EURO 2024: Who is the referee in Serbia vs England Group C match?

England, the runner-up of the last edition of the European Championships, will look to start the 2024 edition on a high when it takes on Serbia at the Arena Auf Schalke on June 16.

The Three Lions come into the tournament after a shocking 0-1 loss to Iceland in the friendlies – an opponent it was knocked out against, in the Euros, eight years ago – and will be cautious of considering Serbia as a pushover.

WHO IS THE REFEREE?

Daniele Orsato from Italy will be the referee for the EURO 2024 match between England and Serbia. Orsato has previously officiated in the UEFA Champions League final in 2019-20 when Bayern Munich beat Paris Saint-Germain 1-0.

Having started as a referee in 2010, he officiated in qualifying games for Euro 2012 and FIFA World Cup 2014. He has been a regular referee in the Champions League, taking charge in multiple round-of-16 clashes.

His latest match in the UCL was the semifinal between Paris Saint-Germain and Dortmund, where he was appreciated for giving a free-kick instead of a penalty to PSG when, in real-time, it appeared that Mats Hummels had fouled Ousmane Dembele inside the box.

PSG’s Marquinhos, centre, argues with referee Daniele Orsato during the Champions League semifinal second leg against Borussia Dortmund.
| Photo Credit:
AP

However, the replay showed Orsato was correct. The Italian was vested with the responsibility to officiate in the opening match of the FIFA World Cup 2022, between host Qatar and Ecuador.

Orsato drew a lot of criticism for the World Cup semifinal between Croatia and Argentina, after which Croat captain Luka Modric called the refereeing ‘a disaster’.

FULL LIST OF MATCH OFFICIALS

• Assistant referees – Ciro Carbone – Italy, Alessandro Giallatini – Italy
• Video Assistant Referee – Massimiliano Irrati – Italy
• Assistant Video Assistant Referee 1 – Paolo Valeri – Italy
• Assistant Video Assistant Referee 2 – Cătălin Popa – Romania
• Fourth official – Ivan Kružliak – Slovakia