Rangers have played a lot of games in Europe over the course of the last six seasons, so we will inevitably run into and meet some old faces. In this case, that person will be the referee.
Despite the lack of players, Gers manager Philippe Clement will still want to bring home a victory that will give the team a chance to advance, since many members of the team have seen success here in the past.
Rangers supporters will be hopeful that with German whistler Tobias Stieler in charge against Benfica, they can improve on the outcome and make it three out of four.
Rangers will be hoping to play Benfica and strike gold a third time
The reason the name might not immediately ring a bell is probably because we haven’t won either of the two games we’ve played with him thus far.
When Rangers made their comeback to Europe’s top tournament, the Bundesliga referee was the man in the middle against Ajax on the opening day of play. Stieler is a regular in the Champions League, Europa League, and on the international scene.
It’s best to keep the details of the 4-0 loss to yourself.
It was an entirely different experience officiating his first Rangers game.
After Rangers was eliminated from the Champions League qualifying round by Malmo in 2021, they were rewarded with a trip to Armenia with temperatures above 40 degrees.
In addition, because of COVID-19, they were forced to travel without their first-choice goalkeeper, captain, and Steven Gerrard.
Rangers went into the second leg with a slim 1-0 advantage following John Lundstram’s dismissal at Ibrox, a moment the supporters felt he never fully recovered from.
Despite Joe Aribo hitting the woodwork a few times and Alfredo Morelos having what can only be rightly called a bad night, the Rangers still fielded a formidable lineup and sighed.
Only the two one-on-one opportunities were lost.
James Santos das Neves was substituted by Stieler just before halftime, which helped to ease the tie a little.
The winger was already given a yellow card for being impatient when, for unknown reason, he chose to kick Robby McCrorie in the head without going near the ball.
And he left.
If Stieler could perform a similar favor for Rangers against Benfica, that would be great.
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