Pieter Vink (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈpitər ˈvɪŋk]; born 13 March 1967[1][2]) is a former Dutch football referee, who also officiated for FIFA and UEFA. He was the first referee to take charge of a match at the "New Wembley Stadium" in 2007.[3] His other occupation was as a police officer, eventually giving this up to become a full-time referee. His main other hobby is golf.[2]

Pieter Vink
Pieter Vink and his assistants
Born (1967-03-13) 13 March 1967 (age 57)
Noordwijkerhout, South Holland, Netherlands
Other occupation Ex-police officer
Domestic
Years League Role
1993–1996 Eredivisie C-List Referee
1996–2001 Eredivisie B-List Referee
2001–2017 Eredivisie A-List Referee
International
Years League Role
2004–2010 FIFA and UEFA listed Referee
2007–2010 UEFA Elite listed Referee

Career

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Vink began refereeing in 1987, and was elected to the Eredivisie C-List in 1993, progressing to the competition's B-List in 1996 and then becoming a referee on the country's A-List in 2001. dec.[4]

Internationally, he has been a FIFA referee since 2004,[1] also debuting as a referee in the UEFA Cup in the same year,[2] and then being appointed to the 2005 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship Final[2] at Windsor Park, Belfast, on 29 July 2005, when France defeated England 3–1.[5]

He was given the considerable honour of handling the first official match to be played at the newly rebuilt Wembley Stadium on 24 March 2007, a 'friendly' between England Under-21 and Italy Under-21 which finished 3–3.[3]

In 2007, he refereed his first match in the UEFA Champions League,[2] a qualifying tie between Steaua Bucharest of Romania and BATE Borisov of Belarus,[6] having been promoted to UEFA's Elite list in July.[4] He went on to handle three more games in the Group stage of the competition in that year.[6] Vink was referee for the Euro 2008 qualifying match between Scotland and Ukraine on 13 October 2007 at Hampden Park, Glasgow, when the Ukrainians were effectively eliminated after a 3–1 defeat.[7] Subsequently, he took charge of Northern Ireland's 2–1 win over Denmark at Windsor Park, Belfast, on 17 November 2007.[8]

Vink refereed the all-English Champions League quarter final first leg between Arsenal and Liverpool at the Emirates Stadium on 2 April 2008.[9]

Euro 2008

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On 19 December 2007 it was announced that Vink would head the Dutch team of officials selected for the Euro 2008 competition proper, held in Austria and Switzerland in summer 2008.[10] He refereed the third match of the competition between hosts Austria and Croatia.[11]

References

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  1. ^ a b Birthdate confirmation: FIFA official website. Retrieved on February 18, 2008.
  2. ^ a b c d e Town of birth and profile: WorldReferee.com website. Retrieved on February 18, 2008.
  3. ^ a b Referee for inaugural match at the "New Wembley", March 24, 2007: TheFA.com website. Retrieved on February 18, 2008.
  4. ^ a b Further profile on Vink: Google translation of a KNVB.nl webpage. Retrieved on February 18, 2008.
  5. ^ England 1 France 3, 2005 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship Final: UEFA official website. Retrieved on February 18, 2008.
  6. ^ a b Steaua Bucharest 2 FC BATE 0, UEFA Champions League qualifying round: UEFA official website. Retrieved on February 18, 2008.
  7. ^ Scotland 3 Ukraine 1, Euro 2008 qualifying match: BBC.co.uk website. Retrieved on February 18, 2008.
  8. ^ Northern Ireland 2 Denmark 1, Euro 2008 qualifying match: BBC.co.uk website. Retrieved on February 18, 2008.
  9. ^ Arsenal v. Liverpool, UEFA Champions League quarter-final, first leg, April 2, 2008: UEFA official website. Retrieved on March 31, 2008.
  10. ^ Selection for Euro 2008 in Austria and Switzerland, summer 2008: UEFA official website. Retrieved on February 18, 2008.
  11. ^ Austria v. Croatia, referee, Euro 2008: BBC.co.uk website. Retrieved on July 22, 2008.
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INTERN 2
Note 1