... world-cup/

For the upcoming Russia 2018 world cup, FIFA has received a six-man list of African referees and support referees to officiate at the tournament – and, sadly, there’s no Nigerian on the list. But that doesn’t mean we’re not going to celebrate the lucky ones who were selected. After all, we’re one Africa.
So, to introduce the African referees, we at Konbini have compiled this list to guide you as you look out for them once the World Cup kicks off on June 14, 2018.

Mehdi Abid Charef (Algeria)
36-year-old Charef has been a national referee in Algeria since 2005. He was made a FIFA referee in 2011. Regarded as a top-class referee, he has officiated at the CAF Under-20 Championships, and the AFCON. This year, he made the CAF Awards shortlist as referee of the year.



Malang Diedhiou (Senegal)
Diedhiou featured prominently at the 2015 AFCON. In April, he was used as a video assistant referee for the 2017 Confederations Cup in Russia. The 44-year-old is up for referee of the year at the CAF Awards. He has officiated in two Olympic Games, one international friendlies, and seven World Cup qualifiers.



Bakary Papa Gassama (Gambia)
Gassame became a FIFA referee in 2007. So far, he has made 74 appearances in 15 tournaments, including the 2014 World Cup. He was the only head referee from Africa at the 2017 Confederations Cup in Russia in which Senegal’s Diedhiou took part as a video assistant referee. The Gambian has won the CAF Awards as referee of the year for three consecutive times in 2014, 2015 and 2016.



Gehad Grisha (Egypt)
41-year-old Grisha is unarguably Egypt’s best goalkeeper. He became a FIFA-listed referee in 2008, and aside from officiating at the 2014 and 2015 AFCON, he also officiated 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. He was nominated as referee of the year at this year’s CAF Awards.



Janny Sikazwe (Zambia)
During the FIFA Club World Cup final in 2016, if you watched the moment Real Madrid player, Sergio Ramos, wasn’t sent off the pitch after committing two fouls deserving of an unapologetic red card, then there’s no way you don’t know Sikazwe – because he officiated that match.

The 38-year-old referee also officiated the final of the 2017 AFCON. Referred to as troublesome by some, Sikazwe has made 58 appearances in 12 events, including the 2015 Under-17 World Cup, this year’s Under-20 World Cup, and three AFCON tournaments. He’s also in line for referee of the year at the CAF Awards this year.



Weyesa Bamlak Tessema (Ethiopia)
Ethiopia’s Tessema became a FIFA referee in 2009. He has officiated in seven tournaments, most of which were organized by CAF. Nominated for referee of the year at the CAF Awards this year, the 37-year-old is also a medical researcher.

[DIMKA76]

Methinks it's just down to the hostile political climate RE: The nerve agent incident. I won't read too much into it as British refs are some of the best in the world.