UEFA has determined the refereeing crew for the UEFA Nations League qualifying match between the national teams of Northern Ireland and Ukraine. This is reported by Sport RBC.UA, citing the official website of the European football governing body. Frenchman François Letexier has been appointed as the main referee of the match, which will take place at Windsor Park stadium in Belfast.

Crew composition: predominantly French referees

Letexier will be assisted on the sidelines by his compatriots Cyrille Mugnier and Mehdi Rahmouni. The duties of the fourth official have also been assigned to a French representative, Jérémy Stinat. The Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system will be operated by Germany's Robert Schröder, with France's Éric Wattellier acting as his assistant. Thus, key roles in the crew are held by referees from two countries, with the French refereeing school represented in the majority of positions.

Letexier and Ukrainian football: not a first experience

For François Letexier, working at matches involving representatives of Ukrainian football is nothing new. According to Sport RBC.UA, the Frenchman has previously officiated European cup matches featuring Ukrainian clubs twice. In the 2022/23 season, he refereed Dynamo Kyiv's encounter against Sturm, which ended in a 1:0 victory for the Ukrainian side. Earlier, in the 2020/21 season, Letexier worked on Shakhtar Donetsk's match against Maccabi Tel Aviv, where the Donetsk team secured a 2:0 win.

Match context and stakes for the Ukrainian national team

The Northern Ireland vs Ukraine fixture is scheduled for November 14, with kickoff at 21:45 Kyiv time. This match carries significant tournament importance for the Ukrainian national team: the team needs to secure victories to improve its position in Group B2 of the Nations League. Additionally, it is noted that ahead of this match, forward Artem Dovbyk received an urgent call-up to the national team.

Conclusion

Thus, the fate of the key Group B2 Nations League match will depend on the decisions of the French refereeing crew led by François Letexier, who already has a positive track record with Ukrainian teams in European competitions. The match will be held in Belfast at Windsor Park and will become one of the central events of the matchday for Ukrainian football.