2026/27 UEFA Nations League Matchday 1 Referees and Officials Appointments
The 2026/27 UEFA Nations League begins on September 24, 2026, with Matchday 1 fixtures across Leagues A, B, C, and D.
UEFA has confirmed the referee teams for the opening matches. The appointments include referees, assistant referees, fourth officials, VAR officials, assistant VAR officials, referee observers, and UEFA delegates.
2026/27 UEFA Nations League Matchday 1 Schedule
Matchday 1 begins on Thursday, September 24, before continuing with more fixtures on Friday, September 25.
Several major League A matches headline the opening round, including Netherlands vs. Germany, Portugal vs. Wales, Italy vs. Belgium, and Türkiye vs. France.
Thursday, September 24, 2026 Referee Appointments
Andorra vs. Malta
League D, Group 1
Venue: Estadi FAF, Encamp
Kick-off: 18:00 CET
Referee: Joey Kooij (NED)
Assistant Referee 1: Dyon Fikkert (NED)
Assistant Referee 2: Murat Kücükerbir (NED)
Fourth Official: Jannick van der Laan (NED)
VAR: Richard Martens (NED)
Assistant VAR: Robin Hensgens (NED)
UEFA Referee Observer: David Malcolm (NIR)
UEFA Delegate: Jiří Novák (CZE)
Netherlands vs. Germany
League A, Group 2
Venue: Johan Cruijff ArenA, Amsterdam
Kick-off: 20:45 CET
Referee: Alejandro José Hernández Hernández (ESP)
Assistant Referee 1: José Enrique Naranjo Pérez (ESP)
Assistant Referee 2: Diego Sánchez Rojo (ESP)
Fourth Official: Alejandro Quintero González (ESP)
VAR: Carlos del Cerro Grande (ESP)
Assistant VAR: Javier Iglesias Villanueva (ESP)
UEFA Referee Observer: Domenico Messina (ITA)
UEFA Delegate: Philippe Prudhon (FRA)
Serbia vs. Greece
League A, Group 2
Venue: Stadion Rajko Mitić, Belgrade
Kick-off: 20:45 CET
Referee: Glenn Nyberg (SWE)
Assistant Referee 1: Mahbod Beigi (SWE)
Assistant Referee 2: Andreas Söderkvist (SWE)
Fourth Official: Adam Ladebäck (SWE)
VAR: Guillermo Cuadra Fernández (ESP)
Assistant VAR: César Soto Grado (ESP)
UEFA Referee Observer: Fredy Fautrel (FRA)
UEFA Delegate: Armen Minasyan (ARM)
Portugal vs. Wales
League A, Group 4
Venue: Estádio José Alvalade, Lisbon
Kick-off: 20:45 CET
Referee: Donatas Rumšas (LTU)
Assistant Referee 1: Aleksandr Radiuš (LTU)
Assistant Referee 2: Dovydas Sužiedėlis (LTU)
Fourth Official: Robertas Valikonis (LTU)
VAR: Sören Storks (GER)
Assistant VAR: Donatas Šimėnas (LTU)
UEFA Referee Observer: Gianluca Rocchi (ITA)
UEFA Delegate: Charles Schaack (LUX)
Norway vs. Denmark
League A, Group 4
Venue: Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo
Kick-off: 20:45 CET
Referee: Tobias Stieler (GER)
Assistant Referee 1: Lasse Koslowski (GER)
Assistant Referee 2: Jonas Weickenmeier (GER)
Fourth Official: Matthias Jöllenbeck (GER)
VAR: Robert Schröder (GER)
Assistant VAR: Patrick Hanslbauer (GER)
UEFA Referee Observer: Leslie Irvine (NIR)
UEFA Delegate: Peter Oskam (NED)
Austria vs. Israel
League B, Group 3
Venue: Raiffeisen Arena, Linz
Kick-off: 20:45 CET
Referee: Georgi Kabakov (BUL)
Assistant Referee 1: Martin Margaritov (BUL)
Assistant Referee 2: Martin Venev (BUL)
Fourth Official: Radoslav Gidzhenov (BUL)
VAR: Tiago Bruno Lopes Martins (POR)
Assistant VAR: Nikola Popov (BUL)
UEFA Referee Observer: Draženko Kovačić (CRO)
UEFA Delegate: Virgar Hvidbro (FRO)
Kosovo vs. Republic of Ireland
League B, Group 3
Venue: Stadiumi “Fadil Vokrri”, Pristina
Kick-off: 20:45 CET
Referee: Lawrence Visser (BEL)
Assistant Referee 1: Ruben Wyns (BEL)
Assistant Referee 2: Michele Seeldraeyers (BEL)
Fourth Official: Kevin Van Damme (BEL)
VAR: Jan Boterberg (BEL)
Assistant VAR: Simon Bourdeaud'hui (BEL)
UEFA Referee Observer: William Young (SCO)
UEFA Delegate: Andrey Medintsev (BUL)
Liechtenstein vs. Lithuania
League D, Group 2
Venue: Rheinpark Stadion, Vaduz
Kick-off: 20:45 CET
Referee: Ante Čulina (CRO)
Assistant Referee 1: Dario Kolarević (CRO)
Assistant Referee 2: Kristijan Novosel (CRO)
Fourth Official: Antonio Melnjak (CRO)
VAR: Tihomir Pejin (CRO)
Assistant VAR: Fran Jović (CRO)
