Romanian ref returns to Tallaght to take charge of Shamrock Rovers tie on Thursday

Ethan Ampadu of Wales looks dejected with team mate Gareth Bale after he is shown a red card by Match Referee, Ovidiu Hategan during the UEFA Euro 2020 Championship Group A match between Italy and Wales at Olimpico Stadium on June 20, 2021 in Rome, Italy.

Ethan Ampadu of Wales looks dejected with team mate Gareth Bale after he is shown a red card by Match Referee, Ovidiu Hategan during the UEFA Euro 2020 Championship Group A match between Italy and Wales at Olimpico Stadium on June 20, 2021 in Rome, Italy. Credit: Photo by Valerio Pennicino - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images

Ovidiu Hațegan from Romania will referee Thursday evening’s finely poised Europe League qualifier between Shamrock Rovers and NK Celje.

The Hoops lost the first leg of their third qualifying round tie in the Europa League last week 1-0 on a cabbage patch of a pitch in Slovenia.

It won’t be Hațegan’s first time taking charge of a match involving an Irish side in Europe or one in Dublin 24. He was the referee for St. Patrick’s Athletic 3-1 loss to Karpaty Lviv in the Europa League qualifier held in Tallaght Stadium in August 2011.

He was also the official in charge when Ireland beat Italy 1-0 in Lille at EURO 2016 and took charge of two matches in the 2020 European Championships including 

He controversially awarded a penalty in the 2018 World Cup play-off to Switzerland which saw the elimination of Michael O’Neill’s Northern Ireland side.

He suffered a heart attack in March 2022, only returning to the field in a June 2023.

Should Rovers win the tie they will guarantee themselves group stage football in at least the Conference League and a shot at the Europa League groups stages if they can overcome the loser of the Malmo and PAOK Champions League tie who will drop into the Europa League play-off round – the first leg finished 2-2 in Sweden.

The losers of this third round qualifier will face a long trek in the play-off of the Conference League qualifiers as they will face the winners of the contest between Ordabasy of Kazakhstan and Pyunik of Armenia for a last shot at group stage football. Pyunik won the first leg 1-0 in Kazakhstan.

Win the tie on Thursday and it will be a more straightforward trip to either Sweden or Greece and the knowledge that they will have group stage football already in the bag (plus a cheque from UEFA of in excess of €4 million).

 



 

 

 

About Macdara Ferris

Macdara Ferris is a contributor since 2007 to Hoops Scene (Shamrock Rovers' match day programme) and is the co-author of two books on Shamrock Rovers - 'Tallaght Time: Shamrock Rovers 2009 to 2012' (with Karl … View Full Profile