Australia Cup Round of 32 Match Officials announced

With the Australia Cup 2022 Final Rounds set to kick-off on Thursday, 21 July, Football Australia today confirmed the Match Officials for each of the 16 games set to take place across the nation over the next three weeks. 

In the Round of 32, a greater number of Match Officials from the A-League Women’s Match Officials Panel will be provided with the opportunity to take charge of elite men’s football matches, while in the Northern Territory and Tasmania, Member Federation Referees will join A-Leagues experienced Match Officials to oversee Australia Cup contests. 

From a Match Officials perspective, one of the highlights of the opening week of the Final Rounds will come on Thursday when Casey Reibelt ventures from Queensland to the Northern Territory to whistle the Mindil Aces’ clash with Avondale FC at Darwin Football Stadium. 

Reibelt, who became just the second female referee to take charge of an A-League Men’s match earlier this year, will parlay her time in Darwin refereeing the Australia Cup clash with the facilitation of several Referee Development and Coaching Sessions in coordination with Football Northern Territory. 

This year Reibelt refereed at the AFC Women’s Asian Cup in India, and next year, the Queenslander is on course to take charge of games at the FIFA Women’s World Cup, which will be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand. 

Reibelt will provide insights into her journey and experiences as an elite Australian Match Official, including from the FIFA Women’s World Cup France 2019, to local and aspiring Match Officials in the Northern Territory.

Football Australia’s Head of Referees, Nathan Magill, said the Australia Cup 2022 Final Rounds is a critical piece of the Match Official pathway, not only for the experienced Match Officials appointed to games, but for emerging referees, too. 

“We have several elite Match Officials who are set to represent Australia at major international tournaments over the next 12 months who will be using Australia Cup fixtures as a key pillar in their preparations,” Magill said. “Chris Beath will venture to the FIFA World Cup in Qatar later this year, Lara Lee will whistle as the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup in Costa Rica next month, while Lara and Casey (Reibelt) are continuing to prepare for next year’s huge FIFA Women’s World Cup which will be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand.” 

“It will be great to see emerging Australian Match Officials taking charge of Australia Cup Final Rounds fixtures alongside some of our best this year, too. Emerging talent from our A-League Men’s Panel, such as Daniel Cook, Shane Skinner, Sam Kelly, and Adam Bavcar, will oversee games in the Round of 32, while Member Federation Match Officials will serve on games in Darwin and Tasmania.” 

Every Australia Cup 2022 Final Rounds match will be broadcast LIVE and FREE on 10 Play, with thanks to Football Australia’s Broadcast Partner, Network 10. 

Please find below the full list of Match Officials for the Australia Cup 2022 Round of 32.

Australia Cup 2022 – Round of 32 Fixtures: