“This information adds to my optimism. Hauge and Duhamel worked on [Rubin’s] two Champions League encounters and left a very good impression,” Semak told Sport-Express newspaper.

“Both of them are modern style, confident referees, with a rather similar approach to the game. They let the teams play; don’t annoy the footballers with unnecessary whistles; judge what they see, don’t make anything up. Both games turned out a success for Rubin. We won positively – which was against Barcelona with Duhamel on the pitch. By the way, we chatted with the ref in French, which facilitated mutual understanding. Hauge was the refereeing our match against Inter, and it’s not his fault we couldn’t defeat the Italians,” he added.

Terje Hauge, 44, has been an authorized FIFA referee since 1993. The culmination of his career has so far been the 2005/06 Champions League final between Barcelona and Arsenal, which the Catalonians won 2-1.

Laurent Duhamel, 41, became a referee in 1999. He is currently suspended in France, but is still allowed to work in international matches.