Katriina Elovirta (15 February 1961 – 19 June 2018)[1] was a Finnish female footballer and was a well known international match referee who served from 1991 to 2003. She served as a referee affiliating with FIFA between 1995 and 2003 [2] She also worked as a development manager for the Finnish Football Association until her death.[3][4] Elovirta died at age 57 after a long illness.[4]
 Elovirta in 2006 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 15 February 1961 | ||
| Place of birth | Iisalmi, Finland | ||
| Date of death | 19 June 2018 (aged 57) | ||
| Place of death | Espoo, Finland | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| Helsinki United | |||
| International career | |||
| Finland | |||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Career
editAs a player
editElovirta appeared in 9 international matches as a midfielder for Finland and was a member of the Helsinki United team which won its first domestic Finnish Women's Cup title in 1990 beating FC Kontu 3–2 in the final.[5][4]
As a referee
editElovirta went on to become a match referee in 1991 after retiring from playing in international football.[6] She served as a referee in many women's football championships including the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup, 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup, UEFA Women's Euro 197, UEFA Women's Euro 2001 and 2001-02 UEFA Women's Cup.[7][8][9] She also notably served as a match official at the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup Final and in the 2002 UEFA Women's Cup Final.[10] In 2005, she was appointed as one of the 5 women instructors as a part of the FIFA technical group.[11]
References
edit- ^ "Muistot" [Obituaries]. Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish). Retrieved 16 July 2018.
- ^ "Katriina Elovirta - Profile and Statistics - SoccerPunter.com". www.soccerpunter.com. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
- ^ "FIFA Referees Committee 2012-2015". GroupSpaces. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
- ^ a b c UEFA.com. "Finnish football mourns Katriina Elovirta". UEFA.com. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
- ^ "Finland - List of Women Cup Finals". RSSSF. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
- ^ "Katriina Elovirta - Matches as referee". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
- ^ "Katriina Elovirta - World Cup 2003 USA". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
- ^ FIFA.com (2 July 1999). "WWC99: Elovirta and Denoncourt to referee semi-finals". FIFA.com. Archived from the original on 2 July 2015. Retrieved 24 June 2018.
- ^ "Six U.S. Soccer Referees Named to Work at the FIFA Women's World Cup USA 2003". www.ussoccer.com. Retrieved 24 June 2018.
- ^ "Women World Cup 1999 USA - Referees". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
- ^ "The history of women's refereeing - The Ref Online". The Ref Online. 13 September 2017. Retrieved 24 June 2018.
External links
edit- Katriina Elovirta at Soccerway
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