Matthew Christopher Breeze (born 10 June 1972[1]) is an Australian association football referee. He is also a barrister and a former police prosecutor.[2][3]

Matthew Breeze
A photograph of Matthew Breeze on the football pitch
Full name Matthew Christopher Breeze
Born (1972-06-10) 10 June 1972 (age 51)
Sydney, Australia
Other occupation Barrister
Domestic
Years League Role
1994-2004 National Soccer League Referee
2005- A-League Referee
International
Years League Role
2001-2012 FIFA listed Referee

Refereeing career edit

Domestic career edit

He officiates in the Australian A-League football competition.[3] On 28 February 2009, in the 2009 A-League Grand Final, Breeze sent off Adelaide United striker Cristiano after his arm made contact with Melbourne Victory defender Rodrigo Vargas.[4] The red card was rescinded after the game and the FFA chose not to sanction Cristiano.[5]

Awards edit

Year Award
2008–09 Zurich Referee of the Year
2010–11 Zurich Referee of the Year

A-League Matches[6] edit

  • 2005/2006 Season: 22 Matches (Including: 2 Pre-season; Major Semi-Final 1st Leg; Preliminary Final)
  • 2006/2007 Season: 25 Matches (Including: 3 Pre-season; Minor Semi-Final 2nd Leg; Preliminary Final)
  • 2007/2008 Season: 18 Matches (Including: Major Semi-Final 1st leg)
  • 2008/2009 Season: 19 Matches (Including: 1 Pre-season; Major Semi-Final 2nd Leg; Final: Melbourne Victory - Adelaide United)
  • 2009/2010 Season: 20 Matches (Including: Minor Semi-Final; Semi-Final)

International career edit

Breeze presided in his first international between Fiji and Vanuatu on 11 April 2000, which Fiji won 4–1.

Breeze made the short-list of 44 referees to preside at the 2006 FIFA World Cup, but missed the final cut. His highest honour remains officiating at the 2005 Confederations Cup in Germany where he refereed the Third Place Playoff.[7][8]

He was one of two Australian referees who officiated at the 2007 Asian Cup, the other being Mark Shield.[3]

He was preselected as a referee for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. However, he was not chosen to take part in the Event.[9]

Breeze refereed the Third Place Playoff at the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup.[10]

International Matches:[11] edit

World Cup Qualifier 2002

OFC Nations Cup 2002

FIFA Under 20 World Cup 2003

  • 29-11-2003: Saudi Arabia - Ireland (group stage)
  • 2-12-2003: Japan - Colombia (group stage)
  • 5-12-2003: USA - Korea Republic (group stage)
  • 19-12-2003: Colombia - Argentina (3rd Place Play-off)

OFC Nations Cup 2004

World Cup Qualifiers 2006 – Oceania

FIFA Confederations Cup 2005

Asian Cup 2007

FIFA Under 17 World Cup 2007

  • 19-8-2007: Honduras - Spain (group stage)
  • 25-8-2007: Nigeria - Haiti (group stage)
  • 29-8-2007: Peru - Tajikistan (round of 16)
  • 2-9-2007: Argentina - Nigeria (Quarter Final)

AFC Final Round (Olympic Teams)

  • 28-2-2007: Uzbekistan - United Arab Emirates (2nd Stage)
  • 14-3-2007: Lebanon - Oman (2nd Stage)

World Cup Qualifiers 2010 – Oceania

OFC Nations Cup 2008

AFC Champions League 2008

World Cup Qualifiers 2010 – Asia

AFC Champions League 2009

FIFA Confederations Cup 2009

2009 Club World Cup

Asian Cup 2011 Qualifier

AFC Champions League 2010

2010 Sydney Festival of Football[12]

The QANTAS Challenge

References edit

  1. ^ "In my own words - Matthew Breeze". Australian FourFourTwo magazine. 25 March 2007. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 7 January 2009.
  2. ^ "Member Profiles - Matthew Breeze". Australian Soccer Referees Association NSW. 27 August 2007. Archived from the original on 19 July 2008. Retrieved 15 December 2008.
  3. ^ a b c "Referee Profile - Matthew Breeze". A-League. Archived from the original on 4 November 2010. Retrieved 7 January 2009.
  4. ^ Cockerill, Michael (1 March 2009). "Red cards colour the finale". The Age. Retrieved 28 February 2009.
  5. ^ "Ref steals spotlight in showpiece showdown". The Sydney Morning Herald. 1 March 2009.
  6. ^ Ultimate A-League
  7. ^ "Michel is ref for final". Malaysia Star. 26 June 2005. Archived from the original on 4 June 2011. Retrieved 18 February 2009.
  8. ^ "Aussie ref Shield selected for World Cup". The Sydney Morning Herald. 1 April 2006. Retrieved 18 February 2009.
  9. ^ List of prospective 2010 FIFA World Cup referees
  10. ^ "Hansson to be referee at Confederations Cup final". mlive.com. 27 June 2009. Archived from the original on 1 April 2020. Retrieved 29 June 2009.
  11. ^ World Referee
  12. ^ Sydney Festival of Football 2010