Mark Shield
Encyclopedia
Mark Shield is a former Australian Football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

 referee. He most recently refereed in Australia's A-League
A-League
The A-League is the top Australasian professional football league. Run by Australian governing body Football Federation Australia , it was founded in 2004 following the folding of the National Soccer League and staged its inaugural season in 2005–06. It is sponsored by Hyundai Motor Company...

. He first played soccer for the Innisfail Tigers at the age of six. Not showing much promise as a player, he began refereeing at age 12, and by 16 was officiating adult matches in Townsville. At age 28, he was selected to serve as a referee for the 2002 FIFA World Cup. He was one of 23 referees selected to officiate the 2006 FIFA World Cup.http://www.zurich.com.au/zportal/cs/ContentServer?pagename=GroupSite/GSArticle/ShowGSArticle&cid=1148340843317&p=991803141588 He currently lives in Fortitude Valley, Queensland.http://www.worldreferee.com/site/referees_more.php Shield announced his retirement from refereeing on 20 September 2008 and he refereed his last game in Round 8 of the 2008/09
A-League 2008-09
The 2008–09 A-League season was the fourth season of the Australasian A-League association football competition. Two new clubs, North Queensland Thunder and Gold Coast Galaxy had received tentative licences from the FFA but these were revoked for the 2008–09 season on 12 March 2008. Expansion...

 A-League season in the match between Queensland Roar and Adelaide United. http://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/australia/shield-blows-full-time-136714/

2002 World Cup

Shield served as an official at the 2002 FIFA World Cup
2002 FIFA World Cup
The 2002 FIFA World Cup was the 17th staging of the FIFA World Cup, held in South Korea and Japan from 31 May to 30 June. It was also the first World Cup held in Asia, and the last in which the golden goal rule was implemented. Brazil won the tournament for a record fifth time, beating Germany 2–0...

 in Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...

 and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

. On 10 June 2002 he officiated the 1-1 draw between Belgium and Tunisia
Tunisia national football team
The Tunisia national football team , nicknamed Les Aigles de Carthage , is the national team of Tunisia and is controlled by the Fédération Tunisienne de Football. They have qualified for four FIFA World Cups, the first one in 1978, but have yet to make it out of the first round...

. .http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport3/worldcup2002/hi/matches_wallchart/tunisia_v_belgium/default.stm#stats

2006 World Cup

Shield was selected to referee at the 2006 FIFA World Cup
2006 FIFA World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which won the right to host the event in July 2000. Teams representing 198 national football associations from all six...

 in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

. He officiated the Iran
Iran national football team
The national football team of Iran represents Iran in international football competitions and is controlled by the Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran...

-Angola
Angola national football team
The Angola national football team, nicknamed Palancas Negras , is the national team of Angola and is controlled by the Federação Angolana de Futebol. Angola reached 45th in the FIFA Rankings in July 2002...

 match and the Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia national football team
Saudi Arabia national football team is the national team of Saudi Arabia and is controlled by the Saudi Arabia Football Federation...

-Tunisia
Tunisia national football team
The Tunisia national football team , nicknamed Les Aigles de Carthage , is the national team of Tunisia and is controlled by the Fédération Tunisienne de Football. They have qualified for four FIFA World Cups, the first one in 1978, but have yet to make it out of the first round...

 match, both in group play.

Shield was also selected as one of the final 12 officials
2006 FIFA World Cup officials
Match officials for the 2006 FIFA World Cup were nominated by the six confederations to FIFA, who, after a series of tests in Frankfurt/Neu-Isenburg in March 2006, selected 23 referees and a support and development group of a further 5, from a shortlist of 44.Kyros Vassaras of Greece and Manuel...

 eligible to officiate the final eight matches of the Cup.http://www.theadvertiser.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,19633486%255E12428,00.html He was appointed the fourth official to the Portugal-France semi final.

Asian Champions League Final

In late 2006, Shield was appointed to referee the second leg of the AFC Champions League
AFC Champions League
The AFC Champions League is the premier Asian club football competition hosted annually by Asian Football Confederation . The tournament is contested among the top thirty-two clubs from the top 10 Asian leagues, two of which must qualify through the playoffs...

 final between Al Karama (Syria) and Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors are a professional football club based in Jeonju, Jeonbuk, South Korea. They won their first K-League title in 2009. Prior to this, the club won the AFC Champions League title in 2006, becoming the first club from East Asia to win the tournament since the AFC Champions...

 (South Korea) was played on Wednesday 8 November at the Khaled Bin Al Waleed Stadium. Jeonbuk Motors won the AFC Champions League after Brazilian striker Ze Carlo's 88th minute header gave them a 3-2 aggregate victory over Al Karama. Al Karama won the second leg of the final 2-1 but the Brazilian's late goal made the difference after the Koreans won the first leg 2-0.