UEFA Referee Observer: Augustus Viorel Constantin (ROU)
UEFA Delegate: Andrew Dickson (SCO)
Friday, September 25, 2026 Referee Appointments
Georgia vs. Northern Ireland
League B, Group 2
Venue: Boris Paichadze National Stadium, Tbilisi
Kick-off: 18:00 CET
Referee: Orel Grinfeeld (ISR)
Assistant Referee 1: Roy Hassan (ISR)
Assistant Referee 2: Idan Yarkoni (ISR)
Fourth Official: Snir Levy (ISR)
VAR: Eli Hacmon (ISR)
Assistant VAR: Gal Leibovitz (ISR)
UEFA Referee Observer: Hannes Kaasik (EST)
UEFA Delegate: Adrian D. Casha (MLT)
Armenia vs. Latvia
League C, Group 2
Venue: Republican Stadium after Vazgen Sargsyan, Yerevan
Kick-off: 18:00 CET
Referee: Martin Matoša (SVN)
Assistant Referee 1: Matej Žunič (SVN)
Assistant Referee 2: Aleksandar Kasapovič (SVN)
Fourth Official: Mihael Antič (SVN)
VAR: Alen Borošak (SVN)
Assistant VAR: Aleksandar Matkovič (SVN)
UEFA Referee Observer: Martin Ingvarsson (SWE)
UEFA Delegate: Olzhas Abrayev (KAZ)
Italy vs. Belgium
League A, Group 1
Venue: Stadio Olimpico, Rome
Kick-off: 20:45 CET
Referee: Daniel Siebert (GER)
Assistant Referee 1: Jan Seidel (GER)
Assistant Referee 2: Rafael Foltyn (GER)
Fourth Official: Sascha Stegemann (GER)
VAR: Bastian Dankert (GER)
Assistant VAR: Pascal Müller (GER)
UEFA Referee Observer: Hugh Dallas (SCO)
UEFA Delegate: Peter Lundström (FIN)
Türkiye vs. France
League A, Group 1
Venue: Turka Kocaeli Stadyumu, Kocaeli
Kick-off: 20:45 CET
Referee: Felix Zwayer (GER)
Assistant Referee 1: Robert Kempter (GER)
Assistant Referee 2: Nikolai Kimmeyer (GER)
Fourth Official: Florian Badstübner (GER)
VAR: Christian Dingert (GER)
Assistant VAR: Johann Pfeifer (GER)
UEFA Referee Observer: René H.J. Temmink (NED)
UEFA Delegate: Bakar Jordania (GEO)
Hungary vs. Ukraine
League B, Group 2
Venue: Puskás Aréna, Budapest
Kick-off: 20:45 CET
Referee: Jarred Gillett (ENG)
Assistant Referee 1: Neil Davies (ENG)
Assistant Referee 2: Nick Greenhalgh (ENG)
Fourth Official: Robert Jones (ENG)
VAR: Andrew Dallas (SCO)
Assistant VAR: Peter Bankes (ENG)
UEFA Referee Observer: Carlos Velasco Carballo (ESP)
UEFA Delegate: Hristo Zapryanov (BUL)
Poland vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina
League B, Group 4
Venue: PGE Narodowy, Warsaw
Kick-off: 20:45 CET
Referee: Anastasios Papapetrou (GRE)
Assistant Referee 1: Tryfon Petropoulos (GRE)
Assistant Referee 2: Petros Patras (GRE)
Fourth Official: Fotios Polychronis (GRE)
VAR: Ioannis Papadopoulos (GRE)
Assistant VAR: Spyridon Zampalas (GRE)
UEFA Referee Observer: Stefan Meßner (AUT)
UEFA Delegate: Kim Hallberg (DEN)
Sweden vs. Romania
League B, Group 4
Venue: Strawberry Arena, Solna
Kick-off: 20:45 CET
Referee: Ondřej Berka (CZE)
Assistant Referee 1: Matěj Vlček (CZE)
Assistant Referee 2: Kamil Hajek (CZE)
Fourth Official: Ondrej Pechanec (CZE)
VAR: Michael Fabbri (ITA)
Assistant VAR: Karel Rouček (CZE)
UEFA Referee Observer: Marco Fritz (GER)
UEFA Delegate: István Huszár (HUN)
Montenegro vs. Cyprus
League C, Group 2
Venue: Gradski Stadion, Podgorica
Kick-off: 20:45 CET
Referee: Daniele Chiffi (ITA)
Assistant Referee 1: Alberto Tegoni (ITA)
Assistant Referee 2: Giorgio Peretti (ITA)
Fourth Official: Giovanni Ayroldi (ITA)
VAR: Luca Pairetto (ITA)
Assistant VAR: Federico La Penna (ITA)
UEFA Referee Observer: Georgi Vadachkoria (GEO)
UEFA Delegate: Victor Marius Radu (ROU)
2026/27 UEFA Nations League Matchday 1 Referee List
Matchday 1 features 16 fixtures across four Nations League divisions. The referee appointments cover a wide range of UEFA's officiating teams, with VAR support assigned to every match listed.
The opening round includes several high-profile League A encounters, with Netherlands vs. Germany, Portugal vs. Wales, Italy vs. Belgium, and Türkiye vs. France among the headline fixtures.
UEFA's confirmed appointments provide the full officiating details for the opening matches of the 2026/27 Nations League campaign.
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