As already reported, the main referee for tomorrow's final, 6th round match of the Nations League between the national teams of Albania and Ukraine is Portuguese João Pinheiro.
João PinheiroHe is 36 years old, and he received the FIFA referee status in 2016. He has officiated 65 international matches (both at club level and at the national level across various age groups).
Pinheiro will not be refereeing the Ukrainian team for the first time: in September 2022, he officiated the Nations League match Armenia - Ukraine (0:5).
And just recently, in early October of this year, the Portuguese worked on a group stage match of the Champions League between Donetsk "Shakhtar" and Italian "Atalanta" (0:3). Last season, Pinheiro's paths also crossed with Kyiv "Dynamo".
In total, the Portuguese has already officiated six matches involving Ukrainian teams.
Statistics of matches João Pinheiro with Ukrainian teams
Season-2019/20. "Alexandria" − "Saint-Étienne" (Italy) − 2:2. Group stage of the Europa League.
Season-2022/23. "RB Leipzig" (Germany) — "Shakhtar" — 1:4. Group stage of the Champions League.
Season-2022/23. Armenia — Ukraine — 0:5. Nations League.
Season-2022/23. France (U-21) — Ukraine (U-21) — 1:3. Youth Euro-2023 (U-21).
Season-2023/24. "Beşiktaş" (Turkey) — "Dynamo" — 1:0. Qualification of the Conference League.
Season-2024/25. "Shakhtar" − "Atalanta" (Italy) − 0:3. Group stage of the Champions League.
