Peter Fröjdfeldt

Infobox Person
name = Peter Fröjdfeldt


caption =
birth_date = birth date and age|1963|11|14
birth_place = Eskilstuna, Sweden
death_date =
death_place =
height = height|m=1.80
weight = 73 kg
occupation = Football referee, stadium director
nationality = flagicon|SWE Swedish

Peter Fröjdfeldt (born November 14, 1963 in Eskilstuna) is a top Swedish football referee. Originally a first division bandy player, he started refereeing in 1992 after his father-in-law asked him to referee a match in a minor league. He moved up to the highest Swedish league, the Allsvenskan in 1997, and obtained his FIFA badge in 2001. [ [http://worldreferee.com/site/copy.php?linkID=496&linkType=referee&contextType=bio Peter Fröjdfeldt bio] ] Fröjdfeldt has a friendly disposition while refereeing, and his refereeing style has been described as calm and allowing the game to flow.

A relative latecomer to international refereeing, he was in the shadows of fellow countryman and colleague Anders Frisk for many years until Frisk's abrupt retirement in 2005. He was voted best referee in Sweden in 2005, [ [http://worldreferee.com/site/copy.php?linkID=496&linkType=referee&contextType=bio Peter Fröjdfeldt bio] ] and also works as a stadium director [ [http://209.85.175.104/search?q=cache:pJ6VKfaw2EAJ:195.62.28.175/~refereef/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi%3Fubb%3Dget_topic%3Bf%3D48%3Bt%3D000005+peter+frojdfeldt+occupation&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=2 The referee forum] ] outside refereeing, and enjoys family life, golf, and making players suffer while manipulates scores. [ [http://worldreferee.com/site/copy.php?linkID=496&linkType=referee&contextType=bio Peter Fröjdfeldt bio] ]

Fröjdfeldt officiated six games during the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification in the European (UEFA) zone.

2008 UEFA Cup Final

Fröjdfeldt was placed in charge of the 2008 UEFA Cup Final, one of the biggest appointments for a UEFA referee.

footballbox
date = 14 May 2008
20:45 CEST
team1 = Zenit St. Petersburg flagicon|RUS
score=2 – 0
report= [http://www.uefa.com/competitions/uefacup/fixturesresults/round=15124/match=301605/report=rp.html (Report)]
team2=flagicon|SCO Rangers
goals1=Igor Denisov goal|72
Konstantin Zyryanov goal|90+4

Igor Denisov yel|72
Vyacheslav Malafeev yel|90+2
goals2=


yel|90+4 Kirk Broadfoot
stadium =City of Manchester Stadium, Manchester
Attendance: 43,878

Euro 2008

Fröjdfeldt was selected to referee at UEFA Euro 2008 in Switzerland and Austria, [ [http://en.euro2008.uefa.com/news/kind=1/newsid=639895.html Referees named for EURO 2008] , uefa.com, December 19, 2007] his first and only major tournament, [ [http://www.euro2008.uefa.com/MultimediaFiles/Download/PressConference/Competitions/MediaServices/68/51/03/685103_DOWNLOAD.pdf Technical instructions for refereesat EURO 2008] ] as he would have passed the mandatory retirement age of 45 by the time of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

At the tournament, Fröjdfeldt was the referee for:
*Group C game between Netherlands and Italy;
*Group A game between Turkey and the Czech Republic;
*Quarter-final match between Portugal and Germany.

Group C: Netherlands vs. Italy

Fröjdfeldt was involved in a major controversy during the game, after he allowed a goal from Dutch striker Ruud van Nistelrooy to stand, after van Nistelrooy appeared to be in an offside position when scoring: Italy's Christian Panucci had gone off behind his goal earlier after a collision with his goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, and when van Nistelrooy scored there appeared to be only Buffon in between van Nistelrooy and the goal.

Fröjdfeldt and his assistant referee, Stefan Wittberg, ruled however that Panucci was still an active player in the game, even though he was behind his goal and off the field, and was to be technically considered standing on the goalline, inadvertently playing van Nistelrooy onside instead.

Initial reactions from many football pundits on television were either unsure about or critical of Fröjdfeldt's decision, with many deciding Fröjdfeldt and his assistant referee Wittberg had made an error. [ [http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns/story?id=545413&root=euro2008&cc=4716 Uli: The commentators competition] ] UEFA came out in support of Fröjdfeldt in a news conference, where UEFA General Secretary David Taylor announced that the Swedish officials had correctly interpreted Law 11 regarding offsides in football, and had awarded the goal correctly. [ [http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=544855&cc=4716 Ref right to award Ruud goal, says UEFA] , ESPNsoccernet]

"The goal was correctly awarded by the referee team. There is a lack of understanding among the general football public and it is understandable because it is an unusual situation.

The player was not offside because in addition to the Italian goalkeeper [Buffon] there was another defender [Panucci] in front of the goalscorer. Even though that player had fallen off the pitch, his position was still relevant for the purposes of the offside law. [He] is still considered part of the game. If we did not have this interpretation then what could happen is the defending team could step off the pitch to play offside and that is clearly unacceptable.

We have to have the laws as simple as possible for the referee to interpret and for tactical use... if you introduce other interpretations. As a defender you're in play unless you have permission to be off the field." [ [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=A1YourView&xml=/sport/2008/06/11/sfnref111.xml Euro 2008: Uefa back referee Peter Frojdfeldt] , The Daily Telegraph, 11 June,2008]

-- David Taylor, UEFA General Secretary

Group A: Turkey vs. Czech Republic

A 3-2 comeback win by Turkey was marred by the sending off of their goalkeeper Volkan Demirel near the end of the game, when Fröjdfeldt showed him a red card for a violent push on opponent Jan Koller. Turkey coach Fatih Terim admitted after the match that Fröjdfeldt had been right to dismiss Volkan. [ [http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=547502&cc=4716 Referee right to dismiss Volkan, Terim says] , ESPNsoccernet]

Quarter Final: Germany vs. Portugal

In the quarter final match between Germany and Portugal, Fröjdfeldt was also involved in some lesser controversy. He allowed Michael Ballack's goal to stand, after Ballack appeared to have pushed Portugal's Paulo Ferreira when scoring the goal. Evening papers in Fröjdfeldt's native Sweden were critical of his decision. [ [http://www.aftonbladet.se/sportbladet/fotboll/fotbollsem2008/kvartsfinal/article2729390.ab Fröjdfeldt's miss brought Portugal down] sv icon]

For the Final match he was the Fourth official

References

GRAVE ERROR ASSESSMENT of FAIR PLAY IN LOT Lyon-Fiorentina in CHAMPIONS LEAGUE (09/18/2008).

External links

* [http://www.weltfussball.de/schiedsrichter_profil.php?id=15030 weltfussball profile] de icon
* [http://www.svenskfotboll.se/t9.aspx?id=6&p=705492 svenskfotboll profile] sv icon
* [http://www.ratetheref.net/ref/view/72/peter-fr%C3%B6jdfeldt Referee ratings in Euro 2008]