Belgian referee appointed to Celtic's Iceland Euro tie
- By Adam Higgins
- Jul 20, 2015
- 2 min read
Belgian referee Jonathan Lardot will take charge of the second leg of Celtic's Champions League second qualifying round tie against FC Stjarnan on Wednesday.
The 31-year-old from Ouffet is the man in the middle at the Samsungvollur in Gardabaer with the Hoops holding a 2-0 lead from last week’s first leg against the Icelandic champions.
He will be assisted by linesmen Laurent Conotte and Frederic Godelaine while the fourth official is Denis Vanbecelaere.
Lardot made his debut in the Belgian Pro League in the 2010-11 season and became a Uefa Category Three official in the same year.
Having regularly officiated in the Europa League qualifiers and at the Under-17s, Under-19s and Under-21s European Championships, this will be the first time the marketing executive will oversee a Champions League game.
He was involved in the Uefa Under-17 Euro tournament in Malta in May 2014 and was appointed to the semi-final between the Netherlands and Scotland.
Larbot, who has a reputation for issuing red cards and awarding penalties, has encountered Scottish sides in Europe before after officiating St Johnstone’s 1-1 draw with Luzern at McDiarmid Park last season in the Europa League second qualifying round.
He speaks Dutch, English and French and, aside from refereeing, works in administration management.
Scottish champions Celtic are well placed to advance to the next phase after goals from debutant Dedryck Boyata and Stefan Johansen gave Ronny Deila’s team an assured victory at Parkhead last Wednesday night.
German referee Daniel Siebert also awarded the Hoops a penalty, which Leigh Griffiths missed after squabbling with Johansen over who should take the spotkick.
The winners will face either Azerbaijan’s Qarabag or Montenegro’s Rudar Pljevlja in the third qualifying round.
The Stjarnan tie on July 22 is scheduled to kick off at 20:15 BST and will be screened live on BT Sport.
Elsewhere, Scottish referee Kevin Clancy will be assisted by Graham Chambers, Francis Connor and fourth official Nick Walsh for the Champions League second qualifying round second leg between Poland’s Lech Poznan and Bosnia’s FK Sarajevo at the Municipal Stadium on Wednesday.
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