Dutch referee chosen for Estonia vs. Italy World Cup clash | OneFootball

Dutch referee Serdar Gözübüyük has been assigned to Italy’s crunch 2026 World Cup qualifier against Estonia on Saturday.

The match will kick off at the Le Coq Arena in Tallinn on Saturday October 11 at 19.45 UK time.

UEFA have formally announced that the referee for this occasion will be Gözübüyük of the Netherlands, assisted by fellow countrymen Erwin Zeinstra and Patrick Inia.

The fourth official is Joey Kooij, while the VAR team is also from the Netherlands, in the form of Rob Dieperink and assistant Jeroen Manschot.

Who is the referee for Estonia vs. Italy?

BERGAMO, ITALY – SEPTEMBER 05: Coach Gennaro Gattuso of Italy gesture during the FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifier match between Italy and Estonia at Stadio di Bergamo on September 05, 2025 in Bergamo, Italy. (Photo by Mattia Ozbot/Getty Images)

Gözübüyük is from Haarlem and will mark his 40th birthday later this month.

He has officiated Italy twice before and the Nazionale remain unbeaten at senior level with this referee.

That was thanks to a 2-0 victory away to Malta in March 2013, then a 1-1 home draw with Bulgaria in September 2021.

Both of those were World Cup qualifying fixtures.

Gözübüyük holds some bad memories for Lazio, though, as he sent off two players during their 4-1 Europa League loss to Eintracht Frankfurt in October 2018.

His one and only match with Estonia was a 1-0 home defeat to Greece in the Nations League, played in September 2018.