Asian Cup 2007

Shield was appointed with fellow Australian referee Matthew Breeze
Matthew Breeze
Matthew Christopher Breeze is an Australian association football referee. He is also a barrister and a former police prosecutor.-Domestic career:He officiates in the Australian A-League football competition....

 to referee at the 2007 Asian Cup. Australia was the only country with more than one representative on the panel of referees for the tournament. While at the tournament, he was selected for a number of matches including the final between Iraq and Saudi Arabia, whilst Breeze was selected to referee a semi-final match. Both were fortunate that the Australian team were knocked out in the quarter finals because they would not have been able to referee matches involving or affecting their own country in the latter stages.

Hyundai Club Challenge

Shield received creditable reviews for his performance in the one-off game between Sydney FC
Sydney FC
Sydney FC is a professional football club based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia and competes in the country's premier football competition, the A-League...

 and Los Angeles Galaxy
Los Angeles Galaxy
The Los Angeles Galaxy are an American professional soccer team, based in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, California, which competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, and the league's second...

 at Sydney's Telstra Stadium on 27 November 2007 (the attendance of 80,295 is Australia's largest for a club game). In an exhibition match won 5-3 by the home team, Shield sent off LA Galaxy defender Kevin Harmse and also booked Beckham for a retaliatory lunge at Sydney's Robbie Middleby.

FIFA Club World Cup 2007

Shield officiated in the quarter final between Étoile Sportive du Sahel
Étoile Sportive du Sahel
The Étoile Sportive du Sahel is a sports club from Sousse in the Sahel region of Tunisia, known primarily for its football team. The club also has sections for handball, volleyball, basketball, judo and wrestling...

 and Pachuca
Pachuca
Pachuca, formally Pachuca de Soto is the capital of the Mexican state of Hidalgo. It is located in the south-central part of the state. Pachuca de Soto is also the name of the municipality of which the city serves as municipal seat...

 in front of 34,934 fans at the National Stadium
Olympic Stadium (Tokyo)
or National Stadium is a stadium in Kasumigaoka, Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan that served as the main stadium for the 1964 Summer Olympics. It currently serves as the stadium where the Japan national football teams home matches and major football club cup finals are held.-History:The stadium was...

, Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

. He was also named as the fourth official in the final between Boca Juniors
Boca Juniors
Club Atlético Boca Juniors is an Argentine sports club based in La Boca neighborhood of Buenos Aires. It is best known for its professional football team, which currently plays in the Primera División....

 and A.C. Milan
A.C. Milan
Associazione Calcio Milan, commonly referred to as A.C. Milan or simply Milan , is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Lombardy, that plays in the Serie A. Milan was founded in 1899 by English lace-maker Herbert Kilpin and businessman Alfred Edwards among others...

.

National Soccer League (NSL)

Shield made his professional debut just a month after his 22nd birthday, refereeing the Sydney United vs West Adelaide match in the old National Soccer League on 8 October 1995 at the Sydney United Sports Centre. He refereed 3 NSL Grand Finals.

A-League

Mark Shield was on the A-League Referees Panel at the start of the 2008/09 A-League season.

On 19 September 2008, the Sydney Morning Herald reported that he was considering retirement. He did not referee in Round 4 of the 2008/09 A-League season, nor was he scheduled to referee in Round 5 that weekend. He refereed his final match in the Round 8 match between Queensland Roar and Adelaide United. Shield Refereed the first three A-League
A-League
The A-League is the top Australasian professional football league. Run by Australian governing body Football Federation Australia , it was founded in 2004 following the folding of the National Soccer League and staged its inaugural season in 2005–06. It is sponsored by Hyundai Motor Company...

 Finals before retiring, refereeing a total of six consecutive domestic league finals in Australia.

A-League Matches:
  • 2005/2006 Season: 19 Matches (Including: 2 Pre-season; Major Semi-Final 2nd Leg; Final: Sydney FC
    Sydney FC
    Sydney FC is a professional football club based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia and competes in the country's premier football competition, the A-League...

     - Central Coast Mariners)
  • 2006/2007 Season: 19 Matches (Including: 1 Pre-season; Major Semi-Final 2nd Leg; Final: Melbourne Victory
    Melbourne Victory
    Melbourne Victory Football Club is an Australian professional football club based in Melbourne, Victoria, that plays in the A-League....

     - Adelaide United)
  • 2007/2008 Season: 17 Matches (Including: Minor Semi-Final (both legs); Final: Central Coast Mariners - Newcastle Jets)
  • 2008/2009 Season: 6 Matches (Including: 1 Pre-season. Shields Last A-League match was played in Round 8)

External links

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