England vs Spain Referee: Davide Massa Stats, Record and VAR Team

Italian referee Davide Massa will take charge of England vs Spain at Wembley Stadium as two of Europe’s biggest national teams begin their 2026/27 UEFA Nations League campaigns.

UEFA has appointed the experienced Serie A official for Saturday’s League A Group 3 fixture, with Marco Di Bello operating as VAR and a complete Italian refereeing team supporting Massa at Wembley.

For Massa, it is another major assignment only weeks after refereeing Liverpool against Atlético Madrid in the UEFA Champions League. But England vs Spain brings a different type of challenge.

A high-profile international fixture between England and the reigning world and European champions will put Massa’s management of physical contact, tactical fouls, dissent and penalty-area incidents under considerable scrutiny.

Here is everything you need to know about the England vs Spain referee, his current statistics, previous record with both national teams and the VAR officials working alongside him.

Who is the referee for England vs Spain?

Davide Massa of Italy is the referee for England vs Spain at Wembley on Saturday, September 26.

UEFA has confirmed the complete officiating team:

• Referee: Davide Massa
• Assistant referee 1: Filippo Meli
• Assistant referee 2: Alessio Berti
• Fourth official: Matteo Marcenaro
• VAR: Marco Di Bello
• Assistant VAR: Rosario Abisso

All six officials are from Italy. Portuguese former referee Lucílio Cardoso Cortez Batista has also been assigned as UEFA’s referee observer for the match.

It is a significant appointment for Massa, who remains part of UEFA’s elite refereeing group and has extensive experience in the Champions League and other major European competitions.

Who is Davide Massa?

Davide Massa was born on July 15, 1981 in Imperia, Italy. The 45-year-old has been a FIFA international referee since 2014 and has spent more than a decade working at the highest level of Italian and European football.

Massa has refereed in Serie A since 2012 and has subsequently established himself in UEFA competition, receiving appointments in the Champions League, Europa League and international football.

The Spanish Football Federation describes Massa as a member of UEFA’s elite referee category, highlighting the level at which he has been operating in recent seasons.

His most recent major European appointment before England vs Spain came on September 9, when he refereed Liverpool’s 2-1 Champions League victory over Atlético Madrid at Anfield.

That match was handled with the same assistant-referee pairing that Massa will have at Wembley: Filippo Meli and Alessio Berti. That familiarity between the three on-field officials is significant in a fixture where tight offside situations and quick attacking transitions could place considerable demands on communication.

Davide Massa referee stats in 2026/27

Massa’s early-season numbers present an interesting profile.

In his two Serie A appointments in 2026/27, he has shown six yellow cards, an average of 3.0 yellow cards per match. Those two matches were Fiorentina vs Torino on September 5 and Roma vs Inter on September 19. Across them he called 42 fouls and awarded no penalties or red cards.

His European assignments increase the sample. Across Massa’s first five club matches of the 2026/27 season, two in Serie A and three in the Champions League, available match records show 14 yellow cards and one red card.

That works out at roughly three total cards per match across that small sample. It represents a relatively restrained start compared with some of Massa’s previous domestic seasons.

However, five matches are nowhere near enough to establish how Massa will approach England vs Spain. Referee card averages are influenced heavily by the teams, type of competition, match state and the behaviour of the players involved.

Massa’s longer-term card record

Looking beyond the opening weeks of the season gives a better indication of Massa’s broader refereeing profile.

A FootyMetrics dataset covering 187 of Massa’s professional appointments records averages of approximately 4.65 yellow cards and 0.21 red cards per match, while he whistles around 25.6 fouls per game in that sample.

His recent Serie A record has also included considerably more disciplinary action than his opening two league matches this season. During 2025/26, Massa handled 17 Serie A matches. One statistical dataset records an average of approximately 5.3 total cards per match across those appointments.

The broader picture therefore suggests a referee comfortable using cards when a game’s disciplinary level requires it, even if his first few matches of 2026/27 have produced comparatively modest numbers.

For England and Spain, that could become relevant particularly in midfield. Both sides have players capable of attacking quickly after turnovers, meaning challenges designed to stop promising attacks could become an important part of Massa’s disciplinary management.

Has Davide Massa refereed England before?

Yes. Massa has previously refereed the England senior national team, although not in a competitive fixture.

He was the referee for Scotland vs England at Hampden Park in September 2023, with Filippo Meli also serving as one of his assistant referees. UEFA’s match records confirm Massa led the officiating team for that friendly.

Saturday’s Wembley match therefore will not be Massa’s first experience with England. It will, however, represent a considerably different assignment because of the competitive Nations League setting and the profile of the opposition.

According to Spanish reporting surrounding the appointment, Massa had not previously refereed either England or Spain’s senior team in an official competitive international before this fixture.

Has Davide Massa refereed Spain before?

Massa has also refereed Spain once at senior level.

That match came on November 11, 2020, when Spain drew 1-1 with the Netherlands in an international friendly at the Johan Cruijff ArenA. Sergio Canales opened the scoring for Spain before Donny van de Beek equalised for the Netherlands shortly after half-time.

UEFA and the Spanish Football Federation both list Massa as the referee for that game.

Therefore, his senior record entering England vs Spain consists of previous friendly experience with both countries, but no previous competitive senior assignment involving either team. That makes Saturday’s fixture an important step up in context.

Marco Di Bello is the VAR for England vs Spain

The video assistant referee at Wembley will be another experienced Italian official: Marco Di Bello. Rosario Abisso will work alongside him as assistant VAR.

Di Bello has extensive Serie A and VAR experience and regularly works within Italy’s video-officiating system. His role could prove particularly important given the attacking quality on both sides.

