The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) has determined the refereeing crew that will officiate the second-round match of the UEFA Nations League between the national teams of Georgia and Ukraine. The upcoming encounter is generating heightened interest not only because of the tournament standings, but also due to the figure of the main referee, whose appointment has already triggered a wave of discussions in the sports community.
UEFA Decision and Refereeing Crew Composition
The group match, which will take place at a stadium in Tbilisi, has been entrusted to an Azerbaijani refereeing crew. Experienced 38-year-old referee Aliyar Aghayev has been appointed as the main official. He will be assisted on the sidelines by compatriots Zeynal Zeynalov and Akif Amirali, while Rauf Jabbarov will serve as the fourth official. The Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system will be operated by Italy's Aleandro Di Paolo and Azerbaijan's Inglab Mammadov, ensuring high technological control over controversial episodes on the pitch.Background and Controversial Referee Background
The figure of the match's main referee is attracting close attention from Ukrainian fans and sports media for a reason. The main cause lies in last year's events, when Aliyar Aghayev, along with his permanent assistants Zeynalov and Amirali, visited Moscow. There, the Azerbaijani refereeing crew officiated a friendly match between the national teams of Russia and Nigeria, which caused a sharply negative reaction against the backdrop of the ongoing international isolation of Russian sports.Controversial Data
It is worth noting that a certain informational tension surrounds the work and public stance of Aliyar Aghayev. When journalists attempted to get comments from the Azerbaijani referee regarding his trip to the aggressor country while he was working at a European club match involving Zhytomyr's Polissya, the referee chose to completely ignore the press's questions. Nevertheless, despite reputational issues, UEFA continues to trust him with international-level matches involving Ukrainian teams.
