Victorian Referees flocked into the Pullman Hotel in Albert Park on Saturday night to celebrate the 2022 season at the Football Victoria Referee Awards.
A packed-out crowed attended the night, including referees of all experience levels who came from across metro Melbourne and regional Victoria.
Hosted by ABC presenter Annie Kearney, who boasts a decade long career in sports media and commercial television, the event had an incredible atmosphere full of fun, acknowledgement and celebration.
It was the first Victorian event in 15 years to exclusively be hosted for referees and given its success, will be added to Football Victoria's annual calendar moving forward.
Football Victoria thanks each and every referee in our community for their tremendous commitment to our game. Without your dedication and hard work, our great game simply wouldn't be able to go ahead from week to week. On behalf of the entire Victorian football community, FV would also like to send a huge congratulations to all of the night's award winners, who have been listed below.
FV Referees Awards Night Photo Album
Award Winners
Service Awards
Honouring individuals who have achieved 10, 20 or 30 years of service. The winners were presented a bronze (10), silver (20), or gold(30) medal based on their years of service to refereeing.
- Bronze Award Winners: Allessandro Arbizzani, Cheng Hoo, Nicholas Tubby, William Samsa
- Silver Award Winner: Tina Zafiropoulos
Futsal Awards
Awarded to the best performing male and female Futsal referees throughout 2022.
- Mary Hubeek
- Matteo Callegaro
State League High Performance Awards
Awarded to the top three performing referees across the State Leagues.
- Momcilo Veselinov
- Stefano Di Giovanni
- James Langoya
NPL Men's Referee Awards
Awarded to the best performing referee and assistant referee of the 2022 NPL Men's season.
- Referee: Lachlan Keevers
- Assistant Referee: Astro Sakalis
Lachlan and Astro officiated in the NPL Grand Final which also included assistant referee Ugur Arslan, fourth official Adam Bavcar and reserve official Benjamin Lepileo.
NPL Women's Referee Awards
Awarded to the best performing referee and assistant referee of the 2022 NPL Women's season.
- Referee of the Year: Caitlin Williams
- Assistant Referee of the Year: Jessica Adams
Caitlin and Jessa officiated in the NPLW Grand Final which also included assistant referee Nikoletta Sotiropoulos, fourth official Shab Roshan and reserve official Courtney Van Diesen.
Rising Star Awards
This award is awarded to the highest performing officials from the talent pool program, who have demonstrated enormous potential and development throughout 2022.
- Winners: Courtney Van Diesen
- Benjamin Lepileo
Referees Referee of the Year
Voted on by the referees to highlight a peer who has consistently demonstrated excellence throughout the season.
- Adam Bavcar
The Whistle Of Hope
An extremely special award honouring the late Hary Milas' legacy. Hary was a highly respected and much-loved member of not only the refereeing community, but the entire football community. He championed many great causes and was renown for his communication, positivity and selflessness. The Whistle Of Hope Awards were presented by Anita Milas.
- Shaun Dacey
- Tim Earl
Local Hero Awards
Awarded to refer displayed outstanding dedication to the refereeing community and helped to foster a positive culture within refereeing circles and the wider football family.
- George Iliopoulos
- Jake Keating
- Michael McPhee
- Mile Jovanovski
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