Banti appointed for Gelsenkirchen match
Italian referee Luca Banti will take charge of Wednesday’s UEFA Europa League encounter between FC Schalke 04 and PAOK in Veltins-Arena.
Born on 27 March 1974 in Livorno, Italy, Luca Banti made his Serie A debut in 2005 and earned his FIFA badge in 2009.
It’s the third time that PAOK cross paths with the Italian referee. He handled their home game against Vålerenga Fotball on 6 August 2009. The Norwegians won 1-0, but the “Double-Headed Eagle” celebrated qualification. He also officiated at PAOK’s 1-1 draw in the Netherlands against AZ, a match corresponding to the UEFA Europa League group stage of 2013-14.
The encounter between PAOK and Vålerenga Fotball was the maiden European match in Banti’s refereeing career. Since then he has been assigned qualifiers, group stage matches and last 32 stage encounters of the UEFA Europa League, UEFA Champions League qualifying games, as well as UEFA Euro and FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
The 42-year old will be accompanied in Germany by Mauro Tonolini and Matteo Passeri, the assistant referees, with Andrea Crispo acting as fourth official. Paolo Valeri and Marco Guida complete the team as additional assistant referees.
