Experienced Dutch referee Danny Makkelie will lead the officiating team for Roma’s decisive Europa League semi-final clash with Bayer Leverkusen.
Daniele De Rossi’s Giallorossi have a mountain to climb in the second leg of their European semi-final tie with the German champions, needing to overcome a 2-0 deficit after their painful defeat to Xabi Alonso’s side in the first leg back in Rome.
Roma now have to find a way to hand Bayer Leverkusen their first defeat of the season, a tough but not impossible task for De Rossi and his players. Romelu Lukaku is expected to start, whilst Paulo Dybala will likely come off the bench in the second half.
Who is Makkelie?
Makkelie will lead the all-Dutch officiating team for the second leg of the Europa League semi-final between Bayer Leverkusen and Roma.
The 41-year-old referee has heaps of experience at the highest level, overseeing six Champions League matches earlier this season, including Inter’s win over Benfica in the group stage and Bayern Munich’s win over Arsenal in the quarter-finals.
Makkelie was the leading official for Inter’s Europa League final loss to Sevilla back in the 2019-20 campaign. He’s overseen three Roma matches in the past – a Europa League play-off win over Villarreal in 2017, a Champions League loss to Barcelona in 2018 and a Champions League win over Porto in 2019.