Belgian De Bleeckere to referee Champions League debut

Belgian De Bleeckere to referee Champions League debut

One of the most experienced referees in the business has been selected as the match official for Juventus' return in the Champions League proper. Indeed Frank De Bleeckere, who hails from Belgium, will referee Wednesday's game against Zenit. He recently refereed the Spain vs. Russia semi-final at the European Championships in Switzerland and Austria.

De Bleeckere has refereed Juventus twice before. The first time, back in 1999, in a UEFA Cup match against Levski Sofia, in Turin, which ended 1-1 (Kovacevic scored the goal). The second time is more recent and not a happy memory for the Bianconeri. De Bleeckere was at Anfield Road for the Liverpool vs. Juventus clash in the 2004/05 edition of the Champions League, a game which ended 2-1 for the English side (Cannavaro scoring for the Bianconeri), who would then go on to knock out Juventus by drawing 0-0 at the Delle Alpi in the second leg.

The many Zenit players who are part of the Russian National team have the fresh memory of the game against the Spaniards when they were denied a place in the European Final.

The other officials at the Olimpico will also be from Belgium. Peter Hermans and Alex Verstraeten will be the assistant referees, while Peter Vervecken will be acting as the fourth official.

*juventus.com