Damir Skomina

Damir Skomina (* August 5, 1976 in Koper) is a Slovenian football referee, who will also internationally since 2003 in appearance and there already several games between national teams and games in major competitions such as the UEFA Cup (later the UEFA Europa League), or UEFA Champions League has passed.

Career

Beginnings as a referee

His actual career as a football referee began in the summer of 1976 in the city of Koper, in the former SFR Yugoslavia, born Skomina in 1995, where he was initially inserted into the lower Slovenian leagues. Over the years he rose to further and was eventually brought in 2000 as a " junior referee " in the top division of the country, where he soon made ​​his debut it. Three years later, on 1 January 2003, Skomina was brought as a referee at an international level and appointed to give this time to the UEFA and FIFA referee. His debut in such a position, he finally gave up on 30 April 2003 in the friendly match between Hungary and Luxembourg ( 5:1). Also in 2003, the young Slovene was ordered as one of the main referee for the U-17 European Championship finals in 2003, where he made his debut on May 7 in the first group match between Portugal and Denmark ( 3-2 ) in his first FIFA tournament. In addition, he was also in the group match between Italy and Israel ( 4-0) and in the semi-final between Portugal and England ( 2:2; 3:2 nE ) are used. After the tournament, he received his first promotion by the UEFA arbitration, where he was lifted from the category 4 to category 3. One of his first encounters between two A- teams was the end of April 2004, the game between Austria and Luxembourg, which could decide to 4:1 for the Austrians.

Slow establishment

He had no other notable assignments was elected in 2005, where he first in some games of the UEFA Regions ' Cup 2005 was used, and then as one of the main referee for the finals of the U-19 European Championship. At the European Championships in Northern Ireland, he finally led the encounters between Greece and Germany (0:3) and between Armenia and England (1-1) in the group stage. Then another promotion from the category 3 in the category followed 2 In 2005 he was also the first time called for the European Zone qualifying for the 2006 World Cup, where he led some encounters. In these early years, yet his commitment as UEFA and FIFA referee, he was also selected frequently as an arbitrator for preliminary round of the UEFA Champions League, with its inserts it turned out still very sporadic. In 2006, finally Skomina took another major step in the UEFA Cup, where he accompanied a sixteenth Final match between Sporting Braga and FC Parma ( 1-0). Even in the following year Skomina was more often represented at international level and served as referee games in various tournaments and qualifications. Among other things, he became a referee and in the U-21 European Championship in the Netherlands in appearance, where he led even the opening match between the Netherlands and Israel ( 1:0). In the further course of the tournament the then 30 year-old Slovenian was entrusted a further meeting with the leadership of a game that he finally launched on June 14 with a 2-2 draw between England and Italy.

Continuous breakthrough to the elite referees

Due to its solid performance throughout the competition Skomina was nominated in the port for the European Championship final in Groningen between the Netherlands and Serbia as a game master. The 23 June discharged in the euro Borg of Groningen game was thereby clearly won by the hosts 4-1. For increasing awareness Skominas also an action made ​​in the 2008 European Football Championship, where Skomina as the fourth official accompanied, among others, the encounter between Germany and Austria. Due to emotional outbursts and a dispute between Loew, the fourth official, Damir Skomina and the coach of the OFB, Hickersberger, both coaches were sent in the 40th minute the whistle. Besides numerous other national and international operations managed Skomina in 2008 next to UEFA referees like the Austrian Thomas Einwaller, the Hungarian Viktor Kassai, Frenchman Stéphane Lannoy and the German Wolfgang Stark as one of the game manager football tournament of the Summer Olympic Games in Beijing. There, he led the group match between Honduras and Italy ( 0:3), and the quarter-final match between Brazil and Cameroon (2-0). For the Slovenes, these were the only two stakes in the current tournament. After the Olympic experience Skomina was soon after his debut in the group stage of the Champions League, when he on 22 October 2008 initiated the meeting of PSV Eindhoven and Olympique Marseille in the 2008 /09 season, which in a 2-0 victory of the Dutch ended, but in the end brought no further of the two counterparties.

His absolute breakthrough came the now 32 - and 33 -year-old at the start of the 2009 /10 when he was brought by UEFA in the elite category of the UEFA Referees, where he has since come to the Europe's best referees are all available. With ongoing time to Skomina quickly established itself as one of Europe's top referees and was quite often as a game manager at big tournaments and big games in use. Also in the 2009/10 season of CL- Slovene was often as a main referee on the field. About inserts in the group stage, he did not bring it out though. Due to its solid performance Skomina always was, which provides in his native Slovenia mainly by its comparatively high number of red cards distributed frequently for excitement as one of the possible candidates for the World Cup finals in South Africa in 2010 counted, but managed by the 54 persons embracing shortlist not to the finals. Another personal breakthrough came in the CL 2010/11 season, where he led among other things, the first knockout round second leg on 16 March 2011 between Real Madrid and Olympique Lyon in addition to various group games, which could clearly decide 3-0 for the home side. He also led the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final between FC Schalke 04 and Inter Milan.

On 20 December 2011, UEFA announced that Skomina was nominated as one of the twelve referees who will lead the games in the European Football Championship 2012.

Inserts at the 2012 European Football Championship

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