Rangers vs Benfica to have ‘the worst referee ever’ who became Celtic villain TWICE and suffered wrath of Van Dijk

Rangers vs Benfica to have ‘the worst referee ever’ who became Celtic villain TWICE and suffered wrath

of Van Dijk

Referee Ivan Kruzilak has twice been a Celtic pantomime villain and once had Virgil van Dijk raging after

a red card.

The referee for Rangers’ pivotal Europa League last-16 matchup against Benfica is the same one whom

former Celtics star Virgil van Dijk had called the “worst ever.”

With the score tied at 2-2, Ivan Kruzliak, 39, of Slovakia, has been named the match official for

Thursday’s Ibrox encounter. Even though this would be his first trip to Scotland, he has made

unpleasant headlines when officiating games involving Rangers’ rivals Celtic twice. Regarding his

performance in a 1-0 loss to Inter Milan in 2015, in which eight players were booked and Van Dijk was

sent off for a double yellow, Celtic officially complained to UEFA.

Celts crashed out 4-3 on aggregate with Van Dijk fuming at Kruzliak’s performance. Initially booked for

a foul on Rodrigo Palacio, Van Dijk was controversially sent off after just 36 minutes for a challenge on

Mauro Icardi. At the time, the current Liverpool star said: “It was a terrible decision. That is the worst

referee I have ever experienced in my career.