Mark Shield to referee AFC Champions final
Queenslander, Mark Shield, flew out to Syria yesterday to referee the all-important second-leg of the AFC Champions League final between Al Karama (Syria) and Jeonbuk Motors (South Korea) which will played on Wednesday 8 November at the Khaled Bin Al Waleed Stadium.
This appointment caps off a stellar year that also saw the 33-year old selected as one of only 21 referees to officiate at the 2006 FIFA World Cup as well as receive the Zurich Referee of the Year award for the inaugural Hyundai A-League season .
“I had refereed a few Asian Cup and Asian Champions League pool matches as well as the quarter finals match between Al Ain & Al Qadasiya in the UAE, which were all great experiences,” said Shield following news of his appointment.
“I know this sounds funny but when I didn't get a semi-final fixture I actually thought I had a better chance of getting a final appointment, as semi-final referees rarely get finals. Since there are 55 referees on the international panel in Asia and having gone to the World Cup, I had a slim chance, but wasn't expecting anything.
“I suppose it's not only the Socceroos that have benefited from the Football Federation Australia-s move into Asia, but also us, as referees, who now get appointments throughout the region as well.
“In fact the week after I get back from Syria, I have been appointed to referee the Asian Cup Qualifier between Japan and Saudi Arabia at the Sapporo dome in Japan which will be another huge match,” concluded Shield.
Jeonbuk Motors will have the advantage going into the second leg of the AFC Champions League final after defeating Al Karama 2-0 at the Jeonju World Cup Stadium in South Korea last Wednesday (1 Nov 2006).
Additional Information:
For more information regarding the AFC Champions League go to www.afcchampionsleague.com
The AFC Champions League is Asia-s premier club competition, pitting 29 club sides from 14 countries against one another for a US$600,000 winners- purse - and a place in the FIFA Club World Championship.
Teams qualify for the AFC Champions League as their national league champions or as the winners of a national cup competition (as specified by National Associations where there is more than one cup competition).
The 14 countries providing teams for the competition are those designated ‘mature- by the AFC-s Vision Asia blueprint for the development of Asian football. (The AFC-s Vision Asia ranking takes a number of factors into consideration and, unlike the FIFA/Coca-Cola rankings, is not purely based on performance at national team level.)
Those countries are: China, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Korea Republic, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.
Mark Shield - Fact File
Nationality: Australian Role: Referee Date of birth: 2 September 1973 Height: 187 (cm) Weight: 82 (kg) FIFA Referee since: 1 January 1999 First international : New Zealand v Norway (22 January 1997) Place of residence: Brisbane, QLD Occupation: Company director General interests: Squash, fishing Best memory: 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan & 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany
Biography:
Having begun his refereeing career at the age of 12, Mark quickly rose through the refereeing ranks officiating senior matches at 16, his first professional matches at 22, received his FIFA international badge at 25 years and at 28 was selected to referee at the 2002 FIFA World Cup in Korea/Japan.
Early this year Mark picked up the Zurich Referee of the Year award as the top referee in the Hyundai A-League, which now sits next to the other three Australian Referee of the Year Awards that he collected from the 2001/02, 2002/03, 2003/04 NSL seasons.
At the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Mark refereed the Group D match between Iran & Angola and the Group H match between Tunisia and Saudi Arabia. Based on those two performances, Mark was then appointed Fourth Official for the Round of 16 match between Brazil and Ghana, the Quarter Final match between Brazil and France and the Semi-Final between Portugal and France.