Top five strictest referees at Euro 2024

VAR will be in full force again, but the spotlight will remain largely focused on the officials on the pitch with every controversial decision sure to be scrutinised.

Complete list of Euro 2024 referees:

UEFA has announced a list of 18 referees from across Europe who will take charge of matches at Euro 2024, in addition to one South American official as part of an exchange project with CONMEBOL.

• Artur Soares Dias (Portugal)

• Jesus Gil Manzano (Spain)

• Marco Guida (Italy)

• Istvan Kovacs (Romania)

• Ivan Kruzliak (Slovakia)

• Francois Letexier (France)

• Danny Makkelie (The Netherlands)

• Szymon Marciniak (Poland)

• Halil Umut Meler (Turkey)

• Glenn Nyberg (Sweden)

• Michael Oliver (England)

• Daniele Orsato (Italy)

• Sandro Scharer (Switzerland)

• Daniel Siebert (Germany)

• Anthony Taylor (England)

• Facundo Tello (Argentina)

• Clement Turpin (France)

• Slavko Vincic (Slovenia)

• Felix Zwayer (Germany)

Who are the strictest referees at Euro 2024?

Artur Soares Dias - 5.91 cards per game

The strictest of the referees at Euro 2024 according to the card statistics in the respective European leagues of 2023-24 is Portugal's Artur Soares Dias, with 5.91 cards per game. He only officiated 11 Portuguese top flight matches during the 2023/24 campaign, but dished out six red cards in that time, while the yellow count reached double figures on three occasions.

Facundo Tello - 5.61 cards per game

Argentine ref Facundo Tello is also not shy when it comes to reaching into his pocket. He sent 14 players off during the 2023 edition of the Argentine Primera Division, including four in one game last March between Huracan and San Lorenzo. The 2024 season is only a few weeks old, but Tello has already sent two players off in the space of three matches.

Halil Umut Meler - 5.39 cards per game

Turkish official Halil Umut Meler also ranks as one of the toughest referees at Euro 2024, with 12 red cards dished out across 26 matches in all competitions last season. He was in the news back in December when he required hospital treatment after being punched by the president of Turkish Super Lig club MKE Ankaragucu, in disturbing scenes at the end of a game in Ankara.

Istvan Kovacs - 5.21 cards per game

A PE teacher by trade, Romanian Istvan Kovacs is set to officiate games at the Euros again, having also taken charge of matches at Euro 2020. He was responsible for sending Barcelona's Ronald Araujo off in their Champions League quarter-final against PSG back in April, and also handed out 73 yellows in 14 games during his domestic league season.

Anthony Taylor - 4.93 cards per game

Premier League referee Anthony Taylor ranks as the fifth-strictest, with 4.93 cards per game during the English top flight campaign that has just finished. He sent four players off, including Liverpool's Ibrahima Konate and Manchester City's Rodri.

Referees at Euro 2024: Q&A

Who are the English referees at Euro 2024?

There will be two English referees at Euro 2024, with Anthony Taylor and Michael Oliver both set to take charge of matches in Germany. Oliver was slightly more lenient than Taylor, averaging 4.17 cards per game during the 2023/24 Premier League campaign.

His average of 3.96 yellows per match was actually the third lowest in the division, with only Chris Kavanagh and Michael Salisbury booking fewer players per game. Oliver did hand out a joint league-high of five red cards though, along with Robert Jones.

Anthony Taylor handed out more cards in total than any other referee in the 2023/24 Premier League, while he also had the second highest average when it came to penalties per game with 0.52.

Who is doing VAR at Euro 2024?

There will also be two English VAR officials at Euro 2024, with Stuart Attwell and David Coote both entrusted to lead VAR teams that also consist of two assistants and three video operators.

Stuart Attwell was the VAR official who infuriated Nottingham Forest in April when he refused to intervene in three penalty appeals for the East Midlands club, as they sunk to a 2-0 defeat at Everton. Forest released an angry statement accusing him of being a fan of relegation rivals Luton Town and therefore not impartial.

But the Premier League stuck by Attwell and the incident hasn't prevented him earning a trip to the Euros.

David Coote has also had his fair share of controversial moments whilst in the booth at Stockley Park. He was dropped from refereeing and VAR duties back in 2020, when he failed to intervene after Jordan Pickford's Merseyside derby challenge on Virgil van Dijk, which left the Dutchman seriously injured.

Jurgen Klopp has disliked him since, and the German criticised Coote again this season for failing to award his team a penalty in the clash with Arsenal in December, as Liverpool were held to a 1-1 draw at Anfield.

Who was the last referee to send off an England player at the Euros?

Only one England player has ever been sent off at the Euros and that was way back in 1968. Spanish referee Jose Maria Ortiz de Mendibil sent Alan Mullery off in the 89th minute for a petulant kick in Florence, as Yugoslavia triumphed 1-0 in the semi-final.

Strangely, that was actually the first-ever Euro red card! Forty-four more have been distributed since then.