UEFA elite referee category

Highest classification for UEFA football referees

Michael Oliver

Szymon Marciniak

François Letexier

István Kovács

The UEFA elite referee category is the highest classification for football referees^[1] appointed by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA),^[2] typically including some of the most experienced football referees in the globe.^[3]

Referees in this category are eligible to officiate the most important matches in UEFA club and international competitions, including the UEFA Champions League^[4] and UEFA European Championship.^[5]^[6]^[7]^[8]

UEFA operates a hierarchical referee classification system designed to assess officials based on performance, experience, physical fitness, and consistency. This elite category represents the top tier of this system and consists of a limited number of highly experienced football referees from UEFA member associations who have demonstrated sustained excellence at both domestic and international level.^[9]^[10]

Referees in the elite category are normally appointed to officiate:

UEFA Champions League knockout-stage matches.
UEFA Europa League and UEFA Conference League decisive fixtures.
UEFA national team competitions, including the UEFA European Championship.

Match appointments are made by the UEFA Referees Committee following assessments by referee observers and performance analysis.

Selection criteria

Promotion to the UEFA elite referee category is based on several factors, including:

Consistently high performance evaluations in UEFA competitions
Experience in top domestic leagues
Physical fitness and technical competence
Ability to manage high-pressure and high-profile matches

Referees are reviewed annually^[11] and may be promoted to or removed from the elite category depending on performance assessments.^[12]

References

↑ Webb, Tom (2017-04-28). Elite Soccer Referees: Officiating in the Premier League, La Liga and Serie A. Routledge. p. 200. ISBN 978-1-317-32614-4. Retrieved 2026-01-17. "Elite Soccer Referees"
↑ Union of European Football Associations. UEFA Referee Convention 2020. UEFA.
↑ "IFFHS". IFFHS. 2024-12-24. Retrieved 2026-01-17.
↑ "Champions League 2025/2026 » Referees". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 2026-01-17.
↑ Harmsel, Jan ter (2018-06-05). "Uefa men's referee categories are released". Dutch Referee Blog. Retrieved 2026-01-17.
↑ "Chris Kavanagh promoted as England has three Uefa elite referees for first time in eight years". BBC Sport. 2025-12-30. Retrieved 2026-01-17.
↑ "Nick Walsh promoted to UEFA Elite Referee Category". Scottish FA. 2025-12-16. Retrieved 2026-01-17.
↑ Ross-Murray, Ewan (2024-05-03). "The 30 best referees in world football". 90min.com. Retrieved 2026-01-17.
↑ "UEFA Referee Convention - Convention on Referee Education and Organisation" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2020-11-27.
↑ UEFA.com. "The official website for European football". UEFA.com. Retrieved 2026-01-17.
↑ "Elite men's referees align ahead of the new season". UEFA.com. 2025-09-04. Retrieved 2026-01-17.
↑ "How Referees Are Chosen for the Champions League: A Behind-the-Scenes Look". refrsports.com. Retrieved 2026-01-21.

UEFA Elite men's referees

Benoît Bastien (FRA)
Espen Eskås (NOR)
Jesús Gil Manzano (ESP)
Serdar Gözübüyük (NED)
Orel Grinfeld (ISR)
Marco Guida (ITA)
Alejandro Hernández (ESP)
Sven Jablonski (GER)
Srđan Jovanović (SRB)
Chris Kavanagh (ENG)
István Kovács (ROU)
Ivan Kružliak (SVK)
Erik Lambrechts (BEL)
François Letexier (FRA)
Danny Makkelie (NED)
Szymon Marciniak (POL)
Maurizio Mariani (ITA)
Davide Massa (ITA)
Halil Umut Meler (TUR)
Glenn Nyberg (SWE)
Rade Obrenović (SVN)
Michael Oliver (ENG)
Irfan Peljto (BIH)
João Pinheiro (POR)
Donatas Rumšas (LTU)
José María Sánchez (ESP)
Sandro Schärer (SUI)
Daniel Siebert (GER)
Tobias Stieler (GER)
Anthony Taylor (ENG)
Clément Turpin (FRA)
Slavko Vinčić (SVN)
Nick Walsh (SCO)
Felix Zwayer (GER)

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