Referees: Podeschi between Yerevan and Liberec, mentoring a Czech prospect

A long and intense weekend for Stefano Podeschi, appointed by UEFA in Armenia and the Czech Republic between 17 and 19 August. His first assignment was in Yerevan as Referee Observer for the match between Pyunik and Bodø/Glimt – which, for the record, ended with an away win for the Norwegians in the second leg of the UEFA Europa Conference League Third Qualifying Round (0-3). Under the supervision of the former San Marino international was the Icelandic refereeing team led by Helgi Mikael Jónasson, assisted by Egill Gudvardur Gudlaugsson and Johann Gudmundsson, and completed by fourth official Johann Ingi Jonsson. An even more delicate and important appointment, arguably, came in Liberec for last Saturday’s Slovan Liberec–Pardubice fixture. Beyond the narrow home win, it was crucial for Podeschi to assess the development of Dalibor Černý – the Czech referee taking part in UEFA CORE 56, for which Podeschi had taken on the role of mentor. Alongside the Sammarinese official was Mauro Tonolini, assistant referees’ coach for UEFA CORE 56, who monitored the performance of Michal Volf and Pavel Pospíšil in the same match.

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