Australian Match Officials Casey Reibelt, Allyson Flynn and Sarah Ho have been appointed to officiate at the upcoming AFC Women’s Asian Cup.
Australian Referee Casey Reibelt and Assistant Referees Allyson Flynn and Sarah Ho have been appointed to officiate at the upcoming AFC Women-s Asian Cup which will be held in Vietnam-s Ho Chi Minh City.
The tournament begins in May and doubles as qualification for the 2015 FIFA Women-s World Cup, which the trio will also be aiming to be involved in.
FFA Director of Referees Ben Wilson was proud that once again Australian referees were being recognised on the international stage for major tournaments.
“I am very pleased that we have three match officials appointed to the Women-s Asian Cup,” said Wilson.
“It again demonstrates that Australian referees are regarded as world class officials and I am very confident that they will perform strongly in this important tournament.”
The appointments are a fantastic endorsement for the three Australian match officials that most recently refereed the Westfield W-League 2014 Grand Final between Melbourne Victory and Brisbane Roar.
“It-s a great honour to be appointed with the top match officials to the top competition in Asia, particularly so early in my international career,” said Reibelt.
“I-m really looking forward to refereeing in a competition that hosts some of the best teams in the world, and learning from that experience.
“I was lucky enough to have refereed with both Allyson and Sarah during the recent W-League season, and I believe this will have served as good preparation for the tournament. I am really looking forward to sharing the experience with them.”
This will be another highlight for Allyson Flynn who was named the AFC-s top female Assistant Referee at an awards ceremony in November last year.
“It-s an honour to be appointed to referee at the Women-s Asian Cup and a privilege to be travelling with Casey and Sarah,” said Flynn.
“The W-League grand final, which the three of us were involved in, was a high level game with great intensity so it-s great that the three of us will now be involved again at international level.
“You-re only good as your last performance, so it-s important for me to keep performing at an elite level to make sure I continue to get these opportunities.”
Sarah Ho will add the appointment to her already impressive list of international tournaments.
“It-s wonderful and I-m excited to be heading off to Vietnam for the Asian Cup,” said Ho. “It's great to be able to work with Casey and Allyson again, as living in different parts of Australia we don-t get the opportunity very often.
“Certainly the W-League is a great environment to develop our skills and improve so we are prepared for international competition.
“I started refereeing for my local football branch back in 2001 and worked my way up to getting my FIFA assistant referee badge in 2004. Allyson and I were appointed to the AFC elite panel last year, so to now be going to my third Asian Cup is a huge thrill.”