Italian Referee Davide Massa to Officiate Hapoel Be'er Sheva's Crucial Champions League Playoff Match

Hapoel Be'er Sheva is set to host Azerbaijani club Sabah in a pivotal UEFA Champions League playoff match on Wednesday, marking one of the most significant games in the Israeli club's history. The match will be broadcast on Sport 5. The referee appointed for this encounter is Davide Massa, a 45-year-old Italian official who has been a Serie A referee since 2011 and has officiated European competitions since 2014. Massa is recognized as a senior referee in both Serie A and European football, having overseen high-profile matches last season including Arsenal vs. Atletico Madrid, Barcelona vs. Eintracht Frankfurt, and the group stage finale between Real Madrid and Benfica. He also refereed the quarterfinal and semifinal matches of the UEFA Europa League last season.

This will not be Massa's first time officiating a Hapoel Be'er Sheva game; he previously refereed their 3-2 victory over Hungary's Honvéd in July 2017 during the second qualifying round of the Champions League, a match notable for five yellow cards issued to the Hungarian side and none to Be'er Sheva. That campaign saw Be'er Sheva reach the Champions League playoff round before being eliminated by Maribor and moving to the Europa League group stage. Massa has also officiated matches involving other Israeli teams, including two games with Maccabi Tel Aviv, one with Maccabi Haifa, and one with Beitar Jerusalem. Across five matches involving Israeli clubs, his record includes two wins, two draws, and one loss, with no red cards issued in any of these games.