Viktor Kassai

The native form of this personal name is Kassai Viktor. This article uses the Western name order.
Viktor Kassai

Viktor Kassai in 2008
Born10 September 1975
Tatabánya, Hungary
Other occupationPrinting sales
Domestic
YearsLeague
1996–NB I
International
YearsLeagueRole
2003–FIFA listedReferee

Viktor Kassai (Kassai Viktor, Hungarian pronunciation: [ˈkɒʃːɒi ˈviktor]; born 10 September 1975) is a Hungarian football referee. He participated in the 2010 FIFA World Cup and refereed the 2011 UEFA Champions League Final. He has been a full international referee for FIFA since 2003.

Career

Kassai was selected to referee the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Canada, where he refereed the group stage match between Brazil and Korea Republic, as well as the Argentina-Korea DPR match.

Kassai refereed in UEFA Euro 2008 as the fourth official in several matches. During 2008, he also officiated in the 2008 Olympic Games, including in the final.[1]

2010 FIFA World Cup

Kassai was preselected as a referee for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.[2] He refereed in the first leg of the AFC 5th vs OFC winner qualifier between Bahrain and New Zealand.

On 5 July, it was announced that he would be in charge for the Germany vs Spain semifinal. It was his 4th match in the World Cup. This is the highest prestige match a Hungarian referee has been in charge of since Sándor Puhl's 1994 FIFA World Cup Final.

Brazil vs Korea DPR

His first appearance in the 2010 FIFA World Cup was a group stage match between Brazil and North Korea on 15 June 2010, which Brazil won 2–1. He refereed two matches in the group stage.

15 June 2010
20:30
Brazil  2 – 1  North Korea
Maicon  55'
Elano  72'
Ji Yun-Nam  89'
Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg
Attendance: 54,331
Referee: Viktor Kassai (Hungary)

Mexico vs Uruguay

22 June 2010
16:00
Mexico  0 – 1  Uruguay
Suárez  43'
Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Rustenburg
Attendance: 33,425
Referee: Viktor Kassai (Hungary)

United States vs Ghana

The match finished after extra time, becoming the first match in the World Cup to happen so. It was the first time that either Ghana or the United States played in a World Cup match ending in extra time.

26 June 2010
20:30
United States  1 – 2 (a.e.t.)  Ghana
Donovan  62' (pen.) K. Boateng  5'
Gyan  93'
Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Rustenburg
Attendance: 34,976
Referee: Viktor Kassai (Hungary)

Germany vs Spain

7 July 2010
20:30
Germany  0 – 1  Spain
Report Puyol  73'
Moses Mabhida Stadium, Durban
Attendance: 60,960
Referee: Viktor Kassai (Hungary)

UEFA Euro 2012 Qualifying

England vs Bulgaria

3 September 2010
20:00
England  4 – 0  Bulgaria
Defoe  3', 61', 86'
Johnson  83'
Report
Wembley Stadium, London
Attendance: 73,246
Referee: Viktor Kassai (Hungary)

Belarus vs Bosnia and Herzegovina

2 September 2011
19:30 (CEST)
Belarus  0 – 2  Bosnia and Herzegovina
Report Salihović  22' (pen.)
Medunjanin  24'
Dinamo Stadium, Minsk
Referee: Viktor Kassai (Hungary)

Estonia vs Republic of Ireland play-off

11 November 2011
21:45 UTC+2
Estonia  0 – 4  Republic of Ireland
Report Andrews  13'
Walters  67'
Keane  71', 88' (pen.)
A. Le Coq Arena, Tallinn
Attendance: 10,811[3]
Referee: Viktor Kassai (Hungary)

Kassai handed out 6 yellows and 2 red cards for Estonian team, plus one penalty against Estonia.

2011 UEFA Champions League Final

Kassai was the head of an all-Hungarian crew in the 2011 UEFA Champions League Final at Wembley Stadium in London, where he cautioned two players apiece on both the Barcelona (Daniel Alves and Victor Valdés) and Manchester (Antonio Valencia and Michael Carrick) sides.

