STA, 28 November 2019 - Slovenian Damir Skomina has been declared the world's best football referee in 2019 by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS). He was selected by football experts from 90 countries in the world.
Skomina, who was also the first Slovenian referee to officiate a UEFA Champions League final between Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool in Madrid on 1 June, thus became the 19th holder of the title that is being conferred since 1987.
The 43-year-old scored 136 points in the vote, with the second-placed, German Felix Brych, who held the title in 2017, scoring 129 points. Skomina took the title for the first time.
According to the IFFHS, Skomina has put on a consistent showing throughout the season. He has so far officiated more than 530 matches, including 301 Slovenian national league matches, 50 Champions League matches, 17 European League matches, 60 international UEFA matches, a world championship match and an Olympic tournament.
The IFFHS also picked the best goalkeeper of 2019, with Slovenia's Jan Oblak placing third, behind Brazilian Alisson in first and German Marc-Andre ter Stegen of Barcelona in second place.
Oblak from Madrid's Atletico has been in the top three best goalkeepers in the last three seasons.
