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Collina to referee opener

Thursday, June 10, 2004

Pierluigi Collina will take charge of the opening UEFA EURO 2004™ match between Portugal and Greece.

Italian team
Collina, the 44-year-old financial adviser from Bologna, will be accompanied on Saturday by assistant referees Marco Ivaldi and Narciso Pisacreta, also from Italy. Alain Hamer from Luxembourg will be the fourth official.

Top matches
In a distinguished career, Collina has refereed the world's top matches. He officiated at the 2002 FIFA World Cup final between Brazil and Germany in Yokohama and the 1999 UEFA Champions League final between Manchester United FC and FC Bayern München in Barcelona. A few weeks ago, Collina took charge of the UEFA Cup final between Valencia CF and Olympique de Marseille in Gothenburg.

Collina reaction
Collina said of his appointment for Saturday's match: "I am very happy. It is the first time that I've ever been appointed for the opening match of a tournament. An opening match is always special."

Meier in Faro/Loulé
Switzerland's Urs Meier will be in charge of the tournament's second game - Saturday's other Group A match between Spain and Russia at the Estádio Algarve in Faro/Loulé. His assistants are his fellow Swiss Francesco Buragina and Rudolf Käppeli, and Danish referee Kim Milton Nielsen will act as fourth official.

Group B opener
Lucílio Cardoso Cortez Batista of Portugal has been put in charge of the Group B opener between Switzerland and Croatia in Leiria on Sunday, and will be accompanied by assistants and compatriots Paulo Januário and José Cardinal. The Norwegian Terje Hauge will be the fourth official.

German trio
Sunday's other Group B game between France and England in Lisbon has been assigned to Germany's Markus Merk and his assistants and fellow countrymen Christian Schräer and Jan-Hendrik Salver. Luboš Michel from Slovakia is the fourth official.

Fourth officials
Twelve referees in all are officiating in the tournament and each will work alongside two assistant referees from his own country, as UEFA looks to use the experience and understanding between proven referee teams to achieve consistency in decision-making. Four other referees are also in Portugal as fourth officials for various matches, and together with the other referees, are ready to deputise in the event of injury or illness. Click here to view the EURO 2004™ referee team.

UEFA EURO 2004™ referees
DateMatchRefereeAssistant Ref. 1Assistant Ref. 24th Official
12/06Portugal v GreecePierluigi Collina (ITA)Marco Ivaldi (ITA)Narciso Pisacreta (ITA)Alain Hamer (LUX)
12/06Spain v RussiaUrs Meier (SUI)Francesco Buragina (SUI)Rudolf Käppeli (SUI)Kim Milton Nielsen (DEN)
13/06Switzerland v CroatiaLucílio Cardoso Cortez Batista (POR) Paulo Januário (POR) José Cardinal (POR) Terje Hauge (NOR)
13/06France v EnglandMarkus Merk (GER) Christian Schräer (GER) Jan-Hendrik Salver(GER) Luboš Michel (SVK)
14/06Denmark v ItalyManuel Enrique Mejuto González (ESP) Oscar David Martínez Samaniego (ESP) Rafael Guerrero Alonso (ESP) Frank De Bleeckere (BEL)
14/06Sweden v BulgariaMichael Riley (ENG) Philip Sharp (ENG) Glenn Turner (ENG) Stuart Dougal (SCO)
15/06Czech Republic v LatviaGilles Veissière (FRA) Frédéric Arnault (FRA) Serge Vallin (FRA) Kyros Vassaras (GRE)
15/06Germany v NetherlandsAnders Frisk (SWE) Kenneth Petersson (SWE) Peter Ekström(SWE) Valentin Ivanov (RUS)
16/06Greece v SpainLuboš Michel (SVK) Igor Sramka (SVK) Martin Balka (SVK) Stuart Dougal (SCO)
16/06Russia v PortugalTerje Hauge (NOR) Steinar Holvik (NOR) Ole Hermann Borgan (NOR) Frank De Bleeckere (BEL)
17/06England v SwitzerlandValentin Ivanov (RUS)Yury Dupanau (BLR) Vladimir Eniutin (RUS) Kyros Vassaras(GRE)
17/06Croatia v FranceKim Milton Nielsen (DEN)Jens Larsen (DEN) Jørgen Jepsen (DEN) Anders Frisk (SWE)

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