Refereeing World

The man tasked with overseeing proceedings in Budapest on Saturday evening is Germany's Daniel Siebert, who is relishing the biggest night of his career so far. The 42-year-old father of two began refereeing as a 14-year-old, making his way through the ranks before joining the list of international referees in 2015. Saturday's final between Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal will b...

Wednesday's UEFA Conference League final is not only a major milestone for finalists Crystal Palace and Rayo Vallecano; it will also be a landmark moment for referee Maurizio Mariani. He takes charge of a European final for the first time as Crystal Palace face Rayo Vallecano in Leipzig, 12 months on from fourth official duties at the 2025 UEFA Europa League final. It is fitting...

Semi-automated offside technology (SAOT) is a support tool that helps video assistant referees (VARs) to make faster, more reproducible and more accurate offside decisions. Advanced SAOT uses the same system but additionally sends information directly to the on-field match officials for clear offsides to further speed up the decision-making process.