This weekend’s no doubt most dramatic soccer clash between last season’s champions Dynamo and this season’s top-table Shaktar will be refereed by Claus Bo Larsen from Denmark. He will be accompanied by assistant referees Bill René Hansen and Henrik Sonderby, whereas Jesper Bek will act as fourth official. All three are from Denmark as well.
Born in 1965 in the town of Odense, Claus Bo Larsen first took up the whistle aged 16 to make his debut in the national Div 1 league in 1993 and to earn his FIFA badge three years later on. Fluent in Danish and English, he works as a customs clearance manager.
Keen on table tennis, the Danish referee is no stranger for both Ukrainian football heavyweights. He took charge of the 2002/2003 Champions League group stage match between Dynamo vs. Juventus Turin, when Ukrainians were defeated on their home soil 1-2 and were eliminated from the tournament.
Shakhtar have happier memories when in 2004 they defeated FC Barselona 2-0 in a Champions League group phase encounter and secured a final third place in their group.
