Referee list to narrow on March 31

The following 44 referees invited to Frankfurt next week will be narrowed to 30 for the tournament. And no doubt there will be lots of discussions of new “player protection” initiatives at the workshop. FIFA narrows the list March 31 in Zurich.

AFC (6): Khalil Ibrahim Al Ghamdi (Saudi Arabia), Toru Kamikawa (Japan), Jong Chul Kwon (Korea Republic), Shamsul Maidin (Singapore), Subkhiddin Mohd Salleh (Malaysia), Masoud Moradi (Iran).

CAF (6): Esam El Deen Abd El Fatah (Egypt), Coffi B. Codjia (Benin), Mourad Daami (Tunisia), Jerome K. Damon (South Africa), Mohamed Guezzaz (Morocco), Modou Sowe (Gambia).

CONCACAF (6): Benito Armando Archundia Téllez (Mexico), Carlos Alberto Batres Gonzalez (Guatemala), Peter Prendergast (Jamaica), Marco Antonio Rodriguez Moreno (Mexico), Rodolfo A. Sibrian (El Salvador), Kevin R. Stott (USA).

CONMEBOL (7): Carlos Arecio Amarilla Demarqui (Paraguay), Carlos Luis Chandia Alarcón (Chile), Horacio Marcelo Elizondo (Argentina), Jorge Luis Larrionda (Uruguay), René Ortube Betancourt (Bolivia), Oscar Julián Ruiz Acosta (Columbia), Carlos Simon (Brazil). OFC (2): Mark A. Shield, Matthew Breeze (both Australia).

UEFA (17): Massimo Busacca (Switzerland), Frank De Bleeckere (Belgium), Massimo De Santis (Italy), Herbert Fandel (Germany), Alain Hamer (Luxembourg), Terje Hauge (Norway), Valentin Ivanov (Russia), Claus Bo Larsen (Denmark), Luis Medina Cantalejo (Spain), Manuel Enrique Mejuto Gonzalez (Spain), Markus Merk (Germany), Lubos Michel (Slovakia), Graham Poll (England), Eric Poulat (France), Roberto Rosetti (Italy), Alain Sars (France), Kyros Vassaras (Greece).