Heads up! Italian referee chosen for St Gallen v Benfica | OneFootball

UEFA announced this Sunday the refereeing team for the match between St. Gallen and Benfica, corresponding to the first leg of the second qualifying round for access to the Europa League league phase. Italian Luca Pairetto was chosen to officiate the clash, scheduled for 7:00 pm next Thursday, July 23, at Berit Sitter Stadium, in Switzerland.

At 42 years old, Luca Pairetto will be the main referee for the match, with Stefano Alassio and Valerio Colarossi serving as assistant referees. Giovanni Ayroldi will act as the fourth official. At European Football City, UEFA also appointed Daniele Doveri as video assistant referee (VAR), while Paolo Mazzoleni will be the assistant video referee (AVAR).

The visit of Benfica has generated huge excitement among St. Gallen fans, who are promising a strong presence in the stands to support the Swiss team. In addition to the backing for the home side, a significant presence of Benfica fans is also expected, driven by the large Portuguese community living in Switzerland.

For the team coached by Marco Silva, this tie represents the first step on the road to the Europa League league phase. Benfica view the clash as one of the most important moments of this start to the season, aiming to secure a positive result before the second leg at the Estádio da Luz.

According to the information provided by UEFA, Benfica will be seeded in the Main Path if they eliminate St. Gallen. In that scenario, the Eagles could face only one of three possible opponents: the winner of the tie between Sheriff Tiraspol and Maccabi Tel-Aviv, from the Europa League second qualifying round, or one of the losers of the Sturm Graz-Hearts and Fenerbahçe-Górnik Zabrze ties, corresponding to the second qualifying round of the Champions League.

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