Referee appointment for the second leg of 2025/26 UEFA Champions League semifinal, Bayern - PSG, to be played on 6 May 2026.
FC BAYERN MÜNCHEN (GER) - PARIS SAINT GERMAIN (FRA)
Referee: Joao Pinheiro POR
Assistant Referee 1: Bruno Jesus POR
Assistant Referee 2: Luciano Maia POR
Fourth Official: Espen Eskas NOR
Video Assistant Referee: Marco Di Bello ITA
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Tiago Martins POR
UEFA Referee Observer: Rune Pedersen NOR
UEFA Delegate: Arturs Gaidels LVA
So according to the last comments on the blog, it should be Pinheiro.
ReplyDeleteVery underwhelming, Pinheiro so undeserving to be given such a game but with politics anything is possible by now
ReplyDeleteLet someone explain to me what exactly Pinheiro has done to deserve officiating such an important match? He’s clearly a favorite of the REFcom and it feels like unnecessary favoritism toward a referee who isn’t any better than many others, yet keeps getting top assignments every time…
ReplyDeleteIf true about Pinheiro, I agree most undeserving appointment this year. Considering that there is a chance for english team in the final and that Oliver possibly coul be out of that final it would make sense to appoint him considering the very good season he had.
ReplyDeleteWhilst he was good on the EL SF there is a huge difference reffing 2 English sides willing to play football and reffing an ENGSPA clash with so much at stake
ReplyDelete21:00 CET - Munich (Allianz Arena)
ReplyDeleteFC BAYERN MÜNCHEN (GER) - PARIS SAINT GERMAIN (FRA)
Referee: João Pinheiro POR
Assistant Referee 1: Bruno Jesus POR
Assistant Referee 2: Luciano Maia POR
Fourth Official: Espen Eskås NOR
Video Assistant Referee: Marco Di Bello ITA
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Tiago Martins POR
UEFA Referee Observer: Rune Pedersen NOR
UEFA Delegate: Arturs Gaidels LVA
Considering Pinheiro has been handed this game, now I must say Mariani was a better option, or the Italian is among the many for the final in Budapest
Delete@Tevinjm: As I wrote on the other post, that in case of PSG-Arsenal Final, Mariani should be consider as a realistic possibility…
DeleteWell, congratulations to Pinheiro and his team.
ReplyDeleteBut, frankly, is he better than Eskas?…
Yes - after all, I think this is the hardest element to justify.
DeleteEskas's style where he sometimes acts in an arrogant manner towards players (it is an act and he is not an arrogant person) was deemed as a bad fit for such a 'star-laden' match and they preferred to choose the inobstrusive Pinheiro instead?
Yes, Pinheiro is better than Eskas...
DeleteTypical by committee they put out VAR after mistake and problem is solved! A dream for other refeees...
ReplyDeleteUCL Final candidates
ReplyDelete1) Oliver
2) Letexier
3) Mariani
4) Makkelie
Like in EL with Rumsas and Peljto, the better referee ist the 4O...
ReplyDeleteNothing against Pineiro and nothing about new names for these important matches, but appointments should have a minmum of consistency. After Pinheiros last games in Turin/Gala and Strasbourg/Mainz, there is no consistency to appoint him for this SF.
Again: Nothing against new names. For example, Sieberts appointment is consistent.
A game for Eskas in the semis would have been, too.
Do you know that both Eskas and Rune Pedersen the referee observer are from Norway? How could Eskas had a game with Pedersen as a observer? Is not a domestic appointment, you should know it.
Delete@Ichigo:
DeleteI assume that UEFA, in the event of wanting to nominate Espen Eskas, would have appointed another observer and not the other way around, that the already assigned Rune Pedersen prevented Eskas' nomination.
+1
Deleteby the way, where is our friend Ahmed? he should be happy that Pinheiro got the match.
ReplyDeleteI wish I had the power of manifestation he has...
