Who is Sandro Scharer? Meet the Swiss referee officiating at Euro 2024

SANDRO Scharer is set to officiate at a number of Euro 2024 games.

While he may be one of the least-known officials at the event, the Swiss star is hoping to impress in Germany.

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Who is Sandro Scharer?

Sandro Schärer is a Swiss football referee who was born on June 6, 1988.

After completing high school, he studied sports and geography at the University of Basel.

Before becoming a referee, Sandro worked as a substitute teacher at various high schools and as a ski instructor.

He then trained as a referee in 2005 and began overseeing games in the Swiss Challenge League six years later at the age of 24. 

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In 2013, he made his debut in the Super League in the game between FC Lausanne-Sport and FC Thun.

Has Sandro Scharer officiated at major tournaments before?

Scharer has been involved in various Uefa competitions, such as the Champions League and Europa League.

He took charge of Brighton's match against AEK Athens in the Europa League in 2023.

Then in March 2024, he was in charge as Sporting Lisbon visited Atalanta.

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In the Champions League he was the man in the middle for Inter vs Real Sociedad.

Sandro claims he is the type of referee that any player would hate to come up against.

He recalled why he began refereeing in an interview with .

He revealed: "I was a rebel on the pitch and had difficulty accepting referee decisions.

"At some point my father said I should do better.

"So I refereed my first game at the age of 15.

"During one season I played and refereed for the B juniors at the same time."

He added that he always knew he'd be a referee as he "just enjoyed it".

Has Sandro Scharer used VAR before?

VAR was introduced to the Swiss Super League in the 2019/20 season.

The ref revealed that the VAR in Switzerland was "really very good".

He told FC Buttikon: "I prefer being a referee. But I also like being the VAR.

"It's a different role. You have to forget that you're a referee.

"You have to take a step back and only intervene when there's a clear, game-relevant error."

VAR will be used at the 2024 Euros in Germany but there could be a last-minute halt.

The 2018 Fifa World Cup was the first major tournament to approve the device.

It was credited with making the 2018 edition the cleanest World Cup since 1986 as there were no red cards issued in the opening 11 games and only four players were sent off throughout the entire tournament.

At the Euros 2024, the high-tech feature will use 12 tracking cameras to determine if any part of the player's body is in an offside position.

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A 3D animation will be displayed on the big screens in the stadium.

The match ball will also include a chip which will help improve the technology's accuracy.