De Scheidsrechters: inclusief Pieter Vink

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The importance of the referees, assistant referees and fourth officials as the 17th team at UEFA EURO 2008™ has been emphasised by UEFA – and the referees have been urged to protect the players and football's image at the tournament in Austria and Switzerland in two months' time.

Superb team
The chairman of the UEFA Referees' Committee and UEFA vice-president Ángel María Villar Llona told a briefing at the referees' EURO headquarters in Regensdorf, near Zurich, that he confidently expected the match officials at the final round to be of the highest-ever quality. "The referees have been selected on the basis of their good performances in European competition matches, and they have been excellently prepared over the past two years," said Villar Llona. "They are in excellent physical condition – the fitness tests here have shown this – and there is no doubt that they are ready for what will be a great tournament. They must definitely be considered as the 17th team."

Extra personnel
In total, 44 match officials have been chosen to officiate at the 31 UEFA EURO 2008™ matches between 7 and 29 June. They comprise 12 teams, with a referee and two assistant referees all from the same country within a particular team. Eight more referees have been chosen as fourth officials. The referees will arrive at their Regensdorf base on 3 June, and the UEFA Referees Committee will gather on 5 June to appoint the officials for the first 12 matches. "Fifth officials" – a substitute assistant referee – will also accompany the referee teams and fourth officials to their matches, and will be ready to step into action if an assistant referee is injured or otherwise incapacitated at a match.

Travel arrangements
For matches at the Swiss venues of Zurich, Basel and Berne, the referee teams will travel to the venue by car on the day of the match, while an assignment in the fourth Swiss venue, Geneva, will require an overnight stay before and after the match. For Austria, the referees will travel by train to Innsbruck the day before the match, and by plane to the other Austrian venues of Vienna, Klagenfurt and Salzburg. The referee teams will be accompanied by referee observers, as well as by active referees who will act as liaison officers.

'Fit and ready'
Each referee will, in principle, take charge of two group matches. After this, the UEFA Referees Committee will decide on the match officials for the knockout phase. The eight fourth officials will leave after the group phase, and one of the 12 EURO referees will act as fourth official at each knockout match. Referees will be paid €10,000 for each match they take charge of while an assistant referee will receive €5,000, a fourth official €4,000, and a fifth official €3,000 per match. In the six weeks leading up to the tournament, the referees have a specific training programme and will be monitored. "In this way, we can assure that they will be fit and ready for the final round," said UEFA's head of refereeing Yvan Cornu.

Important directives
In the meantime, the match officials will also be digesting technical instructions given to them by the UEFA Referees Committee. They have been told to act firmly with a red card against challenges with excessive force which endanger an opponents' safety – and to punish holding and pushing in the penalty area at set-pieces. Simulation will be punished with a yellow card for unsporting behaviour, and acts of simulation not seen by the referee could be punished retrospectively. Any mass confrontation will lead to the main protesters getting a yellow card. Dissent will be firmly sanctioned.

Respect agenda
"Referees will speak to players and respect them, but it is also expected that players and coaches show respect back," said UEFA Referees Committee member Hugh Dallas. Coaches who act responsibly will be left to do their technical area work, but if a coach openly criticises a referee, action will be taken. "We are working together for positive play," concluded fellow Referees' Committee member Vlado Šajn. "And part of the referees' responsibility is to protect the players – and the image of the game."