DeleteTo be honest, Joao Pinheiro's nomination for a Champions League semifinal does not fundamentally surprise me: In the summer he officiated the Super Cup and in the current season he, as our friend never tired of repeating, largely or even completely did without VARs. Of course, this is not the only criterion that makes a good referee, but it does at least make him more deployable than other colleagues who were significantly more in the public criticism. The only reason I did not expect him, however, was that he had already officiated a first-leg match in the Europa League and was therefore excluded for that reason. He also seems to be highly regarded by FIFA, so I would not consider him a candidate at the World Cup who would not get past the group stage.
DeleteGood Luck Pinheiro.
ReplyDeleteSorry but this is ridiculous. Pinheiro has clearly not the experience to handle the decisive game between the probably two best teams this season. His performances in second leg games, which were much less important than this one were often medicore. It’s also unfair to Eskas, who is in my view the better referee.
ReplyDeleteI i mentioned last week after the game that he officiated in europe league i said after this incredible perfomance the next game will be bayern vs psg
ReplyDeleteEvery one satisfied now that joao pinheiro is the best referee in europe
I would like to mention 3 points about this nomination from João Pinheiro:
ReplyDelete1) Maybe this was a last minute call because he was firstly nominated for a domestically game played yesterday
2) I don’t think this appointment is not deserved but surely he should have a more solid path in CL. After what happened to Vinci and Kovacs, Rosetti could’ve burning another referee but this time a young one
3) If the idea is to give Oliver the final, why not appoint Taylor to this game given that having referee a first leg EL SF doesn’t seem to be a constraint anymore ?
Regarding the comparison with Marianni… IMO it’s unfair to say that the Italian is better than him. They were promoted at the same time to the elite category and besides the nationality, there aren’t much, to not say nothing, that distinguish both.
It is quite obvious, in my opinion, that Mariani was the person written down for this game but Rosetti got the jitters about the level of the Italian referee and took the opportunity to change him (but the VAR remained; I doubt very much that Martins got rejected if he is AVAR here). I don't know who "deserved" it more, but the switch itself makes sense and I would "agree" with the Italian manager: I didn't watch Liverpool-PSG, but the level shown by Mariani in CzechRep-Denmark was not good enough to justify another really big game (way too much delay and visible insecurity in making his calls). Meanwhile, Pinheiro's performance in Juve-Gala was more-or-less good overall. The overall comments about the Portuguese are too harsh: he is a very good referee. HOWEVER, I think this assignment could well turn out to be a mistake. In 2016, the repeated semifinals in the Champions League turned out to be a disaster, with clear and important refereeing mistakes (as a result of mental fatigue?) in both games. Pinheiro's level, being subbed late into Juve-Gala, had clearly dropped in that match from what he had shown before. And, this is probably the biggest match of the season in the whole Champions League competition. Rosetti could be the victim, most of all, of being too stubborn (and, perhaps too craven?) in terms of how he assessed the refereeing in Barca-Atletico; if Mariani's level caused such concern, then the correct choice would have been to forgive Kovacs. The non-appointments to the two PSG-Bayern legs (Hernandez; Mariani) are almost more interesting and certainly more telling than the actual appointments! The lack of big names from Italy and Spain are clearly hurting the committee a lot at the moment.
DeleteI'm struggling for a fourth name in the Europa/Conference tomorrow: Mariani, Hernandez, Nyberg (surely with Velasco in Birmingham), and ??.
I agree.
DeletePinheiro is plan B.
Gözübüyük as the 4th name?
DeleteNo wonder why UEFA refereeing is getting worse....
ReplyDeleteFelix is out of the Champions League KO Stage for much less...
ReplyDeleteIn this scenario:
Delete1) Arsenal advance against Atletico tomorrow
2) PSG advance against Bayern on Wednesday
3) The refereeing in the first SF is deemed impermissible vis the final appmnt
I think that Felix (Zwayer) will referee the CL final.