EUROPA LEAGUE
Who is the referee for the Europa League game between Manchester United and Real Betis at Old Trafford?
Here’s all the information on the man with the whistle at Old Trafford.
Manchester United host Real Betis in the Europa League with a place in the final 8 on the line (15:00 ET). The home team will be looking to forget their last outing on a football pitch, with the brutal 7 (seven) - 0 crushing of Liverpool fresh in the minds of, well, everyone. Real Betis, for their part, go into the game on the back of a promising 0-0 draw against Real Madrid at the Estadio Benito Villamarín at the weekend.
As for the Europa League, Manchester United knocked out FC Barcelona in the previous round, beating them 2-1 at Old Trafford after a 2-2 away draw. Real Betis didn’t participate in the previous knockout round, as they flew to the top of their group and stayed there, remaining unbeaten against AS Roma, HJK Helsinki and Ludogorets, losing only at home against the Italians.
Have Manchester United ever played against Real Betis?
This fixture has actually been played already this season, as the two sides faced each other during the break for the World Cup. On 10 December 2022, Real Betis got a 1-0 win over Manchester United in Seville, with Nabil Fekir getting the only goal in the second half. This result is largely irrelevant, given the depleted squads of both teams during this time, but the fixture will no doubt serve as a useful resource in the match preparations of both teams.
Who is the referee for the game?
The referee today is 38-year-old Berlin-born, Daniel Siebert. He has blown the whistle in 22 fixtures this season, giving five penalties and five red cards. He has been a referee since 1998, the same year Google was founded, and is now what FIFA call an ‘Elite’ level referee. He was in charge of 2 games during the World Cup 2022: Ghana 0-2 Uruguay and Tunisia 0-1 Australia.
Jan Seidel and Rafael Foltyn will be in charge of running up and down the sidelines and Daniel Schlager is the fourth official.
In the VAR room Marco Fritz will be in charge for the evening, with Benjamin Brad as his assistant. Let’s hope they have a quiet night.
