MOSCOW, August 21. /TASS/. Russia’s top football referee Sergey Karasev told TASS that he has all the documents, including a visa permit and travel tickets, to attend next month’s Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) meeting of referees.

The Russian Football Union's press office announced on June 30 that UEFA had extended an invitation to Karasev to attend UEFA's referee training camp in September 2023.

"I hope to go," Karasev said in an interview with TASS. "I have my visa and other documents and I hope there will be no changes. My flight is scheduled for September 2 and I don’t know what will happen next. I will travel to the meeting and then we will see."

"The official training camp for referees is taking place in [the Swiss city of] Nyon on September 3-6 and I plan to head there on September 2, because there are no direct flights at the moment," he continued.

"I haven’t spoken with [UEFA Referees' Committee Chairman Roberto] Rosetti as of yet," Karasev said. "I was invited to attend after receiving an official letter and then collected all the documents, sent the relevant information, and now everything is fine. I have all the documents in hand, I have the visa and I’m ready."

Karasev, 44, has been a FIFA-licensed referee since 2010. He has been officiating matches of the Russian football championships since 2008 and was included in the elite group of UEFA referees in June 2013.

Karasev has officiated numerous European football matches, including the semifinal of the 2017/2018 Europa League game between Austria’s Salzburg FC and French football club Marseille as well as the 2021 UEFA Super Cup between England’s Chelsea FC and Spain’s Villarreal FC. He also served as a referee at three matches of the 2020 UEFA Euro Cup.