Israeli Grinfeld to referee in Toumba on Wednesday
Orel Grinfeld from Israel has been assigned by UEFA the first-leg encounter of PAOK in Toumba Stadium against FC Spartak Moscow for the UEFA Champions League 3rd qualifying round.
Born on 21 August 1981 in Israel, Orel Grinfeld earned his FIFA badge in 2012. He started his international career with youth national teams’ matches of FIFA and UEFA.
On 12 July 2012, he officiated FK Šiauliai–FCI Levadia Tallinn, his first UEFA Europa League qualifying encounter. The home side prevailed 2-1.
Since then, he has been appointed to qualifying games and group stage encounters of the UEFA Europa League. In the summer of 2016, he also took charge of the UEFA Champions League 2nd round qualifier between Qarabağ FK and F91 Dudelange (the Azeri outfit won 2-0).
Wednesday’s encounter is the second of Grinfeld in the competition and also marks the second time the Israeli referee is appointed in a match featuring a Greek side. He had refereed Olympiakos’s match at Astana (1-1) two years ago for the UEFA Europa League group stage.
The Israeli referee will be accompanied in Toumba Stadium by his countrymen Idan Yarkoni and Roy Hassan, the assistant referees, with Alon Yefet acting as fourth official. Konrad Plautz from Austria is the UEFA Referee Observer for the match.
