Björn Kuipers

Björn Kuipers (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈbjɵrn ˈkœypərs]; born 28 March 1973) is a Dutch football referee. He is a FIFA listed referee since 2006 and an UEFA Elite group referee since 2009. He is assisted during matches by his assistant referees Sander van Roekel and Erwin Zeinstra. Kuipers and his team have officiated in several prestigious finals like the 2011 UEFA Super Cup, the 2013 UEFA Europa League Final, the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup Final and the 2014 UEFA Champions League Final.

Refereeing career

Domestic career

Kuipers' debut professional domestic match as a referee was a second-tier clash between SC Telstar and MVV at the Rabobank IJmond Stadion in IJmuiden on 20 September 2002. The match ended in a 1–0 victory for Telstar. He was inducted into the A-List of referees of the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) and has refereed in every season of the top-tier Dutch league Eredivisie from 2005. At the domestic level, he has also overseen several important matches as a referee in the Eerste Divisie, the KNVB Beker and the Johan Cruijff Schaal.

Kuipers took charge of his debut professional domestic final when he was chosen to referee the 2009 Johan Cruijff Schaal clash between Heerenveen and AZ at the Amsterdam Arena in Amsterdam on 25 July 2009. AZ went on to win the match 5–1 and secured their maiden Johan Cruijff Schaal title.

Kuipers officiated in the second Dutch Super Cup final of his career when he oversaw the 2012 Johan Cruijff Schaal clash between PSV Eindhoven and Ajax at the Amsterdam Arena in Amsterdam on 5 August 2012. The match ended in a 4–2 victory for PSV, who secured their ninth Johan Cruijff Schaal title.

Kuipers' opportunity to referee his first Dutch Cup final came when he was in charge of the 2013 KNVB Beker Final between AZ and PSV Eindhoven at De Kuip in Rotterdam on 9 May 2013. AZ went on to win the match 2–1 and clinched their fourth KNVB Beker title.

Kuipers got the chance to oversee his second Dutch Cup final came when he was selected to take charge of the 2016 KNVB Beker Final between Feyenoord and Utrecht at De Kuip in Rotterdam on 24 April 2016. Feyenoord went on to secure a 2–1 victory and clinched their twelfth KNVB Beker title.

International career

Kuipers was awarded his FIFA badge in 2006. During the initial stages of his career, Kuipers officiated in junior-level tournaments like the UEFA European Under-17 Championship and the UEFA European Under-21 Championship. In June 2009, he was inducted into the UEFA Elite group of referees and became eligible to officiate at the highest level within European football. Kuipers has since then taken charge of several big matches in major tournaments such as the UEFA Europa League, the UEFA Champions League, the FIFA Club World Cup, the UEFA European Championship, the FIFA Confederations Cup and the FIFA World Cup.^[1]

During the initial stages of his career, Kuipers refereed the 2006 UEFA European Under-17 Championship Final between Czech Republic and Russia in Luxembourg on 14 May 2006 and also the 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Championship Final between Germany and England in Sweden on 29 June 2009. ^[2]

During the 2010 FIFA Club World Cup, Kuipers was appointed to referee the semi-final match between TP Mazembe and Internacional at the Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on 14 December 2010.

Kuipers officiated in the first major senior European final of his career when he was appointed to referee the 2011 UEFA Super Cup clash between Barcelona and Porto at the Stade Louis II in Monaco on 26 August 2011.^[3]

During the UEFA Euro 2012, he refereed the Group C match between Republic of Ireland and Croatia at the Stadion Miejski in Poznań. He was also in charge of the Group D match between co-hosts Ukraine and France at the Donbass Arena in Donetsk, where he had to take the rare step of suspending the match due to a torrential electrical storm.^[4]

Kuipers took charge of the 2013 UEFA Europa League Final between Benfica and Chelsea at the Amsterdam Arena in Amsterdam on 15 May 2013.^[5] In doing so, he became the first referee to officiate in a major UEFA club final in his home nation since Italy's Tullio Lanese in the 1991 European Cup Final in Bari.^[5]

