Sander van der Eijk to referee Hearts v Benfica Europa League qualifier | OneFootball

Sander van der Eijk, a 35-year-old Dutch referee, will take charge of Hearts v Benfica in the second leg of the Europa League third qualifying round to reach the league phase at Tynecastle Park, Edinburgh. Kick-off is at 19:45 on Thursday, 13 August.

The appointment drew a positive appraisal from former referee Hugo Gil, who highlighted the cohesion of a group that already works together and argued that UEFA often favours such units because understanding between the referee and VAR aids rapid decisions on tight offsides or contacts in the area.

Van der Eijk will be assisted by compatriots Rens Bluemink and Stefan De Groot on the lines. Alex Bos has been assigned as fourth official.

Dennis Higler will oversee VAR, with Erwin Blank acting as AVAR. The entire officiating team is from the Netherlands.

Benfica reached this stage after defeating St. Gallen.

Source: Glorioso 1904