Meet the ref- Nicola Rizzoli
The 41-year-old is starting his fifth season refereeing in the Champions League and took charge of Celtic’s 1-0 defeat from Moscow Dynamo in 2009.
Rizzoli took charge of England’s Euro 2012 qualifier with France with the English media unhappy at his willingness to dish out yellow cards to their side.
Euro 2012 was Rizzoli’s first major competition and prompted comparisions to Pierluigi Collina.
Rizzoli averages 4.89 cards per game in Serie A which is one of the highest but his red card rate of 0.21 is below average.
In January 2012 he was chosen as the ‘best referee’ by the Italian Footballers’ Association (AIC) at the Oscar del Calcio awards, a similar award is unlikely in Scotland due to lack of suitable candidates.
Celtic’s build up to the match is likely to be dominated by injuries news with almost a full team sidelined from Saturday’s defeat at St Johnstone.
Joe Ledley and Beram Kayal are unlikely to be fit in time reducing Neil Lennon’s midfield options.
Both men haven’t played since the 2-0 win away to Helsingborg last month with Filip Twardzik and Paddy McCourt also rated doubtful for the match.
The arrival of new signing Efe Ambrose could give Lennon the option to play Charlie Mulgrew in midfield.
Benfica are expecting to find out today if the two month domestic suspension imposed on defender Luisao is applied internationally.
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