Celtic’s biggest test of the season awaits on Tuesday night as they face Kairat Almaty in the second leg of the Champions League play-off.
Kairat held Celtic to a goalless draw at Celtic Park on Wednesday night and know that the Hoops now have to make the same gruelling journey to Almaty.
Benjamin Nygren’s brace against Livingston gave Brendan Rodgers’ side some confidence coming into the game, especially as Kairat have four players ruled out through injury.
Ahead of the massive Champions League game, UEFA have confirmed who will be the referee for the game.
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UEFA announce referee for Kairat Almaty vs Celtic clash
The second leg is expected to be a feisty encounter in Almaty and the man in the middle tasked with keeping order is Italian Maurizio Mariani, as per the UEFA website.
He will be joined by Daniele Bindoni and Alberto Tegoni as the two assistants.
Operating as the fourth official is Matteo Marchetti and then working on VAR is Marco Di Bello and his assistant is Valerio Marini.
Maurizio Mariani was demoted after controversial penalty call
Both teams will be hoping that Mariani has learned from his mistakes in the past.
In November 2024, the 43-year-old was demoted to Serie B after he awarded Inter Milan a controversial penalty in their game against Napoli.
Mariani pointed to the spot after accusing Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa of clipping Denzel Dumfries in the box, despite replays showing there was no contact.
As a result, he was demoted to Serie B as punishment but has since returned to the top flight of Italian football.
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