The Pamplona-born referee made his Primera División debut in October 2000, at the age of 26. In 2004 he earned his FIFA badge and began officiating UEFA Cup matches. His first UEFA Champions League match was a tie between FC Bayern München and FC Spartak Moscow in 2007, when he joined UEFA’s elite refereeing category.

He is also assigned FIFA encounters and refereed FIFA World Cup matches in 2010 in South Africa. In 2005 and 2007 he was voted best referee in Spain. He also works as sociologist.

At Toumba he will be accompanied by Roberto Díaz Pérez del Palomar and Juan Yuste, the assistant referees, with Eduardo Prieto Iglesias acting as fourth official.

Maltese Adrian D. Casha will the Referee Observer, while Roland Ospelt from Liechtenstein is the UEFA Delegate for the encounter.