Monday, 22 September 2025

Europa League 2025/26 - Referee Appointments - Matchday 1 (I)

2025-26 UEFA Europa League, Matchday 1. First set of referee assignments, 24 September 2025.



Wednesday 24 September 2025

18:45 CET - Herning (MCH Arena)
FC Midtjylland (DEN) - SK Sturm Graz (AUT)
Referee: Orel Grinfeeld ISR
Assistant Referee 1: Roy Hassan ISR
Assistant Referee 2: Matityahu Yakobov ISR
Fourth Official: Gal Leibovitz ISR
Video Assistant Referee: Tamás Bognár HUN
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Clay Ruperti NED
UEFA Referee Observer: Stephen Tanner ENG
UEFA Delegate: Per Eliasson SWE

18:45 CET - Thessalonki (Stadio Toumba)
PAOK (GRE) - MK Makkabi Tel Aviv (ISR)
Referee: Sven Jablonski GER
Assistant Referee 1: Eduard Beitinger GER
Assistant Referee 2: Lasse Koslowski GER
Fourth Official: Robin Braun GER
Video Assistant Referee: Robert Schröder GER
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Johann Pfeifer GER
UEFA Referee Observer: Matteo Simone Trefoloni ITA 
UEFA Delegate: Irakli Nakaidze GEO

21:00 CET - Malmö (Eleda Stadion)
IFK Malmö (SWE) - PFK Ludogorec 1945 (BUL)
Referee: Manfredas Lukjančukas LTU
Assistant Referee 1: Mangirdas Mirauskas LTU
Assistant Referee 2: Aleksandras Stepanovas LTU
Fourth Official: Mindaugas Jackus LTU
Video Assistant Referee: Stuart Attwell ENG 
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Kevin Clancy SCO
UEFA Referee Observer: Gylfi Þór Orrason ISL
UEFA Delegate: Fiona Pförtke GER

21:00 CET - Nice (Allianz Riviera) 
OGC Nice (FRA) - AS Roma (ITA) 
Referee: Juan Martínez Munuera ESP
Assistant Referee 1: José Naranjo ESP
Assistant Referee 2: Iván Massó Granado ESP
Fourth Official: Mateo Busquets Ferrer ESP
Video Assistant Referee: Carlos del Cerro Grande ESP
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: César Soto Grado ESP
UEFA Referee Observer: Mehmet Murat Ilgaz TUR 
UEFA Delegate: Duško Grabovac CRO

21:00 CET - Freiburg (Europa-Park Stadion)
SC Freiburg (GER) - FC Basel 1893 (SUI) 
Referee: Luis Godinho POR
Assistant Referee 1: Rui Teixeira POR
Assistant Referee 2: Pedro Almeida POR
Fourth Official: Fabio Verissimo POR
Video Assistant Referee: Tiago Martins POR
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Angelos Evangelou GRE
UEFA Referee Observer: Fredy Fautrel FRA 
UEFA Delegate: Garry O'Hagan SCO

21:00 CET - Braga (Estádio Municipal de Braga)
SC Braga (POR) - Feyenoord (NED) 
Referee: Nikola Dabanović MNE
Assistant Referee 1: Vladan Todorović MNE
Assistant Referee 2: Srđan Jovanović MNE
Fourth Official: Miloš Bošković MNE
Video Assistant Referee: Momčilo Marković SRB
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Willy Delajod FRA
UEFA Referee Observer: Stavors Tritsonis GRE 
UEFA Delegate: Philippe Prudhon FRA

21:00 CET - Zagreb (Stadion Maksimir)
GNK Dinamo (CRO) - Fenerbahçe SK (TUR) 
Referee: Jérôme Brisard FRA
Assistant Referee 1: Alexis Auger FRA
Assistant Referee 2: Erwan Finjean FRA
Fourth Official: Thomas Leonard FRA
Video Assistant Referee: Bastien Dechepy FRA
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Nicolas Rainville FRA
UEFA Referee Observer: David Fernández Borbalán ESP
UEFA Delegate: Mark Blackbourne ENG

21:00 CET - Seville (La Cartuja de Sevilla)
Real Betis Balompié (ESP) - Nottingham Forest FC (ENG) 
Referee: Sascha Stegemann GER
Assistant Referee 1: Christof Günsch GER
Assistant Referee 2: Marco Achmüller GER
Fourth Official: Martin Petersen GER
Video Assistant Referee: Sören Storks GER
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Benjamin Brand GER
UEFA Referee Observer: Lucilio Batista POR 
UEFA Delegate: Peter Oskam NED

