Luca Pairetto to referee St. Gallen v Benfica Europa League qualifier | OneFootball

UEFA confirmed that Italian referee Luca Pairetto will take charge of St. Gallen v Benfica, the first leg of the Europa League second qualifying round. The match is set for 19:00 on Thursday 23 July at Estádio Berit Sitter in Switzerland.

Pairetto, 42, will be assisted by Stefano Alassio and Valerio Colarossi. Giovanni Ayroldi is the fourth official. Daniele Doveri will operate VAR, with Paolo Mazzoleni as AVAR.

St. Gallen supporters have shown strong enthusiasm for Benfica’s visit, with a sizeable home crowd expected. A significant Benfica following is also anticipated, boosted by Switzerland’s large Portuguese community.

For Marco Silva’s side, this tie is the first step towards the Europa League league phase. They aim to secure a positive result before the return at Estádio da Luz.

If they eliminate St. Gallen, Benfica will be seeded in the Main Path. In that scenario, they could face only one of three opponents, the winner of Sheriff Tiraspol v Maccabi Tel-Aviv, or one of the losers from Sturm Graz v Hearts and Fenerbahçe v Górnik Zabrze in the Champions League qualifiers.

Source: Glorioso 1904