Referees
Badminton Europe takes pride in ensuring fair play and high officiating standards across all competitions. Our referees play a crucial role in maintaining the integrity of the game, enforcing the rules, and overseeing matches at the highest level. Here, you’ll find information about our referee structure, development programs, and how to become a certified official in European badminton.
Referees
| BEC Continental Referees | Country | Retire |
|---|---|---|
| Emese Tollas | Belgium | 2041 |
| Aleksandar Dzhurov | Bulgaria | 2061 |
| Darko Ivan Vidaković | Croatia | 2036 |
| Livie Lubinová | Czechia | 2052 |
| Eva Havlova | Czechia | 2055 |
| Ross Blyth | England | 2055 |
| Heather Crump | England | 2042 |
| Jean-Marc Chancerel | France | 2036 |
| Sebastien Bourdin | France | 2050 |
| Jens Köster | Germany | 2042 |
| Christos Evangelidis | Greece | 2032 |
| Laufey Sigurdardottir | Iceland | 2028 |
| Darius Likas | Lithuania | 2037 |
| Jochen Heumos | Netherlands | 2033 |
| John op het Veld | Netherlands | 2034 |
| Marek Krawczyk | Poland | 2036 |
| Tomasz Rogowski | Poland | 2045 |
| Mircea Solymosi | Romania | 2032 |
| Miodrag Kalicanin | Serbia | 2059 |
| Patrik Andersson | Sweden | 2052 |
| Daniel Sahlberg | Sweden | 2045 |
| Stephen Temple | Wales | 2029 |
| BWF Referees | Country | Retire |
|---|---|---|
| Julien Nys | Belgium | 2027 |
| Pencho Stoynov | Bulgaria | 2028 |
| Ivanka Pokorni | Croatia | 2031 |
| Nicos Vladimirou | Cyprus | 2039 |
| Ian Ross | England | 2030 |
| Artur Zaluzhnoi | Estonia | 2041 |
| Ilkka Vainio | Finland | 2031 |
| Eric Lissillour | France | 2028 |
| Carsten Koch | Germany | 2031 |
| Cleopatra Monco | Italy | 2035 |
| Jožef Kuprivec | Slovenia | 2040 |
| Carmen Martinez | Spain | 2039 |
| Monique Bastien | Switzerland | 2026 |
referee reports
Badminton Europe has created a Team Manager Meeting and Umpire Briefing PowerPoint template. Both templates can be downloaded below:
The Referee Reports below must be used by the appointed referee for Elite, Junior and U17 Circuit tournaments as well as for Badminton Europe's Championships. The Referee Report needs to be sent to Badminton Europe at the latest 2 weeks after the end of the tournament.
- U17 Circuit tournaments - Referee Report
- Junior Circuit tournaments - Referee Report
- Elite Circuit tournaments - Referee Report
- Badminton Europe Championships (Major Events) - Referee Report
BWF introduced a Penalty and Withdrawal Report for referees to finalise immediately after the end of the tournament. Badminton Europe asks referees of all Elite, Junior and U17 Circuit tournaments to fill this in and send it together with the final TP-file to Badminton Europe as soon as possible.
Each Technical Official remains personally responsible for complying with any tax filing or payment obligations in their country of residence or any other relevant jurisdiction.
Depending on local legislation and applicable tax treaty rules, income received from Badminton Europe may need to be declared locally and may be subject to tax or social charges outside Denmark.
Please note that:
-
the Danish treatment of a payment does not determine whether the payment is taxable or tax-free in another country;
-
Badminton Europe cannot provide individual tax advice;
-
Badminton Europe will not adjust, compensate or gross up payments for any personal tax obligations arising outside Denmark.
Procedure for education and upgrading of Referees
There shall be a clear progression between the different levels from national level referee to BEC Continental level through to becoming a BWF Referee.
-
A candidate is nominated by a national association to attend a BEC Referee Course. The course will only be organised one time every three years. The course does not offer assessment, it focuses on education. A course was held in connection with the 50th VICTOR FZ FORZA Hungarian International Championships 2025, so the next course is due to be held in 2028, location and dates are TBC.
- A referee can only be assessed for BEC Continental Referee level after attending a Badminton Europe Referee Course. The candidate must have attended the course within 36 months of the commencement of the assessment. The candidate will be appointed as a trainee/acting referee and assessed by a member of the BEC Referee Assessment Panel at a BEC Circuit Tournament or BEC Event.
- A referee can be proposed for a BWF Referee Workshop after being active as a BEC Continental referee for at least 24 months, and either after having done a minimum of 6 international duties (referee or deputy referee) over the previous 24 months or after having done minimum 8 international duties over the previous 36 months. It is required that communication with Badminton Europe (i.e. work/results in Tournament Planner, Referee Reports, Withdrawal Reports, OCI reports, annual record of work and general communication) is in accordance with regulations, deadlines and guidelines in order to be proposed for a BWF Referee Workshop. The proposal is made directly to BWF by Badminton Europe.
For BEC and BWF assessment, referees are not assessed if aged 55 or over and the retirement age is 65.
All assessments are carried out by members of the BEC referee assessment panel. The panel’s recommendations for upgrading must be approved by the BEC Board of Directors to be official.
Once completed it should be sent to the Badminton Europe office in January (e.g. Jan – Dec 2025 Record of Work should be submitted in Jan 2026).
Referees who have not refereed in the past 12 months (been officiating as referee or deputy referee) are no longer recognised as international referees and will be removed from the list of Badminton Europe referees.
Badminton europe referee assessment panel
-
Julien Nys, BEL - Chair (until 31/12/2025)
- Pencho Stoynov, BUL (until 31/12/2025)
- Ivanka Pokorni, CRO (until 31/12/2025)
- Nicos Vladimirou, CYP (until 31/12/2025)
- Ian Ross, ENG (until 31/12/2025)
- Eric Lissillour, FRA (until 31/12/2025)
- Cleopatra Monco, ITA (until 31/12/2025)
-
Lead and instruct Badminton Europe referee education courses
- Make assessments of BEC level referees
- Recommend upgrading of referees to BEC Continental level
Click here to read more about the main role of the Chair of the Referee assessment panel