21:00 CET - Belgrade (Stadion Rajko Mitić)
FK Crvena Zvezda (SRB) - Celtic FC (SCO)
Referee: Radu Petrescu ROU
Assistant Referee 1: Radu Ghinguleac ROU
Assistant Referee 2: Mircea Mihail Grigoriu ROU
Fourth Official: Andrei Chivulete ROU
Video Assistant Referee: Michael Fabbri ITA
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Marcel Birsan ROU
UEFA Referee Observer: Helmut Fleischer GER
UEFA Delegate: Adonis Procopiou CYP
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6 comments:

  1. anty7522 September 2025 at 10:27

    I think its the third time Grinfeld is refereeing Midtjylland in a year.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Chefren22 September 2025 at 11:00

      Given the current situation and the discussion about Israel, it's good that he can get a game. Denmark, calm country, far from the spotlight. You can see, Hungarian VAR working with him.
      Hungary gives many solutions to UEFA: neutral venues for all problematic countries, referee assignments..
      But making a fair analysis, this shouldn't happen. Either you accept everything or nothing. Until some years ago, these choices were temporary, but now it seems the standard. There are many questions without answers. However, let's change topic, it's better.
      Based on this set you can see a clear difference with Champions League assignments, here apart from Grinfeeld, all Category 1. Some seasons ago, when Europa League and Champions League were played closer, there was by far more interaction, now the big names are always in Champions League when appointed, mostly because there aren't many other options, so this in my opinion explains how Europa League is treated as competition now.
      Lukjančukas after Under 21 seems to have hard times... is that a fair treatment, based only on a single game? And before that, it was excellent path for him because he had been assigned to such a sonorous clash at that tournament.
      If committee was really disappointed, this means that they didn't do enough before to know better the referee.
      About the other assignments, Martínez Munuera gets something every now and then, but I don't see him for a promotion.
      Jablonski with important observer, to check his development.

      Delete
    2. anty7522 September 2025 at 11:16

      Yes hopefully it will be a game without major incidents. Midtjylland has in their ranks Turkish player Simsir who shouted "free Palestine" to Maccabi players when they played them last season, hopefully he will not do it to Israeli referee)

      Delete
    3. M22 September 2025 at 11:27

      Well,criterium must be the same for everyone.

      If Russia and their clubs can get kicked out of all competitions along with their refs,than the same thing should happen with Grinfeld if Israel is kicked out.

      Delete
  2. Gref22 September 2025 at 11:13

    Why did the Georgians get lost? Even though Kruashvili had a chance to develop

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous22 September 2025 at 12:57

    How is it possible that a referee is immediately sidelined after one bad game involving an Italian team? This time, the victim is Lithuanian referee Lukjančukas. He was clearly on the right track, showing promise, and many even believed that the promotion of Rumsas was delayed because the committee saw more potential in Lukjančukas. It’s a déjà vu of the Swedish situation with Ekberg and Nyberg. But now, one poor performance suddenly ruins everything? That’s not development—it’s political maneuvering.

    The breaking point came after Germany–Italy at the U21 Euros, where Lukjančukas was thrown off track (just like e.g. Allard Lindhout—after a match involving Italy U-21). What kind of signal does this send to referees? That they must never “disadvantage” certain clubs or national teams, otherwise their career is in jeopardy? That is not refereeing—it’s fear management. And why? Because the chairman happens to be Italian, worried more about his ego and his headlines in La Gazzetta than about objective evaluation. As a result, Rumsas was the new “focus.”.

    Take the case of Clément Turpin. He was denied the EURO 2024 final after a couple of OFRs in the opening match—Rosetti preaching that referees should make “independent decisions on the field.” Yet the same Rosetti pushed István Kovács for the Champions League final, despite the Romanian having two OFRs in his very last test (Europa League QF). And why? Because Michael Oliver, in top form, was quietly ignored—still banned from officiating Italian teams in finals, more than seven years after an unfortunate Juventus match. Enough already. And of course, Rosetti had the backing of Björn Kuipers, who saw it as another opportunity to sneak his Dutch VAR friends into the VAR booth,
    to support Kovács.

    Meanwhile, the very same Referee Committee keeps appointing referees in the Champions League who make blatant mistakes—only saved by VAR intervention. Those referees suffer no consequences. But when a decision falls into the “grey area,” where VAR cannot intervene, that can instantly mean “end of the season” for the referee involved. Where is the consistency?

    This is not policy. This is ego. The committee members act like political operators, protecting their own reputations, jobs, and playing favorites, rather than applying a clear and predictable framework. Until someone holds up a mirror to Rosetti and his colleagues, refereeing in UEFA competitions will remain a game of favoritism, not fairness. What a joke.

    ReplyDelete

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