UEFA assign referee for Champions League match between Celtic and Manchester City

We have an official whistle blower for the next Manchester City match in Europe.

The European Federation announced that Nicola Rizzoli of Italy has been appointed to officiate the UEFA Champions League match between Celtic and Manchester City, on Wednesday night at Celtic Park, in Glasgow. This will be Rizzoli's second European Cup assignment this season (Young Boys vs Borussia Mönchengladbach).

Rizzoli is perhaps the top referee in football today, and his biggest assignment was the 2014 World Cup Final at the Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro between Germany and Argentina, won by the Germans two years ago. Rizzoli also took care of the EURO 2016 semifinal between Germany and France last summer. In the Champions League, the Italian officiated the semifinal between Barcelona and Bayern Munich two seasons ago, along with other big matches in the European Cup.

The 44-year-old was the referee in only one Man City match, in the quarterfinals of the 2009 UEFA Cup, now called the Europa League, against Hamburg.

This is the full match official list for Wednesday's game at Celtic Park:

Referee: Nicola Rizzoli (ITA)

Assistant referees: Elenito Di Liberatore (ITA), Mauro Tonolini (ITA)

Additional assistant referees: Antonio Damato (ITA), Massimiliano Irrati (ITA)