 Pieter Vink and his assistants | |||
| Born | (1967-03-13)13 March 1967 (age 58) Noordwijkerhout,South Holland, Netherlands | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Other occupation | Ex-police officer | ||
| Domestic | |||
| Years | League | Role | |
| 1993–1996 | Eredivisie C-List | Referee | |
| 1996–2001 | Eredivisie B-List | Referee | |
| 2001–2017 | Eredivisie A-List | Referee | |
| International | |||
| Years | League | Role | |
| 2004–2010 | FIFA andUEFA listed | Referee | |
| 2007–2010 | UEFA Elite listed | Referee | |
Pieter Vink (Dutch pronunciation:[ˈpitərˈvɪŋk]; born 13 March 1967[1][2]) is a formerDutchfootballreferee, who also officiated forFIFA andUEFA. He was the first referee to take charge of a match at the "NewWembley Stadium" in 2007.[3] His other occupation was as apolice officer, eventually giving this up to become a full-time referee. His main other hobby isgolf.[2]
Vink began refereeing in 1987, and was elected to theEredivisie C-List in 1993, progressing to the competition's B-List in 1996 and then becoming a referee on the country's A-List in 2001. dec.[4]
Internationally, he has been aFIFA referee since 2004,[1] alsodebuting as a referee in theUEFA Cup in the same year,[2] and then being appointed to the2005 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship Final[2] atWindsor Park,Belfast, on 29 July 2005, whenFrance defeatedEngland 3–1.[5]
He was given the considerable honour of handling the first official match to be played at the newly rebuiltWembley Stadium on 24 March 2007, a 'friendly' betweenEngland Under-21 andItaly Under-21 which finished 3–3.[3]
In 2007, he refereed his first match in theUEFA Champions League,[2] a qualifying tie betweenSteaua Bucharest ofRomania andBATE Borisov ofBelarus,[6] having been promoted toUEFA's Elite list in July.[4] He went on to handle three more games in the Group stage of the competition in that year.[6] Vink was referee for theEuro 2008 qualifying match betweenScotland andUkraine on 13 October 2007 atHampden Park,Glasgow, when the Ukrainians were effectively eliminated after a 3–1 defeat.[7] Subsequently, he took charge ofNorthern Ireland's 2–1 win overDenmark at Windsor Park, Belfast, on 17 November 2007.[8]
Vink refereed the all-English Champions League quarter final first leg betweenArsenal andLiverpool at theEmirates Stadium on 2 April 2008.[9]
On 19 December 2007 it was announced that Vink would head the Dutch team of officials selected for theEuro 2008 competition proper, held inAustria andSwitzerland in summer 2008.[10] He refereed the third match of the competition between hostsAustria andCroatia.[11]