Two days before the opening match of UEFA EURO 2024 between Germany and Scotland, the UEFA director general of referees Roberto Rosetti spoke to the media at Monaco’s Football Arena just hours after announcing that the Frenchman Clément Turpin he would referee the first match.
“These are the best referees in the world,” Rosetti said as reported by Uefa.com. “In this ranking the level is better than in EURO 2020 and we are super happy about it. We followed only one criterion: quality.”
Before the big kick-off, referees and members of the UEFA Referees Committee visited all 24 of the teams’ training bases to present and discuss a series of guidelines for the tournament. On Wednesday, Rosetti shared the same presentation with media across the continent.
High on the team meeting agenda was on-field communication, with an emphasis on the importance of respect towards referees in the hope of portraying a better image of the game to young players and fans.
Rosetti and his team have informed players and coaches that referees will open a line of dialogue with team captains during matches to offer information and explain key decisions, including what is discussed with the Video Assistant Referees (VAR).
Only the captain, or a designated outfield player if the captain is a goalkeeper, should speak to the referee during these clarifications. Other players will have to respect the referee, keep their distance and not surround match officials, with cases of aggression and dissent to be dealt with firmly.
“We shared the idea with the EURO 2024 coaches and talked about this topic within our UEFA Football Board, with top players, former players and coaches,” explained Rosetti. “And we all agreed on this situation together and then turned to the teams. They are happy with this.”
“We do this not for the referees or the UEFA Referees Committee, but for football, for the image of the game and for the next generation. These sessions [con le squadre ndr] they were very productive. All the players interacted very well: they wanted to know how we wanted to apply this open dialogue with the captains and they were absolutely satisfied with it. I’m sure he will be a fantastic example for the next era of football.”
