Celtic v Lazio: who is the referee & VAR officials for Champions League fixture

Celtic are aiming to get their first points on the board in the Champions League group stage as they entertain Italian giants Lazio at Celtic Park.

The Hoops began their European campaign with a disappointing 2-0 defeat in Holland against Feyernoord but have enjoyed a strong start to the domestic season by winning six of their opening seven league games. In doing so they have created a seven point gap between themselves and city rivals Rangers at the top of the table.

Celtic were eliminated in the group stage of last season’s competition and picked up just two points from six matches, they are hoping to improve on that record this term and progress to the knockout rounds for the first time in 11 seasons.

The Glasgow giants are chasing their first Champions League victory since 2017 - but they are boosted by the fact that the visitors enter the game on a poor run of form.

Lazio have won just two of their opening seven league games and currently sit 16th in the Serie A table which is a far cry from the standards they hit last year when they finished second.

European nights under the Celtic Park floodlights are often special occasions and Rodgers will hope his players can put on a strong performance and clinch maximum points.

Celtic have had their fair share of disappointment with refereeing decisions already this tournament and two of their players saw red in Holland during their opener.

But who is the referee for this game against Lazio and who are the VAR officials behind the scenes?

Here’s all you need to know ahead of the highly anticipated Champions League clash.

Who is the referee for Celtic vs Lazio?

Donatas Rumšas will be the man in charge when Celtic face Lazio this Wednesday.

The 35-year-old hails from Lithuania and he has been a referee since 2005. He refereed a senior game for the first time in 2011 and has been registered with FIFA since 2016.

This game is just the third Champions League match that Rumsas has refereed in, while he has also been involved in seven Europa League games.

Rumšas has taken charge of around 166 games in Lithuania’s top flight, where he has earned the bulk of his experience.

Despite his limited experience in European competitions, Rumasas has already been involved in controversy this season and it came at the expense of Celtic’s city rivals Rangers who were on the end of a penalty decision in favour of Servette FC.

Rangers progressed from the encounter overall but Servette’s manager admitted his side had got “a stroke of luck” with the decision during an interview with The Scotsman.

Who are the VAR officials?

Referee Rumšas will be assisted by compatriots Aleksandr Radius and Dovydas Sužiedėlis, according to 67 Hail.

The fourth official — Robertas Valikonis — is also Lithuanian.

The Video Assistant Referee is Juan Martínez Munuera (Spain) while Roi Reinshreiber (Israel) is his assistant. (UEFA)