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Per Stefan Anders Frisk | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1963-02-18)18 February 1963 (age 62) Gothenburg, Sweden |
| Occupation(s) | Insurance agent,football referee |
| Spouse | Erika Larhag Frisk |
| Children | 4 |
Anders Frisk (born 18 February 1963) is a Swedish insurance agent by trade and a formerfootball referee. Frisk chose to go into early retirement from refereeing due to pressure from death threats made against him and his family.[1] He is fluent in several languages including his nativeSwedish, English and German.
Frisk was born on 18 February 1963 in the Swedish city ofGothenburg, and lives inMölndal, his hometown, where he runs a historic cinema.[2] He began refereeing in 1978 and took charge ofSwedish top-division matches for the first time in 1989. He was awarded hisFIFA badge in 1991. In addition to refereeing at the highest level, Frisk also acts as anambassador for theUEFA/International Committee of the Red Cross campaign highlighting the plight of children in war. He travelled toSierra Leone for a first-hand view of the ICRC's work, and declared himself deeply moved by the scenes of reunited families.
In 1991, he travelled toSwitzerland to take charge of matches in the UEFA European Under-16 Championship final round. He became aFIFA international referee at the age of 28, his first international match was Iceland against Turkey on 17 July 1991. A stint at theFIFA Under-17 World Championship in Japan two years later was followed by recognition at elite UEFA levels.
Picked forEuro 96 in England, Frisk refereed the 3-3 group match betweenRussia and theCzech Republic inLiverpool. He was forced to miss the1998 FIFA World Cup in France in 1998 with a back injury, but recovered in time to take charge of the 1999Confederations Cup final betweenBrazil andMexico in theEstadio Azteca,Mexico City. Soon after, he was selected to officiate theEuro 2000 final betweenFrance andItaly at theFeijenoord Stadion inRotterdam.[3]
After that appointment, he took charge of two matches in the2002 World Cup inKorea and Japan: a group match between Brazil and China, and a second-round match between the Republic of Ireland and Spain. The referee for the Final,Pierluigi Collina, later wrote in his autobiography that Frisk had been the only other official that he had considered to have the credentials to receive the appointment. Later in 2004, Frisk took charge of theChampions League semi-final, second leg betweenChelsea andMonaco. He also appeared atEuro 2004, refereeing the semi-final betweenNetherlands andPortugal and he wasfourth official in the final.
In September 2004, Frisk was forced to abandon a match he was refereeing betweenRoma andDynamo Kyiv at theStadio Olimpico in the group stage of the2004–05 Champions League after he was hit by a coin thrown from the stands as he walked off the field at half-time. He was seen to be bleeding, and subsequently abandoned the match.[4] UEFA eventually awarded the match to Kyiv as a 3–0 forfeit, and ordered that Roma play its remaining two home fixtures in the group stage behind closed doors.
On 12 March 2005, Frisk announced his immediate retirement, citing threats made against his family following a UEFA Champions League tie betweenBarcelona and Chelsea, during which he sent off Chelsea'sDidier Drogba for receiving two cautions.[5] Chelsea's manager,José Mourinho, accused Frisk of inviting Barça manager,Frank Rijkaard, into his room at half-time.[6] UEFA charged Chelsea with inappropriate conduct following the match and Mourinho received a touchline ban for both legs of Chelsea's quarter-final againstBayern Munich.[6]
On 19 December, Frisk was awardedFIFA's Presidential Award as "recognition for a career cut short following death threats against his family".[7] He presided over 118 international games during his 18-year career.
Sporting positions Anders Frisk | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | 1999 FIFA Confederations Cup Final Referee | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | UEFA Euro 2000 Final Referee | Succeeded by |
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