Matthew Breeze

Matthew Breeze
Full nameMatthew Christopher Breeze
Born10 June 1972
Sydney, Australia
Other occupationBarrister
Domestic
YearsLeagueRole
1994-2004National Soccer LeagueReferee
2005-A-LeagueReferee
International
YearsLeagueRole
2001-2012FIFA listedReferee

Matthew Christopher Breeze (born 10 June 1972[1]) is an Australian association football referee. He is also a barrister and a former police prosecutor.[2][3]

Refereeing career

Domestic career

He officiates in the Australian A-League football competition.[3] On 28 February 2009, in the 2009 A-League Grand Final, Breeze controversially sent off Adelaide United striker Cristiano after his arm made contact with Melbourne Victory defender Rodrigo Vargas.[4] Breeze was criticized by commentators, media and fans.[5]

Awards

Year Award
2008–09 Zurich Referee of the Year
2010–11 Zurich Referee of the Year

A-League Matches[6]

International career

Breeze presided in his first international between Fiji and Vanuatu on 11 April 2000, which Fiji won 4–1.

Breeze made the short-list of 44 referees to preside at the 2006 FIFA World Cup, but missed the final cut. His highest honour remains officiating at the 2005 Confederations Cup in Germany where he refereed the Third Place Playoff.[7][8]

He was one of two Australian referees who officiated at the 2007 Asian Cup, the other being Mark Shield.[3]

He was preselected as a referee for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. However he was not chosen to take part in the Event.[9]

Breeze refereed the Third Place Playoff at the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup.[10]

International Matches:[11]

World Cup Qualifier 2002

OFC Nations Cup 2002

FIFA Under 20 World Cup 2003

OFC Nations Cup 2004

World Cup Qualifiers 2006 — Oceania

FIFA Confederations Cup 2005

Asian Cup 2007

FIFA Under 17 World Cup 2007

AFC Final Round (Olympic Teams)

World Cup Qualifiers 2010 — Oceania

OFC Nations Cup 2008

AFC Champions League 2008

World Cup Qualifiers 2010 — Asia

AFC Champions League 2009

FIFA Confederations Cup 2009

2009 Club World Cup

Asian Cup 2011 Qualifier

AFC Champions League 2010

2010 Sydney Festival of Football[12]

The QANTAS Challenge

References

  1. "In my own words - Matthew Breeze". Australian FourFourTwo magazine. 25 March 2007. Retrieved 7 January 2009.
  2. "Member Profiles - Matthew Breeze". Australian Soccer Referees Association NSW. 27 August 2007. Retrieved 15 December 2008.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Referee Profile - Matthew Breeze". A-League. Retrieved 7 January 2009.
  4. Cockerill, Michael (1 March 2009). "Red cards colour the finale". The Age. Retrieved 28 February 2009.
  5. "Ref steals spotlight in showpiece showdown". The Sydney Morning Herald. 1 March 2009.
  6. Ultimate A-League
  7. "Michel is ref for final". Malaysia Star. 26 June 2005. Retrieved 18 February 2009.
  8. "Aussie ref Shield selected for World Cup". Sydney Morning Herald. 1 April 2006. Retrieved 18 February 2009.
  9. List of prospective 2010 FIFA World Cup referees
  10. "Hansson to be referee at Confederations Cup final". mlive.com. 27 June 2009. Retrieved 29 June 2009.
  11. World Referee
  12. Sydney Festival of Football 2010