FIFA badge referee Matthew De Gabriele and FIFA badge assistant referee Luke Portelli are currently involved in the prestigious UEFA U-19’s European Championships held in Slovakia.
Both Maltese officials are part of a selection of European referees that will be monitored closely by four experienced referee observers in Denmark’s Jorn Larsen, Spain’s Juan Antonio Marin, Portugal’s Vitor Manuel Pereira and Marian Ruzbarsky of Slovakia.
De Gabriele and Portelli’s first taste of action was last Sunday when the former was named as fourth official whereas the latter was an assistant referee during the match between England and Austria.
The first appointment as referee for De Gabriele will be on Tuesday when he will take charge of Romania vs France with Portelli to be one of the two assistant referees.
