Peter Fröjdfeldt
Peter Fröjdfeldt | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 14, 1963 Eskilstuna, Sweden |
| Nationality |  Swedish |
| Occupation(s) | Football referee, stadium director |
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) |
Peter Fröjdfeldt (born November 14, 1963) is a former top Swedish football referee.
Fröjdfeldt was born in Eskilstuna. 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.[1] 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,[1] and also works as a stadium director[2] outside refereeing, and enjoys family life and golf.[1]
Fröjdfeldt officiated six games during the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification in the European (UEFA) zone.
He retired internationally after reaching the mandatory retirement age of 45 in 2008.
2008 UEFA Cup Final
Fröjdfeldt was placed in charge of the 2008 UEFA Cup Final, one of the biggest appointments for a UEFA referee.
Zenit St. Petersburg  | 2 – 0 |  Rangers |
|---|---|---|
Igor Denisov  72'Konstantin Zyryanov 90+4'Igor Denisov  72'Vyacheslav Malafeev 90+2' |
(Report) | 90+4' Kirk Broadfoot |
Euro 2008
Fröjdfeldt was selected to referee at UEFA Euro 2008 in Switzerland and Austria,[3] his first and only major tournament,[4] 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.[5] 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.[6]
"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."[7]
-- 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 [Bok] Fröjdfeldt had been right to dismiss Volkan.[8]
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.[9]
For the Final match he was the Fourth official.
References
- ^ a b c Peter Fröjdfeldt bio
- ^ The referee forum
- ^ Referees named for EURO 2008, uefa.com, December 19, 2007
- ^ Technical instructions for referees at EURO 2008
- ^ Uli: The commentators competition
- ^ Ref right to award Ruud goal, says UEFA, ESPNsoccernet
- ^ Euro 2008: Uefa back referee Peter Frojdfeldt, The Daily Telegraph, 11 June 2008
- ^ Referee right to dismiss Volkan, Terim says, ESPNsoccernet
- ^ Fröjdfeldt's miss brought Portugal down Template:Sv icon
