Uzbekistan referees gain valuable experience at Under-17 EURO

Tournaments like the UEFA Under-17 European Championship offer crucial experience for young players on the international stage, and this year’s tournament has provided a similar learning curve for referee Asker Nadjafaliev and assistant referee Ruslan Serazitdinov.

The duo from Uzbekistan have taken charge of multiple matches during the tournament – including hosts Estonia’s historic tournament debut against Spain – as part of an exchange programme with the AFC.

Offering both European and Asian officials the unique opportunity to referee in another region, these exchanges have also taken place at the UEFA Women’s Under-17 EURO and the AFC Under-17 men’s and women’s Asian Cups this May.

Asker Nadjafaliev has taken charge of two matches during the tournamentUEFA via Getty Images

Adapting to new challenges

On the pitch, Nadjafaliev highlights differences in playing style and player behaviour between Asian and European football as a key learning experience for him during his time in Estonia.

"It’s very interesting and important to officiate in a new confederation as you can learn from the different styles of play and we, as referees, have to approach these in different ways," he says.

"Most important, I think, is management because the character and behaviour of the players is different between regions. Facing these new situations and using different tools to manage them will help when we come up against them again in our careers."

The quality of football on show has been another point of interest for Nadjafaliev.

"We know that European clubs are some of the best in the world and this upcoming generation, some of them are almost in the first teams for Champions League clubs, which is another level of skill and technique. I really enjoyed officiating Spain – they have many skilful players who I had to read and anticipate."

Learning beyond the pitch

The duo have also been taking part in workshops and briefings alongside the other referees throughout the tournament.

"UEFA has a slightly different way of teaching material than the AFC," explains assistant Serazitdinov. "It’s helped us to see some incidents in a different way and, in the future, it will mean we can make better decisions."

As part of these sessions, the UEFA referee team have provided plenty of advice and feedback for Nadjafaliev and Serazitdinov to take back home – and into the rest of their careers.

"We will take into account all the advice we received on positioning, player management, and some colleagues also shared their opinions on our performance which will help us develop when we go back to officiate in our confederation – or maybe for FIFA later," adds Nadjafaliev.

Ruslan Serazitdinov in action during Estonia vs SpainUEFA via Getty Images

Cross-continent connections

The exchange programme is the latest in a series of collaborations between UEFA and our sister confederations around the world.

In April, we signed new MoUs with the Confédération Africaine de Football (CAF), Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (Concacaf), and the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC), all of which include a shared commitment to referee development.

Alongside CONMEBOL, a similar referee exchange programme has seen European officials – including 2026 Conference League final referee Maurizio Mariani – feature at the 2024 Copa América, while South American officials were part of the men’s UEFA EURO in 2020 and 2024, and Women’s EURO 2025.

UEFA and the AFC have also collaborated in areas beyond refereeing. Under our knowledge sharing programme UEFA Together, the three-year AFC-UEFA Women’s Football Programme is helping develop the women’s game across five Asian countries, including the creation of dedicated women’s football strategies and increasing grassroots opportunities for girls.

For Nadjafaliev and Serazitdinov, the growing connection between the two confederations was another positive takeaway.

"Our colleagues from UEFA made us feel like we were part of the same confederation – like we were at home," says Nadjafaliev. "That gave us a lot of confidence."