During the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup in Brazil, Kuipers refereed the Group B match between Nigeria and Uruguay at the Itaipava Arena Fonte Nova in Salvador. He was then appointed to take charge of the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup Final between Brazil and Spain at the Estádio do Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro on 30 June 2013.^[6]

Kuipers was selected to officiate in the 2014 UEFA Champions League Final between Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid at the Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica in Lisbon on 24 May 2014.^[7] He became the fourth Dutch referee to oversee a prestigious European Cup Final after Leo Horn, Charles Corver and Dick Jol.^[7]

During the 2014 FIFA World Cup, he oversaw the Group D match between England and Italy at the Arena da Amazônia in Manaus as well as the Group E match between Switzerland and France at the Itaipava Arena Fonte Nova in Salvador. He went on to referee the Round of 16 clash between Colombia and Uruguay at the Estádio do Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro on 28 June 2014.^[8]

During the UEFA Euro 2016, he was in charge of the Group C match between Germany and Poland at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis and also the Group D match between Croatia and Spain at the Nouveau Stade de Bordeaux in Bordeaux. Kuipers was then appointed to referee the quarter-final clash between hosts France and Iceland at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis on 3 July 2016.^[9]

FIFA tournaments

2013 FIFA Confederations Cup
Date	Team (A)	Team (B)	Result	Venue	Round
20/06/2013	Nigeria	Uruguay	1–2	Salvador	Group stage
30/06/2013	Brazil	Spain	3–0	Rio de Janeiro	Final
2014 FIFA World Cup
Date	Team (A)	Team (B)	Result	Venue	Round
14/06/2014	England	Italy	1–2	Manaus	Group stage
20/06/2014	Switzerland	France	2–5	Salvador	Group stage
28/06/2014	Colombia	Uruguay	2–0	Rio de Janeiro	Round of 16

UEFA tournaments

UEFA European Championship 2012
Date	Team (A)	Team (B)	Result	Venue	Round
10/06/2012	Ireland	Croatia	1–3	Poznań	Group stage
15/06/2012	Ukraine	France	0–2	Donetsk	Group stage
UEFA European Championship 2016
Date	Team (A)	Team (B)	Result	Venue	Round
16/06/2016	Germany	Poland	0–0	Saint-Denis	Group stage
21/06/2016	Croatia	Spain	2–1	Bordeaux	Group stage
03/07/2016	France	Iceland	5–2	Saint-Denis	Quarter-final

