He is no stranger to a big occasion.

He has already been to Real Madrid and the San Siro (twice) this season.

He has already taken charge of world champions Germany in recent months.

Now Italian official Paolo Tagliavento will tonight referee Saints’ crucial Europa League tie with Be’er Sheva.

Tagliavento has yet to take charge of a Europa League tie in 2016/17.

But he has refereed two Champions League games as well as Germany’s 2-0 World Cup qualifier over Northern Ireland.

His last game was the Serie A derby between AC and Inter Milan, which ended 2-2.

In all, Tagliavento has handed out 35 bookings and one red in his eight games this season.

The red card was issued to Inter’s Ever Banega in the closing stages of Inter’s 2-1 Serie A win over Juventus in September.

A regular in Serie A over the last seven seasons, Tagliavento handed out 110 bookings and nine red cards in 22 games in 2012/13, and 110 bookings and ten reds the following season.

In 2010, he dished out 11 bookings and one red card in a fiery Rome derby between Lazio and Roma.