In May of this year, while the national teams were playing their final friendlies and making last adjustments before the World Cup, the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) and the German Football Association (DFB) agreed on an exchange between refereeing teams for the friendlies Germany vs. Finland, at the MEWA Arena in Mainz, and Brazil vs. Panama, at the Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro.
Under the agreement, referee Matheus Candançan was in charge of officiating Germany vs. Finland, assisted by Victor Hugo Imazu dos Santos and Alex Ang Ribeiro. Paulo Cesar Zanovelli served as the fourth official, with Rodrigo D’Alonso Ferreira and Rodrigo Guarizo Ferreira do Amaral on VAR (Video Assistant Referee). The German national team won 4-0. Matheus Candançan spoke about the work carried out in the match.
“It was a great experience. Having contact with a different football culture, in an important match between national teams, with Germany close to playing in a World Cup. A unique opportunity. The structure and support we had there were the same as we have here. And I realized that, in Brazil, we enjoy the same level of organization that was provided for the German national team’s friendly,” said the referee.
Paulo Cesar Zanovelli also took part in this refereeing exchange. The official worked as the fourth referee in the friendly. Zanovelli praised the structure provided by the German Federation and revealed that the organization of Brazilian refereeing is on par with Europe’s.
“The structure in Brazil is spectacular and lacks nothing. It comes down to football culture, such as the way the game is played and also the fact that the players are more respectful. We have to take pride in the work carried out by the CBF and in what the Refereeing Commission makes available to referees. We had contact with the local instructors, and we were able to observe and understand how they work with technology and also in their day-to-day activities. It was very good to get to know it, learn, and understand that Brazilian refereeing is on the right path,” praised Paulo Cesar Zanovelli.
The match between Brazil and Panama, won by the Canarinho by 6-2, had Daniel Schlager as the main referee, with assistants Sven Washitzki-Günther and Rafael Foltyn. The fourth official was Florian Badstübner, and the duo Pascoal Müller and Robert Schröder worked on VAR.
TRAINING IN MADRID
The referees in the CBF PRO category are continuing their work at the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF). This Thursday (9), the officials carried out physical activities on the field and, in the afternoon, received guidance from the CBF Refereeing Commission’s technical staff on the new rules being applied at the World Cup.
“The work being done here in Madrid is of a high level. We are already in touch with the new rules, and they benefit actual playing time in matches. We were able to see these rules at the World Cup. Now it’s time to put them into practice and improve our football product even further,” said Matheus Candançan.
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.
