Referee who made five major errors handed Celtic vs Ferencvaros Europa League clash

Celtic’s Europa League opener against Ferencvaros will be overseen by Croatian referee Patrik Kolaric, who will take charge of his first match at this level of the competition.

Martin O’Neill’s side begin their league-phase campaign against the Hungarian champions at Celtic Park on Thursday night as they look to bounce back from Sunday’s 3-0 defeat to Rangers.

UEFA have appointed 31-year-old Kolaric as the man in the middle, with the Croatian having previously refereed in the Europa Conference League but never at this stage of the Europa League.

Kolaric made headlines in his homeland earlier this year following a controversial Croatian Cup quarter-final between Rijeka and Hajduk Split.

The Croatian FA’s refereeing department subsequently ruled that Kolaric had made five major errors during the goalless draw.

He was deemed to have incorrectly failed to dismiss Hajduk’s Roni Racia for denying a promising goalscoring opportunity, while Ante Rebic also escaped a red card for violent conduct.

Kolaric was also involved in three contentious penalty decisions, two of which were eventually overturned following VAR intervention.

Bertrand Layec, the Croatian FA’s head of refereeing, later apologised to Rijeka, while Kolaric was not appointed to a match the following week.

The 31-year-old has since returned to regular action and has already taken charge of two Europa Conference League fixtures this season.

Kolaric has also shown two red cards across his last four matches ahead of his trip to Glasgow, where he will make his Europa League bow in Celtic’s opening league-phase encounter.