28 May 2011
19:45
Barcelona Spain 3 – 1 England Manchester United
Pedro  27'
Messi  54'
Villa  69'
Report Rooney  34'
Wembley Stadium, London
Attendance: 87,695[4]
Referee: Viktor Kassai (Hungary)[5]

UEFA Euro 2012

Spain vs Italy

10 June 2012
18:00
Spain  1 – 1  Italy
Fàbregas  64' Report Di Natale  61'
PGE Arena, Gdańsk
Attendance: 38,869
Referee: Viktor Kassai (Hungary)

England vs Ukraine

19 June 2012
21:45
England  1 – 0  Ukraine
Rooney  48' Report
Donbass Arena, Donetsk
Attendance: 48,700[6]
Referee: Viktor Kassai (Hungary)

Controversy

On 19 June 2012, in a group stage match of UEFA Euro 2012 between England and Ukraine conducted by Viktor Kassai, at the 62nd minute Ukrainian striker Marko Devic's effort on goal was hooked away by English defender John Terry, but TV re-plays showed that the ball had crossed the line.[7] Despite Ukrainian players' appeals, Viktor Kassai did not allow the goal. This decision was strongly criticized by Ukrainian media,[8] although the attack itself started from an offside position - a foul that was also omitted by the officials.[9] This introduced a debate on the effectiveness of the inclusion of two additional blind officials and the need for goal-line technology.[7] UEFA Euro 2012 was the first international tournament where two additional assistant referees were introduced on the goal-lines.[10] FIFA president Sepp Blatter said, "goal-line technology was a necessity" in the England vs Ukraine match.[11]

2012–13 UEFA Champions League

Barcelona vs Milan

12 March 2013
20:45
Barcelona Spain 4 – 0 Italy Milan
Messi  5', 40'
Villa  55'
Alba  90+2'
Report
Camp Nou, Barcelona
Attendance: 94,944[12]
Referee: Viktor Kassai (Hungary)

Bayern Munich vs Barcelona

23 April 2013
20:45
Bayern Germany 4 – 0 Spain Barcelona
Müller  25', 82'
Gómez  49'
Robben  73'
Report
Allianz Arena, Munich
Attendance: 68,000[13]
Referee: Viktor Kassai (Hungary)

2013 Gulf Cup of Nations

Saudi Arabia vs Iraq

6 January 2013
19:15
Saudi Arabia  0 – 2  Iraq
Report Shaker  18'
Hawsawi  72' (o.g.)
Khalifa Sports City Stadium, Isa Town
Attendance: 15,000
Referee: Viktor Kassai (Hungary)

Bahrain vs Qatar

11 January 2013
17:45
Bahrain  1 – 0  Qatar
Aaish  25' (pen.) Report
Bahrain National Stadium, Riffa
Attendance: 35,000
Referee: Viktor Kassai (Hungary)

References

  1. KEMLSZ (Hungarian)
  2. List of prospective 2010 FIFA World Cup referees
  3. "Official record". jalgpall.ee. Estonian Football Association. 11 November 2011. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
  4. "Full time report". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 28 May 2011. Retrieved 28 May 2011.
  5. "Kassai to referee UEFA Champions League final". UEFA.com (Union of European Football Associations). 27 May 2011. Retrieved 28 May 2011.
  6. "Full-time report England-Ukraine" (PDF). Union of European Football Associations. 19 June 2012. Retrieved 19 June 2012.
  7. 7.0 7.1 Eric Willemsen, AP (20 June 2012). "Debate about goal-line technology revived after Ukraine denied Euro 2012 goal". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved 21 June 2012.
  8. "Ukraine/England - Ukraine's press blast refereeing". AFP News. 20 June 2012. Retrieved 21 June 2012.
  9. Joó Gábor (20 June 2012). "A les pillanata: le kellett volna állítani az ukránt". Sport Géza (in Hungarian). Retrieved 23 June 2012.
  10. "UEFA EURO 2012 referees named". UEFA. 20 December 2011. Retrieved 21 June 2012.
  11. "Sepp Blatter: Technology a 'necessity'". Fox Sports. 20 June 2012. Retrieved 21 June 2012.
  12. "Full Time Report – Barcelona – Milan". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 12 March 2013. Retrieved 12 March 2013.
  13. "Full Time Report – Bayern – Barcelona". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 23 April 2013. Retrieved 23 April 2013.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Viktor Kassai.
Sporting positions
Preceded by
2004
Greece Kyros Vassaras
FIFA Men's Olympic Football Tournament Final referee
2008
Hungary Viktor Kassai
Succeeded by
2012
United Kingdom Mark Clattenburg
Preceded by
2010
England Howard Webb
UEFA Champions League Final referee
2011
Hungary Viktor Kassai
Succeeded by
2012
Portugal Pedro Proença