A Romanian referee was invited to Croatia and appointed to the big Sunday evening match between NK Rijeka and Hajduk Split, a duel with significant implications in the title race.
We are talking about the referee Horațiu Feșnic, 34 years old, who will be assisted in Croatia at this major match by Vasile Florin Marinescu and Ovidiu Artene as assistant referees, and the reserve referee will be Iulian Călin. Cătălin Popa, assisted by Ciprian Danșa, will complete the Romanian team in the VAR room.
Rijeka is currently in first place in the former Yugoslav country, with 62 points, while Split is in 3rd place, 7 points behind. Between them is Dinamo Zagreb, a frequent participant in the Champions League and the Croatian champion, with 57 points.
The Croatians have thoroughly examined Feșnic's performances in Romania, learning that he upset the owner Gigi Becali from FCSB after a derby between Rapid and FCSB last season, won by Rapid with 1-0: "The referee officiated the Bucharest derby between Rapid and Steaua (n.r.: FCSB) in the Romanian championship last season. Becali's club lost, 0-1, and he was extremely upset with Feșnic's performance. The Romanian Football Federation suspended Feșnic for a month after those mistakes," notes the Croatians at index.hr, who then provided a detailed description: "Feșnic will officiate a difficult match, one extremely important in the title race. The derbies between Rijeka and Hajduk are always tight, full of tension, cards, controversies, and debatable refereeing decisions. Feșnic will earn an important per diem, specially designated for foreign referees. He has officiated 21 matches this season, including 4 in European competitions. On average, he has given 4 yellow cards in those matches," the Croatians concluded their analysis.
The match the Croatians refer to is the one won by Rapid against FCSB, with a score of 1-0, on April 23, 2023, in the play-off, a match in which he should have given two red cards to the hosts, to Onea and Grigore. He was then suspended by the CCA from Liga 1 matches for one month.
D.A.