Thursday, 9 July 2026

2026/27 UEFA Europa League First Qualifying Round (First Legs) - Referee Appointments

The first legs of 2026/27 UEFA Europa League First Qualifing Round. 

Joonas Jaanovits to officiate Dynamo Kyiv - Universitatea Cluj on neutral ground in Poland

Thursday 9 July 2026

18:00 CET
Baku (Tofiq Bəhramov adına Respublika Stadionu)
QARABAĞ (AZE) vs. VESTRI (ISL)
REF: JITARI, Roman (MDA)
AR1: LIFCIU, Vlad (MDA)
AR2: VICOL, Vadim (MDA)
4OF: BREGUȚA, Andrei (MDA)
VAR: CIBELLI, Luca (SUI)
AVAR: KANAGASINGAM, Anojen (SUI)
OBS: ČYKUN, Alieh (BLR)

19:00 CET
Lublin, POL (Motor Lublin Arena)
DYNAMO KYIV (UKR) vs. UNIVERSITATEA CLUJ (ROU)
REF: JAANOVITS, Joonas (EST)
AR1: HÄRSING, Aron (EST)
AR2: KÕIV, Silver (EST)
4OF: KÜLLJASTINEN, Kristo (EST)
VAR: DI PAOLO, Aleandro (ITA)
AVAR: TOHVER, Kristo (EST)
OBS: TANNER, Stephen (ENG)

19:00 CET
Tiraspol (Complexul Sportiv "Sheriff" - arena principală)
SHERIFF TIRASPOL (MDA) vs. ALUMINIJ (SVN)
REF: TALIC, Arnes (AUT)
AR1: HARTL, Mattias (AUT)
AR2: REKIK, Amar (AUT)
4OF: JÄGER, Florian (AUT)
VAR: LECHNER, Harald (AUT)
AVAR: CIOCHIRCA, Christian-Petru (AUT)
OBS: PRISTOVNIK, Igor (CRO)

20:00 CET
Split (Stadion Poljud)
HAJDUK SPLIT (CRO) vs. ŽILINA (SVK)
REF: ATHANASÍOU, Kyriákos (CYP)
AR1: ENGLÉZOU, Níkos (CYP)
AR2: SOKRÁTOUS, Kyriákos (CYP)
4OF: THEOULÍ, Chrysovalándis (CYP)
VAR: CUADRA FERNÁNDEZ, Guillermo (ESP)
AVAR: SOLOMOÚ, Dimítris (CYP)
OBS: KOVAŘÍK, Libor (CZE)

20:00 CET
Sofia (National Stadium "Vasil Levski")
CSKA SOFIA (BUL) vs. DERRY CITY (IRL)
REF: KASTRATI, Visar (KOS)
AR1: HYSENI, Granit (KOS)
AR2: BULLATOVCI, Arbnor (KOS)
4OF: BAJGORA, Valon (KOS)
VAR: STORKS, Sören (GER)
AVAR: NUZA, Genc (KOS)
OBS: SEDLACEK, Robert (AUT)

20:00 CET
Novi Sad (Stadion Karađorđe)
VOJVODINA (SRB) vs. FERENCVÁROS (HUN)
REF: VERNICE, Mathieu (FRA)
AR1: DROUET, Aurélien (FRA)
AR2: GONÇALVES DE ARAUJO, Florian (FRA)
4OF: KHERRADJI, Abdelatif (FRA)
VAR: MILLOT, Benoît (FRA)
AVAR: WATTELLIER, Éric (FRA)
OBS: TEAN, Alexandru (MDA)

12 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Qarabağ - Vestri: Aian Äljanov KAZ
      Dynamo Kyiv - U. Cluj: Stijn Hutsebaut BEL
      Sheriff - Aluminij: Rodney Pisani MLT
      Hajduk - Žilina: Paul Daniel Zaharia ROU
      CSKA Sofia - Derry: Metin Kazancıoğlu TUR
      Vojvodina - Ferencváros: Vyacheslav Semionov RUS

      Delete
  2. I’ve read Collina’s statement, but my biggest question is why he didn’t speak out at an earlier stage of the tournament. After all, there were at least two decisions in Argentina’s favour that were highly questionable, or clearly wrong.

    My other complaint is that, given we know this is a crucial aspect of the system—whether or not the referee has already made a decision on the field — why doesn't he have the referee announce it?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Decisions that Anass considers as « clearly wrong ». Not me. Not Collina. Be humble please in your formulations.

      Delete
    2. The problem is that questionable decisions are always going for the same team. How can you explain eight penalties since the start of the WC 2022, how can you explain YC per foul statistics etc? This is the reason why more and more people talk about the integrity of the refereeing :(

      Delete
  3. @ Referee Analyst

    You’re full force defending Letexier as if he’s your pet, but you can’t seriously claim he had a good game. He simply wasn’t at his best, and plenty of people agree with that - including Mikael, Chefren, and several long-time referee accounts.

    The reality is that Letexier and his management have created this situation themselves. One week he sets an extremely high foul threshold, the next he disallows a goal because of a step on someone’s little toe. That inconsistency is exactly why people are talking about him like this.

    And let’s be honest: if this had been Zwayer, you’d have absolutely torn him apart.

    As for Collina saying the decision was correct - what else is he supposed to do? He’s in an impossible position. On one hand, FIFA wants referees to let more play go for the sake of entertainment. On the other, he has to protect referees from the abuse and even death threats that follow controversial decisions. So of course he’s going to back his referee publicly. But that doesn’t mean Letexier had a “GOOD” game.

    And no, the LOTG aren’t nearly as black and white as you and Collina try to make them sound. Refereeing has always involved interpretation, consistency, and context - not just reading a sentence from the law book.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Gland to see an unknown unknown person gave a lesson of LOTG to Collina. Thks for the show.

      Delete
    2. Great comment, Referee analyst. Perfectly agree

      Delete
  4. UEL Q1, 1st leg
    Hajduk (CRO) - Zilina (SVK)
    R: K. Athanasiou (CYP), VAR: G.Cuadadra Fernandez (ESP)

    1´ Correct dellayed flag (AR2) Haj player was offside
    3´ Correct no penalty given in favour Haj, arm was close to body and there was unexpected ball
    17´ Correct no penalty given in favour Haj, Zil1 played ball first so fair challenge
    25´ Correct preventive action before corner kick
    33´ Missed clear Haj28? trip on Zil7
    44´ Correct blatant holding whistled in favour Haj

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. 59´ Correct no penalty given in favour of Zil, fair shoulder to shoulder challenge
      60´ Correct preventive action before corner kick
      65´ Correct public warning to Zil11, bit late challenge according body language after information from 4O
      76´ Superb advantage after Haj foul, Zil95 nearly scored
      78´ Correct 1st YC in the match, Haj11 for holding, SPA and also lack of respect
      83´ Correct YC for Haj32, holding-lack of respect
      90´ Referee correctly ask Haj21 to leave pitch after medical team was called
      90+1´ Correct YC given to Zil24, reckless tackle

      Delete

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