With UEFA EURO 2008™ being rightly hailed as one of the most exciting tournaments of modern times, euro2008.com tells the story of three and a half weeks in Austria and Switzerland in the words of the players and coaches who made the magic.The quality of play is extolled unanimously by all observers. Defensive tactics are nowhere to be seen – rather, all legal means are being used to overpower the other team. Team play is not stifling the talent of individuals, who are frequently giving some particularly dazzling performances. It’s a real treat for football fans. Read the rest of this entry »

View and download Massimo Busacca’s photos from the recent European Championship

EURO is over. it is time to keep some memories.

Roberto Rosetti
REFEREE WALLPAPERS - Tuesday, 01 July 2008

© REFEREE WALLPAPERS

Portugal become the first team to get through to the Euro 2008 quarter-finals, while co-hosts Switzerland go out after a last minute defeat. Portugal, who were runners-up in 2004, secured their second victory of the tournament and a place in the last eight when they beat the Czech Republic 3-1. Just hours after that game, English Premier League football club Chelsea announced that Portugal coach Luiz Felipe Scolari would become their new manager at the start of July.

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Soccer fans attending the Euro 2008 tournament in Austria and Switzerland are being offered the chance to see religion in their sport. Just days before the start of the tournament a museum at Vienna’s Catholic cathedral aims to show the links between the cult of football and the rituals of the Catholic church.

FIFA President Sepp Blatter says the Congress is happy with an overwhelming ‘yes’ vote in support of the controversial 6+5 rule on foreign player quotas in clubs. England Football Association Chief Executive Brian Barwick is less enthusiastic.

The name “Europass” refers to the common “Euro” pass between the two host countries of Austria and Switzerland. It also represents every pass the players will make on the pitch during UEFA Euro 2008. Last but not least, it signifies the co-operation among all the fans who will make their way to Austria and Switzerland for the final competition.The ‘Europass’ combines tradition with modernity. Its classic colouring - a white base colour with black dots – calls to mind the balls of bygone decades, yet its bonding with round dynamic elements in silver and red results in an innovative and very modern design. The national flags of both countries have also been integrated into the ball design, with eight circles in a subtle silver effect. The 12 black dots contain individual graphic elements developed by UEFA to accompany the Euro logo. These elements stand for passion, friendship, action, training, fans and the winning goal, which appear as watermarks in the black dots of the Adidas ‘Europass’.

During a soccer game the cardio-circulatory system is severely taxed , and soccer referees need to have high levels of physical fitness. To referee a soccer game, they must be alert and near the scene of action, and their level of fitness must be such that fatigue will not impair their decision-making. Referees are often subjected to proportionally increasing physical demands as years go by. Indeed, their peak performance is usually between 30 and 45 years of age, when cardiovascular athletic performance starts to decline. Several studies have investigated the athletic performance of refereesThe aim of our study is to evaluate the morphological and functional cardiac profiles of professional soccer referees. Read the rest of this entry »

At its Annual General Meeting today in Gleneagles, Scotland, the International Football Association Board (IFAB) has decided to put on ice goal-line technology and to stop tests in this area until further notice. Amongst others, the questions of the human aspect of the game, the universality of the Laws of the Game, as well as the simplicity and efficiency of the technology were taken into consideration.

However, the IFAB has approved a proposal from FIFA to conduct an experiment involving two additional assistant referees who will mainly focus on fouls and misconduct in the penalty area. The competition in which this test will be conducted will be decided at a later stage.

The Board also discussed a proposal from the Scottish FA regarding the use of video evidence to sanction simulation after the game. Although the suggestion was not approved, the IFAB members agreed that simulation is an act of cheating which must be intensively fought and sanctioned during the game and that all member associations would be encouraged to do so.

Furthermore, a proposal submitted by the FA and called Fair Play Convention, aimed at dealing with injured players while the game is in progress ,was acknowledged but not approved, mainly on the grounds that fair-play is an instinct behaviour rather than an attitude to rule.

Regarding the Laws of the Game, the IFAB approved the following amendments:

Law 1 - The Field of Play
In order to standardize the size of the football pitch for A international matches, the IFAB has decided to set a fixed size of 105m long and 68m wide (instead of a minimum and maximum length - from 100m to 110m - and a minimum and a maximum width - from 64m to 75m - as mentioned in the present text).

Law 2 - The Ball
Within the FIFA Quality Concept for footballs, the IFAB has agreed that the new ‘FIFA APPROVED’, ‘FIFA INSPECTED’ and ‘International Matchball Standard’ logos, which were launched in May 2007, will replace the former logos displayed in the present text.

Revision of the Laws of the Game
The last major revision of the text of the Laws of the Game was one 11 years ago. Since then, many additions and amendments have been made to the Laws themselves and various publications as well as teaching materials have been produced. As a result, a further revision was overdue. The IFAB has approved the revision which contains no major change in content but simplifies the wording of the Laws.

On other business, it’s been agreed that a discussion about the look and design of the ball will be submitted to the agenda of the next sub-committee meeting.

Also, as it already did last year, the Board stressed that people in the technical areas should have no access and view to pitch-side monitors.

Finally, the FIFA President made a strong appeal against violent tackles on the field of play, reiterating that “players committing such acts should be banned”.

The 123rd Annual General Meeting of the International Football Association Board will take place next year in Northern Ireland.

The International F.A. Board, the custodian of the Laws of the Game, is composed of The Football Association (England), The Scottish Football Association, The Football Association of Wales, The Irish Football Association (Northern Ireland) and FIFA. Representing its 204 other members, FIFA has four votes on the body, while the four British associations have one vote apiece. A proposal requires a three-quarter majority (i.e. six of the eight votes) to be passed. Read the rest of this entry »

Use this moment just prior to the start of the game, to acknowledge that the persons on the field of play are legal players and the persons wearing a goalkeepers’ jerseys are the goalkeepers. Count the number of players in both teams before commencing play. If you want to, hold out an up-stretched arm towards your Assistant Referees and both goalkeepers, to check that they are ready to start. But over elaboration is not necessarily required - a Referee can usually see when everyone is ready. Read the rest of this entry »