By James Cormack
Much was made of the officiating the last time England played in a quarter-final at a major tournament.
The occasion arrived merely 18 months ago in Qatar, with the Three Lions cruelly succumbing 2-1 to France after Harry Kane missed a late penalty. Despite awarding Gareth Southgate's side two second-half penalties, the performance of Brazilian referee Wilton Sampaio was widely ridiculed - primarily because of foul on Bukayo Saka he failed to spot in the build-up to Aurelien Tchouameni's opener.
A fairly impressive performance against the French following a stellar World Cup campaign meant Sampaio was scapegoated despite Kane's late blunder from 12 yards. Supporters were sympathetic towards Southgate's side, but there won't be similar leeway should Switzerland topple England in Dusseldorf on Saturday night.
It's a big occasion with English supporters hopeful that their late show against Slovakia will galvanise Southgate's struggling side.
Here's everything you need to know about the man in charge of England's Euro 2024 quarter-final against the Swiss.
Who will referee England vs Switzerland at Euro 2024?
48-year-old Italian referee Daniele Orsato will be the man in the middle of Saturday's quarter-final in Dusseldorf.
Orsato will be complemented by fellow Italian assistants Ciro Carbone and Alessandro Giallatini, while Massimiliano Irrati is the VAR. German Daniel Siebert will assume fourth official duties.
This will be the fourth game of Euro 2024 refereed by Orsato, with the Serie A official taking charge of Portugal's penalty shootout victory over Slovenia in the last16. The Italian awarded Portugal a penalty in extra time for a foul on Diogo Jota, but the subsequent spot-kick was missed by Cristiano Ronaldo.
How experienced is Daniele Orsato?
Orsato is certainly a familiar face having been a FIFA referee since 2010. While his reputation isn't perhaps as lofty as some of his counterparts, the Italian is nonetheless hugely experienced having taken charge of several high-profile encounters.
The 48-year-old has been regarded among Italy's best referees over the past decade and has officiated multiple Coppa Italia finals. His greatest honour, however, arrived during the Covid-hit 2019/20 season as he took charge of the Champions League final between Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain.
Orstato has officiated in Serie A since 2006 and is currently working at his third major tournament having previously refereed matches at Euro 2020 and the 2022 World Cup. He has also confirmed that he'll be hanging up his whistle following the conclusion of this tournament, so there's a strong chance that Saturday's game will be the last of his career.
Has Daniele Orsato ever refereed England before?
England would've done well to avoid Orsato given that he's been on the international scene for 14 years. In fact, the Italian has already overseen a Three Lions game at Euro 2024. Orsato was in charge of their opening game victory over Serbia.
He also officiated England's 1-0 win against Croatia which kicked off their journey to the final of Euro 2020.
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This article was originally published on 90min.com as Who is the referee for England vs Switzerland?.
