England’s opening match at Euro 2024 is set to be refereed by an official who was overcome with emotion after a game last month.
The Three Lions will face Serbia in Gelsenkirchen on Sunday night as they aim to make the perfect start to their campaign.
The officials for the Group C showdown have been confirmed, and it will be Italy’s Daniele Orsato who takes charge of the contest.
Orsato, 48, has been a FIFA-listed referee since 2010, and this summer’s tournament is set to be his final one as the man in the middle.
He will hang up his whistle for the last time after Euro 2024, and last month he officiated his final Champions League game when PSG took on Borussia Dortmund in the second leg of their semi-final at the Parc des Princes.
Referee Danielle Orsato burst into tears after refereeing his final Champions League game
Orsato was widely praised for his performance in his last Champions League outing
It was an exhilarating game, with PSG hitting the woodwork on four occasions, only for Mats Hummels to score the winning goal on the night to seal a 2-0 aggregate win for the German side.
As he blew the final whistle, Orsato, who was widely praised for his performance, burst into tears, knowing that he would never referee a Champions League match again.
But his time at the highest level is not over yet, and Gareth Southgate’s men will hope to keep on the right side of his decisions this weekend.
Orsato will be joined by two Italian assistants in the shape of Ciro Carbone and Alessandro Giallatini, while the fourth official is Slovakia’s Ivan Kruzliak.
England’s preparations have largely gone well so far this week, with key defender John Stones returning to training on Thursday after a sickness bug, while Luke Shaw is also back on the grass after four months out.
But Serbia have vowed to exploit England’s ‘flaws’ and captain Harry Kane has warned his team-mates about the aerial threats that Serbia have in their side.
