Europa League: A Portuguese referee

UEFA has designated the refereeing team who will be in charge of the first leg of the Play-off between Stade Rennais and Red Star Belgrade, in Serbia next Thursday.

After having been referred by a Cypriot and a Finnish referee, Stade Rennes will now be under the orders of a Portuguese referee: Mr. Duarte Gomes, 38, is a long serving Liga Sagres official. An international referee since 2008, he also has a solid experience of European competitions. A few days ago, he refereed a Europa League between English side Fulham and the Croatians of RNK Split.

The Rennais will also have to be careful during that game, since Mr. Gomes is known for his “happy trigger” refereeing. The Portuguese referee gives an average five yellow cards per game, and a red card every three games.