Björn Kuipers

Björn Kuipers

Kuipers at Rio de Janeiro in 2013
Full name	Björn Kuipers
Born	(1973-03-28) 28 March 1973 Oldenzaal, Overijssel, Netherlands
Other occupation	Supermarket owner
Domestic
Years	League	Role
2002–present	Eerste Divisie	Referee
2005–present	Eredivisie	Referee
International
Years	League	Role
2006–present	FIFA listed	Referee
2009–present	UEFA Elite	Referee

Björn Kuipers (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈbjɵrn ˈkœypərs]; born 28 March 1973) is a Dutch football referee. He is a FIFA listed referee since 2006 and an UEFA Elite group referee since 2009. He is assisted during matches by his assistant referees Sander van Roekel and Erwin Zeinstra as well as additional assistant referees Danny Makkelie and Pol van Boekel. Kuipers and his team has officiated in several prestigious finals like the 2011 UEFA Super Cup, the 2013 UEFA Europa League Final, the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup Final and the 2014 UEFA Champions League Final.

Refereeing career

Professional domestic career

Kuipers' debut professional domestic match as a referee was a second-tier clash between SC Telstar and MVV at the Rabobank IJmond Stadion in IJmuiden on 20 September 2002. The match ended in a 1–0 victory for Telstar. He was inducted into the A-List of referees of the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) and has refereed in every season of the top-tier Dutch league Eredivisie from 2005. At the domestic level, he has also overseen several important matches as a referee in the Eerste Divisie, the KNVB Beker and the Johan Cruijff Schaal. Some of the major matches refereed by Kuipers during his professional domestic career are mentioned below.

2009 Johan Cruijff Schaal

Kuipers took charge of his debut professional domestic final when he was chosen to referee the 2009 Johan Cruijff Schaal clash between Heerenveen and AZ at the Amsterdam Arena in Amsterdam on 25 July 2009. AZ went on to win the match 5–1 and secured their maiden Johan Cruijff Schaal title.

2012 Johan Cruijff Schaal

Kuipers officiated in the second Dutch Super Cup final of his career when he oversaw the 2012 Johan Cruijff Schaal clash between PSV Eindhoven and Ajax at the Amsterdam Arena in Amsterdam on 5 August 2012. The match ended in a 4–2 victory for PSV, who secured their ninth Johan Cruijff Schaal title.

2013 KNVB Beker Final

Kuipers' opportunity to referee his first Dutch Cup final came when he was in charge of the 2013 KNVB Beker Final between AZ and PSV Eindhoven at De Kuip in Rotterdam on 9 May 2013. AZ went on to win the match 2–1 and clinched their fourth KNVB Beker title.

2016 KNVB Beker Final

Kuipers got the chance to oversee his second Dutch Cup final came when he was selected to take charge of the 2016 KNVB Beker Final between Feyenoord and Utrecht at De Kuip in Rotterdam on 24 April 2016. Feyenoord went on to secure a 2–1 victory and clinched their twelfth KNVB Beker title.

European and international career

Kuipers was awarded his FIFA badge in 2006. During the initial stages of his career, Kuipers officiated in junior-level tournaments like the UEFA European Under-17 Championship and the UEFA European Under-21 Championship. In June 2009, he was inducted into the UEFA Elite group of referees and became eligible to officiate at the highest level within European football. Kuipers has since then taken charge of several big matches in major tournaments such as the UEFA Europa League, the UEFA Champions League, the FIFA Club World Cup, the UEFA European Championship, the FIFA Confederations Cup and the FIFA World Cup. Some of the important international matches refereed by Kuipers are mentioned below.

2006 UEFA U-17 Championship

During the initial stages of his career, Kuipers refereed the 2006 UEFA European Under-17 Championship Final between Czech Republic and Russia in Luxembourg on 14 May 2006.

2009 UEFA U-21 Championship

He also refereed the 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Championship Final between Germany and England in Sweden on 29 June 2009.

2010 FIFA Club World Cup

During the 2010 FIFA Club World Cup, Kuipers was appointed to referee the semi-final match between TP Mazembe and Internacional at the Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on 14 December 2010.

2011 UEFA Super Cup

Kuipers officiated in the first major senior European final of his career when he was appointed to referee the 2011 UEFA Super Cup clash between Barcelona and Porto at the Stade Louis II in Monaco on 26 August 2011.

UEFA Euro 2012

During the UEFA Euro 2012, he refereed the Group C match between Republic of Ireland and Croatia at the Stadion Miejski in Poznań. He was also in charge of the Group D match between co-hosts Ukraine and France at the Donbass Arena in Donetsk, where he had to take the rare step of suspending the match due to a torrential electrical storm.

2013 UEFA Europa League Final

Kuipers took charge of the 2013 UEFA Europa League Final between Benfica and Chelsea at the Amsterdam Arena in Amsterdam on 15 May 2013. In doing so, he became the first referee to officiate in a major UEFA club final in his home nation since Italy's Tullio Lanese in the 1991 European Cup Final in Bari.

2013 FIFA Confederations Cup

During the tournament, Kuipers refereed the Group B match between Nigeria and Uruguay at the Itaipava Arena Fonte Nova in Salvador. He was then appointed to take charge of the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup Final between Brazil and Spain at the Estádio do Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro on 30 June 2013.

