 Stark in 2010 | |||
| Born |
20 November 1969 Landshut, West Germany | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Other occupation | Bank teller | ||
| Domestic | |||
| Years | League | Role | |
| 1994–2017 | DFB | Referee | |
| 1994–2017 | 2. Bundesliga | Referee | |
| 1997–2017 | Bundesliga | Referee | |
| International | |||
| Years | League | Role | |
| 1999–2014 | FIFA listed | Referee | |
Wolfgang Stark (born 20 November 1969) is a German former football referee who is based in Ergolding. He refereed for DJK Altdorf of the Bavarian Football Association.
In addition to German domestic competitions, Stark officiated numerous matches in the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. He was also selected as referee for various international tournaments, including 2008 Olympics, 2010 FIFA World Cup, and UEFA Euro 2012.
In 2007, he refereed five matches at the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup, including the semi-final between Chile and Argentina. The match finished as a 3–0 win for Argentina with Stark issuing seven yellow cards (out of nine) and two red cards against Chile.[1] Following the match, the Chilean players were restrained by members of the Toronto Police when they approached to meet fans outside the arena, as the police misunderstood the players' original intentions.[2] The misunderstanding led the police to aggressively restrain Chilean players who defended fiercely, causing the use of electricity and pepper gas by the police. Some players were detained for several hours before being released.[3] Stark left the stadium under escort, although he was not involved in the clash.
On 28 April 2009, Stark officiated in the UEFA Champions League's semi-final first leg between Chelsea and Barcelona. The game ended in a 0–0 draw. The game had many controversy because of the referee decision. The first came from a pass to Samuel Eto'o which was wrongfully offsided, the second came from a pass from Eto'o to Thierry Henrywho got pulled down in the penalty area but a penalty was not awarded, the third came from moment which saw Ballack push Iniesta face who fell but again no penalty was given, the game had many other controversial tackles which would see Barcelona get 2 or 3 more penalties but none of them were given.
Stark retired from officiating in 2017 because he reached the age limit for German referees, which is 47. His final Bundesliga match officiated was between Borussia Mönchengladbach and Darmstadt 98.[4]
| Date | Time (UTC+2) | Team 1 | Score | Team 2 | Round | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 June 2010 | 16:00 |  Argentina
|
1–0 |  Nigeria
|
Group B | 55,686 |
| 23 June 2010 | 16:00 |  Slovenia
|
0–1 |  England
|
Group C | 36,893 |
| 26 June 2010 | 16:00 |  Uruguay
|
2–1 |  South Korea
|
Round of 16 | 30,597 |
Stark lives in Ergolding, is married, and has one child.