Ukrainian referees left the first category of UEFA

Each FIFA/UEFA referee is in a certain category. There are four main categories - the elite category, the first category, the second category, the third category. There are also intermediate levels of the “elite developer” type. For international matches of adult men's teams, appointments are mainly received by representatives of the first three categories.

• Elite category. From here, referees are selected for the final parts of the World and European Championships, as well as for the top matches of international club tournaments. In particular, representatives of the elite category referee the matches of the late stages of the playoffs of the Champions League.
• First category. They can referee matches in the group rounds of the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League, as well as the early stages of the play-offs of the Europa League and Conference League and other international club competitions. They are also appointed to the qualifying matches of the national teams and the League of Nations.
• Second category. In rare cases, they may receive assignments to the early stages of the playoffs of the Europa League and the Conference League; can work on non-status matches of the group rounds of these, as well as other international club tournaments; are assigned to non-top qualifying matches of national teams.

Ukraine is not represented in the elite category. The highest achievement of Ukrainian judges while working in the UAF Collina/Luchi was the first category. Until recently, in particular, it included Sergey Boyko and Evgeny Aranovsky.

However, in January 2023, UEFA updated the referee categories. Names disappeared from the first category - the names of Sergei Boyko and Evgeny Aranovsky.

Ukrainian judges are represented only in the second category. This:

• Nikolay Balakin;
• Alexey Derevinsky;
• Viktor Kopievsky;
• Ekaterina Monzul;
• Vitaly Romanov;
• Denis Shurman.

At the same time, none of them received a single appointment for international European matches of adult men's teams in the second part of the 2022/23 season. The only Ukrainian referee who was allowed to play on the international arena in the first half of 2023 is Oleksiy Derevinsky. In two March matches of the elite round of qualifying for Euro 2023 among 19-year-olds, he worked as a referee in the field, and in one match as a fourth referee. Also at this level (in the same matches as Derevinsky), assistant Alexander Berkut was requested.

The situation with referees Boyko and Aranovsky is mysterious. In the fall of 2022, they worked in the group stage matches of the Europa League and the Conference League.

He also worked at one autumn match of the League of Nations (between the national teams of the Faroe Islands and Turkey).

According to open sources, FIFA/UEFA informed Boyko that the match between Olympakos and Nantes would be his last on the international stage. At the same time, Boyko has not judged UPL games since December 2021.

Aranovsky continues to referee the UPL even in 2023. Despite the fact that both referees flew out of the first category, they are not even in the second category. At the same time, both Boyko and Aranovsky remain FIFA referees. This is stated on the official website of the organization.

It is known that Sergei Boyko is not only in Ukraine, but also in Europe. On March 18, he refereeed the match of the second American League (!) (USL Championship) between the teams "Memphis 90" - "Pittsburgh Riverhounds".

In the UAF Referees Committee, Serhiy Boyko, despite his physical absence from Ukraine, remains the UPL referee.

Igor SEMION