Damir Skomina (born 5 August 1976) is a Slovenian former UEFA Elite category football referee. He is currently working as analyst of referee decisions on Croatian radiotelevision.

Damir Skomina
Skomina officiating a 2018 World Cup match
Full name Damir Skomina
Born (1976-08-05) 5 August 1976 (age 48)
Koper, SR Slovenia, SFR Yugoslavia[1]
Domestic
Years League Role
Slovenian PrvaLiga Referee
International
Years League Role
2003–2021 FIFA listed Referee

Refereeing career

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Skomina was the fourth referee at several UEFA Euro 2008 matches.[2] He refereed the quarter-final match of the football tournament at the 2008 Summer Olympics.[3]

Skomina refereed the second leg of the 2011–12 UEFA Champions League round of 16 match between Arsenal and Milan.[4] He also refereed in the Champions League quarter-final match between Chelsea and Benfica at Stamford Bridge on 4 April 2012.[5]

At UEFA Euro 2012, Skomina refereed three matches: two group matches and a quarterfinal between Germany and Greece.[6][7][8] Later that year, he was appointed as a referee at the 2012 UEFA Super Cup between Chelsea and Atlético Madrid.[9]

He was the fourth official in the 2013 UEFA Champions League final.[10]

Skomina was unveiled as the referee for the 2015–16 UEFA Champions League second-leg semi-final fixture between Real Madrid and Manchester City at the Santiago Bernabéu on 4 May 2016.[11]

He refereed four matches at UEFA Euro 2016, including round of 16 fixture between England and Iceland,[12] as well as the quarter-final match between Wales and Belgium.[13] He was appointed as the referee for the 2017 UEFA Europa League final, between Ajax and Manchester United on 24 May.[14]

On 29 March 2018, FIFA announced that he would officiate matches at 2018 FIFA World Cup along with Jure Praprotnik and Robert Vukan as assistant referees.[15]

On 13 February 2019, he cancelled a goal from Ajax using VAR in the first time of UEFA Champions League history.[16]

Skomina was selected to officiate in the 2019 UEFA Champions League Final between English clubs Tottenham and Liverpool at Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid on 1 June 2019.[17] Skomina awarded Liverpool a penalty kick 20 seconds into the match after Moussa Sissoko stopped a cross by Sadio Mane with his arm. Mohamed Salah scored the penalty for Liverpool, who went on to win 2–0.[18]

Skomina officiated the iconic 2019–20 UEFA Champions League quarter-final match between Barcelona and Bayern Munich played at the Estádio da Luz in Lisbon, Bayern Munich won the match 8–2, inflicting Barcelona's worst defeat in 69 years.[19]

In August 2021, he retired as referee due to health problems, specifically issues with his knees.[20]

FIFA World Cup

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2018 FIFA World Cup – Russia
Date Match Venue Round
19 June 2018   Colombia  Japan Samara Group stage
28 June 2018   England  Belgium Kaliningrad Group stage
3 July 2018   Sweden   Switzerland Saint Petersburg Round of 16

References

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  1. ^ "Damir Skomina – Matches as referee". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
  2. ^ Chaplin, Mark (19 December 2007). "UEFA Euro 2008 referees". UEFA.com. Nyon: Union of European Football Associations. Archived from the original on 2 February 2008. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  3. ^ "Brazil v Cameroon 2008 Olympics". FIFA.com. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  4. ^ "Arsenal-Milan 2012". UEFA.com. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  5. ^ McNulty, Phil (4 April 2012). "Chelsea 2-1 Benfica (agg 3-1)". BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
  6. ^ "Netherlands-Denmark". UEFA.com. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  7. ^ "Sweden-England". UEFA.com. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  8. ^ "Germany-Greece". UEFA.com. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  9. ^ "Referee Skomina appointed for UEFA Super Cup". UEFA.com. 30 August 2012. Archived from the original on 30 August 2012. Retrieved 30 August 2012.
  10. ^ "Rizzoli to referee UEFA Champions League final". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 20 May 2013. Archived from the original on 7 June 2013. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
  11. ^ "Real Madrid Man. City 2016". UEFA.com. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  12. ^ "England-Iceland". UEFA.com. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  13. ^ "Wales-Belgium". UEFA.com. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  14. ^ "Damir Skomina to referee Europa League final". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 12 May 2017. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
  15. ^ "List of Match Officials at 2018 FIFA World Cup" (PDF). fifa.com. 29 March 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 March 2018. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
  16. ^ Malyon, Ed (13 February 2019). "Ajax vs Real Madrid: VAR decision clouds otherwise intriguing first leg, plus four other things we learned". Independent. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  17. ^ "Referee team appointed for UEFA Champions League final in Madrid". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 14 May 2019. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  18. ^ Taylor, Daniel (1 June 2019). "Liverpool win Champions League after Salah and Origi sink Tottenham". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 1 June 2019. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  19. ^ "Bayern destroy Barca in Champions League quarter-final". en.as.com. 14 August 2020. Archived from the original on 19 August 2020. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  20. ^ Plestenjak, Rok (30 August 2021). "Konec je. Največji v zgodovini Slovenije ne bo več sodil. Zdaj bo prvi mož Izole". siol.net (in Slovenian). Retrieved 30 August 2021.
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Sporting positions
Preceded by UEFA Champions League Final Referee
2019
Succeeded by
Preceded by UEFA Europa League Final Referee
2017
Succeeded by