Daniel Siebert has been named as the referee for Italy’s Nations League match against Belgium, according to Football Italia. The German official is set to take charge of the meeting at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome on Friday.
Italy vs Belgium assistants and VAR team
Football Italia names Jan Seidel and Rafael Foltyn as the assistants who will work alongside Siebert for the encounter. Sascha Stegemann is also included in the reported officiating team and will serve as the fourth official.
Bastian Dankert will take the VAR role, while Pascal Muller has been named as assistant VAR for the fixture. Football Italia reports that the video officiating team, like referee Siebert, is German.
Siebert’s profile and previous Italy and Belgium matches
In its profile of the referee, Football Italia describes Siebert as 42 years old. It also reports that he officiated last season’s Champions League final, when Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal were the two teams involved.
Football Italia identifies two previous Italy matches that Siebert refereed, covering a European Championship encounter and a friendly. In September 2019, he took charge of Italy’s match away to Armenia, which ended in a 3-1 victory for the visitors.
The other Italy game cited by the outlet was against Moldova in October 2020. That fixture was a friendly, with Italy recording a 6-0 win in the match overseen by Siebert.
The report also recalls a previous Nations League assignment involving Belgium. Siebert officiated their semi-final against France in October 2021, when Belgium were beaten 3-2.
Kick-off time and Italy’s preparations
For Friday’s fixture in Rome, kick-off is scheduled for 19.45 UK time, or 20.45 CEST, according to Football Italia’s fixture report.
In a separate preparations update, Football Italia describes the encounter with Belgium as Italy’s opening match of the Nations League campaign. It reports that the Azzurri have entered their third day of work ahead of the opener, with the squad’s preparations continuing at Coverciano.
France and Turkiye complete the group alongside Italy and Belgium. Football Italia’s fixture report states that France and Turkiye will face each other in the other group match on the same day.