On debut, Romanian referee gets the nod for Benfica v Hearts | OneFootball

UEFA has already revealed who will be the referee in charge of the match between Benfica and Hearts, corresponding to the first leg of the third qualifying round for a place in the Europa League league phase. Romanian referee Marian Barbu was chosen by the European body's Refereeing Committee to officiate the match scheduled for 8:00 pm next Thursday, August 6, at the Estádio da Luz.

An international referee since 2021, the 37-year-old official will be accompanied by fellow Romanians Mircea Mihail Grigoriu and Imre Laszlo Bucsi, who will serve as assistant referees. Radu Petrescu will be the fourth official. On video assistant referee (VAR) duty, UEFA has appointed Catalin Popa, while Marcel Birsan will act as AVAR, completing an all-Romanian refereeing team.

The clash against Hearts will mark Marian Barbu’s first ever official Benfica match. Even so, the referee has already taken charge of matches involving Portuguese teams in European competitions. In 2024, he was in charge of Vitória de Guimarães’ 3-0 win over Zurich in the Conference League. In addition, he also officiated Portugal’s 2-1 victory over Belgium in the round of 32 of the Under-17 World Cup.

Benfica reached this stage of the competition after eliminating St. Gallen in the previous round, while Hearts drop down from the Champions League, where they were knocked out by Sturm Graz after two defeats against the Austrian side (4-0 and 2-0).

The match between the Eagles and the Scots is scheduled for 8:00 pm next Thursday at the Estádio da Luz, and represents another step for Benfica in the fight for a place in the Europa League league phase. The officiating team for the second leg has also already been confirmed.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.