Irfan Peljto will agree on Wednesday evening the long-awaited UEFA Conference League final of Chelsea
The referee who is responsible for the UEFA Conference League final of Chelsea with Real Betis is already disturbing for six games this season. Irfan Peljto will see the honor to be the first Bosnian official who supervises a large UEFA Club competition on Wednesday evening when the blues take on Los Verdiblancos in the Wroclaw stadium.
The 40-year-old who was in charge of the 3-0 Champions League quarter final first leg of Arsenal, victory of Real Madrid at the Emirates Stadium, however, can feel the pressure on the supervision of the game last month.
That is because Peljto had a ban on six games in his home country earlier this season after making a series of mistakes during the 1-1 derby collision of Zrinjski Mostar with Boran Banja.
In total, the referee made three major mistakes during the fixture – which took place in the Bijeli Frijeg Stadium in September – two of which are failing to grant clear fines. In a damn statement from the Bosnian FA, it was emphasized how the civil servant was in a good position to see both penal claims, as well as an error that led to a goal for Borac.
It stated: “In the 25th minute, the referee, although very well positioned and with a clear picture of the incident, could not recognize a clear error and grant a penalty chicken to FK Borac.
“In the 26th minute, although well positioned, the referee failed to grant a direct free kick for the road team after a clear error that led to a goal for the home team. In the 90th+5 minutes, the referee failed to grant a clear penalty for Zrinjski.”
As a result, Peljto received a six-game ban from the Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina, while the VAR officials saw the same fate for the competition. Regardless of the incidents earlier this season, the referee told UEFA that he was honored to supervise the Chelsea's Conference League final with Real Betis.
He said: “We live a dream. It was very emotional to receive the call. It is not just an honor for my career, but to bring the flag of my small country among the European spotlights is a very proud moment.
“I hope it is also a moment for the future of referees in Bosnia and Herzegovina, that young referees have this positive perspective on referee and that we have created a path for them.”
Although the FA of his country pulled him up for his mistakes that were made earlier in the season, UEFA Peljto seems to have a large extent -with the official supervision of six Champions League matches and four Europa League matches this season. However, Barry Ferguson has also taken a problem with a peljto this season for his official during Rangers' 2-0 quarter-final second leg loss for Athletic Club in the Europa League in April.
The teams saw their first match at Ibrox ending 0-0 before they met again in the Estadio de San Mames-with Oihan Sancet and Nico Williams omit the Glaswegian outfit of the competition. Rangers -Baas Ferguson, however, claimed that Peljto and Var Official Cyriel Dessers missed that his shirt had pulled his shirt into the penalty area by Yeray Alvarez, as well as an athletic handball in the box in the second half that the game could have changed.
The result of the Chelsea collision with Betis in Poland comes on Wednesday when the last hope of both clubs to reach silverware for 2024/25 – the benefits of winning the tournament, however, will do very little for both clubs in terms of European football that they will play next year.
The winner of the UEFA Conference League is automatically eligible for the Europa League in 2025/26, but with Betis that has already reached their place in the tournament through a sixth place in La Liga, and Chelsea qualifying for the Champions League by the Premier League in the fourth season.
Anyway, both Enzo Maresca and Manuel Pellegrini will have high expectations to win when their parties collide on Wednesday evening, with both so as not to secure this period.