VAR can become decisive if the match produces questions around penalties, direct red cards, goals or mistaken identity. Under the VAR protocol, however, the presence of a video official does not mean every debatable decision should be changed.

The central question remains whether Massa has made a clear and obvious error or whether a serious incident has been missed. That distinction is important when analysing any controversial decision after the match.

A decision can be debatable without necessarily meeting the threshold required for VAR intervention.

What kind of match could Davide Massa face?

England against Spain presents several potentially difficult refereeing situations. One of the first will be how Massa sets his threshold for physical contact.

International matches between technically strong teams can quickly become difficult if players are uncertain about which challenges the referee is allowing. Allow too much contact early and the intensity can rise rapidly. Whistle every minor contact and the game can become fragmented.

Massa’s ability to establish a clear and consistent line in the opening stages will therefore be important.

Tactical fouls and promising attacks

Transitions could create another refereeing challenge.

Both England and Spain possess players capable of turning possession changes into immediate attacking situations. If defenders or midfielders deliberately stop those attacks through holding, tripping or other tactical fouls, Massa will have to distinguish between an ordinary foul and an offence that also requires a yellow card for stopping a promising attack.

Consistency will matter more than the raw number of cards. If one tactical foul is cautioned, similar actions later in the match will inevitably be judged against that standard.

Penalty-area contact

Penalty decisions will naturally receive significant attention as well. Wembley will contain elite attackers capable of creating one-on-one situations and drawing defenders into difficult challenges inside the area.

Massa will have Marco Di Bello available on VAR, but the initial responsibility remains with the referee. Minor contact is not automatically a foul merely because it occurs inside the penalty area.

Equally, a referee cannot raise the threshold excessively simply because awarding a penalty has greater consequences than awarding a free-kick elsewhere. Any major penalty incident should therefore be analysed according to the nature and consequence of the contact rather than only the final outcome.

Dissent and player management

The way Massa manages protests could also become relevant. High-profile international matches create significant pressure around marginal calls, particularly when players surround the referee after penalty, card or foul decisions.

Modern refereeing increasingly places emphasis on limiting mass confrontation and maintaining clear communication through team captains. Massa’s experience should help in this area, but England vs Spain is exactly the type of fixture where a single controversial decision can change the emotional level of the match.

A major UEFA appointment for Massa

UEFA’s decision to give Massa England vs Spain reflects his standing within European refereeing. The Italian has already handled numerous Champions League matches, including major fixtures involving Arsenal, Barcelona, Benfica, Atlético Madrid and Liverpool in recent seasons.

During the 2025/26 Champions League alone, UEFA appointed him for matches including Arsenal vs Atlético Madrid, Borussia Dortmund vs Villarreal, Barcelona vs Frankfurt and Benfica vs Real Madrid. He also refereed Newcastle United vs Qarabağ during the knockout play-off round.

England vs Spain therefore represents another high-profile assignment rather than a sudden jump into unfamiliar territory. What changes is the international context.

There are fewer matches in a Nations League campaign, increasing the importance of individual decisions and reducing the margin for officiating errors.

England vs Spain renew a major rivalry at Wembley

Saturday’s fixture also carries considerable sporting significance. Spain arrive as the reigning European and world champions, beginning their first competitive campaign following their 2026 World Cup triumph.

The teams also have recent history. Their previous major tournament meeting came in the UEFA Euro 2024 final, when Spain defeated England 2-1.

UEFA’s current head-to-head record lists 13 England victories, 11 Spain victories and four draws, underlining how closely matched the historical series has been.

That background raises the profile of Massa’s appointment even further.

The VAR Verdict: what to watch from Davide Massa

Davide Massa enters England vs Spain with the experience expected for one of the opening round’s biggest Nations League fixtures.

His early 2026/27 statistics are relatively moderate, with six yellows from two Serie A matches and no domestic red cards or penalties so far. His longer record, however, shows a referee who is prepared to become considerably more active disciplinarily when the circumstances demand it.

For The VAR Verdict, the key areas to monitor will be:

• Massa’s threshold for physical challenges in midfield
• His treatment of tactical fouls stopping transitions
• Consistency around yellow cards
• Management of dissent
• Any penalty-area decisions that bring Marco Di Bello’s VAR team into the game

Raw card numbers alone will not determine whether Massa has refereed well. The more important question will be whether similar incidents receive similar treatment and whether the Italian team correctly applies the VAR intervention threshold to any major decisions.

With England and Spain beginning their Nations League campaigns at Wembley, Davide Massa and his officiating team will be under significant scrutiny from the opening whistle.

The VAR Verdict will review the major refereeing and VAR decisions from England vs Spain after the final whistle.

England vs Spain referee FAQ

Who is refereeing England vs Spain?

Italian referee Davide Massa has been appointed by UEFA to referee England vs Spain at Wembley on September 26, 2026. (UEFA.com)

Who is the VAR for England vs Spain?

Marco Di Bello of Italy is the VAR, with Rosario Abisso serving as assistant VAR.

Who are Davide Massa’s assistant referees?

Massa will be assisted by Filippo Meli and Alessio Berti, while Matteo Marcenaro is the fourth official.

Has Davide Massa refereed England before?

Yes. Massa refereed England’s friendly against Scotland at Hampden Park in September 2023.

Has Davide Massa refereed Spain before?

Yes. Massa refereed Spain’s 1-1 friendly draw against the Netherlands in Amsterdam in November 2020.

How many cards does Davide Massa average?

In a dataset covering 187 professional matches, Massa averages approximately 4.65 yellow cards and 0.21 red cards per game. His two Serie A fixtures in 2026/27 before England vs Spain have produced six yellow cards in total.

Referee data reviewed: September 26, 2026
Competition: UEFA Nations League 2026/27
Venue: Wembley Stadium, London