Felix Brych (born 3 August 1975) is a German football referee. He referees for SV Am Hart München of the Bavarian Football Association. He is a former FIFA referee and was ranked as a UEFA elite category referee.
Born |
Munich, West Germany | 3 August 1975||
---|---|---|---|
Other occupation | Lawyer | ||
Domestic | |||
Years | League | Role | |
1999– | DFB | Referee | |
2001– | 2. Bundesliga | Referee | |
2004– | Bundesliga | Referee | |
International | |||
Years | League | Role | |
2007–2021 | FIFA listed | Referee |
Refereeing career
editBrych started refereeing in the Bundesliga in 2004 and was awarded his FIFA badge in 2007. He refereed his first senior international match in October that year, taking charge of Romania's 2–0 win over Luxembourg in UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying Group G. In February 2008, Brych was appointed to referee the 2007–08 UEFA Cup Round of 32 match between Panathinaikos and Rangers,[1] and in October 2008, he officiated the 2008–09 UEFA Champions League Group D match between Liverpool and PSV Eindhoven.[2]
Brych officiated the first leg of the 2011–12 Champions League semi-final between Chelsea and Barcelona, a match that finished with a win for the Blues over the defending champions. In August 2013 he officiated an international friendly between England and Scotland at Wembley Stadium.
On 14 May 2014, Brych refereed the 2014 UEFA Europa League Final between Sevilla and Benfica. The match finished 0–0 after extra time, and went to a penalty shoot-out, which Sevilla won 4–2,[3] in what was considered a controversial officiating.[4]
On 12 May 2017, Brych was chosen by UEFA as the referee for the 2017 UEFA Champions League Final, played in Cardiff on 3 June 2017 between Juventus and Real Madrid. He was joined by assistants Mark Borsch and Stefan Lupp, and the fourth official was Serbian Milorad Mažić. Bastian Dankert and Marco Fritz served as the additional assistant referees, with Rafael Foltyn appointed as the reserve assistant referee.[5]
On 29 March 2018, Brych was selected by FIFA as one of the referees to officiate at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, his second FIFA World Cup. Brych was joined by assistants Mark Borsch and Stefan Lupp.[6] He refereed just one game at the tournament, Switzerland's 2–1 win over Serbia. However, after controversially not awarding Serbia a penalty, FIFA made the decision that Brych would officiate no further matches at the tournament.[7] The politically explosive match was followed by heavy criticism from the Serbian media and representatives of Serbian football. In this regard, Mladen Krstajić, the coach of the Serbia national team, said one day after the lost game with a view to the war crimes of the Yugoslav Wars: "I would send him to the Hague. Then they could put him on trial, like he did to us."[8] For this Krstajić was punished with a fine of 5,000 Swiss francs.[9]
At UEFA Euro 2020 he was rehabilitated and refereed one game of the Round of 16, Belgium's 1-0 win over Portugal, one quarter-final (England's 4-0 win over Ukraine) and finally the semi-final game of Italy against Spain at Wembley Stadium, London on 6 July 2021.