Champions League

2009–10 UEFA Champions League
Date	Home Team	Away Team	Result	Venue	Round
29/09/2009	Barcelona	Dynamo Kyiv	2–0	Barcelona	Group stage
03/11/2009	Atlético Madrid	Chelsea	2–2	Madrid	Group stage
24/11/2009	Debrecen	Liverpool	0–1	Budapest	Group stage
08/12/2009	Wolfsburg	Manchester United	1–3	Wolfsburg	Group stage
23/02/2010	Stuttgart	Barcelona	1–1	Stuttgart	Round of 16
2010–11 UEFA Champions League
Date	Home Team	Away Team	Result	Venue	Round
17/08/2010	Zenit Saint Petersburg	Auxerre	1–0	Saint Petersburg	Play-off round
15/09/2010	Žilina	Chelsea	1–4	Žilina	Group stage
03/11/2010	Basel	Roma	2–3	Basel	Group stage
22/02/2011	Copenhagen	Chelsea	0–2	Copenhagen	Round of 16
2011–12 UEFA Champions League
Date	Home Team	Away Team	Result	Venue	Round
27/09/2011	Trabzonspor	Lille	1–1	Trabzon	Group stage
02/11/2011	Bayern Munich	Napoli	3–2	Munich	Group stage
07/12/2011	Basel	Manchester United	2–1	Basel	Group stage
21/02/2012	CSKA Moscow	Real Madrid	1–1	Moscow	Round of 16
03/04/2012	Barcelona	Milan	3–1	Barcelona	Quarter-final
2012–13 UEFA Champions League
Date	Home Team	Away Team	Result	Venue	Round
28/08/2012	Udinese	Braga	1–1 (a.e.t.)	Udine	Play-off round
18/09/2012	Paris Saint-Germain	Dynamo Kyiv	4–1	Paris	Group stage
07/11/2012	Celtic	Barcelona	2–1	Glasgow	Group stage
21/11/2012	Schalke 04	Olympiacos	1–0	Gelsenkirchen	Group stage
10/04/2013	Barcelona	Paris Saint-Germain	1–1	Barcelona	Quarter-final
24/04/2013	Borussia Dortmund	Real Madrid	4–1	Dortmund	Semi-final
2013–14 UEFA Champions League
Date	Home Team	Away Team	Result	Venue	Round
27/08/2013	PAOK	Schalke 04	2–3	Thessaloniki	Play-off round
02/10/2013	Manchester City	Bayern Munich	1–3	Manchester	Group stage
06/11/2013	Borussia Dortmund	Arsenal	0–1	Dortmund	Group stage
19/03/2014	Manchester United	Olympiacos	3–0	Manchester	Round of 16
24/05/2014	Real Madrid	Atlético Madrid	4–1 (a.e.t.)	Lisbon	Final
2014–15 UEFA Champions League
Date	Home Team	Away Team	Result	Venue	Round
20/08/2014	Lille	Porto	0–1	Villeneuve-d’Ascq	Play-off round
30/09/2014	Manchester City	Roma	1–1	Manchester	Group stage
22/10/2014	Bayer Leverkusen	Zenit Saint Petersburg	2–0	Leverkusen	Group stage
09/12/2014	Liverpool	Basel	1–1	Liverpool	Group stage
11/03/2015	Chelsea	Paris Saint-Germain	2–2 (a.e.t.)	London	Round of 16
2015–16 UEFA Champions League
Date	Home Team	Away Team	Result	Venue	Round
19/08/2015	Rapid Wien	Shakhtar Donetsk	0–1	Vienna	Play-off round
16/09/2015	Roma	Barcelona	1–1	Rome	Group stage
03/11/2015	Borussia Mönchengladbach	Juventus	1–1	Mönchengladbach	Group stage
09/12/2015	Dynamo Kyiv	Maccabi Tel Aviv	1–0	Kiev	Group stage
13/03/2016	Benfica	Bayern Munich	2–2	Lisbon	Quarter-final
2016–17 UEFA Champions League
Date	Home Team	Away Team	Result	Venue	Round
17/08/2016	Porto	Roma	1–1	Porto	Play-off round
14/09/2016	Manchester City	Borussia Mönchengladbach	4–0	Manchester	Group stage
02/11/2016	Juventus	Lyon	1–1	Turin	Group stage
22/11/2016	Monaco	Tottenham Hotspur	2–1	Monaco	Group stage

Personal life

Björn Kuipers was born on 28 March 1973 at Oldenzaal in the Netherlands. His father was a football referee at the amateur level. Kuipers studied business administration the Radboud University Nijmegen and besides refereeing he is also the owner of a number of supermarkets and a hair studio in his hometown Oldenzaal.^[10]

References

External links

• Media related to Björn Kuipers at Wikimedia Commons

Sporting positions
Preceded by 2010 Massimo Busacca	UEFA Super Cup Final Referee 2011 Björn Kuipers	Succeeded by 2012 Damir Skomina
Preceded by 2012 Wolfgang Stark	UEFA Europa League Final Referee 2013 Björn Kuipers	Succeeded by 2014 Felix Brych
Preceded by 2009 Martin Hansson	FIFA Confederations Cup Final Referee 2013 Björn Kuipers	Succeeded by TBA
Preceded by 2013 Nicola Rizzoli	UEFA Champions League Final Referee 2014 Björn Kuipers	Succeeded by 2015 Cüneyt Çakır