SCOTLAND will hope the appointment of Polish referee Daniel Stefanski continues to be a good omen in Israel tomorrow night.
The 41-year-old was the man in the middle earlier this season as Rangers defeated Russian outfit Ufa in the Europa League play-off round, with a Connor Goldson effort enough to secure a 1-0 win on an electric night at Ibrox.
Steven Gerrard’s men went on to finish the job with nine men in the second leg to book their place in the group phase.
Stefanski also played a part in one of Aberdeen’s finest Europa League results of recent years.
He awarded the Dons a first-half penalty against Groningen at the Noordlease Stadion in 2014 – converted by Niall McGinn – as the Scots claimed a laudable 2-1 aggregate triumph in the Europa League second qualifying round.
Stefanski will be assisted by compatriots Marcin Boniek and Dawid Igor Golis, with Bartosz Frankowski and Zbigniew Dobrynin serving as additional assistant referees. Krzysztof Myrmus will be the fourth official.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here