Three Queensland match officials have been selected to officiate an AFC Champions League Semi Final in a history-making referee appointment.
Queensland referee Chris Beath and Assistant Referees Ashley Beecham and Anton Shchetinin will take charge of a Semi Final match following their previous appointment in the AFC Champions League first leg Quarter Final match between Al-Ittihad and Al-Hilal last month.
It will be the first time in the history of the tournament that the same three match officials have been selected for a Semi Final after officiating in a Quarter Final leg, an incredible achievement by the trio.
Beath, Beecham and Shchetinin were appointed to a Round of 32 match at the AFC Champions League before officiating in the first leg of the Quarter Finals, and will now take charge of a Semi Final match in the history-making appointment.
The trio have officiated together on both the domestic and international stage for some time.
In a momentous year for the Queenslanders, the three match officials were also selected earlier this year as one of 20 trios of match officials to officiate at the 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Brazil.
The appointment will mark Beecham and Shchetinin’s first time officiating at a FIFA World Cup tournament, while Beath will bring experience from his appointment as a video match official at the FIFA Women’s World Cup in France earlier this year.
For now though, their attention will turn to the Semi Finals of the AFC Champions League, with the first leg matches to be held next week as the Queensland trio step up for their history-making Semi Final appointment.
Congratulations to Chris, Ashley and Anton on the significant achievement.