Who is the referee for Rangers v Genk? Ref who awarded controversial Ibrox red card confirmed plus VAR details

Coming into the match on the back of a 2-0 win over Hibs, goals from Nico Raskin and Bojan Miovski have temporarily halted the pressure on head coach Russell Martin’s shoulders, and he’ll hope to give Rangers fans a further lift with a victory against their Belgian counterparts.

Visitors Genk come into the game on the back of a three-game losing streak, having fallen to an injury-time defeat to Union Saint-Gilloise at the weekend. However, head coach Thorsten Fink has told his players to play without pressure at Ibrox and has backed them to turn around their poor recent form in Glasgow.

Ahead of the game, we look at who UEFA has chosen as the match officials:

Who is the referee for Rangers v Genk?

The man in charge of Rangers’ opening game in the Europa League is Slovenian referee Matej Jug.

One of UEFA’s highest-ranking officials, he has taken charge of several Champions League, Europa League, and World Cup qualification games in his career, with a total of 65 UEFA games under his belt. The 44-year-old has gained a reputation as one of the most card-happy referees in the game during that time, though.

Awarding a total of 1,977 yellow cards (an average of 4.54 per game) and 44 red cards in his career. His yellow card average during the 2024/25 Europa League (seven games), was even higher at 39 yellows (5.57 average per game).

He has faced backlash for his decisions in high-profile matches and angered Rangers fans on his last visit to Ibrox. Sending off Daniel Candeias in the 44th minute of the 0-0 draw with Villarreal in the 2018/19 Europa League, Jug issued a second yellow card for a foul which supporters felt was innocuous and game-changing, leading to the referee being booed off the pitch at the break.

He has taken charge of three Scotland games too, including victories over the Faroe Islands and Albania. However, he was perhaps most notably the man in charge of the Tartan Army’s famous late 2-1 win over Norway in Oslo during the Euro 2024 qualifiers.

Rangers v Genk VAR and match officials

Jug will be assisted by Matej Zunic and Manuel Vidali, with Mihael Antic appointed as the fourth official. On VAR duties it will be Alen Borosak, and he will be assisted by Asmir Sagrkovic.

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