New Zealand referees Campbell-Kirk Kawana-Waugh and Isaac Trevis will be in first-day action at the Olympic Games men’s tournament in Paris.
They and Solomon Islands official Bernard Mutukera will officiate the Group D match between Mali and Israel at the Parc des Princes stadium.
WaiBOP Football’s Kawana-Waugh will referee the fixture, while Trevis and Mutukera will be assistant referees.
Main photo: Campbell-Kirk Kawana-Waugh. Photo: Shane Wenzlick / Phototek.
The Oceania trio are among the 89 match officials (21 referees, 42 assistant referees, 20 video match officials and six support referees) from 45 countries, appointed by the FIFA Referees Committee for the 2024 Olympics.
The Paris Olympic Games will be the third global tournament for Kawana-Waugh after the Waikato-based referee last year officiated at the FIFA U-20 men’s tournament and the FIFA Club World Cup.
Mutukera was also a match official at the same 2023 tournament in Argentina, after earlier appearing at the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2017 and the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2019.
Trevis, from Christchurch, is attending his second global event after appearing at the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2019.
Security has been stepped up for the Mali v Israel match after pro-Palestine campaigners announced plans to stage a peaceful protest from the stands at the stadium.
The Israeli squad is the only nation at the Games to have 24-hour protection from specialist French police units who have a “search and intervention brigade” to patrol fans at the game.
While the Olympic Football Tournaments Paris 2024 are this year’s flagship football competitions, for the selected match officials, they represent the next important step on the road to the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Referees in the women’s and men’s tournaments will be supported by goal‑line technology and the VAR system, including semi‑automated offside technology.
READ MORE: Simplified alternative to VAR to be trialled at FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup >>>>
READ MORE: Download the full list of match officials for the Olympics here >>>>
Fixture
Game to be played on Thursday July 25, 2024 (NZT)
Mali v Israel
Parc des Princes, Paris, 7am (NZT)
Mixed-gender teams to officiate at Olympics
Mixed-gender officiating teams will work together at the Games.
A team led by Argentinian referee Yael Falcon will be assisted by his countrymen Maximillano del Yesso and Facundo Rodriguez will take charge of the opening game of the men’s Olympic Football Tournament between hosts France and United States at the Stade de Marseille on Thursday July 25 (NZT).
They are joined by female Uruguayan official Anahi Fernandez, who will act as fourth official. Spanish official Carlos del Cerro Grande is the VAR, and Mexico’s Guillermo Pacheco is the assistant VAR.
American referee Tori Penso, who officiated the FIFA Women’s World Cup final in 2023 where Spain beat England in Stadium Australia in Sydney, will oversee the opening game of the women’s tournament between France and Colombia in the Stade de Lyon on Friday July 26 (NZT).
She will be joined by Brooke Mayo and Kathryn Nesbitt, also from the United States, while Ugandan official Shamirah Nabadda will perform fourth official duties. Tatiana Guzman, the first woman to take charge of a men’s game in Nicaragua, is the VAR and Jamaica’s Daneon Parchment is VAR assistant.
Female Japanese referee Yoshimi Yamashita, who has experience of officiating at the FIFA Women’s World Cup, will referee the men’s Egypt v Dominican Republic game on Thursday July 25 (NZT) at the Stade de la Beaujoire.
Male Brazilian referee Ramon Abatti will take charge of the women’s game between United States and Zambia on Friday July 26 (NZT) at the Stade de Nice
This story was first published on July 24, 2024.
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