On 25 November 2023, Brych tore his PCL during a game between Eintracht Frankfurt and VfB Stuttgart. The game also marked Brych 344th appearance in the Bundesliga which tied Wolfgang Stark for the most in Bundesliga history.[10]
Personal life
editOutside football Brych is a qualified doctor of law, having written his doctorate about sport.[11][12]
Record
editMajor national team competition
edit2014 FIFA World Cup – Brazil | |||
---|---|---|---|
Date | Match | Venue | Round |
14 June 2014 | Uruguay – Costa Rica | Fortaleza | Group stage |
22 June 2014 | Belgium – Russia | Rio De Janeiro | Group stage |
2018 FIFA World Cup – Russia | |||
---|---|---|---|
Date | Match | Venue | Round |
22 June 2018 | Serbia – Switzerland | Kaliningrad | Group stage |
UEFA Euro 2016 – France | |||
---|---|---|---|
Date | Match | Venue | Round |
16 June 2016 | England – Wales | Lens | Group stage |
22 June 2016 | Sweden – Belgium | Nice | Group stage |
30 June 2016 | Poland – Portugal | Marseille | Quarter-finals |
UEFA Euro 2020 – Europe | |||
---|---|---|---|
Date | Match | Venue | Round |
13 June 2021 | Netherlands – Ukraine | Amsterdam | Group stage |
21 June 2021 | Finland – Belgium | Saint Petersburg | Group Stage |
27 June 2021 | Belgium – Portugal | Seville | Round of 16 |
3 July 2021 | Ukraine – England | Rome | Quarter-finals |
6 July 2021 | Italy – Spain | London | Semi-finals |
Other matches
editOther matches | |||
---|---|---|---|
Date | Match | Venue | Round |
29 July 2012 | Senegal – Uruguay | London | OGS |
4 August 2012 | Brazil – Honduras | Newcastle | OKS |
22 June 2013 | Japan – Mexico | Belo Horizonte | Confed |
UEFA club competition
editUEFA club competition finals | |||
---|---|---|---|
Date | Match | Venue | Round |
14 May 2014 | Sevilla – Benfica | Turin | UELF |
3 June 2017 | Juventus – Real Madrid | Cardiff | UCLF |
Honours
edit- Globe Soccer Awards – Best Referee of the Year: 2017[13]
- IFFHS World's Best Man Referee: 2017,[14] 2021[15]
- IFFHS World's Best Man Referee of the Decade 2011–2020[16]
- IFFHS World's Best Man Referee of the 21st Century 2001–2020[17]
References
edit- ^ "Panathinaikos 1-1 Rangers – Lineups". uefa.com. Union of European Football Associations. 21 February 2008. Retrieved 4 August 2009.
- ^ "Liverpool 3-1 PSV – Lineups". uefa.com. Union of European Football Associations. 1 October 2008. Retrieved 4 August 2009.
- ^ "Sevilla v Benfica, Europa League final 2014: as it happened". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 2 November 2016.
- ^ "Com arbitragem polêmica e muito drama, Sevilla bate Benfica nos pênaltis e conquista a UEL" [With a controversial officiating and much drama, Sevilla beats Benfica on penalties and wins the UEL]. vavel.com (in Portuguese). VAVEL Brasil. 14 May 2014. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
- ^ "Felix Brych appointed Champions League final referee". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 12 May 2017. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
- ^ "Brych einziger deutscher Referee bei der WM 2018" [Brych sole German referee at the 2018 World Cup]. kicker.de (in German). kicker-sportmagazin. 29 March 2018. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
- ^ (www.dw.com), Deutsche Welle. "World Cup over for German referee Felix Brych | DW | 5 July 2018". DW.com. Retrieved 14 July 2018.
- ^ Steve Bates (24 June 2018). "Serbia boss Mladen Krstajic faces World Cup ban after astonishing 'war crimes' rant". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
- ^ "Xhaka and Shaqiri Are Fined, Not Suspended, by FIFA". The New York Times. 25 June 2018. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
- ^ White, Oliver (26 November 2023). "The German referee sustained an injury in a record-setting Bundesliga match". dailysports.net. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
- ^ Longman, Jeré (18 April 2012). "Alone, Armed with only a whistle". The New York Times. London. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
- ^ Brych, Felix (2004). Möglichkeiten und Grenzen der gemeindlichen Förderung des Berufssports aus rechtlicher Sicht. Studien zur Rechtswissenschaft (in German). Vol. 153. Verlag Dr. Kovac. ISBN 9783830016441.
- ^ "Felix Brych: Best Referee of the Year". Globe Soccer. 2017.
- ^ "THE WORLD'S BEST REFEREE 2017: THE CONSECRATION FOR FELIX BRYCH". IFFHS. 4 December 2017. Retrieved 4 December 2017.
- ^ "IFFHS MEN'S WORLD BEST REFEREE 2021 - FELIX BRYCH". www.iffhs.com. 5 December 2021. Archived from the original on 5 December 2021. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
- ^ "IFFHS WORLD'S BEST MAN REFEREE OF THE DECADE 2011-2020 : FELIX BRYCH". IFFHS. 13 January 2021.
- ^ "IFFHS WORLD REFEREES OF THE XXIst CENTURY (2001-2020) - FELIX BRYCH LEADER !". IFFHS. 16 February 2021.
External links
edit- Profile at dfb.de (in German)
- Felix Brych referee profile at WorldFootball.net
- Felix Brych referee profile at EU-Football.info
- Felix Brych refereeing career statistics at Soccerbase
- Felix Brych at WorldReferee.com