An educational and training gathering of referees and referee assistants took place in Uzhhorod

25.02.2023 16:00

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Taking into account the large-scale military aggression from Russia, this year it was decided to hold the UPL referee training meeting not in Turkey, as usual, but on the territory of Ukraine - in Uzhhorod, from February 20 to 25.

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22 referees and 48 assistants took part in the NTZ, and the instructors were authoritative members of the Committee of Referees of the Ukrainian Football Association, the group of which was headed by the chairman of the committee, Luciano Lucci, and the chief refereeing expert of the UAF, Nicola Rizzoli. In their speeches before the start of the meeting, the leading specialists asked for a moment of silence to honor those heroes who gave their lives for the independence of Ukraine, thanked the Armed Forces for their indomitability and wished them a speedy victory over the occupiers.

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In addition to testing knowledge of the Laws of the Game, a test on physical fitness and daily two-hour training sessions on a synthetic pitch, the NTZ program included theoretical classes on various aspects of refereeing (handball, disruption of an obvious goal-scoring opportunity, violent behavior, reckless actions, simulation, etc.). The class for each of these aspects of judging consisted of a brief introduction, a video test, group work with video clips and a general discussion of those episodes in which the greatest heterogeneity of responses was found.

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It is also worth noting that similar work was carried out separately for referees and referee assistants. Of course, for the latter, the topics were more specific and touched directly on the activities of the linesmen. Special attention was paid to the new interpretation of ricochet and deliberate play in relation to the penalty for being in an "offside" position.

Photo of UAF press service

During the classes, Nicola Rizzoli repeatedly emphasized the importance of decision-making by the main arbitrators. "The role of a modern referee, like 10 years ago, is to make decisions on the field. No need to wait for help from a VAR or expect technology to make decisions for you. You need to act as a leader, not wait!" - emphasized the chief arbitration expert of the UAF.

"For UPL referees and referee assistants, the meeting held in Transcarpathia is an additional incentive to learn the maximum of knowledge and successful experience from FIFA's top referee Nikola Rizzoli, who has proven to be a true friend of Ukraine. I hope that this will inspire our specialists to new high achievements, of which their colleague Kateryna Monzul can be proud today. Katya herself is currently in New Zealand, where she worked on the 2023 Women's World Cup qualification play-off matches and is preparing to work on the matches of the final part of the world championship, which will take place in July-August in Australia and New Zealand," said the president of the UAF. member of the UEFA Executive Committee Andriy Pavelko.