Showdown in Berlin

Slovakian Kruzliak referees ÖFB match against Holland

Ivan Kruzliak will referee Austria's final group match.(Bild: AFP/KENZO TRIBOUILLARD)

Experienced Slovakian referee Ivan Kruzliak will take charge of Austria's final European Championship group match against the Netherlands in Berlin on Tuesday (18:00/live in the sportkrone.at ticker). For the 40-year-old from Bratislava, it will be the third international match involving the ÖFB men.

In 2016, Kruzliak led the team to a 2:1 victory over Albania in Vienna in the European Championship test, and in October 2021 they lost 1:0 to Denmark in the World Cup qualifiers in Copenhagen.

Kruzliak has been a FIFA referee since 2011. He refereed his first match at a major finals tournament last Wednesday in Scotland's European Championship group match against Switzerland (1:1).

Rapid has good memories
Rapid have fond memories of the Slovakian. Kruzliak took charge of the third-round second leg of the Champions League qualifier at Ajax Amsterdam on August 4, 2015, when Louis Schaub fired the Hütteldorfer to a 3-2 away win and into the play-off. At the same stage two years ago, Kruzliak refereed Sturm Graz's home second leg against Dynamo Kiev. The team from Graz lost 2-1 after extra time following a 1-0 victory in regulation time.

Player passport still in Berg
Kruzliak was born near the Austrian border and also has a connection to Austria as a player - from 2003 to 2004, he was in goal for the fighting team of the Lower Austrian amateur club Sportfreunde Berg. After a cruciate ligament rupture, he ended his career and became a referee, after which he played for Sportfreunde Berg a few more times in the reserves. According to the club, his player's pass is still in Berg.