Urs Meier

Urs Meier
BornJanuary 22, 1959
Würenlos, Switzerland
Domestic
YearsLeagueRole
1989–2004Swiss Nationalliga AReferee
International
YearsLeagueRole
1994–2004FIFA-listedReferee

Urs Meier (born January 22, 1959 in Würenlos, Aargau) is a retired Swiss football referee. He officiated at the 1998 and 2002 World Cups, taking charge of the semi-final between South Korea and Germany in 2002. He also refereed the 2002 UEFA Champions League Final as well that year. He also appeared at Euro 2000 and Euro 2004, refereeing the quarter-final between England and Portugal in 2004. He retired after Euro 2004.

Meier received FIFA appointments and refereed in the Swiss top division until he reached the mandatory retirement age for each. He now appears as an expert summariser on the German television channel ZDF during World Cups and European Championships. He also owns a brand of household appliances in Würenlos, Switzerland.

Notable matches

USA vs Iran

At the 1998 World Cup, Meier refereed the heated USA-Iran match. It was an emotional match because of the political situation, and supposedly a hard one to referee because of this, in what was one of his earliest games as a World Cup referee.

Denmark vs Romania

During a qualification match for Euro 2004 between Romania and Denmark, he awarded a controversial penalty kick for Denmark. Meier also let play go on for longer than the amount of time added on originally recommended by the fourth official, making it seven minutes instead of four. Denmark equalized during the added time to eliminate Romania. After several Romanian newspapers published his email address after the game, Meier received 14,000 e-mails. Several petitions were sent to UEFA, but they were disregarded.

Portugal vs England

In the Euro 2004 quarter-final between England and Portugal at Lisbon, with the score at 1–1, he disallowed a goal by Sol Campbell in the 89th minute due to a perceived foul by John Terry on the Portuguese goalkeeper Ricardo Pereira.[1] There was some disquiet before the game amongst the English fans because England had defeated Switzerland 3-0 in the group stages, eliminating them. The match ended in a draw, and Portugal proceeded to the next stage following a penalty shootout and reached the final (where they lost to Greece).[2]

UEFA backed Meier,[3] but English fans and media contested the accuracy of his decision — condemning Meier. Throughout the game, numerous decisions went in favour of Portugal as Meier appeared to avenge his nation's 3-0 group stage elimination at the hands of England. English tabloids dubbed him "Urs hole", "idiot ref" and "Swiss banker".[4]

After Meier's personal details were published by British tabloid newspapers, Meier received more than 16,000 abusive e-mails, and death threats. Reporters of The Sun even travelled to Switzerland and placed an oversized English flag on a field near his home. As a result, he was placed under police protection.[5]

References

  1. ↑ "Defiant Meier stands firm". BBC. 2004-06-26. Retrieved 2007-11-16.
  2. ↑ "Portugal break England hearts". BBC. 2004-06-24. Retrieved 2007-11-16.
  3. ↑ "Uefa slams English press". BBC. 2004-06-28. Retrieved 2007-11-26.
  4. ↑ "So painful, so cruel, so typical". BBC. 2004-06-25. Retrieved 2007-11-16.
  5. ↑ Holt, Edward (2004-06-30). "Tabloid campaign forces referee into hiding". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 2010-06-27.

External links