2014 UEFA Champions League Final

Kuipers was selected to officiate in the 2014 UEFA Champions League Final between Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid at the Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica in Lisbon on 24 May 2014. He became the fourth Dutch referee to oversee a prestigious European Cup Final after Leo Horn, Charles Corver and Dick Jol.

2014 FIFA World Cup

During the 2014 FIFA World Cup, he oversaw the Group D match between England and Italy at the Arena da Amazônia in Manaus as well as the Group E match between Switzerland and France at the Itaipava Arena Fonte Nova in Salvador. He went on to referee the Round of 16 clash between Colombia and Uruguay at the Estádio do Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro on 28 June 2014.

UEFA Euro 2016

During the UEFA Euro 2016, he was in charge of the Group C match between Germany and Poland at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis and also the Group D match between Croatia and Spain at the Nouveau Stade de Bordeaux in Bordeaux. Kuipers was then appointed to referee the quarter-final clash between hosts France and Iceland at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis on 3 July 2016.

FIFA tournaments

2013 FIFA Confederations Cup
Date	Match	Venue	Round
20/06/13	Nigeria – Uruguay	Salvador	Group stage
30/06/13	Brazil – Spain	Rio de Janeiro	Final
2014 FIFA World Cup
Date	Match	Venue	Round
14/06/14	England – Italy	Manaus	Group stage
20/06/14	Switzerland – France	Salvador	Group stage
28/06/14	Colombia – Uruguay	Rio de Janeiro	Round of 16

UEFA tournaments

UEFA European Championship 2012
Date	Match	Venue	Round
10/06/12	Ireland – Croatia	Poznań	Group stage
15/06/12	Ukraine – France	Donetsk	Group stage
UEFA European Championship 2016
Date	Match	Venue	Round
16/06/16	Germany – Poland	Saint-Denis	Group stage
21/06/16	Croatia – Spain	Bordeaux	Group stage
03/07/16	France – Iceland	Saint-Denis	Quarter-final

Champions League

2009–10 UEFA Champions League
Date	Match	Round
29/09/09	Barcelona – Dynamo Kyiv	Group stage
03/11/09	Atlético Madrid – Chelsea	Group stage
24/11/09	Debrecen – Liverpool	Group stage
08/12/09	Wolfsburg – Manchester United	Group stage
23/02/10	Stuttgart – Barcelona	Round of 16
2010–11 UEFA Champions League
Date	Match	Round
17/08/10	Zenit Saint Petersburg – Auxerre	Play-off round
15/09/10	Žilina – Chelsea	Group stage
03/11/10	Basel – Roma	Group stage
22/02/11	Copenhagen – Chelsea	Round of 16
2011–12 UEFA Champions League
Date	Match	Round
27/09/11	Trabzonspor – Lille	Group stage
02/11/11	Bayern Munich – Napoli	Group stage
07/12/11	Basel – Manchester United	Group stage
21/02/12	CSKA Moscow – Real Madrid	Round of 16
03/04/12	Barcelona – Milan	Quarter-final
2012–13 UEFA Champions League
Date	Match	Round
28/08/12	Udinese – Braga	Play-off round
18/09/12	Paris Saint-Germain – Dynamo Kyiv	Group stage
07/11/12	Celtic – Barcelona	Group stage
21/11/12	Schalke 04 – Olympiacos	Group stage
10/04/13	Barcelona – Paris Saint-Germain	Quarter-final
24/04/13	Borussia Dortmund – Real Madrid	Semi-final
2013–14 UEFA Champions League
Date	Match	Round
27/08/13	PAOK – Schalke 04	Play-off round
02/10/13	Manchester City – Bayern Munich	Group stage
06/11/13	Borussia Dortmund – Arsenal	Group stage
19/03/14	Manchester United – Olympiacos	Round of 16
24/05/14	Real Madrid – Atlético Madrid	Final
2014–15 UEFA Champions League
Date	Match	Round
20/08/14	Lille – Porto	Play-off round
30/09/14	Manchester City – Roma	Group stage
22/10/14	Bayer Leverkusen – Zenit Saint Petersburg	Group stage
09/12/14	Liverpool – Basel	Group stage
11/03/15	Chelsea – Paris Saint-Germain	Round of 16
2015–16 UEFA Champions League
Date	Match	Round
19/08/15	Rapid Wien – Shakhtar Donetsk	Play-off round
16/09/15	Roma – Barcelona	Group stage
03/11/15	Borussia Mönchengladbach – Juventus	Group stage
09/12/15	Dynamo Kyiv – Maccabi Tel Aviv	Group stage
13/03/16	Benfica – Bayern Munich	Quarter-final
2016–17 UEFA Champions League
Date	Match	Round
17/08/16	Porto – Roma	Play-off round
14/09/16	Manchester City – Borussia Mönchengladbach	Group stage

Personal life

Björn Kuipers was born on 28 March 1973 at Oldenzaal in the Netherlands. His father was a football referee at the amateur level. Kuipers studied business administration the Radboud University Nijmegen and besides refereeing he is also the owner of a number of supermarkets and a hair studio in his hometown Oldenzaal.

External links

• Media related to Björn Kuipers at Wikimedia Commons